The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-31 00:00:00

of the Tleneel 's it is (mien? his ea:-;
productions, .e) it is tenong his be•e--lee',:c his inn:
nation he I 'become deranged and his judgment
torted. Of the magnificent History of-the Norman
Conquest of England;" by Thierry—noble, wonder-
ful, unfortunate Augustin
Thierry I—what
he said ? No praise could scarcely be. .excess:ve.
The work has been placed among • the phenomena
of historical compositions by the acclamation
not merely of Frarce but of Europe and of the
world. May the applause from so many countries in
honour of Thierry carry consolation to him in the
depths of his bodily woe I may the light of his fame
which is now burning brightly, and cannot be extin-
guished but with the extinction of his language;
compensate his great heart for the darkness of his
solemn eyes I These who cell sympathise will
geniis in calamity will assuredly be fain to weep
over the subjoined description of the great French
historian as he now lives, and breathe*, and suffers in
the valley of Montmorency. The biographer describes
his making a pilgrimage to the cottage of Thierry
for the purpose of seeing that sublime spectacle, " a
great soul struggling with physical pain." He
arrives there, with some friends ; they are seated
together in the parlour with the historian's wife, and
his brother M. Amedee Thierry, "in whose melan--
choly countenance we may read the depression of his
fraternal heart." The writer cannot
,join in the con-
versation : he is impatient for the advent of the illus-
trious man he had come to see :
" At length I heard the sound of approaching steps; a
door cn my right opened, and a domestic appeared, car-
rying on his back a man, blind, paralyzed; incapable of
movement. We all arose : my heart was penetrated
with emotion, of a being so powerful in intellect, so
powerless in body; the domestic in his every nictien
exhibited a respectful solicitude that sensibly affected
me; he seemed thoroughly to appreciate the value of him
he bore. He bent gently towards an arm chair, in which
he deposited his charge, enveloping the lower. part of the:
motionless frame with a wrapper. This done; in an in-
stant the scene changed, and I at once recalled a
passage in the Essai sur la literature des Anglaise,
where M. de Chateaubriand describes the visit of
a contemporary to Milton. " The author of
'Paradise Lost,' attired in a black doublet, reclined
in an arm chair ; his head wa4 uncovered, his silver hair
fell up n his shoulders, and his fine dark eyes shone
bright in their blindness upon his pallid face.' It was
the same head. with the exception of the white hair, that
I now saw before me ; the same face, more youthful and
eieorous, the nob!. st blind face that can be conceived.
The head was firmly set upon broad shoulders ; glossy
hair, of the deepest black, carefully parted over an ex-
pansive forehead, tell in curls beside each temple ; be-
neath their arched brows opened the dark eyes ; but for
the vagueness of their direction, I should have imagired
them animated with sight ; the nose was of the purest
Greek form ; the mouth, with lips fine, delicate, and ex
pressive, seemed endowed with all the sensibility of
which the eyes had been deprived ; the finely turned
chin had a slight dimple at its extremity ; there was in
the contour of the face, and in the general expressien
of the physiognomy, a remarkable combination of energy,
subtleness, and sedate tranquillity; the tones of-his voice
were clear, well poised, and distinct, though, from his
feeble health, not sonorous; his baring was, in the
highest degree, elegant; the lower portion of the frame,
as I have said, was paralyzed, but the movement of the
bust and of the arms was tree; the ha':ds, of which eel%
the forefinger and thumb appeared capable of action,
were gloved.
" P. hen the name of the lady who had introduced u.
was announced to him, the hand erne bi=nd man smiled.
and like the smile of Chaetni in Rena, " that Neill • f
the mouth. unaccompanied by the smile ot the f.y..s par-
took of the mysterious and of the cdo-tial." The I, dy
approached him, and Tnierry kissed, with a etivairous
air, the fair heed placed in his own.
"Conversation once fairy begun, that fit e head seerred
as it were radiant in the light of the intellect still tint e
within. I here- been in the company of in Iny persons:
who have the reputation ot good ta,kers, stid de talk
admirably, but I nave perh,tps never heard ;my -
thina comparable with the colloquial la,tguate
of M. Augustin Thierry, in fAehity, persnieu•ty,
elegance. It is, doubtless, the habit of diet ttioo
that has given so much of style to his convi.-sa
lion; but whatever the cause. it way indeed- be Slid of
him, that nith,.ut any etf.g,, without any aff,etaf ion
whatever, he really ‘spetk,4 iike a b ok.'
" One of our party, M. Anil I e, was preparing to de.
part for the East; be had no sooner mcntioned the cir-
cumstance, than NI. Augustin Thierry discoursed to us
of the East, in what, for thought and language, was an
absolute p.;etn; this blind man knows evert thine recol-
lects everything; that which he has not seen Nai.h the
eves of the body, he has seen with the eyes of the spirit.
Lire Milton, he is acquainted with nearly all the Euro-
pean languages. One of his friends told me, that he ha;
sometimes heard him in the evening, seated in his gar
den, beneath the pale ray of the setting sun, singing.
with his feeble voice, a love song in modern Greek; and
at such moments, added my informant, he seemed to
me finer than Homer, or than the unknown Klepht, who,
himself, perhaps also blind,. had composed the verses he
was reciting.
" Throughout the conversation, to which I was a silent
and attentive listener, I could detect in M. Augustin
Thierry not the slightest trace of selfishness, and the
least self-reference ; on the contrary, on the contrary,
he who had been so cruelly tried by fate, spoke of the
sufferings and infirmities of others with the most un-
affected and touching commiseration. And thus, from
day to day, does this martyr to science intrepidly pursue
the task he has imposed' upon himself ; at times only,
when his pains are most racking. he is heard to warmer :
Oh, that I were only blind !' Except in such moments
of depression, which are short and far between, and

iiscernahle only by his must intimate associates, M. Au-
4ustin Tbierry seems more a stranger to his own con •
dition than are those who surround and listen to him ;
science, history, poetry, anecdotes, remeniscences of his
youth—he applies to these and all other subjects the
same full, rich, elegant, nervous, noble diction ; every
shade of thought is reflected on ois lips. At times,
when an idea of a more peculiar grave and lofty cha-
racter arises in hi mind, you can discern a movement in
the muscles of the eye ; those blind eyes, the dark pupil
of which stands out in bold relief from the corners, open
wide ; the thought within seems essaying to make its
way through the opacity of the ball, and, after vain
efforts to effect this, returns within, descends to the

lips, which receiving it, give it forth, not only in lan•
guage, but witi. the expression of the look ; from time
to time, the blind man passes his poor weak band over
those, in every sense, so speaking lips, as if cherishing
the precious organ, enriched for him with all the facili
ties that the other organs have lost. The two hours w

sp:snt with him seemed not a moment."
Alfred de Vigny's historical romance is too well

known, and too generally appreciated, to require any
detailed expressions of approbation. The European
Library will be a treasury of knowledge and enter-
tainment.

CONTINENTAL COMMUNICATION.—The South-E.tst-
•rn and Coottnentil Steatu-shtp Company's vessel. tY.
Queen of the Belgiani, sailed from ForKestone for Bou-
Nne at halS-put beven o'clock Thursday evening, with
3 passengers and one carnage. The awe Steamer re•
turned to Folkestone, on Friday morning. with 82 pt.,-
sengers and one carriage. The steatio.r Q•ieeri of tr «.
French ranched Fulkestom. harnour on To osdiy eve
ng at nine o'clock. with 58 pas,eetrt rs and two carriug.•s
ind sailed nom for B on Fr;day.
WAKEFIELD CORN MARKET. FRIDAY.—The cp Ki-

tinuance of brilliant weather has its usual effect upon the
minds of our millers; they purchase wheat most sparingly
a decline of 10s. per quarter. and sotne forced saes have
been male at a still further reduction. Barley nominal
Oats 2d. per stone, Beans 2s. to 3s. per quarter, arid Shelling
ss. to 6s. per load lower. Another version.—We have a ci,o-
tinual ce of fine warm weather, which has great ialueesco
upon the trade bere to-day, notwithstanding there is no lii-
provement in the arrivals. The business done in each article
is extremely limited, though" considerably reduced prices
would be accepted.

THE LATE.MR. O'CONNELL.—A letter front Genoa
of the 20th, in the Gazette de Lyon, says :—" Yesterday
the burly of O'Connell was transported to the church
Della Vigne, where his funeral obsequies were celebratkd.
A considerahl.‘ crowd tiled the church, amongst whom
were many of the chief persons of the city. All the
consuls, except the English, were present. The consul
of the United States was in his official costume. The
body is to be placed in a chapelle ardente until removed
to Ireland. On the urn in which his heart has been
placed, is the following inscription :—" Daniel. O'Con-
nell, natus Kerry, obiit Genum, die 15 Man, 1847.
Atatis sum nun. LXXII.' "

Stu JoHN BECKETT.—The health of the Right
Hon. Baronet., we understand, continues to decline, notwith-
standing his removal from his residence in London to the
salubrious air of Brighton.
THE COLONIAL BISHOPS.—St. Peter's day, the 29th
of June, has been appointed for the consecration of the
Right Rev. Drs. Grey, Tyrrell, Perry, and Short, the newly-
appointed Bishops for the colonies and dependencies of toe
British Crown. The Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by
inhabitants,l
Town
Chronicle.ri
eio,
In
: enEnt
the Bishops of London, Winchester, and Durham, will per-
form the ceremony, which will take place in Westminster 1
Abbey. Arrangements are in progress for erecting Sierra
Leone into a distinct episcopal see, to which a Bishop will
soon be nominated.
Amongst other means of enabling the poor to meet
Aht;ommissioners,
and a
la
the pressure of the present circumstances, Indian meal,
which for months past has been an article of extensive
consumption in many of the great towns, is being brought
into use in Essex In Chelmsford, we find, arrange-
ments have been made by some of the millers for supply.
ing it at 35. per stone; and bread mgaoedfteawbaolyefss.i_t,itc;letaiikicithesj-si' we
have have tasted, is certainly a very pleasant, and appears a very
.tituDtereisgredflionura
avnadrievtye
OF TOWNS BILL.--The petition to Par-
enxuctreiltleionutsTsfuooubd:
in favour of the Government Sanatory Liii,
town of Cowes has been signed by nine of the
number of
and the county Member is to be requested
to present it, and support its prragyeern.
unty
Government the
other
is doing its part; and if the people do not do theirs, they
must no more complain of the badness of the drainage
or the want of water.
THE POTATO BL
latter part of 1 icifT.—The piercing winds at the
ast vr,..0, cut up the growing crops in the
low grounds round Newport and Cartsbrook, and put c.n
them all the
appearance of their old enemy—the potato
blight. The gardeners all were frighten. d; some of
them still '
will have it that n the
. rotat..e. were struck !,,,
Thursday and Friday morning.; ,others say it w :,. s
frost; but-certain -it is't.hry are, fast recoverirg, and tit ,
the pJt4totts all over the island never gave promise of a
Liner crop. Every deeeripti nof gra n end grass look.
well; the weather is everyt' h,g thftt ~ulrl tie wisi,ed, .1;.(i
there is more corn in rick ;Lii.t store than the holders ;in
swilling to arknowl, cl,,e; ni..ny who c.,uiti hardy i e
sp..ken to a week .ince are now rulmiab about with Visit