The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-12 00:00:00

Tllg SUN, LONDON, IVIONMAY MORNING, ,JANTTAMY 12, 1846.

ov
i__
‘.C46IONAL SKETCHES—HERE
AND THERE.
•
No VI.
A A VISIT To PE I.ER PARLEY.
hark we were the other day passing the shop of Messrs.
4sin;lhrtfille:llltvloCrdl:,rk,'on Holborn-hill, the flaming placiar.d.s,
" Do, Mama, buy me Peter Pare)o'f
lehku.al, in letters of amazing size thereon, and a pile
taa,:,la the window, on different subjects, all by this
etl-rrele;_t" Perky, attracted our attention; and it oc-
-04,4 " its. whilst gazing on their scarlet and golden
toight°ers, that a little information about Peter himself
espee. "rtn the subj, et-matter of one of these Sketches,_n
tatichiltlY at the Christmas time, when hs works are so
raia„ in deciand as presents for all the little masters an
4118.,0f these three kingdoms.
OS-
trise 11 who has not heard of this celebrated and ind b
r`l4 ‘?iter ? Why, there is scarcely a family to e
ill, hi:rtlich have not welcomed him to home and hearth.
'ißhted childte g°sstPlitil pleasantly by the fireside to the de
aid:n of tar' away places—of barren deserts
rititsley regions- of burning mountains and buriede
tato,_"°, f earth, sea, and sky and the wondersbetheenree-
setene • ' with '
with .„ enig—of art, all its treasures—of- i :
cliarel.sis its discoveries—of poetry and its thousandhas
bared prose and its countless attractions. He
tsclgrn his young readers through the starry skies
iosiels-'-i, with them in his c-mpany,
.through
,the
litre; 0.1 the earth, "where the diamond.ligh.ts up the
(114‘.41.1°,e-•• Then-he has told them storiesfascinating“
4 tal f>" stein to "point a moral" as well as to adorn
4 l'all_°:" Cheerful Cherry," of " In,q,uisitive.Jac,k, ;iv' ofit to tlime
t,iii,r,otter and Dick Bold,e,r,o4haantdtoln
Do."
and
other s., , . Persevere and Prosper,
ways uett titled narratives, helped to make. wisdom's
ItoodewaYs of pleasantness. Truly the children are
Anal•fittlly indebted to Peter Parte) !
t lap ' tit not those who, after all, are only " children of
rer growth," affect to despise the writer of such
okettleicooks as we have alluded to. Genius is never so
Nee__ as when it condescends to people of small
Itrit . anti it requires eenius of a peculiar. ordertr .t_o
et4r children : let those who think otherwise yl
Ile ,o arley possesses this gift in an eminent. degree.
laid thlllallisicates knowledge without seeming to teach,
Iltsedereitt lies the secret of his great and well-de-
thidreP°Pularity as a story-teller for, and instructor of,
Lik
ittkititt: ''t eminent characters, Peter has had hosts
pil-
l 4, td4,4,,,,a°ftle of them sad blockheads, who have pi
1 Z sorieb•-uwtA from him but his " good name," in order
,a,
~,,---- tearasei
thereby. The productions, how-
Ih.Oiriitltdileas " Per's Freaks" of literature lack all the
-41 4 R 7. Originalite which characterises those of the
Peer I,lllian Pure) but as we shall have presently to
etirt°pLa Matter, we w will let our readers know who
bltia,4leY really is.
-',l cheats Pretty and •picturesque suburb of a large city,
totta2ii,thia village there is one of the most charming
litlace48111" the world, shadowed 6y graceful American
:aecl 1,,e." surrounded by alantbus, chesnut, and do
;40a ''''. Enter the door, around the trellis-work of
ill find
PAtraetilartico luxuriant creepers twine, and
try
ornament, ertni 1 of furniture in which, whether
te article
the perfect taste of itsd
(tksi,rictures by 'th . best English, European,
.an
Ire '4l masters- k' the walls, and articles
$, if,
It. adorn • .
situ
thew lscattered about in various parts of the room.
I\)tillde it'd" we have a charming view of the sur-
Itt!tiledil-tiettl.crttrles Away to the right rises the capitol-
, tans, a r t Boston; every house, although it is 3 miles
e.-411 ,37'., and almost every separate brick, distinctl
."' 'I 4)
4an'Par and e is the atmosphere. Before
tt,,erti,jea
iiiii7nt p
kilTanci wt,
srhouti,d a -beautifuluro sheet of water, which in
proudf as a lake, sparkles in the
thitifi,tllindo t° cur left,u and far away, the pretty church
,lite.e,„•l4nt eottages of Brookline gleam amongsteat
1."'l t't.A.4 fet °f green - Thro, gh a glass-moor we step
it_t tir a. ~.
-4
f --
Luegard • of the most picturesque I epver
„.'isaid ',lire
landscape
has done as much and more for it than i
4744,"" have entered the h•- art of any
widener Itisa Laidon even though he might be, tt.norcmoend-
ata eltswork and water-courses are sires y
tttl hurt, the best picturesque artist in the world, and
0,,t1: let ~eelt wily called in as a mere supernumerary..
l'ittd- " return to ,he shaded room we have just
itilk4a and sun is absolutely raining down his fierce
jade ut mitince thermometer stands in the shade at 96.
4,44., tier
i day even so far north as Boston is no
1 t `idlust it is u u lly warm is proved by a.green
Ileit4h:l ''hil„11,1411 •• blbbirad- who (a rare thing in the
° utit—cmi) Ps ihng in the bell of a trumpet vine
bl/441tYllide t 11,4 w indry
til'ut,,laiiii-,41‘1 walk into the library, Sir?" says a servant,
'Ned witnhg her, we were usherd into a small room,
lip .
l'" 4 D 'Wiles, books, and pictures fair "
444°e/ileum,' cordially welcomes us. It is PETER
,t', ,y ',,, 'ii!l,elf—the beloved of boys, and the
Meal , girls• He is tall, and rather. slightly
lor . moment he has laid aside a large
44 51 a i spectacles,
and we observe
iett he 11110ked g-a." of very bright small inteli
11644,44 sale4-V!slis aasnda softi .uarnclkindly in their expression.
hih‘Jisit psed him an elderly,bald-headed, venerablei
etiZw.hie-'haln—he was quite the reverse of theapnidetpuraert?.
t, 1'144 had hung up in Y. own private
li/,''' h ta chamber. - Over at tn
beautifuhlilsyfsehaatpureeds
werehead
0tti1t:44,601, crisp, curly: dark hair, And
'bei youthful in cast than
half entury old, for
J tt I "Ittui mieah to be supposed in
Ns take , g to a man of some
H
was about the best
is, 411, ' be about his age.
bNe,, all I had met in Americae, and the whole ap-
,i.,:t!'et4tlid, bearing of Peter Parley was that of thed
iti„loss „I.'gb-bred gentleman. Of his mental gush-
i'itta •,,-„"lh are not, as they. ought to be, appreciated
kt,'°isreil'llrS; I shall presently speak.
itlll 11,41.'eY's real name is SAMUEL GRISWOLD GOOD-
tititt:.lyiehtsis_se son of a clergyman of Connecticut, a
te11:4,4z 441;ra
jeaS.ent4•rortGhomodorirechliwtearaary men than any
educated in thein
batiks :„..eb°`-'1 i f his native home, and soon afterait
ittk age of
in the
le, at of twenty one he became engaged
114eral ye Publishing, at Hert'ord, where he resided for
les'4lth 114' In the year 1824 he was compd by
1444 4.14' travel, and he visited Europe, and travelled
lie_atqt'i:lind, Prance, Germany, and Holland, devoting
foreduca-
!r4hll.! No)., yarticularly to the institutions.
14 Dvq„:!, Ts return, having determinedto attemt an
li:oo, "1' In books for the young, established himself
qtlß,,n_ititl commenced the trade,. or profession, as i
Since that time
Ili, 4 pri,,MilY called, (,f authorship.
tiltlirs',.(tat'cl acme thirty and odd volumes under the.
ki''tit'at t-,e(ltllb::_Peterparle
ini," which have passed through
11:k,r4so, ft, ,r of editions America and in this country,
141,.'• ' tilt, in have been translated into foreign ka-
t' 'luso ' kzoodrich informed me that a friend of his
c'titt Y rne .
ate, a, and t with one of his books " done into
t;''arliesti• b4re seen a Constantinople edition of one
tik gorse ohf the " Parley" series.
'l4l-14t.ed a(),rtit'f,e works more than 50,000 copies are
sktes t„ite..,,!.lelly. In 1824 Mr. Goodrich published
iii Iltii
trijea, ..". the first annual which evrtipp
to edit it.
of x 01.1.7 for fourteen years he continued
s,,gleh 17 144 time he contributed most of the poems
ti I whils
" 'ltt e la known to be the author. They
swsereailsl
11'144i'le te actively engaged in busi.ne .
des,
tt, '4,, cict,ation" was composed in sixty
ofle
N4;14 4:,, 'l,,,ischarig super duties as a M
embebrlishing
1144 ashrt),:e'. ° rate, and ntending
tiLii,Tirod4:l attd his numerous other.pirtties workspu have
4,,,',1!,ti 8-.! a With almost equal rapidity, In 1837 he
I.illTh ) el "'llirnft entitled " The Outcast,y. and other
pre-
that c)es,t °f the e.obtents of winch had been re-
-1110, Ivii:i:issi ; an, iii 1841 "Sketchesfrom a . b
kb:. had a"nv," " „r prose and p,,ety witing
~ ap a collection
:e "The Token" and
PrelioutP"ared originally ""
as p
1.)111(4,1,.
"lim.'tr Pa', in America
,4 ', '''V . America,
of patronising an . has
b 4 tic) it , In the way r
if any, have.. ien.ethsoorriin
and
h
t't. as ol ti twin a question whether any one else
he - pro 4e ito
~r, qiin, wets,
~,.. prove thestyle
engraving.
4,4Perted !Li arts of
of boFokormaaniouafgacttuimree,
,',lkk „e4t tt,* lie' "gland,
and to him the art of engraving
nt
''.4' Vet' nn' '4 I,gland, one of the first of American
i
44 Pasi.7llredly is greatly indebted for its present
-
tll4;;laoreit°. It is believed that he has pu.t in circu/a
141 441 te, • •
fl V. ,: allot
to millions of volumes of his own pro-
s'vie.'s (-)f fo,wnich inculcate pure morality and cheer-
l•ltlol his „ e• His style is simple and unaffected, the_.
0411:i'''se tneiodious, and his subjects generally
tirsi,t4 afiltl„.espable of treating most successfully.
ltsa N kg: Goodrieh's poems are remarkably bean-
-1)1,e°41,,t1:4r o'le°llll he, is principally. entitled
in Egland
~,rlt4 Ilt p , • . urell ti books, he is entitled tot ake a
-,liti l'. for `,l.tln in the ranks of those who have
141q4,14"Ildreti of a larger growth. Scores_ otof NI . nom, Y articles. which have been attributed. .
I%alillt is , and Powerful pens,were written by him ,
114. biz aitil:llY, (!tle to ouru subject that Samuel. Griswold
fll caimans' Ilkil be as well known in the literary world
'qt 041,6 ant)rate productions, as is Peter Parley by
4taks3,lt:" goicibe_cks.for children. The latter have won
f
4 it, nlliiti,i4, " 41111.00 S " from the wise and. good. o
irrof, and s; the former entitle him to consideration
1-4(): ttil4 and
vigorous thinker and writer.
t'liittl th-Q'tiP' in the course of' conversation, that he had
Nti," toll -,,111,'_, or - Peter Parley," as he wished the
I,‘ VIVa, -"'lren to be' related by a gossipping old
'4,,,411 `"ho could talk and " parley " with them.
134.c..10tie',N,t used it, I little thoughts" said he,
,that
3;tit'sr,lll4,,,a 741‘:':;;°_1(1: he better
.known. than my OWD. '
V,:414,'1; ln the :.estrous panic which occurred some
1,,,, Y sett With-s.tnerlcan money-marker, Mr. Goodrich,
ii'llt Likais ,xt aundreds of others,
tith Illicit' erit• Previously to the calamity be had
was a sufferer. to a
.hs'sl'e aro .3' , beautiful Mansion at Roxbury, near
'l43's l'' I", illy i lodge of very elegant design.
t'11,4,' la he Y bad hop t i pend the evening ot 11 S
4tiy)ll44t.tt:i'hT'ajleYrtlia:44%Otiat"
cams
apsed-teonnceeand even of afflu-
,alreary day Peter
l'irt.,lN'l d ,?il his hard work, rkn, found himself' stripped.
Zlsk, rsht,ne°llar, and instead of being independent in
eliels%trtheZ'ailtectot_,ht.,usand dollars in debt. But be
tt,,,1,4tm, Persee,__
(7e pair and acting upon the prin.
fai '' t4mtl:a
wheel
and industry he.had so often in-
:°s_wilhrlePt", 41:nail:el agn7l:e up," but set his shoulders once
with a willing heart and cheer-
teen
0,0. i h, first need life anew He was not so young ,
i)c;s44l.„----lii:i°te books, but the mine was yet un: ' „.atle,it lirki„ I' wits still vigorous, and he recem
I'4lth his g in the veins of knowledge. He was a
t4t114 Q..,18 ac•coancl . St) he sold his large 'house, and,
.'
ttecqiitt? helP,dlished
.wife . and young family,
1s a 4 nitres h gP, which his taste soon converted
,411Ap II I vis,, „ftet " and said Mrs. Goodrich to
Piaide DY es wee ' them a, fty months " we are just
klrityY: 11,1411101gV:,effrebuth,Pre.'; Dyatidan%obt toiled Peter
1)1,. hell, 41 turtu_ e book after book with unexampled re-
ll:ved ii. reati,re,i ch. smiled on her patient wooer, and
taY toilk Still h,..nri that of which chance had de-
N Lit . Still
to, _ . is toiling for the children and I am
N, 1, ,Ileah a ; v‘ithout earring his just wages.
e ,ittle,,'ll bleed will wear out. •, and our friend
*ill. whaj l'YPs hay
e,4,., pe,„
ifl then? L.B
.e gi own less serviceable than of
~'Y 4; ' Nun%
.',.,, brain is still as active, and if you
it,R,
8,44), 4,,,,iran . wilidow of the study any morning
-ap%
4,0. may4l'4 g I.ate, you will see a graceful lady
ti
ile4r‘ li Is to her husband—or, per-
ker composing little songs for

a periodical which Peter edits for children, or
11141 k her inditing some graceful lyric. Mr. Goodrich's
eyesight obliges him to seek the aid of his wife's pen in
this way; and it is not impossible that a certain indescrib-
able. charm which pervade's Peter's 'att.r works may be
ascribed to this circumstance.

Thus have I gtven some account, and a very imperfect
one it is, I f-ar, ttf one wl,ll whose name we have all of us
so long been familiar. He ha: for years been a mysterious
personage to all but a few ;_ and I trust that hundreds of
little (aye, and great) fOlk a ill nut read his works with
the leks interest for having known something of the real
original " PETER PARLEY."
WHIZ.

bPORTING INTELLIGENCE.
MANCHESTER-FRIDAY.

THE DERBY.-15 to 1 agst Brocardo (taken to 251.), 300
to 10 agst lago (taken), 500 to 15 agst Fancy Boy (taken.)
CHESTER Cur.-40 to lon the field. Offers to take 50 to
1 each about Wolfdog, Warp, Little Cassino, The Baron, and
Alice Hawthorn. Very little done, and that to small
amounts.

LETERATUHE.
A GALLERY OF LITERARY PORTRAITS.
By George Gilfidan. Second Notice.

Without exception, this is the most eloquent volume
that has appeared for years ; and in the twenty-six
Portraits which it contains, Mr. Gilfillan has poured
out the whole flood of his admiration and idolatry of his
favourite literary contemporaries. Gifted with great
analytical sagacity, and a strange abundance of lan-
guage, the author groups around each of his subjects
the intensity of his love for them in words of the most
peculiar and appropriate beauty. His style has the
impress at once of youth and age youth in its hot
enthusiasm, age in its discrimination of merita. With
this unpretending-looking book in our band, we
would hazard the assertion that George Gilfillan is a
man of the most masculine intellect, the most tender
sympathies, the most catholic taste, and the most
genuineschool
of c
earnestness
rticirn.
ithat
~has for
His sentencessom etime adventuredr
ae
the
in the
gushings of a heart filled with an affection for
everything noble, and beautiful, and good : they are
occasionally overloaded with magnificence, but that
very failing proves them to have burst forth
honestly and spontaheouly. Ile is cramped by no
rigid rules of composition, he is retarded by no dread
of the hypercritic, his soul is stirred to the in:,ermost
with new thoughts upon each of our great modern
minds, and his gratitude to them rolls forth in all the
sincerity of an ardent nature, But what renders this
volume so strikingly original is the audacity with
which its writer seizes upon all sorts of epithets,
rugged or euphonious—hap-hazard—without a mo-
ment's pause for selection, anxious only to clothe his
sentiments in just such expressions as may recur to
his memory on the instant. And though, at first
sight, this peculiarity might savour somewhat of a
blemish, it imparts- such an air of truthfulness and
fervour to the entire work, that we should regret the
diminution of such a characteristic. In this respect
some passages resemble the florid energy and
glitter of oratorical displays, rather than the disquisi-
tions of authorship—the impetuous music of the
lips rather than the out-fhwings of a pen. He heaps
allusion upon allusion, he iterates iteration, he gra-
diates step by step up the complication of a climax
in defiance alike of length, intricacy, and obscurity,
yet sustains throughout such a brilliancy of t»eta-
phor and force of language, as to roa,,e the interest
and startle the imagination. As an evidence of this
singular and really fine propensity, take the following
synopsis of Carlyle's " Sartor Resartus :"
, "We have only of late become acquainted with this
singular production, but few books have ever moved us
more. It turned up our whole soul like a tempest. Who-
ever h is struggled with doubts and difficulties almost to
strangling—whoever has tossed for nights upon his
pillow, and in helpless wretchedness cried out
with shrieks of agony to the God of heaven—
whoever has covered with his cloak a Gehenna of
bitter disappointment and misery, and walked out.
nevertheless, fii m, and calm, and silent, among his fellow-
men—whoever has mourned for • all the oppressions
which are done under the sun,' and been ' mad for the
sight of his eyes that he did see'—whoever has bowed
down at night upon his pillow, in the belief that he was
the most .retched and God-forsaken of mortal men—
whoever has felt all the wanderer in his soul,' and a
sense of the deepest solitude, even when mingling
in the business and the crowded thoroughfares
of his kind—whoever at one time has leaned
over the precipices of Mount Danger, and at
another, adventured a step or two on that dreary
path of destruction, which led to a wide field
full of dark mountains, where he stumbled and fell,
and rose no more ; aLd at a third, walked a gloom
amid the glooms of the valley and the shadow of death—
whoever has, at last, attained not peace, not happiness,
not assurance, but child-like submission, child-like faith,
and meek-eyed blessedness let him approach, and study,
and press to his breast, and carry to his bed, and bedew
with his tears Sartor liesartus,' and bless the while its
brave and true hearted author. But whoever has not
had a portion of this experience, let him pass on, the
book has nothing to say to him, and he has nothing to
do with the book. It is above him like a star—it is
apart from him like a spirit. Let him laugh at it
if he will—abuse it if he will—call it German trash,
transcendental Neologism, if he will—only let him not
read it. Its sweet and solemn Evangel' —its deep
pathes—its earnestness—its trenchant and terrible
anatomy of not the least singular or least noble of human
hearts—its individual passages and pictures, unsurpassed
in power and grandeur, as that of the Night Thoughts'
of Teufelsdrockh, when he sat in his high attic, alone
with the stars'—the description of his appearance on the
North Cape, behind him all Europe and Asia
fast asleep, and before him the silent immensity
and palace of the eternal, to which our sun is but a
porch lamp,' the discovery to him of the glories of
nature, as he felt for the first time that she was his
mother and divine,'—his wanderings in vain effort to
escape from his own shadow'—the picture of the
power and mystery of symbols—with all this, what has
he, the reader of Martin Chuzzle%it,' and the New
Monthly to do ? These be may comprehend and enjoy,
but the other !--

Still from a mere fragment, glorious though it be, no
conception can be formed of the copiousness, fire•like
emphasis, splendour, elaboration, and tumultuous en-
thusiasm, with which these portraits are conceived and
developed. Loving Shelley for his dreamy mysticism,
and Carlyle for his Germanic forcefulness, and
Brougham for his vast capacities, and Coleridge for his
density and solid range of metaphysics ; paying heart -
homage to Wordsworth in the forest walks, and Wil-
son by the lonely tarn, and Elliot with his golden
music reeds, and Hazlitt with his sad pale
face; breaking out alternately in paragraphs of
stor44 eulogy and words of solemn mourning
—Giltillan throws a lustre round him as he
writes—the lustre of high sentiments expressed
in language of the loftiest character. To every wor-
shipper of recent or living genius—to every one who
can appreciate the sterling sense of Foster, or revel
in the wild and wizard day• dreams of De Quincey—
this volume will afford a treat beyond expression. It
is a work to be feasted over by the fire-side, or on a
flower-bank in the sunshine. As a companion, to and
a commentary upon, our modern heroes of English
literature, " Gilfillan's Gallery of Literary Portraits"
will have a corner on the bookshelves of the future.
It is the honest and splendid ebullition of its author's
heart.

SKETCHES FROM LIFE. 3 Vols. By Laman

Blancha, d.

What pleasant and gentle recollections are con-
nected with the name of Leman Blanchard in his
long association with the magazines and floating
literature of the age ! What tender and mournful
reflections, when we call to mind the gloomy and
desolating character of his death! Now that this
amiable writer is snatched from us for ever, now that
his ever-welcome outpourings of quaintness have sent
their last gush into the monthly periodicals—
now that, like his contemporaries and co-
partners, Tom Hood, and Barham, and Hook,
(alas for the catalogue 1) he may be enumerated
among the bygones, a collection of his eifusions,
scattered over a variety of sometimes unattainable
pages, is at once a flaing monument to his memory,
and a mark of extreme value to the many with
whom he had become a favourite. In the three
elegant volumes before us these articles from the
pen of poor Blanchard are admirably arranged,
beautifully printed, and expi§itely
Honour to Daniel Maolise for that evidence of his
genius and his friendship in the frontispiece, a likeness
of Laman Blanchard " drawn from memory !"
lionanr to Kenny Meadows for that touching group
of the dead author's children weeping over his tomb,
twhiethlyltrs strings rentetruedoverhead, as a symbol of his fate,
Buck-
stone for the
hainseclacitoeefsri
asunderewiihd f
friend's
sweetness
eel
ecitn furnishes,noeussr aalnsdo t to
aerniintAmenity
testimony to
of disposition ! But a triple honour to Sir Edward
Bulwer Lytton for the tender and melancholy
earnestness of the memoir prefixed to this compilation !
There is something eminently pathetic in the tone
which characterises this biography, whether it arises
from a predisposition to sadness in the reader's
mind, or the sorrowing heart of the biographer
breathed over every sentence, or the constant presence
of the catastrophe which more particularly led to its
production. Our regrets for the departure of Laman
Blanchard are, if possible, doubled, on learning the
real character of the man as delineated by one of his
intimate associates, a character fraught with such a
self-forgetful' generosity, such a winning Suavity of
manner, such a never-flagging gaiety of disposition,
such an unjealous admiration for his various and more
fortunate rivals in the school of letters. In the early
portion of his career he appears to have battled up
the steep and rugged acclivity which every literary
aspirant encounters at the outset, and to have done
this, moreover, manfully, resolutely, courageously.
Not the least acceptable part of Sir Bulwer Lytton's
narrative is that in which he interpolates some deli-
cious sonnets written by Blanchard at his commence-
ment of authorcraft, and assuredly did they justify
the biographer's augury of still higher achievements
of their composer. The sudden and terrible calamity,
however, which, in the February of 1845, stilled his
heart and shrouded his imagination, for ever pre-
vented the accomplishment of his own views and as-
pirations—in the production of some substantial effort
of dramatic poetry, a class of writings for which he
was so eminently gifted. In the " Sketches from
Life," which constitute these volumes, we neverthe-
less possess sefficient evidence of his capacity as an
essayist to entitle, him to our unqualified regard.
They body forth his own peculiar and charming tem-
perament, namely, a great shrewdness and sagacity
of observation, a very delightful and genial merri-
ment, a total absence of bitterness, and an excel-
lent purity in thought and language. For these
characteristics they are valuable additions to the
library of modern literature. As Addison and Steele
reflect their own stilted and furbelowed generations,
so has Laman Blanchard, in his " Sketches from
Life," mirrored forth the variable and motley pecu-
liarities of the present day ; they have but to be read
to be admired, and admired they will be read again.
Thousands must remember the pleasure they have
!erived from articles in the Month:y and in. Ainsworth
identified with the name of Lauiau Blanchard, pour-

ing forth, month after month, in lor.g succession.
These articles are here assembled together in a con-
crete mass, and, consequently, the disjointed pleasure
which they excited is condensed into a compact and
more sustained gratification. Let all lovers of our
British essayists, all worshippers of our Goldsmiths,
and our Lambs, and our Hawkesworths, and our
Leigh Hunts, add these three volumes to their pre-
vious collection ; they are good, honest, sterling,
healthy " studies from the life," and as such we com-
mend them, with a God speed, to the public.

WADE'S LONDON REVIEW.
The editor opens the present nu:nber with the in-
troductory chapters of a new romance, entitled the
"Phases of Love," which pro,nises well. The next
article contains some interesting biographical anec-
dotes of Listz, the great musician. We have, in ad-
dition, an excellent paper on Persian poetry, and some
good reviews.

THE POST MAGAZINE ALMAVACK for 1846.
We perceive by the title-page that this work has
already reached a second edition, and we are not sur-
prised at it, for, conidering the immense mass of in.
formation which it contains, and the reasonable price
at which it is published, it is a marvel of cheapness
even in these days o, cheap literature.

THE SPORiIAG REVIEW.
The present number is rich in embellishments..
We have, in addition to a beautifully•engraved title•
page, illustrated by a bijou of a vignette by Hacker,
the subject of which is wild duck shooting, a beautiful
line engraving, by Beckwith, of Phillipps's Portrait
of 11. M. Jacques, Esq., and the that plate of Her-
ring's High-mottled Racer, engraved by Thicker. The
literary contents of the number are also very good.

SIMAIOZVDS'S COLOLNIAL MAGAZINE.
The Colonial for the present month contains; as
usual, much valuable information on the present state
of cur colonial empire.

THE KING OF PRUSSIA AND
THE PROVINCIAL DIETS.
I The Berlin State Gazette gives the following, as the replies
made by the Government to the demands addressed to it by
the Diet of the Province of Prussia

"1. Participation of the lay members of religious commu-
nities' in the discussions and resolutions on ecclesiastical
affairs. Reply--The Government has already decided that
laics should be called to form part of the first general synod,
which is to be shortly convoked ; but as it has been deter-
mined not to accept any proposition on the changes to be
introduced into the organisation and constitution of the Pro-
testant Church, except from the ecclesiastial authorities
themselves, it cannot decide anything relative to the future
organization of the provincial synods, before having beard
the propositions of the general synod. 2. Amelioration of
the revision of the codes and the introduction of the jury.
Reply.—Considering the importance of the question, prepa-
ratory studies of great extent are required, and they are not
yet terminated. The Diets are therefore recommended to
wait with confidence the result of the deliberations of the
competent authorities. 3. Meeting of the States-General,
and prcclamation of a constitution for the whole kingdom.
Reply.—The Diets, in their address of March 10, 1845,
having expressed their confidence in the promise which we
made in 1813, relative to the development of their constitu-
tion, we do not see why they make mentim of the petitions
addressed to them or, this subject. We thank the minority
for having shown the inutility of such a proceeding, 4. Pub-
licity of the discussions in the Diets, within certain limits.
Reply.—We refuse to comply with the prayer of this petition.
5. fo communicate to the Diets at least six weeks before the
opening of the session the propositions which the Government
wishes to bring forward. Reply.—We shall communicate to
the Diets such propositions as we plsase, and when we think
it advisable. 6. To reduce the amount of ten p an; of terri-
torial possession, required as one of the conditions of eligibi-
lity for the representatives of towns in the Diets, and in ge-
neral to increase the circle of eligibility in towns. Reply.--
Peremtory refusal. 7. Ref ,rm of the legislation relative to
the press, and less severity in the censorship. Reply.—The
complaints of the petitioners are anything but well-founded.
The press, in fact, needs an amelioration, but only to pre-
vent in a more efficient manner the transgression of the
limits which are imposed on it, in the interest of public
order and of the reputation of private individuals. 8.
Emancipation of the Jews. Reply.—The Government is
busied with a general system of legislation for all things re-
lating to the Jews, in a civil as well as a religious point of
view. 9. To replace the duties on the grinding of corn and
the killing of cattle b. a direct tax. Reply.—Not at pre-
sent; but the Government will see if it be possible to lower
by degrees the amount of those imposts, and to prepare a
general modification. 10. The Diet pronounces against pro-
tectiv_ duties, and demands the free entry of iron into the
province. Reply.—ln the changes which are to be effected
in the tariff, the Government will take into consideration the
interests of the whole kingdom. As to the free entry of iron,
it cannot be granted."

THE FREE-TitADE MOVEMENT

AT NEWCASTLE ON-TYNE.

NEWCASTLE -ON• TYNE, W EDNESDAY NIGHT. The
meeting held in this town, on Monday evening, has
produced an effect which it is impossible yet fully to
estimate. The immense and highly respectable multi-
tude that assembled on the occasion completely puzzled
the opponents of the League, who have been in the habit
of asserting that Newcastle felt indifferent to the free
trade question. That they are unable now to repeat.
Throughout yesterday and to-day little else has been
talked about than the " demonstration," as it is here
called, which appears to have exceeded the anticipations
of the most sanguine of its promoters. In the account
it was mentioned that many were present who
usually display an utter disregard of politics, and not a
few who belong to the Conservative party. As one of
the former. may be mentioned Chevalier Dillon,
tee French Consul at this port, a gentleman enjoying in
a high degree the confidence of the mercantile portion
of the community, and who necessarily avoids all ex-
pression of political opinion. The presence of gentle.
men of this class, and their evident sympathy with the
cause of commercial freedom, adds to the impression
produced by the admirable address of Mr. Cobden.
This evening a meeting has been held at the Claren-
don Hotel, fur the purpose of giving effect to Mr. Cob-
den's recommendations. _

Mr. G. Crawshay occupied the chair, and, in opening
the proceedings, suggested that Newcastle should be
made the seat of an auxiliary to the League, having its
separate council, and corresponding with, and directing
the operations of, the surrounding district.
The speaking at the meeting was purely conversa-
tional. Arrangements were made to carry on the quali-
fication movement, and a considerable number of appli-
cations were made by persons desirous of securing votes
for South Northumberland and North Durham.

Subscriptions were afttrwards opened for the League
quarter of a million fund. Amongst the sums eolith.
buted were—Mr. Crawshay, 1004; Messrs. Pow and
Palms, North Shields, 501; Messrs. J. Lee and Co.,
Newcastle, 504; Messrs. Bell, 304; Mr. H. C. Arm-
strong, 25/4 Mr. John Shield, 211.; Mr. James Shield,
201; with many smaller sums, the total subscribed on
the spot being upwards of 3104

SUGAR DUTIES.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—Lord Stanhope, and he is a great authority, has
threatened, that should the corn-laws be annihilated,
and protection be withdrawn from agricultural industry,
ha will be amongst the first to assail all other monopo-
lies. He has declared that he will not stand with his
arms folded and see the formers and labourers paying a
protection price for the articles they or their families
may require, while the produce of their industry is
obliged to be sold at its real value ; and he is pertectly
right and just in the view he takes of the affair in that
respect.

liis L-rdship will very soon probably be in a position
to carry his excellent threat into execution, and away
goes protection to hats, shoes, wai4coats, and a long et
cetera of other articles which the farmers and labourers
are obliged to purchase. Perhaps the b-tier way for bis
Lordship to adopt would be to commence 1 is task forth-
with. If he be really the friend of the agriculturists and
their labourers, he will not fail to do so—to talk wildly,
of maintaining these starvali m corn-laws, is all moon-
as some Noble Dukes have recently, about the propriety
sh:nc; their fate is determined, and they know it. Far
more rational would it be to place the agriculturists
in a secure position, as Lk.rd Stanhope declares
they shall be, before the corn-laws are abolished,
than after that period. The farmers and labourers
ought in fairness to have the opportunity of supplying
themselves and families with all commodities at their
actual value before they are compelled to part with
articles, the result of their own industry, on the like
terms. To advocate this practical right is far wiser and
more prudent than to abuse their understandings by
flourishing speeches about their theoretical rights—the
right to pluudi r consumers of food by forcing them to
pay more fur it than its actual worth. First and fore-
most the colonial monopoly stands for clearance; can
any person adduce a sane reason wby the agriculturists
should be obliged to pay fifteen pounds a ton w' 4.
the sugar they purchase than it would 0- —'re ler
else ? or why they should
necessary .etch anywhere
inure
thirty-seven shillings
and fourpence per et... 4
? iimarks to the same effect might be muds
inure for their coffee than is
ilpiAt all other colonial articles. Supposing this colo-
nial monopoly destroyed, as well as other monopolies
which enhance the prices of wearing apparel, the farmers
and labourers would be gainers by the loss of the pro-
tection new given to food.

I remain. Sir, your obedient servant,
Brighton, Jun. 9, 1846. B. S. R.

THE GENERAL POST-OFFICE IN LONDON —The
following statistical account of the several offices filled, by the
undermentioned officers may prove interesting to our read-
ers :—ln the principal or secretary's office, exclusive of the
Postmaster-General, there are 64 officers, thus classed—
Secretary, assistant secretary, private secretary, chief clerk
to secretary, senior clerks—first class 3, second class 6,
juniors—first class 9, second class 14. Surveyor's office, 8;
clerks to ditto, 16 ; surveyors—Scotch, 2 ; clerk' to ditto, 3,
In the mailcoach-office there are 43, viz.—surveyor and
superintendent, firs, clerk, seniors 2; juniors 4 ; inspectors
of mailcoaches, 8 ; railway clerks, 27. In the solicitor's
office, 4, viz.—solicitor, first clerk, second ditto, third ditto.
Receiver-General's office, 17—receiver-general, chief clerk,
seniors 3, junierss9, extra clerks 2, messenger. Account-
ant-General's office, 31 : accountant-general, deputy,
chief clerk, principal clerks 3, seniors 6, juniors 19.
Money- order-office, 170 president, chief clerk, first-
class senior clerks, 4, second class 25, ditto 50, junior pro-
bationary class, 89. Inland and foreign office, 645—Super-
intending president; presidents, 4; assistant presidents;
vice presidents, 3; senior clerks, 9; assistants, 33; clerks,
36 : junior clerks, 50; clerks to superintending presidents, 3;
inspectors of official correspondence, 4; officers in charge of
Indian mails, 3; packet mail clerks, 2; officers at paid
windows, 4 ; clerks of letter carriers' accounts, 2 ;
instructor of junior clerks; senior messengers, 2; junior
ditto, 49; watchmen, 2. Inspector of letter carriers' office,
which is an adjunct to the inland office, contains an inspec-
tor, assistant inspectors, 7 ; sub-sorters, 147 ; letter carriers,
281. Ship letter-office, B—lnspector, chief clerk, senior
clerks, 2; juniors, 4. Dead and return letter-office, 21—
Inspector, first clerk, seniors, 5; juniors, 14. London dis-
trict, late twopenny-office, 623—Superintending pr ,sident,
chief clerk, assistant clerks, 5 ; surveyor, remittance clerk ;
sorting offices—presidents, 2; vici.-presidents, 4; window-
men, 2 ; clerks of divisions, 14 ; first assorters, 12 ;
second ditto, 12 ; sorters, 10 ; sub-sorters, 31; inspector,
assistant-inspectors, 2; junior inspectors. 8; simpers, 16 ;
letter-carriers, 500. This makes a total of 1,62 G persons
employed in the London Post office, and within the circle of
the district post delivery. The increase of business in the
various offices during the last few years has beeni:r.erty-con-
siderable. Money-orders have increased about t yf Id
and in the newspaper-office not less than 100, 000 newspapers
are dispatched nightly, besides a great number which are
now sent by the many morning mails out of the metropolis.
The considerable reductions which have recently
_been made
in the rates of foreign correspondence have tendedvery ma
terially to multiply the duty in that d
fnepartientr, and. it has
been found n ssary to afford additional act ales in con-
i.exion therewith by taking down the stone staircase at the
,
eastern entrance to the portico from Foster-lane. The space
which it occupied is now fitted up. with pigeon-holes and
boxes, to be used for the purpose of facilitating the duty.
The Earl and Countess of Maltne,hury, Lord and
Lady Seymour. and a select circle, have been enjoying the
hospitality of Mr. R. B. Sheridan, M.P., and Mrs. Sheridan,
at Frampton House, Dorset.
The Duke of Cleveland will take the chair at the
meeting of the County of Durham Agricultural Protection
Society, to be held in the city of Durham, on Monday next,
to adopt a memorial to the Queen, and petitions to both
Houses of Parliament, in support of protection to agriculture
not less than at present existing.
ARREST OF OLE BULL,— ['his eminent violinist was
recently arrested at Baltimore, Ohio, under the follow-
ing circumstances :—A contract was made by Ole
Bull's agent with Mr. Barton, of Philadelphia, for Ole
Bull to play four nights at the Arch-street Theatre. Mr.
Barton agreed on his part to rurnish a full and complete
orchestra to accompany OIF Bull, who went to Philadel-
phia from Boston to fulfil the engagement, taking with
him Signor Le Mauna to conduct the orchestra. Upon
his arrival he found Mr. Barton could not procure the
orchestra, and wi.,hed tom to play with a piano accom-
paniment, which he refused to do. He thereby was at
considerable expense in going to that city to fulfil the
contract. Thus the matter stotd for more than a year,
, until, not long ago, in Baltimore, Mr. Barton had him
arrested, just as he was about leaving his hotel for the
purpose of performing at his concert.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

GLASGOW, KILMARNOCK, AND AYR.
GLASGOw, THURSDAY AFTERNOON.—To-day a special
meeting of the Proprietors of this Company was held at the
station, Bridge-street, to consider and determine on certain
extensions, leases, and agreements the Directors had agreed
on, and which now waited fur the determination of the
Shareholders.
The meeting, which was a numerous and highly influential
one, was presided over by Mr. James M'Call, the Chairman
of the Board of Directors.
The report, of which the following presents the material
features, was read :
The document set out with stating that the meeting had
been summoned for the purpose of submitting to the conside-
ration of the Shareholders the various schemes promoted by
the Directors, and for the construction of which Parliamen-
tary sanction was intended to be sought.
'the report then went on to notice that the various branches
and extension lines, for which notice had been given, were
based on th, expectation that the county of Ayr, from its
mineral resources, was destined ere long to become one of the
most important districts in the kingoom.
This position being explained at some length, the report
next addressed itself to an explanation of the branches and
extensions in question, commencing with the line which the
Directors considered of primary importance in the list—that
from Paisley to a point in the presort Kilmarnock Railway,
principally to shorten the route from Glasgow and Paisley
to Kilmarnock. It was stated to be excellently laid out,
would give the Proprietors the command of the district, and
was without tunnelling; and would give the greatest ac-
commodation to the important points to be connected. The
report then proceeded to explain the route of the line, and
this, and what follows in relation to the other projects, con-
stitute the main and important features submitted by the
Directors. It says :—" This line leaves the joint line of rail-
way east and we-t of Paisley by two forks, and has branches
to tiarrhead, Househill, Fenwick, &c. A separate Company
was some time ago organised for the purpose of making that
portion of this very line which li.s between Paisley, Hurlet,
and Barrhead ; and your Directors have considered it expe-
dient, in order to save Parliamentary expense, to enter into
an arrangement for working and leasing this line, in the
event of an Act being obtained by the promoters; a portion
of the stock of this latter Company will be also held on yoiir
account."
" In connexion with the Paisley and Busbie line, your Di-
rectors contemplate a cross line, leaving the present Kilmar-
nock branch at the same point of junction, and running into
the Duke of Portland's Kilmarnock and Troon Railway (now
lensed by this Company, and in course of being relaid with
edge rails), at Drvbridge, a distance of four miles. This line
will, together with the one previously noticed, afilard the
most direct route from Glasgow and Paisley to Troon, Ayr,
&c. ; and also to Ireland (along the Belfast Union line).
From nearly the same point on the Kilmarnock branch there
is proposed another short line, formerly sanctioned by you,
to Irvine, where it joins your main line and harbour bwranch,
with a short offset into the Perceton coalfields. The length
of this latter line will be about six miles; it will be eheaply
made, traverses a district abounding in minerals, and will
give an improved means of communication between Kilmar-
nock and Irvine, and also to Ardrossan.
" The branch to Irvine harbour has been in course of con- •
struction during some months, and will soon be completed.
" Your Directors will next bring under your notice their
projected line from Kilmarnock to Stratbaven, in length
about 18 miles. This line is an extension of the branch to
Galston and Newmills, submitted to you in April last; it
leaves your Cumnock branch a short way out of Kilmar-
nock, following the upper valley of the Irvine to the summit
of the country, from which it passes down into Stratbaven.
The country eastward, as far as Darvel, is thickly studded
with population, and contains an inexhaustible supply of
coal of the first quality, and of other minerals; while the dis-
trict round the town of Strathaven also possesses many
sources of traffic. A separate Company has been formed for
the continuation of the line from Strathaven to the town of
Hamilton ; with this Company your Directors have made
an agreement, which will also be this day submitted to you
for approval. Another line has been promoted, tinder the
auspices of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Company,
from Hamilton to Edinburgh, thus completing and making
perfect the chain of communication from Ayrshire to Edin-
burgh and the whole east of Scotland.
" Your Directors have been induced to recommend that this
line shall be carried forward to Strathaven, from the evident
advantages of thereby securing the traffic of a thorough line,
in addition to the local trade.
"From the last-mentioned extension-line, your Directors
also have projected branches to Lesmahagow, and up the
Glespin valley to the Crawick branch of the Glasgow, Dum-
fries, and Carlisle Railway, with the view of completing the
chain of railway communication.

"Among the branches remaining to be noticed, your Di-
rectors beg to submit to you a short line to Linwood, of about
one mile in length. leaving your main line to the westward
of Johnstone; and another branch from the vicinity of Dairy
to Swinlees, about two miles long, which they believe to be
necessary for the more complete accommodation of your pre-
sent traffic. There are also applications to Parliament for a
slight deviation in the Cumnock line at Kilmarnock, which
will prove advantageous • and also for alterations in the line
of the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, requisite to improve
its curves, and to make it suitable for locomotive power.
"The Parliamentary notices, also announce applications
for power to purchase, or to lease and work the following
railways, separately promoted, viz. :—The Paisley, Hurlet,
and Barrheati Railway; the Ayrshire, Bridge-of-Weir,
and Port-Glasgow Junction Railway ; the Hamilton
and Strathaven Railway; the Glasgow and Belfast Union
Railway; and the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle Rail-
way."

he Directors further asked the proprietors to confirm an
agreement entered into for the purchase of the Glasgow,
Paisley, and Ardrossan Canal, and instantly to renew their
application to Parliament for the West of Scotland Junc-
tion line, to connect their railway with the Edinburgh and
Glasgow, a step that they considered of the greatest im-
portance.
The Crimastxx then addressed the proprietors in a speech
of some length, dwelling principally on the necessity which
there existed for the Company carrying out a large and de •
cided scheme of extension, in order to Prot: ct the interests
of the proprietors from the competition with which they were
thteatened. He detailed an interview held some time
back with the chairman of the Caledonian line, in
which that gentleman expressed the best feelings towards
the Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ayr; but that Company had
since taken the Glasgow, Barrhead, and Ayr scheme under
its patro. age, from which they could augur little favourable
at present from that quarter. After going over several of the
most prominent recommendations of the report, explaining
the advantages which their carrying out would realise, the
honourable gentleman sat down with reading the resolutions,
which were but an echo of the document in question.
A SHAREHOLDER sugge.ted the submitting of the resolu-
tions separately, and not all at once, as proposed, which was
agreed to.

A motion was then made that the report just read be re-
ceived and adopted by the proprietors, and after a brief dis-
cussion, in which it was complained of that the report had
not been previously printed and circulated among the pro•
prietors, the resolution was agreed to.
Resolutions were then seriatim submitted, sanctioning the
various extensions named in the report, and also the
ers
sought to purchase or to lease and work the Paio'
and Barrliead Railway, the Ayrshire, Hurlet,
Port Glasgow Junction Railwly. .uge of Weir, and
even Railway, the Gimp,— ,ie Hamilton and Strath-
Glasgow, Dimino.. ,„vv. and Belfast Union, and the
Mr. Li" and Carlisle Railway.
...imErrER, while these resolutions were under dis-
„ussion, entered into a statement of the prospect of the
two last-mentioned lines, which he represented to be very
flattering. As the chairman of the one, and the vice-
chairman of the other, lie could assure the meeting that all
had been done that was required to make their application
to Parliament perfect, and in complete accordance with the
standing orders. They would, if successful, operate as most
important feeders to the Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ayr,
and place the proprietors in a most commanding position.
He moved in addition to the powers sought by the Directors
in their report, that in the event of the Glasgow and Belfast
Union having to construct an extension of their line from
Stranraer, in consequence of the British and Irish Union
failing to obtain their Bill, then that the guaranteed per
centage be enlarged to 100,0001. extra capital to that already
agreed to.
All these resolutions, in addition to others, to confirm the
agre ment for the purchase of the Glasgow, Paisley, and Ar-
drossan Canal, and to renew the application to Parliament for
the line to cross the Clyde, so as to connect the line with the
Glasgow and Edinburgh, were agreed to ; the only dissen-
tient to the latter being Mr. Robertson, who strongly protested
against the purchase of the canals