The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-02 00:00:00

returns fully bear witness to that better condition in th
morale of both army and navy. Let us hope that ea() Go-
vernment will persevere in following up their present soli-
citude for the welfare of both services, for the may de-
pend on it that every man whose life "ley preserve in the
army is worth that of two raw recruits, while in the
navy it is an old maxim tl;,at one volunteer
than two " presssed" m'
Besides, when people feel
that their condition. is well cared for they work with a
will and become ',nom attached to the service. There is a
sensible artt4-10 on "The Advantages of Naval Retire'
meat," a. plan which ought to have been instituted IlasuY,,
yea.-..s before. The " United States Artillery and our own
discusses therecent improvements and still making
made
in those terrible engines of war ; but the Yankees seem to
go faster ahead, as usual, than our more practical, but less,
adventurous, inventors. Jonathan must have "a sruashel;
to settle the business. "A few Notes on the History o.
15 better
British Army Costumes" deals with a very general but varied
subject. It commencea with the Highland dress, which
was worn at the beginning of the present century ea
twelve regiments. The tartan adopted by each &Pend'
on the clan of the officer who raised the regiment, or the
locality to which the men belonged. The number of the
regiments who wore the mountain garb has been 'Duel' re-
duced, but several retain the Highland regimentals
martial. o
a dress, of all others, the most picturesque and
the eye. Certainly no sight looks grander or more in;
spiriting than army in full parade, with their varied dres.s
and glittering steel dazzling the eye, while the ear .1
charmed and the rent cheered by the strains of raail.3,l
music. Much as the red line delights the looker on, 6tl'
his eye turns and rests with renewed delight on the
High-
land soldier—
" In the garb of old Gaul, with the fire of old Rome,
From the heath-covered mountains of Scotia they e°'-' ,-;,
and gallantly they carry the banner of victory aloft, w""'"
their bonnets and their tartans flutter proudly in the breer.:,
" Mr. C. F. Reed on Negative Ship" is a philosophicaltdilho
quisition on the incongruity between the real speed °' g
ship and her computed performance, which he attribute
to the elasticity of the water. We think he is right. 11
use, of balloons in war is a subject of great interest,
will be found still more so, if the warlike spirit now ve"r
a lottee
ripe on the Continent really bursts into reality,
very likely to happen from all appearances. The
,1
of balloons has been tried before now in Europe, au„,-,:
cently by our desperate cousins over the Atlantic.
is no question that it affords great advantages to the c° j;
mending general to know the movements going onWh icis
he cannot see, and so enable him to guard certainel' Pirl
threatened, and to form combinations to thwart an eTrZ,
and take up a position in his turn which may decide
fate of the day before his antagonist dreams of the change,
CORNHILL.—" The Claverings" is continued, au,"
the various adventures are continued. Poor
does
Oregar has the " Prince in her hand," but she
not find it very pleasant or profitable. Her takillfi
possession of her estate was a very sorry affairll/11
she is a striking instance of the folly of drivingot
bargains of this kind. As for Harry, his engagement is u
very promising; in his affairs too many had the man V
ment, as we shall doubtless see before long. n The Sle,s
ing Beauty in the Wood" is a very amusing sketch, + 0
forms a variety in the contents. " Armadale" is afTrenegs
ing its completion, and is becoming intensely exciting,ll,
it nears the culminating point. Miss Gwilt's ls
,rog
nearly over, and she will doubtless soon be in safe keliev,
somewhere. " Thought and Language" is a well-wri";
paper, and is worthy of notice. " Old Houses " is a C 11,1;
ing sketch that it is quite delightful to meet with ill
days of new-fangled notions and spick and span new ereel;
tions. It is here said:—" The houses I love to lookouta
on, and the houses I want to describe, have had too ,
past to hope for a future." The description given of 0114
such old place as this is very interesting,•and the gloriBes is
its "beech avenue" are ably pictured. "In CaptivitY':
the title of some verses that are sure to attract attends
as they have been sent by Captain Cameron, so I°,l3l,gat
prisoner in Abyssinia, and some notes appended to w-,A
afford varied information touching the slave trade. a
Strange Story" is certainly a verification of its name'
is especially adapted to the taste of the sensational rea'-r
"The Old Poets on the Deadly Sins" is a curious Parteb;
that nevertheless will repay perusal, and may refresll,.,-
a
i
memory of the reader concerning the nature of the carul;to
sins of humanity. The third part of " The Study of Ce' "cf
Literature," by Matthew Arnold, is here met with''n 0.
furnishes us with a good deal of interesting infertuati,:ir
The writer observes, in conclusion, that "it is in
poetry that the Celtic part in us has left its trace cleafes"
and in all poetry I must follow it before I have done. e,
LONDON SOCIETY.—This periodical as usual 131.
►
sents its readers with a variety of amusing leo;
and they nearly all of them are completed in one
telling, so that there is no great stretch of pat been
required. " Patty's Revenge," which has beri
divided into three parts, is now concluded in a Iren,
P 3
satisfactory manner. Patty improves as the story ri-,
coeds, and shows great sense and spirit in the last trYi
scenes. " second Thoughts" is a peculiar story that d°,3
not preach the merit of constancy. "Mrs. Beauchslit
Little Plans" are ingeniously described, and her failure -5.
last is quite a relief after her absurdities and affectatrig
" Waiting for the Waggon" is a-clever sketch of some
scenes in life's page, and is told in an impressive ula°,tlen
" How Kate Discovered America" is a n
of geographical wonders. "Up and Downpu the Leude-
,..rse,
Streets" carries us back to old days of sport and Pas"l6st
and presents us with many varied scenes and rl'i-for
sketches. "The Merchant Princes of England" has'
this time, an account of the commerce of the Pres4.ead-
"Sulkeries" is a sketch of some addition that ralgh',,ll
visedly be made to domestic architecture, and thus
The
duce to the comfort and order of the establishment. k.ng
London Opera Directors" contains some interes`l-of
sketches, and we meet with an allusion to the cersi°sbo
the "Swedish Nightingale," of whom it is truly ssi:A',,gll
did come and created such an excitement that, alt°9o4
nearly twenty years have elapsed since the APril:,,:rer
when her first notes were heard, the scene is vividly
membered by those who had share in it, and thoser::ol
simply know by hearing of the terrors of a "Jennyolge•
crush." Speaking of the Jenny Lind excitement 3;- "IV
ther, it is said that "it will not be forgotten while
memory of Her Majesty's Theatre endures." 64 014
.111ACMILLAN'S.—Mrs. Norton's story of „nit
Sir Douglas" proceeds with interest certainly,
t'er.
interest of a somewhat unsatisfactory ebar3cii•ch
The young bride is installed in her new abode,l"nalcg
at first appears a Paradise, but presently asstl;eo
a more earthly and ordinary aspect. The chart °. of
introduced are by no means favourable speeinle° ad
humanity, with the exception of the immediate her°,„lt'
ioe
heroine, and as it is easy to foresee a whole conlPlw-vtlS
of misunderstandings and disaappointments the sturfilipg
by no means a cheerful one. The other tale now run w 0
on from month to month, " Cradock Nowell," 111-,,
00c1
several important strides in this number. There is Moll
deal of exaggeration and affectation in the style, modest
interferes with the effect, but it is not deficient in iucl the
or animation. We are not only told the secret e'd, 0,4
murderer, but of the murder ; the motive for the clse Ale
well as the actual culprit. Meanwhile, poor Cradock, 13" ig
has been packed off to the southern seas for his coal ;at
left behind on a desert island, apparently to get b% go
~of the way until the real truth is made clear. We /°.ssir
account of the "Education of Englishwomen in the f
teenth Century," which gives a very impressive list c), esS
atatinments of our early English maidens. The slora
which attended Sir Thomas More's experiments al°
strong encouragement to the advocates of a nor° "aOO
education for our girls. A letter from Lady Duff-Geries' o
will be welcome to those who are familiar with her 019
sant volume, even though it is tinged with the melsu'vees
which generally accompanies ill-health. The grie/ad so
of the poor people round her are as great as ever,
unjust. " The Camp in Canada" is an article which...l3o
be read with some interest at the present time,
colonial affairs are exciting so much attention.

M.P.'S AND VOLUNTEERING.—At the 311131;
meeting of the Edinburgh and Midlothian Rifle Assoctijitt'
held on Tuesday, the hon. secretary, Mr. Gow, ltrtlr
ing the donations and prizes he had received for the `"
coming meeting in June, read letters from the eit°
bers (the Lord-Advocate and Mr. M'Laren), in reP111;0
request that they should contribute to a city n'elllA iftig
prize. From the Lord-Advocate the answer receive",,Cie"
that he would be happy to meet the wishes of the i'sst' de'
tion on being informed in what shape it was though" op
sirable the prizes should be given. From Mr.
M'Laren the following was the reply received ha
leave to state, in answer to your request, that when er,
the honour to be elected there was no other prounSt,'"
pressed or implied, exacted from me than that s'nerel
attend to my duties in Parliament to promote the Vi3o3
interests of the community to the best of my ability
this promise I have endeavoured to perform, never 11110eto
been absent, except one day, since Parliament ftrs'd, ,
and that absence was to attend the funeral of a frief,TlDel!
entirely disapprove of constituents asking, or a'," OP
giving, subscriptions for local objects in the towns
e
they represent, in their character of members, ancll)pr
it has had a most prejudicial effect in many towns
-
land, as evinced by recent investigations in Parl'f seV
With these feelings, my present intention is never 'c'f citl
scribe one shilling for any purpose in my character ° tog
member, but to do my duty as a private citizen resPecol
all subscriptions, as I have hitherto done, in eneU
and manner as I may voluntarily think right.-1
your very obedient servant, D. M'lJAiort." rrc'edto
Christison, captain of the University Company, ri'°'.or f the
tLe letters be published as part of the transactions conedmeeting. The chairman (Sir J. Gardiner Baird)°°l3,oling
in the proposal. He said he should be sorry to do 3°),„til)litl
to infringe on the strict integrity of Mr. 3/PLaren'e fop 11°
character, and make him fancy that any contribatioperS
made to this association should act as a bribe to 01°yep
to support him at the next election, which otherwiseto fsll
might not be inclined to do; awl, as they had n°W,,,, ero°
back on his benevolence as a private individual, m-ipfio:
sorry to say that hitherto they had seen no sillerwes
from that source. (A laugh.) He did not think,iiiii,oo°
very unconstitutional thing to ask members of 1-'4
to help a public institution of this kind. (Hear.)