The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-29 00:00:00

ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY.

Yesterday proved to be a most unfortunate day for the
first exhibition of the Royal Botanic Society, which took
place in the inner circle of the Regent's-park. The morn-
ing was fine ; but about an hour or two after the gardens
opened heavy clouds overhung the sky, the character of
which was soon apparent. The rain came down in tor-
rents and continued without intermission until nearly
7 o'clock. The state of the weather declaring itself thus
-early in the day prevented an accumulation of visitors in
he garden-, and not more probably than 2,500 or 3,000
individuals were present altogether during the continu-
ance of the exhibition. It was unfortunate that the ele-
ments were so adverse upon this occasion,.for the show
vas a particularly good one, somewhat, it was alleged,
above the average, The company who happened to ar-
rive at the gardens before the weather so cruelly changed
bad no alternative but.to take shelter in the spacious
marquee at the back of the conservatory, where the
flowers were placed, as is now the rule, upon slopes and
mounds. The bands of the First and Second Life
Guards and Royal Horse Guards Blue were also driven
within the same locality, and there they played briskly
and cheerfully, in spite of the dreary state of things
without.

The following were the awards :
Extra Gold Medal—Mr. May, gardener to H. Conyer,
Esq., Dartford, Kent, for 16 stove and greenhouse plants.
Large Gold Medal—Mr. Dodds, gardener to Sir J.
Cathcart, Bart.,,Englefield-green, for 16 stove and green-
house plants ; Mr. Wolley, gardener to H. B. Ktirr,
Esq., Cheehunt, for 20 exotic orchids.
Medium Gold Medal—Mr. Barter, gardener to A.
Basset, Esq., Stamford-hill, for 16 stove and greenhouse
plants; Mr. Cutbusb, nurseryman, Barnes, for 12 stove
and greenhouse plants ; Mr. Carson, gardener to W. F.
Farmer, Esq., Nonsuch-park, for 10 stove and green•
house plants ; Messrs. Lane, nurserymen, Berkhamp
ilead, for 10 greenhouse azaleas ; Mr. Green, gardener
to Sir E. Antrobtia, Cheam, Surrey, for 8 greenhouse
azaleas ; Mr. Carson, Nonsuch-park, for 12 exotic or-
.studs ; Messrs. Lane, nurserymen, Berkhampstead, fur
10 roses.

Gold Medal—Messrs. Fraser, nurserymen, Layton,
for 12 stove and greenhouse plants ; Mr. Taylor, gar
dener to G. Coster, Esq , Streatham, for 10 btove and
zreenhouse plants ; Mr. Williams, gardener to 1111.+
Trail, for 8 Cape heaths ; Mr. Barter, gardener to A
Ba-set, Esq., Stamtor.l-hill, for 8 greenhouse az dew., ;
Mr. Clark, Eloddesdeo, for 12 exotic orchids ; Messrs
Paul, nurserymen, Cheahunt, for 10 roses ; Mr. Turner,
Stowe, for 12 pelargoniums; Mr. Wiggins, gardener to
E. Beck, Eqi., I.lewortb, for 10 pelargoniums.
Large Silyer-gilt Medal—Mr. Peed, gardener to T.
Tr4iwell, Esq., for 16 stove and greenhouse plants;
Mr. C'arke, gardener to C. Webb, Esq., High Ground,
Hoddesden, for 10 stove and greenhouse plants ;
Mr. Roser, gardener to G. Bradbury, Esq., Streatham,
for 6'stove and is,reennuse plants ; Mr. Green; gardener
to Sir E._ Autrobug, Cbeam, for 6 tall cacti ' • Messrs.
Gaines, nurserymen, Battersea,. for 10 greenhouse aza-
leas;-Mr. 'Roger, gardener, for 8 greenhouse azaleas ;
Mr. Francts, Hertford, for 10 roses; Mr. Busby, gar-
dener to G. Crawley, Esq., Stockwell Park, for 6 roses ;
Messrs. Dobson, nurserymen, for 12 pelargoniums ; Mr.
Nye, gardener to E. Foster, Esq., Clewer Manor,
Barks, for 10 pelargoniums; Mr. Narsen, gardener to
F. G. Farmer, Esq., Nonsuch Park, for 8 greenbouse
azaleas ;. Mr, Mylam, gardener to G. Reid, Esq., Burn-
ham, Somerset, kir 20 exotic orchids ; Mr. Salle, gar-
dener to G. Rucker, Esq., Woolwich, for 12 exotic
orchids ; .Mr. Dodds, gardener, Englefield-green, for 6
exotic orchids. _

Large Silver Medal—Mr. Williams, gardener to Miss
Trail, Bromley, Kent, for 6 stove and greenhouse plants;
Mr. Cutbush, nurseryman, Barnet, for 10 Cape heaths ;
Mr. noser, gardener to G. Bradbury, Esq., Streatham,
for 8 Cape heaths ; Mr. May, gardener to H. Colyor,
Esq., Dartford, for 6 Cape heaths; Mr. Taylor, Stratford,
for 6 greenhouse azaleas ; Mr. Green, gardener, for 6
exotic orchids ' • Mr. Turner, for 6 fancy pelargoniums ;
Mr. Windsor, for 6 fancy pelargoniums.
Silver-gilt Medal—Mr. Green, gardener to Sir E. An-
trobus, Cheam, Surrey, for 6 stove and greenhouse
plants ; Mr. Grix, gardener to A. Palmer, Esq., Cheam,
Surrey, for 6 tall cacti ; Messrs. Fraser, Layton, for 10
Cape heaths; Mr. Peed, gardener to F. Treadwell, Esq ,
for 8 Cape heaths; Mr. Taylor, gardener to G. Coster, Esq.,
Streatham, for 6 Cape heaths ; Messrs. Fraser, nursery-
men, for 10 greenhouse azaleas (Layton); Mr. Peed, gar-
dener, for 8 greenhouse azaleas; Messrs Iverey, nursery-
men, for 6 greenhouse azaleas; Mr. Rowland, Lewisham,
for 6 ruses; Mr. Turner, Slough, for 6 cinerarias; Messrs.
Fraser, for 12 pelargoniums ; Mr. Windsor, gardener to
A. Blythe, Esq., Hempstead, for 10 pelargoniums;
Messrs. Dobson, Islewortb, for 5 fancy pelargoniums;
Mr. Wier, gardener, the Elms, Hampstead, for 6 fancy
pelargoniums ; Mr. Morris, gardener to C. Child, Esq.,
Bromley, for 6 exotic orchids.

M. Oppenheim banker, at Cologne, is about to pro.
teed to St. Petersburg, in order to make arrangements
for the participation of the Bank of Darmstadt in the
Credit Institution that is to be founded in Russia.
CAPTURE OF THE RUNAWAY CONVICTS. —Two of the
three convicts who escaped from the train at Rugby,
while being conveyed from Wakefield to Woolwich, have
been recaptured in Leicestershire, after committing a
burglary in Warwick.hire. On Saturday night a poor
man, named Garrett, of Wibtoft, Warwiekshire, had his
house broken into, and a quantity of wearing apparel
and 3/. 10s. stolen. Oa Sunday morning police-constable
Carp apprehended, at some lirnekilns near Hinckley, two
men who gave the names of Field and Murphy. Field
was dressed in the clothes taken from Garrett's house,
while-Murphy had on his convict's clothes covered bye.
shirt., Field was under sentence for twenty year',
and Murphy for four years. The former said they filed
their chains and escaped at Rugby while the attention of
the keepers was attracted by one of the convicts apiia.
rently being iu a 6t,..which wa.s a feint previou,ly.agreatd
upon. Field said be had escaped from prison four tunes.
The prisoners were, at Hinckley patty sessions, ccra-
mitted for trial at Warwick Assips.

LITERATURE.

Griselda, a Tragedy : and other Poems. By
Edwin Arnold. David Bogue.
As there were two Montgomerys (James and
Robert) in the last generation of versifiers, so
there are two Arnolds (Edwin and Matthew) in the
new race of " young poets" who have latterly
hounded forward into the literary arena as compe-
titors for p.)pularity. And as, we believe, with
the rival Montgomerys, so we believe with the
rival Arnolds—no tie of relationship binds the two,
however remotely, together. The juxtaposition of
the twain results only from a similarity of names,
not from any connecting bond of consanguinity.
It happens, however, in the case of our two con-
temporary young poets, the Arnolds, that there is a
certain similarity traceable between the character
of each as a student of polite-letters endowed with
a refined taste, a delicate sensibility, a very rare
store of book learning, and a singularly graceful
and elevated imagination. Analogous—this simi-
larity—in some measure, at least, with the resem-
blance so far observable between their predecessors,
the two Montgomerys already mentioned, as both
of them religious versifiers, both of them versifiers
moral in purpose and didactic in style. Never-
theless there is this most observable peculiarity
which distinguishes Edwin and Matthew Arnold as
poetic competitors, from James and Robert Mont-
gomery as simply poetic contemporaries. There is
no such glaring discrepancy between the in-
tellectual strength of the former, as there
was incontestibly discernible between that of
the latter, a discrepancy so remarkable in
its kind and magnitude as at once to place
in separate categories the author of "Satan" and the
author of the " World before the Flood." Neither
of the Arnolds can feel otherwise than complimented
by a comparison with his immediate contemporary
and namesake—Mr. Bogus's " Arnold" and the
" Arnold" of the Messrs. Longmans might, each in
turn, experience a reasonable degree of gratification
at any csntrast whatever being drawn between their
rival publications. They are both scholars of re-
fined taste, stored with classical erudition, and
gifted largely with natural sensibility and with an
admirable appreciation for the true and beautiful.
Mr. Matthew Arnold, theion of the ever-honoured
Rugby Schoolmaster, has evidenced his poetic capa
city by two substantive publications, issued in the
unpretendingformof two volumes of "Poems"(so en-
titled)—First Series and Second Series—the former
of these (to our mind, immeasurably the worthier)
having already attained the honours of a " second
edition." Mr. Edwin Arnold, of University Col-
lege, resembling his namesake in this, as in other
things, has likewise already given to the world two
separate books of verse—his maiden work, simply
entitled " Poems, Narrative and Lyrical," and his
recently issued volume, inscribed upon the title-
page, " Griselda, and other Poems"—the latter, a
book which cannot but tend to enhance his reputa-
tion. Griselda !—well, 'tis an old story: simply,
gravely, wisely, nobly, eloquently told anew. And
so let it pass—with a sigh for the fancy, and a
benison for the memory, of sweet-hearted, clear-
minded, honey-tongued old Chaucer. The
" Occasional Poems" which follow possess for
us a more individual interest as the direct
intellectual offspring of our author's imagina-
tion. Industrious he has proved himself to be of
late—for during 1855 alone we observe three dis-
tinct poems to have been issued first of all through
the pages of three among our first-class magazines
—Blackwood's Magazine, and Fraser's .Magazine,
and Bentley's Miscellany—the poem in Maga being
one of considerable beauty, called " Vernier." It
surprises us, rather, to observe among Mr. Edwin
Arnold's minor pieces a pathetic commemoration of
" Andre Cheuier," suggeAted by the very same in-
cident which the muse of Sir Bulwer Lytton has so
exquisitely celebrated. Strange, too, is it to re-
mark another fragmentary contribution to the
poet's corner of The Press, entitled "In Memo
riam," in very despite of Mr. Tennyson. This is
one from among the number of " Songs of the
Time." As a specimen of our anther's powers as a
humorist, take his " Address of a Poor Scholar to
his Pound Sterling"—beginning quaintly
Gold ! as I'm a starving sinner !
Saint Cecilia! what a chink !
I'll ordain a regal dinner,—
Gods ! I'll eat and drink.
Counter in the game of living,
Buying deuce, knave, queen, and king,
Bartered, borrowed, given, giving,
Potent yellow thing !
Now I feel, I see thy story,
Grecian, gold-won Danae ;
If one comes with grace and glory
What must a shower be?
Oh, Fortuna ! and this morning
Thou mightest have spared me my Catullus,
And stilled my landlady's shrill warning,
Instead of sweet Tibullus.
Too late ! I dined on old Homerus,
And Plautus paid my washing bill ;
Well ! " carus," stranger, " tatnen serus."
Thou'rt most welcome still.
Nay, but stay ! it can't be really
All a solemn sterling pound,
I've seen so few—l'll ring it fairly :
Mammon ! there's a sound !
Continued thus sportively :
Yea ! by all the sands of Hernans,
By Apollo's golden bow,
See, my soul ! these signs confirm us,
'Tis—where shall we go ?
Venison's in, and at the Sceptre
Splendidly I know they dress it,
Had I two I—eh ! sage preceptor,
" Amor nu:mai crescit."
For the potent charm that binds thee,
Shillings twenty ! to my heart,
Is— whoever after finds thee,
Thou and I must part.
And ending with this pleasant extravagance :
Lo ! mine inn !—Hence, cares ! in " mare
Creticum,"—or down to Greenwich.
* * * *

Is this after all but fairy
Land,—or lamb and spinnach ?
Waiter, ho ! " vinum deprome,—"
Bring an amphora, I say—
Dost thou better seek to know me?
Doubtest thou I'll pay ?
Lo ! the coin ! quick, varlet, quicker !
Napkined knave ! mistrustful churl !
Cleopatra-like, in liquor
Thus I melt my pearl.
As a contrast to this, let us instance the following
as an example of the skill with which our young
poet can command our tears no less readily than
our laughter. It is a little conceit " from the
German," called " Tue Three Studalts :"
There came three students from over the Rhine,
To a certain good hostel they turned them for wine.
Ho ! Landlady, have you strong wine and beer ?
How fareth the Fraulein, your daughter dear ?
My beer is fresh, and my wine is bright ;
My child will be shrouded and buried to-night.
They drew the door of her death-room back,
There slumbered she in her coffin black :
The first he lifted the veil from the dead,
And bared his curie, and headed, and said,
" Ah ! oonld'st thou bat live again, maiden here
From this day forth I would love thee dear r
The second spread softly the face-cloth again,
And his tears fall fast as the midsummer rain :
" Dead ! art thou, Lisbeth? cold, lip and brow ?
" Ah God ! I learn how I loved thee now !"
But the third in his hand did the little hand take,
And kissed the white forehead, and smiled and spake,
" I love thee to-day as I loved thee before,
I shall love thee as truly for evermore."
May Mr. Edwin Arnold direct his unquestionable
abilities so judiciously that his name may hereafter
be remembered

Henry Lyle ; or, Life and Existence. By Emilia
Marryatt. 2 vols. Chapman and Hall.
We have here an interesting tale ; in some parts
it is painful, but that is rendered requisite by the
nature of the composition. Henry Lyle, the hero,
is an instance of unfriended talent rising into emi-
nence by his exertions ; but the real object of the
story is to exemplify.the inner world, the life which
the soul is passing, in contradistinction to the mere
animal existence of the body. Mr. Vere is perhaps
rather exaggerated in detail, but there are many
Such heartless and selfish characters extant, men
who employ the gifts of their intellect to pervert
truth, and to uphold wrong, who fascinate by their
powers of pleasing, and confuse the weak, lead
astray the wavering, and favour, by every moans
in their power, the career of wickedness upon the
earth. Henry Lyle is a bright exception to the
ordinary class of people it is to be feared, not but
that some such may be seen occasionally to demon-
strate that, though fallen, the human nature may
rise again if it endeavours to approximate to a
divine standard. It is not the wish of the authoress
to make out that all honours and happiness attend
on such a course ; on the contrary, it is seen
that virtue is its own reward, in the inspiration to
perform meritorious actions with which it animates
iiis votaries, in the sense of right that they feel in
all unjust persecutionss and in the calm with which
they meet lesser evils. Her ways are ways of
pleasantness, and all her paths are peace, was pecu-
liarly felt by Lyle from the commencement of his
career until the end. It is a touching instance of
the good that can be effected by kindness, in the
record of his doings among the poorer class of his
neighbours. The news of his death caused a dark
day in the courts and lanes where be had been a
-ministering spirit to the cares and sorrows of the
inmates. Philip, the cons.o of Augusta, the he-
-1
roine, and the wife of Lyle, is n fine character,
, who struggles .to overcome himself when he sees
others in distress. - He resigned his condi). to hiS
friend, - and- in their hour of need he sent them
tire produce of his labours in another country,-to
which he had departed to efface old impressions.

Valentine Leigh is an instance of the incalculable
harm that is effected by the thoughtless and hula
lent who fall into bad company, and are only
1 stedfast in one thing, not to try to do right. With
one trouble and another, Henry Lyle did
not pass his short life very happily, in the
common acceptation of the term; but the
ephemeral and transitory duration of that
feeling, as relates to earthly sensations, could never
be the attendant of his exalted aims or the compa-
nion of his unselfish nature. The mean and paltry
worldlingsaround him could not comprehend him
or his motives ; it was the peace that passed their
understanding which was the crown and glory o
his life. Augusta is of an excellent and noble dispo-
sition, improving as she gained experience, and ge-
n nine in action, thought, and word.. Those who are
pleased with stories that relate to feeling more than
action, and that seek to impart instruction more
than they strive to convey amusement, will find
in these pages a subject worthy of their regard and
respect. Those who prefer the unreflective and
lighter style will yet acknowledge that this is of a
high character, for its principles are pure, its aim
exalted, and its precepts admonish, that we must
follow the fashions of another world than this, if
we would lead a life worthy of living for.

The Seinde Railway. By W. P. Andrew, Esq.

Wm. H. Allen and Co.
Mr. Andrew is known as " The Old Postmaster,"
to an important section of the community as the
author of several works on Indian Railways. In
the present work he points out the relations of the
Scinde Railway to the various routes to India, and
its probable effects in developing the vast resources
of the Punjaub, and supplies details of a project to
connect the Mediterranean and the Euphrates by
railway, and thereby establish a route via the Per-
sian Gulf to all parts of India, by which at the
outset the communication will be shortened nearly
one-half. In support of the undertaking he ad-
vances a mass of testimony, official and otherwise,
from which it appears the feasibility of the scheme
has been recognised from the date of the surveys
by General Chesney, and the greatest probability
exists of its being speedily accomplished. The
line from the port of Seleucia to Jaber Castle, on
the Euphrates, is about 80 miles in length. From
this point the river becomes navigable to Bursorah,
at the head of the Persian Gulf, a distance of 715
miles. The course from Bursorah is nearly straight
for steamers to Kurrachee, the terminus of the
Scinde Railway, and a port of great natural faci-
lities, with a population of 30,000. The route
is thus connected with the Indus, which is navig-
able for steamers to Mooltan, which it is proposed
by the author to connect by rail with Lahore and
the Punjaub. The route, as traced on the map,
seems to be unusually direct ; and if reliance is to
be placed on the official and other testimony in its
favour, which we see no reason to doubt, the scheme
is one deserving of every encouragement.

The Law Magazine.

The number opens with an article—the first, we
believe, of a series—on the " History of Jurispru-
dence," the subject matter being " The Writings
of Puffendorf and Leibnitz." " The Constitutional
History of Jersey, by M. Charles Le Quesne-J urat,"
of the Royal Court of Jersey, and member of the
States, next passes under review, and is followed
by an article on " Life Peerages," explanatory of
the grounds on which "all lawyers are now satis-
fied that there exists no such power in the Crown
as that of which the Ministers, without inquiry,
almost without reflection, advised the exercise."
The contemplated reduction of the salaries of
judges of " County Courts," by the Lord Chancel-
lor's bill, is strongly protested against. A notice-
able paper, on " The Four Heirs to Sovereignty in
France," is designed to show how remarkably ana-
lagous have been the circumstances under which
these heirs—to wit, the King of Rome, the Duc
de Bordeaux, the Comte de Paris, and the present
Prince—have been born. While conceding to the
last named the better chance of reigning, and
" due praise" also to Napoleon ni, for boldly re-
cognising the aforesaid analogy, the writer by no
means expresses a lively faith in the Imperial des-
tiny of the " Child of France." A straw thrown
up will show how the wind blows. In the article on
Life Peerage, it will also be observed, some stria-
gent remarks are inserted on the slavery of the
French press. Among the remaining articles may
be noticed—" A Review of the' Reports of the
Charity Commissioners for England and Wales
(1854, 1855, 1856)," and another of the "Papers
of the Society for Promoting the Amendment of
the Law."

Signs of the Times. By Christian Charles Josias
Bunsen. Smith, Elder, and Co.
Another and not the least valuable contribution
to the cause of civil and religious liberty by this
celebrated author. In a series of letters addressed
to Ernest Moritz Arndt, Chevalier Bunsen takes a
aurvey of the world, and points out the dangers to
which religious liberty is exposed. That this is
done with consummate ability those who are ac-
quainted with the European reputation of the writer
will not require to be assured, while to many it
will be a source of gratification to know that the
conclusions to which ho arrives are hopeful for the
cause he has at heart. Of the two great signs of the
times he remarks—" The spirit of association, with
its liberty, is the genius and the demon of the
dawning day ; the hierarchy, with its tyranny, is
the waning planet of departing night." They (the
Catholic people) and we are journeying by separate
paths towards the same goal, but as to what that
goal is we are philosophically and historically at
one with each other throughout Europe—we with
them and they with us. It is legal religious
liberty with its consequences." The work has been
translated from the German by Susanna Wink-
worth, author of " The Life of Niebuhr."

Post Office Directory of Gloucestershire, with Bath,
Bristol, ilerefordshire, and Shropshire. Kelly
and Co.

T►.ie well-known character of the publishers is a
suffiCient guarantee for the accuracy of this the
first edition of the Post Office Gloucestershire, &c.,
Directory, while with regard to copiousness of in-
formation, all that is necessary to say is the work
is got up on the same plan as the Directories by the
same publishers of other counties, which embrace
every city, town, village, . hamlet, and country
seat therein. A well-digested Index facilitates
reference, the work is neatly got up, and in every
respect reflects credit on the publishers. The proof
sheets, we are told, have been corrected by clergy-
men and other gentlemen of local knowledge, thus
affording an additional guarantee of its accuracy.
The Directory is accompanied by maps engraved
expressly for it, and corrected up to the time of
publication.

Manual of Quotations. By E. H. Michelsen,

Ph. D.

John Orockford.

A ne or, enlarged (almost doubled), and greatly
improved edition of " Macdonnell's Dictionary of
Quotations," which was so popular as to pass
through several editioz.)s. The range of quotations
is extended in the present, and includes law
phrases, proverbs, and family mottoes in rich
abundance. In a word, it is a book to buy, to mas-
ter, and to refer to.