The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-17 00:00:00

and scratches to be found on all walls and passages
by the careful observer. The author does not con-
fine himself to low life, or the cant of thieves and
costermongers, but, as he states on the title page,
he reveals the cant jargon of every state of society,
rising from the streets of London and the dens of St
Giles—the strongholds of slang—via the Universi-
ties of Oxford and Cambridge and the Houses of
Parliament, to the Palace of St. James, We find
also a history of cant and vulgar language, with
glossaries of two secret languages spoken by the
wandering tribes of London—the costermongers and
patterers. The author has taken great pains to
discover the derivation of many extraordinary
words ; and classical gentlemen will be pleased to
find that the lower classes are indebted to the
ancient Greeks and Romans for some of their every-
day cant expressions. That this book will command
a large circulation cannot be doubted, for irrcspec-
live of the patronage it is likely to receive from
Young England, green undergraduates, et hoc genus
omne, the novelty of the work will excite the curio-
sity of many.

TuE NEW KING.

(From the New York Times.)
Muscle is King. Cotton is not. Nigger is not.
Muscle is. Brains used to have some claim ;so did
worth ; so did honesty, capability, and education,
but that was a long time ago. Muscle has taken
precedence over everything, and the man who
" strikes from the shoulder," and is a good, hard
hitter, is the man for the people's money now-a-
days.
If you doubt it—which, if you do not go through
the world with your eyes shut, you hardly will
—you may satisfy yourself of the truth of our pro-
position by stepping into the first place of public
resort which you happen to be passing. Whether
it be a court-room or a bar-room, a silk-store or a
grog-shop, if there be any number of men together,
their talk will be of the prize-fight, and their most
eager wish to get news of it by the Vanderbilt. All
classes of people seem to share this restless anxiety
to hear be result—not all in the same degree or to
the same extent ; but with the great mass of the
people it is just now the great topic of speculation
and of interest, eclipsing even the Charleston Con-
vention, and throwing completely into the shade all
political themes, and everything else which can
afford to wait. Even the boys in our schools have
caught the contagion, and their talk, too, like that
of our city officials, our brokers in Wall-street, our
merchants on 'Change, our clerks at lunch-time,
apprentices in the workshop, and labourers on the
highways, is of Heenan and Sayers—the British
Champion and the Benicia Boy.
This is not very creditable to our taste or culture,
but it is a fact, nevertheless, and one which it will
not do the slightest good to ignore. It is due partly to the fact that we are a very excitable people, al-
ways craving a sensation of some sort, and partly
to the equally palpable and still more important
fact that Muscle is King. All the prominent Ward
politicians and wine-pullers of the city understand
that, should Heenan win the fight, it will give ad-
ditional strength and importance to Muscle, aria
Muscle is the thing which is needed in everything
relating to politics. Muscle has arrayed itself against
every proper qualification, and when the conquer-
ing hero comes home his reception will not be that
of a successful prize-fighter, but that of a man whose
dictum willhereafter be law to thousands,who will be
omnipotent in all primary elections, who will dictate
every nominating committee, and who will be able
to contract for any amount of political work.
If a man wishes to be elected to Congress, he has
only to make the fact known to Mr. Heenan. Mr.
Heenan will then take the matter under his distin-
guished consideration, and, if the reasons are suffi-
ciently weighty, the chances are that the aspiring
individual will be duly nominated and elected.
Mayors, aldermen, governors, and members of As-
sembly will be manufactured to order, and upon
the lowest possible terms; and honesty, decency,
and intelligence will be at a discount.
How different, relatively, will be the position of
Sayers, should be succeed in thrashing Heenan !
He will only receive some few bard knocks, a few
hundred or a thousand pounds, become the owner
in fee of the now disputed belt, and be content to
retire for ever from the ring, and settle down as
the keeper of a public-house, patronised by the fast
nobility and the " nobs " of the English sporting
world. A prize-fighter in Great Britain is—a prize-
fighter. His social condition is marked, distinct,
and defined. He never aspires beyond it, because
he knows that it is no use for him to do so. He
would no more dare to set the laws at defiance than
the weakest and most easily thrashed man in the
land, because he knows that out of his own imme-
diate circle he has no influence whatever. Judges
do not sit on their bench in awe of him, or look to
him for a continuance of their position. Members
of Parliament and the Queen's Ministers do not seek
him for counsel and advice. His voice is not

"Potential, as double as the Duke's."
Ner is he, on the eve of an election, the most im-
portant personage in controlling it.
But not so with us. Muscle is King here, and
if Muscle knocks peaceable citizens down and kicks
them for falling; if Muscle bites off one citizen's
nose, or gouges out another citizen's eye, and you
threaten Muscle with the law, Muscle snaps his
fingers in your face and laughs at the absur-
dity of the idea. Muscle is a law unto itself,
and breaks through the meshes of a statute or
an ordinance with as much ease as he would
" queer the ogles" or " crack the ivories" of his an-
tagonist in a friendly " mill." If Muscle is by ac-
cident indicted for some slight violation of the law,
such as mayhem, assault with attempt to kill, man-
slaughter, or murder, Muscle is not locked up like
a common, murdering, killing, bloodthirsty scoun-
drel ; but Muscle is admitted to bail, still continues
to visit his favourite haunts, walks into court when
it pleases him, listens to the motions of counsel for
and against him, and when he thinks that things
begin to look " checkered" takes up his hat, and
leaves the lawyers to settle the affair among them-
selves. Evidently in this free enlightened Repub-
lic, the only model Government on the face of the
earth, Muscle is King. It regulates the Primaries,
and they elect our rulers and make our laws. Pos-
sibly a time may come when brains, respectability,
moral worth may be admitted to a partnership in
the government of the country, but as yet we see
few symptoms of its dawning.

THIS DAY'S MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

bit ERIAL WEEKLY AVERAGES. --. Wheat, 52s 6d ;
barley, 37s 7d ; oats, 25s 10d ; rye, 349 ld i beans, 439
8d ; and peas, 40s 3d.

TILE Six WEEKS' AVERAGES. - Wheat, 60s 5d ;
barley, 37s 4d ; oats, 24s 7d ; rye, 33s 6d ; beans, 41s id ;
peas, 39s Od,

ENGLISH GRAIN SOLD LAST WEEK.—Wheat, 105,368;
barley, 9,298; oats, 9,157; rye, 19; beans, 4,329; peas,
721 quarters.

METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.

A very limited supply of beasts was on offer i; to-day's
market. All breeds sold somewhat briskly at fully Mon-
day's prices; in some instances, indeed, they were rather
higher. Sheep—the show of which was very moderate—
changed hands freely at quite the late improvement in
value. Downs readily produced ss. 6d. per 81bs. There
was rather less activity in the lamb trade ; nevertheleF s,
the quotations were well supported. The supply of lamlia
was by no means exteasive. Calves sold somewhat freely,
but we have no change to notice in their value. Pigs and
much cows were very firm in pries.