The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-02 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN,

There are too many tales of fiction in this
number, which otherwise is by no means amiss.
We could have borne with two or three stories,
but really half a dozen is too strong a doze for
ordinary digestion. Mrs. Trollope's " Blue .Belles
of England" is amongst the best; but, neverthe-
less, it is not in her most successful manner.
The incidents appear laboured, and do not follow
in just and natural sequence; and the characters,
with hardly one exception, have none of the
breath of life breathed into them. " Recollec-
tions of a Student" contain some striking details
of the assassination of the Emperor Paul, and the
conduct of his successor, Alexander, immediately
subsequent to that atrocious act. The anxious
state of the Poles, too, at this feverish crisis, is
well described. " Curiosities of Legal Expe-
rience" furnish us with some interesting particu-
lars respecting the perpetration and discovery,
under extraordinary circumstances, of a most
revolting murder. As a specimen of the poetry
of the number, we extract some stanzas by Mrs.
Abdy, entitled " The Aged" : _ _

Oh ! oft the minstrel's lay describes, with warm and fervent

truth,
The lovely days of childhood, and the blushing spring of youth
It dwells upon the season of life's sweet and sunny prime,
But seldom does it chronicle its d ark and winter time.

Yet ever on the aged with deep reverence I look,
Their inmost thoughts I liken to a wise and wondrous book,
Enriched with lavish histories of scenes and times of yore,
That never can be given to the eye of mortal more.

We, in the summer-glow of health, mty joyously expect
To pass along the ways of life by chance and change unchecked ;
But while we trace our future course, and future knowledge

crave,
A year, a day, an hour alas ! may lay us in the grave.

But they already have enjoyed the brief and fleeting span
By Providence allotted as the common life of man ;
And all the wisdom time imparts to benefit our race,
Hath in their full-fraught minds secured a certain dwelling.
place.

We oft retrace our early youth, and sorrowfully cast
Reflections on our follies in the season that is past ;
May not the aged in their turn reflect and reason thus:
May they not mourn the follies that they still decry in us ?
Oh ! why should we despise them then, and wilfully forego
The treasures of experience they would readily bestow ?
Even as the meek and docile child receives our counsel sage,
So ought we humbly to regard the warning voice of age.

They ever should be viewed by us with love and awe, they stamp
On the threshold of another world, a mystic spirit-land,
They 'should be cherished and revered as tenants of the rd,
Soon to receive their summons to the mansion of their God•

ALARMING etiNi.rITION OF T

COUNTRY.
We have been told that Lord Francis Egerton is about
to raise a yeomanry corps from amongst his numerous
tenants. Should this be true, and we have no reason to
doubt the truth of our informant, it will show that his
Lordship is resolved to be prepared against any emente
in his own neighbourhood. The example will probably
be followed by all the Tory aristocracy, and thus a new
military
_force will be created, auxiliary to the Tory Go-
vernment, and for the suppression of any disturbances
that may arise from the continuance of the corn mo-
nopoly.
There is too much reason for alarm. We have been
close observers of the state of the manufacturing dis-
tricts for the last quarter of a century, and we venture
to affirm that there never was, during all that period, so
intense and wide-spread distress as that which is now ex-
perienced. We have had sudden denressions, which
oc-
casioned great suffering, but they were of comparatively
short endurance ; but there has been a gradual progress
downwards for the last two or three years, till the profits
of business and the reward of labour have fallen below
what we ever remember them to have been, and this,
too, without any reasonable prospect of amendment. The
census shows that fully one-tenth of the houses in the
manufacturing towns of Lancashire are untenanted ;
and we have good grounds for belief that the occu-
piers of another tenth are totally unable to pay rent.
This shows au enormous diminution of the means of
subsistence, even with those who are partially employed;
and we know that a great number of persons are without
employment at all. One half of the hand-loom weavers
in Manchester are without work ; and a great proportion
of them are Irish, who have no claim to parochial as-
sistance. We saw four of these men yesterday—men of
good character, as their late employer testified—
, endeavouring to raise amongst the benevolent a few
shillings to save their families from starvation, and their
story was heart-rending. One of them said : " What
are we to do ? We cannot get work ; we are not en-
titled to parish relief ; we have no other choice but to
lie down and die, or put out our ham! and steal."
No country can be tranquil while this is the condition
of a great portion of the people. It cannot be expected
that men will peaceably lay themselves down to die.
We cannot expect that, on the verge of starvation, they
will forget that they have been thus reduced by bad laws,
that they will exercise forbearing thoughts towards the
men who support those laws. There is, in truth, much
cause for fear. The elements of combustion are laid.
A spark may ignite the whole in a moment. Take, for ex-
ample, Paisley, where the manufacturers, with two or three
exceptions, are involved in one common ruin. There is
the whole population of a large town unemployed.. Let
there be but an extensive bank failure in Lancashire,
and we should have whole towns here in the same de-
plorable condition. And all this without the hope of
amendment ! ! !
Will the rtiiiing of bands of yeomanry be instrumental
in preventing an explosion ? On the contrary, it would
add to the existing causes of discontent. A few hun-
dre Is of hot-headed partizans, acting as the Manchester
yeomanry of 1819 did, might involve the whole country
in a civil war. Manchester Times.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.
GOODWOOD RACES,
The most' brilliant on the records of the turf, were
brought to a close on Friday. The fine weather of the
preceding day was succeeded I-7 a cloudy atmosphere
and chilling breezes, and in the attendance of visitors
there was a marked falling off. We subjoin further par-
ticulars of the races; sent from the course.
Nassau Stakes.—lord Exeter's filly went off with
the lead, followed by The Witch of Whorley Hill and
Australia, the latter having the Nonsense filly by he:
side, to the distance, where Australia went up to the
Greenmantle filly, and at the stand challenged her, but
was defeated, after a smart race home,l)y half a length.
The Nonsense filly a respectable third, and beat the
Witch cleverly; Delusive beaten off.
The Produce Stakes.—Prince Caradoc was firstoff,
but was soon headed by. Buffalo, who went on at a true
pace, followed by The Prince and Mr. Rush's colt, Ralph,
and Abydos, together with Eringo and Marshal Soult
behind them. These positions were maintained to the
turn into the straight running, where Mr. Rush's colt
was beaten off, and Ralph closed with his horses. Prince
Caradoc then went to Buffalo, and ran with him to the
distance; here the latter fell oft; and Eringo and Abydos
joined the front rank. Prince Caradoc went on with the
ilead to the stand, where Eringo went up close to the
iuwer rails, Ri.lph making his rush at the same moment
on the other side, Abydos lying between him and Prince
Caradoc. A, fine race ensued between the four, and