The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDA EVENING, JANUARY 19 1857

CHARLES MACKAY'S NEW POEMS.

MARKET NEWS.— ( 'nis lay )

Under Green Leaves. By Charles Mackay. G.
Routledge and Company.
Another volume of verse Isy Charles Mackay—
another collection of those graceful fugitive pieces
which have made his name so pleasantly familiar to
us all. Who will not welcome this little book with
all imaginable cordiality and cheerfulness ? And
none the less cheerfully, and none the less cordially,
because of that strange rumour just now beginning
to be whispered about in literary circles, to the effect
that the writer of these Charming lyrics, the poet
of "Egeria" and the " Salamandrine," meditates
venturing very soon upon a lecturing tour through
the United States of America, in the footsteps of
W. M. Thackeray. Whenever Charles Mackay
may venture across the Atlantic upon this new
enterprise, he may count upon carrying with him
the good-wishes and God-speed of many a warm
heart left behind him in old Eugland. And none
the less securely, " we guess," may he " calculate"
upon securing to himself a most genial reception
at the hands of brother Jonathan--with whom his
many brilliant, and some of them glorious, " Songs"
are, if possible, more popular even than among
ourselves. His " Ballads," his Lyrics," his " Voices
from the Crowd," his " Voices from the Moun-
tain," in fact, every one of his miscellaneous poetical
productions having contributed fragments of me-
lody long since ringing familiarly like " household
words" under the roof beams of that vast scattered
family, whose mother-tongue is no other than our
grand, old, composite, nervous, manly Anglo-
Saxon language. A language echoing like a won-
drous rebeck across the Atlantic in the songs of
Mackay and of Longfellow !
The title selected by our popular songster for his
new poems—{His " Poems'
generally, by the way,
being the theme, we understand, of his projected
Lectures and Readings in the United States}—will
prove alluring enough with the majority of his read-
ers we conjecture : being in every respect, to say the
least of it, sufficiently refreshing I " Under Green
Leaves"—a collection of short poems advisedly
grouped together under that suggestive heading—.
having been every one of them, it is intimated,
composed, literally and actually, " under green
leaves," in the sweet fresh air, among the verdure
of one or otker of the many lovely suburbs clustering
(north, south, east, west) about this groat smoky
Babel of London. Refreshingly welcome then,
say we, must every volume of verse, so called, and
so written, by Charles Mackay, be to every man
who has been "long in city pent," so long pent,
that he pants at last for a breath of fresh air, and
a sight of the green fields, and of the green boughs,
and of the blue open heavens. And here—through
this book—he may see them all, and drink deep
draughts of that same fresh air fragrant with the
perfume of the country—as through an opened
lattice ! Apart, however, from the allurement
visible on the title-page, there is the 'witching charm
of an old old friend from Shakspere in the form of
that little golden scrap of a quotation :
" Under the greenwood tree,
Who loves to lie with me,
And tune his merry note
Unto the sweet bird's throat,
Come hither, come hither, come hither !"
Hearken, however, to our modern songster himself
as he thus " tunes his throat" to " the sweet bird's
note" in such a lyric as the following
TILL ME NO MORE.
Tell me no more amid these silent mountains,
Beneath these green leaves, musical with song,
Lull'd by the whisper of these upland fountains,
The old unvarying tale of guilt and wrong.
Leave me alone one day, with Nature's beauty—
One day—one night—an alien to my care :
The needful rest will nerve nay soul to duty,
And give me strength to struggle and to bear.
If it be true that love is born to sorrow,
That Hope deceives, and Friendship fades away--
Let the sad wisdom slumber till to-morrow,
Nor stand between me and this summer-day.
If I am free to dive in Truth's deep ocean,
I will be free to linger on the shore,
To watch the billows in their wild commotion,
And hear far off their melancholy roar.
Pearls for the diver battling with the billows !
Pearls for his mournful pomp, and lonely pride!—
, For me, this day, a harp upon the willows,
And flowers fresh-gather'd by the water's side.
Or, again, where he thus questions himself in a
sylvan mood of reverie as to the—
FAIREST AND DEAREST.
Who shall be fairest?
Who shall be rarest?
Who shall be first in the songs that we sing ?
She who is kindest,
When Fortune is blindest,
Bearing through winter the blooms of the spring;
Charm of our gladness,
Friend of our sadness,
Angel of Life, when its pleasures take wing !
She shall be fairest,
She shall be rarest,
She shall be first in the songs that we sing 1
Who shall be nearest,
Noblest, and deare3t.
Named but with honour and pride evermore ?
.He, the undaunted,
Whose banne^ is planted
On Glory's high ramparts and battlements hoar;
Fearless of danger,
To falsehood a stranger,
Looking not back while there's Duty before !
He shall be nearest,
He shall be dearest, •
He shall be first in our hearts evermore !
About the finest thing in the whole volume, to our
thinking, is the poem solemnly entitled " Storm
Approaching"—nineteen thrilling and impressive
stanzas, written in a grand and almost awful tone
of mingled warning and exhortation. Here are a
few of these stanzas—the eloquence and passion of
which will be readily recognised
We live in a time of sorrow,
A time of doubt and storm,
When the thunder-clouds hang heavy,
And the air is thick and warm ;
When the far-off lightnings
gather
On the verge of the darkening !Icy,
And the birds of the air, fear-stricken,
To nest and cover fly :
Look up ! ye drowsy people,
There's desolation nigh.

CORN EXCHANGE.

Most of the country markets held on Saturday were but
moderately supplied with wheat, in which only a limited
business was doing, and inferior parcels were rather cheaper.
Barley was in good request, at very full prices. In the
value of other articles very little change took place.

The continental markets have been tolerably firm for all
kinds of produce. The American advices bring a dull sale
for both wheat and flour.

The arrivals of English grain up to our market last week
were but moderate. The imports from abroad were
12,749 qrs of wheat, 12,231 barley, 17,752 oats, 1316 beans,
335 peas, 120 tares, 1,880 linseed, 10,970 rapeseed, 2,303
sundry seeds, 184 sacks and 4,607 barrels of flour.
The supply of English wheat in to-day's market, received
coastwise and by land carriage, was very moderate, yet the
bulk of the samples, considering the prevailing damp wea-
ther, were in fair condition. Selected qualities of both red
and white were, in most instances, disposed of at last Mon-
day's quotations ; but middling and inferior kinds ruled
very dull, and, in some cases, prices were the turn in
favour of buyers. At the close of the market a large por-
tion of the supply was unsold, although factors would have
taken is. to 2s. less money to effect a clearance.

We were well supplied with foreign wheat. Although
the demand ruled extremely inactive, importers were firm
in their demands, and in the few sales effected, last week's
currency was supported.
Floating cargoes of grain realised former terms.

We were well supplied with both English and foreign
barley. The trade was much loss active than last week,
yet prices were well supported, except grinding sorts,
which gave way is per quarter.

There was a dull inquiry for malt, yet prices wero steady.
The show of oats was on the increase, nevertheless, the
oat trade ruled firm at full quotations.
Both beans and peas were in fair supply, and steady re-
quest at fully late rates.

We had a dull trade for flour at barely last week's
prices. Norfolk qualities were offering at is per 2801bs.
less money.

CURRENCY PER IMPERIAL MEASURE.

Wheat—Essex & Kent,
Red .. •• now 535 to 673
Ditto— • .... old —a —a
Ditto, White new 563 74e
Ditt0........ old —s —a
:Norfolk and Lin-
coln, Rod, old —s —3
Ditto new •• 525 G 53
aye—Old •••• •• —e —a,
Now ............ 3ss 425,
Barley—Grinding... 31e 33a
Malting . •• ..•• 36s 383
"Ohevalier•—• . . 42s 528
alt—Snfrolkand Nor-
folk •• .• •• 873 773
Brown 63s 613
Kingston sndWare 76a 78e

Malt—Chevalier .. •• 76s to 79s
Oats Yorkshire and

Lincolntik., Feed 21s 25s
Potato
Youghal !tad Cprk
Black. ... •.• ISs 22

Cork, White ..... 21; 26s
Scotch, Feed •• • . 26s 29s
Beans—Tlck ... ••.• .• 34s 35s
Pigeons .. • 40• 43‘
Peas—Grey ...• ...... 363 393
Maple . ........ • . 40s 41s
...39s 42s
Boilers .........40s 43,
Flour—Town-made... 58s 60s
Suffolk .. ...• •• .. 42s 43s
Stooktn & Diortolk 42s 431

METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.

Very limited supplies of foreign stock arrived in the
port of London last week—the total import being only
1,237 head. In the corresponding week in 1856 we re-
ceived 1,105 ; in 1855, 2,371 ; in 1854, 1,996 ; in 1853,
3,951; in 1852, 1,508; and in 1851, 2,668 head.

IMPORTS INTO LONDON LAST WENN.
From Beasts. Sheep. Lambs. Calves. Pigs
Rotterdam lOl ... 451 ... ... 115 ...
Flarlingen
Antwerp

T0ta1.... 377 ... 644 ... ... 216 ...
The yearly comparison of weekly Imports is as follows :
Beasts. Sheep. Lambs. Calves. Pigs
1856 555 ... 563 ... ... 187 ...
1855 857 ... 1,300 ~. ... 212 ... 2
1854 767 ... 1,007 ... -- ... 197 ... 25
1853 537 ... 2,873 ... - ... 539 ... 5
1852 289 ... 1,631 ... ... 2',8 ...
1851 4lO ... 1,918 ... ... 297 ... 53
There was a very limited show of foreign stock in our
market to-day ; but the arrivals of beasts from our own
grazing districts, as well as from Scotland, were season-
ably good, and a full average quality. Owing, chiefly, to
the mildness of the weather, the beef trade was heavy, and
prices, compared with Monday last, declined fully 2d per
81bs, the extreme value of the best Scots not exceeding 5s
per Slbs.

From Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire, we
received 1,750 Scots and short-horns ; from other parts of
England, 3)0 of various breeds ; from Scotland, 450 Scots,
and from Ireland, 130 oxen.

We had a very limited show of all breeds of sheep, but
their general weight and condition were good. The mut-
ton trade was brisk, at a further advance in the quotations
of 2d per 81bs. The best old Downs realised 5s 6d
per Sibs.

Very few calves were in the market, and the veal trade
ruled brisk, at an improvement in prices of 4d per 81bs.
The best calves were worth 6s per Sibs.
Pigs were in moderate supply, and fair request, at last
week's quotations.

Per Bibs to sink the offal.

a. d. a. d.i
Ulterior Beasts.... 3 4 to 3 61
Second qnality....3 8 4 Ol
Prime large oxen 4 4 4 8i
Prime Scots, dm 5 10 5 I
Enforior Sheep ...4 0 4 4
Second quality ...4 6 4 10'
Prime erse.-wlled.s 0 5 2,
TOTAL SUPPLY.
Boasts .
3heep

s. d. d.
IPrimeSonthdown 5 4 5 6
I..*,rge ergo. calves 4 4 5 6
IPrime small do 6 $ 6 0
;Largo hogs
.Small porkers 4 6 5 2
'Suckling ealveg 23 0 30 0
Quarter old pigs 22 0 28 0
FOREIGN 81/PPL7.
8ea5t5....... . . SOS
Sheep

A statement and comparison of the supplies and prices of fat
stock exhibited and sold in the Groat Metropolitan Cattle
Market, on Monday, Jan. 21, 1856, and this day, Monday,
Jan. 19, 1857.
Per Sibs, to sink the offals.

Jan. 21, 1856.
s. d. s. d. ,
Coarse And inferior beasts 2 10 to 3 0
Second quality ditto ... 3 2 3 61
Prime largo oxen ... 3 8 4 0
Prime Scots, &c „. 4 2 4 6
Coarse and inferior sheep 210 3 2
Second quality ditto ... ... 3 4 3 S
Prime coarse woollod ditto 310 4 2
Primo Southdown ditto 4 4 4 8
Lambs 0 0 0
Largo coarse calves 4 2 410
Prime small ditto i e 5 61
Large hogs 3 8 4 2
Neat small porkers 4 4 5 0
Beasts_ 3,775
Sheep ... 20,330
Calves_ ... 71
g
Pis „, ,„ 460

'Jan.l9, 1857
Is.
d. a. d.
11 4to 3 6
;13 8 4 0
114 4 4 8
15 10 5 0
1,4 0 4 4
114 6 4
5 2
1.5 4 5 6
10 0 0 0
1,4 4 5 6
;5 8 6 0
113 f 4 4
14 6 5 2
4,072
15,420

Kneel down in the dust and ashes
Kneel down, ye high and great.
Who call yourselves the bulwarks

SIIPPLINS ON SALE, Jan. 22, 1855.—Beasts, 3,161 sheep,
21,310 ; calves, 32 ; pigs, 315.
January 23, 1854.—Beasts, 4,513; sheep, 17,249 ; calvep,
61 ; pigs, 243.

Or fathers of the State,
And clear your sleepy vision
From selfishness and scorn,
And mingle with the people,
To learn what they have borne—
Their suffering and their sadness,
Toiling forlorn, forlorn

Awake ! awake ! ye sleepers,
There's danger over all,
When the strong shall be sorely shaken,
WAhennd
ttohweewrseaokn sthhaellhigo il
-ttoopthste wallandin
g
Shall topple at a word,
And the principles of ages
Shall b 3 question'd with the sword,
And the heart's blood of the nations
Like fountains shall be pour'd.
When a fierce and a searchin,, Spirit
Shall stalk o'er the startlaearth,
And make great Thrones the playthings
Of his madness or his mirth ;
When ancient creeds and systems,
In the fury of his breath,
Shall whirl like the leaves of Autumn,
When the north wind belloweth—
And drift away unheeded,
To the deep, deep seas of death.
The first large rain-drops patter,
The low wind moans and sings—
Awake, ere the tempest gather,
Rulers, and priests, and kings !
Ere the thunder-clouds aro open'd,
That wall and flank the sky;
Ere the whirlwind leaves its caverns,
And the shafts of vengeance fly—

Look up ! ye drowsy people,
There's desolation nigh !
Enough, however, in the way of extract. The book
must speak for itself—it tvi/t speak for itself—tor
Charles Mackay's poems ever command an audience
to say the least of them—respectful, observant, and
interested. An audience that will not fail to listen
for a while absorbed—while they hear sung to them
in well-known accents the griefs of "Hornyhand,"
the excuses of " Shackaback," lyrical pieces about
"The Cobbler " and about "The Musician," about
" Cracklethorn " and about " Lullingsvrorth,"
about " Gideon Gray, and " Castle Athelstone."
Flaws there are in these verses, easily distinguish-
able, here and there, as we turn them over casu-
ally—the book being in no respect, of course, that
great world's wonder, "one entire and perfect chry-
solite." Bat we care not in its instance to point
them out—X.le work coming before us in no respect
with any very grandiose pretensions. It is musi-
cal, genial, and unaffected. And, therefore, only
to be thought of in a kindred mood to that in
which Wordsworth called to mind the bed of daf-
fodils moving in the breeze : when he spoke of them
thus tenderly in the mere remembrance—.
" And still my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils !"
And so, too, in a mood as tender and as natural,
and occasionally with the " tears in his voice,"
Charles Mackay--crowning himself with a fresh
bay-wreath—sings to us UNDER GREEN LEAVES 1

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.—Reports of the
deputation of shareholders appointed at the last half-
yearly meeting, held at Bristol in August last, and of
the directors in reply, from which it appears that the
deputation and the directors hold opposite views with
regard to the management of the company's affairs. It
will therefore be the business of the shareholders to
decide the points in dispute at the ensuing half-yearly
meeting. The result of the efforts of the deputation of
shareholders is stated in the following sentence in their
report :—" The committee regret to report the failure of
all their efforts to bring about, in conference with the
directors, any alterations in the constitution of this
board,"

DOCK WARRANTS.

KINGSFORD AND SWINFORD v. MERRY.

MEETING THIS DAY.

This afternoon a meeting of the leading capitali.4s,
bankers, merchants, and traders of the City of London,
convened by the association for promoting the interests
of the traders of the port of London, was held at the
London Tavern, Bishop gate-street, to consider the pre-
sent state of the law with respect to the pledges of goods
as lately laid down in the Court of Exchequer, in the
case of Kingsford and Swinford v. Merry, the particu-
lars of which were so fully stated in Saturday's Sun.
Baron Rothschild, M.P., in the chair. The meeting was
numerously attended. Amongst them were—Alderma❑
Sir J. Duke, M.P., Mr. Crawford, Mr. Crregson, M.P
Mr. John Hall, Mr. Moffatt, M.P., Mr. James Cook,
Mr. Weguelin (Governor of the Bank of England), Mr.
Gasiiott, G. Seovell, A. Hastie, &c.,

The following resolutions were unanimously agreed

That the decision of the Court of Error, in the case of
Kingsford and Swinford v. Merry, appears to this meeting
to involve a principle which is calculated to render the
recognised and well-understood course and practice of
trade insecure and uncertain, and to destroy confidence in
delivery orders, warrants, bills of lading, and other mer-
cantile documents essential to the safe transaction of busi-
ness and development of trade, and that immediate action
for remedying this evil be desirable.
That a committee, consisting of Baron Rothschild,
Messrs. Gassiot, Gregson, Hall, G. Scovell, A. Hastie,
Cowie, James Cook,' Moffatt, Crawford, Hodgson, and
Frances, with power to add to their number, be appointed
to confer with the Government, in the view of procuring,
by legislative enactment, such a full and immediate settle.
ment of the state of the law as shall be calculated to afford
due security to the negotiations of trade, and to protect
tha Lona fide holder of those commercial documents, which,
both by the custem of trade and the necessities of coal-
merue, are recognised as obligatory among merchants.
A committee was then appointed, after which thanks
were voted to the chairman, and the meeting ter. '
minated.