The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-14 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR,

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited the
Queen yesterday at Buckingham Palace, and remained
to luncheon with her Majesty and Prince Albert.
His Royal Highness Prince George visited her Ma-
jesty yesterday.
Her Majesty and her Royal Consort took their usual
early walk yesterday. His Royal Highness Prince
Albert afterwards rode out on horseback, attended by
the Equerry in Waiting the Hon. Captain Gordon.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of "Wales, Prince
Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, tok k
their accustomed walks and rides yesterday in the plea-
sure grounds of Buckingham Palace.
The Royal dinner party at Buckingham Palace yes
terday evening included the Duke and Duchess of Buc-
clench, Lord George Lennox, and Captain Francis
Seymour.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended
by Lady Augusta Bruce and Sir George Courier, Bart.,
and their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge, attended by Baroness Ahlefeldt and Mr.
Edmund Mildmay, honoured the Earl and Countess
Howe with their company at dinner yesterday evening,
at their residence in South Audley-street. After din-
ner the illustrious guests and the noble directors of tha
Concerts of Ancient Music accompanied Earl Howe to
the llanover-square rooms, to honour the performare:.
of the Concert of Ancient Music with their presence ;
the Noble Earl being the director for the evening.
Prince Castelcicala, the Neapoiltan Minister, trans-
acted business yesterday at the Foreign-office.
The Metropolitan Railway Termini Commission met
on Tuesday, at the office, in Whitehall-place. The
Commissioners present' wer.•, Viscount Canning, the
Right Hon. J. C. Herries, the Lord Mayor, and Sir
Frederick Smith.
The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had a
general meeting yesterday. There were present, the
Bishops of Winchester, Bangor, Carlisle, Chester,
Chichester, Gloucester, and Bristol, Hereford, Lincoln,
Liandaff, Norwich, Oxford, Ripon, Rochestsr, Salisbury,
and Worcester, the Earl of Devon, the Earl of l3ess-
borough, and the Right Hon. H. Hobhouse.
The Mayor of Sunderland had an interview with Sir
R. Peel yesterday.
Captain Stokes had an interview with Mr. Secretary
Gladstone yesterday, at the Colonial-office.
The Bishop of Carlisle had an interview with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official
residence in Downing-street.
The Solicitor-General transacted business yesterday
at the office of the Board of Trade.
Dispatches were sent off yesterday evening. from the
Colortial-office, for the Governor of the Mauritius.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council sat
yesterday. There were present the Master of the Rolls,
the Vice. Chancellor, Knight Bruce, the Chancellor of
the Duchy of Cornwall, and the Judge of the Admiralty
Court. The appeal from the Arches Court, "Black v.
Rackhane," was concluded. Mr. Wigram, Queen's
Counsel, was heard on an appeal from British Guiania,
" Macrae (Attorney of Campbell) v. Goodman." The
case was adjourned.
Lord and Lady William Compton arrived at Farrance's
Hotel yesterday.

LITERATURE.

OUR OWN TIMES. _ Illustrated by George

Cruikshank.

The frontispiece to this number is an admirable serio-
comic etching of the interior of the Ragged School,
West-street, Smithfield. From a descriptive paper on
ragged schools, we extract the following observations,
which are worthy the study of all who take an interest
in the advancement of real education :

"Despite the cheering symptoms observable amidst the
noise, confusion, and ignorance of the ' Ragged Schools,' we
left the place impressed with a conviction that their founders
were courageous and zealous, warm-hearted and enthusiastic,
but feeble pioneers. Their conduct deserves all encourage-
ment, all praise. It is lack of aid and backing, not of heart
and good-will, which prevents them from doing more than
indicating the path, to tread which we must have skilful
organisation and a formable power. Moreover, the con-
ductors of the' Ragged Schools' are too sectarian, and not
suffiziently practical. It is not enough to teach neglected
children chapters from the New Testament end hymns from
Dr. Watts. Many of them cannot afford to be honest.
They must steal, or if they would rather not starve, become
inma.es of our workhouses. What we should recommend,
and like to see established, would be practical work-schools.
We should teach the children trades as well as indoctrinate
them with dogmas. We should make them good carpenters
or blacksmiths as well as attempt to render them zealous
Methodists or strict Episcopalians. We should have a child
taught honesty, and then enabled to pursue it. What is the
use of telling an urchin that theft is wrong, when he will
starve if he does not thieve ? No : tell him certainly that to
steal is a crime, but teach him hew to live without stealing.
To do all this, we know, demands great resources and power-
ful influence. Why cannot we have both? Hundreds of
thousands are annually subscribed for educational and mis-
sionary purposes.
"Let it be the merit and the praise of the ' Ragged Schools'
that they have indicated a class; that they have pointed out
an outcast grade of helots—of home savages—at once our
terror and our disgrace—a class, than on the reclaiming and
educating of which money could not be more beneficially
or more wisely bestowed—a class for the accommodation of
which the more schools we build we shall simply have to
erect the fewer prisons." _ _

One of the most humourous papers in the present
number is " The British Lion," by Alfred Crow quill,
the illustrations to which are very good ; and George
Cruikshank's illustration to the paper on Spoons is one
of the most quaint specimens of pictorial fun we have
seen for many a long day.

THE PATRICIAN. No. I. Edited by John Burke
Esq., Author of the " Peerage.'
This is the first number of a periodical devoted ti
genealogy, antiquities, heraldry, and general literature.
One of the most novel features of the Patrician is at,
annotated obituary of the month. The Patrician is
well got up, and the name of Mr. Burke is a sufficient
voucher for its scrupulous accuracy in all matters relat-
ing to genealogy or titles of honour. It will henceforth
be the authority on the subjects on which it treats.