The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-09 00:00:00

NEW SCHOOL.

Guns. Tons. Cost when Per Ton. Per Gun.
launched.
Howe l2l 4,245 £190,257 £45 £1,572
Revenge 9l 3,322 149,089 45 1,638
Bacchante .
Orlando
Mersey 40 3,733 133,930 36 3,348
Ariadne 26 3,214 121,590 38 4,676
Galatea 20 3,227 127,791 39 4,915
Not only is the item for building about doubled, but the
cost of maintenance is also increased. The wages of the
crew of every line-M-battle ship are £9,000 a year more
than they were. Bedding, mess traps, and some articles of
clothing which were formerly paid for by the men, are
now supplied gratuitously; and the provisions are of better
quality, and larger in quantity,—making together, for these
items, about £4,000 a year difference in each first-rate.
The engines, on which the expenditure in 1851 did not
amount to £lOO,OOO, now figure in the estimates for
£600,000: and lastly, we now pay something like £300,000
for coals, against £92,000 in 1851. Nor is this to be won-
dered at when we are told that up to February last, the St.
Jean A'Acre had consumed 8,421 tons, and the Himalaya
had used 34,110 tons.

In "Discipline in the Army," it is maintained,
with what truth we will not say, that the cause of
the late frequent murders in the army is, to a great
extent, owing to the abolition of flogging ; be that
as it may, we quite agree with the writer when he
condemns the practice of sending soldiers, for solely
military offences, to county gaols, to associate with
felons, and to bring back to their comrades all the
vice which they have acquired among their late
companions. We have a long review of the " Life
and Correspondence of Admiral Sir Charles Napier,
K.C.8." "Recent Explorations in Buster and
Kharonde" gives an interesting account of that
unknown locality. A paper on the " Mexican Ex-
pedition " furnishes curious details of that dis-
tressed country. That the national debt is not
heavy is to be attributed, not to the frugality of
the Government, but to the fast that nobody
will trust such a bankrupt country. In the " Editor's
Portfolio" a handsome and deservel tribute is paid
to Sir Howard Douglas. That gallant, we might
almost say amphibious, officer—for Sir Howard was
as much at home on one element as the other—has
passed from us, as almost the last relic of the iron
age which produced the Iron Duke. General
military and naval intelligence, &c., is of course
to be found.

Daily's Sporting Magazine.

The frontispiece this month is a portrait of Count
Frederick La Grange, followed by the usual bio-
graphy. " Th© Gentleman in Black" contributes
an article on " Woolwich and its Recreations."
The Military Academy is chiefly treated of, and
our author maintains that a want of proper hours
of relaxation is about the very worst thing for
which a large public institution can be censured.
We have ourselves remarked somewhat severely
on this subject; for it seems absurd to treat young
men like schoolboys, and the remarks of the " Gen-
tleman in Black" are so in accordance with our own
views that, for the benefit of our readers, we quote
the following :
" We are the last in the world to depreciate sound know-
ledge, and especially that which pertains to the professional
duties of an artillery officer, but we think they would be
none the worse for an hour or two's relaxation, and an op-
portunity of digesting the foe 1 with which they are
crammed. _ _

" Breakfast and inspection till 8.40 ; in study 9 till
11.30 ; clean and prepare for inspection at 11.45 ; drill till
12.45 ; dinner at 1 p.m.; in study from 2 till 4 ; parade
4.15; drill till 4.45; in study from 5 till 7; tea 7.15 ; lei-
sure until loin an enclosure 200 yards by 50. At 10 o'clock
cadets answer to their names, the lights are extinguished,
and they aro left to go to bed in the dark.'
" Here's a pretty state of things connected with the
training of British youth. In twelve good hours there ap-
pears to be about two hours allowed for recreation, includ-
ing dinner and tea. Do the authorities ever try this sort
of work themselves ? Are they aware that, under ordinary
circumstances, about four or five hours' t-tudy unremit-
tingly per diem would compass the highest honours of
either university ? That the head requires time for diges
tion quite as much as the stomach ? Or are our artillery
officers henceforth to be employed on service of so impor-
tant a nature that, so long as they are conversant with the
' laws of motion' and the 'science of projectiles,' they re-
quire neither health, judgment, nor energy to direct them ?
That their duties are more onerous, and their acquirements
are to be more varied and extens3ve, Nve are well aware ;
but on that very account a capacity for greater exertion,
and more active exercise of their faculties, should be in-
sisted on."
" Charles Thornhill ; or, the Dunce of the Family,"
is a new tale, and promises fair to prove interest-
ing. School-life at Eton of course is well described,
and the character of the hero, who materially plays
a prominent part, is well defined. " Pro Bono
Publico," by Scrutator, maintains the superiority
of hunting above all other field sports, and shows
that while a man cannot intrude hit company on a
coursing party, or offer to knock over a few birds
in a preserve for the owner, all are welcome to
follow the hounds. Among other amusing anec-
dotes which the author relates is that of a butcher-
boy winning the brush, and on being asked by
the master of the hounds, who had admired his
bold riding, which he would prefer the, brush or
half-a-crown, the boy answered eagerly, " Oh, the
brush, sir; it may be a long time before I get
another." This same boy has since become one of
the first huntsmen in the country. " Our Van,"
and the general news of the month are to be
found as usual.

Macmillan's Magazine.
Macmillan's commences with a no doubt very
erudite essay upon " Social Science Congresses and
Women's Part in Them." It is certainly long
enough to furnish mach useful information ; its

object seems to be to reform the Social Science
Congresses and to make women form some part of
, them ; but so many subjects are involved that we
are not very clear on the subje,ct. "Ravenshoe" is
continued. Charles pays a second visit to Lord
Welter at St. John's Wood, and discovers to h7s
dismay that Ellen has gone nobody knows whither.
She left a kind but reproachful letter to Loeti
Welter, in which she tells him that after the Lieute-
nant's liornby's proposal of marriage to her she dare
not remain, for fear of bringing ruin and disgrace on
the man she loves. Charles could do nothing ; and if
he went to bed the previous night with a
heavy heart, it was no lighter on the present one.
The following sketch of a restless sleepless night
will be more or less felt to be too true by most of
our readers, who have much passed the bounds of
childhood have in some degree perceived it.
What a happy place a man's bed is—probably the best
place in which ho ever finds himself. Very few people
will like to deny that, I think ; that is to say as a general
rule. After a long day's shooting in cold weather, for in-
stance; or half a night on deck among the ice, when the
fog has lifted, and the ghastly cold walls are safe in sight;
or after a 50 mile ride in a bush, limier a pouring rain ; or
after a pleasant, ball, when you have to pull down tha
blind, that the impudent sun may not roast you awake in
two how's ; for in all these cases, and a hundred more, bed is
very pleasant ; but you know as well as I do, that there
tahree times
wildestw hheuns3h-oiun wtheouldesros ot ne b n
weather,
r e o
or
r frozen deck, or in
waltzingi the
hall of Eblis with Vathck's mamma, or almost in your very
grave, than in bed, and awake.
weOuhld, tiheaevNev theietr tortured
ybodyto
when thic.eestoualh,dwrhiameltleiniesffleeiup
dreams, `holds on by a mere thread, yet a thread strong
watches
enough to keep every nerve in tense agony ! When one's
waking dreams of the past are as vivid as those of sleep,
and there is always present, through all, the dreadful lurk-
ing thought that one is awake. and that it is all real I
When, looking back, every kindly impulsive action, every
heartily spoken word, makes you fancy that you have only
earned contempt where you merit kindness 1 Where the
past looks like a hell of missed opportunities, and the future
like another black hopeless hell of uncertainty and immi-
nent misfortune of all kinds I Oh, weary watches! Let
us be at such times on the bleakest hill-side, in the coldest
night that ever blew, rather than in the warmest bed that
money will buy.

When you :Ire going to have a night of this kind, you
seldom know it before hand for certain. Sometimes, if you
have had much experience in the sort thing—if you have
lost money or gone in debt, or if your sweetheart has cut
you very often—you may at last guess, before you get
your boots off, that you are going N have a night of it ; in
which case, read yourself to sleep in bed. Never mind
burning the house down (that would be rather desirable as
a distraction from thought) ; but don't read till you aro
sleepy with your clothes on, and then undress, because, if
you do, you will find, by the time you have undressed
y urself, that you are terribly wide awake, and, when the
candle is blown out, you will be all ready for a regular
Walpurgis night.

Leaving our hero, we pass on to Ravenshoe. To
Father Mackworth's surprise, Cuthbert, since he
stooped to offer a bribe to him, has maintained a
reserve quite unusual to the priest, and William will
put up with no dictation, and shows fight. William
again starts in search of Charles. Back again to
London, and listens to a conversation between the
two swindlers. Lord Welter and Adelaide ; they
ride in the Park, having matured their plan. They
have no groom, and are got up in first-rate style,
but they pass under the eye of one who could not
be deceived. That shrewd old cynic, Lord Saltier,
was looking out of a window at Lord Ascot's, and,
as they passed, turned to Marsden and said em-
phatically, " Now I do really wonder what infernal
mischief those two are after. There is an air of
pastoral simplicity about the whole get-up which
forbodes some very great—very great—obliquity of
moral purpose." In the park, Adelaide meets
Charles Ravenshoe, and a few quick words pass
between them. What will be the result time must
show. There is another long instalment of that
admirable soporific, " The Victories of Love."
" Paris Revisited," by one who knows it well
(second article), is very cleverly written. The des-
spotic rule of the Imperial Government of France
is forcibly depicted. The Assocations Ouvrieres
which during the short-lived Republic of 1848
flourished, and when each trade had its own meet-
ing rooms for lectures and instruction, are things of
the past, even social gatherings are restricted. We
are informed that " it must not be forgotten that 25
persons cannot so much as legally dine together in
France without official permission, and that the
commissary of police has the right to be present
whenever such a portentous event takes place. The
writer considers that, at no distant day, if France
do not actually become Protestant, the religion of
the country will be materially altered. He thus
concludes his sketch of the state of affairs and the
popular feeling :

I have endeavoured to show Bente' of The grounds of
hope which a recent survey has seemed to show me in
Paris. I must remind the reader that, to discover them,
he must dig somewhat deep below the surface. The surface
itself is disheartening enough. A city, of which one-half
is given up to gaiety and extravagance, whilst the other
half pines for work ; an artificial stimulus given to public
works, to keep up the show of prosperity, and occupy the
dangerous classes ; an abiding, all-pervading mutual dis-
trust between the ruler and his people; an increase of
sensual indulgence in all classes, of frivolity or worse,
among the young ; and ever-increasing appetite for specu-
lation, while speculation itself is becoming more and more
identified with dishonesty; an enormous military force, a
police force scarcely less enormous ; the political press
colourless and neglected ; a complete absence of everything
like public spirit ; religious ministrations frequented and
despised, the church prominent and hated; such is tho
picture which the great continental capital presented to me.
A bitter sight indeed for all who feel the weight of the pre-
sent evil ; bitter above all, no doubt, to those who cannot
reach to the conviction which lies deep in the hearts of all,
though they may not venture, or care, or choose to express
it, that, sooner or later, the Third French Empire will pass
away like an evil dream.
Where lies the chief danger to it? It lies, I believe,—
and the belief was
,confidently expressed to me by several
informants,—in that very army, which is the mainstay of
imperial power. The Third Napoleon dare not engage in
long,'still less in continual wars, lest the array should become
too powerful; he dare not remain too long at peace, lest it
should become too liberal; he dare not retuc3 it over-
much, lest he should be too weak ; he dare not increase it
overmuch, for he knows very well that the more numerous
it is, the more it must become identified with the people. It
is already so identified, far more than is really imagined. I
had an oppottunityof listening to the familiar conversation
of two gendarmes, old soldiers (though young in age), and
it certainly was the freest I heard in France among
strangers to myself. I learnt from itwhat abuses of power
can be perpetrated in the military organisation of France;
how civil despotism and the suppression of public opinion
react on the army itself; how much of manly dignity yet
remains in the soldier • how he may submit to present in-
justice and look forward to future justice: how cheap, finally,
the soldier-policeman may hold the regulations of which he is
the minister. The talk of those two gendarmes would
alone have sufficed to :how me how much of moral weak-
ness lies behind the military strength of the imperial
despotism.

Under the head of "Games at Cards for the Coming
Winter" the rules for certain games are given.
" Autobiography of a Navy" is the history of a
tramp ; there is not much point in it and nJ plot,
its only recommendation is its moral tendency.
Some light and agreeable lines on Life's Question,
by Henry Alford; a Letter to the Editor on Dr.
Lushington, Mr. Head, and the Thirty-Nine
Articles ; Anonymous Journalism, by Thomas
Hughes ; and the Passaglia Phase of the Papal
Question, by Edward Dicey, complete the number.

THE WEB THEE.

PROBABLE BEFORE WEDNESDAY.

North Britain W.S.W. to N. and N.N.E., fresh to strong .
Ireland W. to N.E., fresh; some snom.
Central W.S.W. to N. and N.E., fresh; rain or

snow.
East Coast .... W.S.W. to N. and N.E., fresh; clear.
South England. W. to N.W., N., and E., fresh; fine.

DIVISIONS.

1. North Britain, including from the Moray Firth to the
middle of Northumberland, coastwise, and on the west,
from the Clyde to the Solway Firth.
2. Ireland, generally, around the coasts.
3. Central, from the Solway Firth, southward, along the
coast, to the Bristol Channel, inclusive.
4, East Coast, from Northumberland to the Thames,
inclusive.
5. South England, from the Thames, round by the coast,
to the Bristol Channel, including the Channel Islands.
Only seaports and places on the coast are included.
London lies between the East Coast and South England,
therefore partakes of their climate, but in a less degree,
proportional to situation further inland.