The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-01 00:00:00

MONDAY EVENING,

consideration. But the moment you put her in a fair
way of getting rid of these evils, you have a perfect
right to deal with her, in other respects, as you deal with
the rest of the Queen's dominions. Probably the inter-
niediate result will be, a prodigious changing of hands
in the landed property of the kingdom. If we be rightly
informed, there are few estates in Ireland which are not
mortgaged to half their money value ; there are many
which, if sold to-morrow, would leave no residue, or next
to none, to the nominal proprietors. Most of the
former, all the latter, will, of course, pass into new
hands, and many a family of historical note disappear.
But though we may lament this as a shock to private
feeling, on public grounds we are cow.trained to add,
that it is " a consummation devoutly to be wished."
Of all the incubi on the improvement of a people, a poor
but ancient gentry is the heaviest. The pfasant looks
up to the descendent of a long line of proprietors, under
whom he and his 'fathers have worked for agt s, with a
degree of reverence which he cannot feel for a Lew man;
and the poverty of the chief, as it keeps the serf poor
likewise, so it effectually hinders both the one and the
other from rising in the scale of humanity. Indeed, we
will go further. Though we are no advocates for the
French system, and the minute subdivision of landed
property which it occasions, we confess that very large
estates do not appear to us to be desirable in a country
circumstanced as is Ireland. Very large estates, embrac-
ing whole counties, or half counties, cannot be rightly
attended to by their owners, even if they be resident ;
and as in Ireland almost all such belong to absentees,
they operate as a hotbed for the growth of agents,—a
race not very popular or useful anywhere, and least of
all in the Emerald Isle. We believe, therefore, that the
facilities afforded to Irish proprietors for disposing of
their lands will accomplish good is this respect among
others, that it will largely increase the numbers of the
resident gentry; and that the manners of the rich being
copied in the farm-house and in the cottage, Ireland,
under a better system of social management, may yet
become the -most flourishing section of the United
Kingdom."
And that it will so become if these measures are ho-
nestly carried out, there can be no doubt. Then,
and not till then, will be the time to consider the pro-
priety of giving Government assistance to railroads.
The remaining articles of this numbea are all good ;
the best., perhaps, being a paper by Sam Slick, enti-
tled " How many Fins has a Cod ?"

DOLMAN'S.
In accordance with a custom which has become
somewhat prevalent with monthly publications,
Dolman is reduced in price by half of its ori-
ginal charge. Otherwise there is scarcely any
perceptible alteration in the periodical. Saving
that its amount of pages is slightly diminished,
the magazine is characterized by all its previous excel-
lence. Under the conduct of its new editor, the articles
are, as heretofore, selected with care and discrimination.
Without lapsing into a merely ecclesiastical organ, Dol-
mas' still continues the indisputable mouthpiece of the Ro-
man Catholics of England ' • it combines agreeable com-
positions for the general reader, and contributions
essentially of a nature peculiar to the religion. From
a paper entitled "Future prospects of Ireland," we would,
had our space permitted, have made copious extracts,
seeing that the suggestions contained therein are sensible
and new. The editor continueshis serial upon the Penal
Laws, a subject which has latterly acquired a peculiar
interest, from the gradual passage of Mr. Watson's Bill,
for their abolition, through the Lower House of Par-
liament. His eloquent predecessor, Mr. Miles Gerald
Keon, pursues his interesting paper upon " Holy Week
at Oscott," it is written with a loving tenderness of pur-
pose, and a calmness of contemplation that occasionally
merges in philosophic profundity. The contribution
throughout is large from its thoughtfulness ; and the
miscellaneous contents are arranged with an attention
compatible with the excellence of the preceding portions.

DOMBEY AND SON. No. VI.
By Charles Dickens.
As might have been anticipated, there is a mournful
description of the sorrowing of Florence for her " dear
dead brother" in the present number. It is exquisitely
delineative of the woes and memories of a young
and lonely heart. The account of her mid-
night visit of conciliation to her inexorable
father, with his repulse of her proferred affection is
beautiful but harsh. " Let him remember it in that
room, years to come!" Diogenes the " ridiculous dog,"
not the cynic philosopher, Mr. Toots, even Towlinson
and the wooden midshipman who is declared to be quite
a " callous, obdurate, and conceited midshipman"
in his way, are severally introduced. But
Captain Cuttle, the superb diplomatist of Brig-
place, the gentleman who wears a silver watch of such
plethoric dimensions, that it comes out of his fob like a
bung, the simple-hearted sailor, who sticks a small
sunflower in his button-hole "to give him a relish of
the country," the sympathetic listener, who sits
with a grin on his face and " a tear on his
shirt collar," stupid, excellent, delightful, ab-
surd Captain Cuttle is the principal feature in No. 6,
from his interview with Mr. Carker and Mr. Perch to
his farewell with Walter on the latter setting sail for
Barbadoes. The same lavish drollery, the same pensive
and pathetic sentiments, the same natural and unaffected
eloquence which have characterised the preceding portions
of this inimitable work stream through these three addi-
tional chapters. Is an advertisement prefixed to the number
we observe the announcement of a projected republica-
tion of the various writings of Mr. Dickens in a form as
convenient as it is novel, and at a price which may with
perfect truth be termed unprecedented. A rich and
noble casket of wisdom, wit, and the gentlest, humanity,
will thereby be opened indiscriminately to the people.

MARCH 1, 1847.

opportunity so permitted, into the smaller thoroughfares
reading into Piccadilly, Trafalgar-square, the Strand,
Fleet-street, Ludgate-hill, Sr. Paul's Churchyard,
Cheepside, the Poultry, Kin?: William-stree; cox.:
so on by " the silent highway., to the Tcwer
of London. Only once dues he diverge con-
siderably from the main artery of the capital, namely in
his chapter on Westminster Abbey, Westminster Hell,
and the Houses of Parliament. As may be readily con-
jectured, the main portion of the two volumes is com
posed of recollections more or less modern, the more
antiquated parts of the city having been either consumed
by the great fire of 1666, or obliterated by the encroach-
ments of time, or the innovations and improvements
effected by the ingenuity of man. Some conception
may be formed of the difficulties which present them-
selves to the antiquarian in his researches through the
metropolis, when we remember that the birthplace of
Chaucer ii a spot altogether undiscoverable, and that
the famous " boar's head" in Eastcheap, immortalised
by Shakspere, as the resort of Prince Hal and Sir John
Falstaff, stood on the very spot now occupied by the
statue of William the Fourth in King William-street.
From the restriction, therefore, of the present work,
simply to the line running from Piccadilly parallel with
bile Thames, it is manifest that Mr. Smith's work can
only be regarded as one of a series in a delineation of
London. Those who bear in recollection the glorious
papers published some yeas s since in Blackwood's Ma-
goalie, by John Fisher Murray, and entitled the
" World of London," will know how much may be
written upon the capital of Great Britain without ex-
hausting the subject. And that impression will only
be confirmed by the perusal of those two volumes.
The deficiencies of the work as an antiqua-
rian ramble in the streets of London are
too apparent to require enumeration, but they are
such deficiencies as it would be impossible to cast in
depreciation either at the writer, Mr. J. T. Smith, or
the editor, Dr. Charles Mackay. Both those gentlemen
have performed their labour of love with industry and
talent. As far as the work is concerned individually it
is complete ; it is only us an antiquarian account of
London in the abstract that it is so marvellously incom-
plete and unsatisfactory. One word alone upon the
title-page redeems the production from a charge of in-
sincerity, namely, the word which designates it as a
" Ramble." A desultory ramble enough it certainly is,
but a pleasant one withal, and from the beginning to the
end the author chatters away with a voluble and delight-
ful fund of information. It would be almost as super-
fluous, if not as preposterous, as the presentation of a
brick as the sample of a house by scholasticos in the
" Witticisms of Hierocles," to quote a mere fragment
from the chapters herein contained about the streets of
London. We shall leave the literary fabric of Mr.
Smith unflawed by the abstraction of a solitary
brick, dismissing it from our consideration with senti-
ments of gratitude for the pleasure which its perusal
has afforded us. The author of " Nollekens and his
Times,'' has here presented his countrymen with a legacy
appropriate to both donor and donee.

THE SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENA OF DO-
MESTIC LIFE, familiarly explained by C. F.
Gower. Second Edition.
This is a most interesting and instructive little work ;
its object is admirable and it is admirably carried out.
In his introductory observations, the author remarks
that, in the present intellectual age, while it is customary
to teach children " every art, every science, and every ac-
complishment that the mind of man can suggest, we
too often forget to teach them that which would turn all
these to good effect : we forget to teach them to think,
to reason, to observe. It is for this purpose that this
little book has been written ; it is to illustrate the great
book of nature." In all books of instruction, the man-
ner of teaching is almost of as much importance as is the
matter that is taught. The ars cetare orient is h-re most
necessary ; it is desirable to give information without
seeming to teach. Children, and indeed persons of all
ages are generally willing, and often delighted to learn
but they cannot bear being taught. Hence there are
doubtless many who will experience much pleasure, and
derive much profit, from the perusal of Mr. Gower's
little volume, who would turn coldly and carelessly away
from the very same information, if conveyed in a more
pretending manner. But perhaps the most valuable
quality of this work is, its so ably fulfilling its author's
intention of inducing people to think. In ordinary edu-
cation, far more is thought of learning by rote than by
reason ; it seems generally to be forgotten, that the
great object of education should be to cultivate the mind
rather than store the memory. It is not the absolute
knowledge of certain facts that is desirable, but the
improvement that the acquisition of such knowledge
should occasion in the intellectual powers. To under-
stand one thing, however simple it may be, is infinitely
more advantageous than to possess superficial informa-
tion regarding a hundred. The best system of educe- '
tints is undoubtedly that which secures both objects, af-
fording information in such a manner as to make it tend
to develop the reasoning faculties. Such is the system
pursued by Mr. Gower. Taking as the subjects of his
investigation the common occurrences of daily life he
enables us to understand what is going on around us,
and by showing what wonders are contained in things
apparently the most simple, he induces a habit of thought
and inquiry. Thus beginning with the bed room, he
tells us bow the frost is formed on the window ; why
the marble feels so much colder than the carpet, &c. ;
and so on through the succeeding chapters of the “ Break •
fast Parlour," where the tea-kettle gives rise to an inte-
resting account of the discovery of steam ; the " Morn-
ing Walk ;" the "Study ;" the "Summer's Evening ;"
" Navigation—Latitude—Longitude ;" and the " Sea-
shore,' In each of these chapters the explanation of
any little incident or object imperceptibly leads the way
to some more important information ; thus we learn
what effect the moon produces upon the tides ; about
atmospheric pressure ; the barometer and the atmos-
pheric railway, &c., &e. In visiting the kitchen we are
instructed in the mysteries of bread-making ; in the walk
in the fields some useful information is given about
evaporation—practically useful indeed. We are told,
that evaporation produces cold, and " for this reason re-
maining in wet clothes is dangerous ; the evaporation
that takes place, during the time they are drying, carries
away so large a portion of heat from the body, as almost
certainly to induce cold, and all tho thousand diseases
which follow in its train. When a person is obliged to
remain in wet clothes, the best method to adopt is, to
prevent evaporation, by covering them with a makintosh
or any other garment that will keep the moisture
in." The perusal of this little volume, besides
affording useful knowledge on subjects of
which many, even educated persons, are ignorant,
must necessarily have a beneficial effect upon
the mind and hearts of its readers•, upon their minds by
habituating them to look around with a spirit of in-
quiry, and by enabling them not only to learn, but to
understand, how certain effects produce certain causes ;
and it can hardly fail to have a beneficial influence upon
the heart, for it is hardly possible to contemplate the
wonders, and admire the beauties of creation, without
increased sentiments of veneration and love to the great
First Cause whose power and whose goodness has pro-
duced them. Such sentiments have evidently influenced
the writer, and, let us hope, will influence the readers of
these " Scientific Phenomena." As a brief epitome of
the wonders which surround us, we transcribe the
author's concluding observations, and dismiss the little
volume with a most cordial recommendation.
" To the observing mind an hour never passes with-
out food for reflection. The rich, though often unculti-
vated soil of human intellect, will be constantly furnish-
ing us with subjects :or contemplation. The air in
which we breathe, the earth on which we tread, the
broad expanse of ocean, and the starry vault of heaven
above us, are all replete with wonders. The vegetable
kingdom alone would afford subjects for a lifetime. The
flowers that draw their nourishment from the soil, the
air, and the dew, are all furnished with functions suited
to their different natures ; some turn their delicate heads
to the cheering rays of the sun, and seem to drink deep
from that fountain of light and heat, and close their
petals the moment he parts from their view ; whilst
others hide themselves in the shade, and shun the ai;-
proach of day: to each Nature has appointed its propr
place, and proper powers for keeping in the station
allotted to it. In the brute creation we may observe
the same order. To the domestic animal she has given
strength and docility; to the beat of prey, the eye
espable of piercing the darkness, and agility to seize on
its destined victim; to the bird of passage she has give n
strength of wing, and a wonderful instinct to direct its
Hight. Again, if we descend into the depths of ocean,
fresh wonders meet our view—from the mighty whal-,
the monarch of the deep, dow n to the diminutive min-
now, each as perfect as the other, though on so different
a scale. Then, turning to the insect world, we see the
laborious ant heaping up her store for winter coostirnp-
thin; the bee, building her hexagonal cells with a regu-
larity equal to that of the nicest architect ; the spider,
weaving her delicate thread to catch her prey ; the
glow-worm, ' with its modicum of light.' sparkling in the
dewy grass ; each with its separate sphere of usefulness,
each separate insect affording a fresh theme for inquire;
and, were it possible to exhaust all these, one glance at
the microscope would again overwhelm us in endless ob-
jects of research. The secrets hidden in a single drop
of water, which the microscope has revea'ed, arc alme,-.t
beyond our conception, discovering to us myriads of
beings filling every atom of creation, and forming a
word of which we scarcely know the existence. But
even all these sink into nothing when compared with the
wonders of the starry firmament, where thousands and
thousands of suns, each the centre of a system of worlds,
peopled perhaps with beings destined for immortality,
are nightly presented to our view. The extent, the
magnitude, the harmony of Nature, fill us with awe and
admiration, and we are lost in the contemplation of the
attributes of that Being whose Almighty arm supports,
controls, directs, and governs all."

NORFOLK ESTUARY COMPANY. This company
held their first half-yearly meeting on Saturday, at the Bri-
tish Hotel, Cocksptu-street, Lord George 13:ntinck, 11.P* , in
the chair. In the course of his address his Lordship an-
nounced that in consequence of the present depressed state
of the money market, and from other causes, the directors
had come to the determination of recommending to the
shareholders that no further step should be taken towards
out this project until the next half-yearly
carrying meeting,
to be held in August next. The statement of accounts'
showed that the items of expenditure to February, 1847,
were
/.; the engineers, 8,489/. ; to Parliamentary agents,
1,329/. ; to solicitors, 4,4291. ss. 6d. ; for maps, printing, he.,
5141. 18s. Bd. ; agent at Cambridge, 2511. On the other side
of the account the gross sum, including deposits, Exchequer-
sw. appvv eared to be 25,150/. Resolutions in conformity
bills,
nth the'determination of the directors having been passed,
the meeting separated.
RELEASE OF D. CaomN.—Application was made
on Friday last to the sitting judge at chambers (Mr. Baron
Parke), to allow bail to be put in for the appearance before
the sessions of Dr. Cronin, who had been committed, upon
the coroner's warrant, on the charge of manslaughter. Dr.
Cronin was brought up from Newgate by writ of habeas
corpus, and the judge having carefully examined the depo-
sitions at the inquest, consented to take bail, the doctor in
the sum of 801. for himself, and two sureties in 401. each.
The prisoner was then discharged out of custody.