The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-12 00:00:00

THE SECRET INFIRMITIES OF YOUTII AND
MATURITY.

Just published, price is., post free, in an Envelope, for 13
stamps.

SELF-PRESERVATION.-A Medical Treatise
on the Functions and Disorders of the Generative System,
and on the cure of Nervous and Physical Debility, resulting,
froth vicious habits acquired during the critical passage from
' youth to Manhood, with practical observations on the Phy-
siology of 'Marriage in its social, moral, and physical rela-
tions. To which are added remarks on the wonders of the
Microscope in revealing the hidden mysteries "of Life witlthi
Life," and its advantages in detecting, by urinary examina-
tion, the cause and effect of everyvariety of these complaints,
with numerous engravings and cases.
BY 'SAMUEL LA'MERT, M.D.,
37, BEDFORD SQUARE, LONDON,
Matriculated Member of the University of Edinburgh, Hono-
rary Member of the London Hospital Medical Society, Li-
centiate of Apothecaries' Hall, London, &c., &c.
The essential object of this treatise is to point out the fear-
ful consequencel4 resulting from certain habits, irregularities,
and excesses, which have produced more -misery in Youth,
degradation in Manhood, and premature decay at all stages
of life, than, perhaps, any other class of disease known to
modern pathologists. Its perusal is particularly recommended
to persons entertaining secret doubts of their physical condi-
tion, and who are conscious of having hazarded the health,
happiness, and privileges to which every human being is en-
titled.

It IS absolutely necessary that all men should know that
there are principles of personal management which cannot be
violated without incurring grievous penalties, and when
wisdom and regret succeed the heyday of inconsiderate self-
indulgence, how those penalties may be mitigated, how the
sting, of their bitterness may be removed, and how the evil
and its consequences may be avoided, and, above all, that
there is scarcely any degree of physical infirmity or functional
derangement to which the timely aid of science cannot apply
Leure.

'Published by J. Allen, 20, Warwick-lane, Paternoster-row,
and may be had of Mann, 39, Cornhill ; Horne, 19, Leicester-
square ; Gordon, 146, Leadenhall-street ; or from the Author,
who may be consulted daily, from 11 till 2, and from 6 till 8,
at his residence, 37, Bedford-square, London.
The work may be had in India, of Mr. Von Litzky, Loll
Bazaar; Calcutta—Messrs. C. and J. Hormusiee, Apollo-street ;
Bombay—Circulator Office ; Mad ras—Mofussil ite Office, Agra;
Dodsworth, Colombo, Ceylon ; and of all Booksellers through-
out the Colonies;

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The old scrip opened at par, and left off at premium.
NAVIGATION: OF THE DANUBE.—The following,
extract of a letter gives some interesting details on the sub-
ject of the navigation of the mouth of the Danube and on
the works to be executed there, in order to improve the St.
George's Channel :—" The duration of the works may be
estimated at from three to five years, and the expense ap-
proximately at nine millions of francs, but if other expenses
of ulterior improvement, such as the removal of the Toultcha
Rock, &c., be taken into consideration, it would be more
correct to set the sum down at 12,000,000 fr. The annual
expense of repairs, exclusive of those of administration, may
be estimated at 300,000 fr. Commercial men, who would
large] y benefit by the improvements made in the navigation o f
the river, could easily bear the dues necessary to pay the in-
terest, and provide for a sinking fund for the expense.
In calculating on a traffic of 372,000 tons, and by imposing
a tax of 3f. a-ton, a sum of 1,116,000 f. would be raised,
which might be divided as follows :-600,000f. for interest,
458,000 f. for 'repairs and other expenses, and 58,000 f. for
sinking fund. From the information which had been laid
before the commission it appears that the charges of all
kinds now imposed on commerce amount to at least 22f. a
ton, which sum may be reduced to 6f. from the facilities
afforded by the works. The addition therefore of a tax of
3f.will still leave to commerce a benefit of 13f. a ton."

Landers, one subaltern and 60 men of the 54th Re-g
ment, one subaltern and 19 men of the 60th Rifles,
one subaltern and 16 men of the 73d Regiment, 38
men of the 88th Connaught Rangers, 18 men of the
93d Highlanders, and 40 men of the 97th (Earl of
Ulster's) Regiment.
The Sandtly steam gunboat has arrived at Chat-
ham from Portsmouth, and has commenced shipping
war stores for that port.
The line-of-battle screw steamer Hood, 91, build-
inn. at Chatham, is so far completed that she will
befit to be launched this year if required. The
machinery with which she is ordered to be fitted is
of 600 horse-power.
The 48th Foot, from Gibraltar, and the 46th and
91st Foot, from Corfu and the Mediterranean, have
passed through Egypt, and embarked at Suez on
board the steam transports Feroze, Zenobia, and
Oriental, and sailed for Calcutta.
Yesterday the Admiralty took up the Caroline
Coventry, to convey military- stores to Bombay,
and the Star of the East, to carry a detachment of
artillery and several hundred tons of military stores
to Hong Kong. The Sir G. F. Seymour and the
Forward were also hired to take out military stores
to Bermuda and Halifax.

Her Majesty's ship Russell, 60, Captain Storey,
accompanied by her tender, the Hind gunboat, re-
turned to her station (as' coastguard head-quarters
for the western district) at Falmouth, on Friday,
from a cruise to the eastward.

In consequence of the lamentable destruction by
fire of the steamer Austria, the Admiralty have
directed their attention to the necessity of using
every precaution to prevent the possibility of so
fearful a calamity occurring on board any of her
Majesty's steamships, and yesterday orders were
issued for experiments to be made with Horsey's
patent, which consists of a steam cock at the top
of the boiler, from which pipes extend all over the
ship, so that on fire occurring in any part of a
vessel it may, by simply turning the cock, be de-
luged with steam and extinguished.
An order was yesterday received at Woolwich
from the War Department, directing the authori-
ties of the Royal Artillery Garrison to extend as
far as practicable the number of bathrooms already
commenced, so as to admit of the frequent bathing,
in hot or cold water, of the entire garrison. The
substitution of Captain Grant's culinary apparatus
in lieu of the ordinary mode of barrack kitchen has
rendered 12 of the old cookhouses available for
other purposes. These are ordered to be given
over to the Royal Engineers, to be fitted with
eight baths each, for the exclusive use of the non-
commissioned officers and soldiers. The new
method of ventilating the men's sleeping rooms is
in progress throughout the garrison, and is found
to work most effectually.

Yesterday the whole Of the metropolitan divisions
of the enrolled Out-Pensioners of Chelsea Hospital
were summoned for their annual drill and training.
The east division musters on Tower-hill, the west
in the grounds of Chelsea Hospital. the north in
the Cavalry Barracks, Regent's-park, and the south
at Kennington. They will be trained and put
through battalion drill from the 21st to the 29th
inst., and on the 30th inst. all the divisions will be
reviewed in Hyde-park by Colonel Sir A. M.
Tulloch.
THE LATE GALE.—During the gale of Thursday
last the whole of the tents of the encampment be-
longing to the Pembroke garrison at Freshwater.
East were entirely blown down. Both officers and

(From Humboldt's "Cosmos," translated by .3lrs. Sabine)
We have now to notice the unnumbered host of
comets. If we estimate according to the rules of the
calculus of probabilities, the equable distribution of
the paths of these bodies, the limits of their peri-
helia, and thepossibility of their remaining invisible
to the inhabitants of the earth, their possible num-
bers will be an amount of myriads astonishing to
the imagination. Kepler, with his usual liveliness
of expression, said, even in his day, " there are
more comets in space than fishes in the ocean." As
yet, however, we hardly possess as many as 150
calculated paths of comets ; but we have notices
more or less precise of the appearance of 600 or 700
of such bodies, and of their passage through known
constellations. Whilst the classic nations of the
West, the Greeks and the Romans, do, indeed, some-
times mention the place in the heavens where a
comet was first seen, but never afford us informa-
tion respecting its appasent path, the literature of
the Chinese (who observed nature diligently, and
carefully recorded everything) supplies us with cir-
cumstantial notices of the comets seen by them, and
of the constellations which each passed through.
These notices extend back to more than five centu-
ries before the Christian era, and many of them are
still found useful in astronomy. The paths of the
four first comets which it has been possible to in-
vestigate have been computed from Chinese obser-
vations. 'They are those of 240 (in the reign of Gor-
dian III.), of 539 (in that of Justinian), of 565, and
837. According to Du Sejour, the last f these must
have been for 24 hours 2,000,000 geographical miles
only from the earth. It appeared during the reign
of Louis-le-Debonnaire (the son of Charlemagne),
and was thought to prognosticate disasters which
that monarch sought to avert by founding conven-
tual establishments, whilst the Chinese astrono-
mers were scientifically engaged in tracing its
path. Its' tail was 60 degrees in length, and ap-
peared sometimes simple and sometimes divided.
The first comet computed exclusively from European
observations is that of 1456, or • Valley's comet, so
named on the occasion' which was long, though
erroneously, supposed to have been its first well
ascertained appearance. Of all planetary bodies,
comets—though their mean mass is probably much
less than the five-thousandth part of that of the
earth—are those which occupy the greatest space,
their wide-spreading tails often extending over
many millions of miles. The cone of light reflect-
ing gaseous matters which radiates from them has
been found in some instances, as in 1680 and 1811,
to equal in length the distance of the earth from
the sun, or that of a line including the orbits of the
two planets, Venus and Mercury. It is even prob-
able that the emanations from the comets of 1811
and 1823 mixed with our atmosphere.
Comets show their diversities of form, diversities
r belonging rather to the individual than to the class,
that the description given of one of these " wander-
ing light-clouds" (as they were called by Xeno-
phanes, and Theon of Alexandria, contemporaries
of Pappus), can only be applied with much
caution to another. The fainter telescopic comets
are for the most part without tails, and resemble
Herschel's nebulous star. Their appearance is that
of circular nebulae shining with a .faint light con-
centrated towards the centre. This is the simplest
type, but not, on that account, a rudimen-
tary type, for it might equally be the
type of a cosmical body grown old and
exhausted by exhalation. vWe can distinguish
in the larger comets, the " head," or ".nucleus,"
and the " tail," either single or multiple, which the
Chinese astronomers more characteristically deno-
minate by the word" brush" (sui). The nucleus
usually presents no definite outline, although in
some rare instances it appears like a star of the first
or second magnitude; and in the larger comets of
1402, 1532, 1577, 1744, and 1843, has even been
clearly seen in bright sunshine. As the tail of the
comet of 1402 was seen in bright sunshine, so also
in the recent great comet of 1843 the nucleus and
tail were visible on the 28th of Feb. in North Ame-
rica, between 'one and three o'clock in the after-
noon. (J. G. Clarke, of Portland, in the State of
Maine.)" The distance of the very dense nucleus
from the sun's limb could be measured with great
exactness. The nucleus and tail appeared as a very
pure white cloud, between the tail and the nucleus
there was one darker part. The latter circumstance
appears to indicate, in particular individuals, a
denser mass, capable of reflecting light with greater
intensity. Even in Herschel's large telescope, only
two comets showed well-defined discs, viz., the comet
discovered in Sicily in 1807, and the fine comet of
1811, the one having an, angle of 1 sec., and the
other of 0 sec. 77, whence he inferred their true
diameters to be respectively 534 and 428 miles.
The measurement of the less well defined nuclei
of the comets of 1798 and 1805 gave diameters of
only 24 to 28 miles. In several comets which
were examined with great care, and particularly
in the above-namdd comet of 1811 which was so
long in sight, the nucleus and its nebulous envelope
were entirely separated from the tail by a darker
space. The intensity of light in the nucleus of a
comet does not increase in a uniform manner to-
wards the centre, but bright zones alternate with
concentric nebulous envelopes, which are less lumi-
nous. The tail sometimes appears single, more
rarely double, and in two instances, in the comets
of 1807 and 1843, the two branches were of very
different length ; in the comet of 1744 the tail had
six branches, the two exterior diverging at an angle
of 60 deg. The tails have been sometimes straight
sometimes curved ; in the latter case either concave
towards both sides, or, as in 1618, convex towards
the direction in ich the comet is moving ; and
sometimes the tail even appears inflected like a
flame in motion. The tails are always turned from
the sun, and so directed that the prolongation of
the axis would pass through the centre of that body
—this circumstance, according to Edouard Biot,
was remarked by the Chinese astronomers as early
as 837, but was first clearly stated in Europe by
Pracastoro and Peter Apian in the 16th century.
We may conceive that these emanations form cono-
idal envelopes of greater 'or less thickness, which
would furnish a very simple explanation of several
of the remarkable optical phienomena above men-
tioned.

Not only are different comets characterised by
great difference of form—some being entirely with-
out visible tails, others, as the third comet of 1618,
having a tail of 101 degrees in length—but we also
see the same comets pass through successive and
rapid variations. These changes have been well
and most accurately described in the comet of 1744,
by Heinsius, at Petersburg, and in Halley's comet,
on its last re-appearance, in 1835, by Bessel at
Konigsberg. A tuft of rays issued from that part
of the nucleus which was turned towards the sun.
These rays thus issuing were bent backwards, so as
to form part of the tail. The nucleus of Halley's
comet, with its emanations, presented the appear-
ance of a burning rocket, the t,rain of which was
deflected sideways by a current of air. The rays
issuing from the head of the comet were seen by
Arago and myself, at the Observatory at Paris_, to
assume very different forms on successive nights.
The great Konigsberg astronomer concluded from
many measurements and from theoretical considera-
tions, "that the outstreaming cone of light deviated
notably both to the right and to the left of the
true direction towards the sun, but that it always
returned to that direction, and passed beyond it to
the opposite side ; so that both the cone of light,
and the body of the comet from which it issued,
were subject to a rotatory or rather vibratory mo-
tion, in the plane of the orbit." He finds "that the
ordinary power of the attractive force of the sun
on gravitating bodies is not sufficient to explain
such vibrations, and is of opinion that they would
seem to indicate a polar force, which tends to
turn one of the semi-diameters of the comet towards
the sun, and the opposite semi-diameter from the
sun. The magnetic polarity possessed by
the earth may present something analo-
gous, and should the sun have the oppo-
site polarity, a resulting influence might manifest
itself in the precession of the equinoxes." This is
not the place for entering more at lengthionntotrlifuisl
subject ; but observations so remarkable, and so
important with reference to the most wonderful
class of cosmical bodies belonging to our solar system
ought not to be entirely passed over in this general
view of nature.

Although, in the greater number of cases, the
tails of comets increase in magnitude and brilliancy

in the vicinity of the sun, and are directed from
that body, yet the comet of 1823 offered the remark-
able example of two tails, one turned from and the
other nearly towards the sun, forming with each
other an angle of 60 deg. Peculiar modifications of
polarity, and its unequal distribution and conduc-
tion, may in this rare case have caused a double
continuous current of nebulous matter. Aristotle, in
his Natural Philosophy, brings the phenomena of
comets through the medium of these effusions into
a singular connexion with the existence of the
milky way. He supposes that the countless multi-
tude of stars which form the galaxy give out a lu-
minous or incandescent matter. The nebulous belt
which traverses the vault of the heavens is there-
fore regarded by the Stagirite as an immense comet
incessantly reproducing itself.
The passages over the fixed stars of the
nucleus of a comet, or of its innermost vapour-
ous envelopes, might throw light on the physical
character of these wonderful bodies, but we arc
deficient in observations of the kind in which we
can be assured that the passage was perfectly cen-
tral. The ancients had been struck by the circum-
stance that it is possible to see through comets as
through flame. The oldest testimony to stars hav-
ing been seen through them is that of Democritus
(Aristot.. Meteor. i. 6, 11); and it led Aristotle to
make the not unimportant remark, that he had
himself observed one of the stars of Gemini occulted
by Jupiter. Seneca only speaks decidedly of the
transparency of the tail. He says (Nat. Quist. vii.
18) that stars are seen through comets as through
a cloud; not indeed through the body of the comet,
but through rays of the tail ; non in ea parte pia
sidus ipsum est epissi et solidi ignis, sod qua rarus
splendor oceurrit et in crines dispergitur. Per in-
tervalla ignium, non per ipsos, vides" (vii. 26). The
addition is superfluous, for we certainly can see
through flame if it has not too great a thickness, as
shown by Galileo in the Saggiatore. For in the
immediate vicinity of the nucleus, as I have already
noticed, dense coatings alternate with others of
great tenuity. On the other hand, there is no doubt
that the light of a star of the tenth magnitude
passed through very dense nebulous matter on the
29th of. September, 1835, at a distance of 7.78 secs.
from the centre of the nucleus of Halley's comet,
according to Besscl's most careful measurement.
without experiencing any deflection in its recti-
linear course at any moment of its passage.
At Dorpat the star was in conjunction only
2.2 secs. from the brighest point in the
comet. The star remained constantly visible,
and its light was not perceptibly weakened,
whereas the nucleus of the comet seemed to fade
even to extinction before the light of this small
star ,of the ninth or tenth magnitude. Such an
absence of refracting power, if actually extending
to the centre of the nucleus, makes it difficult to
regard the substance of comets as of a gaseous
nature—w, is the n'r-ne^ of refracting power a
con-,equence of the almost infinite rarity of a fluid
of that description ?—or, does the comet consist of
" detached particles," &ming a cosmical cloud,
which no more affects the ray of light passing
through it than do the clouds of our atmosphere,
which in like manner have no influence on the
zenith distances of the heavenly bodies? In the
passage of a cornet over a star, there has often been
noticed a greater or less diminution of the light of
the star, but this has been justly ascribed to the
brightness of the
.ground on which, during the coin-
cidence, the star is seen.
We indebted to Arago's polarisation experiments
for the most important and decisive observations on
the nature of the light of comets. His polariscope
instructs us concerning the physical constitution
of the sun, as well as that of the comets • it informs
us whether a luminous ray, which reaches us from
a distance of many millions of miles, is a direct or
a reflected or refracted ray ; and, if direct, whether
the source of light is a solid, a liquid, or a gaseous
body. The light of Capella, and that of the great
comet of 1819, were examined at the Paris Obser-
vatory with the same apparatus. The comet showed
polarised, and therefore reflected light" ; whilst, as
was to be expected, the fixed star was proved to
be a self-luminous sun. The existence of polarised
cometary light announced itself not only by the,
inequality of the images, but was shown with still
greater certainty, at the re-appearance of Halley's
comet in 1835, by the more striking contrast of
complementary colours, in accordance• with the
laws of chromatic polarisation discovered by Arago
in 1811. These fine experiments leave it however
still undecided, whether, besides this reflected solar
light, comets may not have a proper light of their
own. Even in planets, in Venus for example, an
evolution of independent light appears very pro-
bable.
The variable intensity of the light of comets is
not always to be explained by their place in the
orbit, and their distance from the sun. In parti-
cular individuals it certainly indicates internal
processes of condensation, and increased or dimi-
nished capability of reflecting light. In the comet
of 1618, as in that which has a period of revolu-
tion of three years, Hevelius saw the nucleus lessen
at the perihelion, and enlarge at the aphelion of
the comet; this remarkable phrenomenon, which
had long remained unheeded, has since been ob-
served by the distinguished astronomer, Valz, at
Nismes. The regularity of the alteratioli of the
volume according to the distance from the sun, ap-
peared exceedingly striking ; the physical explana-
tion of the phenomenon cannot well be sought in
the greater condensation of the cosmical ether in
the vicinty of the sun, for it is difficult to imagine
the nebulous envelope of the nucleus of the comet
to be, like a vesicle, impervious to the ether.
The very dissimilar eccentricities of the eliptical
paths of differents comets, has led in modern times
(1819) to a brilliant accession to our knowledge of
the solar system. Encke has discovered the exis-
tence of a comet having so short a period of revolu-
tion, that it always remains within our planetary
system, and even reaches its aphelion, or greatest
distance from the sun, between the orbits of Jupiter
and of the small planets. The eccentricity of its
orbit is 0.845 ; that of Juno, which has the greatest
eccentricity among the planets, being 0.255. This
comet has been more than once seen, though with
difficulty, by the naked eye, in Europe, in 1819 ;
and, according to Rumker, in New Holland, in
1822. Its period of revolution is about 3.3 years •
but from the most careful comparison of the epochs
of its return to its perihelion, the remarkable fact
has been discovered that this period has regularly
decreased in every successive revolution from 1786
to 1838 ; the dithinution amounting in an interval
of 52 years to 1.8 day.
To this first discovered comet of short period,
there was soon added a second planetary comet,
having its aphelion beyond the orbit of Jupiter, but
within that of Saturn. Biela's comet, discovered in
1826, has a period of revolution of 6.75 years, and
its light is still fainter than that of Encke's. The
motion of both these comets is direct, or the same
as that of the planets, whereas Halley's is opposite
or retrograde. Biela's comet presents the first cer-
tain instance of the orbit of a comet intersecting
that of the earth ; its path may therefore suggest
the possibility of a catastrophe, if we may apply
that term to the extraordinary phenomenon of a
collision, which has not occurred within historical
times, and of which we cannot with certainty pre-
dict the • consequences. Granting that small
masses possessed of enormous velocity may exert a
notable force, Laplace, after showing that the
mass of the comet of 1770 is probably less than
1-5000 that of the earth, has assigned with a cer-
tain degree of probability, for the avera)%oln ctaf"the
of
comets, a quantity far below even 1-100,
earth's mass, or only about 1-1200 of thatt of the
moon. The passage of Biela's comet across the
earth's orbit must not of course be confounded with
its proximity to, or encounter with,
,01t1,11; globe
oet., s
itself.i3
When this passage took place *
on" 2
the earth was a full month in time from the point
of intersection of the two paths. The orbits of
Encke's and Bicla's comets also intersect each other,
and it has been justly remarked, that in the course
of the many perturbations which such small bodies
suffer from the greater planetary masses, there is
a possibility of their meeting ; and that should this
take place about the middle of the month of
October, the inhabitants of the earth-might behold
the extraordinary spectacle of an encounter between.
two cosmical bodies, and possibly of their
mutual penetration and amalgamation, or of
their destruction by . exhausting emanations.
Such events, the consequences either of de-
flexion produced by disturbing masses, or of ori-
ginally intersectirorbits, may have taken place
frequently in the course of millions of years, and
in the vast extent of immeasurable space; they
would, however, be isolated occurrences, having as
little general influence on other cosmical forms, as
the breaking forth or extinction of a single vol-
-1 .no has in our less extensive sphere.
A third planetary comet of short period was dis-
covered on the 22d Nov., 1843, at the Paris Obser-
vatory, by M. Faye. Its elliptic path approaches
much more nearly to a circle than that of any of the
comets previously known to us, and is include' be-
tween the orbits of Mars and Saturn ; passing,
according to Goldschmidt, beyond the orbit of Jupi-
ter. This comet is therefore one of the very few
whose perihelia are beyond the orbit of Mars; its

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period of revolution is 7. r, ' . ent
form or its path mad-pm "tiiS lie-1 ttit l'
approach Which it made to tluKreanpasSA Jupi-
ter-at the end of the year 18.39.
If we consider all comets moving in elliptivn.bits
as members of .our solar syStem, and class them
by the lengths of their major axes, the amount of
their eccentricities, and the duration of their lieriods
' of revolution, it seems probable that in the last-
named respect, the three comets of Encke,, Thela,
and Faye, axe most nearly approached by the comet
which Messier . discovered in 1776 (regarded by
Clausen as identical with the third comet ()L.:1819),
and by the fourth. comet seen in the same year
(1819), discovered by Blanpain, and thought by
Clausen to .be identical with the comet of 1743.
The orbits of the last-mentioned comet as well as
that of Lexel" - . Lo have undergone great alte-
ration by the proximity and attraction of JulAter ;
their periods of revolution appear to be only from
five to six years, and their aphelia take place near
the orbit of Jupiter. Among comets whose periods
range from 70 to 76 years, we should name, first,
Halley's, Which has been of so mush importance in
theoretical and physical astronomy, and whose
last appearance in 1835 was less brilliant than
might have been expected from preceding ones ;
andth theOl
discovered
ecoedf the Gth of March, 1815) ;
comettlie of
one d
,by Pons in 1812, the
elliptic orbit 'of which was determined by Eneke.
The two latter comets were invisible to the naked
eye. We now know with certainty of nine returns
of Halley's comet, for Laugier's calculations have
recently demonstrated the idntity of the orbit with
that of the comet of 1378, mentioned in the Chinese
tables of comets, for the knowledge of which we are
indebted to Edouard Biot. During the interval be-
tween the first and last recorded appearances, in
1378 and 1835, its periods of revolution have fluc-
tuated between 74.91 years and 77-58 years, the
mean being 76-1.
Contrasted with the cosmical bodies of which we
have been speaking are a group of comets requiring
many thousand years to perform their revolutions,
of which the periods can- emir be determined with
great difficulty and uncertainty. Argelander assigns
a-period of 3,065 to the- fine comet of 1811, and
Eneke a period of upwards of-18;,800 years to the
awfully grandone of 1680:- According to such views
these bodies recede respectively to distances from
the sun 21 and 44 times greater than that of Uranus,
Or to 33,600 and 70,400 millions of miles. At these
enormous distances, the attractive force of the sun
still subsi4slit** whilst the motion of the comet of
1680 at its- perihelion is 242 miles in a second, being
13 times greater than that of the Earth, its velocity
.at its aphelion is scarcely 10 feet in a second, being-
only three times
.greater than that of our most slug-
gish European rivers, and but half that which I
found in the Cassiquiare, an arm of the Orinoco.
Amongst the countless host of unealculated or still
undiscovered comets, it is highly probable that there
are many, the major axes of whose orbit may far
exceed that of the comet of 1680. In order -to afford
through the medium of figures some idea—l do not
say of the extent of the sphere of attraction—of the
distance in space of a fixed star or other sun from
the aphelion of the comet of 1680 (the one of the
bodies of our solar system which, according to our
present knowledge, attains the greatest remote-
ness), I would here remind the reader that,
according to the most recent determinations of
parallax, eventhe nearest fixed star is at least 250
times more distant from our sun than-this comet
at its aphelion. The comet's distance is only 44
times that of Uranus, - whilst that of a Centauri is
11,000 and of 61 Cygiii, according to .Bessels's de-
termination, 31,000 times that of Uranus.
Having thus considered the greatest known:dis-
tances of comets from the. central body, we may
proceed to notice instances of the greatest proximity
hitherto measured. The smallest distances between
a comet and the earth occurred in the case of Lexell
and Burkhardt's comet of 1770, which has acquired
so much celebrity from the perturbations it under-
went from the mass of Jupiter. On the 28th of
June, 1770, this comet's distance from the earth
was only six times that of the moon from the earth.
The same comet passed twice, in 1767 and in 1769,
through the system of the four satellites of Jupiter,
without causing the slightest sensible derangeinent
in these small bodies, whose 'movements are so well
known. The great comet of 1680, when at its peri-
helion on the 17th of December, was only one-
sixth of the sun's diameter from the surface of
that body ; an approach eight or nine times nearer
than Lexell's comet made to the earth, and equal
to only seven-tenths of the moon's distance from
the earth. Owing to the feebleness of the light of
distant comets, perihelia which take place beyond
the orbit of Mars can very seldom be observed- by
the inhabitants of the earth ; and of all the comets
which have been computed hitherto, that of 1729 is
the only one which has its perihelion between the
orbits of Pallas and Jupiter, it was even observed
beyond the latter planet.
since a degree of scientific knowledge, sometimes .-
sound, but oftener vague and partial, has extended
into wider circles of social life, the fears of possible
evils threatened by comets have p:rhaps rather in-
creased in weight as their direction has become
more definite. The certainty that within the
known planetary orbits there are comets which visit
our regions at short intervals—the considerable
perturbations which their paths undergo by the
attractions of Jupiter and Saturn, whereby- appa-
rently harmless bodies might be converted into dan-
gerous ones—the intersection of the earth's orbit by
that of Biela's comet—the recognition of the existence
of a cosmical ether, which as a retarding medium
tends to contract orbits—the differences betweenin-
dividual comets, which allow of the supposition of
considerable diversity in the mass of the nucleus—
are motives of alarm which by their number and
variety are fully equivalent to the vague fears
which prevailed in former centuries of " fiery
swords, and " long haired blazing stars," threaten-
ing universal conflagration. The tranquillising con-
siderations which, on the other hand, have been de-
rived from the calculus of probabilities, being ad-
dressed to the understanding rather than to the
imagination, modern science has been accused, with
some degree of justice, of only endeavouring to allay
fears which she has herself conlributcd to excite.
That the unexpected and extraordinary should
oftener excite fear than joy or hope, springs from a
source more deeply seated in our common nature.
The strange aspect of a large comet, its faint nebu-
lous gleam, its sudden appearance in the vault of
heaven, have almost always, and in all regions of
the earth, been viewed as the portentous heralds of
impending change in the established order of things.
The phenomenon itself being of short duration, its
reflection is the more naturally looked for in con-
temporaneous or immediately succeeding events,
and it is seldom difficult to fix on seine incident
which may be interpreted as .the calamity foreshown.
In our own time, however, the popular mind has
taken another and more cheerful, though singular
direction in respect to comets. Among the German
vineyards, in the beautiful valleys of the Rhine and
the Moselle, a favourable influence on the ripening
of the grape and on the quality of the wine has
been ascribed to these bodies, long regarded as so
ill-omened ; nor has experience of a contrary kind,
which has not been wanting in these days when
comets have been-so often seen,, been able to shako
the belief in this meteorological fable of wandering-
heat imparting stars.

PRINCELY
, ult. her Serene Highness Princess Cath_cerinteoolri nzv
A NaN.—On the morning of the 29thn
the Cilernat
Sigmarin,ren, born Princess of liolienl h
the Franciscan Sisters, an order distinguished. poverty
Rome, in the ancient nunnery of St. Ambrose,°' belonging to
and strictness of discipline. The Pope's vicar, Cardinal
Patrizi, and Cardinal Reisman performed the ceremony,
which was attended by many Germans of rank, amongst
whom was the Princesss cousin, Monsignor Hohenlohe, the
Poye's almoner.
LADVEUTISEMENT.I-The possibility of abandoning medi
tine altogether is sisenluiineorn:e:otouifobsny,i,nbtaianilhi,A.eodeunssdtum,
jeoanibtileari(totyily:is::lft)ereeexpeotstriealadio)irdp,il,afli:ianaDttia.suy.:
cough,
uenreeys,
awithoutsthrn a m
c constipation,oedn
Barry's delicious health-restoring Revalenta Arabica Food.
The following are not the least remarkable .--Cure No.
46,270—Mr. James Roberts, woodmerchant, of Frimley, of
30 years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derange-
ment, partial deafness. Cure No. 58,816—Mrs. Holze,
aged 107 years, of dyspepsia (indigestion), debility, irrita-
bility, and nervousness, which had tormented her for 70
years. Cure No. 46,814—Mr. Samuel Laxton, Leicester,
of two years' dfitrrheea. Cure No. 52,612—The Dowager
Countess of Castlestuart of many years' nervous irritability,
bile, and indigestion. Cure No. 54,812—Miss Virginia
Zeguers cured of consumption, after her medical advisers
had abandoned all hopes of recovery. Cure No. 180—" 25
years' nervousness, constipation, indigestion, and debility,
from which I have suffered great misery, and which no
medicine could remove or relieve, have been effectually
cured by Du Barry's Food in a very short time. W. B.
Reeves, .181, Fleet-street) London." No. 4,208—" Eight
years' dyspepsia, nervousness, debility, with cramps, spasms,
and nausea, for which my servant had consulted the advice
of many, Lave been effectually cured by Du Barry's h ail-
restoring Food. I shall be happy to answer any-
inquirieF.
Rev. John W. Flavell, Ridlington Rectory, Norfolk." No.
32,836—" Three years' excessive' nervousness, with liacin 3
in nay neck and left arm, and general-debtli y, which
ren-
dered my life very miserable, haS-been radically removedich):
Du Barry's health-restoring Food. Alex.'-0:11,71,3
deacon of Ross, Skibberoen." Cure Nor 19°6-1 r_ years'_Nl
cough, indigestion, and general dehilitOtavf3ohleZt. e o
, Perth.
- P ro_ le sors of
byDußarry'sexcellentFood. Jas: Porter Athol-et.,
Dr, Shoreland,
Chemistry, 1)r.
rte. testimonials from frreo,nDi trheffcaenlettedD
zer,'D_r_..lngram_, Lord
alsting, and many
, . been restored
Dr. Campbell, Dr. Gattiker, Dr. "i,.;iirt,
means of ocure had failed. Suitably
oStthuearrtredsepeDeeetabielse;
pll3l:.stjoonrs-,Gen
whoseera I
health has
packed with full
by it, after all other m
instructions. In canisters, • 11b.
2s. 9d. ; 21b. 4s. 6d. ; sth. Hs. ; 121 b. 225.
The 121 k ca-
nisters are sent carriage free on w.ceipt of a Post-office
order. Barry-Du Barry, & Co., 77, Regent-street, Louden,
and throuignhipoarltlancthceamiutsitosn
aagandinsgt the
grocers if
d
inrftolavnn and
country.
danger o
spurious imitations : The Viec-Chancellor Sir Williko
Page Wood granted an injunction on the 10th March,
1854, against Alfred Hooper Nevill for imitating " Du
Barry's Revalenta Arabica Food."

IOY A L PRIN C E S S'S THEAT R E. freedom on Prussia and the Prussians. It is an
Under the 3lanagernent of Mr. Charles Kean.
THIS EVENING will be presented Shakspere's Play of arduous task to devolve on one so young; but she
Shylock, Mr
- THE M.C. Kean—Portia, Mrs.ERCHANT OP VENIC. Kean. is a daughter of England, and will, we doubt not,
Preceded by the Farce of well and faithfully discharge her duty, however
. , ~,
...
._ 1 DYING FOR LOVE.
difficult it may be.

THEATRE-ROYAL, HAYMARKET.
Lessee, Mr. J. B. Buckstone.
THIS EVENING will be performed LONDON ASSU-
RANCE : Mr. and 'Mrs. C. Matthews, &c.
After which, THE DAUGHTER OF THE GUADAL-
QUIVER. Pcrea Nena.
With HE WOULD BE AN ACTOR.
And ANY PORT IN A STORM.
Commence at 7.

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.
Manager, Mr. Edmund Falconer.
THIS EVENING, EXTREMES ; or, Mea of the Day.
Supported by Messrs. H. Vandenhoff, Emery, J. Rogers, .1.
G. Shore, and Barrett ; Miss Woolgar, Mrs. Weston, 3liss
Kate Saxon.
After which the Lauri Family.

To conclude with the Farce of TOO MUCH FOR GOOD
NATURE, Messrs. J. Rogers, Emery, Miss K. Saxon.
Doors open at half-past 6, to commence at 7. Box-office
open from 11 to 5 daily.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE,
Lessee and Directress, Miss Swanborough.
THIS EVENING, THE LAST OF THE PIGTAILS;
Messrs.C. Selby, J. Bland, J. Clarke, &c.
After which THE MAID AND THE MAGPIE.
Followed by THE BONNIE FISH WIFE.
And MY AUNT'S HUSBAND ; Mr. Swanborough, Mrs.
Selby, Miss Ternan.

Commence at 7 o'clock.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE,
Westminster-road. _

Sole Lessee, Mr. William Cooke.

This Grand Hippodramatic Temple of the World IS NOW
OPEN FOR THE SEASON, elegantly re-embellished and
artistically decorated by Mr. Hurwitz, with new and ap-
propriate Act Drop, painted by Mr. F. Fenton, massive and
elaborate Chandelier by Mr. Hinckley. Powerful Dramatic
Company, comprising established favourites and additional
artistes, Gem and Star Equestrians, together with the best
and largest Stud of beautifully trained Horses in Europe.
Notwithstanding the sum expended, the following is the
scale of the reduced prices of admission :
Dress Circle, 3s. ; Upper Boxes, 2s. • Pit, is. • Galleries, 6d.
Private Boxes, from £1 ls. to 25., and upwards.
The opening piece, full of striking* situations and effects,
is a dramatised version of a tale in the Waverley Novels, by
Mr. T. Townsend, entitled THE COVENANTERS ; or, The
Battle of Bothwell Brig. Produced with new scenery, cos-
tumes, appointments, and properties, and in which the entire
resources of this leviathan establishment are called into
action.

The Illustrations of all Nations in the Arena include the
united strength of the First English, American, and Conti-
nental Professors of the Art of Equitation.
To conclude with TIIE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.
Stage Manager, Mr. R. Phillips.

CANTERBURY HALL, Westminster-road.—
OPEN EVERT EVENING.—The following* Company
of Vocalists are engkred for the performance of Selections
from all the popular OPERAS, MADRIGALS, CHORUSES,
GLEES, DifETS, &c., viz. :—Miss Russell, Mrs. Badsey,
Miss Brunell, Miss Ray, Madame Bartoletti, Miss Montague,
Mrs. Lawrence, and Mrs. Anderson ; Herr F. Jonghmans,
Mr. Henshaw, S Jones, J. Barker, W. Melling, Senor Antonio,
E. L Hime, Mr. Badsey, Senor Tiroli, Mr. Cozens, Mr. Bell,
Mr. Barnard, and Mr. St. Alb n. Mr. John G. Forde and E.
W. Mackney. Pianoforte, Mr. Cecil Hicks—Harmonium,
Mr. Courtnay -Director, Herr F. Jonghmans. Comsnence at
7 precisely. Suppers, &c., until 12 o'clock.
NOTICE.—The Proprietor begs respectfully to announce
that in the present month
A FINE ARTS GALLERY,
now in course of construction, will be thrown open in con-
nexion with the above Hall.

THE WEATHER.-SUN OFFICE, OCT. 12.

THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
55—highest since noon yesterday. /
51—lowest this morning and during the night.
53—this day at noon.

BAROMETER-29.98.

War, Westerly"; light, with fine cold weather.

The matter will not be quite so easily concluded.
The instigators of the hostile movement, who kept
in the background, may have rather more to pay
than they had calculated on. The £4,380,000
already subscribed will amply suffice to place
the finances of Turkey in a sound and healthy con-
dition. Every undertaking connected with the
country will now improve, and the unfair profits
that have hitherto been realised by those who have
directed their " hard calculations" to the affairs
of the Ottoman Empire, will be materially re-
duced, if not altogether swept away. There is
now no possible reason why the scrip should not
assimilate closely in value to the Six Per Cent. loan,
and why both should not reach par, or £lOO for
everrobligation to that amount.

THE SUN.

TUESDAY. OCTOBER 12, 1858.

The protracted struggle respecting the Regency
question in Prussia has at last been brought to a
conclusion. The constitutional principle has happily
prevailed, and the heir presumptive to the Crown,
the father-in-law of our own Princess Royal, has
been invested with full and absolute power to act as
Monarch in every respect, despite the energetic
resistance of the reactionary party. We regret
to be compelled to speak of " absolute" power in
such a case, but, unfortunately, it is impressed
on the face of the document. But for one brief
sentence it might be said that no such act of
FREDERICK-WILLIAM'S Government was so grace-
ful as his virtual abdication. But the pleasing
illusion is destroyed by the declaration that the
Prime is to rule "according to the inspiration of his
own conscience, and responsible only to God, until
the moment the KING should again be enabled to
fulfil the duties of his ,Royal functions."
This " unsavoury" paragraph, which totally
ignores popular privileges, and is a virtual assertion
of " the right divine" of kings to do as they will
with their own, cannot be attributed to the poor
imbecile king, who is to all intents and purposes as
helpless as was our own GEORGE 111., when under
the care of his keepers. But it still shows the
ruling passion,.and the deliberate determination of
those who to the last moment managed the wires
or pulled the strings that influenced the movements
of the Royal Marionette.
They earnestly strive to maintain the old rule, to
make Prussia still the satellite of Muscovy, and
its Sovereign merely a satrap of the Czar. But this
would not do. The Prince was thoroughly
acquainted with " his rights," and by no means
disposed to relinquish any portion thereof, that
might affect the welfare or position of the k ing-
dom oVer which he or his descendants may be re-
quired to rule for a succession of ages. He
had witnessed the discredit cast on his country
by the vacillation of his brother, and the
intrigues of the Court Cabal, which operated on
the infirm mind of poor CLICQUOT, and led him to
act in accordance with the views of the back stairs

The entire consolidated debt of the Porte now
stands at £12,300,000, of which £5,000,000, guaran-
teed by France and England, is at 4 per cent, the
remaining £8,300,000 at 6. The total charge for
interest is therefore under £BOO,OOO per annum ;
and inasmuch as £250,000 is provided by the
Egyptian tribute, there only remains £450,000 to
be liquidated by Ti‘rkey, and for that the receipts
of the Customs duties at Smyrna, Syria, and Con-
stantinople have been hypothecated. We shall
simply ask, What Forsign Stock stands on an
equally sound foundation ?

When shall we have a letter from Lord JOHN, or
a speech from Lord PALMERSTON ? Things are
beginning to work towards a Reform auction.
True, Mr. DISRAELI avoids meetings where he
would be expected to " come out," so does the
Colonial Secretary; and the Lord Privy Seal will

not uncloset his knowledge, whatever it may be,

not even though a brother Tory points smilingly to
the keys. Yet the auction is obviously awakening
the solicitude of the intending bidders. Sir G. C.
LEWIS has challenged the Tories with the threat
that any Reform Bill they may propose will turn
out, alas ! a real Reform Bill, and will inevitably
increase the democratic power in our Constitution.
With evident reluctance he says that he himself
will consent to this. This is the first Whig bid.
Low enough, to be sure—some additional strength
to democracy because it cannot be helped. The

Tory bid at the same meeting was almost, if not
quite as good. It was that of a real Reform Bill,
a bill in the interest of democracy, because any
Government must now succumb which would not
offer it.

But the auction goes on. Lord JOHN MAN-
NERS, descanting in Leicestershire, de omnibus rebus
et quibusdam aliis, although he declares his lips to
be sealed on Parliamentary Reform, yet makes, in
general terms to be sure, a high bid, indeed—
nothing less than "the best electoral body, and the
best representative body, which can be obtained for
the people of this country !" " The Best." What
can be the definite offer lurking under such words
as these ? It is not a business offer, to be sure.
We want Lord JOHN'S Cabinet standard to know
its value : still he has said, as plainly as generalities
could say it, that he purposes to alter both the
electoral constituency and the arrangement of
representatives—both which things the Whigs
have themselves proposed to do. They proposed
to mend their own work of 1832—t0 mend it by
modifications which nobody cared to forward or
oppose in the interest either of party or in that of
real representation ;• to mend it, in fact, by annoy-
ing a few patrons of little boroughs, and by secur-
ing a few minority Whig members in the counties,
and by enfranchising a very few who could do
neither good nor harm. Lord J. MANNERS premises
for himself and coadjutors something to surpass by
far all this. " The Best"—that is the last Conservative
bidding—the best body of electors, and best body
of representatives too.

conspirators.
That is now happily all over, and the Prince
will have an opportunity of exhibiting his real
disposition. It has been confidently asserted
that he is inclined to follow, sed longo
interrallo, the English system, and to bestow
something of a constitution on the kingdom over
which he is, till the recovery of his brother, a com-
plete autocrat. We trust it may be so. Of
course we do not anticipate a complete revo-
lution, or the establishment of a perfect sys-
tem at a moment's notice. We have had a
precedent in our own country. GEORGE the
Prince was very different from GEORGE the Re-
gent, and still more so from GEORGE the Fourth.
There is a temptation in absolutism which few
have strength of mind sufficient to voluntarily
relinquish. It may be said that " uneasy is the head
that wears a crown," but still men will run any risks,
commit almost any sins, to take upon themselves the
duties and responsibilities of the situation, and
none can be found to strip their diadems of a
single gem, although by doing so they may add to
the happiness, welfare, and prosperity of their
people, and, as a necessary-consequence, their own
security and peace of mind.
It remains to be seen whether the Prince, now
the Regent of PRUSSIA, will follow the ordinary
.precedent, or set a brilliant example to all
future rulers. We must comfort ourselves
with the simple fact, that there is, at all
events, hope under his rule and that of his son,
while there could be none with that of the Cama-
rilla, of which the Queen-Consort was at the head,
and which, as we have already stated, were com-
mitted to a retrograde policy, and might have
carried it still further if they fancied they had the
power and strength to do so. We must now look
quietly into that which may be looming in the
future, and earnestlyhope that the quiet and feminine
influence of the PRINCESS ROYAL may have some
share in the good work of bestowing constitutional

This is assuredly a most provoking bid—a sealed
tender indeed. The bifid Whig clique must be
sorely perplexed therewith. What shall they
offer ? How phrase it in gmeralities which shall
not fall below " the best ;" and, if particulars be
approached, great indeed is the danger. What
will Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S Letter offer, and when,
and to whom, will it be written ? we assume it as
certain that a Letter Lord JOHN must write some
time between now and February ; Lord JOHN'S
State Letters ad populum would never be complete
if the historian could not refer to one on the Reform
Bill of 1859. But what shall he offer? Shall he,
as in his Corn Law Letter, announce a policy
which shall make any other impracticable, which
the country shall insist on adopting, and which
shall issue in displacing his rivals and installing
himself? Is it in Lord JOHN to do a thing so bold?
Dare he concede, for instance, the Reform which
would put all rivals out of court, unless they also
accepted it, which they would possibly not do.
Dare he give the votes to the tenant farmers which
the landlords now use as their own ? Dare he
emancipate the intimidated olectors everywhere, and
dare he nullify the power of Sir LOMBARD-STRAT
LONGPURSE, and bid every elector call his vote his
own and his country's—his own that he may use it
for his country, and not for his master ?

As yet the two Whig Lords have kept silence
Sir G. C. LEWIS alone—himself, if report does not

belie his purposings, an expectant Premier—has
spoken. Can the ex-Premiers keep entire silence
much longer with safety ? Will it do to let the Tories
be turning the Parliamentary vacation wholly to
their own advantage ? 'The ominous fact is now
before them, that Toxopholite is sold at last ! Lord
DERBY must now turn to politics, if only for con-
solation. He must, now, mean to keep in office ;
and it is the direct or implied testimony of all the
speakers of his own party that he can retain office
only by means of a Reform Bill which he can back
against any Bill entered by any who mean to run
at the political Derby of next spring. What, then,
will be the tactics of Lord Rang and Lord DERBY?
It seems obvious that Lord JOHN should attend
at some meeting and tell us pretty explicitly what
he is thinking of. We should recommend the
electors of London to arrange a meeting for that
purpose. The Tivertonians, of course, would
never think of holding a meeting unless bidden
to do it. The electors of London are,
most of them at least, independent men,
and seeing that the Members for other
places are giving to their constituencies an account
of their last session's stewardship, and a promise
of what they mean to do next session, it is quite
time that the metropolis of the country should call
upon its members to tell their mind on the great
question of the ensuing session. Without assump-
tion or arrogance, London is fairly entitled to tell
the whole country its views, and it cannot do so
better than by approving or repudiating those
announced by its representatives at a public meet-
ing. It would be of service to all the parties who
intend next February to bid for popular support,
to be aware of the price they must pay for it.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL especially, from the pro-
minent position he occupies, ought to let the coun-
try know whether he has been capable of learning
anything by his late political afflictions. He
ought, indeed, to try the temper of his constituency,
and to ascertain whether, in the event of a disso-
lution, he must retire to some pocket borough
which any Reform Bill must extinguish, or whe-
ther he has qualified himself to remain a represen-
tative of the first city in the kingdom.

The Greeks and Bears have been tterly disap
pointed. Notwithstanding the large speculative
sales that had been effected on Wednesday and
Thursday, with not • merely the apparent, but the
palpable object of damaging the market—notwith-
standing the necessity of lodging 20 per cent.
with every claim, the amount called for on Friday
was no less than £1,380,000, or, in round terms,
two-thirds of all that could be demanded. The
community at large have, therefore, manifested
full confidence in the validity of the security, and
those who endeavoured to depreciate it will have
"to pay very high for their whistle. The Times
of yezterday explains something of the true state
of affairs. It says :—" The nature of the recent
operations in the Turkish loan has been further
developed to-day. Although the public on Satur-
day paid an instalment of 15 per cent. on the first
£3,000,000, and a deposit of 20 per cent. on an ad-
ditional issue of £1,300,000, there were few sellers
even at improved prices, and the adverse specula-
tors find difficulty in closing their accounts. The
first quotation for the new issue this morning was
to a prem., and it ultimately advanced, until, after
regular hours, it stood at 11 to 11. The old scrip
opened at par, and left @ff at 2- prem."
We have recently more than once pointed out the
true state of affairs, and the public have shown that
they fully appreciated the views we put forward.
There were " very few sellers, even at the im-
proved prices, and the adverse speculators find diffi-
culty in closing their accounts." There is a vast
quantity of information contained in that brief ac-
count. The old scrip that had been forced down to
a discount, closed at f, premium, while the new
issue aftor hours stood at 1,1 to I premium. It is
satisfactory to know that those who acted on our
advice have had no reason to repent acting on the
conclusions which we arrived at after calm and
attentive consideration.

Meanwhile, Lord DERBY cannot afford to be
idle. He has two courses before him—a manly
reversal of his anti-reform policy, and thus throw-
ing himself on the country, which would trium-
phantly sustain him, or an attempt to get off with
the smallest measure of Reform which the country
would tolerate. In the former course he would no
doubt affront many old political friends, and lose
their support, but he could do without it, and he
would succeed. He would have taunts in plenty,
but if he were satisfied in his own mind that he was
doing not only what the country demanded, but
what it had a right to demand, he would, like Sir
ROBERT PEEL, have the double reward of a good

conscience and an approving nation.
The other policy has, we are aware, plausible re-
commendations, but plausible ones only. He might
say, I can and will prevent the House of Lords
from passing any measure more advanced than my
own—is it not better for the country to take what
it may now get, than refuse a small measure and
get none at all? But veil such a threat as decently
as he might, would the country put up with it ?
Would it not act like the DUKE'S declaration of
Reform, and be the means of humbling the arro-
gance of a set of men destitute of any intelligible
right to domineer over the country at pleasure ?
Hereditary arrogance and incapacity would be
told to set its own house in order and to leave
the people's house to the people. At the least
a meagre bill would never be accepted, and
would be merely a stepping-stone to renewed agi-
tation. As to what we deem to be the elementary
principles of any Reform Bill, Lord DERBY knows
well enough what they are. He did us the honour
to quote them in reference to Lord PALMERSTON,
and we are sure he has not forgotten our Refor-
mer's Catechism. We may, however, have occa-
sion to recal it to recollection.

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