The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-13 00:00:00

V a
r 4
14.1' fl 141 11104_`X4

LITERATURE.

TEE SIEGE OF FL ORENCE, 3 VoLs,
Cothurn, London, 1840.
Macarthv, the author of these volumes,
he'lls the pen of an eloquent and animated writer,
tivi indeed a power of words at his command,
rarelyBl, met with among modern novelists. Not
tweayyud°llhin,esbso,wa'esver, his elegance degenerates into mere
it) some of his landscape sketches,
olllere lie means to be particularly impressive. He
°LI4I avoid this tendency to glitter and inflation
4111 ordinary themes, or he will lay himself open to
bre charge which Foote brought against a cele-
ated auctioneer of his day, that he was " as fine
tiP°O a ribbon as upon a Raphael." The best por-
`'n„s Air. Macarthv's story are those which de-
,r,jr'ne the protracted siege of Florence, with the
pilelties that followed, in the troublous times of
°de 'Medici, the period in which the narra-
„ laid.
He here displays considerable graphic
d
vawer, tin
d brings out his leading personages to
4th'ant4l”. One of his characters is Guieciardini,
II:, celebrated Italian historian, who, as Sismondi
his Pretty broadly hinted, was a bit of a rogue in
the waY• The tale, as in duty bound, ends with
teilliarrialle of the hero and heroine, at which in-
-11410
'ng crisis the author takes leave of them.
ill be
who like a rapid, spirited mode. of narration
°Pleased with the Siege of Florence.

TEXAS 1N 1840.
Th Wiley and Putnam, London, 1840.
Te, °'e who may feel disposed to emigrate to
tou-hal which by all accounts is a very improving
ktt„4,Y, will do well to read this little volume with
reside °n, for it is the production of one who has
1i0,,,eu some time in that republic, and seems to
lii: made good use of his eyes while he was there.
obi accounts of Texas are, on the whole, favour-
titre% Ile tells us that if is, with a few exceptions,
es well Country, whose streams, rivulets, and creeks,
alld ell as rivers, skirt these prairies with woodland
410 forests of various width and extent. The soil,
general, is remarkable for its fertility ; and the
N 18 more luxuriant, ripens more fully, and de-
aildllts the saccharine juice in greater perfection
Th„ abundance than in most parts of Louisiana.
to,f re°tton, also, is said to be finer, more silky,
1.10;,%4 longer staple than in most parts of the
the States, and to command a higher price in
'r; Marke t. Thus much for the advantages of
k ; but there are always two sides to
bti4ikleation, and if this country has its
stlilit' it has also its dark side. Poi-
-111;,,:„118, snakes, of all sizes and varieties,
kticl'il(l there, and alligators infest the waters to
bib a degree that if you feel inclined to take a
brtit,, the odds are that one of these ravenous
tkirsis either snatches a hasty mouthful from the
Ittit°` Your legs, or swims away with a raw rump-
tilere filched from your rearward Adam. Then
41 centipedes without number, troublesome
rid naneery suits, and almost as difficult to get
1v11,,q; to say nothing of spiders six inches wide,
tod ~,trawl over your face while you lie sleeping,
1441' they happen to be in ill-humour at the
jurb) s,ting you smartly on the nose. When you
ilid!:11"t0 bed, thinking to go off in a snug nap,
by I ream about your sweetheart, musquitoes buz
bkit londreds about your ears ; and red bugs
there themselves in your flesh, and build nests
of , where they rear a healthful progeny
luit, children, and laugh to scorn all your notices to
With If You take a ride on the prairies, horse-flies
,tourred heads worry your horse to madness ;
often get into your eyes ; horse-flies very
tots find their way down your throat ; and
hl, make make a settlement in your small clothes,
ttlitatibc,ke they sally forth to sting you at every
tier hie
opportunity. In process of time, how-
lity ' the emigrant gets accustomed to these
ttio'e local peculiarities, and then nothing can be
titl„reL delightful than Texas, with its fertile soil, and
toXious climate. For ourselves, we must frankly
e4s that we could not even fancy Paradise, were
tilde"lpelled to share it with red bugs, centipedes,
alligators.
14.1c7,
-4
ORIAL SHARSPEARE.—Penn XXVI.
'l' C Knight, London, 1540.
4:11,is Number. contains the entire comedy of
lviticii Ado about Nothing embellished, as usual,
h" a choice variety of engravings, and illustrated
p .P.!,!tinent explanatory notes. At the end of the
likt
'at 'e is a supplementary notice, in which some
It arelt',lktlits and .Mrs. Lennox's strictures upon
llsweted in a highly satisfactory manner.

114`cft
4NIC'S AND LABOURER'S GUIDE
TO TIIE UNITED STATES.
The C. Knigla, London, 1840.
filature of this little work is sufficiently ex-
t ..eq L
Y
I°llll u ics title ; it is wholly practical, and puts
),4ble t 411,y suggestions which will be found servici
":trd those operatives whom inclination or t
Otte ""sure of circumstances may cause to e nl'-
114114-'3 the United States. There is a particularly.
aperschaPter on the subject of labour and its
5e value in A merica.
,
Wll4s_isLE OF WIGHT.
D,

uut. (PROM OUR OWN CORRE9PONDVi!iT.)
41 of
Alto, e whole this month we have had a suc-
tpn, he crippled
viole.nt gales of wind, attended with heavy
env.llir, crippled state of the ships that have en.
14k11 " t° this port for shelter shows they have rated
.theY viuletitly at Se 2.
S."thampton Railroad still brings us numerous
,1111;e
have five steamers daily from Southamp-
ti,(4hY three years back at this season of the year
ticitis °teanners had ceased running. So many applica-
i4vt th Purchase houses in this neighbourhood were
known was it not that the whole of the
Possessecb one or two individuals, the town
couldt
v,erY soon doubley its present size ; as there is
sold, gentlemen are content to obtain it on
144', he V.b4 on lease, where, as there is no compett•
ltatceY must pay what is asked.
Tett Meiklatn, Esq., has taken Egypt House for
,7,1'4.1.4ter ; Lady' Harriet Mitchell, Debourne House ;
i"lrllfs silderson, Bellevue House ; Mr. Alloway, Rose-
/4-t• Captain Me R.N., M.P., is still at Oak-
f.; 41a.4°°". Captain) Philip Brown has applied for
t/thPer-'4l° House. Thomas Dent, Esq., and many
• riuttilics are still with us.

M. TIILERS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sue,— Last spring you congratulated France and Eu-
rope upon M. Thiess being Premier of France, but now
' you highly blame him ; you must therefore concede, that
you either then were mistaken in your high estimation of
him, or that you are now led astray from } our usual
justice. For my part, I must confess that I believe that
the latter is the cause. I hope, however, that you will
not longer permit the Times, the greatest enemy of all
true Liberals, to insult with impunity M. Thiers, who, of
all European statesmen, is surely the most sincere
friend to liberty.
You, and all the Liberals of Europe, will soon be
aware that M. Thiers has not deceived your just ex-
pectations of him, and that in opposing the Treaty of
the 15th July, he hiss been contesting not only for the
better cause and dignity of France, but even for the
freedom of the people.
When the defenders of the Treaty of the 15th July
tell us that this Treaty is opposed to the real interest
of Russia, and has checked her designs on the Turkish
empire, then they only prove that they very little know
the Emperor of Russia himself, and Baron Brunow ;
because every one who has a correct idea of them
cannot possibly think that the clever Nicholas has sent
the skilful Barci Brunow to London to sign a treaty
contrary to the interest of Russia.
Therefore M. Thiers not being the man who by such
a false opinion could be lulled to sleep, would not agree
to sign a treaty which was intended to weaken Mehe-
met Ali, who, he saw, alone was able to defeat the de-
signs of Russia upon the Orient, and whom France,
after the battle of Nezib, promised to protect in pos-
session of Syria, to prevail upon him to stop the march
of the army of Ibrahim Pacha to the shores of the
Bosphorus.
That the equilibrium of Europe depends upon Syria
being under the immediate sway of the Sultan, was too
absurd an insinuation, that M. Thiers could think it
worthy of the least attention, and therefore the Four
Powers, both in signing the Treaty and the manner in
which they did it, must absolutely show M. Thiers that
this Treaty had another far more important object than
only to compel Mehemet Ali to restore Syria to the
Sultan ; and that he was not mistaken is quite certain,
because there is not the least doubt that the real in-
tention of Russia, Austria, and Prussia was to break
the alliance between England and France. To tell us
that M. Thiers could have defeated the intention of
these Powers by agreeing to the Treaty, is the same as
to say that he could have bought the alliance of Eng-
land by breaking the promise of France to Mehemet Ali.
M. Thiers is now blamed for not acting in this dis-
honourable manner ; he is blamed for opposing Russia
in her ambitious projects ; and he is blamed for not
closing his eyes to the designs of the despotic Powers to
subdue the freedom of all nations ; but coming genera-
tions will pass a just sentence upon him, and then he
will undoubtedly be venerated as a true guardian of
liberty.
Hoping that you will graciously give these lines,
though perhaps opposed to your ideas, a place in your
so justly highly estimated newspaper, I have the honour,
with the greatest esteem, to be,
Sir, your obedient servant,
London, Nov. 10, G. C. H.