The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNFESDAY EVEN 1 NG, MAY 13, 1867.

porary statesman no less eminent than Mr. GLAD-
STONE. With him. the Edinburgh never had
anything in common, saving and except-
ing always a mutual devotion to the great
Free Trade principles. Not •so has it
been, for now about half of a century, with it
and the quondam leader of the Whig Reformers !
Wherefore, again, we. say it must prove but an
inadequate salve to his wounds to find it said, in
reference to Mr. GLADSTONE, by the Edinburgh,
shor(ily after these scornful personalities to him-
self—that he (Mr. GLADSTONE) "luxuriates in
the metaphysics o finance," that "he is never
more eloquent, or more impressive, than when
dealing with figures ;" that " his additions
are performed in a sort of oratori;al ecstacy,
and his subtractions are made with the
violence of a paroxysm." The reviewer
adding that " this man, so brilliant
as an orator, so ingenious as a financier, partly
from the super-sensibility of his dialectics,
partly from the irritability of his temper, and
partly from an incurable infirmity of judgment,
may be capable of persuading, astonishing, or
even convincing, but is neither safe in counsel,
nor straightforward in action." His last financial
speech is spoken of soon afterwards as " this
distressing Exhibition"—it being previously de-
scribed as a speech " which, for intemperance of
language, unfairness of statement and construc-
tion, and absolute and complete mystification of
the subject, ho (Mr. GLADSTONE) will find it
difficult, and anyone else impossible to
equal." Pretty talk talking this our
American friends worald call it 1 This identical
speech having been regarded by others who heard
it, as one of the most remarkable orations, if not
the most admirable oration, over delivered by Mr.
GLADSTONE within the walls of Parliament. Con-
sequently as such one of the most extraordinary
Parliamentary harangues within the remembrance
of our own immediate generation ! But all this
pulling down of the other great reputations in the
Legislature, be it observed, is only preparatory
to the completion of the main design of the
reviewer—the piling up of adulation upon adula-
tion at the fe€t of the now political Paragon of the
Edinburgh, my Lord PALMERSTON ! Adulation
reeking with the incense of flattery, is the meat
here offered to its new idol by the ex-Whig, ex-
Russellite quarterly, henceforth conspicuous among
the organs, through thick and through thin, of the
Palmerstonian Government. So glibly, and with
scarcely one audible creak, has shifted the great
blue and buff vane of the Whigs, at a single
puff from the lips of that Political AoLus, her
MAJESTY'S Chancellor of the Exchequer !

" An ye be virtuous, shall there be no more
cakes and ale ?" Honourable gentlemen who are
smitten with the ambition of appearing as legis-
lators, and having their names attached to re-
strictive statutes, would do well to ponder on the
above interrogatory, and to consider what answer
they could return to the renowned Sir TOBY.
Men will not be made virtuous by Act of Parlia-
ment. The mere idea of restriction in that
which in itself is lawful excites their ire, and
induces them to go farther than might otherwise
lie tile case. The old proverb hath it that
"forbidden joys are sweet," and it is certah
that difficulty of attainment stimulates the
desire of possession. The Maine liquor law
cnn never by any possibility be tolerated i❑
England. But, were it so, we venture to affirm

and the demand will naturally and pro-
perly regulate the supply. It may possibly be
desirable to require adequate securities for his
future good behaviour—a far more efficient gua-
rantee, by the way, than the magisterial vagaries
now afford. That, however, is a moot po;lat
on which we do not desire as yet to enunciate a
decided opinion. Where there has been miscon-
duct, either on the part of landlord or customer,
let there be adequate punishment, but do not
suffer a dozen well-disposed men to be subjected
to annoyance and inconvenience is order that a
comparatively trivial obstacle may be thrown in
the way of an habitual offender. JOHN GOODMAN
should not always be made the victim of BILL
SYKES. Punish intoxication severely if you will,
but do not prevent a dozen men from obtaining
moderate and wholesome refreshment in the vain
hope that the habitual drunkard will abstain from
yielding to the degrading vice. Stringently pun-
ish adulteration, or the harbouring of notorious
wrong-doers, but do not prevent the public from
obtaining proper accommodation, or respectable
men from engaging in the business because it is
capable of being abused. It is well, if practicable,
to eradicate the tares, but it would be ridiculous
to cut down with them the entire crop of corn,
and to involve the good and the bad in one com-
mon destruction.

LATEST NEWS,

A Paris correspondent of the Independance of
Brussels writes :—" Among the motives assigned for
the journey of Prince Napoleon to Berlin is that of
projected marriage for himself. The name of the
princess is Stephanie de Hohenzollern Sigmarin-
gen, born in 1837. What lends probability to this
rumour is the fact that the princess is related by
her mother to the family of the Grand Duchess
Stephanie of Baden. The father of the princess
has ceded his rights to Prussia, and that circum-
stance explains the presence of Prince Napoleon in
Berlin.

Elizabeth of Hungary, who, belonging to the house of
Bavaria, was an ancestress of the present Empress.
The theatre was crowded in every part, the greater
part of the men being in uniform, and the ladies in
splendid toilettes. The Emperor and Empress were
greeted on arriving with enthusiastic acclamations ;
and as the opera contained several allusions to them,
their Majesties were again cheered in the course of the
performance. The Emperor and Empress remained to
the end of the piece. The launch of the two steamers,
some days announced, took place at the isle of Altofen,
about six miles down the Danube. The ceremony took
place with great pomp in presence of a vast crowd of
persons of all classes—including not fewer than 3,000
workmen, employed in the building yards of the Danu-
bian Navigation Company. In the evening, there was a
ball at the imperial palace. The Empress danced twice
—once with the Archduke William, and the second time
with Prince Eiterhazy. A large crowd collected in
front of the palace, and cheered repeatedly. To-day the
Emperor and Empress are visiting the public monu-
ments."

India. He charges me with having stolen at Bom-
bay a copy of "The Conque,t of Scinde" in July,
Ib4s—knowing that I bad left Bombay in May,
and did not return to it till the following year. He
adds, that his brother Henry endeavoured to pre-
vent my admission to the Royal Society in 1846 on
the imputation of a felony be knew I could not
have committed, as I was then refuting, under
my own name through the London press, Sir
William's slanders—Sir William quoting portions
of my letter of that date in one of his publications.
On looking over Sir William Napier 's volumes,
just published, I find that in. the portion relating
to his Bombay career, about 800 pages in all, there
are on an average from two to three misstatements
page,a, the majority of them capable of refutation
from fficial documents, a very large number- 'of
them bearing his brother's signature.
Having in February, 1845, convicted Sir William
Napier of threescore deliberate misstatements
knowingly made, in about three times as many
pages, my contradictions being established by quo-
tations from official documeuts, I had of late years
given Up all idea of noticing his romances, which,
lau2hed at as they are in India, I find in England
still command attention.

I have the honour to subscribe myself,
GEORGE BIIIST, LL.D., F.R.S.,
From 1840 to the present date Editor of the

Bombay Times.
7, Sussex-plane, New Kensington, May 11.

TO THE BDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—Mr. Willoughby, in his letter to Sir Wm.
Napier, of the 28th ult., asserts that no letter from
Lord Ellenborough of 70 pages, or of any other
number of pages, was ever brought to him from the
wreck of the Memnon, much less pocketed by him ;
that there is not a :hadow of foundation for the
imputation, and th it he denies it in toto.
Nevertheless, Sir, I have within the last few days
been furnished upon written authority (which I
much regret I am not at liberty to publish, but
which is at Mc. Willoughby's service should he
require it) with the following facts :-
1. That among the papers and letters'which were
picked up from the wreck of the Memnon and
brought to the Acting Deputy-Postmaster General
at Bombay, was a mass of manuscript sheets, which,
from their contents and the handwriting, were sup-
posed by the Postmaster-Gonoral (Mr. 'John G,,r-
don) and his deputy, to be!ong to the 'despatches
from Lord Ellenborough.
2. That these manuscript sheets were, in conse-
quence of this belief, and by the advice of Mr. E -
combo, one of the secretaries to Government, en-
closed and forwarded by the Deputy-Postmaster-
General himself to the Chief Secretary to Govern-
ment, who, at that time, was Mr. Willoughby.
After this I presume that both Mr. Willoughby's
confidence in his own recollections and that of the
public in his assertions will be considerably
weakened.

I have the honour to be,
Sir, your obedient servant,
W. NA-PIER, Colonel.
Army end Navy Club, May 11.

ROYAL SURREY GARDENS.

-----~-

ST 2, JOHN FALFTAFF.

A NEW SERIAL. BY GEORGE CRUIKSIIANIL

There appeared upon May day among the maga'
tines and other monthly periodicals, Part I. of a
new serial, "The Life of S:r John Falstaff." The
Illustrations by George Cru:kshank. The Letter
press by Robert Brough. The whole publication
emanating from the Great House of The Row'
Messrs. Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, and
Roberts. Shilling Parts—and, of these Par ts;there,
are to be ten altogether. Each part embellished
with a couple of elaborate etchings—graceful al
humorous—from the needle of the mostpopular 0,11,
gifted of all our
.comic Draughtsmen ! The initim
instalment of the work is before us, and candidly
be it said, so fari-as the " Illustrations?' go, prorlii`eg
to be a work worths, of those two names provoaf
tive of pleasant laughter —Falstaffand Crttikshani';
We cannot honestly say much for Mr. Brote
long-winded and laboriously funny attempt in the
letterpress to accord to those Twin Joke-Master
the benefit of a sham authentic Biography of the
Fat Knight. This biography appears to us -frt
first to last to be a mistake. It " strikes flat tJ'"
broad rotundity " of that obese world of fue„
Jack Falstaff ! Not so, is it with regard to t''
glorious etchings of Crnikshank. They are alts' i
gether delightful. We are satisfied with theret:,
And surely that is saying much, remembering svi,
is the hero, and who the artist ! The two already 4
hand give to us the agreeable prospect of a score,''
etchings truly ,Shaksperian. First and foremost I
there is the Frontispiece ! The veritable port 116
of " Sir John Falstaff, Koight,--[Observe 'e
wording of its title !]—Drawn by William ShaksPe'
—etched by George Cruikshank." Sic Sedebal';
plethorously—with a difficulty of getting ageltee
flagon at his elbow—his sturdy chair in the chinaD.'
corner—the mantelahelf ornamented with an,,511,;
tique " carvelling," giving notice at a glance 'l'lo
the scene, sure enough, is a festive room intro'
roystering Boar's Head Tavern, in Eastcheap• :`,,k,1
brilliant eye, the portly belly, the very daggers ro
ing horizontally in the belt by reason of the lieig".„,l
obesity—every detlil is perfectly humourous a'l
perfectly characteristic. Then there is the secoljoi
of these two wonderful. etchings in Part flied
Cruikshatik's " Falstaff." ' An etching enti"/
Jack Falstaff, when Page to Thomas Mowlalii;
Duke of Norfolk, breaking' Skogan's Head at ".1t
Court-gate." Jack, a dapper, little, tight-1
varlet as ever handled rapier I Skogan g° IC
humoured to the last, with his skull cracked I
is, indeed, in most particulars, replete with faln,ist
fun that Falstaff of all men would have been Jue
the very one to appreciate, and that Cruikshaels
all men has just the very knack of delineating' ,o,
Capital comic serial it promises to be in truth o',
gether—so far, at least, as relates to the illo,b,
tions by George Cruikshank. Illustrations of 'oj
" Life" of "—, a good portly man, i' faith °lld
a corpulent; of a cheerful look, a pleasing eye, i,,e
a most noble carriage ; and as I think his age s°4o,
fifty, or inclining to threescore, and now I rev'?
her me his name is Falstaff." That " del old
haunting Prince Hal, "in the likeness of a fa that
man—a ton of man—that trunk of humours,:rel
bolting hutch of beastliness, that swollen Pod
of dropsies, that huge bombard of sack, that st!,,el
cloak-bag of guts, that roasted' manning 'd
ox with the pudding in his belly, that revelled
vice, that grey iniquity, that father ruffian,
~,it
vanity in years, that villainous abominable ',,/
leader of youth, that old white-bearded Sateu.,4
Falstaff ! In regard to whose vices and defr.,j,
thus set forth to his teeth in derision by the,l'ir
cap Prince of Wales—thus quoth he hints& col
extenuation : "If sack and sugar be a fault, 0;
help the wicked ! If to be old and merry be °,1:1;
then many an old host that I know is damns ,ill'
to be fat be to be hated, then Pharaoh's lean
are to be loved"—and so forth ! So, Welcoer4
the next nine months "sweet Jack Falstaff, ijac>
Jack Falstaff, true Jack Falstaff, honest, i 1
Falstaff !" Here he comes, demurely wa,ddlLl3o°o4
us, month by month, under the auspices of G„,/,
Cruikshank. As Prince Hal saith in the,?Diett
(Henry IV., Part i., act ii., scene iv.)— i
comes lean Jack, here comes barebones !"

_HEALTH OF LONDON DURING, VIII

WEEK.