The Sun.
London, England, 1836-05-16 00:00:00

putatieu i the cause of a cothitty which bestowed on
sucoetts alone the sishileg general favour."

A SA Uvr4,at

i in BEL GTlEri,in die I,F qf I 83%
Br li,idq o
.1(1,0,*.ft westiey, 1836.
This iNA a very sprightly, ag'reiabin vo-
!time ; interspersed wil4 r,lquant anecdotes, and full of
that sort krtOwledge which a traveller is most in
want oh, who happens not to be burdened with more
money than is necessary for his supportb We have.
books of travels in all parts et the WOM, but they are
all deficient in the itifortuation which those about to
retrace their imaktO! are most interested in knowing—
the rest) tniculating only the nerct_tary expenses. It
will be said that the vintstion of expense depends, in
a great dekr.rel!,llpon the habits of the traveller. True.
131_4 be it observed that the habits of almost every
individual are the habits of the class to which he be-
longs ; so that each traveller would supply a road-
book for all moving in his own sphere, who might wish
to avail themselves of his experience.
Mr. St. George set out for Belgium, early in the
summtr of 1835, on an excursion, of which he tells us
the motives were f‘ pleasure and instruction." He tra-
velled from Calais the whole way on foot, habited in
the garb of a Flemish peasant, and carrying on his
back the small bundle which contained the few neces-
saries absolutely indispensable to a pedestrian traveller.
In the course of his excursion he visited Fumes, Dix-
muden, Ypres, Paperinghe, Belle, Armentieres, Co-
mines, Werwick, Menin, Courtray, Tournay, Bousse-
laere, Thorous, Bruges, Ghistel, Oudemburg, Damme,
Ardembourg, Middleburg, Eecloo, Waarsehschat,
Ghent, Deynse, Peteghem, Oudenarde, Alost, Den-
dermonde, Loo Christi, Savineck, Lokeren, Beveren,
Antwerp, Boom, Mechlin, Vilvorde, Brussels, Water-
loo, Namur, Liege, Oirey, Saint Tron, Tirlemont,
and Louvain. We before observed that he traversed
the whole of this journey on foot, lodging at the au-
berges on the way, and mixing familiarly with the pea-
santry, of whose goodness of heart, natural polite-
ness, honesty, industry, and simplicity, he speaks
in terms of warm admiration. His historical sum-
maries of the condition of those towns which
figure in the annals of the 13th, 14th, 15th and
16th centuries, as, for instance, Ghent, Bruges,
Sc., are by no means the least interesting parts of this
very entertaining and instructive volume. The plates
—of which there are a great number—are very hand-
somely executed. The Chateau of Loo Christi is one
of the finest specimens of lithographic engraving we
have seen for a long time. The Tomb of Charles
the Bold of Burgundy, at Bruges ; and the Town-
halls of Ghent, Louvain, and Oudenarde are likewise
very creditable to the talents of the artist, Mr. Butler

We approve of the frank, straight-forward, manly,
manner in which Mr. St. George appears as a tourist
before the public. He retails no scandals calculated

to wound private feelings ; nor does he deal in those
base conventional insinuations which serve to feed the
prejudices of the ignorant, and keep alive the jealousies
of nations. Taking his report as our guide—and we
regard it as the most correct yet published—we know
of no place to which we would sooner make a summer
excursion than Belgium, provided that our object was
limited to the wish for becoming acquainted with the
habits of the most industrious, peaceable, and honest

population on the Continent. The volume is inscribed

,o Leopold, King of the Belgians, whom, Mr. St.

George assures us, reigns in the hearts of his people.

MILTON ON THE CHURCH QUESTION.
Tait, Edinlnirgh: 1836.

In this cheap and commodious octavo volume, we
have some of the most eloquent and impassioned of
Milton's prose writings, which have mc.t with far less
attention from the public than they deserve, simply
because they have been eclipsed by the superior gran-
deur of his great epic poem. Yet they contain pas-
sages, and numerous ones too, net unworthy, in ele-
vation of sentiment and simple dignity of expression,
to vie even with " Paradise Lost." These occur
most frequently in the stately and well-sustained
" Apology for Smeetymnuus"—the most delightful of
Milton's prose works, and that wherein he gives the

fullest account of his own private habits, studies, re-
creations, &c., which Mr. Tait accordingly has incor-
porated into the present volume, and for which he
deserves the gratitude of the studious portion of the
community.

THREE ERAS OF WOMAN'S LIFE. 3 Vols.
Bentley, London ! 1836.

The commencement of this tale is the worst part
about it. Think of a novelist at this time of clay set-
ting out in the following maudlin Children-of-the-Ab-
bey style !—" It was a glorious day in Autumn. The
sky, of unsullied blue, glowed like a sapphire. The
universal air was filled with stillness. Not a breeze
whispered. Not a bird flapped its wing." When we
perused these. opening lines, we felt strongly tempted
to throw down the book, taking for granted that we
should meet with a sentimental Lord Mortitner in the
first chapter, and a love-sick Amanda in the second
—to say nothing of a' romantic cottage, overgrown
with honey-suckles, a picturesque shepherd, and crook,
and a bower looking uncommonly beautiful beneath the
chaste moon-light—but we resolved to persevere, and
have bee❑ well rewarded for such assiduity ; for the
work improves as it proceeds, and the interest is kept
up unimpaired to the close. The female characters
are such as none but a lady of a graceful and refined
turn of mind could have pourtraycd, and will take a
strong hold of the reader's fancy. But the chief me-
rit of the work is its dialogue, which is throughout
feelingly and naturally written.

A literary and scientific society, to which is attached
a very fine museum, has recently been established at Brighton,
principally by the personal and persevering exertions of Mr.
Horace Smith and Mr. Ricardo. The Earl of Egremont has
consented to be nominated the patron, and the Earl of Chi-
chester Vice President. A large and convenient mansion has
been hired for three years by the Committee of Management,
and subscriptions and donations have been already received
fully adequate to ffive this very useful institution a fair star:.
Mr. Richardson, jun., a gentleman of some literary attain-
meot, has been appointed librarian.
ELOPEMENT,--_A good deal of gossip has been oc-
casioned in Leeds and the neighbourhood, during the past
v-cek, in consequence of the elopement of Miss Smithson Bar
stow, niece of the late Rev. J. Smithson, incumbent of
Headingly, and an heiress possessing 40,0001., with Henry
Skelton, E3q., son of Thos. Skelton, Esq., of Water-lodge.
The parties were united at Gretna-green on Wednesday week.
The bride is in her 18th year.—Leeds Mercury.
TIIE GREAT SOLAR ECLlPSE.—Yesterday this
sublime phenomenon, the anticipation of which has excited so
much attention, was viewed under the most favourable auspices.
At an early hour the people were on the qui vice, leaving the
metropolis in the steamers and coaches for Gravesend, Wool-.
with, Greenwich, Hampstead, Norwood, and other places,
where the eclipse could be viewed with better effect than
through the murky atmosphere of London. Greenwich was
crowded and immense numbers thronged the Park, where the
Greenwich pensidners gathered considerable sums by allowing
the visitants to use their glasses. The eclipse commencedl
at eight minutes forty-eight seconds before two o'clock in the
afternoon, and the course of the moon over the sun's disc was
clearly traced. At the time of the greatest obscuration the
eclipse could he viewed by the naked eye without pain. The
gloom at that time towards the south-cast was very striking,
but the darkness was not so great as many persons had been
led to expect. As the dark circle continued moving over the
face of the sun, gradually leaving it, the light increased, and
the fowls
which might be seen about three o'clock
betaking
their houses, marvelling at the asto-
nishingly early coming on of the grey twilight, resumed their
cheerfulness
gtand soon after half-past four
o'clock passed over the great luminary.
tho
moon and
acdh i r
finallyp in
Altogether the weather was as favourable and the air as clear
for viewing the eclipse as was ever remembered on any former
occasion.

It is said, and we hope truly, that Goverinneat are
about to confer on General Evans the rank of Major. General
in the Peninsula. The count*, will be gratified to find that
some mark of distinction and of gratitude for his s:rviees has
been promptly bestowed on him.