The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-07 00:00:00

thusiasm with which the performers were evidently en-
dued; and, though exercised in a wrong spirit, I could
not help feeling respect fur such a display of piety and
perseverance, especially when it is considered that the
eather, and particularly the room, were very hot,
" The strange mixture of barbarism and refinement
perceivable in these meetings has induced me to make
inquiries respecting their origin and object; but I have
experienced great difficulty in getting my questions
candidly answered. There seems to be some mystery
with which I, as a stranger, am not trusted, or else there
is a feeling of shame which they cannot help expe-
, riencing when talking to a foreigner upon a practice
which they are aware must be-looked upon by him as
ridiculous and barbarous. The consequence is, that
I am invariably told that the object of the meeting is
mere amusement; this my foregoing description will
enable you to perceive is not the case, though I believe
that in it amusement is iu some measure mixed up with
the religious observances.
" The following is, however, the conclusion I have
arrived at, after much thought and study. These people,
as you very well know, have (comparatively speaking)
suddenly emerged from a state of utter barbarism; in a
time when our countrymen were highly civilised, they
were savages. In those days of darkness great religious
meetings occasionally took place, at which human beings
were sacrificed; and while the devouring flames were
consuming the miserable wretches, the crowd danced
frantically round their funeral pile, drowning their
death-cries with the sound of barbarous music: now, it
is these horrible rites which, in my opinion, are still
kept up in a mild form in the modern Evening Parties.'
It is true the human sacrifices are no longer considered
necessary, but the other observances are still similar,
although refined as much as it is possible to refine any
practice in itself so barbarous and repugnant to common
sense or decency; and it is not surprising, and, indeed,
may be considered excusable, th,it some traces of their
original state should remain amongst a people so recently
emancipated from the degraded condition of savages,
but it is to be hoped that the practice will gradually re-
cede before the march of civilisation and improvement."
We have two excellent historical disquisitions, the
one on the Crusades and the other on the Inquisition ;
an excellent biographical sketch of the reigning Pope,
illustrated by a vignette portrait; and the best con-
densed account of General Rosas, and of the state of
affairs in Buenos Ayres and Monte Video, that we
have yet seen. The sportsman will be delighted with
"A Sporting Excursion in Canada ;" as will the lover
of light literature find the " Adventures of a Stick "
exactly to his taste. There is, moreover, some very
good poetry in this number. " The Scholar's Death
Summons" is a beautiful ballad, and " The Baron of
Puffendorf" stamps its author at once as the legiti-
mate successor of poor Barham. If he have not the
blood of the Ingoldsbys running in his veins, certain
the mantle of Thomas Ingoldsby has fallen upon him.
The Union, if it continues as it has begun, cannot but
prosper.