The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-07 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

THE UNION OF CHRISTIANS. A Poem. By
John Tod Brown.
Readily is the confession made that we commenced
the perusal of this production predisposed to be
pleased. The exquisite outline which forms the
frontispiece, and which would alone constitute Mr.
Paton a worthy disciple of that wonderful artist
Retzsch, seemed to indicate that the letter-press, of
which it formed the illustration, could scarcely be of
an inferior description. But, above all, the title of
the work--" The Union of Christians"—especially
coming from the pen of a clergyman, was sufficient
to have propitiated the most churlish or indifferent
reader. We have read these eighty-eight pages,
and we have been more than disappointed ; we have
mourned the production of a book so ungenerous and
superciliOus. The poem is dedicated to Sir Culling
Eardley Smith, and, although it particularly observes
that the name of that Honourable Baronet " is em-
perishably identified with the progress of spiritual re-
ligion, irrespectively of sect or party," the entire
production is nothing less than a torrent of abuse, and
ridicule, and vituperation upon all the various religions
Coming under the generic title of Christianity
'We will give a few samples. Of the " Independents"
the author says :
" But what the porcupine that bristles there,
And dares you to invade his lonely lair ?
*
Too independent, let him not maintain
That brother bodies drag the clog and chain,
Would rather that his deadly darts were thrust
Through the foul heart of unbelief and lust ! "
He then calles the belief of the Quakers " a haze of
visionary lies," and afterwards compares their creed
to a child's watch :
" Its face seems right, but if inside
;you try,
Strait you detect the stationary lie. '
Speaking of the Free Church, he exclaims—.
" Hush ! from gruff Scotland breaks a furious bark!
What thus can make a Babel of the ark ?
Oh !—twins fast spliced as Siamese have split,
And at each other logically hit," &c.
Episcopacy is next assaild, as—
"A bird of state blessed with well feathered claws,
She crows o'er all conventicle jackdaws," &c.
With similar elegance he alludes to the Presbyterians,
and, speaking in their name, begins—
"We Presbyterians blue, replete with starch,
Naked as elephants, majestic march," &c.
Baptists are typified ornithologically, namely, as
something between ducklings and geese :
" A fowl domestic waddles o'er the ground,
Which ne'er is right, till half in water drowned," &c.
The unfortunate Romanists are likewise bespat-
tered with slang epithets; the author meekly remarks
of their church, that—

" That scarlet strumpet excommunicates
Each thoughtful son her dictum who debates," &c.
Methodists, according to his lively imagination, are
little better than rooks :
" See ! on that new-built farm they perch and gloat
O❑ straws," &c.
Infidels, Socinians, Worldlings, and divers other
classes, are treated precisely in a similar strain ;
ugly adjectives of all kinds crowd the couplets, and
the whole poem closes with an impassioned eulogium
on Messrs. Smith, Bickersteth, James, Noel, Bunt-
ing, Montgomery, and others. We give Mr. John
Tod Brown all possible credit for having intended to
promote brotherly love, and to ensure, if he possibly
could, " The union of Christians," but let him take
our plain, honest word for it, he has been altogether
mistaken. He has been mistaken in imagining such
lines as those we have quoted at random are poetry,
and he has been mistaken, most grievously mistaken,
in conceiving that sarcasms so coarse, and derision
so universally scattered about, could in any manner
tend to the fusion of religious parties into one har-
monious band. This little book is calculated, more
than any other production we have seen for many
years, to promote the Dis-union instead of the union
of Christians.

A HISTORY OF INVENTIONS, DISCOVE-
RIES, AND ORIGINS. By John Beckmann,
Profesor of Economy in the University of Gottingen.
Vol. 11.

This, the second volume of Francis's Translation of
Beckmann's History of Inventions, completes the
work, and Mr. Bohn has done the cause of literature
good service by reprinting it in his standard library.
The editors, Drs. Francis and Griffiths, have donetheir
work well, and we know of no book which, in such a
small space, pleasantly conveys so large an amount of
curious information as Mr. Bohn's edition of Beck-
mann. It is a perfect repertory of useful and enter-
taining knowledge.

COURT CIRCULAR.
WINDSOR, TUESDAY.—The unfavourable state of the
weather prevented her Majesty and his Royal Highness
Prince Albert leaving the Castle this morning.
The Royal Family were alio prevented from taking
their airings in the forenoon.
Her Majesty rode on horseback this afternoon, accom-
panied by Prince Albert. The Lady in Waiting, and
Colonel Buckley, Equerry in Waiting, and Colonel F.
H. Seymour, Equerry to the Prince, were in attendance
on her Majesty and his Royal Highness.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the
Princess Alice took a carriage airing in the afternoon,
accompanied by the Dowager Lady Lyttelton.
Their Royal Highnesses Prince Alfred and the Prin-
cess Royal rode in the slopes, on ponies, this afternoon.

The Marquis of Lansdowne, Lord President, and the
Marchioness of Lansdowne, arrived at their residence
in Berkeley-square, on Monday evening, from the con-
tinent. The Noble Marquis attended at the Council-
office yesterday morning, and in the afternoon left town
on a visit to the Earl of Clarendon, at his seat, Grove
Park, Watford, Herts.
Sir Valentine Blake had an interview with Lord John
Russell, on Monday, at his official residence, in Down-
ing-street. _

Dispatches were sent off yesterday evening, from the
Colonial-office, for the Governor of Gibraltar.

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

-
Madame Anna Bishop has created quite a furore at
the rehearsals of Balfe's opera, The Maid of Artois, in
which she will make her delpd to-morrow evening. The
opera has been considerably changed to suit Madame
Bishop's voice, which is a pure high soprano of much
power and sweetness. She sung the new recitative, " My
thoughts which forth had wandered " in a style that at
once proved her a first-rate artiste; and her execution
of the aria following was replete with powerful effect and
brilliant execution. The new ballad, " Oh, what a
charm it is to dwell," introduced by Mr. Balfe, is a
charming composition, and ante to be a favourite; there
is a sweet Irish strain in it that captivates every ear, and
when sung by Madame Bishop, with all the feeling she
infuses into it, will be a decided hit. Our musical
readers will recollect the splendid finale, " The rapture
dwelling ;" we anticipate great success in this favourite
moreeau. Mr. Harrison is to perform Jules. We per-
ceive Balfe has changed the aria, "My soul in one un-
broken sigh," to a very beautiful ballad, composed in a
highly popular style. The scenery, by Messrs. Grieve
and Telbin, is entirely new, not a vestige being available
of that used in 1836. 'The other characters will be filled
by Miss Collett and Miss Isaacs, Messrs. Borrani, Bur-
dini, Weiss, S. Jones, and Horncastle.

ALDERMAN WOOD. —A t a meeting of the Ken-
sington Institution, last night, held at their rooms, F.
R. Cornwall, Esq., chairman, the following resolution
was proposed by Mr. Roy, and seconded by Mr. John-
ston :—" That this meeting, considering the conduct of
Alderman Wood to have been in every respect upright
and honourable, is of opinion that Alderman Wood has
been most unjustly deprived of his civic right by being
passed over for the office of Lord Mayor." Messrs. Poalot
and Walter opposed the resolution, which was supported
by the Chairman in an able speech, in which he severely
condemned the conduct of the Tines newspaper in at-
tempting to influence Alderman Carroll's election by
slandering his opponent, and concluded by stating that
he thought the thanks of every liberal minded man was
due to the editor of The Sun for the manly and honour-
able way in which he had assisted Alderman Wood in
his endeavours to obtain justice for himself, and credit
for the Livery.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. Murray would
call the attention of the meeting to a paragraph in one
of Alderman Carroll's advertisements, stating that the
Liverymen who had voted for Mr. Wood were of the
" lowest class." He repudiated the assertion, and cast
it back on the men who had thrown it, for every pos-
sible device was used, and no expense spared, in bring-
ing up Carroll's supporters, while Wood's friends went
to the poll unsolicited and unbribed, influenced solely
by their admiration of his (Alderman Wood's) qualifi-
cations, and of hatred to the persecution to which he
hadput,
thirty-sevenbeenw a s scuabri
ateiie
cevdte
rib 102 to 13. In the majority were
~
e(Cneers.) The resolution, on being
n whilst there were only four in
the minority. After a vote of thanks to Mr. Cornwall
for his conduct as chairman, the meeting dissolved.

---
It is stated to us, on what we believe to be un-
questionable authority, that the French Government—
or, in other words, his Majesty Louis Philippe—has de-
manded the surrender of Don Carlos Louis Comte de
Montemolin by the English Cabinet. We hear that the
reply of Lord Palmerston to this monstrous requisition
was the only one a British Minister ought to make—
that England was a free country, and that any foreigner,
no matter what might be his political opinions, was en-
titled to an asylum so long as he respected our laws.
au
movements
But the vindictiveness of the French Government shows
itself in every form. The Journal des Debuts, as our
readers will have seen in our paper of yesterday, puts
goiveegments in London. To
the Carlist cause—
afosrttah
statement t ofe purposee n
rta
alleged of
dn
this statement, in all its particulars, we are enabled to
give the most positive contradiction ; whilst we rejoice
to think that the efforts of the Court of the Tuileries,
however unscrupulous, have mot effected their object in
t hc
i
restraining loyal and devoted Spaniards from returning
to their country in the hope of aiding the royal cause.
Accounts have been received, announcing the safe arrival
in Catalonia of Major-General lion Juan Burjo, Bri-
gadier-General Don Jose Sobrevias, and a great number
of field-officers and others of inferior military rank.—
Pest.