The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-20 00:00:00

wiT

111VENIN G _EDITION

LITERATURE.

• VI VIA PERPETUA.
This is Pox, London, 1841.
•'' a dramatic poem by a lady named
Adams,corirersioanfitdo turns on the circumstance of the
Christianity, and subsequent nrar-
:tYl.4°ll-1) of a noble Roman matron, Vivia Per-
.- P„,e- tua, an account of whom is to be found in most
. A ate histories that relate to the early Christian
•,rkalikrch. The scene of action lies in Carthap:,,,
4d-the period referred to is the commencement
A!oftha third century, when the numerous r...nemies
..-oaf -tile converts were inveterate in their
..
:hosts y, towards them. Massitr;er, it may be
;_reoembered, has a fine play on this subject, and
we suspect it was his " Virgin Martyr" that first
au tr—
.,sested to our authoress f.,ne idea of her present
(illtatoa. In her delinea'„ion of the character of
er win;
I—rne Vivia P erpetua, there occur some
touchesfeat
of ft!' cling tlfat ‘vould lead us to imagine
- , Fiat the old dram-Atist's play had been studied by
her With great -ttention ; but it is but just to add
that she Is no servile imitator, but depicts natural
emotions in a free and spirited manner. The
",'"sing scenes of her play are the best, for the
,e:rlier acts 1110VC heavily and languidly, and are
I 0 much taken up with dialogue that lead to no
s
result,

ASIATIC JOURNAL.
Alien London, 1841.
„In this Number we frid a bt•ienner,oir of the late
t'.l.lssEnuntatobarts, a clever au t.ioress who contri-
_uuted largely to the periodicr:t of the day, and
'hose latest work entitled .‘ Scenes and Charac-
teristics of Hindostan," one of the liveliest and
ost graphic of its sea•
L• 1 an article tin the lanfruage. There
on the subect' of the recent
des •". -sghantstan, ertptive - •
e4lllP4l°lli which exhibits no little
(Igo .

COLONIAL MAGAZINE.
m Fisher, London, 1841.
the staid, serviceable, matter-of-fart
t•isesellanies that from time to time challenge the
...to‘ention of the public, we know of few more
rtilY eneburagement than the "
olgazine," which, taking-for its motto "
(O °inks, and Commerce," gives us laiuch prac-
information on these important subjects, and
~_,L4ell.sses them in a lucid, d;_passionate manner,
`Zeditable to the good s.ense of the Editor, Mr.
Zutgoni_r__
e y Martin, The present Number—
an is the fourter.nth—contains, in addition to
d:_liccurate map of Austral-Asia, a well-digested
47urertation on the question of the revision of
,earnmerc.lal tariff, wherein the writer justly
• cijerB,l„t as an axiom, that "to make coin-
sho„7, valuable to the entire community, it
11.0"1 be freed to the utmost possible -extent
• Governmert taxation and protective enact-
rtilats, Makin; in fact freedom. from taxatl-on the
col-,,-e',andPr:.fiibiting duties the excel)tion, in our
lte--..inercyjj Tariff:, There is an interesting
4"i-it of Cooke's visit to the Austral-Asian
pr:nds .
several statistic._; details relative to the
diasentsprosperous state of the British West In-
ofla Colonies, from which we learn that the Duke
jb--Juckingham's estate in Jamaica has doubled
ilvalue since the abolition of slavery, which is
iialexPeriment that has been attended with sig-
' vs-Ileeess ; and a curious sketch of Port Arthur
• ke an Diemen's Land, which is a penal settle-
troLlt for the worst order of British convicts,
Which we quote the following :—" Port
,11,Rur is situated at the extremity of a point
dePeninsula, the neck of which is
41eell by a military detachment who have nu-
' pr„.rnas fierce dogs to apprise them of the ap-
eC of Any runaways. To Port Arthur the
victiated convicts of Britain are sent ; boy con-
'tea also ordered there, and placed under
tikeers qualified to make them useful in several
the
colonial convicts, and prisoners reconvicted
this settled districts, likewise removed to
4.B,great penitentiary. They are conveyed from
""'art Town to Port Arthur by sea. When
,they are mustered and stripped; and af-
Wards clothed in -chz: garb of the place, which
oade of tanned s'aeepskin, exceedingly pervious
7e,t, amid Avh;,ch much of their toil is passed.
he hour; of hbour are from sunrise to sunset ;
CU?ta' rations are scanty, consisting of flour, bis-
e ~Peas, and salt beef or pork ; few vegetables,
• liosit,ar4 fresh meat. Tobacco, which is a
4 .bit„-'e passion with such men, is strictly prohi-
for'T• Innumerable schemes have been devised
114.„,,48, concealment; but woe to the miserable
Isuii:en in whose possession it may be found. It
ltulii"ts him to seventy-five lashes, and such
The superintendent of shipw:ights in-
.11,0-Ted• the writer (and he was an old man-of-
httlnian) that the stoutest man 1' ever saw tied
o the triangles had the blood streaming in
th 811nes at the fifth lash. ?he hopelessness of
Riet enViCtS' position, the. unvarying and unmiti-
to ed- misery
83,satter demoraliza
and desol-ation of rill around, tends
on or reckless ferocity. This
to in colony has been attributed
(ciaeatellid„er transp,or is said to have been devised
tation a punishment worse than