The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-30 00:00:00

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

The Minerva, from Rotterdam, was at Boston. She
shipped a heavy sea on the quarter, which stove right stan-
chions, on the 25th of November ; on the sth ult. shipped a
sea, which stove bulwarks and seven stanchions ; and on
the 28th, in another gale, stove more bulwarks, the long-
boat, and main hatch.

The Wieland, from Bremen, arrived at New York on the
6th ult. In lat. 49, long. 7, fell in with a British barque,
hailing from London, which appeared to be in distress ;
wore ship and lay too. Saw a boat lowered from the barque,
and all on board appeared to get into it. The wind was
blowing a bale from N.W., with a very hoavy sea, and it
coming on dark lost sight of the boat ; lay to for three
hours, but could see no signs of her; captain thinks all
hands perished.

LITERATURE.
'ing. 2 ITN.

Lethelier. By Edward Heneage D
Hurst and Blaekett.
This is a peculiar style of book, which evinces
considerable knowledge of foreign literature, and
displays great insight into character. The story
is melancholy in the extreme, but ft successfully,
carries out its object of proving the serious conse-
quences and fatal results that often ensue from
the conduct here described, The reader does not
feel so great an interest in Ernest Lethelier as the
story proceeds, for he was too much of a fatalist,
and did not sufficiently exert himself, to shape his
own course. As for his brother, Walter, he was a
man who does not attract the slightest sympathy,
and notwithstanding the fact that he was unjustly
represented at times, he prevented, by his own im-
perious demeanour, the calling forth of that sym-
pathy which unfair treatment always elicits. The
heroines of the story are really unfortunate, for
they were of course precluded from ex-pressing
their convictions, and all seemed to conspire against
them. Their different characters manifested them-
selves in different ways, but the language of despair
was alike uttered by both. Constance was deli-
cate, and the repeated shocks she had sustained
wore too much for her, so that when at last all
doubts seemed removed, and all difficulties done
away with, her spirit passed awayXront the sad
s:
world in which, lovely and gentle a she was, she
had endured, in her brilliant life, much suffering
and sorrow. Valentia acted rather inconsistently
in engaging herself to Ernest, but aa, long series of
persecutions and base deceptions had. wrought her
excitable nature to such a state that she was hardly
to be blamed for her conduct. She pined to escape
from the constant interference of her aunt. Miss
Devonport allowed no opportunity to pass of en-
forcing her arguments, and she avas the secret
agent who had worked such direftil mischief in
intercepting all letters that had passed between
Valentia and Walter. The cunning and malignity
of this lady are very accurately de:acribed, and she
is undoubtedly the prototype of the torment of
many an afflicted household. With equal skill is
the portrait of Lady Fakenham portrayed. She is
the fac-simile of the gossips of high life, who create
as much mischief as the busy-bodies of a lower
sphere—they wander through gilded saloons re-
tailing, with the embellishments of a refined man
nor, their embroidered facts. Little do those among
them, who, like Lady Fakenham, are well-disposed
in themselves, reflect how much misery they cause,
and how many wicked actions they re
sponsible
for. res onsible
for. If told of them, they would doubtless exclaim
with co st er
humannati o
Then—
sorrow and smart,
soul
To yet it never was in my l
Tuotacevl tiso base a part.
E
is wrought by want olthought,
As well as by want of heart."
It is no justification for their conduct that they do not
take the consequences into considliration, because
there are sins of omission as well a6f commission,
and the persistence in the former will be as
f
atal .as the latter in many cases. , In connection
with other causes, Lady Fakenham was the means
of blighting the existence of all the chief persons
here mentioned, and of consigning 'the fair young
hisC cynicism,onstanceto a premature grave. Acton, with all
is a fine manly character, and the
little we see of him is a relief after the morbid
style of Ernest Lethelier, and the worldliness which
disfigures the tribe of fashionables. Of these Mor-
ton is an agreeable exception, and Lady Faken-
ham might have taken a useful lesson from him,
for partial as he was to detailing scraps of intelli-
gence, he never went beyond the boundaries of
good taste and fine feeling. Thus he never offended
any one, and, what was of far more consequence,
he never had to reproach himself with being the
cause of evil to any one, either directly or indirectly.
Lady Erpingham is a charming character, well
depicted ; her brilliant and sparkling conversations
area great enliyennaeut to the story, which natu-

rally partakes of the melancholy in recording
many adverse and untoward circumstance
" Lethelier" is evidently a work which is not hastil
penned for the object of affording an hour's amuse
ment, but it has a purpose in its construction ; and
althongh it does not deal in many reflections,
some of its powerful scenes speak for themselves more
forcibly than mere arguments can ever do. In the
labyrinths of misunderstanding, and the mazes of
misery, we trace the effects of the devious wander-
ings of error, and in the sorrow and sufferings that
are so touchingly described, we feel that circum-
stances bad in themselves are rendered worse by
officiousness and exaggeration. It will be seen,
therefore, that there are ample materials for afford-
ing interest and instruction in these volumes, and
the author is entitled to credit for having shadowed
forth in so able a manner the fearful results of
selfishness, deceit, and avarice. Those who disre-
gard these as belonging to the category of errors
will find in this work some life-like representations
of home life which show that, carried to extremes,
these faults becomo vices which exert more baneful
influence on the peace of society than those deadly
crimes all are on their guard against, and which
are put down by the force cf the law. The most
dangerous poison is not that which is the most
powerful, but that which is the least easily detected.

Efie in Sicily. 2 vols. Chapman and Hall,
This a curious and somewhat original work. The
heroine, Elfie, is introduced to us as a young widow,
travelling with her uncle and an ancient lady in
Sicily. Her marriage has been an unhappy one,
and after her husband's death she has gone abroad
for change of scene, leaving her parents residing in
Wales. Elfie herself is a fresh, clever, and enthu-
siastic creature, whose impulses are always truth-
ful and generous, but whose ready tongue some-
times brings her into trouble. Dr. and Mrs. Rody,
her parents, are both characters in their way, and
not unattractive ones. Uncle George is the most
soberminded and rational of the party, which is not
saying very much. They form some intimate
friendships among the Sicilians, and some of them
figure prominently in the story. The book is full
of descriptions of scenery and architecture, and of
historical allusions, aptly introduced. It is a sort of
compound of history and fiction, which will probably
be much more attractive to the superficial reader than
more serious works on foreign lands. Numerous
minor characters are introduced, most of the Eng-
lish being characterised by an extraordinary lack
of common manners—openli abusing the Catholic
Church to priests and padres, and denouncing Sicily
to the Sicilians. Our heroine's party is, of
course, an exception to this vulgarity, but
we must acknowledge that the fair Elfie's
vivacity and sprightliness often degenerate
into flippancy, while considering her age and posi-
tion, some of her smart sayings in public show a
considerable degree of forwardness. The least
pleasing part of the story concerns the hero, Henry
Vyllers and his Jesuit friend Ardini. The cha-
racter of the first is skilfully concealed at first, but
his mysticism is decidedly objectionable, and it is
scarcely natural such absurd affectation of pro-
fundity and feeling should have imposed on th
sense and experience of uncle George, and the clea •
truthfulness of Elfie. The work is extravagant in
many points and betrays the ardour and diffuseness
of a young writer, while occasional breaks and en-
tanglements interfere with the perspicuity of the
plot. Nevertheless, it shows considerable pro-
mise of better things, with a freshness of feeling
and elevation of tone which, when matured by
time and experience will invest another novel with
the same attractions, without the deficiencies of
" Elfie in Sicily."

Bentley's Quarterly Review. No. IV. Bentley.
Bentley's Quarterley begins the new year with
spirit, and shows no diminution of its energies.
The opening article on " The Coming Political
Campaign" does not deserve much commendation.
The author's opinions ara not very clearly expressed,
but he seems to be convinced that we are moving
towards our " Decline and Fall," and looks with
equal suspicion and dislike on Mr. Disraeli and Mr.
Bright. The literary papers are much mose attrac-
tive. We have a criticism on the works of George
Sand, which is well worthy of perusal. The writer
gives a slight sketch of her life, with which her
own " L'Histoire de ma Vie " has made the public
familiar. The critic, while commiserating the
misfortunes of her position and early education,
lays bare with a trenchant hand the vices of her
style, and shows clearly enough how the high
flown professions of liberty, freedom from restraint,
love, devotion, superiority to superstition, &c. &C.,
end in the utter debasement and degradation of all
that is noble in human nature. As the critic ob-
serves, the astonishing and disastrous conclusi°la
which she arrives, appears to be " that love, that
power which it is impossible for self to controlq and
tyranny in any one else to attempt to control, instead
of being the cement of society, the tie that holds us all
together, the divine bond of union, is only another
name for discord, the unfailing source of division."
To many of her stories the remark which the author
applies to the intensely extravagant plot of
" Jacques" would be equally appropriate. He says,
" To oar English ideas the scheme of the story is so
infinitely absurd as in a degree to obscure its serious,
grave wickedness. 'With the least possible grain
of sense or decorum in any of the personages, there
would have been no story to tell." It is happily
remarked of her Utopia that she cannot prove that
the female world be the gainer by it, since nothing
is left for her heroines after forty but to make a
respectable suttee, for that even the derogation of
all the commandments cannot reconcile every diffi-
culty, and old:age is a bugbear deaf to the argu-
ments of her ingenious sophistry.

" One r ()int in this whole series has struck us as matter
for speculation : How is it that with this writer's undoubted
powers, with her force of intellect, originality, vigour and
grace of style, and fearless probing into the strongest, most
passionate emotions, she is never pathetic ? Our feelings
are never moved. However unhappy her people are, we
never suffer with them. We should say it is impossible to
care what becomes of her prime favourites on whom she has
lavished all her art. It does not do simply to say that they-
are too bad to care for, because in fiction we often profoundly
We remember thinking the scene very
bad e people.whereihe Corsair finds his dead Medora. The want
lies, we believe, in the deep-seated immorality of the author's
own system—m its practical atheism—in its ignoring of
conscience—in the utter base inconstancy which she attri-
ppiattyheti
butes to human nature. We do not see how pathos can
exist, whatever misery there may be, without submission
to a superior Power, without recognition of a moral law.
We pity people in trouble and anguish in proportion as there
is conflict, conflict of feeling with principle, conflict of
sorrow with resignation, conflict of memory with conscience,
or simply conquest of self in the recognition of a groat
principle—when there is loss and sacrifice in holding it. If
we know from the nature of things that there con be no
struggle, no resistance ; if things must take a certain, in-
vi vre leave people to fight it out as they can.
our in-
evitable
dead, or consists only in the cold study of
ebinletecroeustrs is e,
passion, rage, and disappointment, in their psychological
aspect as mere phenomena. Mere headstrong- passion,
whatever suffering it brings in its train, has no power over
our tears."
The continual misery which afflicts these sublime
mortals, set free from all conventional restraints,
does not say much for the success of their system,
and, to quote again from the criticism in question,
" The victim to this susceptibility does not mind
who sees him on his knees talking of his souffrances
and (pens° douleur, any more than when despair
comes, and 'it tomb() a ses pieds et y male area de-
seepoir.' People are no more ashamed of these
emotions than they are of anything else. There
is from beginning to end a total absence of reserve;
and men and women without reserve, whose life
is passed in singing and crying the changes of
t'aline, m'ainies to ?' want:something of being men
and women at all." An interesting paper on " Ben
lonson ; his Life and Works," will be found well
worthy of perusal. It is remarked that his
genius was more suited to the Masque than
the Drama. The sketch of his life, although
the incidents are pretty generally known,
is full of interest. Mr. Mill's able work on
" Liberty," receives a careful criticism. The
writer acknowledges its great merits, and expresses
the thanks due to its gifted writer for " taking in
hand one of those latent but embarrassing difficuls
ties, which few think of putting into words, but
which underlie whole tracts of discussion." Never-
theless he wishes for a companion work which
should assert the claims of authority and society.
"We want those whose love of liberty is beyond sus-
picion to tell us the limits and benefits of custom
and control ; as we want those who do not under-
value authority to speak honestly and heartily of
the claims and necessity of liberty." Two very at-
tractive papers take for their subjects "Modern
English" and "Domestic Architecture ;" the latter
especially is full of entertaining information re-
specting the gradual changes of our buildings and
Jieuse fittings. The Earl of Dundonald receives a
well-merited eulogium in an able paper at the con-
which gives a summary of his national
services.clusi,

M. Granier de:Cassaignae, in giving his:adhesioa,
in the Pays, to the Emperor's free trade programme,
characterises it as "the 1789 of labour."
In the foreign exchanges on Friday afternoon the
rates on Amsterdam and Hamburg slightly improved.
Bills upon Austria were sold during the regular hours of
business on terms very unfavourable for the currency of
that empire, but subsequently there was more demand, and
better prices were paid.
PAUPERlSM.—Pauperism is still happily below
the mark. In the fourth week of December last the de-
crease in England and Wales was 31,130, or 3.63 per cent.)
being the difference between 857,903 and 826,773. The de-
crease was without exception in all the 11 districts. 1`h(1
same may be said of the remaining weeks of the month.
A Milan letter says M. Alexandre Dumas re-
turned a few days ago from Venetia, and is busy here in.
noting down the memorable events of Garibaldi's life, which
will be shortly given to the public. No biography is more
adapted for romantic treatment than his, for it is one I°l4
TOIIIO4CO of real life,