The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-18 00:00:00

!BUTTON TRADE.

Ma EDlTOR,—your report of a trial in gra
TO THE EDITOR OF THE S UiV.
e Court
of Queen's Bench, Bradshaw v. Lavender, on Ale 13th
instant, where an old law was attempted to be Put lit
force, which has for its object, the prevention of
metal, ann
has (-Awed very great anxiety amongst t
d.
escription of button being manufactured otherwit ce that,
portion of the community, the rule being evident 1Y re
fused upon a very nice point. , may
It appears that this almost obsolete act, not. tiv
affects the interests of the manufacturer, but, if sttrlciol,
enforced, also unbuttons the pockets of the pablic..
it was shown, are equally liable to the penalty of to
shillings fur wearing buttons which, using the Ivor 03,,,5't
the act, are made of cloth, serge, drugget, freize, ca,133,'
or other stuffs of which clothes are usually made. f
A few words from you would cause the obliteratio,
_
ld
this absurd enactment from the statute-book, and
restore confidence, very many at present feeling_ 14,7_
each hour may bring the commencement of lega-IPle`ii,
ceedings, which, albeit, they cannot always be suetls,4.
are nevertheless extremely vexatious and are ever'
tended with a loss of time, if not of money.
We are, Sir, your
J most respeetruli3;,,.
H., ~ and D. NlC°'
114, Regent-street.

the
A PETITION FROM HAM.—At the French Opera,
other night, a deputy declared he had seen a petition,
number of citizens of the town of Ham, demanding steps to be taken
with the English Government to reinstate Prince Louis Napoleon in
his prison. The reasons stated are, that on the death of the King!
Prince Louis might make another attempt, and cause the sheddl
of French blood. The petition concludes by the ingeigous remark.•
that since the nephew of Napoleon'is ,no infiger:witMn the ;ea
very few strangers visit the town. In case of Abd-el-Kader
taken, tllO7 claim WA Lacarcorativa to On Ortrels a( Um.
S
by a

LITERATURE,.

.111ENOIRS OF COUNT GRAMMONT AND
CHARLES H.
In this additional volume o: his " 4tandard Library,"
Mr. Bohn has presented his readers with a work more
interesting than any romance, more moralising in the
lessons which it inculcates than any polemical discourse,
and more fraught with worldly v.isdom and experience
than any book r;l7 adventures. There are assuredly few
lovers of Eovlish literature, at especially of that rich
rein of 0%1 native literature—our biographical library—
but have already familiarised themselves with the
metro:Ars of Graairnont. Supposing this to be the case, a
reperusal of them will not prove unacceptab!e, seeing
that they tend to illustrate the most romantic passage
In the history of Great Britain. Through its pages
they may recognise how the Merry Monarch" dallied
with the capacities for good which he possessed, how
,4 Villiers flaunted and how Sedley sung."
They will mako their introduction, or renew their ac-
quaintance (according as the records are familiar or
strange unto them) with the must prcfligate Court, the
most bewitching ccricubines, the most licentious volup-
tuaries, the most insolent displays of vice and de-
bauchery the world p2rh spa ever witnessed in a palace
of Christendom. And while their hearts will revolt at
the reflection, that ";,43 such polluted hands the destinies
of their country were at one period resigned, tht it sym-
pathies will be excited, even in favour of King Charles,
by the fre._ittent evidences given by him of a uatura:
goodne!,a cf temperament and of a healthy character
of iratellect. Loving these traits of gentleness,
thas will lothe the more the habitual profligacy
with which they were covered and almost ob-
literated. It is scarcely possible not to recognise the
fact that profligacy is rather attributable to the encite •
mews to viciousness which were born of the events of
the age, to the decoying guise of his familiar associates.
Buckingham, Rochester, Sir Charles Sedlev, and Sir
George Etheridge, rather than to any predisposition to
debauchery in the Sovereign. There is a curious re-
action in society immediately upon the re-establishment
of authority after any revolutionary or r)public
movement ; and this fact is traceable in all kingdoms
and in all generations. In England the recall of th
Stuart dynasty to the throne, after the dece Ise of the
Protector, was a signal fir the utmost laxity in the
national morals, the seat of government being itself ti e
head-quarters of sin. Just in the same manner that upon
the inauguration of the Directory in France, ater th 4
execution of Robespierre, the most loathsome immo-
rality, not only in manners but aAnally in dress, rioted
in the Tuileries and the streets of Paris. Oliver had
curbed by a steady rule and a vigorous genius what
Maximillian had only managed by the most devilish
cruelty and the most sullen despotism—namely the
Spread of vice ; the English were awed into virtue, the
French were frightened into it. And directly the un-
natural restrair ts both of puritanism and of terrorism
were removed, the popular spirit recoiled with three-
fold violence in the opposite direction. There is one
fragment in the present volume which of itself is worth
seven times the cost of the entire collection—we mean
the reprint from Pepys's account of the Escape of
Charles the Second from Worcester, "as dictated to
him by the Kinag himself," and a right extraordinary
series of hair-breadth escapes from discovery is this docu-
ment. It is infinitely more dramatic than the escape of
Caleb Williams, and infinitely more thrilling than the
escapes of Gil Blas—because mounded upon fact, and be-
causO of the more remarkable character of the incidents.
Waile we are following Charles, disguised mss a servant,
in the town of Burporr, the bveways and court-yards of
which are crowded with round-head soldiers ; and while
the monarch goes blundering in among the troopers,
leading his horse by the bridle, our heart is (to use an
old country phrase) "in our mouth." The volume
altogether is a rare one for interest and instruction.
We commend it with confidence for its union of ro-
Mance and reality, if not for its uncommon likeness of
" pretty Witty Nell Gwynne."