The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-29 00:00:00

who had held her head so far above

a governess, and had, moreover, so' comported her-
self in her brief hour of giddy elevation as to draw
down the contempt of those •she tried to ape in
manners, and arouse the indignation of those she
affected to ignore the existence of, being known
in her early days of hardship. Some of the
details are very ingeniously arranged in their com-
plication, as, for instance, the discovery of the box
containing the papers of the Elliott family. Through
such trifles as the carelessness of a servant in mis-
directing a box, or other trivial matters, how
often are the hopes and happiness of a family
destroyed. This is an exciting story in
many of its passages, and, fully illustrates
the importance while it reveals the folly
of making money the aim and object of life.
This shining, shifting ore, here to-day and goneto-
morrow, is not to be only thought of by those who
are the pilgrims to a land where buying and selling
is over. If rightly used, and well employed it may
benefit them here and bring them blessings here•
after, from being their happiness below it may be
their crown above. But those who, like Joshua
Smith, heap up gold and garner treasures to feel
that they were his and his alone, of what avail
could such an accumulated avalanche of shining
stores be. He found them powerless to save his
only child who was to inherit them, he found them
failing him at last when distress overcame the mo-
netary world, and many of his speculations failed.
He, who had worshipped money as his god found
his divinity fail him at the last, and his death-bed
was haunted by visions of the wealth of the coun-
try departing and the glory of the world laid low.
This was a solemn warning to those who like him
consider money above all, first and foremost before
patriotism, honour and ambition, to say nothing of
brighter and holier hopes, of greater and more
glorious desires. Those who grasp gold as their
idol may learn of old Joshua, who proved the im-
potence of his tutelary divinity when he laid his
heir in the dust while a voice murmured in his ear,
" We brought nothing into the world neither may-
we carry anything out," and may linger at his
death-bed which was gloomy and terrible.
Had he rightly used the ten talents entrusted to
his care, might not far other visions have
dieted the Valley of the Shadow of Death ; might
not hosts of those whom he had relieved ar.a bene-
fitted on earth have preceded him on the road, and
sang his praises at the gates of heaven. Ho could
have turned in triumph from the momentary fail-
ure of the golden crop below, to reja;.ce in its har-
vest scene above, where spirits, freed from tempta-
tion, and souls rescued from the bondage of sin,
would have made him know'a as their benefactor
and friend. This work cc,ntains many passages
of interest, and the narrative is arranged with
great skill in many divisions. Its author
may be considered to b aye achieved a success in the
arduous undertaking that he has endeavoured to
accomplish ; and irt an age when the worship of
Mammon is so prevalent that its idolatry far super-
sedes all devotions, paid in temples made with hands,,
its appearance is welcome and satisfactory. It
shows in a decided manner the ills that result from
over-zeal in the cause of riches, and the insufficiency
of its attractions to prove the sole stay of life and
solace and support of death. Therefore these
volumes are desirable subjects of perusal, inasmuch
as they deinonstrate an evil of the times, and revealt
a mistake that is made by thousands of whom
Joslaua Smith, in his grasping life, may be the pro-
t;otpye, and, in his gloomy death, may be the pre-
cursor of their own last hours.

WEST INDIAN, MEXICAN, AND

PACIFIC MAILS.

SOUTHAM?TON, OCT. 2S.

The Royal Mail Company's rAteamer Seine, Capt.
Itevett, with the above mails, has arrived. She
brings 87 passengers, and treasure upwards of a
million and a half of doll Ctrs—consisting of gold
bullion, 210,156 dols. ; gold coin, 42,422 dole. ;
silver bullion, 638,283 dols.; silver coin, 622,813
dole. ; pearls, £3,450 ; and platina, 717 dole.
A private letter fro:n the city of Mexico states
that the conducta winich left Guanajuato on the let
ult. with 1,200,000 dole., was taken by Santos
Degollado, general in chief of the liberal forces:
Her Britannic Majesty's consuls in Mexico, San
Luis, and Guanajuato went to Santos Degollado,
in Lagos, to obtain restitution of the money, but
failed, the general stating that he intended to make
use of it to take the town of Guadalajara, which
city was defended by Severn Castillo, general of the.
Conservative or priest party. He states his inten—
tion to refund the money when he has taken.
Guadalajara, with the sales of the church property..
The president of the Liberal Government had sent
an order to Degollado to restore the money, which
was not respected.
Business in Mexico continues very dull. N
goods can be sent into the interior for the relabel :•3
who infest the roads. Travellers coming down fro) at
Mexico to Vera Cruz are generally stopped four i n•
five times during the journey.
The West India Islands are generally health 3 r.
At Trinidad the weather has been very suitable an d
of surprising regularity. The crops were progress l-
ing most favourably.

From Barbadoe3 there is very little news to ri ti
cord.

The British. steamer Bogota had arrived a t
Panama from Callao, &c. From Lima dates are t
the 29th of September. The new contracts forth B
guano had been closed. The house of Gibbs and Co a
are entirely thrown out after the expiration of thei r
contract in 1861. Meanwhile the new contractors
have to give the government five millions of dollar: a
and they will then have to take the stock on ham d.
and pay Gibbs and Co. all their charges against it;,
which it is presumed will require seven million a
more, so that there is a probability that the of d
contractors may still retain it when the final awar, a
is given. The successful competitors are the house)
of Zaracondegui for England, the British colonic's,
and the United States ; Lachambre, for Franc' ;
Lescan, for Belgium ; Witt, for Germany; Can e.
varo, for Holland ; and Patroni, for Italy. nice
contractors are to receive 2 per cent. commissii
on sales, insurance, and charter of vessels, and 4
per cent. interest on the advances made to gover a-
ment, the contracts to last four years. A Ha; a.
burg house offered three millions advances for t, fie
contract of Germany at 4 per cent., and asked on: ly
for 11 per cent. commission. But this propositio en
arrived a few days after the term of 100 da3 re
in which the propositions were to be made he ad
expired, and the Minister of Finance had refuse al
it. The agent of the Hamburg house the ra
applied to Congress, and reduced the intend t
on the advance to 31 per cent. Some people b e
lieve that the Government will not faro so weill
with the new contractors as it did with the hou s
of Gibbs, in spite of the reduction of the commiiJ 3.•
sion. The shipments of guano are considerable :
last month 40,000 tons were exported, and as th e
net profit of Government cannot be less than 17
dole. a ton, makes (says the correspondent of ti ie
Panama Star at Lima) a pretty income for tl le
government of a small nation of one million and a
half of inhabitants, which does not spend anythi a g
for public works or improvements of any kind.
Nothing definite has yet been done with t'h a
American claims, nor is there any prospect of tjae
Peruvian Government acceding to the demand of
the United States. The United States vessels of
war still remain in Callao ; it was expected t'ti at
when they leave, the United States Minister, / gr.
Clay, will leave with them.
From Ecuador the news is highly importa
Flores had entered Guayaquil, and after a sh tirt
fight, completely routed Franco, who left the co, 2 a.
try for Lima,
Dates from Valparaiso are to the 16th : fi 'Om
Chile there is very little news of interest. Vhe
country remains peaceable, and great preparations
were making to celebrate the anniversary of in r le-
pendence on the 18th. The Chilian brig Veloz had
arrived at Valparaiso, with 15 men, composing a he
crew of the American ship Horsburgh, bound f in
Callao to the United States, loaded with maim ,oa
She sprung a leak on the 10th August, in let.
41 deg.teered for S. and lon. 90 W. The master imm ne-
diately s
Valparaiso, but
on the 16t! of
August, at about 25 miles from the island of J aan
Fernandez, the ship had already ten feet water in
her hold, and the crew were obliged to abandon
her, taking refuge in Juan Fernandez where they
remained 25 days.
Business at
Valparaiso is reported dull, owing; to
the holidays.
The. British ship Louisa Barrington
and brig
Black Prince had arrived out from Liver-
pool. The following are the. latest quotations of
• Chile produce‘:—Copper. in bar, per quintal, 20
2a per cent., 3 dols.
dolg.; ores, 37 c. ; regulus, 50
to GO per cent., 8 doll. ; hides, hung dried, 16 dole. ;
tin, in Arica, 30 dols. ; saltpetre, in. Iquique,l ilol.
92c. Exchange on London, GO days, 43a per del-
:* lar ; on Paris, 60 to 90 days, ; on United
t States, 90 days, 13 to 15 per c tnt., ,par.