The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-01 00:00:00

'THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING,. JANUARY 1, 1861.

to read LADISLAUS TELEKY for JOHN HAROLD

on a pass port. Yet this stupid, insane State choose

to do so. She choose, that is, to perpetrate in the
face of ei: vilised Europe an offence, the meanness
of which never be forgotten; and, she being

the pe'wer -which was able to compel—the tempter
to NO iom Saxony dare not say nay—the abasement

of Faxony is equally, and even more, the abasement

of Austria. What the depth of that abasement is

may be seen in the admirable language of Lord

PALMERSTOIsi in a case substantially parallel, fully

illustrated by the eloquent pen of M. KOSSUTH

n his letter to 71 e Sun of last night ; "if there

is one rule which more than another has been
observed in modern times by all independent States,

both great and small, of the civilised world, it is the

rule not to deliver up political refugees. The laws

of hospitality, the dictates of humanity, the general
feelings of mankind, forbid such surrenders ; and

any independent Government which by its own free
will were to make such a surrender would deservedly

and universally be stigmatised as degraded and dis-

honoured."
There was in the affair, it seems, something of
the Chinese kidnapping under false assurances, for
which we have just burnt to the ground at Pekin
some £2,000,000 of imperial property. The Saxon
commissary of police gave the Count a solemn promise
that, in the event of his confessing that he was not
the person named JOHN HAROLD in the passport,
DO harm should come to him., No sooner, however,
had he made the admission, Olen the Saxon officers
—who must have studied well in the Jesuit school
of Hapsburgism—laid violenthands on him ! Had
he, at the request of the quaking statesmen of
Vienna, simply removed the noble Hungarian to
the nearest really independent State, we might
have held all parties excused— Austria on account
of her fright, and Saxony on account of her subjec-
tion. But no; the Saxon officials must needs show
how well they had been taught to regard themselves
as the police equally of Austria. Well did they
approve their zeal in what is pronounced by the
highest authority impossible—the service of two
masters. We misrepresent, however; it was the
service of but one master—the Saxon Government
was but an upper servant of the one master, Aus-
tria. The English resident Minister, it appears,
immediately protested—many of the Saxons them-
selves did the same—but Baron BEUST, the Minister
President of Saxony, is, it seems, a complete crea-
ture of Austria, and ready, like his immediate Sove-
reign, to work telegraphs, railroads, police,dungeons'
and everything in her service. Austro-Saxons
were, however, a little disappointed ; they had some
hope, at first, that they had laid hands on ALEX-
ANDER TELEKY, a military man, who may be of
some use in a new Hungarian campaign ; he fought
in 1848 in Hungary; in 1859 with the Piedmon-
tese against the Austrians ; and again with GARI-
BALDI; it would have been something to have shut
up in prison even one efficient Hungarian officer.
Their luck was not, however, so great ; they caught
only a civilian—one indeed of great eminence and
influence, and whose only crime—quite enough to
incur a sentence of death from an Austrian court-
martial in 1848—was that he had been his country's
representative at Paris during the Revolution.
Austria, however, soon found that, degrade her-
self as much as she pleased, it would not be
tolerated by some, at least, of the Great Powers,
that she should injure, in defiance of all the laws of
modern civilisation, a noble patriot, whose merely
nominal offence was committed eleven years ago.
The French Press was soon instructed to do its
duty, and did it indignantly. Louis NAPOLEON
knows what the position of a refugee is—he has
never shown any insensibility to the rights of poli-
tical refugees—rather the contrary. We can
indeed little doubt that he felt almost personally
insulted by seeing a distinguished refugee delivered
up under a treaty for the extradition of criminals ;
and perhaps the very significant remonstrance
which Austria got from him had as much as any-
thing to do with the speedy release of the prisoner.
Lord JoHN RUSSELL, we may be sure, even in
addressing Austria, would use language not less
worthy of his country than the noble words of
Lord PALMERSTON which we have just quoted.
Indeed, from every quarter but Russia, she could
have heard but one language—that of warning her
not to persist in so gross a blunder.
But what are we to think of the incurable
stupidity of a Government which, at the very
moment when conciliation of Hungary is of vital
importance to the integrity of the empire, could
thus seize by the meanest treachery env of her
noblest sons, and one who had just been elected by
the Comitat of Pesth as their delegate ? And
again how stupid—we can find no other word so
appropriate—just when Austria needs, if ever she
did, a character in the face of Europe, to perpetrate
a deed which must degrade her not only
with free Governments, but even with
those who do not openly condemn her. Is
it really, the prius dementat, which is the precursor
of the final judgment of Heaven ? No earthly
advantage is conceivable from the step. Even
assume, what no one believes, that it was intended
to make a subsequent show of magnanimity by
releasing the Count, the prior baseness would de-
stroy every portion of magnanimity. Were even
the release not due to the danger of provoking
Hungary to insurrection, and to the remonstrance
of other courts, yet what magnanimity could there be
in liberating a man captured by the very reverse of
magnanimity ? More than anything of late must
we view this act as showing Austria to be a
doomed incurable. Nothing can save ber. A
Government that could do what she has just done,
can never be trusted any more by her nationalities.
Hungary, especially, will see that Austrian resent-
ments cannot be mitigated by time—that she will
gratify them at the cost of the lowest baseness, and
more than ever will the Magyars demand such
guarantees as Austria cannot violate.

BIDEFORD, NEW YEAR'S EVE, 1860.

TO ELIZA COOK.
This morning, on my garden gato,

I heard a robin sing
As merry as a linnet in
The sweet and bonny spring ;
And I felt how he had suffer'd

For the last week or two ;
Yet he had liv'd to sing again,
And so I thought may you.

It often wrings my tender soul
'When trilling o'er your lays,
' To think that nature's darling child
Must shun her sunny ways.
While the sweet touch that woke her lyre
Is still as bravo and true,
As when it struck " The Englishman"
"Not as I used to do."

And then I fear at times that I
May live to know the doom
Of being coop'd within the walls
Of pale affliction's room.
And when I dwell on that dark thought
I weep heart-tears for you;
God save me from that sad refrain,
" Not as I used to do 1"

Yet, dearest friend, why should I dip
My pen in briny tears,
And fill my letter full of sighs
Instead of smiles and cheers.
The sorrows of last year are gone,
Kay joy come with the new,
And glory stream upon your path
Just as it used to do.
EDWARD CArEnN.

Creditors of the Australasian Land and Emigra-
tion Company (Limited) are required to prove their claims
in the Court of Bankruptcy on the 9th January.

The delay in the arrival of the later and anxiously
expected advices from New York is explained by the severe

character of the weather in the Atlantic, as experienced by
the steamers which have just come over.

A dense fog spread over Southampton Water and
the Solent yesterday, and the mail packets Seine, Ceylon,

and Tagus could not come into the Southampton dock in
consequence, although they reached the Needles early in
the day. Steam tugs were sent in search of them to bring in
their mails, and had great difficulty in finding the vessels.

THE MURDER BY DROWNING IN THE RIVER
CLYDE.—In this case, on Saturday, at the Glasgow Circuit
Court, John"MTadyen was found guilty by the jury of the

murder of the child Alexander Shields. His counsel craved

a verdict of insanity. The prisoner was condemned to
death at Glasgow on the 19th inst., but it is expected the
sentence will be remitted on the ground -f imbecility.
DEATHS FROM STARVATION AND COLD.—Yester-
day Mr. Humphreys, the coroner, held three inquests, at

each of which a verdict was returned that death was caused

by destitution, starvation, and cold.

WATCH NIGHT.—Not only in all the Wesleyan
chapels, but in many of the metropolitan churches, were
religious services performed until a few minutes before
twelve o'clock. The now year was received in silent
prayer, and, after a hymn had been sung, the congregation
separated.
COVENTRY DISTRESS.—The Rev. Canon Miller
has issued an urgent appeal to his parishioners of St. Mar-
tin's, Birmingham, on behalf of the destitute and starving

artisans of Coventry and their families. A palish meeting

with the same object is to be held to -morrow.
THE PRINCE CONSORT IN CAMBRIDGE.--Cam-
bridge was honoured with a visit by his Royal Highness
the Prince Consort yesterday, the ostensible object being
the inspection of Madingley-hall, and the preparations
making thereat for the reception of his Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales.

lIETTON COLLIERY. EXPLOSION.—The
Hetton Coal Company have undertaken to provide for the
families of those who were left destitute by the late explo-
sion in one of their collieries. Mr. Nicholas Wood, one of
the partners of the company, said it wap at first the inten-
tion of the proprietors to subscribe £l,OOO to a fund for the
relief of the afflicted ; but the owners of the colliery sub-
sequently determined to extend their reinificence by pro-
viding for the widows and children, the former for life or
till re-marriage, the latter till they were able to provide for
themselves,
A NEW WAR IN PARTRY.—Under this heading
a correspondent of the Morning News at Ballinrobe an-
nounces that Lord Plunket was in attendance at sessions

in that town on Friday last, "on a process of ejectment
agarrinnsEt solirmeEA7HEetchnes
loNn hiisßpErLoApeNrrsty.llOur frost and
snow have disappeared completely under the influence of a
rapid thaw, which set in on Friday night, accompanied by
a strong breeze from the south-east, which on Saturday
night grew into a perfect hurricane. Some damage to
shipping along the east coast is reported.
;-,',DUTCH RHENISH RAILWAY.—The receipts for
the fortnight ending Dec. 15 amount to £5,972 145., and for
the corresponding period of last year to £5,421 13s. 2d.,
showing an increase of £551 Os, 10d. in favour of the pre-
sent year.
CAPTURE OF COINERS AT BRADFORD. On
Saturday night Detective Hartley'and Sergeant Sugden and
other officers broke into an apparently unoccupied dwelling
in the locality of Manchester-road, and there found two
young men, named Thomas Williams and Benjamin
Woodhead, engaged in the act of coining base half-crowns
and base florins.
MEDALS FOR THE POPE'S IRISH BRIGADE._
The Morning News has the following announcement:—
"We are enabled to state for the information of the soldiers
of St. Patrick's Battalion, that in a few weeks the medals
ordered by the Roman Government for the late campaign
will be ready for distribution, 12,000 medals are now being
struck off. A small portion have reached Ireland, but none
will be distributed until the entire number for St. Patrick's
inbaatbtaoluiotnaaftortthneigehartiieslVme
osmhaelnitinoffortmhethare mranemgbemeresnot!
Battalion reach this country. Thii will, we understand,
be
eef
for the distribution of these honours."
SURREY GAS CONSUMERS COMPANY.—A special
meeting of this company was held to consider what steps
should be adopted on the expiring of Mr. Croll's lease.
Mr. Croll offered £2,000 a-year, in addition to that which
he now paid, if his lease was renewed. This was objected
to, as it wee thought the company could obtain a better
dividend if they carried on the work themselves. On the
question of profit, Mr. Croll said he had not made £5,000
a-year, but he would not tell the meeting the exact sum.
The proceedings were brought to a close by a committee
bein .appointed to consider the whole subject.
Among the advertisements drawn up for the
temptation of the Parisian public at this present-giving
season, is one of a calculating machine, "able to perform
all the ene) 'ions of arithmetic," for 150 francs. Another
offers " n bat y mecaniqui," and we are told that if we were
to see '!walk and fight, and hear it cry on being put to bed,
we should call it ten petit diablotin.
RAILWAY SIGNALMAN KILLED.—At an early
hour on Saturday morning, an accident, attended with a
fatal result, occurred near the Sudbury Station of the Lon-
don and North-Western Railway. It appears that a
policeman, named John Macnamara, in the service of the
company, was proceeding along the line to the Brent
branch signal-post, to relieve the signalman, who had been
on night duty, when he incautiously ventured between the
metals, by which the 6.15 a.m. train from Euston station
was approaching, and was struck down by the engine and
frightfully injured, the entire train passing over him and
completely severing his legs from his body. The driver
did not observe the dangerous proximity of the unfortunate
man, owing to the obscurity of the atmosphere, until it
was too late to arrest the speed of the train, and when
assistance was rendered life was extinct.
ABOLITION OF FEES TO CORONERS.—To-day
all fees to county coroners will be abolished under the act
of last session, and henceforth they will be paid by salary,
to be fixed by justices in session on an average of the last
five years. In the event of disagreement, the Home Sec-
retary is to determine the amount to be awarded. Every
five years a revision of the salaries may be made.
Thaw has set in in Paris, and has rendered the
streets both unpleasant and dangerous. The snow, which
is only melted on the surface, is extremely slippery, and
many accidents have occurred.
CLOSING OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM.—From
this day to the 7th inst. inclusive the British Museum will
be closed to the public, in accordance with annual usage.
During the recess a strict investigation will be instituted
as to the condition of the books in the reading-room, and
of the works supplied to students from the library of refe-
rence, and the entire collection in those departments will
be compared with the catalogues, in order to ascertain the
precise nature of the dilapidations the volumes may have
sustained. The recent wanton abstraction of some valuable
maps of the Chinese Empire from a folio atlas has induced
the trustees of the national collection to order every pre-
caution to be taken to obviate the recurrence of so disgrace-
ful a transaction.
CO OPERATION IN ROSSENDALE.—We (Bury
Times) are told that the Rawtenstall Manufacturing Com-
pany are endeavouring to treat with Richard Ashworth,
Esq., for the purchase of his extensive works at Fall Barn,
including the mill, machinery, cottages, &c. Appointed
valuers hare made an examination of the property, and the
estimated value is £70,060. We understand that the con-
cern has been conducted very prosperously.
THE LATE ATTEMPTED MUBDEIt AND ROB-
BERY IN DUBLlN.—Joseph Dwyer, the young man ac-
cused of being the person who attemptedto rob and murder
thecporter Mullholland, in Blackhall-parade, on the even-
in4 of the 27th inst., is now in the hands of the police. He
wail arrested in a back room of the house No. 64, Church-
striiet, between three and four o'clock yesterday evening.
The door of the room in which he was found was unlocked.
On the officers entering and seizing him he submitted
without a struggle.
ACCIDENT AT DEVONPORT.—About 11 o'clock on
Saturday morning last an accident occurred at Devonport.
In consequence of a deficiency of docks in the yards long
enough for the new class of ships lately introduced into the
Royal Navy, there being only one (at Keyham) barely
capable of receiving the Himalaya, Messrs. Kitt and Sou,
contractors, have been converting two docks in the Devon-
port Dockyard, one inside the other, and called the stern
dock, into a new dock, which will be 360 feet long, and of
proportionate depth. The excavations are well forward, the
division between the two docks is no more discernible, and
a large quantity of the worked stone which formedthe sides
of the old docks has been roughly piled up just within the
old tidal gates of the original outer dock, which are kept
closed. On this pile a temporary tramway has been laid,
and on Saturday one of the contractor's drivers was con-
ducting over it a truck laden with a heavy block of granite
for facing the new dock. The dock lies nearly east and
west, opening into Hamoaze, and the driver was going
from south to north. When partly across, the truck got
off the rails, and rolled toward the dock. Seeing the im7
pending danger, the driver, calculating on the strength of
the hot se, which was a powerful animal, thought by putting
his head towards the sea, to save the horse, if not the stone
or the truck. His efforts were, however, unavailable : the
truck with the stone ran over, the horse was pulled with it
by the chains, and the driver held on by the bridle so long
that all were precipitated together. The accident quickly
attracted a thousand spectators, who fully expected to find
both man and horse killed. The horse, which had one of
his fore legs broken, stood on the other three, and yielded
with much docility to the guidance of a stranger, a soldier,
the first person down. The driver stood up ; he could not
speak, but placed one hand on his face, and pointed to it
with the other. His head had been violently dashed
against a block of granite, which broke his jaw; he was at
first conveyed to the dockyard surgery, and then sent to
his home in a cab. The accident is attributed to the
slippery condition of the rails in consequenceof the state of
the weather,

L o ri EsT NEWS.

PARDON OF COUNT TELEKY.
(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)
PARIS, TUESDAY MORNING.

The Moniteur has commenced publishing in
in its non-official part, a daily political review.
That of to-day contains the following :
" The Emperor of Austria has received Count
Teleky, and announced that he would grant to him
a full and complete pardon, on condition of his
conducting himself henceforth as a faithful sub-
ject.

" Count Teleky promised this, and left the Impe-
rial Palace a free man."

The Moniteur also publishes a decree conferring
on General Montauban the Grand Cross of the
Legion of Honour.

VIENNA, JAN. 1.

The official Wiener Zeitung says :—" The Em-
peror having summoned Count Teleky to his pre-
sence, accorded to him the cessation of the pending
proceedings against him, and set him at liberty.
Count Teleky promised to give up all his political
connections abroad, not to cross the frontiers of
the Austrian empire, and to abstain from all parti-
cipation in political affairs."

LIVERPOOL, lAN. 1.

The screw steamship Great Britain, Captain
Gray, from Melbourne, was reported off Voel Nant
at 8 o'clock this morning.

The American ship Golden Star, from Mobile
for Liverpool, has been totally lost on the coast
near Wexford.

The captain, his wife, and servant, and 15 hands
were drowned. The mate and six hands were
saved. The cargo consisted of upwards of 3,700
bales of cotton.

LISBON, DEC. 30.

The Royal Mail steamship Magdalena, which
arrived here this morning from the Brazils, will
leave for Southampton at 2 p.m., with 48 pas-
sengers, and £27,726 in specie.

PARIS, DEC. 31.
Russia has made complaints here on account o
the revolutionary agitation in the Principalities.

Prince Couza has offered to Austria certain
guarantees in reference to the Hungarian refugees.
The report that some governments have recently
taken collective steps at Paris in reference to the
question of Gaeta is without any foundation.

VIENNA, DEC. 31.

The Creditanstalt has given notice that it will
pay the 5 per cent. interest on the 2d January
next.

This notice has had no effect on the money
market.

BOOKS OF THE SEASON.

The Pilgrim's Progress. By John Bunyan. A
New Edition, with a Memoir and Notes. By
George Offor. Illustrated with One Hundred
and Ten Designs by J. D. Watson. Engraved
on Wood by the Brothers Dalziel. Routledge.
Among the numerous elegant books that appear
at this season it is gratifying to meet with so excel-
lent a work as this, and which has become a stan-
dard one in the literature of our country. Artistic
skill and elegant taste have combined to render this
production admirable in its entirety. Those who
peruse this volume will agree in the opinion that
the following hope has been fully realised :—That
veneration for the memory of Bunyan has stimu-
lated the editor's most anxious care to render this
edition a correct fac simile of what the axthor
himself published. The memoir of John Bunyan
is most interesting, and it will afford to many a
clearer insight into the character of that remark-
able man. The strange contrast which his earlier
years presented to his later ones is thus strongly
touched upon :—" The history of mankind does not
furnish so remarkable a memoir as that of the prince
of allegorists. From the most degraded state in
the ranks .of human nature, he was, by Divine
tuition, fitted to become an exalted minister of the
Gospel, a Christian hero, exhibiting that mighty
conquest over sin and death by which the portals
of life are opened to exquisite enjoyment and to
an infinite and eternal extent. It is a
remarkable thing that in this period of
lawlessness two such characters as Milton and
Bunyan should hove existed. It is said that
one was a decided republican, whose sublime poem
of " Paradise Lost" has graced the literature of this
country ; the other as decided a royalist, whose
" Pilgrim's Progress" has been proVed a most im-
portant blessing, not only to this nation, but to the
whole world. The account given of the imprison-
ment of Bunyan is very interesting, and it is worthy
of attention that he wrote the " Pilgrim's Progress"
while in prison ; this was, indeed, finding the way
to lead captivity captive, as is remarked by the
editor in the notes, they imprisoned him
to prevent his preaching to a few believers,
and from that prison by this book he shed a
sacred lustre not only over all Britain, but to the
uttermost ends of the earth.
"For though men keep my outward man •
Within their locks and bars,
Yet, by the faith of Christ, I can
Mount higher than the stars."
The following impressive mention is made of the
effect produced by,this extraordinary work. " Thus
by an irresistible impulse from Heaven upon the
mind of a prisoner, for Christ's sake, did
a light shine forth from the dungeon on
Bedford-bridge which has largely contri-
buted to enlighten the habitable globe.
It has been translated into most of the languages
and dialects of the world. Even the Caffrarian
and Hottentot, the enlightened Greek and Hindoo,
the remnant of the Hebrew, the savage Malay, and
the voluptuous Chinese—all have the wondrous
narrative in their own language." It is unneces-
sary to dwell .at any length on the text of a work
which is well known to all readers at all versed in
general literature. Depreciated because not under-
stood by some, and overrated because of the exag-
gerated ideas of others, this composition in its own
real merits is sure to impress powerfully and to in-
fluence rightly all who at all can read its meaning
and possess the key to its storehouse of inexhaus-
tible riches. Some of the symbols of our faith are
herein pourtrayed to us, and many are often more
struck by an allegory which brings mighty things
more immediately before the eye and sense than
they are by the exact expression of the solemn
truth or the inspired prophecy. The most impor-
tant points in the narrative aro made plain to the
simplest comprehension and intelligible to all but
the wilfully hardened heart and darkened mind.
The progress of the pilgrim from this world to
that which is to come is a theme which is of in-
terest to every individual, and of importance to
every mortal, and that this passage is thorny and
this path is beset with danger none can
deny. Non est ad astra tnollis terris e via
is a truth that all around soon teaches. When we
find Christian in triumph reaching the hill of dif-
ficulty, and lying down to rest in the Chamber of
Peace within the walls of the Palace Beautiful, and
when at last having overcome all obstacles, and
fought in courage his arduous battle, he passes
through the overwhelming floods, and is conducted
by the shining hosts of heaven to the glorious gate
of the Celestial City, does not the reader behold a
picture of the inward peace that passes all under-
standing that must attend the reflections of the
just ;
" What nothing earthly gives or can destroy,
The soul's calm sunshine and the heartfelt joy."
and again does he not see, reflected though it may
be through a glass darkly, a vision of the better life
to come, whose glories are spoken of with reverence,
as the eloquent enthusiast seeks to impart a
glimpse of the dazzling lustre of the shining city
to the benighted pilgrim on a darkened road, and
to the harrassod souls struggling on in despondency
and gloom. This work is now illustrated in a
manner worthy of it, and some of the engravings
ere most admirably executed. Among the best are
the Pilgrims ascending the Last Hill, when the
hosts of heaven came forth to welcome them. The
Valley of the Shadow of Death is a grand sketch,
fled seems to bring before one a vision of an awful
abyss, and which carries out the idea expressed in
the lines beneath it :
" Poor man, where art thou, now thy day is night ;
Good man, be not cast down, thou yet art right ;
The way to Heaven lies by the gates of Bell .
Cheer up, hold out, with thee it shall go well."
Christian climbing the Hill of Difficulty is a very

impressive sketch ; it is a simple subject in itself,
) but most forcibly carried out. Some of the largo
figures are very expressively rendered, as, for
instance, Formalist and Hypocrisy ; this latter is
especially to be noticed. Mr. Worldly Wiseman is
also a good delirleation ; and the representation of
Christian turning back is decidedly a success. The
different expressions in the countenances of Chris-
tian and his degenerate companion are most aptly
given. The sullen bitterness in the recreant man,
who is resolved not to pursue the right road, and
the eager, wistful look of the hopeful Christian,
who is yet distrustful, as he foresees his petitions
will be unheeded—all these are effective in the
extreme. Faithful parting with his relatives is
painfully true, as it exhibits the cold, crafty, cruel.
side of human nature. The sketches of the Palace
Beautiful are very graceful, and there is a touching
expression of humility and grace in the faces of the
handmaids of mercy that dwell there. So many
subjects seem to claim attention that it is difficult
to single out or select any in particular, but the
work is throughout most worthy of minute obser-
vation in the skill displayed in the variety of its
numerous engravings. An illustrated edition to a
grand old work like this is a worthy undertaking
for any artist, and all who admire and appreciate
this masterpiece of allegory will render a tribute of
approval to those who have designed and executed
this ornamental edition. It can hardly fail to be
widely diffused for its subject matter of intrinsic
excellence, as well as its extreme elegance, supe-
riority, and style.

Clever Boys of our Time. By the author of
"Famous Boys," &c. Darton and Co.
This is a most desirable book for the young, and
it is a delightful one for those of all ages to peruse.
It is most interesting to observe how many of
the most distinguished men of our age who belong
indeed to all time, and who in passing away from
this shifting scene, leave behind a fame that passes
not away—a bright remembrance of their earthly
efforts to live on in the proud recollection of their
countrymen when not only themselves but the
generation who admired them have returned
to dust have been self elevated. The very
titles to the chapters in themselves speak
volumes to those who despond or despair
at the idea of rising in life. Hero we have Lord
Macaulay (a trader's son), poet, orator, essayist,
and historian. The attention is taken away
from the last scene which lives in one's
memory concerning him when he was laid to
rest in that sepulchral home, where, as it was said
of some worthy of last century—" Our kings, our
heroes, our poets, and sages were honoured by an
association with his mortal remains" to the quiet
place where he was brought up. There is a shining
witness but just taken away from among us, who
speaks to all in his own life of the power of perse-
verance. Another name that attracts attention is
that of the Right Hon. B. Disraeli, who is described
as a boy in an attorney's office, and now the eminent
statesman. Few men of our day have achieved so
signal a success as the subject of this sketch, and
a success so entirely dependent on his own unaided
exertions. It is said here " that he might fittingly
adopt as his motto Indomitable energy and un-
flagging perseverance.' These were the instruments
of his success—the talisman converting the obscure
student into the formidable debater, the consummate
orator, the world-read author, and the prominent
statesman." After tracing Mr. Disraeli 's eventful
career from his failure in his first speech to the
triumphant results of his Parliamentary toils in
being one of the most exciting debaters, chief of
the Opposition, and finally the Leader of the Hoime,
the writer concludes in this passage the memoir. In
no more appropriate manner could he conclude than
by quotinc, this portion of a speech that Mr. Disraeli
addressed to the youth of Manchester, and which
might equally apply to the youth of any community.
Some short-sighted or supercilious critics may sneer
at these words as being too exciting and enthusi-
astic, but those who know of what stuff heroes are
made will award a different opinion. The follow-
ing extract is worthy of notice :
"We have thus seen how the lawyer's clerk, the
obscure student, by dint of industry and perseverance,
raised himself to the proud position of Chancellor of the
Exchequer of the greatest country on the face of the globe.
It is a spectacle of which the country has just cause to be
proud. And while Napoleon said that every private sol-
dier in his army carried a marshal's baton in his knap-
sack, it may be affirmed with greater truth that every
youth, every young man, every private citizen in Eng-
land, in the exercise of courage, determination, and dili-
gence, may achieve a position of probity, of honour, and it
may be of fame. On this subject we cannot more fittingly
conclude than by quoting the words of Disraeli, addressed
to the members of the Manchester Athenteum I
would address myself to that youth on whom the
hopes of all societies repose and depend. I doubt not
that they feel conscious of the position which, under all
circumstances, at all periods, in every clime and country,
is one with replete with duty. The youth of a nation are
the trustees of posterity; but the youth I address have
duties peculiar to the position which they occupy. This is
their inheritance. They will be called upon to perform
duties—great duties. I, for one, wish, for tkeir sakes, and
for the sake of my country, that they may be performed
greatly. I give to them that council which I have ever
given to youth, and which I believe to be the wisest and
the best ; I tell them to aspire. I believe that the man
who dues not look up will look dews ; and that the spirit
that does not dare to soar is destined perhaps to grovel.
Every individual is entitled to aspire to that position which
he believes his faculties qualify him to occupy.' "
Michael Faraday, England's most eminent chemist,
was the son of a poor blacksmith, a bookbinder's
apprentice. It is said that little did his poor father
think that he would attain to a world-wide cele-
brity, that Prince Albert, even, would think him-
self honoured by presiding at a lecture delivered by
his son. Charles Dickens, " an attorney's clerk, and
now the world-famed author," is described in an
attractive chapter. There is an interesting en-
graving of his dropping his first literary contribu-
tion into an editor's box in a dark oourt in Fleet-
street, this is a suggestive subject of contemplation,
as it was the beginning of his afterwards success-
ful literary career. Richard Cobden is another one
here cited ; he is mentioned as a " farmer's boy,
warehouseman, author, orator, and statesman ; '
although he is unquestionably an over-rated man
in some particulars, he is certainly a distinguished
man in his way, and he has a right to be placed in
a compilation of this sort. William Shaw Lindsay,
a poor friendless orphan, cabin boy, great ship-
owner, and member of Parliament, is introduced
as a sketch ; there is an engraving of his working
his way to Liverpool in an engine-room of the steamer.
It is truly said that " the day of wonders has not
passed, and that we are living among men whose
history is as marvellous as any that the past has
emblazoned in the roll of fame." While this record
of the momentous men of the day contains a bright
incentive to early ambition, it also presents a
warning that none should neglect. There is no
royal road to fame any more than to learning—no
influence or interest. can make a man famous unless
he exerts himself. The young aspirant should
remember that
" The heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight;
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night."
Let the young study this book with attention, and
remember that its occurrences are real, and its
heroes not the fictitious characters of romance and
the imaginary beings of fable, but actual breath.
ing examples. History's living page will here-
after bear witness to the deeds of the men who
figure in these sketches; some have written in
language that will last as long as the English
tongue is spoken, while others have become mixed
up in various ways with striking events of their
day, and will infallibly leave a lasting impress of
their works behind them. This little work will
be a suitable present at this festive season, and from
its skill in arrangement and choice in selection,
it cannot but prove a fruitful source of entertain -
ment and a desirable object for contemplation.

Twelve o'Clock ; a Christmas Story. By the
author of " GrandmOther's Money," &c. Hurst
and Blackett.

This is a real old-fashioned ghost story that will
be most welcome at this time, when it is the custom
to gather round the fire in the twilight hour, or
linger there in midnight converse, and talk of
marvellous and mystical adventures. There are
three tales collected together in this book, and they
are very ingeniously told. The first is the most
striking in its details, and the peculiar circum-
stances that attended the illness of Mr. Woodhurst
are very ably described. It is a dreadful ideii that
there are too many such scenes in real lite as are
enacted here after the marriage of the ill-fated
Viola Clifford with the despicable Bernard
Schreiber. The second story relates the adventures
of a miser. It is not very likely ; but it is in
its allegorical way very adroitly sketched,
and the fact that he met his death in the act of
searching for the object of his idolatry is a solemn
warning to all like him. The desire of money
could hardly attain to a greater pitch when it sent
its devotee to rob the poor-box of a church. The
last story is not so apparent in its meaning, but it
is in its way very well arranged. The wild man.
ner in which Esselton went on could have but one
termination ; and the last passages are most excit-
ing in their intensity of interest. Many will be
very much struck by the thrilling horror of the
apparition of the ghosts, but the tales they relate of
their doings and sufferings in the flesh are far
more really dreadful than the visitants of spirits
who have done with human trouble and put off
mortal-care. The accounts of the trouble that the
poor compiler of these tales met with in his endea-
vours to make them generally known, is ludicrous
in its very melancholy ; all who wish to quit the
actual scene of daily life, and wander for an hour
sp
on the enchanted ground of the in • 't land, would
do well to peruse this volume, in which
the evil that
men do lives after them, as their ghosts were ob-

liged to wander over the earth until they had
found a beneficent mortal. to listen to their doings.
" Twelve o'clock" may take its place among the
ranks of Christnrzs stories, in the confident expec-
tation that it will be a favourite from its variety
of events and vivacity of style, while the mystical
spirit infused into its pages is well kept up, and it
is, what it purposes to be, a genuine ghost story.

Japanese Fragments. By Captain Sherard Osborne,

C.B. Bradbury and Evans.
A reprint of the lively and graphic papers which
appeared under this title in the pages of " Once a
Week," forms a very acceptable Christmas volume.
Captain Sherard Osborne is known as a brilliant
writer as well as an able officer, and a personal
visit to the singular people ho describes, in
addition to his acquaintance with the earlier
writers on the subject, has fully qualified
him for his present undertaking. Although
it professes only to contain fragments of
information, a good deal may be learned from the
little volume before us; and those who were pre-
viously unacquainted with any of the Japanese
peculiarities will be able to gather from its pages
a general idea of the country and its inhabitants,
and the nature of European dealings with them.
Most of our knowledge respecting the internal
history of the country is somewhat superficial and
uncertain, but Captain Osborne has collected the
best of it, and added the information gathered from
his personal experience. He takes a vory favour-
able view of the Japanese character, and notwith-
standing the anomalies which he regrets in their
social system, he does not regard it with disfavour:.
We must not omit to mention the gorgeous illus-
trations by artists of Yedo, which decidedly belong
to the pre-Raphaelite school, and which add greatly
to the entertainment to be derived from this clever
and agreeable little volume.

Homely Hints from the Fireside. By the author of
" Little Things," &c. Edmonston and Douglas.
This is another of those pleasant and practical
little works which offer so much sound and valuable
advice in a homely and unpretending form. " Little
Things," and " Things to be Thought of," have long
since become popular, and now these " Homely
Hints" are added to the series. They are chiefly
addressed to ladies of the middle rank, and they treat
of a class of petty troubles and perplexities which.
present themselves to almost every mind, but which
are seldom thought worthy of a place in works of
advice or instruction. A few of the titles of the
chapters will best afford an idea of its character.
We have hints " On. Worry," " On Sympathy,"
" On Interruptions," " On Offering Advice," " On
Convalescence," " On Needlework," &c., besides
many other subjects of domestic importance. The
opening division, "On Encouragement in Well
Doing," contains much cheering and helpful advice
to those who cannot accomplish as much as they
would. We commend this little volume to those
with whom its predecessors have found favour,
assuring them that without pretentious instruction
they may gather some profitable suggestions from.
these homely " household words."

Holiday Tales. By W. Martin. Darton and Co.,
Holborn-hill.
This is a very delightful little volume for the
young, it is one of the most amusing story-books
that has appeared for some time. In particular
must be mentioned " The Original History of a
Cat and Its Nine Lives," and " M:s.Fiddle-Faddle's
Lady-like Establishment and. the Doings of Gen-
tility." The adventures that befell these young
girls, who had the misfortane to be brought up in
that abode of decorum were most singular. No
one who likes a joke can fail to find e rich fund of
entertainment in these vivacious pages. The ex-
traordinary events that occurred in the life of poor
puss are also very ingeniously related to us, and
one is amazed to behold the feline heroine sailing
down the Thames in a boat and joining in the.
fight between an English and French frigate. The
marvellous good genius that guarded this animal
brought her safely from the depths of a French
prison, where she had been immured, and bore her
exultingiy over the deep again past another hos-
tile vessel till she landed with her brave, daring
protector on the English shores. Throughout this
series of adventures is very lively, and it is brought
before the reader in a brisk and animated manner.
The " Haunted Mill" is a story very different
from the others, and it contains a useful warning to 1
all idle and spendthrift characters. The mill was
the turning point of the tale ; one of the possessors
died in it, another by it, and the third on it, thefourth
retrieved the fortunes of the family, repossessed
himself of the lost property, and through his
.)
industry and intelligence he died mayor of the
town he had entered as a vagrant and outcast.
The " Young Volunteers" is another of those
serio-cornic tales, in which the author of these
light sketches has achieved so signal a success.
Mr. Scrivener was a very worthy man, whom we
are told, " had it been his good fortune to have
died at the completion of his 40th year,would have
obtained and deserved as good an epitaph
as it was possible for a stonemason to
cut for him." He lived, however, to
bbeame mixed up in the affairs of a Volunteer
Corps that was formed in the town, and great
was the confusion that ensued therefrom. There
are various other little tales in this book, which
furnishes a rich treat to all juveniles in search of
amusement, and it may tempt their elder friends
to forego serious: studies for an hour, and smile at
the drollery displayed in the sketches so humor-
ously described. " Holiday Tales" is a right title
for a book thus abounding in fun and frolic, while
occasionally the young reader may obtain a glimpse
of a moral that may serve him in graver hours.

Legends front Fairyland. By Holm° Lee, author
of " Kathie Brande," &c., with eight illustra-
tions. Smith and Elder.

A fairy tale beginning with " once upon a time,"
and ending with "lived happily ever afterwards,"
disarms criticism at this holiday season, especially
when the title-page tells us that it narrates " the
history of Prince Glee and Princess Trill, the
cruel persecutions and condign punishment of
Aunt Spite, the adventures of the great Tuflongbo.
and the story of the Blackcap in the giant's welt..'
All these fascinating promises are fully and fairly
carried out. The valiant Prince Glee and foe
lovely Princess Trill, after fearful risks and hair-
breadth 'stapes and snares, are safely united, de-
spite the machinations of the wicked Aunt, as-
sisted by the evil masksellers, and a band of
malicious fairies. That adventurous traveller, the
great Tufiongbo, relates his marvellous experience
in exploring the countries of the Applepivi and the
Puffraspabi and Alicempagni,to the awe and admira-
tion of Fairyland. We are also introduced to the
Old Woman who lived in the hollow Ash-tree,
and her little maid Idle, who was punished for
her laziness by being captured by the Wicked.
Fairy of the Creeping-plant. The Old Woman was
Court-dressmaker to the fairies, and spun their gos-
samer robes, trimming them with dewdrops and
moonbeams. The story of " The Blackcap" is more
serious, and is something of an allegory; but the
whole volume is beyond very juvenile readers, and.
is
Illsuusittred atetdo
wmiotr adhe
eigvhatnceendglroavveirnsgosf, tahnedfagiorrygeowourslidsr.
bound, it makes its appearance most appropriately
in the midst of the holly and misletoe, and will
probably receive a hearty welcome from a large
circle of young folks in " the Country under the
Sun."

The Horse and its Bider. By Sir Francis B.
Head, Bart. Murray.
After perusing Sir Francis Head's remark,
upon the horse, we are somewhat at a loss to un-
derstand what has been his motive for presenting
them to the public. His observations are, on the
whole sensible enough; but, with a few exceptions,
when he introduces some peculiar idea of his own,
we find it has been expounded by nearly every writer
on equine matters. That he is a bold rider is pretty
clearly expressed, when he talks about galloping
over glaciers as a matter of course. But too many'
portions of the work seem to have been written
with no other object than for the sake of writing;„
He gives us a long description of the mode 131
clipping, shaving, and singeing horses. He eX-
patiates on the barbarity of the proceeding—the
misery of the animal so treated, until he has mulled
the attentive reader to the boiling point of
indig-
nation, and then goes on to state that after all the
horse does not mind it, is in far better health, and
capable of enduring more fatigue
when deprived
of his rough coat than when wearing it. However,
to those who like to have both sides of the question,
and that too from an author who does not explain
his own conviction, this book may prove entertain-
ing. The most sensible remarks to be found are
those relating to shoeing horses during frosty
weather.

Specimens, with
_emoirs of the Less-known British

Poets. 3 ♦ols. Nichol, Edinburgh.
These volumes complete the first division of Mr.
Nichol's admirable series of the British Poets, which
has appeared at regular intervals during the last
eight years. It has included the poetical
.works of
Chaucer, Spenser, Milton, Scott, Cowper, Burns,
Thomson, besides many lesser names, printed in
clear and excellent type, in volumes which form a
handsome addition to the shelves of any library. The
Rev. George Gilfillan contributes a memoir of each
poet, with a critical essay on his works, frequently
containing a good deal of incidental information. A
short period will elapse before the second division
is published, owing to the copyrights of some of the
later poets not having expired, and during that in-
terval Mr. Nichol proposes to re-issue the first
division, with any improyements that may appear