The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-26 00:00:00

THE SUN,, LONDON FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE 26, I 8,7;

LINES LEASED AT FIXED RENTALS.

?SPORTING I NTELLJ EIV C.&

LITERATURE.

;hr I Paid; RAILWAYS.

Leasing
:ompanies

(Nosing Prices
this day.

Business,
this dny

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE RACES.—WEDNESDAY.
• (Additional Particulars.)
Free Handicap of 5 soya each, 3 ft, with 50 added. The
second to resell?, 20 sovs out of the stakes. Winners
ex ra. Three quarters of a mile. 28 subs.,
Mr. J. Scott's Imperieuse, 3 yrs, sst 1111) {Challoner) 1
Mr. Tbomosub's Minnie, 3 yrs, 4it 121b...(W. Little) 2
Mr. W. 11. Brooks's Manganese, 4 yrs, let 101 b
(Bearpark) 3
The following also ran :—Codrington, Plausible,
Breeze, La Victims, Sneeze, Matilda, and Attorney
General.
Betting-5 to 2 each agst Imperieuse and Breeze, 4
to 1 agst Sneeze, 6 to 1 each wzst Manganese, La Vic-
time, Matilda, and Attorney General. Won cleverly
by half a length, a head between the second and third;
good fourth. La Victime was fifth, the Attorney Gene-
ral sixth, and Matilda seventh. Sneeze, Breeze, and
Plausible were the last three.
The Grand Stand Stakes of 5 sovs each, with 50 added ;
for two and three-year-olde„ Two-year-olds, 6st 12Ib ;
three, Bst 121 b. Allowances and penalties. The
- second to save his stake.- . 17 subs.
Mr. Jackson's Saunterer, 3 yrs, gat 21b (J. Osborne) 2
Mr. Gray's Meta, 2 yrs, Tit 10Ib (Charlton) 2
Mr. J. Osborne's Intercidona, 2 yrs, fist 9ib
(Challoner) 3
The following also ran :—Medallion, Bradley, and
Lady Dot.
Betting-5 to 2on Saunterer, 7to 2 agst Meta. Won
in a canter by two lengths ; half a mile between the se-
cond and third ; same distance between .the third and
fourth ; bad fifth ; Lady Dot was beaten off.

Popular History of the Aquarium of Fresh Water
Animals and Plants. By Ge urge B. Sowerby,

F. L S.

Popular Greenhouse Botany. By Agnes Catlow.
Lovell Reeve, Heurie t —street, Gwent, Garden.
There appears to be a natural tendency in the
human rice—at least in the better porton of it, to
pet and cherish s zaething belonging to the lower
orders of creation. In Mrs. Thompsou's duodicemo
style of residence, where a large family and small
means are curiously male to balance every Christ-
mas ; and where, we know, every extra quartern
loaf is a matter of importance ; yet, there, we sea a
favourite canary hanging at the window ; whose
cage must have involved the disbursement of a
serious capital, and whose luxurious support must
add somewhat to the weekly expenditure : but the
family would go into deep mourning- if anything
happened to that graceful little embodiment
of silver note, and golden coat. Mrs. Thom-
son has been known to keep her uncle
waiting in the back parlour, while she finished
attending to Bijou's • domestic comforts in the
front one. Mr. Thompson may be seen on the
fiercest of dog-days burthening himself with a
bunch of chickweed and plantain for . Bijou's ex-
press delectation ; and the undeveloped Thompsons
are so duly impressed with Bijou's value, that their
affection and admiration for him are scrupulously
exempt from the usual juveni'e adm:xture of insult
and injury. The house is certainly not big, but we
cpte3tion it its occupants would not deem it much
less if it did not contain that pretty, useless little
bird.
Those rich people, the Stockmans of Stamford-
hill, have such exquisite carpets and sofas, that
one almost doubts the propriety of their being
used by more material beings than Oberon and
Titania ; but there is an old fox-dog and a young
setter who are privileged to parade the velvet
pile without even rubbing their s'ioes, and to repose
on the damask cushions, as though they could order
new furniture and pay the upholsterer whenever
they chose.
The 'cobbler round the corner pafronisee a huge
tabby cat, whose woudetful ability he is never tired
of eulogizing, on the score that it sits by his side
and insists on helping him to pull out the wax ends
at every sticb. It is a verit .ble fact that he loses
time and profit by Grimalkin, but it is an equal
fact that the dumb thing is an essential adjunct to
the cobbler's comfort and content.
The boudoir of the Fitz Cavendish's noble man-
sion, exhibits an Indian paroquet, and an Italian
greyhound ; and all visitors enjoying the entree to
that sanctum, would run some risk of losing the
good opinion of the amiable lady dowager and her
lovely daughters, if some gentle words of courtesy
were not bestowed on " Vert" and " Zephir."
The tiresome young Binkles, of Tooley-street,
have contrive Ito surreptitiously establish a Lilipu-
tion rabbit hutch in the lower regions of the domi-
cile, and are in a state of perturbation lest the
matter should be known in the upper department.
Of course it does become recognised by the inferiors,
and a degree of threatening and expostulation im-
plies the possibility of Mrs.. Double Smut being
immediately ejected from the premises ; but
in due time Mr. Binkle is seen peering wiih
some degree of interest into the secret chamber,
and heard to give a sort of indifferent hint, that a
larger hutch had better be had, now the doe has
young ones ; while Mrs. Binkla may be discover('
on the stairs, enquiring, in the true maternal tone,
breathing something of the candle-cup an 1 cradle
hymn, as to "How many there are, and what co
lour?" The young Binkles are extatic, and the of I
Binkles go on encouraging the population of
" long ears" until they might stock a warren.
S me would experience no delight in the " great
globe" itself, unless it contained go' d fish. Monkeys
are fraternized with iu many families. (We are
simply alluding to the natural and in)..A 'agreeable
of the genus.) Pet pigs are to be mat with, (and
again we would intimate that we tuuch only on
those of the quadruped order), and d 'mice, white
mice, squirrels, parrots,and silkworms, are common
and familiar residents among us--though, as re-
gards the latter "pets," we fully concur in the
opinion of a gentleman, who remarked the other
evening that he could "see no fun in keeping
them."
However, pet what we may, it is pretty certain
that so doing is indicative of a loving and beuevo
lent nature ; and despite the empty-headed
sneers launched against that unjustly vitupe-
rated race—old maids—regarding their affec-
tions for birds and brutes—we are incline -I
to think that the disposition which prompts the
exhibition of tenderness and love, even towards the
meanest of dumb things, is one of God's most
blessed gift, and that "old maids" are by no
means more objectionable, either in a moral or social
point of view, than "old bachelors," who too fre-
quently "pet" nothing but their own stomachs or
their own pockets.
Fashion has a control over this department of
our civilised constitution, as it has over every other.
Once upon a time monkeys were all the rage.
Long-eared, snub-nosed spaniels were in the ascen-
d (nt in the " merrie monarch's" days, when his
Gracious Majesty could not walk in the Mall, or
enjoy his luxurious saturnalia, without the company
of half-a-dozen of these celebrated " bow-wows. '
Then, French poodles became prominent features on
the face of English society. More lately, Skye and
Argyle terriers have asserted their supremacy,
being recognised by quick-witted people as " ani-
mated door-mats," "loco-motive mops," and " self-
acting brooms." At this present epoch of petting
fancies, the strange and unfamiliar creatures of
" the vasty deep" command our devotion and ex-
cite our curiosity, under the form of "Aquaria."
Our drawing-rooms and conservatories now present
to our notice " crystal palaces" on a minor scale,
wherein we may gaze on star-fish without the
aid of a telescope, and dilate on the beauty
of sea anemones without presuming to pluck
one. There we may revel in "Sea Cucum-
ber" without thinking of the cruets in conjunc-
tion ; make pleasant company of coral skeletons,
and sport with Sea Urchins who never plague us
with their noise or mischief. This novel and in-
teresting introduction not only serves to amuse
'the idle and ornament our dwellings, but ministers
to the elevating general knowledge of natural his-
tory, and the abstruse pursuits of the scientific in-
vestigation of Creation's wonders. With a com-
paratively inexpensive receptacle, stocked with
tiny tenants of the lucid flood ; and with
this work of Mr. Sowerby's on the table
beside it, much may be learnt, even by
the most uninitiated, of the functions, habits, rue-
tamorphoses, and construction of the astonishing
family leaping, floating, and diving before as. The
volume is a compact and simple book of reference,
though thoroughly correct in its details of natural
I classification. A. great number of coloured plates
illustrate the various orders and characters expa-
tiated on, which are very attractive, and help the
young disciple of the aquarium school most ma-
terially. In short, we can only pronounce the
publication to be worth much more than its cost.
Of Miss Agnes Catlow's Popular Greenhouse
Plants, we need say little, as her works on Garden
Botany, and Field Botany, have rendered her name
honourably familiar to all lovers of Floral nature.
Miss Catlow, in her present production, fully sus-
tains her reputation, and the most exquisite in-
habitants of the greenhouse are as ably and charm-
ingly described by her pen, as they are beautifully
represented by the pencil, in the plentiful and gor-
geous illustrations.

The Northumberland Plate of 200 soya each, added to a
Handicap Sweepstakes of 15 soya each, 10 ft, and 5
oily if declared, The second to receive 50 sous
out of the stakes, and the third to save hia stake. A
winner of a handicap subsequent to the declaration of
the weights of 200 soya or upwards, 611) extra ; of two
of that value, 91b extra ; the winner of the Derby or
Oaks, 91b extra. Two miles. 60 subs, 30 of whom

declared.
Nr. G. Forster's Underhand, 3 yre 6st llb ...(Plumb) 1
Lord Zstland's Skirmisher, 3 yrs, 6.t 10ib (Charlton) 2
Mr. \V: Robinson's El Hakim, 3 yrs, sst (W. Little) 3
Mr. Jackson's Mongrel, 3 yrs, 6st 6ib (Challoner) 4
Mr. Lister's Pantomime, aged, 7st 121 b ...(Snowden) 5
Sir C. Monck's Vandal, 5 yrs, Est 10Ib (Cresswell) 6
Mr. Davidson's Barad°, 5 yrs, sst 111 b (Elardcastle) 7
Betting—Even on Skirmisher, 9 to 2 agst Underhand,
sto 1 agst Mongrel, 7 to 1 agst Vandal, 10 to 1 each
agst El Hakim and Pantomime, The lot got away at
the first attempt ; Barmier, who cut out the work for his
stable companion, El Hakim, leading, with El Hakim
second, Mongrel third, Vandal fourth, Underhand fifth,
and Skirmldier last. Ia this order they ran at a mode-
rate pace until after rouading the Newcastle turn, when
Mongrel took the lead, Vandal going on second and
Skirmisher third, but in the next 200 yards Skirmisher
went to the front, followed by Mongrel, Underhand., and
El Hakim in the order named, and thus they ran until
nearing the coal pit turn, when Underhand took second
place, with El Hakim thisdand Mongrel fourth. El Ha-
kim went up to the favoarite, and ran with him up to
the distance, where El llakim was in difficulties, and
Underhand challenged Sr.irmisher and beaded him half
way up the distance. A. splendid race home ensued,
which ended in favour of Underhand by a head ; El
Hakim was beaten a couple of lengths from Skirmisher ;
Mongrel was a bad fourth.
The race was good for the last three quarters of a mile
only. Prioress fil y was struck out at 2.15 p.m.
The Commercial Visitors' Stake of 50 soya each, 3 ft,
with 50 added, for 3-yr-olds and'up wards. Optional
selling weights, &c. About one mile. 10 subs.
Mr. Allen's Plausible, 5 pre, (25/ ), B,t 2th...(Kendall) 1
Mr. J. Meny's Cock. Robin, 3 yrs (25/.), Est 111 b
(Cresswell) 2
Mr. Thompson's Rawcliffe, 3 yrs (351.), Est 111 b
(J. Forster) 3
Mr. Dickson's c by Annandale—Messalina, 3 yrs (25.)
6-t 111 b
Batting-2 to len Plausible, sto 2 agst Rawcliffe.
Won eas,ly by a neck, half a length bctweeh the second
and third, good fourth.
The winner was sold by auction to Mr. J. Merry for
121 guineas.
Her Majesty's Plate of 100 guineas ; three-yr-olds, 7st ;
four, Bst 10Ib ; five, 9,t 4lb ; six and aged, 9st 71b.

Three miles.
Mr. Hunt's Geteral Williams' 3 yrs, 7st...(Challaner) 1
Mr. Jackson's Sneeze, 3 yrs, 7st (Bullock) 2
Mr. J. G. Hendersou'a Logie o' Buchan, 3 yrs, 7st
(J. Forster)

Batting-2 to 1 on. General Williams, sto 2 agst
Suetz,:. Won by 10 lengths, about the same distance
between the second anct third.

THURSDAY.
Tyne Handicap.

Courtooay
La Vieture
Sprig of Shillelagh
Speculation Plato

Caliph
Ondiue

Gateshead Stakes.

Saunterer

...walked over.

Corporation Plate.

Vandal . ... ..
General `Nil Tams

Nine ran.

STOCKBRIDG-E RACES-THURSDAY.

Seventh Triennial Produce Stakes of 10 sous each, for
4-yr-olds ; colts, Bst-101b ; fillies, 84t 503. Certain
penalties and allowances. Two miles and a half. 49
sub..
Captain White's Aleppo, Sat 101 b (Flatman) 1
Mr. U. Hitl's Rogerthorpe, Oct .(A. Day) 2
B.ron RothsOild's Turk, Bst 71h (D. Hughes) 3.
Mr. G. W. Fitz wil liana's Wentworth, Bst llb (G. Mann) 4
Betting.-5 to 4 agst Aleppo, sto 2 agst Rogerthorpe,
3to 1 agst Turk, sto 1 agst Wentworth. Won by a
length ; the others tailed off.
The Stockbridge Ddrby, a sweepstakes of 25 soya each,
with 200-added ; colts, Bst 101 b ; fillies and geldings,
6.b. Certain penalties and allowances. The second
to receive 100 soya out of the stakes, and the third to
save his stake. mile. 37 subs.
Lord Milton's Ignoramus, Bst 101 b (J. Osborne) 1
Mr F. Robinsou's Anton, Bst 101 b
Mr E. Day's Slanderer, Bst 101 b. (D. Hughes) 3
Lord Chfden'a colt by Surplice—Beeswax, Bst 51b
(Flatman) 4

Betting.-7 to 4 on Ignoramus, 100 to 5, bar two,
offered. 5 to 1 and 9 to 2 were taken about Ignoramus
winning this event and the St. Leger, and 1,690 to 10
about Anton winning this event and the Sr. Leger.
When the horses had got well together the starter was
prevented from lowering his flag owing to Anton being
off the course and behind a heap of mould. The signal,
however, was soon given, and we may at once state that
the race was throughout confined to two, the Beeswax
colt and Slander dropping hopelesrli into the rear after
going about 100 yards. Ignoramus was first off, but
was soon passed by Anton, who, with a lead of about a
dozen lengths, made the running at a good pace. On
rounding the last turn, Ignoramus gradually crew upon
Anton, headed hint at the St end enclosure, and won
easily by half a length. Slanderer and Beeswax colt
were tailed off.
Ninth StockbridieTiienTiia.lStake;of 10 sovs each, fur
2-3 r-olds ; colts, Bst 101 b ; fillies, Bst 51b. Those by
s,allions or out of mares that never bred a winner al-
lowed 31b. T.Y.C. 33 subs.
Mr BJwee's Star of the East, Bst 71b (Flttman) 1
Sir J. B. Mill's c by Bay Middleton—Cymba, Bst 101 b
(G. Mann) 2
Lord Portsmouth's The Pinsticker,Bstslb (D. Hughes) 3
The following also ran :—Rose of Cashmere, and
Scourge.
Betting—Even on Cymba colt, 5 to 2 agst Star of the
East. Won by a neck, a length between second and
third, bad fourth.
Sweepstakes of 5 sovs each, with 25 addedf for 2-yr-olds
and upwards. Optionil selling weights, &c. T.Y.C.
9 subs.
Mr. IL Hill's Admiralty, 2 yrs (301.), sst 21b
(Blackbarn) 1
Mr. Newbold's Benefit, 3 yrs, (301), sst 121 b (Salter) 2
Mr. Parker's f by Joe Lovel, Terpsichore, 2 yrs (301 )
sst 21b 3
Mr. E. Hall's Lady Elizabeth, 2 yrs (301.), Set 21b
(Faulkner) 4
The following also ran :—Pomona, Blue Mantle, Ath-
lone, Lass of Richmond-hill, and Mangosteen.
Betting-5 to 2 agst Lady Elizabeth, 4 to 1 agst Po-
mona, 6 to 1 agst any other (offered). Won by six
lengths ; a head between the second and third ; half a
length between the third and fourth. The winner was
sold by auction to Mr. Y. King.
The Stewards' Plate of 100 stove, added to a sweepstakes
of 10 soya each. for 3-yr-olds and upwards. Certain
penalties and allowances. Two miles. 40 subs.
Mr. T. Parr's Fisherman, 4 yrs, Bst, 91b (Wells) 1
Mr. Soewing's Pole Star, 5 yrs, 89 Sib ...(J. Goater) 2
Lord Clifden's Brother to Homily, 3 yrs, Est 61b
(Bra)) 3

THE MOORS.—Throughout the winter grouse have
been :n fine condition—their plumage glossy, flight
vigorous, and the well-known crowing of the cocks
loud and clear. The nesting time is now over, with
very favourable weather. On all low moors the young
broods are strong, and counting from eight to ten in a
covey. A sportsman, well known for great feats on
the moors and in the deer glens, writes from his shooting
quarters on the 4th of June:—" Grouse are quite
healthy, and stags are getting very forward in condition.
I expect better herds this season than we have seen
for the last three or four years." Another sportsman
writes on the 7th of June :—"I am happy to g
disaive good d
accounts of my hill, disease having quite ppeare.
A. great many grouse are hatched and strong ; and,
should the fine weather continue, and water not become
scarce, I think we may promise ourselves a capital
year." From all we have heard it appears certain
that wherever there was a sufficient breeding stock '
there will be at least average sport. No season
for a long
is time
earlier hasby
promised better for deer-stalking
—grass
a month than last year, and
ee
those who are versed in the beauties of angers will be
gratified to find the caberfeigh in perfection.— Inverness
Courier.
CRID(E IN SCOTLAND.—A blue-book just published
gives long tabular statements of crime in Scotland in
the year 1856. From the abstract it would appear that
the number of persons charged with offences in 1856
exhibits an increase of 2'2863 per cent. ; 2,591 rnal,s
and 1,122 females were committed, 2,996 tried, 2,762
convicted, outlawed, or found insane, 926 convicted as
relapsed or previously convicted culprits, and three con-
demned to death. The proportion of convictions to
committals was 74'3873 per cent., and the proportions
of acquittals to committals 25'6127 per cent. ; 1,046
were offences against the person, 3so against property
with and 1,942 against property without violence, 79
malicious offences against property, and 85 offences
against the currency. Offences against the person have
increased 7.613 per cent. ; offences against property,
without violence, 5'77342 per cent, and malicious
offences against property, 1 282 per cent. Forgery and
currency offences have decreased 31.451 per cent. 716
persons (of both sexes) could read or write, 2,352 could
do both imperfectly, 556 could do both very well, and
81 had a superior education. Of the 234 acquitted, 179
got off by the open verdict of " Not proven." Three of
the criminals were sentenced to be hanged, 72 to be
transported, 202 to penal servitude, 2,170 to imprison-
ment, nine to be flagellated, and 223 to fines,

Ignoramus was struck out at 3.15 p.m.
Batting-7 to 4on Pole Star, 2to 1 ag4t Fisherman,
100 to 5 agst Brother to Homily, pole. Star made the
running until nearing the dtaance, when Fisherman
j ,fined her, challenged her opposite the Stand, and won a
most exciting race in by a head. Very bad third.
The Mottisfont Stakes of 15 soya each, 10 ft, with 100
added ; for 2-yr-ol:i colts, 85t 101 b ; fillies, Bst 71b.
Winners extra. T.Y.C. 28 subs.
Sir L. Newman's Vandyke, Bot 101 b (A.. Day) 1
h r. Parker'OVilton, Bst 1016 .....................(Wells) 2
Mr. B. E. Cooper's The Bald Faced Stag, Bst 101 b
(Fiattnan) 3
Mr. H. Hill's The Beacon, Bst 101 b (G. Mann) 4
Betting-7 to 2on Vandyke,
6 to 1 agat Wilton.
Won by a neck ; bad third.
Eighth Stockbridge Triennial Stakes of 10 sous each,
for 3-yr-olds ; colts, Bst 101 b ; fillie., Bst 51b ; certain
penalties and allowances. One mile and a.half. 33

Mr. F. Robinson's Anton, Bst 101 b (A.. Day) w.o.
Flatman weighed for R. E. C toper's King of the
Forest, Bst 71b, a❑d the horse went to the post, but was
ultimately withdrawn.

BETTING ON THE COURSE.
ST. LEQER.
2to 1 agst Ignoramus (taken and offered)
GOODWOOD STAKES.
20 to 1 agst Fulbeck (take')
20 to 1 agst Fisherman (taken)
DERBY.
100 to 6 agst Clydesdale (taken)
20 to 1 agst Streamer (taken)
Very little betting.
GOODWOOD STAKES.—Relapse, 3 yri, sst 51b, should
have been included in the list of acceptances published
yesterday.

"LIITLE DORRIT."

By CHIRLES DICKENS.

It is a great pleasure, and yet a great grief to us
also, that Little Dorrit has arrived at List, in due
course, at the period of its termination. We have
never yet closed the green double number (xix and
xx) of any one of Mr. Dickens's elaborated serial
tales with ut this Billie mingled feeling of chagrin
and satisfaction. It is precisely the same with us
now, in regard to this concluding instalment of
Little Dorrit, precisely the same as it has been
with us previously, in various degrees, after a
perusal of the closing chapters of Bleak House, of
Martin Chuzzlewit, of Donibey and Son, or of David
Copperfield. Observe—we have said "as it has
been with us previously, in various degrees." The
pleasure and grief we have here very sincerelyspoktn
of, being, of course, proportioned to the excellenee
of each particular performance. Delight at the
final satisfaction of a long sustained, a piqued, and
sometimes even a tantalized curiosity I Regret that
the dear companion of many a gladdened month
before, will be surely, surely missed by us here after !
Such—we need hardly have said to m tuy thousands
upen thousands—are the conflicting emotions
(agreeable to the last, notwithstanding their in-
oongiuity) with which we end our first reading
of one of these great composite fictions
by one whose name we have long learned to love
and honour as that of the most delightful of all
English Humorists. Any one who happens not to
have yet read " Little Dorrit," but tvho has of
course read one or more of Little Dorrit's predects-
aura, may, at once by an appeal to the memory,
imagine our " regrets " at least, on putting aside
—finished and done with for the time being (in fact
until the next reading)—the last new story by
Charles Dickens ! Recollect, for example, how it
was with you—un ler the like straight—you who
were readers in your time of "Martin Chuzzlewit,"
"the immortal narrative," as Sir Edward Lytton
genially calls it in the last number of Blackwood,
in the commencement of his new serial tale in
monthly instalments! Remember how loath we
were then to part, so far as the first reading was
concerned [and the first reading of a fiction is its
very life, as any after perusal is merely a recollec-
tion of it]—how loath ive were to part then, for once
and for all, from the midst of that crowd of motley
and familiar characters ! Wonderful Sa,ireir Gamp
and her apochryphal acquaintance Mrs. Harris—
chirrappiug Poll Sweedle pipes and Bailey Junior
straddling about during the whole story the most
delectable and incorrigible of Jackanapes—Tom
Pinch " Dear Tom; Old Friend," about whom a
clever critic in a recent number of Maga, wrote to
our thinking little short of " rank blasphemy"—
Pecksniff, that most sleek and oleaginous " Greek
Chorus" in broadcloth—Montague Tigg alias Tigg
Montague, with his Anglo Bengalee great hocus-
pocus swindling association—and with these how
many more ; the Spy Naddgett, the murderer
Jonas, M. Todgers whose gender still seems to us
to savour somewhat of the epicene, Mark
Tapley, Mrs. Lupin, John Westlock, Old
Chuffey, Ruth, Cherry, Merry, Betsey Prig,
Young Martin, Old Martin Chuzzlewit ! The cata-
logue threatens to be interminable—we cease. Re-
collect how gladly we would have lingered longer in
the midst of them, thosevivid delineations, those li-
teral " creations," those seemingly tangible, visi-
ble, living-and breathing personages. And you
who have not read " Little Dorrit," but who
have read " Martin Chuzzlewit," may fancy the
throng of familiar figures now scattering away
from us int 3 thin air at that ghostly
exorcism - "The End"—fatal as the sound of cock-
crow to the witches of theWalpurgis ! Yet scattered
from us thus by the so far unwelcome close of our
first perusal—the characters of Little Dorrit like so
many hundreds of those in Little Dorrit's preJe
cessors will live long (better this than flies in
amber !) in the perpetuating medium of a most
vivid 'remembrance. What characters' what
creations they are many of them ! Pancle4,
the Tug. Casby, the Patriarch. Gentle,
anly hearted Arthur Clennam. Flora per-
fectly natural, yet utterly preposterous. Plor-
nish, the good-natured, •growling plaister-r. Mrs.
Plornish, his hdpmate, with her rare Italian ac-
complishments. Little Mr. Nandy, her old father
—of Phyllis and Chloe, and yet also of the Work-
house. Dear Little Dorrit. Uncle Frederick of the
Clarionet. Mr. Dorrit, of Mayfair, and likewise
—hum —ha— of the Marshalsea. Blandois
Rigaud (of Paris), Chevalier cl'lndustrie—he,
of the descending nose and the ascending
moustache. Mrs. Clennam, old Flint winch, Affery,
Tip, Fanny, Merdle, Meagles, Doyce, Gowan,
Maggy, Mr. F.'s Annt, Sparkler, Physician,
Bishop, Bar ! All the well-to-do denizens of the
g'y world—and all the ill-to-do denizens of the
poor miserab'e dilapidated world of the Marshal-
sea. What a microcosm the book is ! _ replete

—in spite of its shortcomings—with tra-
gedy and comedy, with the homely and the
eltritch, the romantic and the commonplace, the
pathetic and the ridiculous I The author expressis
a very natural wish in his preface to the effect that
now the various threads of his narrative arewoveu to
a conclusion, it may not be unreasonable on his
part to ask " that the weaving may be looked at in
its completed state, and with the pattern fiuishei."
How reasonable this wish is, to our thinking, may
be conjectured, when we add that in this double
number the manifold mysteries of Little Dorrit
are surprisingly explained. Observe are ex-
plained, are actually accounted for—not slurred
over, but accounted for. Flintwinch's shadowy
" double "—Mrs. Clennam's "motives "—all the
ghostly sounds and rumours about the House up in
Crutches—RigawFs power over "them two clever
ones." Everything in the story, we repeat, is ex-
plained that seems to require, and at the same time
to defy explanation. It is the most rational expla-
nation, indeed, of apparently inscrutable enigmas
that we c►n call to mind since the winding up of
" The Mysteries of Udolpho." As to the fall
of the House upon Crutches—(a fall which
Mr. Dickens may re►sember we ourselves
anticipated)—Poe had already, in one of his brief
wierd Tales of Glamour, employed the same grimly
idea by way of solution ! We allude to his record of
"The Fall of the House of Usher." Here is the incident
as described by Mr. Dickens, with a pen dipped in
the ink of De Balzac. Blandois has been left alone
in the house, smoking upon the window sill—
" whoof I"—his moustache going up and his nose
coming down "as he ogles a great beam over his
head with particular satisfaction." A short time
afterwards—

It was one of those summer evenings when there is no
greater darkness than a long twilight. The vista of
street and bridge was plain to see, and the sky was
serene and beautiful. People stood and sat at their doors,
playing with children and enjoying the evening; num-
ber.; were walking for air ; the worry of the day had al-
most worried itself out, and fow but themselves were
hurried. As they crossed the bridge, the clear steeples
of the many churches looked as if they had advanced out
of the murk that usually enshrouded them and come
much nearer. The smoke that rose into the sky had lost
its dingy hue and taken a brightness upon it. The
beauties of the sunset had not faded from the long light
films of cloud that lay at peace in the horizon. From a
radiant centre, over the whole length and breath of the
tranquil firmament., great shoots of light streamed among
the early stars, like signs of the blessed later covenant of
p:?.ace and hope that changed the crown of thorns into a
glory.
Less remarkable, now that she was not alone and it
was darker, Mrs. Clennarn hurried on at Little D.,rrit s
side, untii,loAted. They left the great thoroughfare at
the turning by wnich she had entered it, and wound
their way down among the silent, empty, cross-streets.
Their feet were at the gateway, when there was a end-
dee noise like tbun 'er.
6' Whit was that ! Let us make haste in," cried
Mrs. Clennane.
They were in the gateway. Little Dorrit, with a
piercing cry, held her back.
In one swift instant, the old house was before them,
with the man lying smoking in the window ; another
thundering sound, and it heaved, surged outward,
opened asunder in fifty places, collapsed, and fell.
Deafened by the noise, stifled, choked, and blinded by
the dust, they hid their faces and stood rooted to the
spot. The dust storm, driving between them and the
placid sky, parted fur a moment and showed them the
stars. As they looked up, wildly crying fur help, the
great pile of chimneys which was then alone left
standing, like a tower in a whirlwind, rocked, broke,
and hailed itself down upon the heap of ruin, as if
every tumbling fragment were intent on burylng the
crushed wretch deeper.
Ultimately, we are told, on digging out the
ruins they found "the dirty heap of rubbish that
had been the foreigner before his head had
been shivered to atoms like so much 0123
by the giant beam that lay upon him, crushing
him." As a contrast to this horrid casualty take the
laughter-moving vengeance wreaked by Pancks
upon the Last of the Patriarchs. Proprietor and
Grubber, have been the central figure in a final
tableau in Bleeding Hart-yard, when—
Quick as lightning, Mr. Pancks, who,. for some mo-
ments, had had his right hand in his coat pocket,
whipped out a pair of shears, swooped upon the Pa-
triarch behind, and snipped off short, the sacred locks
that flowed upon his shoulders. In a paroxysm of
animosity and rapidity, Mr. Pancks then caught the
broad-brimmed hat out of the astounded Patriarch's
hand, cut it down into a mere stewpan, and fixed it on
the Patriarch's head.
Before the frightful results of this desperate action,
Mr. Pancks himself recoiled in consternation. A bare
polled, goggle-eyed, big-headed, lumbering personage
stood staring at him, not in the least impres,ive, not
in the least venerable, who seemed to have started
out of the earth to ask what was become of Mr. Casbil•
After staring at this phantom in return, in silent awe,
Mr. Pancks threw down his shears, and fled for a
place of hiding,
.where he might lie sheltered from the
consequences of his crime. Mr. Pancks deemed it
prudent to use
_all possible dispatch in making off,