The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-17 00:00:00

FELLOWSHIPS.

Last session the Earl of Carnarvon was the prime mover
against Mr. Colcridgo's University Tests Bill, and his lord-
ship got the House of Lords to throw it out. Now his
brother, the Hon. Auberon Herbert, writes, giving up his
Fellowship, for one reason, because he would no longer sub-
scribe to the Articles of the Church of England. In a letter
dated Decembar 11, 1869, to the Rev. the President of St.
John's College, Mr. Herbert says : " I write to inform
you that I have decided to resign my fellowship. I
take this step for two reasons : first, because I do not
believe in the Articles of the Church of England;
secondly, because I am entirely opposed to the system of
fellowships. I ought perhaps to add that thosefellowships
which were gained, as in my own case, under the old con-
ditions of restricted competition seem to be specially in-
defensible. I will only say in this letter that I
consider that the use which we make at present
of very extensive funds is unwise and unjust,
as it limits the number of those to whom we can offer
the advantages of a university education. In a few days
I shall take another opportunity of stating what I believe
Oxford, with her great resources, might be and might do
for the whole people. I cannot separate myself from a
society to which I have belonged for a good many years
without expressing my sense of the personal kindness
which I have always received both from you and all other
members of that society, however often or however widely
we may have differed in matters of opinion."

SIR STAFFORD NORT.UCOTE ON THE

SUEZ CANAL.

An extract is published from a private letter
written by Sir Stafford Northcote, who was present at the
opening of the Suez Canal, having made the journey in
Sir Geo'ge Stucley's yacht, Deerhound. The following is
the most noticeable passage :—" Here is the Canal, per-
fectly available after all is over; and there cannot be a
doubt that when the narrow places at Serapium and the
ugly corner below Kautara have been widened and
straightened, and when the Canal has been dredged
to the uniform depth which is contemplated,
vessels of 25 feet draught will bs able to use it with
ease and comfort. The problem h :refore has been solved,
and M. de Lesseps has achieved a great success. As to the
commercial results of the undertaking it is too early to
prophecy. The expenditure hitherto incurred is stated at 15
or 16 millons, of which about eight have been found by the
Viceroy. What further outlay may be necessary depends
upon the scale on which it is ultimately decided to com-
plete the work. Some put the sum at 5 or <6 millions,
others at one or two. It is equally uncertain what the
annual cost of Maintenance and repairs will be, and there
are no satisfactory data for calculating the probable
receipts from the traffic which is to support the cost. I
suspend my judgment on the point, but incline to think
that the traffic will be considerable, and that the Canal
will be at least self-supporting. Much will de-
pend upon the construction of vessels specially
adapted for the passage. Large vessels, of light
draught for their size, and worked with twin screws, are
contemplated, and some are, I believe, now being built.
These may be able to make the passage through from
England to India without rendering any tranship-
ment necessary ; and should this be done, they will
prove formidable competitors to the large ocean-going
vessels which are now in favour, and will bring
about a revolution in ship building. It is obviously
necessary that our builders should turn their
attention to this class of vessels, otherwise the
ports within the Mediterranean will have a
great advantage over those to the westward of Gibraltar.
If ships from Marseilles can ply to Bombay without
breaking bulk, we must find ships which can do the same
from Liverpool. The canal charges are at present high,
and may perhaps render transhipment and railway carriage
across the Isthmus the more profitable operation ; but,
if the cost of maintenance prove to be no greater than
many believe, the Canal charges will be reduced, and the
lower tariff will attract more trade. The question is,
however, one which time alone can decide. Politically
speaking, the work cannot fail to be of importance. It
makes Egypt more than ever the high road of the commerce
of the world, and gives other nations a greater interest in
her prosperity, good government, and freedom from foreign
war or domestic trouble. It gives a great stimulus to the
development of the country itself, and to its development
in an European sense. France is setting her mark upon
the desert. Such a town as Ismailia is a remarkable phe-
nomenon in itself. The place is clearly destined to increase
and to become important ; and the establishment of an
important town in a neglected district is like the intro-
duction of an irrigating canal into a desert."

We learn from Nature, the new scientific journal,
that the Council of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science have determined to ask the per-
mission of the Lord President of the Council to appear
before him as a deputation, to urge upon the Government
the need of a royal commission to inquire into the present
state of science in England.
THE GUNSMITH RAID.—The Fenian raiders who
attacked the gunsmiths' shops in Dublin on Tuesday
morning, are still at large, and are likely to remain so.
There is not a doubt, however, that the raids occurred
exactly as already related. Mr. Parkinson, the owner of
one of the establishments, writes to contradict the state-
ment in the Freeman that the ball found in the shop, and
alleged to have been fired by one of the raiders, had
evidently never been fired at all. Mr. Parkinson says that
the Freeman is confounding a complete bullet given by
Mr. Parkinson as a specimen to one of the police with the
bullet actually fired. The latter bears unmistakeable evi-
dence of its having been used.

THE STONE AGE IN EGYPT.—A letter has been
addressed by Messrs. Hamy and Lenormant to the Aca-
d6mie des Sciences to prove that Egypt has had its age of
stone as well as Europe. The letter is dated from Luxor,
and they say to the secretary of the Academy, "We beg
you to communicate to the members a discovery we have
just made in the course of a journey to Upper Egypt, un-
dertaken under the auspices of the Khedive, which will not
be devoid of interest to that learned body. The existence
of an age of stone in Egypt has often been the subject of
controversy. The facts we are about to relate will, we
think, give some information that will exercise an influence
on the opinions entertained hitherto on the question.
On the elevated plateau which divides the celebrated
valley of Biban-el-Molouk from the escarpments
which overlook the Pharaonic edifices of Deir-el-
Bahira, we have ascertained the presence of an
enormous quantity of wrought flints, living on the surface
of the ground, to the extent of upwards of a hundred
square yards. These wrought flints, which are of the well-
known type designated arrow-heads, lance-beads, lanceo-
lated axes, knives, scrapers, &c., evidently constitute the re-
mains of an ancient manufactory, according to all probability
pre-historic and exactly resembling those known in France
under the denomination of `Factory of the Neolithic
Period' Messrs. Ballard, Quatrefages, Wurtz, Jamin,
Broca, and Berthelet, with whom we had the good fortune
to be travelling, were witnesses of the discovery, and
authorise us to declare that they verify the origin of the
specimens collected by us and their similitude to those
found in Europe. The best of them we propose to deposit
in the Museumof St. Germain, where they can bginspected
----

HER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR. CASTLE, Dec. 16.
Her Majesty, accompanied by her Royal High-
ness Princess Louise, drove out this morning.

LATEST MULL MENCE

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.
(Per French Atlantic Cable.)

NEW YORK, Dee. 16.
The Cunard s eamship Siberi i arrived out to-

day at 2 a.m.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

CLOSING PRICES.

Gold closed at 1214 ;
_the highest quotation dur-
ing the day was 122 i.; the lowest, 1211.
Sterling Exchange on London lOBl.
5-20 U. S. Bonds, 1889
6t " 1885 ll2l.
it " 1867 ll5l.
10-40 it
Illinois 133.

Erie • 2si.
Cotton—Mid. upland
Petroleum—Standard White 3lc.
Flour, extra state, $5.10c. to $5.70c. Corn, old
mixed, $1.12c.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16.

In to-day's sitting of the Senate Mr. Carpenter
delivered a long and impressive speech in favour of
recognising tLe Cuban insurgents as belligerents.
Mr.,Sumner spoke in opposition.

OrrawA, Deo. 16.
The Canadian Parliament will adjourn on the 23d
inst. until the 11th of January next.

INDIA AND CIIINA MAIL.

GIBRALTAR, Dec. 16.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Bangalore, from Southampton, 11th, arrived here
at seven, and left at ten this morning for Alex-

andria.

Experienced unsettled weather. All well.
SUEZ, Dec. 16.
The Mooltan, from Calcutta, 231 Nov., arrived

at four p.m. to-day.

The Messageries Imperiales steamer Moeris, with
the India, China, Reunion, and Mauritius mails
arrived here at 6 p.m. to-day.
The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Massilia arrived here at 11 p.m. yesterday. The
mails leave for London at 10.45 this morning.
SOUTHAMPTON, Dee. 17.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Nyanza, with the above mails, has arrived here
with 100 passengers and £4,500 in bullion. Her
cargo includes £lBO,OOO sterling. She experienced
a heavy south-westerly gale in the Channel ; on
the 7th she spoke the ship Anna Henderson of
Liverpool.

GIBRALTAR, Dec. 12.

The steamer Crimean, from Liverpool, which
had broken down, was towed into this port on
the 7th.

The brigantine Water Lilly, of London. came
in collision with a French barque off Tarifa. The
former put in here dismasted, with the cargo
shifted, and other damage.
Exchange on London, 491; Paris, 5.24 ; Mar-
seilles, 5.24 ; Madrid, discount.

PO RTSMOUTII, Dec. 17.

The Indian troopship Serapis, Captain Soady,
arrived this morning from Alexandria with troops.

FRANCE.
BOURSE, Dec. IG.—Three; o'clock—The mark, i
closed as follows :

t per Cent.
End of month —
3 per Cent
End of mouth— 72 95
Credit Mobilier
Transatlantic 245
Credit Fonder 1670
Paris Gas 1635 - -
RAUMA:

Bank Sharon 2542.50
Italian qves 55 05
Austrian Fives -
Ottoman Loan 322
Do. Debt 44 90
Spanish Threes
Home Debt 22 75
Deferred MEM
'e, Cash:
958}

Orleans

Western

Northern

.., 1135

Strasburg • • sB7}sl
iiyons and Mediterranean
Southern..... 592}
Sardinian .. 62,-,
Austrian BO5
Lombard WO:
North of Spain
Saragossa
Roman 4s}

MR. PEABODY'S REMAINS.

PORTSMOUTH, Friday Morning.

The heavy south-west gale and rain of yesterday
moderated, with the cessation of rain, between
sunset and midnight, with the wind gradually veer-
ing into the northward by the west, and a partial
clearing of the atmosphere. The wind is now from
W.N.W., strong.
Her Majesty's ships Monarch and Donegal, with
the United Statcs corvette Plymouth, are still de-
tained at Spithead.

The report of the St. John del Rey Mining Com-
pany to be presented on the 22d inst. describes the
general result of operations during the past half-
year, which have not materially differed from those
of the preceding six months. The reserved fund is
£41,812, after payment of £9,000 for new shaft
expenses.

One of the most attractive and elegant displays
of Christmas novelties is undoubtedly that thrown open to
the inspection of the public by gr. Alfred Duclos, of Ox-
ford-street, whose great establishment is now positively
overflowing with articles of taste and beauty. The entrance
to the grand saloon is a perfect wonder in the way of deco-
ration. and on entering the noble apartment it seems as if
one had positively set his foot on fairy land. Here we
have gigantic Christmas trees, all bea ng fruit of the
sweetest description, interspersed with w ich are bonbons
of the greatest beauty, magic bottles filled with fondants:
and cabinets so skillfully contrived that they appear
either empty or full at pleasure. The display of dolls
artificial fruit, tazzas, glove boxes, and other elegancies it
is impossible adequately to describe, so we cannot do better
than recommend a visit to the splendid establishment,
which we can truly call petite Paris, as everything of taste
found in the gay capital of France can be had at the
liaison Duclos—a matter that will bo duly appreciated by
the thousands who aro now considering the pleasing sub-
ject of Christmas presents.

A DELICACY FOR THE HEALTHY—A NUTRITIOUS
FOOD FOR THE INvAiin.—Preparations of farinaceous
food have formed an important article of commerce for
some time past, but the latest kind introduced is likely to
exceed all others in value. The name of it, " British
Corn Flour prepared from Rice," sounds somewhat anoma-
lous ; we are apt to regard corn as simply including maize,
wheat, barley, and oats; but the manufacturers in applying
the name to their rice food have used the word in its more
universal and, we might say, original sense, Its designating
all the seeds employed for making bread or cake, thus the
title " Corn Flour prepared from Rice" is not only per-
missible but admirably selected. Tho new preparation
has a special value, rice being not only more easy of diges-
tion than any other article of food (Dr. Beaumont show-
ing that it takes but one hour to digest, whilst even sago
takes one hour and a half), but it possesses the advan-
tage over all other grains of containing a larger proportion
of fat-forming materials, so that it must be allowed the
very highest place amongst farinaceous foods. Rice is
also less heating, and it yields an amount of nutriment
of which arrowroot and sago are devoid, they being
in themselves utterly incapable cf supporting animal life.
Like wheat, then, rice is nutritious, and, like arrowroot,
easy of digestion. Hence' British Corn Flour prepared
from Rico supplies a want that has often been felt in the
sick room and by persons suffering from weak stomachs
—namely, a food that digests easily, yet containing nitro-
geneous matters capable of nourishing every part of the
body. When it is said that the manufacturers of the new
preparation are the eminent firm of J. and J. Colman (the
well-known manufacturers of mustard), and that they
have laboured many years to bring their corn flour to per-
fection, it hardly needs the high testimony that has been
given by Drs. Lankester, Hassall, Cameron, and Muspratt
to vouch for its purity and genuineness. As a diet for
invalids, convalescents, and infants it is simply invalu-
able, while as a pleasant addition to the dinner tables of
the healthy, in the form of blanc mange. custards, and
puddings, J. and J. Colman's British Corn Flour prepared
from Rice is that'rare blessing—an unadulterated luxury.

ILLUSTRATED GIFT BOOKS.

The Poems of Thomas Hood. Illustrated by GUS-

tave Dore. Moxon.
Gustave Dore has here, indeed, met with a fitting
subject for his vivid pencil. In their combination
of the apparently incongruous elements of Mirth
and Melancholy, in their predilection for the
grotesque and the tragical, there is in this instance
a more than ordinary sympathy between Artist and
Poet. Both, with Blondin-like dexterity, delight
to tread—and with perfect security—upon that
tottering " step " that fluctuates between the Ridi-
culous and the Sublime ! We are not surprised to
hear that the artist himself considers this book one
among his best achievements. We could wish that
Thomas Hood could have seen his fanciful imaginings
thus endowed with life and individuality by the
potent hand of this brother artist; and yet we doubt
f even the hand of Gustave Dore could realise the
visions of Thomas Hood. The frontispiece to tbis
volume is from "The Bridge of Sighs "

" Take her up tenderly."
The face and figure of the suicide are full of beauty
and grace, as she appears reclining in sleep rather
than in death. The picture is quite deficient ill
tragic elements—a strange omission in a picture by
Dore. The face of one of the boatmen, how'
ever, as he sadly contemplates the corpse, is
admirable. We can read his painful thoughts
in his speaking countenance. Another picture,
illustrating the same poem—

" Anywhere, anywhere,
Out of the world !"
is full of terrible interest. The reckless womanis
standing on the outside of the parapet of the bridge,
pausing ere she commits the irrevocable act. Her
face is agonised with painful emotion, but it is the
horror of past suffering, not the fear of future dal);
ger, thatoverpowers her. " The Lady's•Dteatn,
" The' Haunted House," " The Dream of -Eugene
Aram," "The Ode to Melancholy," 64 Queen
rthb," " Ruth," and "The Song of the Shirt," are
the other subjects chosen for illustration in this
volume. In " The Dream of Eugen Aram," Gastave
Dore is himself indeed. The horror-struck face of
the murderer, the ghastly wildness that half reani-
mates the murdered body

"A mighty wind had swept the leaves,
And still the corse Was bare,"
the grinning demons that crowd around, pointing
with devilish triumph to the fatal spot, and mock-
ing and scoffing at the guilty-stricken man, are inl
tnitable specimens of Dore's dread-inspiring pencil.
" The Song of the Shirt," on the other hand, does
not come up to our expectations. Some of the
little sketches scattered among the letterpress are
wonderfully felicitous. In the " Song of the Shirt,"
for example, there is a " trade mark" of a skeleton
in a shirt, which is a perfect embodiment (if we on
say so of a skeleton) of the whole spirit of Hood
a
masterly poem.
Miss Kilmansegg and her Precious Leg. A Golden
Legend. By Thomas Hood, with 60 Illustra-
tions by Thomas Seecombe, R.A. Moxon.
Nothing could possibly be more dissimilar than
this volume, and the one we have just examined ;
yet they are both the works of Thomas Hood.
The story of Miss Kilmansegge and her precious
leg is a masterpiece of wit and wisdom. Every
line is a pun, every sentence is a hit ; the ball Is
kept up with unwearied energy from first to last,
and the delighted reader only recovers from one
surprise to be electrified by another and another,
until having-followed Miss Kilmansegge from her
golden cradle to her golden death, we forget
the golden moral of her melancholy end in the
amusement which her history has afforded us. It
is this inimitable poem that Captain Seecombe hue
adorned with 60 most wonderful illustrations, moat
wonderfully engraved by Joubert. The whole
work in its every detail is a curiosity and a master-
piece. The text is not printed upon paper, but 1g
engraved, in beautiful " copper-plate" writing
upon card-board ! The binding is, like
everything else about it, quite unique.
The name of Miss Kilmansegge is scattered over
the cover in a shower of golden guineas, and the
credentials of author, artist, and publisher take the
form of a glistening bank note for ten thousau4
pounds I " Gold, gold—nothing but gold"—tbe
bo.ik. is assuredly one worthy of being placed
upon, ,the library table of Miss Kilmansegge
herself 1 Five, different pictures describe various
glimpses of that marvellous ride, second only to

" Turpin'a ride to York,
On rue, that notable clipper,"
In which the unfortunate Miss Kilmansegge is car'
ried off by

"A regular thorough-bred Irish horse,
Who ran away, as a matter of course,
With a girl worth her weight in guineas !"
The sketches of the horse in full mad career,
and the rider desperate and terrified, yet luail/-
taining her hold, while all around is riot and 02'
fusion, are admirably well done. The most acato"
ing picture in all these illustrations, is, perhaPBl
the one suggested by the Christening font, of the
infant heiress.
"The font was a bowl of American gold,
Won by Raleigh in days of old,
In spite of Spanish bravado."
The picture is literally crowded by some hundred°
of minute figures, and describes Raleigh and hi
gallant companions, sword in hand, in the act °
boarding a Spanish vessel, at the cannon's mouth'
Englishmen, Spaniards, soldiers, sailors, 0135t.7
rigging, cannon, boats, oars, and swords are mingle
in almost inextricable confusion. The whole 00°
is animated with life-like vigour and reality. Alto'
gether this book is, as we have already said, a curi°'
sity and a masterpiece.

CHRISTMAS BOOKS
One of Mrs. S. C. Hall's most charming storie°'
most charmingly illustrated, now lies before
" Midsummer Eve," a fairy tale of loving gi°l3,4
being loved (John Camden Hotten.) Found
upon the fairy legends of Ireland, the tale is fanci-
ful and allegorical in its accessories as the iiitrodue-
tion of the Christmas Pantomime. Eva, the heroine
of the story, born on Midsummer Eve, is the right"
ful property of the fairies, andcontendinginflueaceei
strive for supremacy in directing her oareer. Sap
pily the spirit of Love obtains the mastery, a°
though sorely tried by grief and many anxieties PAT
happy in loving and in being beloved, passes through
them unscathed by temptation and undirehle
by sorrow. The little story, which is writtea .
Mrs. Hall's easy, graceful style, originally apPegre.o
in, the Art Journal some twenty years ago, and 1
embellished by a profusion of dainty illustrations,
for which the names of the artists, Maclise, Stgll,,
field, Creswick, Noel Paton, Ward, Elmore, Frost
Kenny Meadows, and many others of equal exet iv,
lence and celebrity,•are sufficient guarantee.
do not know if we should class the " Wonders °
Italian Art," by Louis Viardot (Sampson, 1.1 °lit'
Son, and Marston), with Christmas books, it is 3.
suredly a gift book fit for any season. The ragPa
cribe
rity of the world's masterpieces are here des
in glowing but yet, to those who have seen 000
inadequate terms. More than thirty splendid ?ila
gravinge, among others the Madonna de San Sig.;
and the Madonna della Sodia, and otiler-ci
from the works of Raphael, Michael Angelo, aj‘
other great masters, add to the value of this der,
which is a translation from the French, Lea Meife
veilles de la Peinture. The English public ha'
reason to be grateful to the translator and publiebe:
for having thus placed this very valuable an decii
lightful work within their reach.—" Cbaracteristi
of Women," moral, poetical, and historical". 14_
Mrs. Jameson (George Routledge), appears 087
new edition and in very attractive guise, and qd
quires no comment at our hands. The beauty l,
discrimination with which Mrs. Jameson has .ify
t
lineated the characters of Shakspere's heroines ":f
long been publicly recognized in the world
letters, and a new edition of her choice b°o
would be the most delightful Chris
offering for the young maidens of 1'°,138
land, who may find in these creations of voci
poet types of all that is most loveable g.a 1/
excellent in womau.—" The Throne of Dalibb'e
" The Pillar of Fire," and " The Prince of 'ea
House of David." (George Rontledge.) frhbir.ob
books, by the Rev. J. N. Ingraham, LL.D., ".ry
illustrate different epochs of Holy Woit in a veal,
interesting and felicitous manner. They a:, elice
bellished with numerous engravings. i$ The Ir/