The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-03 00:00:00

THE M AGA ZINES.
BLACKWOOD.
Neither has Sir 13ulwer Lytton continued his
serial story of the "Caxtons," nor has Mr. Warren
enditcd another portion of his Liography of "Sir
Astley Cooper," in the May numb.,r of Blackwood.
We cannot do otherwise of course than regret this,
seeing that, in spite of the excellence of some, none of
the miscellaneous articles beforgus afford anything et
all like compensation for our disappointment.
Coupling the peculiarities of the paper itself with the
circumstance of the temporary cessation of the
charming tale contributed to the pages of Maga by
the poet-novelist—we rather suspect that it is to the
indefatigable pen of Sir Edward we are indebted
for that shrewd and searching criticism upon
Wakefield's scheme of " Colonization," with
which the magazine commences. The chapter
is entitled to immeasurably more than a
merely passing consideration ; for it is eminently
thoughtful, and is calculated, unintentionally—with-
out the writer being apparently aware that any such
work is in preparation—to stimulate our curiosity in
regard to the book now in the press from the hand of
the future Member for Sheffield. We shall look to
the plan of government for our colonies which will
shortly be propounded by Mr. Roebuck with infinitely*
more confidence in its practicability than to the
gaudy, but very illusory theorem explained by Mr'
Wakefield. In the estimation of the author of the
second artiele, " The Reaction on Foreign Conserve'
tisra," the population of the continent are so SUre
passingly barbarous, and so diabolically seep'
tical, that it were well for the mass to learn
some of the elementary principles of humanity and
some of the simplest rudiments of religion. Clever
as the production is, we cannot but regard the
writer's survey of Europe as miserably atrabilious.
We have perused democratic descriptions of Euro-
pean society, which would lead one to picture the con-
tinent as a sort of embryo Atalanta; and we have read
absolutist accounts of the same, in which the tone
was as sombre and discouraging as that here assumed
by Blackwood. It reminds us forcibly of the New
Rasselas, mentioned by Mr. Herman Melville in his
last romance—who, shut up in the royal valley of
Willatnilla, dispatches emissaries to bring him true
and faithful accounts of the appearance of those diffe-
rent islands in the archipelago of Mardi, which his
eyes have never beheld. The pilgrims return and
contradict each other so grossly, that the unfortunate
recluse is driven nearly mad with annoyance.
Nevertheless, saith Babbalanja, of two of the
most contradictory travellers, both are right and
both are wrong. There are doubtless the seeds of
good and evil mingled together in the races of the
continent—otherwise there would not be such revo-
lutions and such pacifications, such crimes and such
virtues, such heroism and such cowardice—a mixture
of bad and noble passions, which was vividly personi-
fied in the February of 1848 in the sublime courage
of M. de Lamartine when repelling in the midst of
guns and daggers the rabble of Terrorists—and in
the ignoble poltroonery of M. G-uizot when sneaking
through the back lanes of Paris in the disguise of
lacquey. Madame d'Arbouville's beautiful story of
the " Village Doctor " is translated for the first time
into the English language in the pages of Blackwood.
B. Simmons contributes some pleasing verses called
"Moonlight Memories," and U. T. gives a capital sketch
called " The College." " Jack Moonlight" is
amusing, and may be read almost in five minutes. In
the paper on " Legitimacy in France" there are
some beautiful passages respecting the Due de Bor-
deaux and the venerable Duchess d'Angouleine, by
the Republican Charles Didier. Justice is nobly
done to the sacred cause and the patriotic bravery of
the Hungarians, in an article upon their present
struggle with Austria, and we are rejoiced to see
Ebony thus breaking through a thousand prejudices
to plead the cause of truth and honour. Beyond
the contributions already enumerated there are two
able chapters on " Ararat and the Armenian High-
lands," and on the great question of " National
Education in Scotland."

FRASER.
Michael South is the prince of military novelists,
and his " Peace Campaigns of Ensign Faunce" bids
fair to become the most amusing, as it already is the
most veracious of military daguerreotypes. Those who
desire to know what life in barracks really is should
accompany Ensign John Faunce to his quarters. Our
friend the;Schetner concludes his " Loose Leaves from
his Note-Book" this month with schemes for destroying
those two monster evils, mendicancy and pauperism.
We commend his lucubrations to the attentive consi-
deration of our statesmen and legislators, who will
find many valuable hints in these "loose leaves " of
" The Schemer." The present number is rich in
reviews. We have a laudatory notice of
Aytoun's " Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers," a
slashing critique on much " Recent Poetry,
and Recent Verse," and an admirable analysis of
Froude's Nemesis of Faith," in which, while the fatal
errors of the author are fearlessly exposed,
full
justice is done to his transcendent emus
and his unswerving honesty. The
most
practically useful, perhaps, of the papers in this
month's Fraser is the one on "Indian Meal." It ap-
pears that Indian meal acquired a bad character on
its first introduction, because the first specimens im-
ported were fusty. In fact, Indian meal will not
keep sweet any length of time, and there-
fore the corn and not the meal should
be imported. The corn, however, requires peculiar
care in the process of grinding, as the generality of
English millstones are too soft for grinding such a
hard grain without grinding themselves at the same
time, which makes the meal gritty; and the corn itself
should be fresh, or the meal will be bitter. In con-
sequence of these mishaps Indian meal has become
unpopular in England ; but if common care were
used to procure Indian corn of the same quality
as that used by the free population of the United
States, there cannot be a doubt but that it would
become a favourite food among us. The writer thus
describes Indian corn and meal as it ought to be :
" Well; three days ago I received, direct from the
barn of an American friend, as it was stowed there last
autumn, a small barrel of Indian corn in the natural
state; large ears or cobs of the Indian corn, merely
stript of its loose leaves. On each ear, which is of
obelisk shape, about the size of a largo thick truncated
carrot, there are perhaps about five hundred grains,
arranged in close order in their eight columns; the
colour gold yellow, or in some cases with a flicker of
blood-red. These grains need to be rubbed off, and
ground by some rational miller, whose millstones are
hard enough for the work: that is all the secret of pre-
paring them. And here comes the important point.
This grain, I now fur the first time find, is sweet, among
the sweetest; with an excellent rich taste something like
that of nuts • indeed it seems to me, perhaps from novelty
in part, decidedly sweeter than wheat, or any other grain
I have ever tasted. So that, it would appear, all our ex-
periments hitherto on Indian meal have been vitiated to
the heart by a deadly original sin, or fundamental falsity
to start with :—as if in experimenting on Westphalian
ham, all the ham presented to us hitherto for trial had
been—in a rancid state. The difference between hens
and rancid ham, M. Boyer well knows, is considerable!
This is the difference, however, this highly considerable
one, we have had to encounter hitherto in all our expe-
riences of Indian meal. Ground by a reasonable miller,
who grinds only it and not his millstones along with it,
this grain, I can already promise, will make excellent,
cleanly, wholesome, and palatable eating; aud be fit for
the cook's art under all manner of conditions; ready to
combine with whatever judicious condiment, and reward
well whatever wise treatment he applies to it; and indeed
on the whole, I should say, a more promising article
could not well be submitted to him, if his art is really a
useful one."
The Indian meal has hitherto been sold at an exorbi-
tant rate. In the London shops it has not been sold
at a lower rate than threepence per pound, the price
of wheaten flour, whereas its actual value, when sold
by retail, with a free demand, is about a penny per
pound, and even with a poor demand its price should
never exceed three halfpence. We hope some enter-
prising corn merchant will undertake to supply the
public with good Indian meal, at a fair price. It
appears to us that this would be a most profitable spe-
culation. The present number of Fraser contains
some very respectable verse contributions.

DOLMAN.
An earnest article by the editor about the destitution
of his co-religionists in Wales commences the May
number of the Roman Catholic magazine. As the
organ of a section of the population of Great Britain
Dolman still continues to occupy a prominent position.

THE SOURCES or THE ILE.—The problem of the
position of the sources of the Nile, which during so many
seems at length in a fair way
oafgebseihnags solved. The alTlihne(ll7y,
V. Mr. Rebmann, of the Church
Missionary Society, who is resident near Mombas, on
the east coast of Africa, four degrees south of the equa-
tor, has recently penetrated about 100 miles inland,
where he came to an elevated table-land, and saw before
him a lofty mount.Ain named Kilimancljaro, the summit
of which is covered 1% ith perpetual snow. In the course
of last summer, Dr. Bialloblutzky left England on an ex-
ploratory journey into Eastern Africa; and it i 3 pre-
cisely in the above-mentioned direction that he purposes
seeking the sources of the Nile, in accordance with the
hypothesis of Dr. Bike, the Abyssinian traveller, at
whose instance his journey has been undertaken. The
discovery of Mount Kilmaudjaro promises well fur the
success of the enterprise, as there is reason to regard it
as forining a portion of the "Mountains of the Moon,"
the snows of which, according to Ptolemy, give rise to
the Nile. The expenses of Dr. Bia,lleblotzky's journey
are defrayed by subscription, raised among the friends
of geographical discovery; and his Royal Highness
Prince Albert has just beat pleased to contribute the
sum of 101. in cupport of the undertaking.
GRAY'S INN, MAY 2.—William Devoy, Esq., and
John Raymond Grace, &q., were this day called to the,
degree of Barrister-at-law by the Honourable Society of
Gray's Inn.
LORD'S DAY OFFENCES.—Magistrates' clerks are
being called upon by the Home-office to make return of
convictions for offences committed during last year under
the law called " the Lord's Day Act."