The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-04 00:00:00

The Journal of Agriculture.

This magazine commences with a very interest-
ing article on the " Condition of the Agricultural
Labourer," in which the writer, after showing the
changes which have taken place in the social posi-
tion of our peasantry, as they have gradually de-
scended to their present condition,, he goes back
100 years, taking one particular property as an ex-
ample, and shows that all:the changes that have
taken place on it from that time to the present have
been to the disadvantage of the farm labourer.
Robert Scott Burn furnishes an account of a rail-
way ride through Belgium, Holland, and on the
Rhine, describing the agriculture of the various
districts he passed through. In a chapter on
c, Horses, Ancient and Modern," the fitness of horse
flesh for human food is strongly recommended ; and
those who are sceptical on this subject are informed
that they unconciously devour equine flesh in
Bologna sausages, and that the fine Russian Ox
tongues so much admired by epicures are in reality
the tongues of horses. Farther on the writer
inquires how it is that the French, who excel us in
dancing, walking, and fencing, are the worst riders
in the world. There is a chapter on French agri-
culture, as also one on the modern system of agri-
culture. Mr. Cowan furnishes a paper on the
drainage of sheep farms, and the general agrkul,
tural information of the season, together with other
matters interesting to farmers, completes the
number.

The Quarterly Review.
This number has derived much deserved celebrity
from the admirable manner in which the article on
will
" Essays and Reviews" is written. It be
found by those who attentively peruse it, that
It is written in a fair spirit, consistent with a
Oust appreciation of the question of which it treats.
The authors of this work expressed their
hope that " it would be received as an attempt to
• religious
the advantage desirable to the cause of
_el.lgious.and moral truth, from a free handling in
~..becoming spirit of subjects peculiarly liable to
suffer by the repetition o conventional language,

and from traditional methods of treatment." In
pursuing this plan they have gone far to undermine
the very foundations on which the Christian reli-
gion rests, and to ignore entirely the doctrine of
faith ; all with them must be material, and depend
for its veracity and vitality on its agreements and
accordance with the sense of man, and the consis-
tency of its tenets, with the approval of the intel-
lectual and skilled ones of all times. It is truly
observed here,- that what, these critics term the
"terrifying faculty" must belong to the most highly
developed intellect of the age. What is to become
of people who are below this mark, gifted with less
than the highest natural power, of the highest cul-
tivation. Is not the tendency of this story to sub-
ject mankind to a sort of intellectual hierarchy P"
The keystone of this theory is admirably described
in these words,—" Instead of subjecting man as to
his fate and duty to an external revelation, he sub-
jects the revelation itself to man's consciousness;
the idea of this " verifying faculty," this power of
each man of settling what is and what is not true
in the Inspired Record, is the Idea of the whole
volume—the connecting link between all its
writers," In commenting upon the wide-spread evils
so likely to ensue from the dissemination of such
dangerous doctrines as these here set forth, the
writer of this excellent article observes, " We have
felt bound to express our conviction that holding
their views they cannot consistently with moral
honesty maintain their posts as clergymen of the
Established Church." It is most satisfactory to
nu et with so powerful an exponent of the vital
truths assailed, and so eloquent an advocate for the
Divine Word which is assailed by those who should
stand forth as its champions and guardians. Who-
ever is of a weak and undecided turn of mind, and
has curiosity and interest to induce them to read
the " Essays and Reviews" should, as a counter-
piece, peruse this clear and comprehensive view of
these dangerous opinions. The moderate tone which
pervades its pages adds weight to its arguments
and enhances its merits. This is not a party ques-
tion, or one that is exclusively the appanage of one
sect or creed to defend or take up, but it is of that
peculiar nature and übiquitous import, that all of
any Christian belief may well unite against the
inroads of such an intruder into the sanctuary of
their faith. This article is one of the best that has
appeared on a subject so difficult to handle, and it
may be considered a perfect success. A pleasing
paper is that on "Dogs of History and Romance."
The numerous class who admire that animal will be
pleased to peruse so entertaining a record of their
canine favourites, and may prove to those who
sneer at their partiality that they are an illustrious
company, as many of the most renowned ones of past
days have been celebrated tor their devotion to dogs.
Sir Walter Scott was much attached to them, and
he was also peculiarly happy in his illustrations of
them in his works. "Every shade of canine feel-
ing, every development of canine nature may be
studied in the pages of Sir Walter. Whenever, in
the words of Mr. Adolphus, it is possible for a dog
in any way to contribute to the effect of a scene,
we find there the very dog that was required
in his proper place and attitude." Happily,
we are not left in ignorance of the names
or the natures of the dogs which attended
their master in his wanderings by Tweedside or
on Yarrow. Camp, whose death Sir Walter
lamented as that of a friend, and the giant Mudie,
who " sleeps soundly at his master's door," will
remain in kindly connection with the greatest
name in modern literature so long as literature
itself shall last. " It is, in fact, the gentlest nature,
such an union of gentleness with high independ-
ence and perfect courage as distinguished Sir
Walter, the very perfect, gentle knight, which will
most thoroughly appreciate the noble qualities of
the dog, and to which the dog in turn will be most
ready to attach himself." "1 he History and Pro-
spects of the Iron Trade" form the subject of an in-
teresting paper, in which an outline of the rise and
progress of the manufacture is given in a succinct
and popular form. As is too often the case, the
great benefactors of the trade were the least
rewarded. Every one knows the national ingrati-
tude which left unnoticed the brilliant invention of
Mr. Cort, and the tardy subscription which in these
days is being raised for his indigent family. Yet
the writer before us states that, " Mr. Cort's dis-
covery was of such value and importance that it
has given to this country to command the markets
of the world." A predecessor of Mr. Cort was no
more fortunate, "It is not known with accuracy
when the first experiments to use coal were
made, or how far they were carried; but Dud-
ley, in the early part of the 17th cen-
tury, is the first who so far succeeded
in the attempt as to be entitled to the
merit of discovery." Two difficulties had
up to that period prevented the application of coal
to the smelting of iron. A greater power of blast
than any of the machinery of those days possessed
was required to produce the necessary intensity of
heat in coal ; and no means had been found to
secure the expulsion from the coal of the sulphur
which is injurious to the manufaeture of iron. Yet
though Dudley was the first to subdue these obsta-
cles in the way of au Important trade, the usual
fate of inventors and improvers attended him, and
he " lived unrewarded and died brokenhearted."
" We do not remember," says the writer of the ar-
ticle before us, " another instance of a discovery so
nearly brought to perfection, and so long allowed
to sleep in oblivion." The application of steam to
mechanical purposes soon produced a wonderful de-
velopment of the iron trade, and successive inven-
tions and improvements have been the result of the
energy and enterprise called into action. It is curi-
ous, however, that according to the statements before
us these improvements are only shown in the in-
crease of quantity and diminution of cost, not in the
quality of the article produced. The specimens of
ancient and medival iron and steel which have
come down to us have been of first-rate quality ;
and the holiday making manufacturer who takes
an excursion trip to London will see in the iron
railings of St. Paul's, which were cast in Lamber-
hurst, in Kent, two centuries ago, a specimen of
iron which might certainly be made in the present
day, but which it would puzzle his ingenuity to
procure." The increase of the trade is, however,
marvellous since the manufacture of iron, which on
the introduction of steam suddenly rose to 60,000
tons, will it is supposed in the present year reach
nearLy 4,000,000 tons. Many interesting particulars
are given, the influence of the French treaty, the
cause of the present depression in the trade and the
best means to be employed by Government to secure
an efficient supply of first-rate iron are considered.
Mr. Motley's valuable history of the United Nether-
lands receives a careful criticism. The American
historian for these additional volumes brings down
his narrative to the destruction of the Armada, on
which subject it is gratifying to find that he speaks
with genuine English fervour and goodwill. The
critic awards the usual share of approval and admi-
ration to one who, even more than the lamented
Prescott, deserves to be styled the American
Macaulay. Like our English historian, too, he is
accused of being somewhat partial to his hero,
William of Orange, and even undue severity towards
Philip 11. In both these particulars he is certainly
likely to have a good many adherents, although
we must not let our detestation of his relentless
bigotry induce us to consider Philip as altogether
contemptible. He was an insignificant opponent,
as his enemies proved, but although wanting his fa-
ther's abilities, both in the camp and the cabinet,
the influence of his intrigues was felt throughout
Europe. His tenacity of purpose and devotion to
a principle, however mistaken, certainly deserve to
be weighed in his favour, though his dark designs
and wholesale massacres can claim but little sym-
pathy from English or American readers. Those
who have not met with Mr. Matlay's work will
find in the article before us a graphic and well
written summary of the great events it describes.

Orley Farm. By Anthony Trollops. Chapman

and Hall.

In this new serial the gentlemen of the long robe
are destined to figure prominently. At least we
are informed in the first page that if we please we
may alter the name to "The Great Orley Farm
Case." Part the first is of course devoted to the
introduction of the principal characters, and to en-
lightening the reader regarding the events which
preceded the epoch at which the tale begins. An
old gentleman named Sir Joseph Mason, who had
made his own fortune in mercantile pursuits, re-
tired from business and purchased an extensive
property in Yorkshire. He died, and bequeathed
the greater portion of it to his eldest son, but Orley
Farm he left to the offspring of his second mar-
riage, an infant at the time of his father's death.
The elder brother disputed the will, having ex-
pected from what old Sir Jossph had told him that
the entire property would go to him. Legal pro-
ceedings were instituted, but the result went in
favour of the yourger son, and the matter was sup-
posed to be set at rest for ever. The widow of the
late Sir Joseph, acting as guardiun to her son, re-
mained in undisturbed possession for some twenty
years, until her son, having come of age, entered
into his property. A certain Sir Peregrine Orme,
who resided in the neighbourhood of Orley Farm,
had a grandson about the same age as young
Lucius Mason, but of very different character, for
at the time that Lucius Mason was studying the
abstract doctrines of philology at a German univer-
sity, the hopeful heir of Sir Peregrine Orme was
devoting all his energies to the destruction of rats.
In short, while the one was preparing himself in
wild theories which were destined to work his
ruin hereafter, the other was expending his sub-
stance in the gentlemanly amusement of ratting
At the period 'when the tale commences, young
I Peregrine had returned from Oxford, from which
Iseat of learning he had been banished for certain