The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-18 00:00:00

"That States, of native wealth possessed,
Though very poor, may yet be very blessed ;"
and it is to be hoped it will long preserve its
ancient government and peculiarities, undisturbed
by the factions of more conspicuous States. A
History of the Constirmtion of the Republic is ap-
pended, for the benefit of the reader, to whom
this volume presents something of novelty and
much of entertainment.

The Journal of Psychological Medicine, edited
by Forbes Winslow, M. U., opens with the usual
"Quarterly Retrospect," in which the more salient
events of the quarter are recorded and commented
upon by the editor. An instalment of an article
on " Medical Jurisprudence of Insanity" deals with
the subject of "Lucid Intervals," which involves
a consideration of the doctrine of planetary influ-
ence. "Notes of a Visit to the Public Lunatic
Asylums of Scotland," and " Autobiography of the
Insane," are continued—the remarkable autobio-
graphic narrative to which we drew attention in
our last notice coming to n, conclusion. Anything
more vividly and painfully descriptive of the
fevered fancies and mental tortures of the insane
we do not remember to have read. Among the
remaining original contributions may be noticed an
article "On Moral and Criminal Epidemics,"
another " On some unrecognised Forms of Mental
Disorder," and a third " Oa Criminal Responsi-
bility." The first, more especially, is deserviog of
thoughtful consideration at the present time. The
concluding paragraph runs as follows :

" It is ever a painful task to dwell exclusively upon
tho dolueions and crimes of mankind ; but it is in the
aberrations of intellectual and moral culture that (as in
other sciences) we must seek the clue to their normal
laws. We have attempted to trace' these aberrations,
and have here met constantly with the conviction that
man, who has an individual responsibility, is the play-
thing not only of his own passions and instincts, but,
through the laws of his being, also of those of others.
We have seen that through these same laws, and others
of still more profound and complex opera,ti,n, large
ma:ses are likewise subject to evil influence, from the
caprices or vices of one. In attempting to trace the
causes of these phenomena, we have ventured to in'i-
mate that our press has a liberty which amounts to
licence—that our spiritual teachers are lax in their
duties—that science is prostituted to evil purposes, and
that our Legislature is not entirely free from the impu-
tation of adding its quota to the encouragement of crime.
All this forms a problem ofitast importance to humanity.
Vise and thoughtful men are looking earnestly into it,
and attempting its investigation, and we, in this im-
perfect sketch, have but yvished to add our mite to the
endeavour, by inquiring into the history and conditions
of the past, which is indeed 'the irit:lrpretation of the
present, and the prophecy of the future."

:a addition to the above area number of impor-
tant excerpts from foreign psychological literature.

The _History of France, from the Earliest Period to
the Present Time. By Thomas Wright, Esq.,
M.A., F.S.A. The London Printing and Pub-
lishing Company.
The first part of a history of France, written, or
to be written, we are told, in the fair and amicable
spirit becoming the present alliance between the
two countries, and illustrated in the first style of
art. Mr. Wright is already favourably known as
a careful and able compiler ; and, judging from the
present part, a useful and popular history may be
anticipated at his hands. The illustrations are de-
serving of praise.

Popular History of England. By Charles
Knight. Bradbury and Evans.—The fourth part
of this illustrated history bears the reader along
th-ough the important interval between the coro-
nation of William the Conqueror and the death of
Henry I. Judging by the instalment in hand, the
work is likely to merit the title given to it, both
as regards its style and" circulation, and satisfac-
tirily to reward the labours of the judicious and
enterprising editor.

The Insurance Magazine
Contains a number of able papers on subjects
more particularly appertaining to the profession of
actuaries. Among other things, there is a table
showing the progress of life assurance in Great
Britain during 1852-53-54, from which it would
appear (supposing the data to be reliable) the total
business of life assurance has increased much more
rapidly in these years than in the three preceding.

The English Cyclopcedia. Conducted by Charles
Knight. The present part is devoted to Bio-
graphy, and includes a notice of the celebrated
Jeremy Beutham and the Polish patriot Beat.
The English Cyclopcedza promises well, and seems
calculated to become popular as well as useful.

NEWPORT, ABERGAVENNY, AND HEREFORD RAILWAY
COMPANY.—An extraordinary meeting of the shareholders
of this company was held yesterday in the London Ta-
vern, to receive a report of the committee appointed by
the shareholders at the last general meeting, and to alter,
it necessary, a resolution passed on the occasion to
raise additional capital ; the Hon. W. E. Fitzmaurice
in the chair. The report of the cornmitttee, read
.by
the secretary, states that it would be necessary to raise
350,0001. to finish the line to Quaker's-yard from Crumlin,
and to liquidate all existing liabilities. Each of the officers
of the company have certified as to the amount of their
individual requirements, and the committee have confi-
dence in their estimate. The total amounts to 361,7161,
less arrears of calls and cash in hand aroountng to
12,7161., leaving a balance of 348,997/., which will be
sufficient to complete a double line from Hereford to
Crumlin, and a single one from thence to Quaker'slard,
with works for a double line. They consider that within
15 months from this date the receipts will be sufficient to
provide for the interest on all bonds, on the present 5 per
cent. preference shares, and on the proposed preference
shares at 6 per cent., and also to pay a dividend of 3 per
cent. to the original shareholders. The committee have
no reason to doubt that the receipts will considerably
exceed their present estimate of 401. per mile per week.
per cent. prefer-
eTnhceey
stock r e c
tom:hued
extentth c creation e
oaft 100 ofnn
elOl. for every ori-
ginal hp,b
sf 6
share in the company, which will amount to
216,8401 , to be offered in the first instance to the
holders of stocks pro rate, the remaining part of the
350,0001. they recommend to be raised by debentures.
The committee strongly recommend the proprietors to
take their proportion of the 6 per cent. stock. The
resolution passed at the last general meeting will have
to be rescinded, and power given to raise 350,000/. to
complete the line from Crumlin to Quaker's-yard. Re.
solutions to carry out the recommendation of the report
were unanimously agreed to.

brilliant sister of Francis the First and her heroic
daughter. We also meet with a description of
the mountains and mountaineers of East and West
Catalonia, a visit to the Pyrenean baths, and to
the proscribed race of Cagots, the Pariahs of the
Peninsula; a visit to the people of Cerdagna and
Roussillon, in which the writer takes occasion to
give us some account of the mysteries and miracle
plays of the Trouveres. He says it was
with a feeling akin to an instructive con-
viction that he had relapsed into the media-
val world, that after the services at the
church were concluded he entered the humble
theatre in which these performances took place.
Though he admits that the introduction of the
sacred events upon the stage must shock a northern
visitor, he contends that we are not justified in
throwing the charge of profanity upon the mys-
teries. He asserts that they are suited to the sen-
timents of the people, and that in those accustomed
to them from childhood they do not produce any
other sentiments than serious and devout feelings.
The second part of the work is perhaps the more
striking, from the novelty of its subject. It nar-
rates a visit to the republic of Andorre, " are
almost unknown and independent republic, whose
records, while they throw additional light on the
annals of the early Moorish wars, serve also to
corroborate the testimony of the historians of the
Carlovingian age, and whose title deeds, being the
original charters of the Emperor Charlemagne, are
by 400 years more ancient than the surviving do-
cuments of any one of the German or Italian
republics." This wonderful little domain is situated
in the heart of the most mountainous district of
the border lands, and the inhabitants present all
those qualities of hardihood, frugality, and sim-
plicity that so often characterise the dwellers in
mountainous regions. A comparison between the
civilisation of Andorre and the rich and fertile
valley of Urgel (in the adjoining district of Cata-
lonia) is entirely in favour of the mountaineers,
notwithstanding the comparative poverty of their
soil. The traveller approached it with con-
siderable curiosity, as he was aware it was a
district that few, of his countrymen had ever visited.
Indeed, the Syndic, or head of the Republic, sub-
sequently informed him, that though he had filled
that office for seven years, not one Englishman
had visited his dominions during that time. " The
majority of the English people had, I was per-
suaded, seldom heard of its existence ; and yet it
was nearly the oldest of the States of Europe. It
had maintained its independence with little inter-
mission, from a period long anterior to the Norman
conquest. It presented nearly the identical form
of polity which had characterised its government
in the days of Charlemagne and of Louis le Debon-
nair. And in the midst of prescriptive revolution,
among the surrounding nations, it continued, be-
yond comparison of any other State, to be guided
by Conservative principles, sanctioned by imme-
morial tradition." Tnis secluded and singular
little State fully realised the anticipations' of the
traveller. He regards it as a species of Utopia,
as rare as it is admirable. How far its indepen-
dence and stability could have withstood the com-
motions and perplexities of modern civilisation,
had it been situated in a spot less retired from the
notice of the political world, it would, perhaps, he
difficult to say. As it is, however, it presents to
the occasional traveller the confirmation of Gold-
smith's assertion--