The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-03 00:00:00

but not to such an extent as with his gifted
rival. The most remarkable event men-
tioned is the intercourse between Tabun, and
Napoleon ; it is to the honour of both that the
friendship survived even the test of a throne. Sonnet
went so far as to say that the Emperor was indebted
to Talma for lessons in regal deportment and de-
livery. Napoleon was amused, a:,d rved
he considered the rumour as a compliment. " Had
I not performed my part well they could not have
supposed you had been my teacher." A singular
occurrence is narrated here concerning the early
early career of the Emperor. When he was in
great pecuniary distress, it was said that Talma
had rendered him assistance ; but instead the fol-
lowing anecdote is related :

" Napoleon had successively pledged whatever trinkets
be possessed, rings, brooches, and watches, and his re-
sources were entirely exhausted. The man of destiny was
reduced to despair, and resolved to end all by a plunge in
the Seine. On his way to the Pont Neuf he ran against
some one in his abstraction, and, raising his head, recflt-
nised an old schoolfellow of Brienne. The latter had just
received from his notary the sum of twenty thousand
francs; the former was intent on suicide because he bad
no longer the price of a dinner. They divided the money
between them, and Napoleon returned to his lodging. If
that warm-hearted comrade of the college had accidentally
' passed down another street, the history of the next twenty
years would have been written without the names of Lodi,
Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland, Moscow, Leipsig,
and Waterloo."

The admirers of Shakspere will be shocked to
peruse the dramas of Ducis, which differ so much
from their prototype that they are nearly unrecog
nisable. Sufficient of the spirit remained, however,
to give life to the animation, and fire to the genius
of Talma. Altogether this retrospect of the great
man's life is worthy of attention. A long disserta-
tion on " Slavery" is among the contents, in the
course of which Mrs. Stowe's recent work, "bred,"
is criticised. It is said that the fame of that lady
resembles that of Miss Burney, she having as sud-
denly sprung into notice. It is added that the
similarity is continued still further, for that
" Dred" is as inferior to "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as
"Evplina" is superior to " Cecilia." The curious
paper, entitled " John Twiller," is again met with.
The hero does not make progress, however, in his
stupendous undertakings. " The Doctor of Philo-
sophy" is a new story, in the first chapter of which,
called " A Morning Walk in Calcutta," a pleasing
description is given of the "City of Palaces." It
is mentioned that in a city of the West all hours
of the day are alike when once business has begun,
but that in the far East the. hour of the day may
be known by the appearance of the town. " The
Rides and Reveries of Mr. lEsop Smith" are ludi-
crously narrated. The political subjects are, " Our
Antipodean Neighbours" and " Our Political Re-
lations with Persia."

Bentley's Miscellany.—Dudley Costello narrates
the "Adventures of Professor Duminkopti at the
Bal Mabille" in his characteristic style, more at-
tracsive to the lovers of the ludicrous than to those
who seek refinement. Financiers will be interested
in a notice on. the work of M. Capefigue, on the
" grandes operations financieres" of the Revolu-
tion. It is followed by a paper on some volumes
recently published on Naples, giving a very un-
favourable picture of Neapolitan society. The
second part of " Thanatos Athanatos," a medley,
continues its reflections on the same solemn sub-
ject. It is one scarcely in keeping with the pages
of a magazine, but th© writer appears to have care-
fully, considered it in its different aspects. A notice
of Mr. Morley's " Life of Cornelius Agrippa "
renders full justice to its merits. Mr. Harrison
Ainsworth's story of the " Spendthrift" occupies a
considerable portion of the number, and is evi-
dently advancing to its conclusion. The death of
Clare, and the consequent remorse and restitution
of Fairlie to Gage, are among the incidents that
occur in the part More us. The twelfth number
of Monkhood's " Prosings about the Essayists and
Reviewers" is devoted to Cardinal Wiseman, taking
for subject his three volumes of essays.