The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-04 00:00:00

THE DELUGE.
" A prophet always, in my ministry- holy,
On the future I dare to interrogate God:
The princes of earth to chastise for their folly,
Th' old world shall be swept by an o'erpowering flood.
Already upon them, the tide growls, and lashes
Its limits: Look, masters, it comes, wild and free!'
I say to them ' Look;' but they answer Thou dreamest:'
Poor kings! they shall all be engulfed in the sea!

" What for thee, 0 my God, these good kings, have they
done?

So many there are, with whose laws we are blessed!
'Tis the people their rights have forgot; and we groan
'Neath the weight of our down-crushing burdens op-
pressed.
But the waves speed their march, irresistibly willed,
Against these chiefs, once so well pampered: ah me !
An ark for themselves they're too witless to build—
So poor kings, they shall all b 3 engulfed in the sea!

" Who speaks to tile waves? A despot of Afric,
A black son of ham, a wild barefooted king—
`Down!' cries he, ' base waves, to my fetish antique
Yield ever, and double the sweet gold ye bring.'
And this excellent king, his dear lucre a-taking
From Christian sea-rovers and traders in blood,-
Sells his subjects, to slave it, our sugar a-making—
Poor kings, they shall all be engulfed in the flood!
"' Come here!' cries a sultan of Asia, ' I will it!
Wives, viziers, and eunuchs, up! start into motion!
Throw up your pale corses around me, to still it,
Or bank in the waves of this turbelent ocean.'
And then, in his harem all perfumed, from out
Which already his terrified guards seek to flee,
He smokes coolly, yawns, and makes heads fly about—
Poor kings, they shall all be engulfed in the sea!

"In our Europe from which this great deluge outflows,
United in vain, to lend each other aid;
0 God, be our judge!' all have cried in their woes:
Swim, swim on always,' in reply God hath said;
Those dread powers already the deluge nigh drowns,
Their proud thrones fall in dust 'neath the hands of the
free,
And money is coined with the gold of their crowns'—
Poor kings, they shall all be engulfed in the sea!

" This ocean, oh prophet, what is it?' ye say:
'Tis us, Peoples, unbound from the fetters of hunger;
'Tis us, more instructed, and clearing away
That vain crowd of monarchies, useful no longer;
Our on-moving billows so long led astray,
God makes pass o'er these sons of the stubborn knee;
Now the sun shineth forth, and the storm calms away—
Poor kings, they are all in the depths of the sea!"
The translation is but of indifferent merit ; yet we
are thankful to Lacigogne for having afforded even
this version to the English public of the last and not
the least stirring of the songs of Beranger.

1101VITT '8 JOURNAL.
A capital and characteristic likeness of George
Thompson, the eloquent Member for the Tower Ham-
lets, is the best feature in this number of Howite s
Journal. It is accompanied by a memoir written in a
strain of merited eulogiutn. Dr. Bowring adorns
the pages of the journal with some clever translations
of Hungarian songs ; and Frederick Rowton com-
mences a series of arguments upon the Punishment
of Death.

THE BELLE ASSEZIBLEE.
Lady Smith, the wife of the hero of Aliwal, is re-
presented in the frontispiece to the Belle Assemblee
for November, by the pencil of Stewart and the
graver of Hunt. Anna Savage has some musical
verse to the wife of Sir Harry Smith. The literary
contents of the number are varied and clever, though
occasionally too frivolous.

COURT CIRCULAR.
WINDSOR, WEDNESDAY. —Prince Albert enjoyed
the sport of shooting this morning. His Royal High-
ness was accompanied by the Marquis of Exeter, and
Sir Charles Wood, and was attended by Lord Camoys,
' and Captain the Hon. A. H. Gordon.
Lord Camoys has arrived at the Castle, and has
succeeded the Earl of Morley as the Lord in Wait-
ing to the Queen. Colonel Berkeley Drummond has
also arrived, and has succeeded Mr. R. Ormsby Gore,
as the Groom in Waiting to her Majesty.
The royal dinner party at the Castle this evening
is expected to include her Royal Highness the Duchess
of Kent, the Marquis and Marchioness of Exeter, the
Lady in Waiting of the Duchess of Kent, the
Baroness de Speth, the Earl and Countess of Dal-
housie, Lord and Lady Beauvale, the Right Hon.
Sir iCharles and Lady Mary Wood, Sir George
Couper, Major-General W. H. Scott, and Lieutenant-
Colonel Smith (commanding Royal Horse Guards).

Yesterday was the birthday of her Royal Highness
the Princess Sophia. Their Royal Highnesses the
Duchess of Kent, the Duchess of Gloucester, and the
Duke of Cambridge, paid visits of congratulation to
her Royal Highness on the auspicious return of her
natal day. The Princess Sophia is recovering from
her recent illness, and has taken airings in a carriage.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge
arrived at her residence at Kew, yesterday afternoon,
from the Continent. Her Royal Highness travelled
from Dover by the South-Eastern Railway. Baron
Knesebeck attended the Royal Duchess from Calais.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent arrived
at her residence, Clarence House, St. James's, at
twelve o'clock yesterday, from Frogmore House,
near Windsor. Her Royal Highness left town soon
after two o'clock in the afternoon, on her return to
Frogmore House.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge re-
turned to town yesterday morning from honouring
the Duke of Rutland with a visit, at his residence
near Newmarket. His Royal Highness proceeded to
Kew in the afternoon.

Dr. Lushington had an interview with Sir George
Grey yesterday. Mr. John Rornilly had also an in-
terview with the Right Hon. Baronet at the Home-
office.

The Right Ron. Edward Strutt (Chief Commis-
sioner of Railways) arrived in town on Tuesday night.
Mr. John Frederick Stanford, Chairman of the
Committee on the subject of mendicancy, accompanied
the deputation from Marylebone to Sir George Grey,
on Tuesday.
Dispatches were sent off last evening from the
Colonial-office, for the Governor-General of Canada,
and also for the Governors of the other North Ame-
rican Provinces.

• THE SAVINGS' BANKS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—It is scarcely generally known that the
savings' banks have tended materially to embarrass
the Government in the present monetary pressure,
and amongst the difficulties of the times must be no-
ticed the heavy calls made upon the savings' banks
by the various classes of depositors, including not
only those who have been obliged, from the recent
high price of provisions, to withdraw their little
balances for present support, but the number of per-
sons, whose operations have been most heavy in num-
ber and amount, are those who have taken advantage
of the low rate of the funds, now yielding about 4
per cent., and purchased stock, rather than keep their
money in a savings' bank, producing them less than
3 per cent.: indeed, recent events have demonstrated
how alive the depositors are to the " rate of interest
allowed them. The loss at which Government must
now be selling the savings' bank stock, to meet their
demands, will doubtless bring about a remodelling of
the Act under which those institutions exist, and of
the system, opposed to the recklessness and extrava-
gance with which of late they have in many instances
been notoriously mismanaged. I forbear to offer
other observations, as the whole subject will, I am
informed, be thoroughly investigated by the new Par-
liament.—l am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
London, Nov. 3, 1847, ALPHA.

M. W. Wicsrugukt.—A meeting of the Committee
for the purpose of carrying into effectual operation the.
intentions of the friends of William Wickham, Esq.,
was held yesterday evening, at the City of London Me-
chanics' Institute. The following resolution, passed at Ire
prior meeting, will fully explain the intentions of the.
committee, viz., "That considering the services rendered
by Mr. Wickham to the cause of free trade, and that his
growing infirmities prevent him procuring suitable em-
ployment, he is deserving the consideration of all the
friends to the e.3use, and that endeavours be made by
subscription to procure a sufficient sum to purchase an
annuity for him. Mr. T. E. liavvlDAt having been called ,
to the chair, some subscriptions were acknowledged, and
a number of members added to the committee. Some
pecuniary matters next came under discussion, which
having been disposed of, Mr. S. A. Lyon said, from cir-
cumstances
which he was acquainted, he theugh;
with
he could safely state, that they would receive the port of the principal members of the late Anti-Corn-la
League, and the great body of its supporters. Aft
some other matters had been disposed of, the oommitt F
adjourned for a fortnight,

Dalziel. The letter-press is in a great measure
worthy of the illustrations.

THE PROPLR'S JOURNAL
The engraved portrait. of Lieutenant Holman, the
Blind Traveller, copied from the painting by J. P.
Knight, R. a., displayed in this year's Exhibition of
the Royal Academy, is the most interesting woodcut
rin the number for November. The sketch by IL G.
Hine, of " Sweep! Ho !" is the most comical that has
yet appeared in the People's Journal. Lord Nugent
continues his intelligent essays upon " Crime and its
Treatment." Miss Martineau pursues her disquisi-
tions on " Household Education" and her descriptions
of the "Holy Lands." Other contributors, such as
Mrs. Loudon and the editor, Mr. John Saunders, add
to the attractions of the letter-press. From the
poetical contents we must transcribe one song—
though it is one of sixty-four verses—for it
is the last song of a great poet, Pierre &an De
B...ranger. The bard of France, like the bards of old,
is a prophet, and he has in a hale old age—being in
his sixty-eighth year broken silence in these six •
Sibylline stanzas. It is not difficult to see that the
retrograde policy of Louis Philippe has elicited this
warning voice from the Poet of France, of Liberty,
and of Napoleon.