The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-06 00:00:00

CHRISTOPHER 7ADPOLE. Part. VI.

In the opening chapter of this part, Christopher
is introduced to the interior of Gudge's Villa, at
Brompton, and having been fittel out in a second-
hand suit of page's costume by a Jew client of
Gudge's, appears as the " Buttons " of the establish-
ment, whose duty it is to attend to Mrs. Gudge in her
peregrinations, and to drag the "Olive" round ,the
neighbourhood in a child's chaise. Sprouts and his
companions, Bessy Payne, Miss Twits, and the Jolly
Man, after their sudden ejectment from Gudge's
chambers, adjourned to a steam-packet, of which the
brother of the Jolly Man is the steward, where they
finish the evening, the Jolly Man undertaking to
attend the ladies home, while Sprouts, having no
place of abode, sleeps on board. The following de-
scription of a summer night on the river is as true as
it is beautiful :-

" If you have never passed a summer night upon the
river as it flows through the metrepolis—and the
chances are, that circumstances have never offered you
the chance of doing so—you cannot conceive how. much
of the beautiful, and even romantic, still hangs about
our cold, common-place, money-getting London. You
must wait until the roar of swarming life has been stilled
in the streets and on the bridges ; and all traffic has
ceased upon the water; until the house-fires have nearly
all died away, and the moon is shining down from the
clear heaven upon the sleeping city. And then Venice
itself is scarcely more beautiful. For the outlines of the
very warehouses, aofteaed in the tranquil light, assume
picturesque forms that might be palaces with less effect ;
and the spires of the churches, with their vanes faintly
gleaming, rise sharp and white in the air ; whilst along
the banks, mingling with the larrip-i, here and th,:re, red
fires break out, reflected quiveringly in the *voter, and
throwing the Coitus of those who move abut them in
giant shadows upon the adjoining buildings, seen on the
open wharves, and through the arches, in the bluish
misty distance, whoa the other lights bezomo mere
specks. Lesser lights, too, twinkle like eyes from the
heads of ships that lie in clusters on the river, which
flows on, breaking the reflection of the moon into dan-
cing flashes, and gurgling and eddying with a subdued
noise by the sides of the craft, and the piles and but-
tresses that divide its course. The appearance of a
great city in the repose of night is always impressive,
but chiefly sr) when viewed from the water, as the feeling
of entire isolation flings an additional el.arm of interest
over it."
In the morning Sprouts repairs to the establishment
of the Jolly Man, who turns out to be a proprie-
tor of advertising vans, and by his interest is engaged
by an old widow, who combines the occupation of
tobacconist, librarian, and newsvendor, as her assist-
tant, and here he unexpectedly meets
.with Bessy
Payne and Miss Twits, who have always patronised
the establishment. The Gudges give a grand dinner
party, to which Sir Frederick Arden is invited, and
to which Mrs. Hamper, accompanied by her nephew,
a. Mr. Ellis, comes uninvited. The appearance of
Mr. Ellis produces an extraordinary effect upon Sir
Frederick and upon Gudge, who retire together for a
few minutes' private conversation in another room,
where we leave them for the present.

RAILWAY MONTHLY MAGAZINE.
Emboldened by the success of his first number,
the proprietor has reduced the price of his magazine
to a shilling, and has stamped it so as to secure its
transmission free by post. Perhaps the most valuable
piece of railway intelligence in the present number
is the verbatim report of the conference which took
place on the Bth of January last, between the
directors of the South-Eastern and those of the
London and Brighton and South Coast lines. Not only
will every shareholder in these companies peruse this
report with attention, but all those who reside along
the course of any of the projected lines, or who take
any interest whatever in Kentish railways, will
refer to this report for information on the subject.
We are glad to find the editor, in the course of an
elaborate article, doing full justice to the claims of
the South Wales line of railway, which have of late
been most unaccountably -overlooked. As he justly
observes. "It is a line of great national and
local importance, and one of the most exten-
sive, if not one of the most useful, which the
country)! has yet produced." The writer gives
a history of the line from its first projection up to the
period of its being leased by the Great Western Com-
pany—a history illustrative of the difficulties which
the sinister interests of local authorities, and the
ignorant prejudices of official pedantry, are continu-
ally throwing in the way of the best-contrived
schemes for the public advantage. The present
number of the Railway Monthly Magazine is a great
improvement upon its predecessor. It is well got up,
and is a complete repertoire of railway information.

THE LATE MR. JAMES TOOLE.
born in The late celebrated Toastmaster, Mr. James Toole, was
born the year 1796. By his peculiar and humourous ex-
pression, and perfectly original style, he was the first who
established the now indispensable profession of toastmaster;
and the extraordinary success with which he carried it out
for the last seventeen years, at the City festivals, and in fact
in all parts of England, has recently created several copyists,
twhhiso,N,V. niers e anxious to share the business. Notwithstanding
engagements, up to the hour of his death, we under-
stand, ware very numerous. He always officiated to the
Duke of Cambridge, by desire of his Royal Highness, with
whom he was an especial favourite. As a toastmaster, his
equal will never be found. He was a kind-hearted and ge-
nerous man, and subscribed to a great number of charitable
societies. lie had been twenty-two years in the East India
Rouse, where, by his invariable activity in studying the in.
terests of the company, and obliging disposition, his loss is
severely felt and deeply lamented by his superiors and all
who knew him. We understand that, during his illness he
had been very kindly visited by Mr. Melvill, the secretary,
who had probably observed the good qualities which Mr.
Toole possessed.
By this sad bereavement, two sons and three daughters
are left to deplore the loss of an affectionate father ; and we
fear, with the exception of a small legacy, without any fu-
ture provision. The charge of these orphans has devolved
upon his eldest son, who has himself a family. We feel as-
sured that, under these circumstances, some of the deceased's
numerous admirers will step forward and inquire into the
matter. We trust, also, that the eldest son will continue his
father's position as toastmaster. In that case, we shall not
only have the name retained, but almost the man, for the
son has already met with great success in that capacity, and
was, moreover, rapidly approaching the great original. We
wish him every success. The deceased will be interred in
Nunhead Cemetery on Sunday afternoon (to-morrow), from
his residence in Devonshire-street, Bishopsga.te.
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LAMP-LIGHTING BY GALVANISM.-It has occurred
to us, that in this age of shares and electric telegraphs, the
system of lighting the public lamps might be improved, and
the old-fashioned lamplighter, with his long ladler, &c.,
penned with—a great nuisance in populoul places. we
think that the day has arrived when the public lamps should
be lighted simultaneously by the ail of galvanism.—The
Builder.