The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-20 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 20, 1851.

like valley of the desert, with its harvest festival, to
which the prodigal returns. Mr. Rafter sawe the prin-
cipal melodies. In the incidental ballet, a Wile. Vic-
torine Legrain made her Mut. She dances with energy,
succeeding also in flinging some archness of colouring
over her coquettish pantomime. The drama presents
few or no strong features for the actor. Its character
is entirely declamatory, and the principal speeches were
given by Mr. Varidenhoti, as the aged father, and Mr.
Anderson, as the prodigal, with force, appreciatim of
the sentiment, and earnest energy. Azad, the Prodigal,
was announced by the manager for nightly repetition.
(From the Morning Past)
Last evening. an adaptation of Auber's last new
opera, entitled L'Enfant Prodigue, now being performed
with prodigious success in Paris, was produced at the
ahove theatre, under the title of Azad, the Prodigal. It
must be considered as merely founded on Scribe and
Auber's opera, the aim has been to produce a gorgeous
spectacle, including every species of scenic and choreo-
graphic f ffccf, interwoven with an interesting story,
furnishing appropriate characters for the leading
actors of the establishment. Viewing the matter in
this light, we are bound to admit that the adapter
has acquitted himself most admirably cf his
task ; for from the first scene to the last
there were interest end excitement. A new splen-
dour in scenery, costume, or decoration, arose each in-
stant to dazzle the eye. Ever and anon came a quaint
Auberian melody freshly upon the ear; and sufficient
scope was constantly afforded for excellent acting and
dramatic t tree, to employ the mental faculti( s and affect
the heart. [After deieribing the plot of the piece, the
critic thus speaks of the gorgeous scene, which con-
cludes the second act.] We. have now arrived at the
most gorgeous scene in the spectacle; the most bril•
liant, perhaps, over seen in any piece, if we look at it with
reference to the poetry of its conception, as well as the
perfection of its execution. It is the interior of the
Temple of Isis, during the celebration of the sacred
orgies. The priests and Alm has, drunk with love and
wine, mingle in the giddy dance. Wild bacchanalian
retains fill the air—everything that the imagination
can picture is present to delight the senses. The
scene, too, is arranged in a totally novel manner; a
platform rises gradually to the top of the back scene,
display ing the costumes and forms of the dancers to the
greatest possible advantage. Nothing can be more
striking than the coup d'icil. We have not space to give
a detailed account of ail the magnificence of this scene,
but hope, on a future occasion, to be able to enter more
fully into its merits. At the conclusion of this act, the
applause was most tumultuous. The concluding scenes
of the spectacle afforded opportunities for some admira-
ble acting by Mr. Anderson, Mr. Vandenhoff, and Miss
F. Vining, as well as clever mechanical effects; and
the curtain fell at midnight amidst most enthusiastic
applause.

THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY.—We under-
stend that efforts are being made in Manchester to secure, at
the meeting to be held on the 27th instant, the election of
Mr. Waddington, M.P. (formerly deputy-chairman of the
above company), as a member of the board of directors. Con-
sidering the prominent part taken by Mr. Waddington
in the not very " pleasant" proceedings of the com-
pany, from 1845 to 1848, we very much doubt the
success of the Manchester move, notwithstanding the extra-
ordinary scene enacted at the recent special meeting of the
company, chiefly through the instrumentality of some of the
small fry of its very declamatory, very unreasonable, and
very changeable proprietary.—• Morning Herald.
ITALIAN ANTI-PAPAL MEETING.—Last night,
meeting, which had been twice postponed, was held at the
Music Hall, Store-street, for the purpose of hearing the very
interesting statements of several Italian converts who ad-
dressed the meeting, and who depicted in the most eloquent
language the frightful tyranny which was exercised by the
Romish Church over the consciences of her adherents. Un-
fortunately, no interpreters were engaged for the occasion, nor
were the names of the speakers announced, as they should
have been. Signor Bezzi, we were informed, took the chair.
The speeches had reference, of course, to recent events, and
many allusions were made to the interposition of Austria in
the late struggle of the Italian people. The hall was pretty
well filled, but the private boxes were almost empty. The
speeches gave much pleasure to the audience, a great part of
whom were foreigners, who fully appreciated the impassioned
bursts of the speakers, who indeed presented a bright pha-
lanx of converts to Protestantism.

II UN TE RIAN SOCIETY.—Dr. Lever delivered the
twenty-third annual oration to the members of the society
yesterday afternoon, at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-
street. He chose for his subject, " The consanguinity of
child-bed fever and erysipelas." The lecturer described at
considerable length the various symptoms of child-bed fever
and erysipelas trom his own observations and experience.
He concluded his lecture by hoping that he might be per-
mitted to suggest to the council that as this year was to be
a jubilee year, he might say with reverence a second Pen-
tecost year, and as thousands would be assembled in this
mighty city, and amongst them many of the medical pro-
fession, attracted from all quarters of the globe, he consi-
dered that it would redound to the honour of the Hunterian
Society, if they held occasional conversaziones to receive their
foreign brethren with that spirit and cordiality which had
at all times been the distinguishing character of the society.
The suggestion was received with loud applause, and assur-
ance was gives that it would not be forgotten. The mem-
bers then adjourned to another room, where they dined to-
gether.

A SOFA MADE or CoAL.—The Fife Advertiser,
referring to one peculiar characteristic of the coal found in
that district, which can be converted into articles of house-
hold furniture, such as looking-glass frames, writing-desks,
chairs, and tables, states that Mr. William Williamson is at
present engaged in making a sofa wholly composed of coal.
It is nine feet long, with three compartments or divisions,
and is sufficient to contain seven people silting on i'. The
front standards are beautifully carved, displaying three
mongrel animals, which forcibly remind the spectators of
those richly-carved figures that appear so frequently in Dr.
Lavard's remains of ancient Babylon. This rare geological
curiosity was ordered by General Wemyss, and it is highly
probable that it will appear at the Great Exhibition, as it
was ordered to be finished previous to that time; and as the
General bolds an appointment in the Queen's household, it
may yet be transferred from the Crrtal Palace to the palace
of her Majesty.

SOCIETY OF ARTS.—At the eleventh ordinary
meeting of this society, held last evening, Professor Calvert
delivered a supplementary lecture before the members of the
institution, on the laws of colour, with relation to the com-
bination and arrangement of coloured fabrics. Having fur-
ther elucidated, by the aid of diagrams and illustrations, the
reciprocal influence exerted by different colours, either in
brightening or tarnishing their respective tints when placed
in close proximity to each other, the lecturer proceeded to
point out in varied-de ail the necessity for due attention to
the principles involved in these results in the " setting off "
of coloured goods—whether silks, calicoes, paper-hangings,
or any other description of fabrics requiring colours —at the
approaching Exhibition of the industry of all nations;
otherwise (he explained) the result would be that in many
instances the piece of goods most entitled, from its intrinsic
beauty, to carry off the prize in the competition, would be
thrown into the shade by articles really inferior, but having
the advantage of a better disposition for the purposes of
display: The lecture was listened to with very great interest ;
and at its close an animated discussion among the members
ensued, in the course of which much additional information
on various practical points connected with the subject was
elicited by the auditory. The thanks of the society were
cordially voted to Professor Calvert, and the proceedings of
the sitting shortly afterwards terminated.
DETERIORATION OF COPPER AND SILVER COIN.
The licenced victuallers of the metropolis and its suburbs
have literally been inundated with spurious silver coin, prin-
cipally half-crowns, so beautifully moulded and finished off
almost to defy detection. Vast numbers of drilled penny
pieces and halfpence are also in circulation, of not half the
current value—the cop; er coin of the Channel Islands,
Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man, is also abundant.
In short, Wood's copper or brass coinage, that called forth
the Draper's letters from Dean Swift, could not be more abo-
minable. With regard to the silver coin adverted to, many
a licensed victualler unwittingly gives change for his own
absent, or rather abstracted, quart pot l It is, indeed, truly
wom:erful with what rapidity a " stray half•pint " is trans-
formed into a plausible-looking half-crown, or a melted
handle of a pewter quart into a respectable looking shilling !
tee. royal
Philippe.ts The influx
Franc-pieces, too, are numerous, and the unwary recipient,
elve of Victoria,
comesin instead
off
do f
witht
receivingnilyan e
. p rightnn) Louis
of foreigners, on the approaching great Exhibition, renders
it necessary, particularly among the great body of licensed
victuallers, that they should be upon their guard, for both
internally and externally they have enough to contend with.
A avertiser.
INSECT LlFE.—lnsects generally must lead a truly
jovial life. Think what it must be to lodge in a lily. Ima-
gine a palace of ivory and pearl, with pillars of silver and
capitals of gold, all exhaling such a perfume as never arose
from human censer. Fancy, again, the fun of tucking them-
selves up for the night in the folds of a rose, rocked to sleep
by the gentle sighs of summer air, nothing to do when you
awake but to wash yourself in a dewdrop, and fall to eat your
bed-clothes.—American Paper.
DEATR OF COLONEL CocK, C.B.—Thi3 officer
died in England on the 17th inst. He belonged to the East
India Company's service, Bengal Presidency, and for his ser-
vices in the east was in 1838 nominated a Companion of the
Bath.

SUICIDE OF A DISSENTING MINISTEE.--AD inquest
was held on Friday at Kidwelly, on the body of the Rev.
William Davies, generally known as Mr. Davies, of Africa,
from the circumstance of his having many years ago been
engaged as a missionary at Sierra Leone, in connexion with
the Wesleyan Missionary Society. It appeared by the evi-
dence adduced at the inquiry that for seven years the de-
ceased had been subject to occasional periods of great mental
excitement, but during the last four months of his life he
became exceedingly depressed. It was likewise stated that
his last marriage was a very infelicitous one. A verdict
was returned to the effect that deceased committed suicide
by hanging himself, he being at the time insane.—Swansea
Herald.

DARING ATTEMPT OF A DESERTER TO ESCAPE.—
On Sunday evening a corporal and private of the 9th Foot
were escorting a deserter from Mullingar to Dublin by the
Midland Great Western Railway. When within about seven
miles of the Dublin, and near Clonsilla station, the prisoner
managed to relieve himself of the handcuffs, and having
cautiously opened the carriage door, he jumped out. The
corporal in charge on missing the prisoner at once made a
spring out after him, although at the imminent risk of his
life, the train going at the rate of fully 25 miles an hour at
the time. On the arrival of the train in Dublin the matter
was reported to the superintendent, who returned on an en-
gine to where the accident occurred, under the impression
that both parties must have been either killed or so disabled
as to remain where they jumped out. On reaching the place
he found both the corporal and prisoner quite safe, and pro-
ceeding on their march to Dublin.
UNFLEASART INVITATION.—The following was
posted on the door of the Ludlow Church, in Hertfordshire,
some time back :—" This is to give notice, that no person is
to be buried in this churchyard but those living in the parish.
Those who wish to be but ied are desired to apply to me,
Ephraim Grub, parish clerk."
TuE SAXON BLOOD.—Wherever the descendants
of the Saxon race have gone, have sailed, or otherwise made
their way, even to the remotest regions of the world, they
have been patient, persevering, never to be broken in spirit,
never to be turned aside from enterprises on which they have
resolved. In Europe, Asia, Africa, America, the whole
world over; in the desert, in the forest, on the sea; scorched
by a burning sun, or frozen by ice that never melts, the
Saxon blood remains unchanged. Wheresoever that race
goes there law, and industry, and safety for lite and pro-
perty, and all the great results of steady perseverance, Ica
'certain to gise,-.-,Dickens'; Household Words 3

MONTHLY CONCERTS.
ST. MARTIN'S HALL.
The fourth of the series was given by Mr. Mullah,
last evening, when he produced Mendelssohn's oratorio,
Elijah, with an effect and a success surpassing, perhaps,
all his previou, efforts. The great room of S'. Martin's
Hall, Long-acre, was crowded to the walls. In the un-
reserved seats there was not standing-room for one. per-
son more, and a grr at many who wiohed to press in for
their chance of accommodation were necessarily refus, d
admission to that part of the hell; whereas the admis•
sion of a doz !n more in the reserved seats would have
seriously incommoded the occupants of that privileged
portion of the building. The audience, although s nu-
merous, was, strictly, in the received meaning of the
word, select. Nor should we use the term "elegant" in
a common-place signification, applying it to the com-
pany on this occasion, for the appearance and style, and
the manifestations of practised end refined taste which
marked their demeanour throughout the evening, call for
the use of that epithet most especially. Without any
noisy applause, there was no lack of a sufficiently em-
phatic expression of high gratification throughout the
surpassingly fine performance to satisfy all engaged in
the production that their rare excellence in almost
every particular was fully appreci,,ted. Applause,
indeed, there was—very much more than at
any of the three previous concerts of this series.
There were also several indications of a disposition to
encore; but these received no encouragement from the
great body of the audience, or from Mr. Hullah himself,
arid the great work proceeded from the overture to the
magnificent close, in the final chorus of thanksgiving,
with smoothness and perfection, rarely (if ever) before
witnessed in the first productio❑ of so great and difficult
a work. Mr. Hullah may well exult in pride of the ex-
cellence of his choir of pupils. Of the principal vocalists,
Miss Williams, Mr. Weiss, and Mr. Lockey are so well
known, that a word more of especial notice would be
superfluous, beyond saying that they displayed their
usual powers, but under circumstances and in a mood
which actually compelled one to fancy for the time that
these most accomplished and able singers bad improved
amazingly even upon their previous excellence. There
is no doubt that the performance of Miss ,Kearns is an
improvement equal to that of ten years upon that of her
deinit here in November last. In a fourth appearance,
never was there known so surprising, so delightful a
progress. As the child sent by the prophet to observe
from the mountain whether there were signs of rain
from the sea, in replying to Elijah's question,
" Hath my prayer been heard by the Lord?"
her tone was delicious. "There is nothing," was ut-
tered in such pure notes—so child-like—se sweet—as
to characterize the angelic youth that must be chosen as
the interpreter of the Lord's will to his honoured ser-
vant, in that grand trial. Another soprano, Mrs. Ender-
shon (a pupil of Sir George Smart's), made a very
triumphant debu'r, as was foreknown from the announce-
ment, for Mr. Hullah risks no failures. Miss Kent and
Miss Gill distinguished themselves most creditably in
the parts assigned to them, as did also Mr. Herberte
and Mr. Buckland. On the whole, it is, seriously, not
too much to declare that it was affirmed with truth, by
those of last night's audience who had heard the ora-
torio under Mendelsshon's own conduct, that the glori-
ous work was never done so much justice to as at this
hail.

COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT.
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
COWES, FEB. 19.
LAUNCH OF A TURKISH STEAM.SIIIP.— On Wednes-
day afternoon, at a quarter-past one, was launched from
the ship-building yard of Messrs. John and Robert
White, a splendid steamer for the Ottoman Government,
in the presence of the Turkish admiral and captains and
officers of the Ottoman squadron at Portsmouth. The
steamer was named by the admiral " Shapere" with the
accustomed ceremony, and on the dogshores being
knocked away she glided along her ways to her destined
element amid the hearty hurrahs from the spectators.
This graceful model is 750 tons, with two masts, and
was launched all a Panto, and is destined, like her three
predecessors built by the same firm, to carry the Turkish
mails between Constantinople, Smyrna, and the Black
Sea. She will be placed in the Medina Dock to be cop-
pered, and then proceed to London to receive her en-
gines by Messrs. Maudslay and Co.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

NEWMARKET SECOND OCTOBER MEETING,

1851.— THURSDAY.
Sweepstakes of 200 sovs. each, h ft. A.F.
Mr. Mangsn's Russborough, 4 yrs, Bst 71b—Duke of
Bedford's Bordeaux, 4 yrs, 83t—Lord Stanley's Uriel,
5 yrs, 7st 81b.

BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.
SOUTHAMPTON, THURSDAY, 11.30 A.M.
The Peninsular and Oriental Company's ship Indus,
Captain Soy, is just signalled from Alexandria, with the
East India, China, and Mediterranean mails.

BURGLARY AND ATTEMPT TO MURDER AT
WlNDson.—This morning (Wednesday), at half-past one
o'clock, the house of Mr. Tucker, the well•known verger of
St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, who resides at No. 4,
Clarence-road, was burglariously broken into by two nightly
assassins, who effected an entrance through a aide window at
the basement of the house, forcing it with a jemmy. They
first ransacked cupboards, chiffoniers, and drawers in the
lower rooms of the house, and, not finding the object of
their attack, proceeded upstairs with lighted candles, which
one of them held whilst the other entered the respective
sleeping apartments of Mr. Tucker and an elderly lady
named Whittaker. Having first entered Mrs. Whittaker's
apartment, she was awoke by the light and noise, and im-
mediately exclaimed " Who's that ?" The fellow, in reply,
said, "I'll let you know," and struck her a blow on the
head with an iron instrument; be repeated the blow, inflict-
ing two severe wounds, and with another blow broke her
arm, which she held up to save her head. Mr. Tucker, on
hearing Mrs. Whittaker's screams, jumped out of bed and ran
to her assistance, but was met by the burglar, knocked down
by a blow on the head, and on rising three consecutive times
was knocked down, receiving fur severe and dangerous
wounds on the head, during which period Mrs. Whittaker
endeavoured to throw up the window, screaming murder and
police as well as her faint state would permit. The police
were soon at band, but the cowardly villains had decamped.
Mr. Larangey was called in to attend the sufferers, who are
in a most dangerous state. Mr. Tucker is upwards of 90
years of age.

BURGLARIES.—THE CANNON GANG.—An investi-
gation before the county magistrates at Chatham, which
lasted for three days, has terminated in the commitment for
trial of George Weston, J. Thomas, and J. Clark, for a bur-
glary, on the 2d inst., at Graveney, near Faversham ; of
George Weston and J. Clark, for breaking into Townsend's
redoubt, in the fortifications at Chatham, in December last;
of T. Wilson and his wife, for receiving goods stolen from a
grocer's shop at Newington, near Sittingbourne, in January
last, and also for receiving various other stolen goods, the
produce of different burglaries. These two last-mentioned
persons, it will be remembered, were landlord and landlady
of the Cannon. In a great number of instances the stolen
property was found in the private apartments of Mr. and
Mrs. Wilson. A woman named Harriet Summers, who has
been acting as lodgers' chanibermaid at the Cannon, is
proved to have sold or disposed of many of the stolen ar-
ticles. Superintendents Dunne and Everest have been inde-
fatigable in their exertions to detect the proceedings of this
formidable gang, and to their labours the public are indebted
that the offenders are about to be brought to justice. The
former of these officers has also ascertained that the men who
broke into Holford- house were in connexion with the gang
at Chatham.

THREATENING SIR W. SOMERVILLE.—In the course
of Yesterday morning Sir William Somerville, Chief
'
Secretary for Ireland, -waited upon Mr. Broderip, -at the
'WestminSter Police- court, and having handed hitn' some
letters, the contents of which did not transpire, a warrant
was immediately issued against the writer for threatening
personal violence to the Right Honourable Baronet. The
warrant was forthwith executed, when the accused, an
Irishman of genteel appearance and good address, gave his
name. Samuel M'Carthy. In the course of the inquiry it ap-
peared that an imposition had been practised upon the de-
fendant which led him to apprehend that he bad been ill-
used by the Right Honourable Baronet. The explanation
appearing to be well founded, Sir William Somerville did not
press the matter, and the defendant was discharged—the
Magistrate observing that, had it been proceeded with, good
bail would have been required.
SERIOUS FIRE AT LEEDS.—LEEDS, WEDNESDAY.
—About nine o'clock on Tuesday night the warehouse of
Mr. Fletcher, furniture-dealer, Kirkgate, was found to be on
fire. Information was quickly conveyed to the police-office,
and soon afterwards the fire-plug apparatus of the town was
in full operation ; but such was the combustible nature of the
property, that notwithstanding a good supply of water, and
every exertion, the fire was not subdued until the building
had been completely gutted, and the furniture entirely
destroyed. Considerable fear was felt for the safety of the
adjoining property. Mr. Furness, druggist, had a warehouse
Contiguous to the one in question, containing a large quan-
tity of naptha ; but, from the well-directed exertions of those
present, the fire was prevented from spreading. It is not
known yet how the fire originated, but we may say that it
is suspected that it was not the result of accident. The
same premises were on fire a short time ago, and there were
then strong suspicions on the part of the fire-offices of foul
play.

- -
THE SAILORS' STRIKE AT LIVERPOOL.—LIVER-
WEDNESDAY.—The sailors in this port continue on
strike, and perambulate the streets with music and flying
flags. Yesterday Mr. Kenworthy, shipowner, obtained a
warrant to bring up three seamen for not proceeding in the
ship Lintin, when ready for sea. The crew were shipped, it
appears, at the Sailors' Home on Friday, when they signed
articles to be on board on the 17th instant, two hours before
high water, to proceed to sea. But the sailors now on strike
mobbed the ship, and three men bad to be taken off to her
in a boat. The men complained that they bad been intimi-
dated against joining her; and after lying in the river for two
hours, with a steamer attached, the ship had to proceed to
sea one man short of her complement. Mr. Rushton said
the chairman of the Local Marine Board had called his atten-
tion to this vessel, and he had given such orders as would
prevent future interference.
THE LORD CHANCELLOR AND THE WELSH LAN-
GUAGE Some short time ago the Lord Chancellor presented
the Rev. David Jeffrey, curate of Neath, in South Wales, to
the rectory of Tir Newydd, in Anglesey, vacant by the death
of the Rev. Rhys Hughes. Mr. Jeffrey is a Welshman, and
well acquainted with his mother tongue; and in reference to
this subject, it is asserted that the Lord Chancellor has ex-
pressed his intention of not bestowing any of his Welsh pa-
tronage on ministers who are not thoroughly proficient in and
masters of the Welsh language. This was the first Welsh
living which had fallen to the Chancellor for disposal, and
the fact that it was given to a Welshman whose superior
qualifications in his native language were well known is con-
sidered evidence of the Lord Chancellor's intention that
clergymen shall understand the language spoken by the great
majority of their flock.
A BOLD CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.—Messrs. Thomas
Tucker and Co., of Liverpool, ship-builders, have offered to
accept the American challenge, to construct a sailing ship,
of any size, to compete with one of the Yankee build; and the
owners of the winning ship to gain the losing one.
LADIES' VEILS.—A celebrated writer on sight says
that wearing veils permanently weakens many naturally good
eyes, on account of the endeavours of the eye to adjust itselt
to the ceaseless vibration of that too common article of dress.
Ladies, then, should beware of hiding their pretty eyes and
faces with veils.

THE PRECIOUS BUDGET.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
CHRONICLE.—We are not at present aware Tw he-

ther any foundation exists for the rumour of an ap-
proaching dissolution of Parliament. The circulation of
inch reports is a familiar method of recalling wavering
adherents to their allegiance, and if they have been
countenanced by Ministers, it is more than probable that
a working majority in the present House was a more
immediate object than the problematical result of an ap-
ical to the constituencies. At the same time, the rash-
ness which, in Lord John Russell's character, is so sin-
gularly combined with timidity in carrying out reckless
and hasty decisions, renders the desperate resort of a
new election not improbable, as a mode of escaping from
party difficulties. If any such plan is under considera-
tion, it would be well for those who have a voice in the
decision to reflect on the entire absence of all the cir-
cumstances which render an appeal to the country con-
venient or necessary. It is true that the Ministry is in-
volved in serious difficulties, which may be expressed
in three, or rather in two propositions. It is impossible
that the sham anti-Aggression Bill can he tarried. The
Budget cannot be carried through the House of Com-
mons; and therefore it is difficult to conceive that the
Chancellor of the Exchequer can retain his office. The
anti-Papal difficulty is inherent in the nature of the
question itself, although it has been complicated by the
imbecility and insincerity which have characterized all
the o(cillations of the polemical policy of Ministers. It
is possible that a dissolution might anticipate the entire
subsidence of the ferment, which is nevertheless rapidly
subsiding, among the gulled believers in the Durham
Letter; but all the answer which could be given to a
No Popery appeal would amount at most to a declara-
tion that something must be done. If any consequence
could result from so vague an aspiration, it it clear that
it trust be produced by more vigorous agency than that
of the authors of the new prohibition of local titles.
Lord Stanley could bid higher for ultra-Protes-
tant support ; and although we by no means attri-
bute to Mr. Disraeli or to the Duke of Richmond any
enthusiastic desire for a new election, it is probable
that the numerical gain would be greater to the Pro-
tectionists than to the thorough• going supporters
of Ministers. Ireland, on the other band, would
return a larger proportion of Roman Catholics, all
pledged to resist any encroachment on the: freedom of
their religion. The majority and the minority would be
more directly opposed to one another than ever; and
their relative numbers would not be materielly changed.
With the more immediate ancfpressing difpulty of the
Budget, the constituencies would be still more incompe-
tent to deal. They would probably be tinanimens in
requiring a more politic plan, and in wishing for a more
successful financier to frame it; but a generel election
cannot be decided on considerations of the felative merits
of coffee and chicory. The House of Conimons is fully
competent to judge of the demerits of a proposal which
is principally remarkable for the absence of any definite
policy whatever. From the beginning to the end of his
speech, Sir Charles Wood abstained from enunciating
any theory which could justify either tee small and
unsatisfactory changes which he proposed, or the im-
posts which be had determined to ,eetain. Even
the continuance of the income-tax, which was
the necessary foundation of his whole Budget,
was announced in an apologetic and hesitating
tone which could only encourage Criticism and
opposition. He had voted against it, he confessed, when
Sir Robert Peel first proposed it; but he had afterwards
thought that the imposition was justified by those great
reforms in the tariff which it rendered possible. Further
relief from indirect taxation was still possible and de-
sirable; and it might, by a natural inference, have fol-
lowed that the income-tax was to be retained to cover
the commercial experiments which promise results not
inferior to th ,se of previous reductions. Sir Charles
Wood proved to demonstration that the refusal of the
income-tax would not only absorb the surplus in future,
but would leave a positive deficit; but on his own show-
ing, a third of the tax might be removed, or the most
unpopular schedules abandoned, without reducing the
revenue below the expenditure; nor could there be any
justification for maintaining it at its present rate, if
no advantage was to be taken of the surp:us which .
it afforded. The country will certainly -not consent to
bear any income-tax for the mere purpose of purchasing
Three per Cents. at 96. The burden is endured that the
springs of consumption may be lightened, to the increase
of the public and private resources of the country. The
admission that it could only be justified as an instrument
for reducing indirect taxation became equivalent to an
invitation to reject the tax, from the moment when it
appeared that no serious reforms were to be proposed in
the Custcms or Excise. There is much to be said for
and against the income-tax; but the questions relating
to it cannot safely be entrusted to the discretion of a
Minister who appears scarcely to believe in the expedi-
ency of his own proposals, and who declines to undertake
the policy which on his own showing is ne-
cessary to justify the impost. It is far from
improbable that the supporters of free trade and
commercial reform may be compelled to support
the position which the Finance' Minister so
feebly defends, for the purpose of keeping the ground
open for a perseverance in the policy which he has
neither courage, skill, nor capacity to carry forward.
The proposition for revalieg the window-tax was
brought forward with the same hesitating appearance
of inviting defeat. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
declared that house property was not unduly burdened;
and if he slighly referred to the irregularities in the
assessment of the window duties, and to the social evils
which they are said to produce, it was difficult to under-
stand why, among many obnoxious taxes, he had selected
an impost for abolition of which he entertained so favour-
able an opinion. Agreeing with him that house-owners
are not entitled to monopolise a surplus of two millions,
we might have received with comparative satisfaction the
announcement of a moderate house tax, to be levied in
proportion to the value. The greatest evil in the win-
dow-tax consists in its inequality, and capricious gra-
duation is precisely that feature in the esystem which is
to be especially preserved in the new duty charged
upon houses. A small house with many windows is
to pay more than a tenement of double value and fewer
glazed openings; and, as if to make the injustice more
glaring by contrast, new houses ere to be fairly assessed
in comparison with one another, and therefore unfairly
in comparison with the vast majority of dwellings. The
builder of a house worth 30/. a year, in addition to the ad-
vantage of untaxed brick and glass, is to be rated at an
annual house duty of 11. 10s.—while his.next neighbour, if
he bas the misfortune to have twenty windows, may be
charged with three or four times the
amount. This un-
just and impracticable arrangement will not be rendered
more palatable by the Minister's dilettante explanation
of his course. He had taken warning, he said, by his
experience in the stamp duties, and he must decline to un-
dertake an adjustment of taxation, which might in some
cases involve an increase of assessments Yet it seems the pe-
culiar duty of a financier, in bringing forward a new fiscal
arrangement, to adjust, as far as possible, the burden to the
ability, even at the risk of dissatisfying the few who
might be losers by an enforcement of justice. As if to
answer even the feeble excuse which is offered, there are
actually certain cases in which, under the plan as it
stands, taxation will be increased; but these cases are
isolated, and the grievance can in no instarce affect the
wealthy and powerful. The basis of the Budget, both
in respect of the taxes which it retains and those which
it modifies, has been rendered unsafe by the diffident
position of its official advocate and author. Until the
debates hare commenced—perhaps until divisions
have been attempted —it will be difficult to judge
.whether, ,the resources on . which the Minister cal-
rulates will '.really be left at >his disposal. Bat,
on the assumption that he hes- the surplus which
appears on the face of his statement, the most
serious of all the charges against the Budget re-
mains—that he has frittered it away in peddlize, and
petty modes of application, and jias wasted a great op-
portunity. Sir Robert Peel tried his bold and suecereful
experiments in the face of an alarming deficit. It would
be unreasonable to expect that the bow of Ulysses should
be bent by feebler and more timict arms; but at least it
might have been expected that asurplus revenue would
be the means of conferring some benefit on the country.
Entire branches of trade might be raised into prospe-
fby,
a the communitydisposal s of the resources
might find their
r it
enjoymentsy,an d vast
which are now at the command of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer and the House of Commons. It is not by
trying to bribe, first one interest and then another, nor
increased, massescreasedo,
by admitting their claims without satisfying them, that
a skilful and far-seeing financier would make use of a
good fortune which Sir Charles Wood seems to fear
and deprecate from a conscious inability to turn it to
account.
ADVERTISER.—The Whig Ministry
are in a help-
less and hopeless condition. Their greatest enemies
must pity them. They have come to a dead fix; they
have sunk so deep in the mire, that we see no human
probability of their extrication.
Even Hercules himself
could hardly get them out of the mud, It is all their
own doings. They have the.n?tTi yes alone to blame for
the pretty predicament in which they are placed. Lord
Stanley and Mr. Disraeli may severally apostrophise
the Russell Administration in the words of Macbeth—
" Thou canst not say I did j,..
We always predicted it would come to this. We have
uniformly said, " Give them rope enough."
The quota-
tion is too well known to require that it should be given
at length. It would appear as if the Premier and Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer were just now running a
race. It looks as if there were a regular competi-
tion between these two members of the Cabinet,
as to who shall most speedily and most effectually
damage, previous to destroying, the Whig
Govern-
ment. Each is acquitting himself with great ability in
his way. The Papal Aggression Bill of the Noble Lord
and the Budget of the Right Hon. Gentleman, are re-
spectively very much adapted for the purpose. Neither
Minister could have been happier in his choice of instru-
mentality for destroying the Whig Government. Which
I of the two is labouring in his vocation with the greatest
success, is a point on which we find a difference of opi-
nion to prevail. It appears to many a neck-and neck-
race, so far es it has gone. between Lord John Russell
and Sir Charles Wood. Either of the two would have
sufficed to accomplish their object before any long time
had ( lapsed. As both are working in harness together,
they cannot fail to do it in a very brief period. Our own
opinion, if we must needs express an opinion, is, that
Sir Charles Wood will be the winner. Others, we know,
think different; but that will not diminish the strength
of our faith in our own conclusions. Were we disposed
to gamble, we would back the Right HOD. Gentleman
against the Noble Lord. At Tattersall's also, were
bets to be taken in that celebrated locality, the odds,
we are sure, would be in favour of the Right lion.
Gentleman. The Budget, we hold, will beat the Papal
Bill in precipitating the dissolution of the Ministry. The
latter would have done the deed in the long run, but the
Budget will do it at once. The odds, in the estimation
of others, as well as in ours, are decidedly in favour of
Sir Charles. Lord John seeks to delay his measure in
its various stages. Charles is determined that the

di3cussion on the more vital points of the Budget shall
be taken forthwith. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
is, therefore, the wan for us. With the discussions
which aro impending on the financial plans of Sir
Charles, we should think him a desperate gambler who
would bet in favour of a four weeks' existence of the
Ministry. Taking the measures of the Noble Lord and
the Right Hon. Gentleman together, the downfall of the
Whig Administration may be regarded as a moral cer-
tainty. There is nothing of a contingent character about
it. Lord Carlisle is a poet. If, therefore, he
means to pen the epitaph of the Whig Cabinet,
it is high time he were preparing himself for
the task. The extinction .of the Ministry will, no
doubt, be lamented by some parties. It would be
strange if that Ministry, bad as it has been, had no
friends. If it has no other parties to sorrow over its
' dissolution it must have mourners among those whose
.
situations will cease with it. Let, then, such persons
prepare their tears; they will soon have occasion to
shed them in profusion. The Budget of the Chancellor
of the Exchequer is unique of its kind. It stands alone
among all the financial statements ever made in tl e
House of Commons. In the absurdity, the injustice, the
iniquity of some of its more important provisions, it is
altogether unprecedented. "None but itself can be its
parallel." It were difficult to say whether the want of
capacity or of justice be the more glaring defects in the
measure. The union of the two attributes is singulary
striking. Taking it altogether, "we no'er shall look
upon its like again." For the man who could propose,
or the Ministry who could sanction so outrageous a finie-
cial scheme, it is difficult to make any allowance.
Both must be crushed by the measure. Mr. Disraeli
and his Protectionist troops must be delighted with
the Budget of Sir Charles. It is just the thing
which the Opposition leader must have wished to
have. No doubt he and they are already prepared to
take advantage of the chance which Sir Charles has
given them. The author of "Coningsby" must be already
preparing for an onslaught. Let us give him a hint,
leaving it optional with himself whether ho adopt it or
not. We know that he will not regret it if he do.
What we would suggest is, that when the question of
sanctioning the Bill for another three years comes before
the House, Mr. Disraeli should be ready with a measure,
either in the shape of an amendment, or a substantive
motion, having for its object to protect precarious in-
comes against the unhallowed hand of the tax-gatherer.
Let all professional men—those who spend their days
and nights in unremitting and often uncertain labour, in
their struggle to earn a livelihood, be exempted from
the operation of this unjust and tyrannical tax. If the
Member for Bucks cannot insure the support of his Pro-
tectionist forces, we will guarantee to him the aid of a
sufficient number of Liberal Members, to render success
a matter of certainty. Nor will he win by a narrow
majority only. He will have a large majority in favour
of his proposition—the first majority, we believe, he
ever had since the commencement of his legislative
career. We cannot suppose that Mr. Disraeli will lose
so favourable an opportunity of tripping up the heels of
the Whig Cabinet, especially as, for once in his life, he
will be carrying out the wishes of the people, at the
same time that he promotes the views of his party.
Such a chance may not again occur in the legislative life
of the lion. Gentleman—not even if his Parliamentary
existence were to be prolonged to the end of the present
century. Should we, however, be wrong in assuming
that the Member for Bucks will lead the opposition
against the Ministerial proposal to renew the provisions
of the property-tax as regards precarious incomes, we
cannot doubt that some of the Liberal Members will. It
is a thing which must be done. The term for which it
is proposed to renew the income-tax, with all
its iniquities and injustice, is three years. One
year's renewal would have been bad enough. A re-
newal for a period of three years is a thing not to be
endured. it is an impost on men's minds—a tax on
their bodies. To pay the tax on mere incomes derived
from mental exertions, many myriads have to spin their
brains at the imminent risk of impairing the faculty .of
reason. Myriads more are shortening their days by
labours which break down the body as well as destroy
the mind, in their anxiety to keep themselves and fami-
lies in a respectable position in society. To them the
income-tax is not only oppressive, but an act of abso-
lute cruelty—a piece of downright inhumanity. For
such unhappy beings—persons in as deplorable a condi-
tion as can be imagined—Sir Charles Wood has no
bowels of compassion. But the House of Commons has,
and before a 'fortnight has passed away she Right
Honourable Gentleman will be furnished with a proof of
legislative humanity, which neither he nor his colleagues
in the Cabinet will altogether relish.

THE SOUTH NOTTS ELECTION.
The very severe contest which has taken place in
South Nottinghamshire will no doubt be long remem-
bered on the banks of the Trent, for the excitement
which it occasioned, the zeal with which the battle was
fought, and the close hazard of the result. But there is
considerable interest in the subject for those also who
were not so immediately concerned in the struggle as
the dwellers in Robin Hood's county. The success of
Mr. Barrow points to an important fact in the history of
our representative system. Fortunately, the grounds on
which he received such energetic support are singularly
cleared from the entanglement of any of the ordinary
points of difference which are put forward fie the rallying
cries of electioneering contests. Nor was all this vehe-
mence excited, as was often the case in old times, by mere
family or local rivalriee. Both Lord Newark and his
opponent came forward on the same side of public
questions. Both are unequivocal supporters of a pro-
tective policy; both enunciated the same views on the
absorbing topic of Papal aggression. in short there was
no political question of any moment—we might perhaps
say no political question at all—which was at issue be-
tween them. Nor can it strictly be said to have been a
personal question, except so far as Mr. Barrow was
known to the constituency, while Lord Newark, we be-
lieve, although he is said to have materially improved
his position in this respect during the contest, had been
previously almost a stranger to them. But the social
influences respectively represented by Lord Newark and
by Mr. Barrow were found sufficient, on the present oc-
casion, to bring about a more severe ami more exciting
struggle than has for a long time been afforded by a
Parliamentary election.
Of course, we may put away from us the standing
stock of inanities which will fill some of our free-trade
contemporaries up to the brim—we mean all those
phrases about liberty of election, despotism of landlords,
undue influence, and the like. In all constituencies,
and through all time, wherever people are at all eager
about the result, they will resort to such methods of
persuasion and pressure as shall most easily suggest
themselves; and these will be more or less unjustifiable
in proportion as the canvassers are more or less regard-
less of the duty of doing to their neighbour as they
would have their neighbour do to them. Those who
think they can bring about a state of things in which
they will so reconcile the right with the expedient, as
to enable a man to obey the dictates of bis conscience
without danger of any inconvenience to any of his
worldly interests, may perhaps agitate for the ballot as
an instalment of such a blissful existence, regardless
of all the objections to that measure; but as we arc not
only sceptical about the possibility of this Benthamite
paradise, but extremely doubtful as to the ballot being
any approximation towards it, we are not at all disposed
to join these speculators in blowing their bubbles.
The recent contest in South Notts, if it could be re-
garded as one between landlord and tenant, a colour
which some are endeavouring to give to it, would not
only be a very mischievous circumstance just now, but it
would bo unimportant from being necessarily excep-
tional; for the interests of landlord and tenant are much
too closely copuected to suffer anything,like a permanent
divergence. Nor, we are bound to say, does it appear
that Mr. Barrow at all endeavoured to array class against
class, and to put himself forward as peculiarly the re-
presentative of any one order among the electors. Its
this respect it is totally distinct from the ridiculous
pretence at a contest, which some decoy farmers in the
interest of the Manchester school are getting up in
Bedfordshire, where a Mr. Houghton, who represents
himself as a tenant-farmer, asks for the suf-
frages of the electors under the anomalously com-
bined characters of a Cobdenite, and a farmer's
friend. The farmers, we may remark, would not at all
improve the condition of their cause, by returning men
of their own class to the House of Commons—even men
whcm they could trust, for we do not imagine for a mo-
ment that they would ever send representatives of Mr.
Houghton's stamp. The men who would probably seek
this office would be bad farmers, and worse legislators;
and we are sure no man can be a good legislator who
forgets his constitutional position as member of a deli-
berative council, and is willing to sink into that of the
delegate of a class. But Mr. Barrow belongs by educa-
tion and habits to that body which may most reasonably
be expected to furnish the leaders of our rural popula-
tion. He is a country gentleman, an active magistrate,
and so forth. But it appears he is the architect of his own
fortune, and the confidence which is reposed in him by a
majority of the electors of South Nottinghamshire, is given
to his personal ability and straightforwardness, not to all
those various accidents which go to make up what is so
well understood in England by the term " position."
Now, it would be a great injury to our representative
system if this latter source of recommendation were al-
together to fail of its effect. In fact, it can hardly so
fail as long as England remains what it is. But suppos-
ing it could do so, it must arise from circumstances that
would make the business of legislation in the Lower
House a thing to be avoided by those who occupy the
highest ranks in our social scale, and this would inevi-
tably tend to make it also cease to be the coveted prize
of the highest merit of all kinds, and thus degrade the
standard of men serving the office of logisltitor. It
would be a misfortune, we repeat, taking the English

y•
character as it stands, if the heir of the Pierrecoint;, or
the Clintons, or the Bentincks, did not come forward as a
candidate for Nottinghamshire with a considerable pi es-
tige in his favour. But on the the other hand, it mus t not be
forgotten that it would also be a great misfortune if such
men, by the mere weight of their lineage and station,
could so occupy the representation of our countie.l, as
to leave no opening for men clpable of advantaging the
country, and who deserve the opportunity of so doing,
from inferior degrees of sect ty. Such a monopoly
would not only be injurious to the composition of the
Howe of Commons, but it would bo not less so, pet }ips,
to the nobility itself. Much, too, depends on th,t par-
ticular condition of the period at which the two kinds of
influence come into comparison. Personal costal( scions
will be more especially regarded at a time when strong
political struggles aro going on, when great interests are
at stake, and great questions are debated. Such is the
case just'now. The farmers throughout the country
feel that their very existence as a class ishasw.-dcd, and
they are fully aware that it is above all thing
to them to secure able and industrious champions. Act-
ing on this conviction, they have selected Mr. Barrow as
their Member. —Post important

Dispatches were sent off yesterday from the Colonial.
office to the Governor of Ceylon, and also ti) the Gover
nor of ilt)Dg•K9Pg•

LITERATURE.
TRADITIONS of TUSCANY in Verse. By
Mrs. D. Ogilvy.
The same skilful pen which, some time back, cele-
brated in " a book of Highland Minstrelsy" the
beautiful legends of the north country, has now been
employed on a theme of similar interest, but of dif-
ferent attractions. Instead of heath-covered hills, we
read of sunny landscapes, and in place of the exploits
of the hardy mountaineers we have thrilling legends
of crime and passion. Dissimilar in character are the
Highlander and Italian, and equally dissimilar are
their respective climaes, as described by Mrs. Ogilvy
in some lines on "A December Day in the CampFgna :"
On Scottish graves the sncw is thick,
Its flakes of wintry foliage cling
Along the planetree's withered stick,
That querulously moans for Spring.
But round the Roman Lady's Tomb
That looks upon the Appian Way,
Geraniums scatter wilding bloom,
And sunshine loving lizards play.
The mountains of my Scottish home
Are labouring is December's storms,
The driving mists; in wreaths of foam,
Like vapory mantles, wrap their forme,
But here 6oracte pales the rose,
The reddest rose that tempts the bee,
And gleam the high Abruzzi snows,
Like frigate•saih far out at tea.
I❑ Scottish Town from murky skies,
The shiverer to his hearth repairs,
Heaps up the blaze, the flagon plies,
Forgets the cold and all his cares.
Far different our December joy
In the long heathy grass to muse,
Until our ravished soul we cloy,
Drinking the Noon's delicious hues.

A dreamy and reflective mood,
It gendereth our eyes to cast
Here on the Peasant's cabin rude,
There on the Relics of the Past.
The antechamber and the hall,
Vaster than palaces—to lave
A Caesar's luxury, and the small,
Low niches whero they tombed the ala►e.

Slowly a long, long sigh we fetch,
And turn away our saddened eyes
To where the Volsciac mountains stretch,
Like violets budding in the skies.

To where the nearer Sabine hills
Reflect the Amethystine ray,
And Alba with red lifeblood fills
At the last kisses of the Day.
This man changed never—cannot change,
The wolf-nursed Twigs beheld it too,
In their fierce eyes yon mountain range
Wore the same rich exhaustless hue.

Trampled beneath the victor's hoof,
No widow-weeds can Rome assume,
Her raiment must be sunbeam woof,
Her cheek bath everlasting bloom:
Girdled she is with cestas rare,
That must bewitch us through all time,
Through all her misery and despair,
Meet for the canvas and the rhyme!
The traditions of Tuscany selected by Mrs. Ogilvy
are the eventful history of " Bianca Cappello," ar-
ranged in a dramatic form, and described with con-
siderable power; the often•told tale of "Madonna
Pia," the victim of the Maremma ; " Camilla Mar-
telli ;" the jealous artist, "Andrea dal Castagno ;"
" Ginevra Degli Anieri," and some others. Some
passages from this last story afford a felicitous spe-
cimen of Mrs. Ogiivy's abilities as a ballad-writer :
And at this her memory starting,
Told what did her trance precede,
How they wedded her repugnant,
And protesting 'gaitist the deed.

How her spirits ebbed with anguish
Till the tide of life ran dry,
Till the sleepless nights of weeping
Drained the moisture from her eye.

How she stood before the altar
Stunned through every priestly prayer,
Till the kiss of marrisge slew her
As the climax of despair.
More returned not, save this waking
Cold, deserted on her bier,
Friends and Bridegroom all forsaking
In their selfishness of fear.

"I will up and seek some dwelling,"
With affrighted sigh she said;
" E'en my Husband's loveless bosom
Will seem warmer than these Dead."
Slow I.he reared her on her elbow
gasped an Ave in her need
To the saintly-browed Madonna,
Saying, " Mary, bid me speed!"
O'er her naked feet she gathered
Her robe's amplitude of fold,
On her brows the bridal chaplet
Did her raven braids uphold.

White and shining as New Sal,m
Moving down to meet the Lamb,
In the stream of holy moonlight,
Visionary fair sbe swam.

Cold the pavement to the pressing
Of her small feet, bare of shows,
Ah! but colder was the welcome
That repelled her all too soon!
In the deep and starry silence
She bath found her husband's gate,
On the outer threshold pausing
Suddenly, afraid of Fate!
The poetic legends are prefixed with brief expla-
nations of some of the historical events to which they
relate. The most remarkable is the following, a
striking instance of the evanescence of popular-
favour :

" THE TUREE ILLUMINATIONS.

" A few introductory words are needful to draw atten-
tion to the phenomena of these strangely-marked fes-
tivities; each of which was followed by the downfal of a
sovereign.
" In Paris I happened to witness the last Few do Roi,
May Ist, 1847, the seventy-fourth birthday of Louis
Philippe. Everything then looked in profound repose,
the army numerous 'and well-disciplined, commerce in-
creasing, the city newly encircled with her much-praised
chain of forts, and the King in the flush of triumph of
the Montpens:er Marriage. Within a year, that King
had fled; and the angry Parisians had exiled for ever
from France himself and the children for whose aggran-
dizement he had schemed so lucklessly. Paris was a
scene of riot and bloodshed, and the rifled Tuileries con-
verted into an hospital for the wounded citizens.
" Pending these events, the Carnival ut Rome was
dragging out a more than usually stupid course. Men's
minds were pre-occupied, and the interest felt in French
affairs alarmed the already tottering Government of the
Papacy. The fear of a disturbance made it prohibit the
rnoccoli or tapers with which the gay crowd generally
light out the last day of the merry-making. All strango
reports mere rife of detected conspiracies meant to have
been E xploded in the hour of rejoicing.
'" But such had not well"set in ere came from Vienna
the tidings of its insurrection which inflamed the Ro-
mans into a frenzy of sympathy. They concluded the
Austrian Eagle had now received a mortal wound, and
rushing to the Austrian Embassy they tore down the
insignia of Hapsburg, and tying it to a donkey's tail,
they set on the auimal a hunchback, whom they saluted
as Metternich, and in this guise proceeded to the Piazza
del Popolo, where they made a bonfire of the escutcheon,
with music, vivas, and waving of ladies.' handkerchiefs.
" That evening, without consulting Pope or Cardinal,
in defiance of it being Lent, they lighted the whole city,
and bore the Moccoli in triumph through the Corso. It
was forbidden to blow out the lights as is usual with
these tapers, and the political nature of the festa was
only too apparent. Above the deep cheunt of Senza
Moccoli, the ordinary rcprcach to those who neglect to
carry a taper, there rose a perfect storm of vivas, shouts
for Pio Nono, and cries of Death to Metternich.' One
of the visas for Pio Nono, added, President of the
Italian Republic. Ominous hint for the Supreme Pontiff!
Within a year the same voices which now called him
saviour of Italy, reviled him as its betrayer: he, disguised
in menial dress, was a fugitive, and abandoned by all who
once idolized him.
" Finally, in Florence, I was present at the illumina-
tion in honour of the capture of Pischiera from the
Austrians. Carlo Alberto did not hold it long, only
long enough for the Florentines to burn out their pretty
lamps of oil enclosed in clear round globes of glass,
brighter in consequence than the Roman fashion of en-
closing the light in a tinted lantern of oiled paper.
Florence had lost many of her sons a day or two pre-
viously, but she forgot their equivocal fate in the excite-
ment of a festa, and I saw one palace sparkling whence
an only son had gone to die in that inglorious war.
Within one year, this third illumination was followed by
a third flight of Kings. The gentle but misguided
Prince deserted his capital, and a few wild demagogues
swayed the city of the Medici. Where the gay lustre'
glittered in the windows of the Pitti Palace, a red eap.(af
liberty, emblem of bygone
homerhorors, insulted with ,11,5
rude presence the desolate of a homeless ruler.

EASTBURY ; a Tale. By Anne Harriet Drury,
Authoress of "Friends and Fortune." Pickering.
Last Christmas, we noticed, in terms of cordial
eulogium, Miss Drury's very excellent and delight-
ful tale of " Friends and Fortune;" and, this year,
we are glad to have occasion to pronounce a similar
commendation upon "Eastbury.' Postessing many
of the attractive characteristics of its predecessor,
" Eastbury" has peculiarities of its own.
Tihnetenreasrt-,
nar-
rative is of a deeper and more
enthralling
and the characters introduced are more numerous
and more diversified. In the portrayal of some of
these characters the authoress evinces a peculiar
felicity. Some portions of the tale are somewhat
painful, and some few of the personages somewhat
repulsive, but in the
pathosFassages of concerning them,
the power and thethe writer are
displayed. The chapters which we prefer, how-
ever, are of a more genial kind, and conspicuous
among these is the Seymour faticl composed
,T of the
kind, hospitable baronet and hislyl the gentle,
shrewd grandmother, and the frank,aci:a u
joyousJulia,snbeam.
whose presence is as life-diffusing a
Contrasted with Julia are her widely-differing
friends, the quiet, plain Jane Bernard, the curate's
daughters ever busy ttimi ever dow. Kgood, sad Doti-

trice Eustace the beautiful and most unhappy
heiress of the flail. With these such a multitude of
minor but not uninteresting characters crowd upon
us, that we dismiss them without ennumeration,
always excepting the hero, Lionel Revis, a
more heroic character than heroes always are.
How shall we give an inkling of the mysterious in-
terest of the tale, without revealing to,) much ?
Rather than commit such an indiscretion, we leave it
undisturbed, referring the curious to the pages of
" Eastbury," where they will infallibly reap pleasure
as well as profit. The very tone of the narrative has,
moreover, a charm about it. Every page evinces the
general sympathy and cheerful Chisistianity of the
writer. Many of the most beautiful passages are
evidently heart-spoken, and, as such, are possessed of
an especial fascination. Miss Drury promises to
prove one of our most valuable domestic novelists, if
she he careful not to abandon for artificial' conven-
tionalities her charming simplicity of style and sen-
timc,nt.