The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-24 00:00:00

years ; one of them, "A. Journal of the S un ," being
in many respects remarkable for excellence ts, most of
them eminently beautiful. The "Love Sc pni f," again
occurring at page 35, is surely impassiol ae d enough
for a stripling capable of " writing sonnets to his mis-
tress's eyebrows." The numerous admire )r 3 of Mr.
Kinglake will turn with interest to the line addressed
"'To the Author of Eothen," and those v iho, like
ourselves, have an agreeable remembrance c " Pippa
Passes" or who, like others, regard wit a sort of
veneration the mysteries of " Paracelsus," will turn
with pleasure to the "Familiar Epistle Ia) Robert
Browning." As a pleasant memento of old c lays gone
by, when we lingered with delight over ti 1 3 tender
verses of Barry Cornwall—verses sometim s erotic
and sometimes bacchanalian—we transfe r to our
columns the exquisite love song we have alre a dy men
tioned. Here it is—
" Sit near, sit near! I kiss thy lips,
Ripe, richer than the crimson cher; ?3'.
Girl, cßns't thna lova me in eclipse?
Tell me, and bid my soul be merr
My life is dim, my fortune fled;
I've nothing save my love for thee.
Give back thy love, or I am dead—
A word, while I can hear—and see.
Sit nearer—nest! I kiss thine eyes;
There—when) the white lids part as t
I love thee—don't thou hear my sighs?
Love thee beyond the world, thou wan der!
My life is spent; l've nothing left
To tender now, save love's dear dutne
Ah, let me—of all else bereft—
Feed until death upon thy beauty!"
The few fragmentary pieces added to the present S collec-
tion are closed some what mournfully by a "Pirge We
prefer thinking of them rather in connexion w' the.
above exquisite outpouring of tenderness. We c
with them also a remembrance of the graceful lines
about " Flowers," or the jovial song high at the
" Partie Carree," or the pensive " Finis," ( the
generous-hearted " Stanzas." Every page o,t the
little volume, however, will be almost equally at .ept-
able, because, nearly every page is marked by b e:euty
both of expression and of sentiment.

LAYARD'S AINEVEI-1 ABRIDGED.,
John Murray.
The enterprising publisher of Murray's .Recctling
for the Rail could scarcely have decided upon the
issue of a volume wore calculated to prove attra. Live
to a very considerable part of the reading popula t ion.
The celebrity justly acquired by Dr. Austen H e nry
Layard as the last and (for many reasons we ce z mot
but think also) the greatest of oriental traveller s, is
enough to secure to a book like the one before us a
popularity spreading far and wide among the re (laid-
tude. His more elaborate and more costly nary: hive,
from which the present is a judicious selecth el or
abridgment, was on account of those very que
restricted to the narrower circle of the wealthy • and
unoccupied—men capable of giving a guinea of two
for a single literary composition, and of dedicat-
ing to its perusal an amount of time Sei xcely
compatible with the absorbing occupations of
the industrious. Aware of this, Mr. Al .urray
has generously, we had almost said hum nnely,
resolved upon giving the present epitomised v ersion
of the former volumes to the public at a cost so t rifling
as to place it within the reach of a very nur serous
class of inquirers. In its new form, the work is, as
the title-page correctly expresses it, " A Popul; ra. Ac-
count of the Discoveries at Nineveh, by &usten
Henry Layard, Esq., D.C.L." And the value ,of the
book cannot fail to be at once appreciated by its pur-
chasers when they find that the labour of a' nidge-
ment has been entrusted to no other hands the is those
of the distinguished author himself. Enabled lby this
means to examine into the nature of the discov a ries of
Dr. Layard directly, and not second hand or b:' hear-
say, the reader will very speedily perceive thri t their
importance has in no single particular been :in the
slightest degree exaggerated. On the contrary , they
must willingly acknowledge that scarcely any praise
can be extravagant when applied to the youn g and
observant Englishman whose researches have b ought
to light from among the ruins of Nineveh fac cor-
roborative of the venerable and divine records ox Holy
Writ. We may add that the volume under no tice is
adorned throughout with a variety of woodcte ena•
bellishments.

I have ventured to remonstrate with my daughters
sometimes, when they requested a sum of money for
" new dresses," and observed that the dresses they
were condemning seemed very presentable. " Oh,
yes !" was the reply, "they are very good, excepting
round the bottom, and they are not fit to be seen
there,' and sure enough they convinced me of the
fact, by exhibiting a collection of soiled and un-
seemly skirts that offended my vision most sensibly,
and a 201. note left my pocket while I poured
somewhat fierce anathemas on " long petticoats." j
am as proud of seeing my wife and daughters well
dressed as any man, but I decidedly object to giving
half-a-guinea a yard for silk to sweep the streets with.
Thus, we
see that "long petticoats" are alike objec-
tionable either in the promenade or polka, and ought
to be discarded by rational women as one of those
excrescences of fashion which so often disfigure what
Nature made perfect and beautiful. I firmly believe
that these ridiculously long petticoats were first em-
ployed by some ',l2igh-bor4 obild of physicalPlusfor.

VENIN G, NOVEMBER 24, iB5l.

AN OLD DOCTOR'S OPINION ON WOMAN'S
DRESS.
(From Eliza Cook's Journal.)
You ask me for my ocinion on the subject of prac-
tical reform in the dress of women. As I have a
habit of speaking out, you shall bear it roundly, and
at once. I here premise that I utterly disclaim any
admiration of the exaggerated and ridiculous carica-
tures exhibited on the stage and in our shop windows,
under the title of "Bloomer Costume ;" such a
theatrical style of attire is not to be desired, nor
would it be imitated by sensible women ; but a modi-
fied phase of the proposed reform may be very judi-
ciously and becomingly substituted. I think that the
sooner an alteration and improvement takes place in
female attire, the better. lam perfectly aware that
vulgar ridicule and conceited prejudice operate power-
fully to prevent this being effected, but we have so
many instances on record of beneficial discoveries
and progressions being the marked objects of scorn
and derision when first discussed, that a reflective
mied will not be dismayed at the antagonism offered
by impertinence or ignorance. I think woman's dress,
as at present arrange d, is liable to the objections of
dirt, danger, discomfort, and most certainly, despite
its " Alexandrian length," indelicacy. Woman has
two legs as well as man, and it is essential to have
them as closely and vs separately clothed to insure
from cold and undue exposure. I have seen accidents,
when a woman might have escaped without serious
hurt, had not her instinctive attention been given to
replacing her deranged outer garments,—she knew
she was insecurely covered below, and her anxiety to
prevent further exposure was the direct cause of mu-
tilation of body, and often loss of existence. Had
she been accustomed to be well cased in some sound
material, she would have been less fastidious about
showing a leg for a few minutes, and the preservation
of limb and life greatly facilitated thereby. I have
lately had two female patients, who fell while going
up stairs, in consequence of their skirts being too
long to admit the possibility of ascending without
raising these ridiculous petticoats with one hand.
One lady, unfortunately, had her first-born in her
arms; the child received a severe concussion of the
brain, and the mother dislocated her wrist.
I have been called to attend many with rheumatic
affections of the limbs, and internal diseases of the
lower organs, when, on inquiry, I have found the
patients either entirely without close-fitting habili-
ments, or wearing those of a flimsy and useless qua-
lity, affording no protection whatever against draught
or damp. Now, if one of the two sexes must needs
go about the world in such an unguarded state of
body, I really think we men are most competent to
incur the risk attending it, for the higher and more
nervous organization of women renders it doubly in-
cumbent on them to be uniformly and • carefully
wrapped about the extremities.
In making good my charge of "dirt" the world
will admit the visible evidence afforded by trailing
skirts every dusty or rainy day. I am a tolerable
philosopher, and not easily disturbed by trifles, but
when I see expensive silks and satins go about doing
the work of crossing-sweepers' brooms,—when I see
several inches of rich dresses trailing through the
heterogeneous offensive gatherings of city-streets,—
when I see shoes and stockings one mass of mud,—
when I walk in a choking cloud of dust raised by the
fair beings around me,—really my equanimity gets
slightly irritated, and I am inclined to apply a pair of
scissors to the " part affected ;" and here I can say
something of the indelicacy advanced. Women who
have a natural respect for common cleanliness, as
naturally endeavour to preserve their skirts from con-
tamination, and frequently on a rainy day I have be-
held ladies holding their dresses so high, that a most
unseemly display was the consequence. Poor things !
they were perfectly innocent of the same display,
and only exercising a womanly desire to keep " tidy;"
but I vow that I have witnessed indelicate exhibitions,
from attempts to keep long petticoats out of the mud,
that offended good taste and refined feeling more than
any reasonable adoption touching Turkish trowsers
could have done: I have seen women get out of
omnibuses on black, sloppy days, when one of two
results was impossible to avoid,—either the drapery
must serve as a mop to the steps, or there must be a
very uncertain degree of personal exposure ; in the
first case, there is spoliation of a good dress and
great annoyance to the wearer; in the latter, the un-
advoidable " indelicacy" is a subject of grinning de-
light to any empty-headed "gent" who may be pass-
ing. It is my opinin that a woman's walking robe
should be independent of drenched flagstones and
filthy puddles. She ought to be able to walk with-
out devoting her sole attention to the bottom of her
dress. She ought to be educated with less of false
delicacy than to entertain the notion that the sup-
posed possession of locomotive power above the
ankle is "shocking" and " improper." Heaven for-
bid that I should, in the most remote matter, wish to
neutralize the exquisite and charming constituents of
woman's real modesty. I have seen too much cf the
holy worth and moral strength attached to woman's
conduct, to be able to do otherwise than worship and
respect the innate principles which prompt such ex-
emplification. lam no raving enthusiast seeking to
place man and woman in false positions, but I am
mentally convinced that woman might be invested
with a freer and safer style of attire, without being
disqualified for any of her important relations, either
as a mother, wife, daughter, sister, or citizen.
Now for the "discomfort ;" perhaps this would be
best understood by adopting the practical advice of
an American lady to a young gentleman who con-
sidered his brains and whiskers competent to rule
the Solar system, " Just try long petticoats yourself
in muddy weather, and see how you like them." We
have little doubt that an hour's experience in the
dabbling, dirty, trailing garments would lessen the
wonder that sensible women should seek some style
more pleasant for " getting about" in. Fancy the
bliss of walking with draggling, heavy,l mud-soaken
petticoats flapping against the ankles at every step !
Consider how pleasant it is to have the feet thoroughly
dredged with dry foul dust on a hot dog-day !
Imagine the freedom of running up stairs to the
third floor with a candlestick in one hand and
some domestic luggage in the other 1 there is a
constriction of limb and action that makes
the journey more difficult than a round or
two on the treadmill ; and then in the mazy
dance, what total impossibility of activity or hearty
freedom do long petticoats cause, when every partner
is likely to step on the hem and produce unlimited
rents ; what yards of damaged gossamer, and what
myriads of " undone gathers" I have observed and
pitied ! indeed, I am acquainted with a family of
three young ladies who regularly take needle and
thread to evening parties, for the express purpose of
"sewing each other up." Just cast your eye round
a room during the last " galop," and the chances are
that you will behold sufficient tattered and pinned-up
flounces to suggest the notion of a genteel game at
romps in Rag Fair.
I also believe that long petticoats afford a disgrace-
ful concealment to the feet of slovenly, lazy women,
and did we dare to inspect the state in which many
keep their " propelling members," we should find
trodden-down, slipshod, ragged shoes, and unmended,
dirty hose to a disreputable extent; and this condi-
tion of the feet, and a yawning, half-undone row
of " hooks and eyes " down the back, are points of
personal neglect which always mark a slatternly and
not too really delicate woman. Men in daily life
are invariably, neater and better equipped about the
feet than women ; but if women's garments were
short enough to be entirely out of the mud and dust,
and yet of a perfectly modest length, ladies would
soon be as particular about their shoes and boots as
they are now about their collars and cuffs.:
During my visits to the treat Exhibition, I had
multifold opportunities of witnessing the absurd ex-
tent to which the " fashion" of " long petticoats" has
been carried. I accidentally trod on the frail muslin
of a young lady, and the consequence was a rent
some half-yard in length. I apologized, but the girl
with frank sense replied, "Don't name it, Sir; ladies
wear their dresses so long, that it is impossible
to avoid treading on them." A little further on, I
observed the skirt of a lady in literal rags at the bot-
tom—the;lining had been pulled and torn into small
fragments and fell beneath the silk in dirty 'threads,
affording a subject for laughter and contempt to all
around, until the gentleman with her begged her to
step aside and pin it up, if possible. I happened to
be leaving one day when it rained heavily, and the
distress of the well-dressed women was pitiable. The
bottoms of their dresses seemed the great focus
of anxiety, and no wonder. The turning of skirts
over shoulders, the tucking-up in all manner of mys-
terious arrangements, and the general venting of dis-
gust at the abomination of" long petticoats," assured
me that women have a very keen and impatient sense
of the inconvenience inflicted by them ; and really
the odd, and not very decorous display of under-
garments and limbs would have been well obviated by
at more rational style of walking attire. And let us
here say a word on the extravagant outlay incurred
by this wilful destruction of material.

tune, who had swollen legs or deformed feet trans-
rnited with the same blood that claimed a coronet,
and thus were primitively worn, on the same prin-
ciple as the stiff, high, abominable stocks exhibited by
men some half century since were—that of hiding an
offensive ugliness ; but why the well turned ankles and
inn tyeadtirfeet of the majority of women should besbrouded
trclloping drapery, and why the want of
healthy liberty of action and personal comfort should
be thrust on the whole sex on such a score, only the
obstinate and silly prejudice of fashion can explain.
And now to a frightful source of evil—the tight,
small waist, so much admired by those who dream not
of the mortal consequences attending it. A mass of
have
in
out
te
ooaff
tnthhoeet
ipovani
lseoc viscera ra whichphysiologicalfxvhat
suffering and disease is attributable to this compres-
a mistrul research
depl
and orable. Few
altwasisetasr,c,horigineavtaiden;thcee
fas Lion is as unnatural as unartistic,
and a painter
or sculptor would turn with
pity andcontempt from
the young lady whose waist can be almost s-
ap nned.
How can digestion and circulationpossibly go on
hcwiori wtch u Can tnfhe ert
he nereisebpsei ns ecworeme t palike
irrne: isdtesadi na
uo t
forcedf
ul cut-hop oa o
vkt
a flsoPn:
so warped and ill-treated as it is? Can we believe,
that God did his work so badly in the fairest
and most exquisite work of his creation, that buck-
ram and steel are needed to prop up " the house
of life ?" Did he mould the best of his creatures so
carelessly, that pinching in here and swelling out
there, are essential to render the " plastic, breathing
image" fit to enter a drawing-room ? What insolent
presumption is in the band that seeks to improve the
upright beauty of the human being ! And does the
short- sighted mortal think that Nature will not have
her revenge for the insult thrust upon her ? Does
the woman imagine that the arteries, veins, stomach,
lungs, and heart, will do their proper duties under
such a grasping vice of artificial restraint ? Does she
think her progeny will be strong and healthy, as if
born of an untrammelled mother ? Surely there is
need of reform in this error most peremptorily ; for
if the real amount of injury inflicted on the human
system, by means of stays, were exposed to the blind
victim's eyes, a woman would turn from " corsets"
as from a boa constrictor. I have three girls in my
family, but not one of them has ever been incarcerated
in " stays." A substantial sort of close-fitting vest
is all I ever permitted them to wear, and I am happy
to say that finer forms, or better constitutions, cannot
be produced ; their spines are as straight as those of
my boys, and had I a score of girls to bring up, I
would teach them to look on steel, whalebone, and
buckram, as so many means of suicide.
There is another condition of female dress which
deserves unmitigated censure; I mean the mysterious
heap of either feathers, flannel, horse-hair, or wool,
which goes by;the generic name of "bustle." I have
followed ladies who sported such an extreme redun-
dance in this department, that it at once appeared
laughably unnatural and grossly indelicate. Oh,
what a pity it is that woman is not able to appreciate
the natural and exquisite beauty of her form ! How
it is to be regretted, not only in a physical, but in an
artistic sense, that she pinches in here and piles up
there, regardless of the power and design of the
Creator ! Why will she insist on screwing in the ribs,
and thereby ruining one of the greatest beauties in
the human form ?—a flat, straight back. All grace
is utterly negatived by the round, hunched-up
shoulders which too often mark the female figure,
and which are almost invariably the result of undue
pressure on the spinal muscles. I saw a young
woman on horseback at Brighton, a few days since,
whose waist was a " mere nothing"—l looked at
her with pity ; for not only was she miserably
sickly looking, but her whole figure was
angular and ugly to a painful degree, and
not "a line of beauty" presented itself to the
eye, despite her very taper waist. And now,
taking all things into consideration, do you not think,
my dear friend, that woman's dress might be im-
proved ? There is not the slightest occasion for
women to be dressed like men ; but I contend that
flowing skirts of reasonable length, with trowsers,
full or otherwise, to the ankle, would be infinitely
superior in every way to the nasty, uncomfortable,
dirty, " long petticoats," now in vogue, most strenu-
ously observing, at the same time, that the body be
habited loosely and freely, and I am convinced this
reform would afford exhibitions of elegance far be-
yond anything the present system can show.
There is another point of woman's "full " dress, or
rather " undress," which I cannot forbear touching
on. " Indelicacy" seems to be the great moral sta-
tistic on which people dwell in this question of robe
reform. Now it seems to me to be great twaddle to
discuss the gross indelicacy of showing four inches of
ankle and leg covered with some thick material,
while the bosoms of women are laid open to the in-
solent and unhallowed gaze of every male observer
in " fashionable society." I have beheld " conven-
tional" and " authorized " displays in this degree of
Almack's " Bloomerism," which mortally disgusted
me. How do we reconcile this incongruity ? lam
an old man, a husband, and a father, and could
say much on this view of the question, but shall con-
tent myself with this advice to the "Women of Eng-
land,"—Cover your bosoms, and prove your delicacy;
show a little more of your legs, and become clean and
comfortable.

As for the "indelicacy" of this reform, which is so
much talked of by some very "nice" people, I can
only say that I know the indelicacy lies rather in the
minds of the fastidious observers, than in the pro-
posed curtailing of street-sweeping garments, and
every sensible man will readily admit that the proper
,cleanliness, real modesty, and personal comfort, of
half the human creation would be greatly advanced
by the abolition of these " horrid long petticoats."
We never experience any great shock to our propriety
when we see tall stripplinggirlsattired in "frocks and
trowsers," but rather admit that they are gracefully
and healthily dressed ; we never start at the sight of
a Turkish lady, nor deem her at all unsexed because
she displays a small portion of her legs in elegantly
arranged muslin or silk. Oh Fashion and Preju-
dice are a couple of jades, alike impudent and obsti-
nate. For many years these two jades kept dear
little infants muffled in "long petticoats," which were
useless, expensive, and very inconvenient. They
insisted
on the tiny head in close:hot caps, and
on many other things as foolish and unhealthy ; but
we have had a reform here, and the sooner we have a
reform among our loved and highly-esteemed female
scavengers, the better. As for " wearing the breeches,"
" inovation of masculine rights," and all that sort of
nonsense, indulged in at random by brains of a very
limited or very course !order, I can only say, that I
as much pity the man who deems his manhood es-
tablished by his sole right to trowsers, as I do the
woman who considers her modesty based on a need-
less quarter of a yard of dirty, dragging, cumbersome
petticoat. Now you have my honest opinion on
woman's dress—use it as you will.

THE CHARGE OF CARD-CREATING AT

BRIGHTON.
On Saturday Mr. Sill, of Tavistock-row, the solicitor
for the prosecution in the alleged card-cheating affair at
Brighton, made an application to Mr. Justice Cresswell,
at chambers, on the part of the defendant in the case of
" Bignell v. Purday," an action which has originated
out of the case referred to.
Mr. SILL said he appeared to make an application in
support of a summons which he had served upon the
plaintiff, calling on him to show cause why the action of
" Bignell v. Purday" should not be tried by a special jury.
It would no doubt be in the recollection of his Lordship
that the action arose out of the now somewhat notorious
case of the " Queen v. Broome and others," one involving
a charge of conspiracy, and cheating at cards, at
Brighton. The present action originated in circum-
stances of a peculiar character. The plaintiff Big-
nell being desirous of obtaining the liberation
of one of the prisoners in the case referred to, named
Staden, gave to the defendant the sum of 250/. for
the purpose, as the latter alleged, of enabling him to
justify as bail, aud, as he further contended, without any
condition. The defendant, however, was not called to
justify as bail, and the plaintiff had proceeded for the re-
covery of the 250/., as he contended that themoney had
been merely deposited with the defendant. The ques-
tion raised in the pleadings, which set forth fully the
circumstances of the case, was whether the agreement
so made between the parties was not a corrupt and
illegal one, and was therefore, he (Mr. Sill) submitted, of
a character which would make it proper that it should
be tried by a special jury.
Mr. Justice Cresswell here inquired whether the ap-
plication for a special jury was opposed on the
part of
the irftic who attended for Mr. Robson, the solicitor
Theainclte
ut the costs of
for
Athsehoprltaienotniffve,
rasnastwioenred havinintgheennsengedataivbeo.
the
Hai
sy
Lordshipl i cati o ,
directed that the order for the special
juNryotsiheoeulodf itsrsivale
hinasthbeeeunsugaivl
given for
present term, in the Court of the sittings after the
said that some amusing
disclosures will be made in the
course of the trial.

[ADvERT Cure by Hol-
lyoawrday:rsellidlit.g—T
is.
Emh:NT..................•]_unprecedented
do his work in G Pills.—Thomas SYmonds, formerly of Chatham Dock-
ravel-lane, Southwark, had been unable to
for three years. His lungs were supposed to be
affected, having a distre h with feet and legs swell-
ing
;stobmesaidcehs, d
a was
which he could scarcely
k t andth ever keep anything on 1
yetin
generallyt soisillpnansrtmoabnarely
have ac-
quired almost a new constitutiohnrerbeymwteoaankihnsgHolloway's Pills,
and has now become so thoroughly strong and well as to be
able to undertake the laborious duties of a carpenter on board a
vessel about sailing to New South Wales.—These invaluable
Pills are sold at Professor Holloway's Establishment, 244,
Strand, London, and by all dealers in medicine.
ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.—Notice was issued on
Saturday at St. Paul's Cathedral, that the public will only
be admitted on Sundays during the morning and afternoon
service, and on other days from eight A.M.till four r.m.
(gratis), the same as Westminster Abbey.
DEATH or CoLoNrLSIHRe HwasonmACemE
Member for Lisburn.Yor Mlj
This distinguished officer departed this life at BrigbtOnity.7s-
terday, after a long illness.
He served in Spain with the 10th Hussars
caw to the lilttrquis of Aagloaey at Watei andloo was aide-de-