The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-07 00:00:00

THE MONTHLY PERIODICALS.

BLACICWOOD.—" A Religious Novel" is the title
of the first article met with, and it is stated that the
literature of an age does not always represent the
manners of that age. The work here under consi-
deration is Miss Wetherall's new book, called
" The Old Helmet," and those who have not read
it may gather a good idea of its purposrt from this
paper. The meaning of the title of the book is a
" patronising synonym for the helmet of salvation,"
and the young man who is the hero of the tale
wears a figurative armour, which makes him safe
under all circumstances. An unfavourable opinion
is entertained by the writer of this criticism as to
the effect likely to be produced by this book. " We
are happy to think," he says in conclusion, " that it
does not describe all young ladies as they are, but
does it foreshadow what any circle amongst us
may come to ?" " Sir Brooke Fossbrooke" is pro-
ceeded with, and the infamous Colonel Sewell goes
on with his plots, and pursues his schemes with the
most perfect sang froid and recklessness. Lucy is
a very pleasing girl, and shows much sense and dis-
crimination in the difficult position in which she is
placed. The peculiar old man who is the hero does
not figure in the pages of this instalment, but will
doubtless return speedily to appear in the denoue-
ment of the strange story. " Memoirs of the Con-
federate War for Independence" are still continued,
and in this portion we find a chronicle of
the great battle of Fredericksburg, which
is sure to be very interesting to readers.
Au article on " Reform of the Bank of England"
may be especially commended to notice, and it
would be well for the prosperity of the community
if its terse arguments, solid sense, and practical
observations were duly attended to by those in
high places. This periodical has the credit of tak-
ing up this subject of bank reform with spirit and
energy, and we cordially concur with the conclud-
ing remarks of this excellent paper. It is said that
the commercial classes aro beginning to awake to
the disastrous consequences of combining a fossilised
monetary system with an ever-expanding trade.
The great question of monetary reform, it is said,
must be satisfactorily settled as surely as the waters
of a river will in due time reach the sea. "It may
be opposed, and it will be opposed ; for to many
powerful parties the worship of the Bank Act is as
productive of gain as the worship of the statue of
Diana at Ephesus was to Vemetrius and his fellow-
craftsmen, but sooner or later the opposition will
fail, and the principle of freedom and fair competi-
tion will replace in banking, as it has already re-
placed in all other forms of trade and industry, the
present pernicious system of restriction and mono-
poly." " Miss Marjoribanks" is continued in a very
interesting part. Lucilla is equal to the emer-
gencies of comparative poverty, as she was to the
responsibilities of wealth, and determines to stand
her ground, which is the wisest thing she can do.
The character of this young lady is very well de-
picted, and her decision and energy stand her in
good stead when she has to settle her own course,
for though many-wishers and officious advisers
spring up in this crisis of her life, the heroine of
Carlingford found, as many have done before
her, that she must act alone and be the arbiter
" Cornelius O'Dowd on
of her own destinies.
Men and Women, and Other Things in Gene-
ral" furnishes us with the usual dissertations
on affairs public, political, and domestic. " The
Position of the Government " is the last sub-
ject dealt with, and no very flattering or favourable
views are entertained of its prospects. Certainly it
does not require the subject to be treated by an
opponent, for the mistakes and misfortunes of the
Ministers to be set forth and exhibited, for no one
who knows anything of affairs but can recognise
looming in the distance, if not actually present, dark
clouds which presage evil days for those in office.
The conclusion arrived at from the unpromising
state of affairs is that a " Government so feeble, so
entirely distrusted by its own friends, cannot long
go on. Let us hope that it will not leave behind it,
when it relinquishes office, such a legacy of troubles
as must render good government, under the consti-
tution as it now is, impossible in this country."
FRASER'S MAGAZINE.--A lengthened article on
" The Jamaica Problem" opens this number, and
enters very fully into the consideration of the West
India question, which has created so much commo-
tion during the last few months. Leaving the fierce
dispute as to the conduct of the Colonial Governor and

his administration during the suppression of the re-
bellion, the writer examines carefully the whole con-
dition of the island and its people, especially as
regards the black population. In conclusion, he
remarks that it is quite possible, and even probable,
that the negro race in the British colonies—possibly
in the United States also—is doomed to die out in
degradation, " because in our passion and our pre-
judice we refuse to recognise patent facts, to
acknowledge and proclaim that the negro is a child
and must be taught as a child, governed as a child,
coerced for his good as a child, borne with as
a child; because, in fine, with a great responsibility
towards him, entailed upon us by our ancestral
sins and our sins against him, we have quietly
thought to discharge the one and free ourselves
from the other by giving him his liberty and set-
ting him adrift. . . By generations of servitude
we utterly unfitted him for self-government and
self-guidance ; we then suddenly and without pre-
paration threw him on his own resources and his
own control. If our prognostics should unhappily
be realised and the Creole negro shall disappear,
his ruin and extinction will lie at our door, and
may be about equally divided between those who
were his masters and those who claimed to be espe-
cially his friends." Our old friend and favourite
A. K. H. B. resumes his pen,
.and gives us
thoughts on " Beards in the Pulpit," as a type of
the gradual relaxation of the extreme rigidity of
the Scotch Kirk. We have recently heard some-
thing of the change going on in the minds of some
of the leadingmembers of the Presbyterian Church,
and judging from this paper, by one of the initiated,
the movement has extended further than was sup-
posed on this side of the Tweed. " The Minister's
Sandy and Jess" us carries again to a manse in
the North, but this time it is a pleasant
though touching story of domestic life, chequered
by that great, though common, trouble of a son's
inclinations not tallying with his father's wishes.
However, all comes right at last, although the fair
gentle mother sleeps in the grassy kirkyard before
the family reconciliation comes about. A paper
on " Clubs" will find more favour with gentlemen
than with ladies. " Such a community," it says in
conclusion, " is also useful for clearing the brain of
preconceived opinions, for interchanging knowledge,
for testing impressions, for verifying facts; and it
constitutes a standing censorship, with the power of
executing its decrees. Its equalising effect, by ele-
vating, not lowering, is another unqualified good.
Thanks to railways, a man of limited means can
travel as comfortably as a man of ten thousand a
year ; thanks to clubs, he can dins as well, and in
society to which the man of ten thousand a year is
eager to belong." " The Domesday Book of Hamp-
shire" will interest the antiquary, and there are
among the remaining articles a "Memoir of Admiral
Smyth," and a paper on " British Conchology."

TEMPLE BAR.—" Land at Last" is continued, and
t is a relief to find that the wetched wanderer is at
rest, and the career of the ill- starred Margaret over.
Annie Maurice comes out as a true friend in the
emergency, and so also does the eccentric William
Banker. Lord Caterham is startled by the appear-
ance of the downright visitor who breaks in upon
his selfish epicureanism, and, in reply to his invec-
tives against his ill-used wife, tells him that there is
one who breaks up marriage ties more effectually
even than the Divorce Court, and that one is—
Death ; adding that the dread guest was now pass-
ing the threshold of the refuge where Margaret lay.
The wicked young man might have derived a useful
moral from the news which assailed him when,
arriving at the spot indicated, he found her gone
whom he had come to seek. " The Lodgings at
Knightsbridge" is concluded, and is a very interest-
ing sketch. The manner in which so many'dif-
ferent characters are connected in the lodgings is
very ingenious, and it would be well if all deserving
ladies were as fortunate as -Winifred. " Archie
Sewell" is continued in its usual eventful style.
" A True Bohemian", is a sketch of one who led a
sad career, but whose brightest moments were his
last in some respects. Robert Green, with talents
worthy of a better fate, led a wild life, and came to
a wretched end prematurely. All his gay apparel
gone, and even his clothing vanished, all but a
ragged shirt, " patient and penitent the poet,
successful author, dramatist, prepared for death.
He died at the house of a poor shoemaker,
whose wife crowned his pallid brow with a wreath
of bay leaves, and payed four shillings for a winding
sheet and six-and-fourpence for his interment.
In a note which Greene wrote at the foot of a bond
which he gave the shoemaker, he begged his wife to
settle the amount due, because he would have died
in the streets had it not been for the timely succour
thus received from these poor people. "In and
about Drury-lane" contains some curious anecdotes
of theatres and theatrical celebrities. " A Real
Casual on Casual Wards" is a sketch that is very
appropriate at this time, and we find many sad de-
tails concerning the treatment of the unfortunate
casuals. It is truly stated here that many remedies
are proposed for the unsatisfactory state of work-
houses, but only one solution can be found, and that
is to rectify the inequality of the metropolitan
parochial burdens. " Give London a uniform poor-
,
rate and the rest follows ; withhold it, and jobbing
will be perpetrated ; charity misplaced, and
clamorous rogues lie and fatten, while the honest
poor languish and starve." " The streets of the
World" have again Glasgow for their locality.
" Sonnets of Sorrow," by Mortimer Collins, have
two subjects, calm and stormy. The last lines on the
advent of the brighter season are pleasing and hope-
ful—
Nor otherwise to those whom endless care
Weighs to the earth, await the bridal feast,
Even to the mourner summer shall return.
This popular and, by this time firmly-established
Magazine, published henceforth by its new proprie-
tor, Mr. Bentley, of New Burlington-street, gives
evidence not only of sustained but of increased
vigour under its new management.

DUBLIN.—" The Folk Books of France" fur-
nishes its usual summary of lively and peculiar
composition. " Not wisely, but too Well" becomes
more exciting in this instalment. Kate meets her
old acquaintance, and is imprudent enough to pro-
mise to do so again. A third part of " Garrick"
brings before us some notable theatrical anecdotes.
" Number Five Brooke-street," introduces Mrs. Lefel
to the intimacy of the Hall, and she pursues her
career of flattery and dissimulation with great ad-
dress. An interesting sketch appears of Percy
Bysshe Shelley, his life and character, which will
please the reader. " All in the Dark" is continued,
and the chief point of this month's part is the quar-
rel between William Mowbray and his aunt, which
produces eventful consequences. There is an article
on the " Rinderpest in England," in which it is said
very truly that things often fall out differently from
what is expected, and the Reform Bill, which was
supposed to engross all notice at the commence-
ment of the session, was put aside for the discus-
sion on the apathy of ,the Cabinet respecting the
cattle plague. The writer of this paper truly states
that the principle of compensation has been agreed
to after a struggle against theories, preju-
dices, and selfishness. A great many details are
here given, and anecdotes recorded respecting the
nature and progress of this fatal disease, and the
conclusion arrived at is that "isolation and slaughter
are the only steps to be taken with safety." We
may write now as the classic poet wrote of the
same pest—
The learned leeches in despair depart,
And shake their heads, desponding of their art,
Till warned by frequent ills the way they found
To lodge their loathsome carrion under ground.

LONDON SOCIETY.--This entertaining periodical
is as pleasing as ever, and furnishes abundant mate-
rial for thought, study, and amusement. The first
subject met with is a very interesting sketch of
Cambridge life, and tells of the struggles which a
poor sizer had to encounter before he could com-
plete his preparation for the examination, which
resulted in placing him as the senior wrangler. An
undergraduate less richly endowed with the gift of
learning, but better favoured by capricious fortune,
insisted upon this weary, worn-out youth assisting
him in his efforts to obtain a degree, and in return
for the kindness he declared he would provide him
with fire and light, the dejected student having to
pursue the studies that were to bring him fame and
fortune by the lamp that lit the stairs of his col-
lege. Years rolled by after the days when thege

;. ✓

events took place, and the -generous youth who
had been a friend in need was immersed in the
cares of a small living when a new rectory appeared
before him, and he found in this head of the Church
in his diocese the Smith of former days, the sizer,
who had outdistanced all competitors. The nar-
tutor of the adventures was befriended in his turn,
for his friend promoted him to a good living, and
thus furnished an admirable illustration of the mu-
tual benefits that people can confer on each other.
" The Operations of Lawrence Reeve" is concluded
in a more satisfactory manner than might have been
anticipated from his previous exploits in the finan-
cial line. Be had the good fortune to possess a
sensible wife, and her providence saved him from an
impending calamity, so that he was able to weather
the storm. " Pattey's Revenge," a story in three
parts, is commenced, and promises to be entertain-
ing in its progress. The character of the heroine is
very strikingly described, and the scenes of the
commencement of the tale are animated and vi-
vacious. " The Merchant Princes of England," in
this month's instalment, has an account of " Nathan
Meyer Rothschild, of London." It is very interest-
ing, although it seems a waste of power thus to
concentrate so much time and thought on mere
money-making. The poems are entitled " AnaY'is
Secret" and the " Ides of March." The first is 3
pleasing sketch, and the latter a spirited composi-
tion. There is also " Lily," a lively retrospective
love-song. " Up and Down the London Streets
continues its comprehensive details of the doings
of the olden time. A sketch is given of " Clubs and
Taverns," and an account of a " German Athletic
Festival." " A Glance at the Life of Laurence
Sterne" is a melancholy papeil, that records the ups
and downs of that ill-starred career. The remain-
ing articles are " Apollo in Great Russell Street,"
" Hot Weather Life of a Magistrate in India," and
" Art in the Auction Room."

GOOD WORDS.—The contents of this attractive
little serial are as pleasantly varied as usual. Mrs.
Oliphant's new story of " Madonna Mary" pro-
ceeds with interest, and chronicles the widow's first
attempt at establishing herself and her three boll
in England. The experiment as yet meets with but
doubtful success, and the horror of the nervous old
dilletante bachelor when the sturdy young urchins
handle his Etruscan vases and break his rococo
chairs is amusingly described. " Quaker Milli-
nery" is brought under discussion in no unfair or
unfriendly spirit, the writer professing all through-
out great respect for the Society of Friends, though
he is not insensible to the absurdities of their cos-
tume. The second part of " Health of Body and
Mind" is no less worth attention than the first.
sketch of Cowper's mournful story canuot fail to inte-
rest, though the paper which meets us is little more than
the outline of his career. Professor Challis contri-
butes a scientific paper on the sun's atmosphere,
and Mr. White an account of the peculiarities of
spiders. William Gilbert writes a very impressive
history of the ruin and disgrace produced in a re-
spectable house by that fatal striving after gentility
which mars the happiness and honesty of so marl.
It is the great vice of the present day leading t°
countless others. There are some pleasant and sug-
gestive verses written "In a Cathedral," and
tening to the chime of bells, so that altogether it is
a very agreeable number.
THE ECLECTIC.—" A very Old Lady," the title
of the first paper, will naturally lead the reader to
guess its subject—the memoirs of Miss Berry. Fol-
lowing a long mid animated article on that paii°-
rama of the society of the generation before last,
we find an able criticism of Sir Bulwer Lytton
new volume,avhich renders the poet an appreciative
honour. " The Sixth Work" describes the efforts
recently made for the regeneration of prisoners an,,
criminals of various kinds. " The Old Booksellers'
is a pleasant chapter on Charles Knight, while th°
rest of the number is taken up by anti"
polemics.
NEWTON'S LONDON JOURNAL.—A very important
subject is treated of in the monthly essay, " The
Future of our Working Classes. The regular con-
tents refer to the patents and scientific proceedings
of the month, giving all the newest information.
SCIENCE GOSSlP—Hardwicke.--A pleasant little
journal of popular science, just learned enough t°
suit the amateur who has neither leisure nor
nation for very profound research.

To.
, /,
orrat r

HER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR CASTLE, March 6.
The Queen, accompanied by her Royal Highll es'
the Princess Helena, went out driving this morning'
attended by the Duchess of Roxburghe.

The Princess of Wales took a carriage dye
yesterday.
' In the evening their Royal Highnesses the Fria:
and Princess of Wales, accompanied by their Sorel'
Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Hohenlobef
went to the Prince of Wales's Theatre.

THE PRINCE 'OF WALES'S LEVEE (This Day)."
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, acting
-
behalf of her Majesty the Queen, held the first levee of the
season, to-day, at St. James's Palace. As so long titi„l
has elapsed since the last levee, and as many changes T.
importance have taken place in the interim in many dePir`i
ments of the State, the names of a very large number (311
gentlemen anxious for presentation have been lodged Wit;
the Lord Chamberlain, in compliance with the custoraar.'
regulations. Amongst them are many gentlemen who
the last last levee of the season of 1865 have boon el°ctn
to seats in the House of Commons, officers of the army
navy who have obtained promotion, clergymen 111),
whom ecclesiastical preferment has been conferred, 0,0,6
new sheriffs for the various counties of England and ici3 ".°
ii
who entered upon their official duties last month.
arrangements for the reception of the gentlemen tono
presented have undergone some beneficial changes, ar;_"*.-b,
confusion is likely to occur at any of the levees vol'"„
may be held this year. His Royal Highness will hold 1;
next levee on Monday, the 19th inst., at which, as st t
be
levee held to-day, all presentations to the Prince will ty
considered equivalent to presentations to her 3.l3'i°
personally.
Per'
THE PRINCE OF WALES'S THEATRE.—Tu."
formances at this theatre were honoured last evenilio oci
the presence of their Royal Highnesses the Prince 3130
Princess of Wales, who were accompanied by her r
Highness the Princess Hohenlohe, the Hon. Mrs. Stca3°
and Colonel Keppel.
THE NEW ROYAL APPOINTAIENTS.—Major-Gei;
Sir Thomas Myddleton Biddulph, K.C.8.,
been appointed one of the keepers of her Majesty's -1' fair'
Purse, in the room of Colonel the Hon. Sir Charles 70...
mont, was formerly connected with the 54th or West 0.
folk Regiment of Foot. He was created K.C.B. 'ocl
He has been for some time Master of the llousehold,„.00,
Extra Equerry to the Queen. Lieut.-General the
Charles Grey, who is associated with him in the 013,..1re"-yr,
ship of the Privy Purse, is the brother of the Barl ..,ed 0
and heir presumptive to the earldom. He was niexrciissvie
1836 to the eldest daughter of the late Sir ThotaaS thor
Farquhar, Bart. He was private secretary to bis toicl
the late Earl Grey, when First Lord of the Treasurll37 0
had a seat in the House of Commons from 1831 to 18e be'
member for High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.lle toe
came a major-general in the army in 1854. For aor
ta
he was private secretary to the late Prince Consr. ;co
jor-General Sir John Clayton Cowell, K.C.R.,.wh° eon'
Sir T. V. Biddulph in the royal household, has b.ee.0.13.
netted with the Royal Engineers. He received h
last year.
e
GALLANT CONDUCT.--Yesterday, at the
0, el 906
ralty Court, Dr. Lushington awarded one-third
lved
to a number of men who put off in luggers and vessel
Government and other stores to that amount in
.Pcoo,
called the Venus, which was on her voyage to
groat
risx of
and saved the crow and passengers, at the
their lives. be coo"
Our facetious contemporary, Fun, rosy
d it
gratulated now, not only upon the secure
sta:es it
really
yo-day (N°. ueolll-
brilliant su_c
_f th°
hashas taken,ac h
iev ebdu. t
Its
nn the
u mber of
New Series) completes its First Volume ana_
mences its Second.—with 'Tom Hood as its ..40..°1..,be,
with Bruton and other cOngenialaiiicl
pencil as its illustrators, with the Brothers P
Chair
irli-
as its engravers, aud with a thrung of capitaleditoria_
cal contributors clustered about the their
shooting the folly of the hour as. it fllcs with
flying goon-quills,