The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-05 00:00:00

SUMMARY OF THE CHARACTER OF HENRY THE THIRD.

Thus ends the history of a king who left behina him no
love for his virtues, nor hatred for his crimes. He was an
amiable, religious, man; of elegant tastes; but weak, va-
cillating, and indolent. In order to be left to the quiet en-
joyment of his favourite tastes and occupations, he was
only too willing to make promises, which were no sooner
mane than he found reason to break them. He had not
sufficient strength of mind to remain firm to his plighted
word. His reign will, however, remain memorable, so long
as our constitutional government stands, as having been
the time when its foundations were first securely laid.
In narrating the events of this reign, I have been con
stantly obliged to remark on the weak and blamable points
in the king's character ; but it would be unjust to his
memory, were I not also to paint out his redeeming good
qualities. Unfortunately, however, these were more suited
to the adornment of a private station, than to shed lustre on
the character of a king. He was pure in his domestic life,
and of strong religious feelings ; and be had a great love
for, and was a great patron of, art. " Henry. did more to
advance the progress of art than any English sovereign
anterior to Edward the Third." He rebuilt Westminster
Abbey from its foundation ; he decorated and ornamented
Windsor Castle, which was said, by a contemporary writer,
to be the most magnificent palace in Europe; and he "re-
paired, or rebuilt, most of the numerous manor-houses be-
longing to the crown; besides contributing largely to the
improvement of parish churches in all parts of the king-
dom." He brought to England many Italian artists ; and
his taste for the fine arts must have been one of the sources
of that profuse expenditure, which often involved ,him in
difficulties. His social qualities were also great, and he
displayed them, not only in his liberal entertainments to
his great men at home, but in his splendid festivities abroad
when he visited France.

Here also is Mr. Longman's mention of the more
remarkable persons who were the counterpoises of
the same Sovereign :

REMARKABLE PERSONS IN HENRY'S REIGN.

In Henry's reign, the English language was still con-
fined to the daily intercourse of life, and was not adopted
in written books. But there were several writers, who,
although they used the Latin tongue, have shed a lustre
on this reign. The name of Roger Bacon is the first that
presents itself. His learning extended over almost every
branch of human knowledge. He is called an astrologer
and an alchemist ; but he was really a deep student of na.•
ture, whose mysteries he skilfully unravelled. He not
only understood the laws of light, but he conceived the idea
of a telescope, and made some advances towards an explana-
tion of the phenomenon of the rainbow. He knew the
effects and composition of gunpowder, and was well ac-
quainted with many branches of what is now called Natural
Philosophy. The historians of the time next claim our
notice, and the chief of these were monks. There was
Matthew Paris a Benedictine monk of the monastery of
St. Alban's, William Rishanger, another monk of the same
abbey, and Roger of Wendover, s ho was originally a monk
of St. Alban's.
These are the principal writers whose names deserve
mention; but there is another well known Englishman, to
whom I have already referred, and without an account of
whom the history of this reign would be very imperfect. I
refer to Robin Hood.

The peroration of the lecture is a general tribute to,
we might almost venture to term it an earnest
panegyric upon, England's darling Freebooter !
Mentioning Robin Hood, Mr. Longman does not
forget to mention also jolly Friar Tuck, stalwart
Little John, and little Much-the-Miller with his
Lincoln-clad " merry mon all" of the greenwoods.

Routledge's Illustrated Natural History. Parts
- _

25 and 26:

Part 25 not having come to hand until the middle
of last month we were unable to notice it with the
other periodicals, but as it treats of some of the
domestic favourites of many of our country readers,
we give the following extract, showing the extra-
ordinary sagacity of the raven. That dogs have
been known to hunt in company is familiar to all,
but the partnership of do:-.; and bird, and also of
cat, raven, and co., is something unusual. We hr,.ve
not space to give all these anecdotes, bu'i, we quote
one as a type of the rest :
" One of these birds struck up a great fries 'or a
to ri,r dog belonging to the landlord of an inn, wid outr e
his friendship so far as to accompany his ally in lio le haat-
lug expeditious. In these affairs the two comrades us.
kill an astonishing number of hares, rabbits, and other
game, each taking his own share of the work. As soon as
they Came tc a covert, the raven would station binuelf