The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-25 00:00:00

12 o'clock. Subjects—The Crestomatbies of Rosegarten
and De Saey. the Koran, Tuhfalu Ikhwanis-Gafa, the
Makarnat of Hariri.

Sanscrit tinily at 1. o'clock. Subjects—Nala; thelaws
of Manu; the llitopade3a; the Ramayina, Books I.
and 11.

Gothic on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 2
o'clock. Subj-cts—The Gothic New Testament; the
affinities existing between the Gothic and other Indo-
European languages.
ASTRONOMY.—The Plumian Professor will commence
a course or lectures on practical astronomy and astro-
nomical instruments on Monday, March 10, at half-past
onP o'clock, in the Obiervatory.
MAGDALEN COLLEGE.—Mr. W. Raymond has been
elected to the open scholarship at this college.

LI'C'E tt A U RE.

DAHOMEY AND TIIE DAHOMANS. By F.
E. Forbes, Commander R.N. 2 Vols. Longmans.
The enterprising Commander Forbes. who in 1849
and 1850 performed two missions to the Court of Daho-
mey, has now published the results of his experience, and
presented us with a most vivid and interesting glimpse
of Dahomey and the Dahomans. Many circumstances
combine to render this work as valuable as it is inte-
resting. As affording another chapter in that " proper
study of mankind," the history of man, these elaborate
and evidently accurate details of savage life cannot fail
to be welcome to the physiologist and philanthropist;
while, again, its relations to slavery and the slave trade
invest " Dahomey" with a peculiar importance. "As the
King of the slave trade and its merchants," observes the
author of these volumes in some introductory remark.,
" the Dahoman monarch has become a word of com-
mon use ; whilst the position of his kingdom, and
the habits, manners, and customs of his people,
equally withl the resources of its Sovereign, are incor-
rectly, if at all, known. Lying inland on the
Guinea coast, this great military kingdom extends
almost from the banks of the Niger to those of the
Volta, and domineers over, if it does not possess, the
entire land that lies between the coast thus cut off be-
tween the mouths of these rivers and the bases of the
Kong mountains." Thither Commander Forbes and
some other Englishmen repaired in 1849, in conse-
quence of a conversation which took place one evening
on board her Majesty's ship Cyclops, in which it was
remarked by Captain Hastings, that "great benefit
might accrue from the visit of a naval officer to the
King of Dahomey at a time when the death of that
King's chief agent and principal merchant, Da
Souza, left him more at liberty to exercise his huma-
nity, and to listen to the oft-repeated appeal to sup-
press the slave trade in his dominions." Mr. Forbes,
having long desired to visit the interior of Africa,
volunteered his services; his offer was accepted, and
the two volumes just published contain a journal of
the wonderful incidents and discoveries consequent
upon that mission. "It is the object at the author,"
we are told, " in giving publicity to these journals,
to illustrate the dreadful slave hunts and ravages,
the annihilations and exterminations consequent on
this trade I have seen," Mr. Forbes goes
on, " the slaves toiling in South America, and known
that the labour of these was a matter of calculation
to the master whether, by continual toil and shoraffe,
he would gain more money than by light work and
protracted miserable existence. But what are all
these to the tragic scenes that introduce the slaves to
slavery? A country living in peace with all around,
and pursuing trade in the endeavour to become rich,
is suddenly surrounded by a ruthless banditti, and
how changed the scene I The old would be rejected
if brought to market—they are sacrificed; the whole
nation are transported, exterminated, their name to
be forgotten except in the annual festival of the con-
querors." Such horrible practices being the delight
of the military Dahomans, who consider an annual
war as a popular right, it becomes doubly revolting
to find a considerable portion of the Dahoman army
composed of women The Amazon regiments con
tain about 5,000 females, who glory in their en-
tire abnegation of their sex. "We are not
women, bur. men," is their motto and their boast, and
in courage, severity of discipline, and cruelty they set
an example to their brother soldiers, the Amazon
regiments not unfrequently turning the fortune of
battle. For an interesting account of these extraor-
dinary soldiers, as well as for many similarly marvel-
lous peculiarities of the Dahomans, we must refer the
curious to Mr. Forbes's attractive volumes—attractive
volumes we may with justice call them,yet the themes
of which they treat are occasionally most repulsive.
Witness, for instance, the horrible picture of the
human sacrifices. The most effectual, and, indeed,
the only sure means of putting an end to those in-
iquities, and abating the horrors of the slave-trade, is
the introduction of Christianity and the encourage-
ment of commerce. Commerce is not only
the result, but the precursor of civilization'; and
Mr. Forbes remarks, in furtherance of this argument,
that the inhabitants of a vast extent of coast have
been led to give up the slave trade, because they have
learned the vast increase of the value of the palm oil
trade over that in slaves. " There are kings in the
Camaroons and Bonny rivers whose ledgers, kept by
themselves, would grace any counting house in this
country; and whe,e mind, expindted by education,
have made them bold enough to declare that the old
superstition of the Eboe should no longer exist,
setting the example of becoming Christians. When
the slave trade is checked, other trade should be sub-
stituted, or it will soon revive. To insure success,
education should be first planted, and then trade intro-
duced ; thus, becoming enlightened, the African
would sicken at. the horrors he Iris hitherto
encouraged." Full of sound and practical wisdom

are the— remarks of Mr. Forbes on these matters

He illustrates the immense importance of education
in effecting the suppression of the slave trade by the
fact " that if a man spoke only a few words of
English, he would be gladly turned out of a barracoon,
being deemed by his unlawful master an educated
and dangerous man." The self-esteem of the

Dahorosna as a nation is somewhat ridiculous.

" How often," says Mr. Forbes, "have I been told in
Dahomey, you make war on the Portuguese and
beat them, we on the Attapahms and others with

equal success." These,' said the mayo, pointing to
two tumblers on the table,' are alike in size, in make,

in shape ; this is Dahoiney, that England ! See,
turn round and looking again I cannot dis-
tinguish ; they are co-equal, the greatest white
and the greatest black nations. Your Queen
can conquer all white nations, Gego can take all
blacks!" Leaving much unsaid, we have yet said
enough to indicate the interesting nature of this

work. The chapters relative to the manners and cus-
toms of the Dahomans will well repay the trouble of

pxamination; they are full of curious information.
Tne appendix gives a vocabulary of the Dahoman
language. Toe numerals seem to be arranged after a
curious fashion; some are simple and concise, such as

I.roll-10, and Koh-720 ; and other' are compounds

of many numbers, such as 16 —Ah fau tong noo koo
noo deh poh. No trouble or expense has been spared
in the getting up of this work, which is illustrated
by many curious coloured lithographs. Among these
is a portrait of Gego, King of Dahomey. His
sable Majesty is attired in a hat and feathers,
and a magnificent blue mantle ptssingi over one
shoulder, an attendant holds over him an immense

crimson umbrella. Umbrellas of gorgeous colours

and large dimensions seem the fashion at Dahomey;
they are conspicuous in the representations here given
of "receptions" and other public festivals. Another

portrait ill these volumes is that of Sarah Forbes

Bonetta, the little black princess recently presented to
her Mjesty, and brought from Dahomey by Com-
mander Forbes.

THE GOLD MINES OF RUSSIA.
A letter front St. Petersburgb, of the Btb, says
" The quantity of gold produced in 1847 was 1,741
pouch, or about 95 millions of francs ; in 1848,
1,726 poufs; and in 1849, 1,587 pouds. The amount
for 1850 is not yet known. In 1848 and 1849 the
exportation of gold was prohibited, and in 1850
the position of the exchange did not permit it.
On the contrary, a part of the loan in London
was paid in gold and silver. Yet the circula-
tion of gold pieces does not seem more abundant,
and gold appears hut very rarely in the daily
transactions at St. Petersburgh and Moscow. This
state of things cannot be explained, except by the ea-
cumulation of gold in the fortress, and by the dis-
semination of gold coin to the most remote provinces
of this vast empire. The contracts foil articles fur-
nished in the army being generally paid in gold,
Russian half-imperials are tolerably abundant in
Germany. The increaca of the population, and the
greater amount of comfort and of luxury in
Russia, explain also a more considerable absorption
of gold. The production of gold in Russia has
been decreasing since 1847, which circumstance
is to be attributed to a progressive tax levied since
that period on the produce of the mines. As the Go-
vernment exercises the monopoly of the smelting of
the precious metals, the produce of the mines of
private persons, which give more than three-fourths
of the general amount, is always delivered up to the
Government, which coins it, or otherwise disposes cf
it. The Government has naturally paid attention to
the changes taking place in the circulation of gold
throughout the rest of Europe. The recent probi-
bition to export silver seems to intimate that it will
not interfere with the position of gold."

The printing press of a daily paper in Boston,
United States, is driven in a manner of which there is n 9
example in any other city in the republic. Through a two-
inch lead pipe, a stream of Chochituate water is introduced
into the meter. which only eccupies twenty-four square
inches. The fill of water between the Boston reservoir and
this meter is about a hundred feet. 'this two-inch steam
stream will discharge eighty gallons of water each minute,
and in Pas,ing through the meter will give a motive power
equal to what is called three-horse power. This is more
than sufficient for driving the press. It is less hazardous
than a steam-engine, requires no attendance, and is always
in readiness.

The subscriptions in support of the lkienateder And
Salford new educational scheme weed 7,0001,