The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-18 00:00:00

A 'VOYAGE UP THE SEINE.

ROUEN, AUG. 10, 1840.—1 closed my last letter to
you on our way hither, that I might the more freely
open my eyes and ears to the beautiful scenery, and the
various comments which it excited from the different
passengers around us in the steam-boat.
On one side of me sat a taciturn Englishman poring
over his guide book ; on the other a garrulous Gascon
and his wife, to whom he pointed ten thousand little
nothings, which nobody but a Frenchman would have
thought of, perhaps, and few cared about at least. The
contrast reminded us of what Voltaire said of the na-
tives of the two countries, viz.:—

" L'un dit que des riens,
L'autre ne dit rien I"

However, I am indebTed—tothisv.ery garrulity for a
fable about the promontory which just then broke
upon our view. It was quaintly told, and runs pretty
much thus :

The Seine who was (of course) one of the most
beautiful daughters of Bacchus—having attended Ceres
as a sort of femme de chambre in her search after Pro-
serpine, received from this goddess this spot as a reward
for her services, accompanied with the privilege of being
able to produce corn wherever she wandered. Nep-
tune, it seems, fell one day in love with Madame
Seine, and to this hour comes twice a day as far as
this-

Borne on the bosom of his briny svavr,'
to visit the coy nymph, who, retiring at his approach,
thus fertilises the happy shore on which Ceres deigns to
live."

" Ah, comma elle etoit bonne cette Mad. Cerise,"
said the little Frenchwoman ; " mail regardez mon cher
Octave, regardez de l'autrc cote ;" and there, sure
enough, stood the ancient and modern castles of Tan-
carville, hanging over a sweet little bay beneath them.
To each a historiette belongs ; but as the latter is now
the property of Marshal Sueliet's family, this, somehow
or other, lad all parties to talk about the past and
coming war, which is now rather an exciting topic here-
abouts, and it proved an engrossing one.
For my own part I was sorry to see the attention of
so many drawn from the sweeter scenery before us,
although my bookish neighbour did quote the authority
of the ancients as a justification (they, you know, used
purposely to speak of death at the festivals to render
the fear of it less), and begged me to let them (English
and French) "fight it out."
And, indeed, I believe something more than a war
of words would have succeeded ; but that music, with
" all her soothing charms," came to our aid by striking
up a peaceful tune in honour of the other steamer Let
Seine, which was then passing us, and returned the
harmonious salute.

Vandevelde's pencil might have advantageously
sketched the pretty port of Quillebceuf, as we saw it
before us, with a roadstead full of pilot-boats, whose
services in winter are so indispensable on this rocky
shore, now looking as smooth and gentle as a dove.
The wealthy Abbot of Jumieges, the remains of
whose abode still exist on the opposite side, used in
former days to receive tithe from every vessel which
anchored, or rather was staked down for shelter in this
bay. But yonder I see Lillebonne, a French mutilation
of Julia Bona, as the Romans termed it ; but why they
did so, does not seem to be known.
The ruins of baths, theatres, &e., and the discovery
of bronze images, &c., do, however, attest its former im-
portance.
Modern tradition attaches to Lillebonne a curious
story of a French hero, one Mons. Civille, who escaped
many deaths, and at last died for love ; but you shall
have his epitaph—
" Ce git qui deux fois dut perir,
Et deux fois rcvint I la vie,
Et qui
sa viellesse on v
uid'amoureusefoliito
Dana mourir
1,,

And now, our vessel being aground for a little while,
we went to dinner. Ah, thought I, the jolly friars of
Jumieges would never have put up with such fare as we
did on board of La Normandie ! This, perhaps, was
owing to the fashionable hour we had chosen, though it
was barely three o'clock, but then all the French and
many of the English had preceded us, leaving only some
coupe maigre and a fricandean de veau for our selection.
The latter had a very equivocal appearance, and justi-
fied the garcon's assurance of what the butcher told
him—viz., " That it was cut out of k plus joli animal
he. had ever seen." Indeed, these delicate cutlets were
within a few shades of young beef, and made us think
with Hamlet, that truly—
" It was a brute part of him to kill so capital a calf."
However, cheese, they say, digests everything but it-
self, so we hoped, by a double portion of capital
Gruyere, to get a good night's rest at Rouen. While
thus musing, a shout from above caused us almost to
throttle our long-necked bottle with the napkin (though
only meant for its protection), and rush on deck. With
pleasure we found this universal echo to be easily trans-
lateable into the words of their own song—
" She rights, boys,
she rights—we're off the shore,"
which, followed by a " crash" from our little orchestra,
produced rather a theatrical effect. Here, too, time and
space obliges me to drop the curtain for awhile.
So, good-bye, till my next.—Morning PfTer.

BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, AUGUST 14.
The sugar trade has been remarkably fiat till within the
last day or two, when, on the arrival of a packet from the
\Vest Indies, bringing au account of the dreadful effects
of a long and excessive drought, totally destroying next
year's canes en man lantations,
and rendering it im-
possible to manufacture for want of water, the markets
assumed a different appearance the demand became
more brisk, and rather higher prices were obtained.—
Bristol Mercury.
Mr. Lewis D. B. Gordon, of Edinburgh, has
been appointed Regius Professor of Civil Engineering in
the University of Glasgow.
The Committee of the Glasgow Wellington
Military Memorial are still at sea for an artist. Feeling
EuroPe, the best mode of selection, the prices of the seve-
ral the difficulty, it has appointed a Sub-Committee of twenty-
one to inquire regarding the most eminent sculptors in
artists, and the time in which each would undertake to
complete the work. The Sub-Committee have made its
first inquiry, and sent uestions to the following scalp_
tors :—uhantrey, Baily, Westrnacott, Campbell, Steel,
Wyatt, Marrochetti, Rau ch, and Scbwanthaler. In these
questions, it asks to be furnished with copies of drawings
or lithographs of any equestrian statue erected or designed
by the artist, and requests him to state whether the sum
subscribed will ensure the best exertions of the artist to
whom it is given, and if any part could be appropriated to ,
a pedestal with historical representations in bas-relief.
The Edinburgh Wellington Memorial has been given to
Mr. Steel, the young artist to whom the Scott statue for
the same city has been entrusted, and whose bust of thq ;
Queen was in the
Ailletawn,
Academy Extubition for 1839.