The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-30 00:00:00

worth, the schoolmaster's wife, a woman, with
all her faults, and they are neither few nor
light, to be admired and loved ; of the
disgusting and brutal perm-nu tyrant, Captain
M‘Ross, of the glorious sailor Richards, a perfect
specimen of the "honest Jack tar," whose virtues
have been celebrated by Dibdin in immortal verse ;
and of that purest incarnation of the self-sacrificing
love of woman, Bianca Salvi. We cannot conclude
without drawing the author's attention to an inad-
vertence which he will no doubt correct in the sub-
sequent editions. He makes his characters frequently
speak of giving away sovereigns and half-sovereigns ;
the battle of Trafalgar, in which Rockingham was
killed, was fought in 1805. The sovereign was not a
current coin of the realm at that time. The first
coinage of sovereigns for the last two centuries took
place in 1816. Non ego paucis offender maculis, but
from a work which so nearly approaches perfection,
we would wish that even the smallest spots should
disappear.

THE HISTORY OF SAMUEL TITMARSH
AND THE GREAT 110GGARTY DIA-
MOND. By W. M. Thackeray.
This is a reprint of a tale which originally ap-
peared in Fraser's Magazine, in 1841, the moral of
hich is to warn persons against joining Great Did-
dlesex Companies of any description, which promise
enormous dividends, and to remind them " that the
great ehrewd capitalists of this country would not be
content with four per cent. for their money, if they
could securely get more; above all, never to embark
in any speculation, of which the conduct is not
perfectly clear to them, and of which the
agents are not perfectly open and loyal."
We remember reading the tale in _Fraser, and being
much delighted with it, although the author says in
his preface—
" The tale, which was always a favourite with its
writer, was not particularly well received at the time of
its first appearance; or noticed, except by one or two
persons, one of them the late John Sterling, who wrote
me a letter concerning it, which gave me at that time a
great comfort and pleasure. Other literary aspirants
may be consoled for their own failures by hearing that
this story was refused by one magazine before it found a
place in Fraser; nor was it until the success of Vanity
Fair,' (which work was refused by a magazine too), that
I found, or perhaps sought, publishers bold enough to
venture upon producing the Hoggarty Diamond' in its
present connected shape."
The rejection of "Vanity Fair " is another instance
of the incompetency of booksellers to judge of the
merits of literary productions, and will henceforth
rank with the rejection of " Paradise Lost," " Robin-
son Crusoe," and " Thompson's Seasons." The
present edition of the " Great Hoggarty Diamond "
is enriched with several quaint illustrations by the
author, and is beautifully printed and admirably
got up.

THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1847-1848 ;
being Facts and Figures Illustrative qf the Events
of that Important Period, considered in Relation to
the Three Epochs of the Railway Mania, the Food
and Money Panic, and the French Revolution. To
which is added an Appendix, containing an Alpha
belical List of the English and Foreign Mercantile
Failures, with the Balance Sheets and Statements
of the most important houses. Second Edition,
revised and enlarged. By D. Morier Evans.
'We are not surprised at finding that a second
edition of this most valuable work should have been
called for within less than six months of its original
publication. It is a work which all parties who are
interested in commercial or financial affairs ought to
possess as a book of reference, for nowhere will they
find one on this subject of such general utility and
completeness. The table of dividends at the end of the
volume exhibits a fearful picture of the effects of the
late crisis, and cannot but be regarded as most in-
teresting, however painful the contents may be for
contemplation. The work is dedicated to Charles
Barker, Esq., a well-deserved tribute of respect to
the high standing of that gentleman in the commer-
cial world.

RELIEF OF SIR JAMES ROSS'S
EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN.
Last week we briefly noticed the arrival of the North
Star store-ship, Master Commander Saunders, in tow of
the Stromboli steam-sloop, at Stromness, on her way to
relieve Sir James Ross's ships Investigator and Enter-
prise, with stores and provisions of all kinds, se as to
enable both ships to pursue their philanthropic search,
for Sir John Franklin and his brave, gallant, and de-
voted companions in the Arctic regions. It appears that
the North Star and Stromboli arrived off Aberdeen at
3 30 on Sunday morning, the 20th instant, but the wind
blowing strong from the E.S.E., with a heavy sea on the
bar, and, moreover, being neap tides, it was thought ad-
visable not to put into that port, but to proceed to
Stromness Harbour, in the Orkneys, where both ships
anchored at eleven o'clock the same night.
So far everything had gone on well, and was likely to
continue so. The Stromboli had performed her towing
work wt 11, but the North Star steered rather wild in
consequence of being so deeply laden. With a fair wind
and fresh breeze, the engines'At full speed, and making
16 re...hitt..., the Strombol4 towed her consort nine
knots; working expansivrly, on the second step making
15 revolution., the breuzs fresh aod fair, with a mo-
derate sea, the rate of towing was eight knots; with
fair wind and moderate weather, working expansively
on the third step 14. i revolutions, the rate was seven
knots; with engines at full speed, making 13 revolu-
tions, towing head to wind, with moderate breeze and
sea, from five and a half to six knots; and going at one-
third speed, and making from 10i to 11 revolutions,
towing dead against a strong breeze with a heavy pitch-
ing sea, the Stromboli towed the North Star from three
and a halt to four knots an hour.
By a fortunate chance, a leaky
cosier had put into
Stromness, and from her the Stromboli was enabled to
Capeplenl,sahreed w
eFarewell water,
on
the and a
ft
( r intendedno o
n o
fto the
fill up with about 130 tons of the best steaming coals at
e
efor
a comparately low rate per ton. Both ships had also
r
leave 2 2 dStromness
instant.