The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-25 00:00:00

THE SUN, 1,(,),Na10N, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 25, 1,1 r),

LITERATURE.
THE GOOD GENIUS THAT TURNED
EV El?I'IllING INTO GOLD. A Christmas
Fairy Tale. By the Brothers Mayhew.
The Ettrick Shepherd used to say that whoever
disliked children wls cursed with a bad heart.
If the aphorism had embraced fairy tales
as well as children, it would have been
much " nearer the mark." We remember
in his immortal Carol, that Dickens exclaims, ° It is
well to be a child sometimes!" And so it is. The
authors of the present little offering are convinced of this
noble truth, they are conscious that, on the average,
" men are hut children of a larger growth;" they
know well enough the fascination which the superna-
tural always possesses over the minds of the multi-
tude, and they dream day-dreams, and write allegories
accordingly. Since the "Rape of the Lock" was
first published, no more fanciful or more aerial sprite
has been imagined than the little gossamer of a fairy,
hight "the Queen Bee," in this Christmas story. •A
bee she is, notwithstanding her voice ; and a lady-fay
she is notwithstanding her propinquity to the
workers of the honey- comb. Wonderful is
the preservation of the incongruous identity and
individuality of this fanciful being by the pencil of
the peerless Cruikshank ! Indeed the etchings scat-
tered through this volume by that artist are in their
way masterpieces. In one a forest is resolving itself
into a fleet, a stray bough still clinging to a bowsprit,
or decorating one of the yards with an unusual cover-
ing of leaves. In another a rock is being transformed
into a:palace, sculptured architraves appearing on
the brink of rugged precipices, the fragments of a
forest still growing on the half-formed roof, columns
and arches and arabesqued designs bursting out of the
shapeless granite. In another a magnificent viaduct has
just spanned a valley, a tunnel has just scooped
through a mountain, and a monster dragon—in
truth a steam-engine and a railway train—is just
rushing into the foreground. And in all, the quaint
and antic form of the Queen Bee is visible, hovering
—like a dainty " lady-bird"—with her full-blown
garment and gossamer wings in mid air. The em-
bellishments indeed are immeasurably the most
valuable and graceful portions of the book ; the
letter-press is rather illustrative of them than they of
the letter-press. They are suggestions of splendid
reveries to the most matured imaginations ; even the
wood-cuts afford food for contemplation, from
the one representing the Good Genius, as she
first appeared on the stump of an oak tree, to the one
pourtraying the fountain of gold "glittering in the
light like a liquid sunbeam, and dropping pieces of
money that tinkled against each other as they fell."
The story of itself inculcates a noble moral, namely,
that the good genius that turns everything into gold,
is none other than patient industry ; nevertheless it
is written so much in the words-of-one-syllable style,
as to become absolutely nauseous to a lover of our
master writers. It reminds one of the musical adver-
tisement, which must be familiar to everybody,
"Pretty Little Changes for Pretty Little Fingers."
Messrs. Henry and Augustus Mayhew have composed
just such another piece in a literary way :—PrettyLittle
Chapters for Pretty Little Readers. There is a wisdom
in the book, we must admit, but it is diluted down by
the verriest prattle ; it is a mere spoonful of brandy
in a hogshead of plum porridge. For the pantomi-
meats this little story-book will be a mule mecum.

BRITISH GUIANA.
(From the Colonial Gazette )
An address, of which the following is a copy, was
Presented to Mr. Young, the Government Secretary of
British Guiana, on his recent departure from the colony
for this country. The address describes Mr. Young to
have been the confidential officer of successive "
Admi-
nistrations"—meaning those of Governor Light, the
present Governor, and of his predecessor, the late Sir
Carmichael Smyth. These periods include the abolition
of slavery, te aprenticeship, entir emancipatin, and
tthe enactmenht of p
the local civil list :e settlementso of the
highest importance, peculiarly susceptible of exciting
Political strife and animosity—as, indeed, they did
actually produce contests of great local magnitude, as
bell as of embarrassment to the Home Government. It
is therefore highly creditable to all parties—to Governor
Light, to his secretary, and to the inhabitants—that after
the lapse of time, from 1834 to 184 G, the services of a
confidential officer of the Local Government during the
;thole of this eventful period should be acknowledged
by the colonists in the terms of the farewell address to
Mr. Young. The address is also of interest as containing
a brief but specific enumeration of the claims of British
Guiana on the mother country, arising out of the recent
withdrawal of protection on colonial sugar, and the
consequent copetitin with slave grown reign ro-
-sluee. 'I here c mlaims oresolve themselves info substanpce,
Luto—lst. More copious emigration from Africa ; 2d.
Equalisation of the duty on British colonial rum as
.°lllpared with British spirits ; 3d. No protection to
mritish refiners as against British colonial refiners. In
short, the colonists claim the practical extension of free-
trade principles to the colonies.
The address was forwarded to Mr. Young with the
following letter from Mr. Rose, an elective member of
Court of Policy:—
" Georgetown, Demerara, Oct. 19, 1846.
"My dear Sir,—l have been requested by the elective
11l ambers of the Court of Policy, of the Combined Court,
cf. the College of Electors, and other inhabitants of
c?eorgetown, to present you with the accompanying ad
leess. It has been my lot to be opposed to you in local
Politics perhaps more than any other individual in the
colony; it is a consolation to me to be able to record
that our polical strife never interrupted our social inter-
course ; the causes which gave rise to our differences of
opinion on local measures have long since passed away,
and it affords me great pleasure to bear testimony to
our unwearied zeal in the discharge of the various pub-
e duties you have been called on to perform. I can
confidently assert that her Majesty has few servants in
her colonial possessions who possess your ability, and
llone of greater powers of mind or more conciliator.)
manners.—Wishing you a pleasant voyage, I remain
111.7 dear Sir, yours sincerely,

" PETER ROSE.
" To the Hon. H. E. F. Young, Government

Secretary."
‘c
"Georgetown, Demerara, Oct. 19, 1846.
TO THE HON. H. E. F. YOUNG, GOVERNMENT SECRETARY.
Sir—We, the undersigned elective members of the
Court of Policy, of the Combined Court, of the College
oQ Electors, and other inhabitants of Georgetown,
bating heard with regret that the colony is about to be
temporarily deprived of your services, desire to convey
t ° You a record of the public esteem which you have
„_.
`uquii-ed during your long residence among us in an
numerously
capacity, a record which would have been more
iodination
subscribed had the public generally had any
4,ltiniation of your intended departure from the colony.
.11e length of time which embraces the period of your
47,cial employment has been such as, perhaps unavoid-
ou!3', to preclude anything like a constant coincidence of
PRion or action between us and the successive Local
Administrations of which you'have been the confidential
c)4neer. On one point, howeVer, we can proclaim a uni-
.ersal assent, viz., that of 3oui zeal, diligence, and coin-
tteaey for the ffices Oxiany of them purely honorary,
hilt not on that account the less laborious) which you
olin,,te usefully filled in this colopy. We trust that your
:chi! knowledge and your luettl'ex:Rerience may gib.
hirte the interests of Guiana during your Erig-
lig• The lapse of years has pi-oduced many new
helssitudes of immense moment to the colony.. Our
44%earious condition is a matter of notoriety.
tln our present arduous struggle to regain and exceed
t former capacity as an exporting and useful depen-
of
ttil,the empire, not only are the advancing civilise-
and welfare of our own population at hazardous
ee but in our fate is involved also a weighty inflou-
i_
over the d forein neighborin-
,,,s which have ntiotnies yetof enteregd OD. theusameptrying
14;.` We confidently claim the fulfilment of those expec-
tel°4 tee th Hom Govrnmet has recently re-
t earated of relief to our pressieng needs ; our confidence
hit!: on the wing opinion of not h
public that
thttt erto
them West Indies have not hnd fair play, and
b tile policy adopted towards them has been one of
atZ/Lgling, vexatious, and unjust restraint. We ask for
tio„"". more efficacious, and more economical applica-
sio" of the funds of the British Treasury to the suppres-
of 11„ilr, the slave-trade ; exchanging the enormous cost
AfrE, LraPerfect or mischievous blockade of the coast of
for the lesser expense of supplanting slavery
'll the African continent by well-regulated and co-
us emigration from thence to all colonies where free-
Prevails.
111,..(‘ We ask that British plantation produce be admitted
4t) breweries and distilleries in Great Britain on the
1.40,
ho " terms as British grain is admitted into them at
; and that no higher duties be levied in Great
dt_tain on produce refined in the colonies than on pro-
Lue refined in Great Britain ; and that the duty on rum
"equalised.
e 1..; To whatever degree these, our just and reasonable
b 411313, can be furthered by your support in England,
°ll Will have added to your own claims on our high
estimation of your public services to this colony with
Which it may be said, on account of your highly re-
spected father's services, you are hereditarily as well as
Personally connected.

IRISH DIAMONDS By John Smith.,
A capital addition to the immortal work of Joseph
Miller is this little volume, grotesquely entitled
" Irish Diamonds," and most grotesquely illustrated
by " Ph 4." Mr. Smith has endeavoured to explain
a certain theory of Irish wit and blunders, which
he concocted many years ago. We have ex-
amined that theory, and regard it as somewhat
ingenious, nut so much in its exceeding the definition
of the Edinburgh Reviewers, or of Mr. and Miss
Edgeworth, as hi its forming a species of skeleton
upon which to hang a multitude of vagrant anecdotes
and witticisms. The book, indeed, is little more than
Joe Miller redivivus ; hut, as Major Bagstoc k would
say, it is more pslateable than Joey M., Sir— it has
more individuality than J. M., Sir—it is better than
Joseph, Sir, by far. Unconsciously, no doubt, the
writer has pilfered here and there from different
sources, and, among others, we detect many tid-bits
from " Reilly's Reminiscenses." Phiz's embel-
lishments are delightfully droll, the frontispiece
being illustrative of the anecdote of the English
traveller dropping into a Chinese tavern on the
frontiers of the Celestial empire, and regaling him-
self with some delicious potage of an unknown de-
scription. John Bull, pointing to the dish and look-
ing at the attendant, says to John Chinaman (inter-
rogatively) "Quack ! quack! quack !" Whereupon John
Chinaman, shaking his head, saith to John Bull (expla-
natorily) " Bow-wow-wow-wow !" The disgust of the
Englishman on hearing this horrible piece of intelli-
gence is wonderfully pourtrayed by the draftsman.
The title-page again is inimitable with its grotesque
figures of Hibernians, with potatoes for heads, and
one unfortunate wretch with another man
cooly standing on his face. The distant
landscape with an extinct volcano in the form of a
bottle, topped by an empty, glass, is a sly hit at that
partiality for the " crater, ' which has been so mar-
vellously diminished by good Father Mathew. Then
there is a laughable etching of the Irishman who has
been hauling in a rope for a full half hour, and at
last cries out in desperation, " 0 begorra, I do be-
lieve somebody's cut the end of it OM About the
richest anecdote in the collection is the following of a
bull about a bull. Surely Teddy must have
have been born when the sun (and his father's son
too) was in Taurus. Here, however, is the jeux
d'esprit.
" A merry evening party, in an English country-town,
were bantering poor Teddy about his countrymen being
so famous for bulls.

" Wishing you every prosperity, we subscribe our-
tives your most obedient humble servants.
(Here follow the signatures.)

i " Kingston, Demerara, Oct. 20, 1846.
tte,itt,!aY dear Sir,— The frank and friendly, but too
tcpv;lng, manner in which you have expressed yourself
-1..,me in your note, enclosing the numerously-
:. Pc:4881.-"b,dress of the inhabitants
.of Georgetown,. has,
ieeeive enhanced the gratification with which I have
oar.— So handsome a testimonial—my sense of which
the - endeavoured to convey to them, 'collectively, in
eaeire.usea reply.
rY sncerely
Peterhellion. Rose."
4 " Kingston, Demerara, Oct. 20, 1546.
G
gra,ent' emen,—l hasten to assure you that I am very
me ",eollly sensible of the honour which you have paid to
the loutizoorudri kind an flattering letter of ths date. In
res t d pate situation to which my officials duties are
t ric e , would be manifestly improper for me to
Presume, without authority, to advert to the important
te-i
p cs of public policy which
ter. I can only say that onleh are embraced in your let-
in any occasion when, without
rnmentthe immense
Presumption, it may be in Yd)oorwer to urge on the con-
sideration of her Majesty's
ellPabilities and the inadequatedevelopment of the re-
tiources of this noble province,
,the perseveran
Prise, and activity of its intelligent inhabitants
undershall
ce, enter-
Mitical and discouraging circumstances,
nil pleasure do my utmost to make th
thebetter known and appreciated, esne ecia„se
117 wants and wishes of the proprietaryy
ti wants
well aware that in thus acting I shall -I;e:
colltably adopting that spirit of zeal for the welfare of the
411 10113' which has ever characterised the conduct of my
to mediate chief, Governor Light, in necessary obedience
hiswipna every word and act of my official career; during
re- administration, have been guided and regulated. With
Illevved assurances of the pride and pleasure with which
"e received your letter, and requesting that you will
al obliging as to make my feelings known to the other
e 141'41:leo who have signed it in common with yourselves,
have the honour to subscribe myself,
"Your very faithful and obliged servant,
I, ph • " H. E. F. YOUNG.
TO the
" •
Hon. P. Rose, J. Croal, Jas. Stuart, and J.
• Wm. Davison, C. Simson, J. Alexander, J.
lkillie• W. B. Ferguson, C. Conyers, A. Wishart, and
• Steele, Esqs."
qt

" By my faith,' said Teddy, 'you needn't talk about
that same in this place; you're as fond of bulls as any
people in all the world, so you are.'
" Nonsense!' some of the party replied; how do you
make that out?' .
" Why, sure, it's very airy, it is; for in this paltry
bit of a town you've got more public-houses nor I ever
seen wid the sign of the bull over the doors, so you have.'
" ' Nay, Teddy, very few of those; but there's some
of 'em, you know, in every town.'
" Yes,' said Teddy, obstinately sticking to his text,
for he had laid a trap fbr his friends, but you've more
nor your share, barring that you're so fond of bulls, as I
say; I'm sure I can count half-a-dozen of 'pm.'
" ' Pooh, nonsense!' cried the party; that will never
do: what'll you bet on that, Teddy? You're out there,
my boy, depend upon it; we know the town as well as
you, and what will you bet?'
" ' Indeed, my brave boys, I'll not bet at all; I'm no
better, I assure ye,—l should be worse if I wur.' This
sally tickled his companions, and he proceeded. But
I'll be bound to name and count the six.'
" Well, do, do,' said several voices.
" Now, let me see: there's the Black Bull.'
" Yes, that's one.'
Then there's the Red Bull.'

"H. E. F. YOUNG.

" That's two,'
" And the White Bull.'
" Come, that's three.'
" And the Pied Bull.'
" So there is; you'll not go much further.'
'
" And then there's—there's—there s—
the Golden
Bull, in --what's it street?'
ugh: but
" Well done, Teddy; that's five, eno
sure
you're short yet.' -
" Ay,' said a little letter-carrier, who sat smirking
in the corner, and he will be short, for there is'nt one
more, /know.'
And then, remirnber,' continued Teddy, carefully
pursuing his enumeration, there's the Dun Cow.
" At this, a burst of laughter fairly shook the room,
and busy hands kept the tables and glasses rattling
amidst boisterous cries of A bull! a bull!' Looking
serious at all around, Teddy deliberately asked,—
" Do you call that a bull?'

NERAL COURT-MARTIAL ON
LIEUTENANT GRANT, AT CHATHAM.
SECOND DAY.
e Court re-assembled yesterday.
noi,ptain Bull was the first witness, and deposed that
the " night of Major Shadforth's arrest he had ordered
ea ae-e_ used to obey his orders until the authorities at the
tr had taken cognizance of the case.
the leutenant John H. Chads, on questions being put by
con, Prisoner, said—l considered that I was under the
autrilla," of Captain Bull on the morning of the 10th of
rae,13;846, on board the barque Mary Ann,' and I
board
• the t„t„Ila circumstance of meeting the officer on
•no,'`th of July. It was about eight o'clock in the
itertni.h-'4l' I had just returned on board from the brig
and was standing on the quarter-deck, when
h
itOr
hadforth came on board, dressed in uniform, with
Gran letter ja his hand, and the major called for Lieutenant
de:it to assemble the officers in the cuddy, which was
Port ' and Mr. Grant called over their names, and re--
for„ed to the major they were all present. Major Shad
-
()f then read a letter, which cleared himself and other
ar,,E'rs from arrest, and placing Captain Bull in close
ah''st, until the decision of the Commander-in-Chief
ould he known. Major Shadforth then turned round
qranmtutenant and Adjutant Grant, and saying, "
' I Place you in close arrest, on my own. respoi!si
his Y, for aiding and abetting Captain Bull in placing
fortrultnanding officer in arrest." That Major Shad-
atte sent the Acting- Adjutant, Mr. Grant, to me to
ke lid the major. I did so, and Major Shadforth showed
be„„tl_e Pass-order book, and inquired if the book had
to urought to me. I acknowledged it had, and refused
savign it under the circumstances that had taken place,
Ara:4g I Was bound to obey the orders of Captain Bull.
keJor. Shadforth said that he should certainly have placed
r in the same predicament as that Captain Bull and
rant
for. Grant , were placed in, but as I had done my duty
eo
✓ `°llg, he would not put me in arrest, but should
del):trlyt mea to the Horse-Guards, and added, it was evi-
e planned thing for Captain Bull to assume the
Lilbe,4l, and of the regiment, and to give the adjutancy to
mare of
enant Grant, and the authorities at the Cape were
eaicuten'a'nt-Colonel George E. Jones, of the 57th, and
13031ta10 George Edwards were called to character, and
prig officers gave the highest opinion possible of the
offio:r9r, as a man of honour, as a gentleman, and an
The .
the ,
COrt Prisoner will make his defence tc-morrow; and
adjourned.

~ ' To be sure, it's a bull!' exclaimed several voices
at once.

" Then,' said Teddy, that's the sixth!'
" Here an unavoidable defeat in the direct was con-
verted into a victory in the antipodean, by the cleverly
obtained admission of the vanquished part 3 themselves."
In the postscript to the letter quoted in page 132, the
writer has purloined a facetious notion which was si-
milarly introduced in one of the opening numbers of
" Master Humphrey's clock." Delightful as the book is
when consumed sectionally, it palls upon the appetite
when devoured at a sitting, like every other jest-book.
Fora ten minutes' glance, a jest-book is as pleasant a
companion as Tom Sheridan could have been. Yet
we would as soon hobnob with a resurrectionist as
read the consecutive pages of that same jest-book to
the end. Such is the partial merit of the present
volume.

THE FIRESIDE. By Percy B. St. John.
The fireside is welcome always, more particularly
is it welcome at Christmas, and not the less welcome
is the " Fireside" to which Mr. Percy St. John wel-
comes us, because it is an American fireside. Not
among the vast prairies of the south-west, not in the
scarcely yet settled land of Texas, not among Bag-A-
woodsmen and Indians and Mexicans is the scene of
the present story laid, but in the city of New York,
and Mr. St. John depicts American domestic scenes,
and American civilization, with the same graphic
power with which he has hitherto depicted the wild
life of the pioneer of civilisation amid the un-
cultivated tracts of the New World. The story is
a simple one. The hero, Alfred Somers, is a physi-
cian in New York, living with his mother, who,
albeit our author does not state the fact, is, there can
be no doubt, a lineal descendant of " one of the old
Pilgrim Fathers"—there is the same high principle,
the same worship of the sterner virtues, the same in-
tolerance of " amiable weakness"—because in her
estimation " amiable weakness" is but vice disguised
—the same undreading spirit in Mary Somers which
were the distinguishing characteristics of the Pilgrim
Fathers, and which enabled them to become the
founders of a mighty nation. Alfred Somers
marries Eugenia Lawrence, a girl of admirable dis-
position, but spoiled by the precepts and the
example of the worldly -minded, tricky, extravagant

ac l
C lot of railway scrip shares," says the Limerick
hronicle, "bought in this city last week, were sent off
_o London for sale at the Stock Exchange, whence they
were returned, marked forgeries. ' " .

of d.eing so has not only not been afforded, but has been
positively denied, to them, by the impolicy of bolstering
up railway shares to a nominal amount beyond their
reach. Railway investment has been made a sort of
tabood ground, upon the sanctity of which no one must
intrude who carnot approach it at least with the air of a
capitalist. The money of the bumbler producers and
distributors of wealth is proscribed as if it were too ple-
beian to associate with that of the aristocracy who
monopolise the entree to Cape! Court. Bur, non old. If
it comes from the till of the viilage tradesman, or the
hard hand of the mechanic, it has the same purity, the
same virtues and uses, as if it had come from Coutts's,
Drummond's, or Glynn's.
" Why are the middle and lower classes to be debarred
from the profitable employment of their savings in any
way not injurious to the community, and more especi-
ally in a way by which the interests of the commnnity
would be so largely promoted, as facilitating and ceono
miring the internal cotntnunications of the kingdom?
The aggregate of their myriads of small savings should
not be repelled from, but invited to, railway investment!
as it would be, if the nominal amount of railway shares
were brought within the scope of their means. Re-
ducing them to 51, we repeat, and paying the usual in
terest upon deposits so small as 55., would accomplish
this ; and the property and control of railways would
then be in the hands of the general community, instead
of the hands of a few, who both injure and defy the
public, and laugh at the Legislature into the bargain!"
The theory of Mr. Ward is novel and startling, yet
we can see no reasonable objection that can be urged
against it; awl if the railways afford a safa means of
investment to the middle and lower classes for their
savings—if railways will afford them as great security
as saving banks, with a higher rate of interest, and
with greater power over the disposal of thoir capital,
then is Mr. Ward's proposition worthy of serious
consideration.

mother. The husband is minted by the roguery of
the mother-in-law. Believing r the wife has deceived
him, he separates from her. Ce nvinced of his wife's
truth—convinced that she has be en the victim of the
fraud of her mother (who dies mm td), he re-unites his
fate with her's, retrieves his faller t fortunes, and in the
society of his wife and his mother, is once again happy
by his own fire-side. This story gives Mr. St. John
opportunities of giving us some .admirable sketches of
American society. The following description of a
ball in New York is admirable : -
The ball was such a ball as is to be found perhaps
nowhere else but in New York, whore, whatever may be
the faults existent in society—An d society has faults
enough everywhere imputed to it, as if civilisation were
a horrid monster, spreading mis ery and sorrow—there
is more of that cordiality, and di -termination for enjoy-
ment, than is found in the drat ring-rooms of the old
world. There is much of the sa roe love of display, of
shining beyond the rest—of idle, ;foolish gossip, about
nothing—which is wicked waste of one of God's
greatest gifts, time—but still there is more of heartiness.
Refinement is, of course, however Local writers may pro-
pitiate and flatter the Broadway br dies, not expected
have reached, in a new country, t hat pinnacle which it
has in the old ; and when we krno•w what refinement
often hides—the courts of the Lotfa were in one sense
refined—we may be pardoned if are wish that America
may retain its juvenility.
And is not this juvenility, this, :rough, hearty, some-
times coarse state of being, a thi 7 rather to be envied
and admired, than to be made the subject of satire and
burlesque by flippant travellers, w'ho see as much of the
country as did he, who, passing thr yugh Alsace, and only
catching a glimpse of a being rif each sex, reported
thereupon that all the men were ref 1-haired, and all the
women squint-eyed—or something- 'equally veracious."
Neither is this tale deficient in.
.poetry:—
"A smile is as the dew ; wheni2e it riseth, and how it
cometh, must be known, ere its wail e be appreciated. As
the dew of the bituminous swa mirtis of the Amazons,
pregnant with rank vegetation, is in '-ectious and destruc-
tive to life, so is the smile of the s.sai 'Gil heart and guilty
soul poison to all around ; but as, the dew rising from
healthy soils is surcharged with qualities favourable to
life, so is the smile of the pure and:good delightful to the
observer.

The philosophy of Mr. St. john is sound and
healthy, and, as worshippers of the truth, we thank
him for the energetic manner in Ywhich, in the follow-
ing passage he has entered his. protest against the
mawkish sentimentality, detestaN e in point of taste,
worse than detestable in point of morality, which has
of late polluted what we were h sr etofore wont to con-
sider the pure fount of English u.n defiled literature :
" Alfred,' said Eugenia, sudde'nly, 4 why not come
with me ? It would give me so ma ch pleasure.'
" Thanks," replied the husban if, with an affectionate
and gratified smile—for little atte unions are great to the
sincere—' but duty calls me henc e. I have many calls
to make this evening, and must match a few hours for
reading.

" This compelled denial and abs( ►nce from home would,
in the eyes of certain fashionable• and popular roman-
cists, doubtless excuse any amour it of legerete and aban-
donment of domestic duties in the woman. But is it a
sure truth that man has no duties ibut those of home ? Is
man to be nothing but a pivot mound which a narrow
sphere of occupations are to turn ? We think that the
world, society; and the good of our lellows, demand much
of our time ; and that woman— ref ►en her character is
noble and elevated, as it should e.v( ,r be—looks with de-
light and pride on him, who, a tender and affectionate
husband and and father, is also a good citizen. The
stern calls of a profession, be thnt profession that of a
statesmen—even a popular member '—or a mere money-
compelling one, such as law or physic, are of course
without appeal, and yet we have ;se en them unsparingly
satirised by the hands either of ;ignorance or malevu-
ence.

A PRACTICAL COMPENDIUM OF THE
LAW AND USAGE OP MERCANTILM
A CCOUNTS. By Alexander .Pulling, Esq., of the
Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law.
In this little work the author hi is given us a com-
plete exposition of the law and ris age relating to ac-
counts in any way connected with trade. Thework is
divided into three chapters. In his first chapter he
treats of various points in the law of debtor and
:reditor ; partnership, principal and agent; bank-
ruptcy and insolvency. In the second chapter he
pescribes the system and routine of book -keeping
and accounts, adopted among the trading community;
and in the third chapter, which is. devoted to the sub-
ject of the investigation of merovntile accounts are
collected the rules of pleading, evidence, and practice.
for the investigation of disputed ace ►unto; under the
various forms of proceedings at cot nmon law, in equity,
bankruptcy, and insolvency, and by arbitration. This
is a work which will be found equa Ily useful by the
lawyer and the trader. The form will acquire from
the perusal of the second chapter much practical
knowledge, a subject on which he is but too often
lamentably ignorant, viz., the system and routine of
book-keeping as actually practise& in the counting-
houses of merchants and traders ; while to the latter,
the knowledge which he will acquire of the law
and merchants' accounts, from the perusal of this va-
luable little treatise, cannot but prove eminently
useful.

MR. ITTLD'S RAILWAY MAP OF GREAT
BRITAIN AND IRELAIVD.
Mr. James Wyld, of Charing Cross, has published
two beautifully executed railway maps, for 1847, the
one of Great Britain, the other of Ireland. These
maps are drawn on a large scale, and with that accu-
racy and neatness which characterises every publica-
tion of Mr. Wyld's. They show the lines of railway
at present completed in the respective countries—the
lines in progress, and the projected lines to be proposed
to Parliament in 1847, plans of which have been de-
posited in the Private Bill-office. The number of
plans for new railways deposited at the Private Bill-
office, and on which Parliament will have to adjudi-
cate in the course of the ensuing session, amounts, as
appears from Mr. Wyld's map to three hundred.

CHRONOLOGY OF STAMFORD. By George
Burton.
It is not often that we notice -works of merely
local interest. We are, however,, induced to notice
the present publication, because Mr. Burton
deviating from the usual forms of such works, adopted
an alphabetical arrangement.
That form being deemed the most advantageous in a
work the primary object of which is tc► present in a con-
venient compass an epitome of all the remarkable events
pertaining to the locality."

The plan is an admirable one, and we would advise
the adoption of an alphabetical arrangement for the
future in all works of a similar character. The book
itself is an amusing and instructive little work, and
will be found very serviceable as a book of reference
concerning all matters of local interest. The illustra-

tions are numerous and well designed, and the typo-
graphy and getting up reflects great credit on Mr.
Bagley, of Stamford, by whom it is printed and pub..
lished.

RAILWAYS FOR THE MANY AND NOT
FOR THE FEW. By James Ward, Esq.
This brochure fully answers its title. Not only
would Mr. Ward secure to the many the use, at a
low rate, of railways as means of Locomotion, but he
would adopt, as the most efficient means to that end,
the throwing open of the railway trade, so as to
make the many the great proprietors of the railroads.
At present, the large capitalists corm nand the rail-
ways because railway property is divided into shares
of large value. lie would encourage small capitalists
to invest their savings in railways by making the
shares of small amount. Instead of having the capi-
tal for a railway raised in shares of 100/., 501., or
251. each, he would have it raised in. shares of Si. If
this plan were adopted, it would, according to Mr.
Ward,

" Keep the market in a healthy state, advance the pro-
gress of the system by bringing to it the aid of capital,
which is available now to no other process in the pro-
duction of wealth ; promote economy and industry
among the humbler classes, by affording a profitable
field for the investment of their savings ; and diffuse
amongst the nation at large the beneficis.l interest of the
of the grand economical invention of the day, which, as
already pointed out, the commonwealth should never
have abandoned to the few.

" There is a large class of persons in this country
possessed of property varying from the amount of 101.
up to 200/., with which they have no opportunity of em-
barking in any speculation in which they feel an interest,
or of which they have the capacity to form a judgment
of. Consequently, the less wealthy of this class deposit
their savings in the savings bank, which allows them
rarely more interest than 2 per cent., while the wealthier
invest theirs in the funds, which afford .about 3 per cent.
Of course, a man possessed of less than the price of 100/.
stock is deprived even of this trivia: advantage ; and
et
shaser t loofa gs beenafe
anda desideratum
transferable thatsec n
r itheresecurity
i n should
which
if our sugge of reducinc, the
sums under 100b/e. cionulad be put tboaanmorße
apiirwoafiytaablile.eunisde
51. were adopted for the ine'vest-
the • would no doubt become
ment of small amounts; 9moreOver, interest of 4 per cent.
thanhbeentheyscoem i can . - lion
aaffm(e)rudnstuecfh asbmareedsintmo)
guaranteed until the
ex-
ceedingly popular, i ,
completionupon
e f
labourers of almost every
ters, masons, mechanics,
the remunerative
description —are perfectly aware of
undertakings. They advantage, of these great
•` The class who possesasndtbese small shares--carpen-
ters,
as well as public a
thea wleowrkess. 55.
were
they create
bosoms ;' for the demand for labour which
a cement of wages
is sensitively felt by them in the advancement . wages
which sufficient of
which it produces. They know,
come home to `their business and
losers
rresultembarkingof those pirno jec
anyts
similar,
mh
ii
lcahr , have already been
enter-
tained, and honestly conducted project
completed, to feel assured that they ar•e not likely to be
while, on the
other hand, they are fully alive to the almost certainty
of considerable gain which they present ; and this im-
rieasonably
pression cannot fail to become stranger as the financial
statistics of railways come to be more popularly under-
stood. The assumed difference, therefore, on the scare
of safety, between a railway security and a Government
ciswftvahnerehiecesltivatmehmtsrhoee.i
eltis security
rstnnhet
dtfreieaaeswtvde vindodieeanue:rtlmrhyd
a-
they
littlefrnyrnwado could
er
0 twuhrfsauolaeedyrptpl
snore
-interest
enrrabsni
increase
beis; nerattadhfirubnseoagur;
ffimegu
I:d:en,
the: and t
eityhtaui
adntlf
traw,aavtnpoi
areil
rloanit%
evilbffijdrdaiulyci
mobile
nhiiii
bnetnaoybeitt
thus their means of subsistence are improved."
He contends that these small shareholders would keep
down fares, and keep down expenses; that they
would, from their position and their numbers, be
enabled to keep a check upon profuse expenditure ;
and that, under such a system, engineers and solici-
tors would, instead of being the tyrants, be 'reduced
to their proper position as the servants of the compa-
nies. He thus concludes his argument :

" The doctrine of experience teaches us that the doc-
trine of cheapness of construction must be consulted by
us ; for if we do not consult it, it will certainly force it-
sell upon us. But economy we shall never have in the
construction of railways until the really economical part
part of the community—the productive and saving
classes, can invest their savings in them. But the option

COURT CIRCULAR.
WINDSOR, THURSDAY.—Their Royal Highnesses the
Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the Princess
Ali3e, took walking and pony exercise this morning on
the Eastern Terrace of the Castle and slopes.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by the
Earl of Listowel, the Hon. Colonel Phipps, Colonel
Bouverie, and Mr. G. E. Anson, enjoyed the sport of
shooting this morning.
The Royal dinner party at the Castle this cv'ning
will include her Royal highness the Duchess of Ke!a,
the Lady in Waiting of the Duchess of Kent, the
Baroness de Speth, Mr. G. E. and the lion. Mrs. An-
son, Sir George Couper, and Captain Francis Seymour.
The band of the Ist Life Guards will attend during
dinner ; her Majesty's private band afterwards attend
in the Castle.

Mr. William Blamire had an interview with the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official resi-
dence in Downinag•street.
Dispatches were sent off yesterday evening, from the
Colonial-office, for the Governors of Hong-Kong and
Ceylon, and also for the Governor of the Mauritius.
Sir William Somerville (Under Secretary of State for
the Home Department), arrived in town on Wednesday
night, from Ireland.

CASE OF MRS. SHUTTLE WORTH.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—The judgment of Lord Denman in the case of
Mrs. Shuttleworth has been discussed in so ample and
in so masterly a manner in your journal, that it may
appear to be presumptuous on the part of any of our
correspondents to attempt to add to what you have
written. As, however, I am acquainted with a few facts
which may throw a little light upon the subject, I yen-
ture to address the following observations to you. Ido
not think it impossible that Lord Denman may hare
misinterpreted, as other judges have ofren done in other
matters, the law on this subject, and I think his Lord-
ship has been surprised into a wrong judgment on this
occasion, by Mr. Parry, the counsel for Dr. Quail,
having, as I have been informed by members of the
Alleged Lunatics' Friend Society, who attended to
watch the proceedings, unfortunately argued as if he
admitted Mrs. Suttleworth's insanity, and not
only her insanity, but that she was also
a proper person for confinement; for our law
very properly distinguishes between these two states of
mind, as there are many persons, who are imbecile or
subject to harmless delusions, who are not on that ac-
count dangerous persons, or incapable of taking care of
their own persons and property.
The whole tenor of Lord Denman's judgment was,
therefore, that it was most proper for the safety of the
supposed lunatic, and for the safety of society, that she
should, and that society should be protected. He seems
entirely to have lost sight of the necessity of protecting
the liberty of the subject, for which the law is also de-
signed, and of another important point, the injustice
which has been done to Dr. Quail in depriving him of a
patient and of his character, which I know is exposed to
these infamous aspersions, without his having an oppor-
tunity of defending himself, which be would have had,
had the law, as I still believe it does, required that she
should not have been incarcerated without previously
being brought before a magistrate.
Those who have held the worst opinion of the present law
have been surprised at the hideous deformity of it, which
Lord Denman's judgment has given to it, and which I
still think is a caricature of that law. We knew that
the relations and friends of any person might prove his
unjust confinement with facility, but we never supposed
that it was in the power of
perfect strangers to take
such a step without bringing the person before a magis-
trate • and though the Act of Parliament states that the
individual signing the order for a person's seizure
should state his degree of relationship (if any) with the
alleged patient, still, from the nature of the informa-
tion which the law directs that such order should con-
tain, we supposed, and I still suppose, that the law pre-
sumed that he should b have acquaintance with the
patient.
With regard to what the Learned Judge stated, and
Dr. Millingen writes respecting the clause which requires
the fact or facts to be stated upon which an alleged luna-
tic is certified to be insane, and a proper person to be con-
fined which latter words prove the necessity of
the facts being accurately stated—l do not know
what in legal language constitutes a directory clause;
but this I know, that that clause is not to be found in
the Bill introduced into Parliament by Lord Ashley and
the Commissioners in Lunacy, that it was introduced
into the Act by Mr. Thomas S. Duncombe, the Member
for Finsbury, and that it was introduced by him at the
request of the members of the Alleged Lunatics' Friend
Society, with the express view that it should be compul-
sory on these three grounds:_
First, that the visiting authorities of any asylum
might at once be able to examine a person appealing to
them on the nature of the charges made against him,
and release him if they found the facts brought against
him were untrue, or that he could satisfactorily explain
them, without the cruel delay of at least six weeks, and
perhaps as many months inquiry, by writing or otherwise.
Secondly, to prevent the alleged lunatic being kept
in agonising suspense, as to the nature of the charges
allm made
shaken, against
o hirNn3v4
waswhichin a
prone person
to
delusions, whose
aught ( was 1 e
lead
to his ascribing his confinement to some fanciful cause
—which to any person is most unjust, and which pre-
vents, or tends to prevent, any person unjustly confined
from proving malicious motives, and from having his
remedy in law against any party for a libellous con-
spiracy.
Thirdly, to prevent as far as possible collusion both be-
tween the medical men, who are compelled to visit the
person they certify separately, and between them and
the individual signing the order.
It may be more delicate towards a person who is de-
cidedly insane, that a certificate should not be shown to
him, or registered against hitn, which is founded on facts
of an indelicate nature; but it is both indelicate and cruel
to confine any person on a general charge of indecency,
without giving him an opportunity of proving the false-
ness of the charge, and the injustice of his detention.
I have the honour to be, Sir, your much indebted and
obedient humble servant,

JOHN PERCEVAL.
Hon. Secretary of the Alleged Lunatics' Friend Society.

MADAME A. Bismor.—Our accomplished native
vocalist leaves town at the end of the month for an ex •
tensive provincial tour, to fulfil a great number of en-
gagements long since entered into. She goes in the first
instance to Cheltenham and Gloucester, where she will
devote four days ; then to Brighton for a week ; thence
for three weeks to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester,
and other places in that neighbourhood. The first week
in February will be divided between the two University
towns, Oxford and Cambridge. On February the 80
she proposes going to Dublin, where she performs until
the 22d, and thence to Belfast and Cork. On the Ist of
March she takes Edinburgh for a fortnight, and Glasgow
for three:days, returning scuth again to Bath and Bristol
for four days, and during Passion Week she will be at
Exeter, for the sacred concert there. In short, the
British syren has not a day disengaged between this and
the beginning of April.—Observer.
Loss OF A FRENCH WAR FRlGATE.—Advices re-
ceived from Mulgrave Island, dated August 3, announce
the total loss of the French corvette La Seine, 20 guns;
which took place on the night of the 4th of July, on a
sunken reef of rocks, near Balade, on the coast of New
"Caledonia. The ship, it appears, on striking, heeled
over on her larboard side and partly filled. Fortunately,
preserved,amo untin gbiyn
all whichto nearlythe w2hooole persons,of tlie
ethreewbaonadts w
officers,ere
were saved. Every exertion was subsequently used to
save the vessel. Her guns and heavy ammunition were
thrown overboard, and her masts cut away, with a view
of floating her off, but all to no purpose ; consequently
she became a complete wreck.
DRUNKEN LOGIC.—A man of Wellingborough,
being brought up for drunkenness denied the charge,
inasmuch a 3 he knew what he was about. If I vrar
drunk," said he, ‘‘. know'ti I war drunk, then 1
warn't drunk; but if I war drunk, and didn't know I war
drunk, then I war drunk."—Boston Herald.

humid season ? And would you recommend the removrl absent, soon sent a protest agaiest m --1' e ,:-14-1--aten '-'-e
of all the churchyard earth ? I shall feel truly obliged have a parochial division, and I am
-i!aleintlitai"
and grateful for yOur opinion on these matters, and your ' there is no immediate prospect of the rem! ra, ' of the
further remarks as to the duties of medical men may be source of the malady. Since I first addressed yoga I have
productive of much good in influencing an investigation. bad important additional confirmation of the vie- ws we
" With my renewed apologies fur thus again trespas- both entertain. Wherever this earth has been taken
sing on your valuable time, - fever bas followed. The patron had some taken. to his
" Believe me, Sir, with much respect, garden, and the only son of the gardener near was
" Yours very faithfully, attacked. The result at the rectory you are alreindy
(Signed) • " DAN: SMITH." aware of, and there are two en three more instances. li
No. IV. '- ' - young man who paid his addresses to a young woman
" London, 38, Finsbnry-squareeNoV. 27, 1846. , living in the street between the rectory and the heaps, went
" Sin,--The facts contained in youlneeenne teeter g.ve home a distance of three or four miles, sickened with fever
an additional importance to those state Tin your first, and and died.
from both together, it appears that earth has been re- i "Children living an a distance, who attended on Sun-
moved from a great portion of achurchyarel 500 year:, old, day and day schools, went home, sickened, and felt vice
densely crowded vvithgraves,—thatmany bodies were dug time to the malady. Yet .:ta no instance has it been.
up with this earth and again reinterred—that the earth is communicated to the remaining family ; but when all,
of a dark colouraand,still containing bones, although the fear of contagion and a certain iiiine had elapsed, chile
larger bones have been collected by . hand-picking,' and i dren of the same family were again admitted to school,
have been re-interred—that a large quantity of this ; and in a shun time they sickened ant? were sent home ;
earth has been: used on pasture land close to the town— this had been the case in many instances ; in none have
that many cart loads of it have been lit in trenches, by I I seen it communicated by contagion.
the side of the
,walks, in the garden of the rectory— I ." Again a young girl is d with fever , I
that the new ground', which has been added to the I attend, she recovers ; whileseize in a weak condition sheseverely at-.
church yard lace heed" Coated'-with it from its fertilizing tends her school, a few days after she is seized with low
effects in hastening the rapid growth of grass, and taat ifever and sinks. Many slight cases have occurred, such
two large banks of it .still remain within fifty. yards of as rigors, headache, and sudden and great prostration of
the town—the one mixed with " rubbish,' containing 500 strength, which have continued only r two. Two
loads, and the other consisting exclusively of church- or three instances I have seen more resembling a paroxe
yard earth,
_being one yard in thickness, and seventy ysm of insanity.. Take the following instance :—I was.
yards in length, containing at least 500 loads more, and called to a lady of a most amiable disposition ;in the
exposing a large surface to the atmosphere. You fur- morning she had been seized-with rigors ; I found her
ther describe the present state of the church-yard to be with slight congestion of brain, pulse quick, torgue
' sliced down' to within a loot or two of the remains of clean, bead cool ; I found her throwing objects at her
the dead, some bodies having been actually exposed husband, and she accused me of robbing her of her
and re-interred, it being, you state, still necessary occa- child. I attributed this state cf plied to the poisoned
sionally to cover in others, to keep them from view, and condition of the blood, that is, the brain, I considered
this part you say is densely crowded with graves, being supplied with imperfect
blood; rendered the func-
"From the account it is obvious that, independently tions of this organ imperfect also. , The.patient re-
of what has been used on pasture land, in the garden of covered in a few days under my simple treatment.
the rectory, and in the new ground of the churchyard, "One of the most leading symptoms is excessive pros-
one thousand loads of earth, highly charged with animal :ration of strength. I nearly lost &lady by the applica-
matter, being in fact the progressive accumulation of tion of four leeches to the foreheadond was compelled
the bodies of the dead for five centuries, have been ac- to give her wine liberally ; also another young person
tually exposed to the atmosphere; and the question is nearly sunk from the same cause. ' I.ordered two, and
whether it is probable that this earth can now give off four leeches were applied ; she became insensible for
emanations capable of producing in those who inhale t hours. Also the eldest son of a gentleman, who lost a
them disease and death, dessert spoonful of blood from the nose ; the tongue be-
"ln the evidence given by Mr. J. Dean,* before the came dry, and insensibility followed • wine only saved
; Health of Towns Commission, some facts are stated him. In all cases the blood is very daik, I presume from
which will help us to answer this question. This wit- excess of carbon. I could generally foretel the condi-
ness enters into a detailed consideration of the dif- tion of my patients by walking Lite at night on my ter-
ference in a sanatory point of view, as well as in the race (an elevated position). If I found a warm, close,
productive value of manure, diluted with water, and used moist atmosphere, with no wind, so that the exhalations
as a liquid, and of the same manure applied in the solid remained in the lower stratum of air, the delirious symp-
form as top dressing. The thought is revolting, but it toms were generally aggravated, and vice versa.
is not the less the fact, that practically the whole of the " I sincerely hope that the ensuing Parliament will
churchyard earth which has b-sen exposed to the atrnos- provide some legislative enactment so as to remedy such
phere, whether that applied on the pasture land, in the a dangerous state of things ; for it is a lamentable fact,
trenches of the rectory garden, on the new ground that the cause of epidemic is not likely to be removed. I
added to the churchyard, or that which still remains in have already brought upon myself severe obloquy and
heaps close to the town, must be regarded as top dres- prejudice. I hope the time is not far distant when every
sing. According to the evidence of Mr. Dean, the pro- county will have its Sanatory Commissioners, to visit
per dilution of manure with water, and the application of and report periodically every teen, and who can always
it to land in a liquid form, while it increases the produc- be accessible as reference and authority.—Believe me,
tive value of the manure five or six fold, absolutely pre- Sir, with much respect, yours faithfully,
vents the escape of noxious emanations, or at all events (Signed) " D. SMITH."
renders the production of miasmata only occasional, and (No. VI.)
of very short duration ; but this same manure, when " 38, Finsbury-square, Dec. 21, 1846.
applied in a solid form, as top dressing, decomposes " Sir,—lf any person of ordinaryintelligence were
slowly, and gives off ter an indefinite period emanations told that a thousand loads of eat th saturated with ani-
injurious to whoever is exposed to them. On the coast mal matter were exposed to the atmosphere close to a
of Kent abounds a creature called five fingers (the As- town heretofore proverbial for health ; that not a
terias), which preys upon the oyster, and which the single case of fever had previously existed in this
fishermen catch in great numbers, in order to protect town at least for fourteen years ; that on diligently
their oyster beds. As this devourer of the oyster is not searching for the common causes of fever, such as
itself used for human food, it is often spread out as top- accumulations of filth within the town, or stagnant
dressing in fields, sometimes close to villages, and when pools and ditches without it, no such causes could be
this is the case, ascot ding to the state of the atmosphere found ; that soon after the exposure of this earth, in a
and the direction of the winds, the poisonous products of season favourable to its decomposition, fever broke out
decomposition by generating epidemic fever, have spread and became epidemic ; that ' wherever this earth was
devastation in those villages. The state of the atmosphere taken fever followed ;' that ' wherever it was placed
is not always favourable to decomposition, nor that of in the greatest quantity fever prevailed in the
the winds to the injurious diffusion or its products, so greatest degree, and was most severe and mortal ; that
that materials the must highly charged 'With poison, may wherever ' the atmosphere as warm, close, and moist,
be inactive, and therefore innoxious for a considerable with no wind, so that the exhalations remained in the
time, but at length will come a warm, close atmosphere, lower stratum of air, the delirium and the other symp-
with a sluggish .wind thawlk-aiietvlngt along the now toms of the malady were greatly aggravated ;' and that
rapidly-developed poisonous gases, and then, should this in no instance did the fever appear to spread by commu-
wind chance to wove in the direction of houses anti vil- nication from person to person, but always in conse-
loges the inhabitants, who are susceptible to fever, will quence, or at least in the degree of exposure to this
be sure to be seized with this disease. This appears to earth, as illustrated by several remarkable individual
have been theeeaouree of events at • Miechinhampten in cases—lf any person of common sense were told these
the year 1844 I," lrtftlatattaltztepirevientsfy to that period things, even if there should exist in his mind any doubt
not a single case of fever had been observed in this as to the real relation of cause and effect in this case, he
town, at least for fourteen years ; you say it was pro- would surely think it prudent, as a meae matter of pre-
verbial for its state of health, and certainly its position caution, to remove these thousand loads of earth. After
and soil are particularly favourable to health, while it the
part taken by your patron and your rector, in pro-
appears to be free from stagnant ditches, collections of clueing the calamity that has befallen your town, though,
filth, and the usual sources from which fever springs. no doubt, quite unintentionally. and unconsciously, they
In the autumn of 1843 the exposure to the atmosphere can hardly be expected to become at once advocates for
of the church-yard earth took place ;in the following the obvious remedy ; but it is to be hoped that the in-
year fever broke out, many cases occur, all of them so habitants in general will not be so slow to profit by the
uniform in their symptoms as to indicate their origin lessons of experience. Physicians of all ages, who have
from some common cause. After a time the fever paid attention to the subject, nave been of opinion that
abates, the alarm subsides, but soon the disease again the very symptoms observed in your patients, namely,
breaks out worse than before; so that withia the lust two those denote a highly typhoidtype, are produced mainly
months upwards of 150 cases have occurred. The in- by exhalations arising from the decomposition of animal
tensity of the disease, meantime, falls on the street ad- matter. Thus Dr. Mead, writing more than a century
joining the rectory, and on the rectory itself, and in the and a half ago, in assigning the reason why Grand Cairo,
rector's own family, the wife, the daughter, and the in Egypt, is the birth place and the cradle of the plague,
gardener, become its victims and perish. which is nothing but a severe form of typhas fever,
" But in churchyard earth five centuries old, still says :—" The city is situated in a sandy place at the
densely crowded with graves, poisonous matter must be foot of a mountain, which keeps off the winds that might
contained in a high degree of concentration. We know refresh the air, consequently the heat is rendered ex-
from experience that the air may become so charged tremely stifling. A great canal passes through the
with animal and vegetable poison, as to cause death by midst of the city, which, at the overffow of the Nile, is
the inspiration of it for a few moments. This is the case filed with water. On the decrease of the river this
in hot climates where there is much moisture, and where canal is gradually dried up, and the people throw into it
large quantities of dead and decayed vegetable and ani- all manner of filth, carrion, offal, and so on ; the stench
mai substances are exposed for it considerable time, per- which arises from this and the mud together is intolera-
haps in stagnant pools and marshes, to this, moist heat. bly offensive, and from this source, the plague con-
It is the same in vaults in which bodies are enclosed in scantly springing up every year, preys upon the inhabi-
leaden coffins, the opening of which has sometimes tants, and ls stopped only by the return of the Nile
proved suddenly fatal to those who have breathed the the overflowiig of which washes away the load of filth
stench and vapour that have issued from them. Cases In Ethiopia, the swarms of locusts are so prodigious,
are on record in which thieves aho have broken into th et they sometimes cause a famine, by devouring the
tombs and forced open such coffins, with a view of truits of the earth, and when they die they create a pese
plunder, instead of finding jewels, have met with tilence by the putrefaction of their bodies; this patrefacs-
death, and have been found dead in the vaults. don is greatly increased by the dampness of the climate,
These facts show the highly-concentrated state it. which during the sultry heats of July and August is
which an animal poison may exist. Your five ceetu- often excessive ; the efflnvia which arises from the im-
ries old dark churchyard earth must, I repeat, mense quantity of putritlying animal substance, combined
contain this poison in a high state of concentration. with so much heat and moisture, continually generate
The state of the atmosphere, for a considerable time the plague in its intensest form; and the Egyptians of
past, has been favourable to decomposition, from the old were so sensible how much the putrefaction of dead
uature of your soil, which you state to be sandy, eith animals contributed towards breeding the plague, that
rock abounding everywhere ; the poisonous products they worshipped the bird Ibis, from the services it did
cannot percolate through the earth, but must be exhaled in removing great numbers of serpents, which they ob-
into the atmosphere. If the weather should be calm, and ,erved injured by their stench w hen dead, as much as.by
the wind move sluggishly in the direction of your town, their bite when alive.
your present epicemic will continue ; with the change of " A quarter of a century ago there were indications
the atmospheric conditions, the intensity of the emana- in this country of a disposition to call in question the
tions given off from your decomposing heaps, may dimi correctness of the view taken by this distinguished /Thy-
nish, and, consequently, your fever may decline and Acian and philosopher, of the origin of the plague, and
even subside, but it will again recur as long as those of analogous diseases ; but the evidence of the truths
heaps are allowed to remain, and, indeed, as long as since adduced has commanded almost universal assent,
this extraordinary amount of poisonous matter is allowed and the most striking and irresisttble confirmation of it
to contaminate a soil naturally salubrious. - is afforded, among others, by the Commissioners ap-
" The arrangement by which dead organic matter is pointed in 1844 by the French Government specially to
capable of again receiving the principle of life, of investigate all the varied questions cennected with the
assuming new vital forms, and of developing into new plague, and who, in the early part of the present year,
bodies, is beautiful and beneficent, but when such give in an elaborate report, the result of these labours, to
matter is taken from new graves and applied dine:tie he Royal Academy of Medicine in France.
to fertilise our fields, the transition is too immediate, " There is a growing dislike in the people of this coun-
and cannot but shock the natural prejudices of the try to have their places of burial desecrated by common
human mind. Mr. Chadwick has shown the impera and daily- traffic, and by rude and low sports, and those
tive necessity of an entire revision of our whole who can afford it, now seek to bury their dead in public
system of interment, at least as far as regards large 'emeteries wretchedly poor and inappropriate as those
towns and populous districts; but the case of Minchin- cemeteries are, compared with what national places of
hampton proves that such a revision is equally necessary .epulture might and ought to be made. In the meantime
for our villages and hamlets. The necessity of such a the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, Including the Arch-
revision appears to have been felt by the great architect bishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of London, Lincoln,.
of St. Paul's—' For I could wish,' says Sir Christopher Durham, St.Asaph, and Bangor, have recprtedlag:einst the-
Wren, ' that all burials in churches might be disallowed, practice of burial in the church and
us to. be in many re-
never is not only unwholesome, but the pavement can rice,' the? say, ' which appearscas(s
be ktpt even, nor pews upright, and if the church. „peas iru:riou!, in some by weakening or detyerio-
yard be close about the church, this is also inconvenient, rating the fabric of the Church, and in others by its ten-
because the ground being continually raised by the lency to affect the lives and health of the inhabitants.
graves occasions in time a descent by steps into the. We are of opinion that in future the practice should be
church which renders it damp and the walls green, a, discontinued.' One distinguished member of the bench,appears evidently in all old churches.' When shall we :ndeed, is of opinion that there is no evil in this prac-
'see every parish in England with its ' God's Acre,' thus.
.ice, provided it is not carried to excess : that poison in
secluded places of sepulture, of which the German itself is not hurtful, but only an extreme dose of it. It
Protestants have set us the example; beautified with is earnestly to be wished thst the Ecclesiastical Commis-
perennial flowers, with flowering shrubs, with the ,inners bad reported against the practice of burial near
cypress and the willow, and with groups of other trees, the church as well as within it, were it only for the rea-
the favourites of our familiar fields, gardens, and sou assiffned by Sir Christopher Wren, already quoted,
woods; in which peaceful retreats it may be possible that 'if the churchyard be close about the church, the
to cherish those reverential and tender association: ground being continually raised by the graves, occasions
naturally called up by the sight, or even the thought of in time a descent by steps into the church, which renders
the hallowed spot in which our beloved dead i epose; it damp, and the walls green, as appears, evidently, in.
and full of these' types of renovation and decay, which old churches."
the fields and the woods offer to the notice of the
serious and contemplative mind,' suggestions which are
especially so precious because so soothing to the mourner
and so calculated to revive in his heart resignation and
hope. _

" I am, Sir, your faithful servant,
(Signed) " SOUTH WOOD SMITH."

;.From the state of uncertainty in which the authori-
ties of your town still appear to be with regard to the
cause and remedy of the calamity with which it is visited,
I am afraid that time must be distant.
"I am, Sir, your faithful servant,
(Signed) " SOUTHWOOD SMITH.
"Daniel Smith, Esq."
No. V.
" Michinhampton, Dec. 7, 1846.
"Dear Sir,—l now hope to give you a detailed account
of the epidemic with which this town has been visited,
as well as the part I have taken in the matter.
" An early meeting of the inhabitants of the pail: h
was held to ascertain the cause of the disease, and being
called upon to give my opinion, I stated that I had re-
sided in the town 16 years, as a surgeon, during 14 of
which I had no recollection of having attended a single
case of fever, that is, in the town. Two years ago I
was much occupied in attending many cases, and, f rein
their uniformity of symptoms, I felt assured that they
arose from some specific cause. In my daily rides I en-
deavoured to discover this source; I looked in vain for
any undrained lands or marshy bugs, which were calcu-
lated so throw off malaria; I found none. I then directed
my attention to the physical or geographical position and
condition of the town. I found here no feature calcu•
lated to favour the development of fever ; but on
further inquiries I found that a considerable quantity
of churchyard earth was exposed to the atmosphere
—earth saturated with animal matter, and which I
consider was just such a cause calculated to produce the
effects I had witnessed. The patron of the living, who
is also the lord of the manor, together with the rector,
were, I believe, the principal cause of the unfortunate
churchyard arrangement. The former, who was present,
appeared to receive my opinion with some pique and dis-
courtesy. Many, if not most, of the individuals present
considered that there was something in my views. I
farther stated that I recognised the same uniform symp-
toms in the fever of the present year, indicating that
both arose from the same cause. The rector, who was

PONDEROUS LOCOMOTIVE LoAD.—Last week a
very heavy locomotive engine, belonging to the South
Eastern, was transported by the turnpike-road from the
terminus to Deal. The unwieldy machine was placed
on a strong truck, and required no fewer than 30 power-
ful horses to draw it up the Castle hill. The novelty of
the sight of so numerous a team drew together a large
concourse of persons, some of whom, notwithstanding
the inclemency of the weather, accompanied the truck,
with its ponderous load, several miles on its way towards
its destination. The engine, we understand, was about
20 tons in weight, and the truck 6 tons. On the previous
day the tender, drawn by 25 horses, was also taken to
Deal.

* First Report, vol. 2, p. 406 et sep.

CHRISTMAS DINNER CLUBS.—Experienced sales-
men at Leadenhall-market state, that the demand for
Christmas geese has this year exceeded that of any pre-
vious season, and that the establishment of clubs has,
within the last few days, brought upwards of 20,000
geese
~ into the market. The plan is, for a certain num-
.

iier of subscribers to a club to a pay sixpene or a shil-
ling per week, for some time previous to Christmas day,
to rective a goose and a bottle of spirits. The publican
holding the club generally enters into a contract for
geese some months before, propm tionate in number to
his anticipated demand, and each vies in producing birds
of the largest size and best breed. It has been stated
that, from this competition, the quality of geese has
been very much improved, from the greater attention
which the extra demand has caused to be paid to the
feeding and fattening the birds. In some parts of the
metropolis " plumpudding clubs" have been established.
TIDE.—On Wednesday afternoon the tide
rose so high as to overflow the banks of the river. The
lower part of Rotherhithe was in many parts under
water, and several of the houses near the river had their
basement floors completely inundated. A great part of
Battersea-fields, in the neighbourhood of the Red-house,
were under water, and impassable till some time after
the tide had subsided.
Lord John Russell has received the remaining
halves of a 501. and two 10/. notes, transmitted to him
on account of income-tax. The amount will be paid
into the Exchequer.