The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-02 00:00:00

ART AND LITERARY GOSSIP.

The Athenceam says, that the Parliamentary Committee
of the Society of Arts, for procuring a reduction of the
charge for postage to one halfpenny for four ounces of
printed matter, has been joined by 122 members of
Parliament. In France, the agitation for a reduction of
the Stamp Duty on newspapers is assuming a defiuite
shape. —A complete Shakspeare grammar, treating all the
points in which his phraseology differs from modern
usage, is in the press, written by the Rev. Edwin A.
Abbot. Every part of speech, with its flexions,
and every phrase are dealt with ; the poet's
prosody is treated in the same manner.—
According to M. Pouchet the architecture of birds has
changed with that of men. In former day, when its nest
was built against Gothic edifices the swallow made a
semi-globular nest with a very small rounded entrance,
but in the new streets of Rouen its nests are
now •found of a semi-ovoid instead of semi-
globular shape, and the entrance is a long transverse cleft.
A friend assures ns of a fact which to many will seem
incredible. A parliamentary paper is out of print, and
that paper is an artistic one ; it is " The Twelfth Report
of the Commissioners on th Fine Arts, 1861," and the
price of it is threepenee halfpenny. This publication com-
prises among its appendices Mr. Maclise's " Report on
the Stereochrome or Water-glass of Method of Pamting.l
The Graphic says :—" This year's Royal Academy
Exhibition promises to be a most interesting one—a series
of surprises—many artists having laid aside their well:
known. style and struck out in new directions. ' Mr.
Calderon has deserted his charming princesses forallegory,
and Mr. Orchardson has boldly ventured to sea in a north•
country fishing coble. Mr. Edward Armitage has sur.
passed himself this year in two fine pictures- of Geth-
cottage scenes, has
still keeping to his simple, touching,
semane and a scene from Asop. Mr. Faed, although
never painted in so masterly and sweeping a style, in his
b Maid. most admired,
Watts
nha
si s
this year's picture, " The Day's Work is Done." Mr;
Val Prinsep will display his great powers to advantage
" and
in two works of a totally different nature, and we are
Ruczzlleeodpattera,lpoorwhis
a flying, laughin%
smaller work, symbo sing a grand range of mountains,
both fine works by this true artist. Mr. Yeames has
an important work representing the ceremony of washing
the poor women's feet ; and Mr. Story (always remem-
bered by his inimitable " Dancing Lesson ") has this year
w"hPicahrlowuiril.
two pictures for exhibition, a " Singing Lesson " and
"Only a Rabbit." Illness, we are sorry to say, has been
rife among our friends, and every one will be sorry to hear
that neither Mr. Leighton, R.A., nor Mr. Nicol, A.R.A.,
will be represented this year.
Music is dragged into all sorts of speculations wits a
view of keeping them afloat ; tut a contemporary recently
made a novel use of the art by recommending the shares
of a new Mining Company—silver of course—to its
trusting readers on the ground that a Gentleman,i
1, lowa n the musical world, was on the direction.
Dissenting chapels of the old school, with their tiers or
galleries,, have often been likened to theatres ; but at
Hanley, in Staffordshire, we understand that the theatre
which is shortly to be pulled dawn to make way for a new
and handsome structure was in reality a Methodist
meeting-house, the only alteration made on its change of
tenancy being the erection of the stage.

The Medi,•al Mirror says :—M. 0. Liebrich has pointed
out in the Paris Academy of Sciences that strychnine is
an antidote to chloral. To each of two rabbits two
grammes of chloral were given—one was injected with
millegrammes of strychnine. Four hours later the animal
which had been thus treated was quite well; the other
died. Another rabbit which had had no chloral received
by injection the same quantity of strychnine and died. -
The number of eminent violinists playing in Paris this
season is remarkable. During the past week no less than
three well-known soloists—M. Sivori, Herr Lauterbach,
and M. Poussard played at orchestral concerts ; and it is
worthy of note that in each case their chief successes were
obtained IN the performance of classical music.

A SERIOUS OBSTACLE TO AN EXECUTION.
The execution of the convict Rutherford, who is under
sentence of death for the murder of a gamekeeper named
Hight on the estate at Eriswell of the Maha-
rajah Dhuleep Singh is fixed to take place at
Bury St. Edmunds Gaol next Monday week.
There are great doubts, however, as to the possibility of
executing him, for he possesses a malformation of the neck.
He was severely burnt when he was youpg, and now the
chin is connected with his neck by a band of flesh in a
straight line. Dr. Alacnab, surgeon to the gaol, fears
that any attempt to hang the unfortunate man would be
attended by prolonged suffering, and might cause
a very unpleasant scene. Representations to this effect
have been made to the Home Secretary ; but no reply has
yet been received. Rutherford has made no confession of
guilt ; but does not deny it. Since his incarceration, he
has been taught to read, and he reads hisßible attentively.
He appears perfectly resigned to his fate.

LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET.-(THIS DAY.

Sales probably 10,000 bales. Dlarket dull.

THE WEEKLY PRESS.

A DANGEROUS EXAMPLE.

The Saturday Review, in discussing the Bridgwater
Bribery trials, thinks that if the conviction of Mr.
Fenelly is important, still more important is that of Dr.
Kinglake. Everyone paid Dr. Kinglake the highest com-
pliments. He belonged to a distinguished family, he was
a man of means, he occupied an independent position, he
was in his way a typical man, the pink of local respecta-
bility. He was the sort of man who, if he bribed, would
make all his neighbours think that bribery was somehow
quite right, quite the gentlemanly, honourable thing to do.
Whatever little of conscience there might be at Bridg-
water as to bribery would be sure to be seared when it be-
came known that the excellent, the esteemed Dr. King-
lake had made arrangements for bribing. Casuists who
are continually speculating as to whether it is morally
wrong to commit simony would find their doubts melt
away very quickly if they understood that the Archbishop
of Canterbury was not above taking a cheque for a living.
At Bridgwater people probably know nothing and care
nothing about simony and the Archbishop of Canterbury ;
but they knew Dr. Kinglake, and when they felt inclined
to give bribes they would naturally watch what view their
good and admirable neighbour took of such a course.
What demoralisation must have spread, as on the wings of
the wind, through Bridgwater when it was whispered that
Dr. Kinglake was among the bribers ! He did not at all
like the business ; he even revoked the authority to pay
money which he had given. But the mischief was done.
In one sense few persons ought to throw stones at him.
We do not wish to exaggerate his offence. Ho only did
what thousands of men as virtuous and as highly placed
as he have done, and would do again to-morrow if they
dared. Bribery is not thought really wrong as yet in
England. It is beginning to be thought wrong, as public
opinion is being gradually formed against it. The forma-
tion of such a true and right public opinion as to bribery will
be aided more by the conviction of Dr. Kinglake than by
what, we trust, is the inevitable disfranchisement of
Bridgwater. If men like Dr. Kinglake could be once got
to shrink from bribery as they would from perjury, then
the whoie weight of the respectability of the country
would be brought to bear against bribery. Until this is
done, bribery will always go on more or less ; but it is
impossible to doubt that a step towards its being done has
been secured in the conviction of Dr. Kinglake.