The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON. MONDAY EVENING MARCH 3 1856.

4..t4g1)

'"' 1117KKT" " Ps"" 4 14‘..

THE MAGAZINES.

ever done, step by step, across the broad plains ( f Eu-
rve, till from their last refug‘:, that rock ol tie Atlantic
tc) which they have clung lovingly, trustingly, at last
despairingly, during two thousand years, the old race
roust be rent and severed to make room for their tri:m-
phant successor, the couplet ing Scythian. Yet, though
kings, piitices, and races perish, though a nation may
be obliterated, still the singular and beautiful literature
of that ancient people, the literature of two thousand
years ago, will live for ever in Ireland, to interest and
instruct the poet, the historian, and the antiquary—the
records of a people more ancient than the pyramids."

Lid.17.7Y44/A,

c;Galn
Saturday

this •tay

Blackwood.—Although Maga still pursues her
course without the attraction of a serial story, iu
pages hitherto glorified by tales like Margaret
Oliphant'. " Zaidee," or Bulwer Lytton's " Cax-
tons," or Thomas Barham's "Cousin Nicholas," or
Samuel Warren's " Ten Thousand a Year"—she is
yet, to the very last, wonderfully alluring, lively,
and vigorous. Look at one criticism alone in the
present number, as affording conclusive testimony
of this. Read it, chuckle over it, rub your hands
with very glee as you turn the leaves—and then
close it, when read, without a hearty roar of
laughter. We defy you—that is supposing you to
have a genuine appreciation of the ridiculous. It
is a paper not to be perused with a grave
eye, or a stirless lip—but to be exulted
over as a bit of rare fun. Another flourish
of the crutch of King Christopher ! More
magical than the wand of harlequin, and more
formidable than the most gnarled and knotty
shillelah twirled between a thumb and forefinger on

A - 96
94 - 1.6

11 - 13

ii -... .4i

•s• "'"'

Collntrn's United Service opens with a sketch of
the career of the late Prince Paskiewitch, written
in a spirit of generous appreciation. The " Lull in
the Storm" of war is taken advantage of by " Port-
fire " to look about and see what has been done
and remains to be done. The result is encouragino.,
the Allies on his showing having little to fear and
everything to hope from a vigorous and judicious
prosecution of the war. Their tactics in under-
taking the reduction of Sebastopol are in his opinion
fully justified by the results. "In fighting Rus-
aia," he asserts, "you cannot go in and win. Try
it and you're done, as Charles and Napoleon were.
No. The only way of flooring Russia is to attack
her at her extremities." How lucky, if this be
true, that we blundered into that way ! "Leaves
from Western Africa" are still attractive, singly
and by their variety. " A Visit to Scott Russell's
Dockyard," though highly seasoned with adinira-
tion, does no more than justice to that mammoth
establishment, in which alone that forthcoming
prodigy of shipbuilding, the Great Eastern, iron
steamer (25,000 tons burden !) could have been
constructed. " The prevailing impression," it is
truly remarked, "which the visitor receives and
retains, in despite of others no less significant, is
that of vastness. Bulk, size, bigness is the uncon-
trollable feeling which weighs upon the spectator."
" Gossip about our Ferry," is other words, " the
narrow sea between England and France," de-
scribed by Napoleon I. as "the most important ferry
in tho world," is of national interest, and adds amus-
ing anecdote to noteworthy historical reminiscences.
The Irishman who did not know whether he could
play the violin or not, because he had never tried,
is outdone by a touter who knocks the bargain of a
rival the proprietor of a " bran new bye-channel
boat" on the head, by turning the newness of his
boat into an argument against embarking in her
after this fashion—" That's all again her, for she's
never been tried, and, in course, its doubtful,
quite uncertain, I should say, whether she'll sink
or swim." " Good gracious," gasps the
,green-
horn, " what an escape. Of course, it is. I'll
have no experiments tried on me." " Sketches of
Mercenaries" are continued—" Scots in French
Service " being the subject of the sketch for
March. " The War in the Peloponnesus in 1820,"
a graphic and stirring narrative throughout, is con-
cluded in the present number. The editor, in his
Portfolio, directs a rattling fusillade against Lord
Panmure, for endeavouring to tarnish the prestige
of the illustrious Order of the Bath, by admitting
into its ranks men who have no pretensions to such
a distinction, such a 3 Benjamin Hawes, the quon-
dam, soap-boiler at Lambeth, and passing over others
such as General Freeth, whose claims are indisput-
able. Knowing what we know, this is a little
amusing. Less exceptional is his recommendation
of Commissary-General Filder to an equal share
of attention with the other C.B.'s, or Crimean
blunderers. One passage from the Portfolio ought
not to In omitted. "It has already transpire 1 that
Lord Hardinge is not so black as he is painted, and
the public may one day learn with surprise how
much it owes to his zeal, his energy, and his untir-
ing devotion." Hibernian decidedly.

1(5

] 14 Ina l
243
107 A 1123]

•N

2i - 2i

92 (.4

P - in
54 - I

••• .... •••

132 - 134

T.;
3 -

31 - 32
83 - 85