The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-12 00:00:00

MAGAZ INES, &e.—( CON TIN TED.)
BENTLEY.

Mr. Robert Bell opens the Bentley for the present

month with a pleasant " Gossip about Merry
Christmas," in which honour due is paid to mince
pies, p:urn pudding, the boa`:'', head, the pantomimes,
• the fire—the glorious Christmas fire---arid the yule
deg. With regard to this leter it has often struck
us with surprise that no rzetiquarien has, so far at
least as we are aware, described or ever alluded to a
practice in the West cf England, which is evidently
derived from the yule clog. Throughout the counties
of Devon and Somerset—and we believe we may also
add of Cornwall and of Dorset—it is the custom on
Christmas Eve in every house to burn what is called
the Ashen faggot, that is a huge faggot made of green
ash wood, which in the farm- houses is burned in the
open tire-place of the wide kitchen-chimney. These
faggots are of such huge dimensions that they burn
for some hours, they are bound together by bands'of
twisted ash-twigs (a proper faggot has nine bands),
and as each band is burned through the toast and
cider is served out to each person present, and the
song goes round. Every person connected with the
household, and every labourer employed on the farm
is present on this occasion, which may be almost de-
nominated the feast of equelity, as all mix together on
an a qual footing. Mrs. Buxton Whalley's tale of " The
Oath" is full of interest, and is admirably narrated.
Tne antiquarian will be pleased with the account of
Sternburgh Castle, and the novel reader with the new
chapter of "The Ladder of Gold." Count de Monte.-
livet proses about the virtues of King Louis Philippe,
and the Hon. Frederick Walpole admirably narrates
a somewhat perilous adventure among the Druses of
Lebanon. Mrs. Piozzi's Correspondence with Lysons,
is continued. The date is 1789. These letters are
curious, as showing that even the well-informed of
those days, looked upon the French Revolution, then
commencing, as a mere riot that would blow over,
leaving the Xing more powerful than ever; after the
taking of the Bastile, however, Mrs.Piozzi becomes
of opinion, that it will take at least ten years
to settle the affairs of France. The " His-
tory and Mystery of the Glass-house,"
is a well- written account of the glass manufacture
from the earliest ages up to the present time; the de
scription of the new process of silvering . glass is
more especially interesting. In addition to an amus-
ing narrative by Lieutenant G. H. March, of a trip
from Bayonne to Fuenterrabia, we have several excel-
lent reviews of recently published sterling works.

THE NAUTICAL.

The article on the " Falkland Islands " is well
worth the attention of emigrants and persons de-
sirous of colonizing. More especially would we
direct the attention of our own Government to the
description of Statenland, which is uninhabited, but.
which, according to this writer, would be a good spec
for an overpopulated state. It appears to be, from the
descriptio❑ here given of it, the place of all others for
the establishment of a convict colony, and as such we
recommend it to the serious attention of our Go-
vernment. The professional papers in this magazine
are of very great merit.