The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-20 00:00:00

the trough. I found parallel scenes enacted in the
sugar-houses. In one an old negro, who was attending
to the boiling pans, was constantly nailing out to the
negro who was throwing is the refuse of the cane or
begasse, no fire," no fire at all.' This was also done
in order to keep up a certain amount of excitement, and
to relieve the monotony of his work. I was assured bir
a working engineer that fatal accidents, arising from the
negroes being overcome with sleep and falling into the
boiling juice, were not uncommon.
" Women, girls, and boys, are all tasked beyond
their strength. The gangs that are seen about the sugar-
houses are most emaciated creatures. At night they are
usually found chanting some sang to beguile the weary
hours. The children do a little here ; for all who seemed
able to run were sent out under the charge of an aged
matron to gather up the dried cane that had been
crushed, and to put it into heaps, or some descry .tion
descr.
tion of light work is as,igred to them."
Little improvement can be hoped for in the phy-
sical condition of the negroes, says the author, until
the African slave trade is abolished, as, being un-
able to import fresh slaves, the planters are forced
to devote more care to the condition of the resident
negroes and their families. As Spain has received
400,0001. as compensation for her loss in entering
on a treaty to suppress the slave trade, it is scacely
too much to expect that some attention may be
directed to this matter. The meteorological
.observations at the end are very instructive, and
highly interesting to those familiar with the
study. Numerous diagrams illustrate the
course and different degrees of hurricanes,
trade winds, &c. The following observations were
made by the author during the first thunderstorm
he witnessed :

"In the fir,t tbunder-storm that I encountered in the
United States, I was rather struck with the phenomenon
of the clouds drifting in the upper current from the wait
while the wind blew from the south. It occurred at
Saratoga on the 6th of September, 1854. At sunrise
the temperature was 70 deg. with a dew point of 69
deg. ; the thermometer at 2 p.m. reached 96 deg.
Notwithstanding the great heat, the wind blew strongly
from south by west, but thunder-21ouda floated in the
upper current from the north of west. Thunder with
much rain occurred at night, and next day the wind
changed to the north of west, and the aky became
beautifully transparent, with the thermometer at 82 deg.
at 2 n.m. _ _

"The cause of this peculiar action of the thunder-
clouds filating at a higher elevation, at right angles to
the warm southerly wind, is easily explained. So long
as the wind is west or north-west in summer, the sky
retains its transparency ; but when it changes to a
southerly quarter, it does not blow more tha❑ a day or
two before clouds begin to form. The clouds do not
often float in the south wind, but almost always in that
upper current which prevails so constantly from the
west. This clearly shows that the upper current rubs
off a portion of the moist and hot wind from the Gulf
of Mexico, and firms cloud, for they only appear after
the southerly wind blows for some time, and these
clouds reveal the existence of the upper current. This
action of the upper current robbing the lower is con-
stantly taking place both in summer and in winter, when
clouds form and drift in the upper current."

The reader will perceive that it is a work devote d
to the practical and scientific, containing much in-
format►on, cinveyed without pedantry, and likely
to be of great value to those engaged in the study
of the sciences of which it treats. All who are de-
:iireus of comp►ring the qualities of different cli-
mates, and of ascertaining the manner in which the
laws of nature are affected by a change of hemis-
phere, shouldconsult this able and carefully-writen.
volume.

A Month in the Forests of France. By the Hon .

Grantley F. Berkeley. Longman.
There have been numerous records of a sports-
man's adventures and experience in his own coun-
try, but this volume presents some novelty to the
reader in conducting hint to the interior of France
and in substituting the wolf and the.boar for the
less formidable objects of British sport. Those of
similar tastes will find much to interest them in this
work, while the general reader will probably find
some entertainment in its pages. Tue author ac-
companied by horse, hounds, and gu❑, went to en-
joy a month's sporting with a friend in his chateau
near Nevers. He met with the usual adventure of
travellers on his route, winding up with a fracas
with a cabman and a constable at Havre on his ra-
tur n. The great difficulty he found in the priase-
cution of his sport was the deficiency of hounds. He
represents them as ill-trained and improperly
managed, and it appears that when not required
for sport they are quite neglected, and the author
expresses his surprise, after c .n,idering the warmth
of the summer in France that men and dogs escaped
hydrophobia. Considering the harsh rules in
France respecting dogs in hot weather, it would be
at least more consistent if more care were taken to
prevent real danger. The author speaks highly of
the cap:tbilities of French sportsmen, and laments
they should be so ill supplie 1 with the necessaries
of the chase. He tells us that ho has prepared a
work for t'leir instruction, which if they are as wil-
ling to learn as he is to teach will no doubt afford
much information.

Men of the Time. Kent and Co.
This is a new edition of this useful and compen-
dious work, which contains nearly 900 pages of
close print. Even now, however, it cannot bo
called quite complete, and it seems to have missed
some names and to have given lesser ones in undue
prominence. It is, however, a very arduous task
to compile such a volume ; and as new editions are
promised from time to time, and the publisher
declares himself ready to avail himself of any cor-
rections or information that may he accorded him,
there is every reason to anticipate a still greater
improvement. It is most extended iu its plan, and
takes in every class that can claim any degree of
distinction. Such a work is constantly wanted,
and the demand for it will no doubt keep pace
with its increasing volume.

Punch's Pocket Book for 1858. Punch Office.
All who wish to find ainu,ement in the dull
pages of an almanack, and subject for laughter
scattered among cash accounts, should provide
themselves with this entertaining companion, who
will furn.sh them with all the business information
usually containe i in an almanac, with a seleclion
4if prose and s%rse similar to the cout?ntsof Punch.
The large frontispiece shows the Serpentine trans-
formed into a fashionable bathing-place. The illus-
tra-ions are by John Leech and John Tennid.

THE FRENCH ARMY.

The Moniteur de l' A rince publishes the following
statistical returns relative to the army, which are
not without interest :

"From the accession of Louis XVI. on the 10th
May, 1774, to the 10th August, 1792, 19 general
officers were raised to the dignity of marshal of
France. There were also made 254 lieutenant-
generals and 948 major-generals. In consequence
of the re-organisation of the army in 1791, 328
superior officers retired with the rank of major-
general. The Republican government, from 1792
to 1799, named 167 generals of division, and 887
generals of brigade, exclusively of 78 general offi-
cers named by the representatives of the people
with the armies, but whose nominations were not
confirmed. Under the Consulate, there were 57
promotions to the rank of general of division, and
147 to that of general of brigade. Under the Em-
pire, 25 marshals, 245 generals of division, and
679 generals of brigade were nominated. During
the first Restoration, Louis XVIII. named 267
lieutenant-generals, of only 117 had only hono-
rary rank, and 567 major-generals, 127 of whom
were honorary. In the Hundred Days, the
Emperor nominated one marshal of France
(Count de Grouchy), 19 lieutenant-generals, and
42 major-generals. These promotions were can-
celled on the return of Louis XVIII. He, how-
ever, confirmed in their rank 26 lieutenant-
generals, and 28 major-generals, nominated
during the first Restoration, and while at Ghent,
the King named 5 lieutenant-generals and 19 ma-
jor-generals. Louis XVIII., from 1815 to 1824,
named 6 marshals of France, 167 Lieutenant-ge-
nerals (105 honorary), and 480 major-generals
(269 honorary). Charles X. nominated 3 marshals
of France, 55 lieutenant-generals (42 honorary),
and 166 major-generals (142 honorary). Also, 31
colonels of the royal guard, or of the military
household of the King, received the rank of major-
general in the early part of 1830. From that pe-
riod no more honorary rank was conferred. Un-
der Louis Philippe, 11 marshals of France was
nominated, including the confirmation of the pro-
motion of Marshal de Grouchy ; 124 lieutenant-
generals, 6 of whom had been nominated during
the Hundred Days, and 4 under the Restoration.
with honorary rank ; and 370 major-generals, 15
of whom had before received the honorary rank.
The Republic of 1848 made, from the 24th Feb-
ruary to the 20th Dec., 32 generals of division,
and 50 of brigade ; 1 general of division and 3 of
brigade by the Provisional Government ; 13 and
19 by the Executive Commission ; and 18 and 28
by the Government of General Cavaignac. Under
the Presidency of Prince Louis there were named 4
marshals of France, 41 generals of division, and 118
of brigade. From the re-establishment of the Em-
pire to the end of 1856, there have
.been made 8
inarihals of France, 69 generals of division, and
145 generals of brigade."

av have
of been e, npe saying,radio
rs
ti
A LITERARY CLERGYMAN.—A clergyman in a country
parish not many miles from Dundee had occasion the
poems h
other Sabbath to illustrate a point in his sermon by
an allusion totbepalentC.tin the amiable andoowper,wlaicihhie did
Christian
ir this
n
a
fashion:—" 1 nwillustration
o f
beautifulwhat I
mpLoyoesttb:Caeotnhwd `la
brethren,
I may er
radise Regained you must all be familiar."
--Dundee Courier.