The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-19 00:00:00

STORM AND LOSS OF LIFE.

TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER l9, 1848,"

DICKENS'S CHRISTMAS BOOK.
THE HAUNTED MAN, and the GHOST'S
BARGAIN. A Fancy for Christmas. ,By Chares
Dickens.

After an interval of twenty-four months. Mr.
Dickens has bestowed upon us, at this festive season,
another of his Christmas stories. He is always wel-
come to us, and more so than ever, if that be possible,
at Christmas. The green covers of his serial fictions
are as pleasant to our eyes as the crocusses of spring,
or the roses of summer, or the mulberries of autumn.
And equally agreeable to us—out of our affectionate
recollections of the " Carol"--are the little crimson
books emblazoned with golden branches of the holly
and the mistletoe, which have for five winters ap-
peared amidst the glooms of December, and spoken to
us in a voice so dear and grateful to our ears as the
voice of Charles Dickens. We have intimated, in the
whisper of a parenthesis, that the pleasure with
which we greet even these little Christmas tales by
Boz, arises exclusively from our remembrance of the
" Carol." We say rightly ; the thought of that exqui-
site book would put us in a good humour whenever
it might recur to us in a moment of dejection ; and,
assuredly, the recollection of it must prove amply
sufficient to make us look with kindly interest upon
any subsequent narrative from the same eminent
hand, coming under the same attractive guise, and
coming, too (be that never forgotten !) to Christmas.
Even when most disappointed in our expectations as
to the merits of the story-teller, we shrink from the
distasteful duty imposed upon us by criticism—
that of quarrelling with his production. We
shrink from it, because we call to mind that
beautiful ejaculation in the " Christmas Carol"—
" For they said it was a shame to quarrel
upon Christmas Day; and so it was, God love it I so
it was." Our predilection makes us disposed
to welcome Charles Dickens on our Christmas
hearth, as the honest folks of Bagdad were wont to
welcome the good fairy—with a benediction! When
we see the dainty little book lying before us after
perusal we experience a sort of remorse, by anticipa-
tion. We ask ourselves, as Pope did in his " Imita-
tions of Horace"—
" Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?"

be calculated. Still Mrs. Tetterby always said 'it was
coming through, and then the child would be herself ;'
and still it never did come through, and the child conti-
nued to be somebody else."

Johnny proves in truth to be a daily sacrifice to this
blessed infant; and in testimony of it we see him on
one occasion, after carrying the Moloch round to be
kissed by the family, stagger across the small parlour
with " hardly breath enough left to get back to his
stool, crush himself again, and pant at his relations!"
'Dolphus, the newsboy, is a worthy brother of
Johnny and Moloch. He enters the shop, dripping.
" • Aro you wet, 'Dolphus, my boy ?' said his lather.
Come and take my chair, and dry yourself.'
" No, father, thankce,' said Adolphus, smoothing
himself down with his hands. I an't very wet, I don't
think. Does my face shine much, father?'
"' Well, it does look waxy, my boy,' returned Mr.
Tettcrby.

"•It's the weather, father,' said Adolphus, polishing
his cheeks on the worn sleeve of his jacket. What with
rain, and sleet, and wind, and snow, and fog, my face
gets quite brought out into a rash some times. And
shines, it does—oh, don't it, though!'
" Master Adolphus was also in the newspaper line of
life, being employed, by a more thriving firm than his
father and Co., to vend newspapers at a railway station,
where his chubby little person, like a shabbily-dis-
guised Cupid, and his shrill little voice (he was not much
more than ten years old), were as well known as the
hoarse panting of the locomotives, running in and out.
His juvenility might have been at some loss for a
harmless outlet, in this early application to traffic, but
for a fortunate discovery he made of a means of en•
tertaining himself, and of dividing the long day into
stages of interest, without negl, cling business. This
ingenious invention, remarkable, like many great disco-
veries, for its simplicity, consisted in varying the first
vowel in the word paper,' and substituting, in its
stead, at different periods of the day, all the other
vowels in grammatical succession. Thus, before day-
light in the winter time, he went to and fro, in his little
oilskin cap and cape, and his big comforter, piercing the
heavy air with his cry of Morn-ing Pa-per I'. which,
about an hour before noon, changed to Morn-ing Pep-
per !' which, at about two, changed to ' Morn•ing rip-
per !' which, in a couple of hours, changed to Morn-
ing Popper !' and so declined with the sun into Eve-
ni►ig Pupper 1' to the great relief and comfort of this
young gentleman's spirits?'
The account of the breakfast of the little Tetterbys
would be inimitable but that it had already been
done so well by Dickens in his picture of the Toodles
in " Dombey and Son." Here, however, is the pas-
sage :
" The little Tetterbys were not habituated to regard
that meal in the light of a sedentary occupation, but dis-
cussed it as a dance or trot ; rather resembling a
savage ceremony, in the occasional shrill whoops, and
brandishings of bread and butter, with which it was
accompanied, as well as in the intricate filings off into
the street and back again, and the hoppings up and
down the door-steps, which were incidental to the per-
form ance."

Milly's exclamation throughout the close of the
last chapter, " Oh dear, oh dear, here's another of
them I Oh dear, here's somebody else who like's
me I" is a repetition of the reiterated simplicity of
Dot Perrybingle. A nameless little barbarian brat of
a boy figures in the narrative, and is only ageeeable
inasmuch as he gives occasion for an eloquent and im-
passioned apostrophe in behalf of the miserable chil-
dren who are nurtured in the ragged schools. Edmund
Longford the student, his lady-love, George Swidger,
and take reprobate who ruined the dOmestic happiness
of Re law are only so many picturesque dummies.
The whole interest of the narrative is absorbed
in the proceedings of Redlaw himself, of
Sophia and Adolphus Tetterby, together with their
peripatetic offspring, Mr. William Swidger and his
buxom little wife Milly ; but beyond all of them, to
ourselves at least, Master Johnny and " the Moloch
of a baby I" The book—which is gracefully illus-
trated by John Leech, by Clarkson Stanfield,
by Frank Stone, and by John Tenniel
concludes with a Christmas dinner in the large ban-
quetting-room of the old college, at which, of course,
Johnny and the Moloch arrive " all on one side and
too late" for anything but the chesnuts. Although
we cannot speak in very eulogistic terms of " The
Haunted Man," we, in consideration of his former
writings, felicitate Charles Dickens upon the indis-
putable fact that he has no occasion to exclaim, with
the gentleman in the ruff and pointed beard, " Lord,
Keep our Memory Green I"

tions with reference to uture appointments to the Ex- •
cellent gunnery ship at Portsmouth, but which, it is
hoped, will not be enforced.
OBlTUARY.—Assistant-Surgeon William C. Torrance
(1845), of the Royal Naval Hospital, Port Royal,
Jamaica, died at that establishment on the 24th of Oc-
tober, aged 24 years. He was. eldest son of Collector
Torrance, of the Excise, Greenock.
NAVAL FORCES IN THE HOME PORTS.
Now that Sir Charles Napier's squatiron have taken
their departure, the following is the aik-ength of our
naval forces at the home ports:—.
Beginning with Deptford we shall find that i.herie is
not a single pendant flying. There is not flll apo-°gY
for a man-of .war there.
Woolwich is almost as deficient of seagoing ships; ,enr
besides the Fisgard, 20, commodore's ship, with a com-
plement of 106 officers and men; the Black Eagle, Ad-
miralty steam-yacht, complement 32, and a solitary
steam-tug, there is only the Teazer, 3, screw-gun-vessel,
complement 38, Lieut. Cammander Selwyn, in com-
mission.
Chatham presents us with the Poictiers, 10, ordinary
depot-ship, complement 290, as the only representative
of the active forces of the navy, if we except the Fear-
less, steam-tug.
Sheerness, one of the principal and most important
of our home ports, has not a single seagoing ship in
commission. All that are there are the Ocean, 46 guns,
flag-ship, complement, 160, and the Wellington, 10,
depot-ship of the ordinary, complement, 270. The only
vessel fit to perform any service away from her mow-
ings is the Wildfire, 6, steam-vessel, with one gun and
24 men—the admiral's tender, or yacht. Now that the
Ganges has left for Cork, there is not a single ship at
that port in commission, either fitting for sea or pre-
paring to be paid off.
Portsmouth—the rendezvous of our home strength—
has only one steam-vessel in commission, the Devasta-
tion, 6, Commander Johnson, that can be called " ready
for sea;"—that is, the only vessel that could be dispatchd
on foreign service. The Blenheim, 56, screw. guard-
ship, Captain Austin, C. 8., is here, but not " ready for
sea;" but her complement, 265, with, we believe, 100
supernumeraries, could be made available for any of the
advanced vessels. The Superb, 80, Captain Purcell, is
fitting, and has nearly all her complement—that is, only
her advanced complement of 469; but she is not avail-
able for sea service, nor is she likely to be, from the
extensive defects which are daily being discovered in
her, in spite of the paint and putty. The Victory, 22,
complement 174, is the stationary flag-ship; the Excel-
lent, 48, complement 692 (less about a score of vacancies
for officers not filled up), is the stationary gunnery-
ship; the Illustrious, 10, complement 416, is the depot-
ship of the ordinary. Then there is the Rolla, with the
200 apprentices; and the Fairy, Royal yacht-tender;
the Firequeen, steam-tender ; the Myrtle, steam-tender;
and the Echo, steam-tag—and Re had almost forgotten
the Bee, steam-tender, and the Fanny and Portsmouth,
admiral's yachts.
Devonport, the no lets important and westernmost
port, has less force in its neighbourhood than Ports-
mouth. There is not a single man-of-war lying in that
noble, capacious, and safe anchorage—the Sound. The
Caledonia, 120, Captain Carter, advanced line-of-battle
ship, is in harbour. Her complement is 540, but of these
some 82 or 100 are in the Racer at Lisbon. There are
two of the Falmouth packets refitting—Penguin and
Express, 6 guns and 40 men each, and there were also
the Llewellyn, 2, Holyhead steam-packet, 35 men, and
Confiance steam-tug, with some 20 or 30 men; but these
are all the vessels that could be put to sea on an emer-
gency. Besides the above, there are in commission at
Devonport the San Josef, 14, flag-ship, complement, 160 ;
the Agincourt, 10, depot-ship of the ordinary, comple-
ment 416 ; the Nautilus 6, with 200 apprentices ; there
are also the Sylph tender, that has not been to sea
for a great many months, and the Netley tender, that
has dune a great deal of work, but is now to be put out
of commission.

We have thus given the entire naval forces at the
home ports, and from these lists our readers will be best
able to draw their own conclusions as to the amount of
efficient force which could be made available. We will,
however, only add one remark —namely, that the Cale-
donia, at Devonport, could be got to sea only by lock-
ing up the ships in ordinary to take care of themselves,
and drafting the shipkeepers, with the few boats' crews,
from the depot to make a respectable complement of
hands for her.
There are some very able and good men, petty officers
and A.B.'s, on the books of the flag-ships at the ports,
but most of them are on their six weeks leave, and few
only are available.—Heruld.