The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-21 00:00:00

LITERATURE

SIXTEEN YEAIiS IN CHILI AND PERU.
Fisher, London, 1841.

We fear that this narrative of a sixteen
year's residence in Chili and Peru will go far
to illustrate the 'truth of the old adage that
" a great book is a great evil ;" for it is a heavy,
bulky, octavo. volume, a considerable portion
of w Well is almost unreadable, being stuffed
with official documents, whose interest or im-
portance has long since passed away; with long
extracts from different authorities, local and
otherwise, respecting Lord Cochrane's naval ac-
tions off the coast of Chili, while in command
of the fleet of that province ; and with parti-
culars of the great earthquake of ,1835 which
did so much damage in the neighbourhood of
Concepcion, and with which the majority of our
readers must be already well acquainted, through
the medium of the • newspapers of the time.
The best, or at any rate, the most entertaining
parts of the work, are those wherein the author
describes in detail the manners and customs of
the natives of Chili, their severe, protracted
struggles for independence, and the disastrous
political convulsions which have taken place,
since the final emancipation of the province from
the mother country, Spain, up to the period of
the establishment of- the Government now in
authority in Chili.. On all these points the
author writes with the; ease and decision of one
who is thoroughly master of his subject, and his
statements wear all the appearance of authen-
ticity. In the course of some incidental allu-
sions to the earthquake at Valparaiso—that de-
structive convulsion which, in the year 1835,
ravaged so large a portion of the South American
coast—he relates a curious anecdote of a bigotted
Catholic priest who, in . his addresses from
the pulpit, attributed the earthquake, and
all the other evils that had recently be-
fallen Chili, " to the pernicious custom of
reading heretical 'books." The Governor of the
city of Aconcagua, the place where this clerical
fire-brand held forth, was so struck by his dis-
courses that it gave him an " irreconcileable
hatred against books," and he swore " upon the
cross of his sword, and before the Lord of Hosts,"
that he would not spare any volumes which
should fall into his hands. Accordingly, he
issued strict and precise orders that all the
books in the city should be collected, " and .on
a fixed day and hour, taken to the principal
square, and burned." A pile was forthwith
made,, and the auto-da-fe commenced with a col-
lection of.the Ecclesiastical Observer, which was
declared to be a pernicious work; next followed
the Bible of P. Selo; but the spectators, impa-
tient of the destruction of volumes by ones and
and twos, " committed the whole of the books to
the flames, and saw them consumed!" Striking
illustration this of the spread of intelligence and
liberality in Chili I The bachelor, Sampson
Carrasco, who, out of his excess of the practical
and matter-of-filet, made a bonfire of Don Quix-
ote's collection of romances; and the victorious
Omar, who, from sheer wilfulness, destroyed the
Alexandrian Library—or at least is said to have
done so, for the fact is somewhat doubtful—were
paragons of enlightment compared with this
thick-skulled Governor of Aconcagua, who was
prompted to his disgusting task by- mere igno-
rance and fanaticism.

A HAND-BOOK FOR HAMPTON-COURT.
Cunningham, London, 1841.
A neat, unassuming little volume, embellished
with several appropriate engravings, which will
be found very serviceable to those who may' feel
disposed, during this fine weather, to take a trip
to Hampton Court, and see its paintings, gardens,
grounds, &c.

SIR JAMES GRAHAM.-111very body inquires
what Sir James Graham is going to do. He has been
turned out of Pembroke. Sir John Owen thinks he has
mule the sent warm enough, and that he must now
have it again for himself. • So poor Sir James is uncere-
moniously thrust out. An attempt was made to palm
him upon Bristol ; but the answer was an indignant no.
Then Westminster was thought of; and his flic.,nds
were all cock-a-hoop that he would become the ',-Young
Glory" of the clay. But, alas'! Westminster proved
more coy than Bristol ; and now the report is, that he is
to come in under the wing of the Lowthers, either for
Westmoreland or West Cumberland-•—" to creep into tie
House by the postern gate, of which my Lord L msdale
keeps the key." How are the mighty fallen.—Carlisle
Journal.

SUGAR IN HAMBURGH AND LONDON.—The
retail price of raw or brown sugar in Hamburgh is from
3d. to 4d. per pound. Ii London, it is, I belieye, Bd. per
pound. Refined sugar, which in England is- from I Id.
to 13d., is here at t'le retail price of from 4d. to 5-.kd. per
pound. Coffee of the best quality, which sells in London
at 2s. to 2s. 6d., is here at from Bcl. to 11d. per lb. retail ;!
and the comparative cheapness of other articles, of colo-
n:al produce quite as great. The (lifferentxs,
ti is ie-1.-es in,
tile conifol•r, of the middle and Ivorl:ing
daises requires no comment.--London Journal of Com-
n.erce.