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

" That States,- of native wealth possessed,
Though very poor, may yet be very ble,;sed ;"
Arid it is to be hoped it will long preserve its
ancient government, and peculiarities, undisturbed
hy the factious of more conspicuous States. A
Ilistory of the Constitution of the Republic is ap-
Tended, for the benefit of the realer, to whom
this volume presents something of novelty and
,much of entertainment:

The Journal of Psychological Medicine, edited
by Forbes Winslow, M. D., opens with the usual
"Quarterly Retrospect," in which the more salient,
events of the quarter are recorded and commented
',lpon 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
A4ylums of Scotland," and " Autobiography of the
Insane," are continued—the remarkable autobio-
t.traphic narrative to which we drew att,-ration in
. .

cur last notice coming to a 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
run tining original contributions may be noticed an
article "On Moral and Criminal Epidemics,"
'nether "On some unrecognised Forms Of Mental
Disord-,r," and a third "On Criminal Relponsi-
;laity." The. first, more especially, is deservi.g of
thoughtful consideration at the present time. The
concluding paragraph runs as follows :
"It is ever a painful task to dwell exclusively upon
the delusions and crimes of mankiad ; but it is in the
Aberrations of intellectual and moral culture that (as in
Aber sciences) we must seek the clue to their normal
aws. We have attempted to trace these aberrations,
and have here met constantly with the conviction that
:Tian, who has an individual responsibility, is the play.
Ting not only of his own passiocs and instincts, but,
through the !awe of his being, also of those of others.
We have seen that through these same laws, and others
f still more profound arid complex operati,n, large
manses are likewise subject to evil in9uence, from the
6aprices or vices of one. Iu attempting to trace.: he
*uses of these phenomena,- we have ventured to -inti-
,ttate that our press has a liberty' which amounts to
licence—that our spiritual teachers are lax in their
!uties—tbat science is prostituted to evil purposes, and
that our Legislature is not entirely free from the lawn-
Gf adding its iniata to the encouragement of crime.
fl this forms a problem of vast importance to humanity.
,'tae and thoughtful men ate looking earnestly into it,
and attempting its investigation, and we, in this im-
,erfect skbtat, have but wished to add our mite to the
endeavour, by inquiring into the history and conditions
if the past, which is indeed 'the interpretation of the
itesent, and the prophecy of the future.'e
try addition to the above are a number of impor-
excerpta from foreign psychological literature.

The Ilistory of France, from the Earliest Period to
the Present nine. By Thomas Wright, Esq.,
M.A., F.S.A. The London Printing and Pub-
; fishing Company:
The first; art of a history of France, written, or
be written, we;are told, in the fair and amicable
becoming, the present alliance between the
two countrits., and iliitsirated in the first style of
~ 'me:yirright is alrnoly favourably known as.
careful atid'able compiler; and, judging from the
!)resent part, a Useful and popular history may be
41.itieipated at his hands. The illustrations are de-
serving of prise.

Popular Ilistory of. England. By Charles
Knight. Bradbury and Evans.—The fourth part
t this illustrated history bears the reader along
through the important interval be i weeu the coro-
nation of William the C.nqueror and the death of
denry I. Judging by the instalment in hand, the
cork is likely to merit the
.title given to it, both
as. regards its style and circulation, and satisfac-
t ;rily to reward the labours of the judicious and
enterprising editor.

The Insurance Magazine
Contains 4,
.nuaiber of able papers on subjects
more particularly appert4ining 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 Cyclopedia. Conducted by Charles
Knight. The present part is devoted to Bio-
graphy-, and"includes a notice of the celebrated
Jeremy Bentham and the Polish patriot Beta.
The English Cyclopmdia promises well, and seems
calculated to become popular as well as useful.

NEWPORT, ARERCFAVENNY, &ND I3EREFORD RAILWAY
:COMPANY.—Ao extraordinary ,meetipg of the shareholders
of this company was held yesterday in the L mdon Ta-
'vern, to receive a report of the committee appointed by
-the shareholders at the last general meeting, and to alter,
'if necessary, a resolution passed on . the Occasion to
raise additional capital ;,the Hon. w. E. Fitzwaurice
'in the chair. The report of the commintee, read by
the seCtetary,-states; thiitit would be necessary to raise
350,000/. to 4ilish thefine 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 riquiremente, and the committee have confi-
dence in their estimate. The total amounts to 361,716/ ,
less arrears of calls and cash in band amounting to
.12,7161., leaving a 'balance of 348,9971 ; which will be
sufficient to complete a double line from Hereford to
Crumlin, and a single one from thence to Quaker's yard,
with works for a double They consider that within
15 months from thiS date the receipts wiil be sufficient to
provide for the interest on all bonds, on the present 5 per
cent. preference shares, and on the proposed protereime
:shares at 6 per,Cent., and also to pay a dividend of 3 per
cent. to the original Sbareholders. The committee have
no reason to doubt that the receipts will considerably
exceed their present e:timate of 401. per mile per week.
They rec oninend the creation of anew 6 per cent. prefer-
enc:k stock to the extent of one share of 10/. for every ori-
gi'V share in the company, which will amount t!)
216,8401., to be offered in the first instance to the
holders of stocks ;frorata, the remaining part of the
350,0001. they recommend to be raised by debenture,..
The committee ;,..4.rct,,,iiptatly recommend the proprietors to
take their proportion of the 6 per cent.: stock. The
resolution passed at. the last general meeting will. have
'0 be rescinded, and; power given to raise 350,000/ to
Omplete the flrOto Crumlin to Quaker's-yard. ite-
:
solutions to ci6 4119.
Tkcukthe reaoracq9datioa 91. the report
were unanimous!), agreed to

brilliant sister of Francis the First and her heroic
dtughter. 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—tiS'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 stsge 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, " an
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 ITrgel (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 ,ouriosity, 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 fgr 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 bad characterised its government
in the (Nye of Charlemagne and of Louis le Debon-
noir. 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 iinme-
m trial trOdition.' This secluded and singular
little State frilly realised the anticipations of the
traveller. He report's it as a species of Utopia,
as rare as it is admirable. How far its indepen,
,fence 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, be
difficult to say. As it is, however, it presents to
the occasional traveller the confirmation of Gold-
smith's assertion.,—