The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-04 00:00:00

THE MIRROR,

As a pendant to the sketch of General Cavaignac,
which appeared in the last month's Mirror, we have
in the Mirror for November a sketch of Thiers. As
the writer justly observes, " except in the instance of
his father, slander itself can find no shade in the pri-
vate character of Cavaignac; but unhappily 'she has
another tale to tell of Monsieur Adolphe Thiers,' and
not slander only, but truth )suld justice must ever
brand the character of Adolphe Thiers as that of the
most utterly unprincipled and selfish man that ever
coute qui coute serpentined his way up to riches and
power.' He never attached himself to a cause, a
principle, or an individual that he did not subsequently
betray, and here we have clearly narrated the
whole story of his brilliant, but most un-
worthy career. The number opens with a
paper on the "Progress of Revolution," which is
from the pen of one who has evidently deeply studied
the subject, and whose opinions are, therefore, en-
titled to at least attentive consideration. We entirely
agree with him in opinion that the European revo-
lutions are as yet far from having attained their ulti-
mate development, and that while England, Switzer-
land, Belgium, and Holland, from having begun the
career of reform in time, will escape the fiery flood
of revolution, and pursue their even and pacific
course towards complete constitutional freedom—'he
other states of Europe, including even Russia itself,
are destined td suffer from the shocks of repeated
insurrections, which, unsuccessful perhaps at first,
can only end in the destruction of despotism and the
establishment of Constitutional Liberty. The French
Revolution in February was no mere outbreak of an
armed mob about a dinner, as it has pleased certain
of the supporters of the cause of corruption to repre-
sent it :
" To those who called to mind the history of the late
monarchy, the record of its follies and its crimes, who
remembered the condition to which it reduced the
French nation, to what a state of abject servitude that
nation had fallen, into what confusion the finances of the
empire bad been plunged; how its commerce had
been shackled, how its foreign relations bad been
complicated,—to those who recollect these Lets,

it
i could net appear surpri,ing that the pateince
of France should at last be exhausted, and that it
should, weary of injury, at last rise and hazard all in a
struggle with the reigning powers. That struggle was
sudden, short, and decisive; the people overthrew their
monarch, drove away his ministers, and once more as-
sumed the imperial power—a power which had been
confided to a king, had been betrayed, and was now
taken back to be placed in more worthy hands. The
revolution was a shock. The French were startled, if
not stunned, by the recoil of that blow which had
crushed all the reigning powers; and it is not surpris-
ing that they should have, for a moment, stood gazing
in bewildered surprise at the results of their own act.
But this irresolutian was of short duration; the forma-
tion of a Provisional Government was as prompt as the
fall of the monarchy vas sudden. The world is well
acquainted with the history of the Republic since its
establishment in February; and now, within eight
months of that event, we observe the French nation
calmly deliberating On the choice Of a constitution. A
few accidents have occurred, a few tumults have taken
place, and some misfortunes, and, perhaps, a few crimes,
remain on the record of these eight months. We do

'selves forward as the defenders of
isional Government under Leman
hat the conduct of General Cav
ies has been altogether unimpca
upon ourselves to say that no era
in this or any other country presents a specta.
weilsd
ei s d ttrh ue e
w t
will
theef t h
e fi letter,efierce
c e and
democracy i
honourable to the prudence, patience, and forbearance
of a nation than the few months whichl have elapsed
since the glorious three days of Febrnary
T ih
f hon, oautr
least
td
equalto
Lamartine for the eloquent wisdom by which he
credit is due to those who, not deaf to the voice of
the charmer, wisely submitted to his charming. The
following is the best and truest resume we have yet
met with of the real state of affairs in that disunited
and incoherent agglomeration of states
whilholm de-
nominated the empire of Austria :
" Amidst the general disorganization of the Conti-
nent, a disorganization which, strange a 3 it may F: ppea r,
bAauds tirtisa originwa d esitni etche
.] to prpiltale;a plesofjustice and liberty,
conspicuous part. In its
very nature this empire is not adapted to Withstand the
shock of a revolution, composed as it is of eleincnts so
cumbrous and disjointed. There is no nationality in
Austria; her population has been formed—if w • may so
express it—out of the wrecks of other nations; slaves
have been added to slaves generation after generation,
until the whole mass, artificially connected, and with no
principle of union, no principle of fraternity to cement
its several sections together, seems likely to part into a
number of fragments, each of which may have its signi-
ficance in Europe. The first symptOms of transition ap-
peered in the streets of Vienna. Prince Metternich, one
of the most unprincipled and profligate of modern states-
men, Was suddenly hurled from power, and driven to
seek hospitality in a country whose enemy he has ever
proved himself to have been. A succession of emeutes
and insurrections followed. The Emperor was not true
even to himself: he could not see that the citizens of
Vienna, though they might for a time be agitated by the
breath o that revolutionary spirit which urged the
French to shake off the shackles of despotism, though
they might for an hour be roused to a sense of their con-
dition, to a knowledge of their interests, and to a lust
perception of their rights, were still slaves in heart,
unworthy of freedom, unworthy of liberal institutions.
They had been accustomed to lick the dust at their Em-
peror's feet; and that Emperor, who would sell them,
and bruise their heads and trample in their blood while
they grovelled beneath his feet, was terrified at the first
appearance of resistance, fled from his capital, and
sneaked away at the time when he was most wanted to
repress the ebullition of popular feeling. But the Vien-
nese proved themselves utterly unfit for the honours of
freedom; they again fawned and whined around their
cowardly monarch, and once more consented, at his
command, to gather into armies, and do battle against
the cause of liberty in every surrounding *untry. Italy
rose in arms against its foreign tyrants, and we have not
seen the last of the struggle. Hungary raised the
standard of rebellion and set defiance in the face of
Austria; the Hungarian party, the friends of freedom, were strong at Vienna, and the present month has wit-
nessed another collision of classes in that city. The
Viennese rose once more; most of the National Guards
immediately fraternised with them; and a large portion
of the troops sent to overcome the tumult consented to
fight under the national banner. They defeated the
Nassau Artillery regiment, and drove every enemy from
his post. The city was taken possession of; barricades
arose as if by magic in the streets; and the din and
tumult of an insurrection once more startled the repose
of Vienna. Success was on the side of liberty; and the
Emperor, the father of his people, the revered monarch,
again stole away. He could not remain true even to his
own cause. He preferred sneaking away under a mili-
tary guard to a distant place of retreat to facing the diffi-
culties of the moment. Conscious of his own tyrannous
actions—of his many crimes against the 'people—of all
his broken promises and violated pledges—he dared not
meet the glance of his asses of subjects. In spite of the
forces of Croatia and the other Sclavonic nations—in
spite of the co-Operation of the German Arch-duchies,
there is a hope that Hungary will be enabled to declare
herself independent. The armies of the Ban have met
with signal reverses, and the resources of Austria %ill
not enable her to sustain a protracted and sanguinary
struggle against justice and honour; so that it is. never-
theless, probable that the termination of the conflict will
find Hungary the triumphant nation. It is for the Vien-
nese to prove now whether they are worthy of freedom.
They may yet wipe off the stain of former follies.
Austria is not so confident as some would seem to be-
lieve; she trembles at her own position, and endeavours
to gain time to collect her forces. Italy has every pros-
pect of, in the end, being entirely parted from her; and
the other races inhabiting the countries between the Da-
nube and the Carpathian hills may not altogether ad-
here to their Austrian rulers, especially when circum-
stances make it evident that the struggle between a de-
pendency and the parent state does not always result in
success for the latter."

This is the best magazine political paper of the month.
The literary contents of the Mirror are, as usual, ex-
cellent.

LOSS OF THE bLOOP BANFF, OF
SUNDERLAND.
(From the Liverpool Mercury.)
This unfortunate vessel sailed from Bangor, North
Wales, upon Tuesday evening, the 24th ultimo, laden
with slates, bound for Alnmouth, Northumberland,
During that night the weather was stormy, and she
strained considerably and became leaky. Wednesday was
more moderate, but at night it was again stormy and
the vessel leaky. The master and crew were per-
fect strangers to that part of the coast, and the
chart which they had on board was torn so as to
render it useless ; it may, therefore, easily be con-
ceived how miserable must have been the plight they
were in. A light was discovered, which they con-
cluded was the " Maidens," on the coast of Ire-
land, between Larne and Glenarm Bays, and they
shaped a course accordingly. It unfortunately
happened the light was tha to the Calf of Man, and,
the coast they were sailing along was the Ilse of Man
and not Ireland, as they exnpected. Thursday con-
tinued stormy, :and the leak increased until there
were two feet of water in the hold. The vessel
was steered into the Solway Fritb, without knowing
whither they were steering her to; however, that
course was not long in drawing to a close, the
vessel being brought up by striking upon the
perilous sand-bank called Robin Rigg, about six o'clock
that evening. She beat upon the bank all night, shifting
nearly two miles from where she first struck, the crew,
four in number, clinging to the rigging and cross-trees.
In this way the poor fellows passed a stormy night, the
wind blowing a gale from S.W. The vessel was observed
when she first struck on the bank by the crew on board
the Solway Light-ship ; but they durst not leave that
vessel. Providentially, about half-past eight o'clock on
Friday morning, the Royal Victoria steam-ship on her
course from Liverpool to Port Carlisle, when about half
way between the light-ship and Silloth, Captain Graves,
who was upon deck, descried an object on the Scotch side
of Robin Itigg, which he could not make out with the
naked eye, but, with the aid of a telescope, he discovered
to be the mast of a vessel, with a signal of distress,
flying, and an appearance of human beings clinging
thereto. With that good feeling and humanity for
which he is so ustly celebrated, he commanded his
ship to be put about and steamed down again towards
the light-ship, sending a boat and crew right
across to the wreck, the bank being then suffi-
ciently covered by the tide to render that prac-
ticable. On reaching the light-ship, Captain Graves
took off a pilot to point out to him the course round the
North Deep on the north and east of Robin Rigg. The
Royal Victoria was thus brought as near as practicable

to the wreck, and the boat before-mcntioneo having
succeeded in getting the sufferers therefrom, they
were soon got on board the Royal Victoria,
which could not have been done but for Captain
Graves acting as before-mentioned, as the tide setting
strongly up would have swept the boat and them over
to the Scotch land. Once on board the Royal Victoria,
every comfort and nourishment awaited the poor fellows,
and they were soon in a great measure restored to their
farmer selves. We may mention, as an incident in the
case, that a cat had also taken refuge in the rigging, and
when she saw the bipeds one by one getting into the
boat, poor puss made a spring, and effected a tooting also.
We annex a letter frona the crew of the Banff, ad-
dressed to Captain Groves, expressive of their gratitude
for the kindness shown to them:—

" Port Carlisle, October 27, 1848.
" Sir,—We, the undersigned, being the master
and crew of the sloop Banff, of Sunderland, bound
from Bangor to Alnmouth, and wrecked on
Robin Rigg Bank, in the Solway Frith, yester-
day, take the opportunity of expressing publicly to
you our grateful testimony for your humane conduct
in steaming your ship many miles out of her course this
rnoining, and sending a boat and crew alongside our un-
fortunate sloop, by which timely aid we were taken
from the rigging, where we had been fifteen hours,
and fully expected a watery grave, being nearly x-
h aus ted ; and for your kind treatment and nourLhment
afforded to us on board your ship; as also, our thanks
are due to Mr. Jobling, Lloyd's agent, for kindly lend-
ing his aid in procuring the funds to forward us to Sun-
derland.

(Signed) " WILLIAM SCORRA. JNO. SCORRA.
" MATTHEW LAING. JNO. JONES.
To Capt. Graves, Royal Victoria steamer, Carlisle.'

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT..--011Monday morning
last, between eleven and twelve o'clock, as the express
train from Liverpool to Manchester was passing the
Sutton incline, George Green, a porter employed on
the railway, who was in the net of calling for anoth, r
man employed on the railway to come to his sssist-
fume, was struck by the buffer of the express train,
which caused injuries from the effects of which he died
at four o'clock in the afternoon. It appeared from the
evidence at the incite st, held on Tuesday, before John
Hee es, Eeze, coroner, that several ribs were broken, pro-
truding into his lungs. The deceased had been em-
pluyed o❑ the line for several years, and had been sta-
tioned at Sutton for the last nitre yeare. Ile was much
respected. lie has left a wile and two daughters to
mourn their loss. Verdict " Accidental death." De-
ceased was fifty-four years of ege.—.Liverpool Mercury.
NARROW ESCAPE.—Last night, between eight and
nine o'clock, a young woman had a very narrow escape
from being run over. She was crossing the road in
Regent•street, near the end of the Quadrant, at the
same time as a gentleman came along in his chaise, and
not observing the vehicle, she came in contact with the
horse, and was knocked down. The gentleman in-
stantly pulled up, and notwithstanding the horse tram-
pled upon her, she escaped unhurt.
On Monday es a boatman was endeavouring to pass
under the high-bridge with a boat, the sudden fall of
'three lea of water at the entrance to the bridge jerked
him overboard; fortunately he caught hold of a rope, and
thus saved himself from being borne away by the tide.—
Stamford Mercury.