The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-14 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

BOHN'S STANDARD LIBRARY: Ranke's His-
tory of the Popes. Vols. 11. and lIL Milton's Prose
tt'orks. Vol. I.
BOHN'S ANTIQUARIAN LIBRARY: Chronicles
of the Crusades. Early English Metrical Romances.
We have so frequently spoken in commendation of
Mr. Bohn's Libraries, and their merits are now so
generally appreciated, that it is almost superfluous to
do more than enumerate the new additions to the
different series. "Ranke's History of the Popes" is
now completed in three volumes, and a first volume of
Milton's prose works has just been issued, which con-
tains Milton's " Defence" and his " Second Defence"
of the People of England, and also his
" Eikonoklastes." This volume is adorned with
a very finely engraved portrait of the
Roundhead Poet. The two new volumes of the
" Antiquarian Library" are the " Chronicles of the
Crusades" and the " Metrical Romances," the former
of which contains the " Chronicle of Richard of De-
vises, concerning the deeds of King Richard the
First, King of England ;" also " Geoffrey de Vin-
sauf's Chronicle of Richard's Crusade," and " Lord
de Joinville's Memoirs of Louis IX., King of
France." It is unnecessary to say that this volume
will be most attractive to all who love the quaint
simplicity of the old chroniclers. " Ellis's Early Eng-
lish Metrical Romances" contain some most interest-
ing and attractive pecimens of old legends, such as
" Morte Arthur," " Guy of Warwick," " Roland
and Ferragos," and many others whose names are
familiar and dear to us all,

" Beloved as fable, and believed as truth."

All the volumes of the Antiquarian Library are em-
bellished with an illustrated frontespiece, and the
frontispiece of this volume—a splendid frontispiece—
the back ground of which is, apparently, of solid
gold, represents neither more nor let.s than the Court
of King Arthur ! It is taken, we are told, from a
manuscript in the British Museum. The foremost
figure represents Arthur in a robe of cerulean
blue ; his Majesty's attitude is sufficiently dignified,
but is hardly possessed of that air of royalty recently
eulogised by the poet—that air by which
" In the man, the King of men is seen."
On Arthur's right hand stands Queen Ginevra, and
by her side a lady-in-waiting, in a crimson robe. On
Arthur's left is Merlin. In the foreground are the
grand carver, the cup-bearer, and the minstrel, bear-
ing their insignia of office, namely, a large knife, a
goblet, and a violin. The scene, of course, is by the
side of the round table, which is spread out with
golden utensils.

ALARMING FIRE IN WAPPING WALL—About one
o'clock this morning a fire broke out on the premises of
Mr. Fryer, a carpenter, No. 12, Wapping-wall (late
'Air. Dowding's cooperage). It was discovered by a per-
son passing through the street, no person residing on
the premises. The engines of the Fire Brigade, under
the superintendence 01 Mr. Fogo, were on the spot
>hortly after the fire was discovered, and by great exer-
tions prevented the flames from communicating to the
adjoining premises. Considerable damage was done to
finished work, materials, and workmen's tools. The fire
is supposed to have been occasioned by a spark from the
boiler of a glue•pot, and which had fallen upon some
shavings. It has not yet been ascertained whether the
premises are insurtd or not.
ACCIDENT ON THE CAMBRIDGE AND ST. IVES
„ _

llamway.—On Thursday evening last, as the down
train neared the Oakington station, the guard perceived
a man standing on the line; he immediately blew the
whistle, and the steam was turned off, but without effect:

,
the train struck him, and one leg was completely severed
from the body above the knee-joint, and he was other-
wise so mutilated that death was instantaneous. On
being picked up he was recognised as George Howorth,
a dealer of Rampton; it was supposed that he was intoxi-
cated at the time. An inquest was held on the body on
Friday last, when a verdict of "Accidental death" was
returned.—Carahridge Adiuhrtiser.
NARROW ESCAPE ON THE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY.
On
Thursday
agg ea e afternoonia
which
were last aa ballastna number
b e r engineef r
railway
lww with
t cut-
ting several
w labourers, was proceeding from Lockerby to Ecclefechan
on the Caledonian line. When passingthrough
on the farm of Lawn, parish of Middlebie, the en-
gine-driver observed at some distance that one of the
rails had been removed; he immediately turn off the
steam, put on the brake, and jumped to the ground; the
labourers followed his example, and no one was injured,
as luckily the train was proceeding at a very slow pace
when it reached the vacancy and was thrown off the line,
otherwise the accident would have been very serious, as
there were upwards of thirty labourers on the train. A
party of plate-layers had been repairing the line and
removed the rail,
neglecting to exhibit a signal of warn-
ing. The officers of the company will, no doubt, insti-
tute an investigation into the case.—Dumfries Courier.
SAILING UP RIVERS AGAINST THE CURRENT.—A
very slight declivity suffices to give the running motion to
water. Three inches per mile, in a smooth straight
channel, gives a velocity of about three miles an hour.
The Ganges, which gathers the waters of the Himalaya
mountains, the loftiest in the world, is, at 1,800 miles
from its mouth only 800 feet above the level of the sea,
that is, about twice the height of St. Paul's Church in
London (or the height of Arthur's Seat, near Edin
burgh), and to fall these 800 feet, in its long course, the
water requires more than a month. The great river
Magdalena, in South America, running for 1,000 miles
between two ridges of the Andes, falls only 500 feet in
all that distance. Above the commencement of the
thousand miles it is seen descending in rapids and cata-
racts from the mountains. The gigantic Rio de la Plata
has so gentle a descent to the ocean, that in Paraguay,
1, 500 miles from its mouth, large ships are seen, which
have sailed against the current all the way by the force
of the wind alone; that is to say, on the beautiliy in-
clined plane of the stream have been gradually lifted by
the soft wind, and even against the current, to an eleva-
tion greater than that of our loftiest spires.
In the next issue of camp equipage to the army
the tents will be made waterproof, as the present canvas
is no protection against a heavy fall of rain.