The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-21 00:00:00

which he did immediately, not apparently ill-pleased at ,e
visit.
A cold collation was served up under the auspices ,°f.
Madame Denis, and a walk in the poet's garden fullowE
It was laid out in the formal French style. The house
not large, and plainly furnished, but its situation was.'
mirable.

COMING OF AGE.
It was on the 29th of September, 1781, that Bea ,-forl
became his own master • the following letter is an acc
of the festivities upon this occasion. It is dated October
1781:
" At last, my dear A., the festive tumult and bustle gti
Fonthill have begun a little to subside, and I take the fos,
quiet moment I have had since my arrival, to give yo
short account of it ; I say a short one, for I have not tiro
to mention a thousand particulars, and that only just at 154
time they were going on. On my arrival, on Wednes
last, I found the house half full of company. There had l
music, dancing, and feasting from the beginning of
week. But Thursday and Friday being th two pine!
days, I shall confine my account chiefly to them. On 4 lied°
former day we sat down to breakfast in the great arch.,
Grecian Hall, not less than a hundred persons, at several la °,
tables. This being finished, a concert succeeded ; the co3r
pany every momentincreasing, till about five o'clock °,
.„
Friday. Not less than three hundred, one-third of wlic";
were nobility and persons of fashionx sat down to dinns f;
not to mention a great addition to the numbers in the
vants of the company visiting, those of the family, and ti 3S:t
friends, who dined, some before and sonic afterwards, Oil
fewer by many than those upon whom they attended. f. 41
night there was an illumination, and a brilliant ball, c,
lowed by a supper at one in the morning; at which rib;
guests were not fewer than they had been at dinner.
company danced, and played at cards after supper,
the festivity was kept up till daylight. Having slept 3133,,
hours, we all met again at breakfast and that was scare/:
over before the whole park, woods, and plantations N'lro,
filled with country people, flocking from the town of 113 0
don and the surrounding villages. By the afternoon the 4
could not be less than tn or twelve thousand assemlrd
On an extensive lawn before this noble house, there N,St,
erected three long booths. In one of them dined Mr. Be '4l
ford's Wiltshire tenants, with their sons, about two hund
persons. In the other two booths were entertained, in, tio
same manner, the people of the town of Hindon—a t
borough in the neighbourhood, in Mr. Beckford's par d
mentary interest. These might amount, men, wornon,,r.o,
children, to about a thousand persons, and these as Ave"
the tenants, had their band of music. A great quantity r
strong beer was also given away to the populace. The, o°,ljc,l
pany in the house dined at five o'clock the second': 011'i,
about as many as on the day before. Dinner being 141
another grand illumination succeeded. Some thou tit
lamps were beautifully disposed on the lawn, in the Nl'
and along the river •, and three great bonfires lit up 0
distant ground. The company having observed and
joyed these sights, they were, after tea, entertained w 1
magnificent fireworks, followed by a concert of vocal
instrumental music, in which was performed an Ital!o
pastoral in honour of the day. There were, perhaps, 01 f
musicians of the first eminence there, than ever D?
together at our greatest oratorios. The evening conclue'4,
with a very splendid and crowded supper. The next cl!,,
Sunday, the best part of the company that stayed, .asso„,
bled in a large room, where Dr. Lettice gave them a
mon. At dinner, the company was reduced to three tabloo
A concert was performed in the evening, and all who iv! f.
present were invited to supper. On the following morn
T
the company began to depart, about a score of Mr. Be_:
ford's more particular friends and relatives only continua
for some time ' • but the birthday celebrity was consider:lbl,
as finished. I feel as if I had written myself out of bre('
and ani glad to, lay down my pen." 1,1
The expenses incurred upon the foregoing occasion
very considerable ; but the property into which Yol'l
Beckford came, after nursing during his minority, Plitc;
him in the position of one of the richest subjects in Enrolj
The amount, according to his own statement, consisted
gfo
i nearly a million in ready money, and an income 01:
hundred thousand per annum.

Principles of Social and Political Economy. 111
William Atkinson. Vol. I. Longman. d,
The attention of cultivated and thoughtful 113111,
has often been turned to the very defective siatt,
the science of political economy. The conflictli
opinions and contradictory principles of its gr.'e
exponents have divided their followers into rll7ll
sects ; and the deep thought and laborious reseal' oi
required for its study have rendered the number
,e
its students comparatively limited. It is, therefor
a subject of congratulation to the nation, that inter,
ligent and earnest men are now endeavouring'
expound their principles in a clear and lucre
manner, and to place the fundamental truths of 1-0
science in a position, where those uninitiated
mysteries of scientific reasoning may gather sod,,
ideas of their import and tendency. Hovit'r
much the opinions of these reasoners may diP4l3
and however much they may be mistaken, 10
their theories or examples, the free discuss°
and argument on the principles of governmel
and national prosperity is beneficial. Though ; y
circle of thinkers will always be limited, in will?
rison with the men of action, and though from
very nature of the subject few will devote 111:11,,
time or labour to its abstruse study, yet a vil'll
diffusion of its principles, and a more geTl5
knowledge of the differences of its chief writelf,
very desirable for a nation that aspires to seb,
government. Mr. Atkinson's work treats the silo
ject in its broadest view, and makes a thoroliFjj
examination into the theories and arguments of
its most eminent followers, from Adam Smith dO'
wards. Without coinciding with all his princiPl,4,
we commend the work to the studious and though
ful reader, who desires to form his own opiol°o,l
from a careful examination of the rival theories of
their practical results, and a thorough analysis
their merits.

THE SHANNON'S NAVAL BRIGADE'

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—As the United Service Gazette has publisheci
statements affecting the discipline and charactera
the Shannon's naval brigade, I shall feel gre3„,-,
obliged by your giving insertion to the accomP7if
ing letter, which I have just received from le
Ed. Lugard. I feel it due to the memory of tla
late Sir W. Peel that such grave accusations sh°ll
not remain unanswered.—l have, &c.,
J. W. VAUGHAN, Com. R.N4
Lath H.M.S. Shannon.
Craven, Hotel, Jan. 20.

" Teignmoutt, Devon, Jan. 17, 1859'r
"My dear Vaughan,--I have just seen the par,
graph in the United Service Gazette, of the 15th iost
commenting upon the state of the naval brigacleol
,
the Shannon. The writer of the paragraph 111 1;41
be grossly ignorant of the truth, or have bf
wickedly misinformed, to state that the life the
led in the naval brigade was the reverse of di5;,4
Alined'—' they were the terror of friends as well
foes' no orders restrained them.' I consider tar
allegation to be a gross libel upon our late rear
friend, Sir W. Peel, as well as upon the Ach°„
brigade, and, as such, it cught to be at once OP
tradieted. ite
" I am unable (owing to a sad accident) to scr.te
more than a few lines at a time, or I should voltif
to the editor on the subject ;_ but I give you or yoi.of
friends authority to contradict the statement Jlie
me in the strongest and most direct manner. 'llll
Shannon's brigade advanced upon Lucknow o,lire
my division, and acted with it during the en!l,,,
operations, as you well know. The men were cl3l
I may say hourly, under my sight, and I c°oo
sidered their conduct, in every particular,
example to the troops. During the whole perio',er
was associated with the Shannon's brigade I riCipi
once saw an irregularity amongst the men. I.,:u'r
were sober, quiet, and respectful, and often I
rc;i,
marked to my staff the high state of discipline
W. Peel had got them into. From the cessafi.°
of active operations until I was detached to A01,7.ci
ghur I commanded all the troops in the city, are
all measures for the repression of plundering ward
carried carried out through me. During that per',-0
not one irregularity by the men of the Sharlll,4
was reperted to me. . . . Indeed, in 11
whole course of my life I never saw so 'cycle
conducted a body of men. . . . All I
written about the good conduct of the Shannlio
men would, I am convinced, be confirmed by,'or
unanimous opinion of the army at Lucknow. 14°,0
Adrian Hope and I often talked together on %ye
subject, and many a time I expressed to Peel t'll
high opinion I had of his men, and my admiratiel°r
of his cheerfulness and happy, contented look unu,o
all circumstances of fatigue and difficulty.—Belies
me, my dear Vaughan, sincerely yours,
(Signed) 46 EDW. LUGAIID'
" Capt. Vaughan, C. 8."