The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-20 00:00:00

THE IVORY CABINET.

This saloon was so named, because on its strong walls,
which formed a perfect octagon, was encrusted between
rich tapestry wrought by the needle of Catherine 1., Em-
press of Peter the Great, immense slabs of ivory on which
the genius and the patience of a Greek friar had traced the
most memorable events of the life of the founder of the
Muscovite empire. Here was the revolt and the chastise-
raent of the strelitz ; there the battle of Pultawe ; beside it
the taking of Azoff ; and farther on, the Czar in person
attacking the enemy, and fronting the tempest on the lake
of Ladoga, and calling to the sailors, who were frightened
by the thunder, these words, more beautiful by their laco -
them than those of Cresar on the Sea of Tyrrhene, " Fear
nothing, Peter is with you 1"
This cabinet contained other precious relics of the Char-
lemagne of Moscow : one might there look upon the sword
that the rival of Charles XII. wore at Pultaws, with re-
spect and admiration ; the hat riddled with bullets which
he wore at Narva, and the rich scimitar that the Sultan of
Turkey sent him after the exchange of ratifications of the
treaty concluded on the borders of the Pruth.
These objects, which merely bad a relative and historical
value, were surrounded by productions of a more general
appreciation; there was also in the Ivory Cabinet the
superb cameo antique that the Pope Clement XIV. had
sent as a present to the Czarina; the golden chalice be-
queathed by the Patriarch of Constantinople to the grand-
father of Peter the Great; a beautiful statue of the Cava-
lier Bernin representing Saint Basil, one of the doctors of
the Greek Church ; standards covered with gold and dia-
monds taken from the Janissaries by the Russian troops';
and, in short, beside paintings of incomparable value front
Chirnaleni and from Giotto, the keys still warm with the
blood and the powder of that famous fortress oflsmolil,
that General Suwaroff took from the Turks, a terrible vic-
tory, which cost the vanquishers as dear as it did the van-
quished, and where humanity should shed tears on the
mutilated corpses of a hundred thousand men—Mahome-
tans and Christians—who perished in one clay I

The Shadow in the Rouse. A Novel. By John
Saunders, author of "Love's Martyrdom," &e.
Lockwood and Co.
This singular story has already
appeared in the
pages of the National Magazine. It is now re-
printed in one volume, making a pretty gift book
in its appearance and general character. When
we come to consider the plot, however, we mast
admit it to be extravagant and improbable, and the
principles and occasionally graphic
stylew r writer's r'scannotghihredeem its exaggeration. The Shadow
in the House is a young lady named Grace
Addersley, gifted with talent, beauty, and an im-
perious and somewhat unscrupulous disposition.
She and her mother are introduced to us residing
with ber cousin, Mr. Dell, having lately arrived
from Virginia, Grace's birthplace, where she has
been brought up chiefly by an old mulatto nurse,
who puts her in possession of some dangerous
secrets. She. forms a deep attachment to her
cousin, which secret is accidentally revealed to
him when he is announcing his marriage with
another. Still this unfortunate revelation does not
prevent Grace from continuing to reside with Mr.
Dell and his bride; one of the striking improba-
bilities of the book. We will not pause to unravel
how Grace professed warm friendship for both
husband and wife, is secretly their enemy, and
finally causes the death of her hated rival, although
by the time her evil work is fulfilled she would
give worlds to retract it. She dies by her own
hand; a fitting termination to such a career.
There arc other characters introduced whose careers
are less tragic, and many portions are pleasantly
descriptive of country life. Winny, the bride, is a
charming character, whose goodness of heart is
proof against the most bitter enmity. Still the
writer might have turned his powers to better
account, and we should hope in future that he will
not select his subjects from such dark shades of
life and character.