The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, AUGUST 3, 1868

stantly organising meetings, processions and torch-
light manifestations, while the press is kept con-
' stantly at work by both sides. The labour
which these committees undertake in the cause
of their party is something wonderful; but Ame-
ricans of all classes like excitement, and in
the Presidential election they have enough to satisfy
them. The general eagerness and recklessness
increases day by day until the day of election, and
business is in many places almost at a standstill
long previous. The aim is to get as many votes as
possible for the electors, every American who has
any sights whatever having the right to vote for the
College. No man, therefore, need fear to be over-
look by the agents, and we may expect to Lear a
good deal about the rights and wrongs of Ireland
until the Irish vote is secured.
What the result of this election will be is of
course doubtful. The Radicals, as we have seen, are
not scrupulous about the means which they employ
to the desired end, and the exclusion of the three
states will be of great service to them. There can be
no question, however, that the Democrats have
gained greatly in popular estimation since the first
trial of strength, and it is generally believed that
even should the Radicals carry the Presidency the
Democrats will secure a large accession to their
numbers in Congress in the elections for members,
which take place at the same time. They can
hardly, it is thought, obtain a majority, owing
to the ingenious manoeuvring of the Congres-
sional districts, but they will be able to secure
more than a third of the House of Representatives,
which will place them in a very different position.
Should SEYMOUR be elected this improvement in the
position of the Democratic party will give him
powerful support, since the Presidential veto will
be something more than a form.
Mr. JOHNSON, we find, has been recommending
a Constitutional amendment regarding the elec-
tions. He has sent a letter to Congress recom•
mending that the PRESIDENT be elected by direct
popular vote for a term of six years instead of four,
as at present, and that he should be ineligible
for a second term ; also that Senators should
be elected by the people instead of by the Legisla-
ture. It is not very probable that either of thew,'
suggestions will be accepted by the Congress. The
fact of their emanating from Mr. JOHNSON woald
of itself deter the majority from subscribing to
them, while the issue of the election is too uncertain
to render the extension of the term of office very
welcome. If General GRANT and Mr. COLFAX
were certain of success, no doubt the six years
would be an agreeable change, but as it is more
than possible that SEYMOUR and BLAIR may be the
favoured names the old term of office will doubtless
be retained unaltered.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

ROUAIA.NIA.

BUCHAREST, Aug. 1.

Telegrams received from Rustchuk state that an
engagement, which lasted three hours, had occurred
between the Turkish troops and the Bulgarian in-
surgents. Thirty-eight cf the latter were killed,
and the remainder were surrounded by the Turks
at a point between Kasanlik and Schilkau.
The headquarters of Mithad Pasha are established
at Grahovo.

Shots have been fired upon a Turkish gunboat
'corn the Roumanian bank of the Danube, near

Galatz.

A large number of suspected persons have been
arrested by order of the Roumanian authorities at

Ibraila.

MAGAZINES.

BLACKWOOD.—The first article met with in this
number is one sure to excite interest and attract at-
tention : it is a notice of the career of the Right lion.
Benjamin Disraeli, and this is the first part, so that
the reader may look forward to successive instal-
ments. It is said that although successful in his literary,
attempt, Mr. Disraeli soon began to feel the " con-
sciousness of power to influence the fortunes of his
country otherwise than by his pen," and also that
he was many years in Parliament " before the
House and the country began in any degree to
appreciate his powers." Some of the earlier
speeches of the right hon. :gentleman arc here re-
corded, and among them the celebrated one which
he made against Sir Robt. Peel's unscrupulous mode
of requiring his followers to rescind their votes on
some of the great topics of discussion. lle said
that the right hon. baronet's " horror of slavery
extended to every place but the benches behind him."
It is certainly not to the credit of the lead..u. of th 9
Tory party that he should have slighted in so
marked a manner one of such diAinguished ability
as the subj-!ct of this sketch. Sir Robert Peel's
love of mediocrity was never displayed in a manner
more inimical to his reputation than it was in his
treatment of the member for Shrewsbury, bat time
has vindicated the one at the expense of the judg-
ment of the other. " The Odes of Horace" are
concluded, and we should say, without fear of con-
tradiction, that the attempt, here submitted to the
consideration of the general reader, and to the
criticism of Horatian scholars, will meet, among
the latter at any rate, with mingled respect and
admiration. The meaning of the great poet in
these versions has been in every instance scrupu-
lously preserved, while the rhythm throughout is
flowing, and the whole most delightful to bear in
remembrance. We only trust that the whole of
this new and remarkable version of the Odes may
be shortly published in a separate form, and in its
entirety. Judging of it merely from the frag-
ments that Lave already made their appearance, we
should pronounce it a most felicitous notion
most felicitously carried out. " How Frank
Thornton was Cured" is an ingenious sketch,
which may furnish a useful lesson; and per-
haps if the decisive treatment here advocated
were adopted at an earlier period, it might be better
for all parties in the long run. Mrs. Craven's
charming work, entitled " Recit d'une Spear" is
considered in an entertaining paper on the subject,
which affords a good idea of the work to those not
acquainted with it in detail. "Letters from a Staff
Officer with the Abyssinian Expedition " have now
reached to Part the Fifth. "Historical Sketches of
the Reign of George the &cora " brings the poet
to our notice, and it is worthy of remark from the
style in which it is written and the comments made
on the various characteristics of the notabilities re-
ferred to. " Cornelius O'Dowd" is as curious as

ever in his strictures.
DUBLIN.—The pretty little story called " My
Queen" is concluded this time in a more satisfactory
manner than seemed probable at one time. " 'tine-
rant Thespians" is a pappr that is very entertaining
to peruse, and the incident of the j tck-chain
very amusing. " Haunted Lives" is continued,
and furnishes plenty of incidents iry this num-
ber to awaken curiosity and admiration.
" The Abdications of Diocletian and Charles
V." are considered, and some similarity is found
between those two notable instances of the surrender
of power by sovereigns. Some poems are met with
which diversify the contents, among which are
" Lives' Voyage," and stanzas entitled " When
Minerva Smiled."
COLBUIZN'S UNITED SERVICE for August opens
with a continuation of Dr. Gordon's " Notes on the
History of the British Soldier," in which some
further interesting particulars are given, tracing the
various changes and improvements which have
gradually occurred in the conduct and fortunes of
the army from the earliest times down to a very
recent period. The doctor shows great research
and wide knowledge of history, all which is
more interesting than valuable in a practical point
of view. Captain Brackenbury "On Military Ar-
maments, &c.," refers to the actual operations
iu the field, and the capability of the several
weapons of destruction, in which be de ve-

lopes some startling effects from our cam-
paigns in China down to the crowning glories
of our doings in the mountainous advances to the
strongholds of Magdala. From great guns his
description descends to the varieties of rifles in use
in the several States in Europe, and he exhibits a
rare appreciation of their several qualities or de-

merits. The articlo:on " Coast Defenc.!s, No. 2 "
resumes the subject by giving same practical
descriptions of the operation as exhibited by our
devoted kinsmen across the Atlantic iu their fratri-

tidal deteruiinatbn to " do or die " in that struggle
for victory, in which the battle is not always on
the si.le of the bravest cavalier. " Fortification and

the Defences of the Kingdom, No. 3," is another
instalment on a very important subject, in
which the writer dilates with patriotic ardour on
the absolute necessity of our being better prepared
for eventualities than we are at particular junctures.
He dwells with a generous spirit on what ought to
be done in strengthening our present defences and
in providing additional forts, on the principle that
things are much better and much cheaper done in
peaceable times than they can be in the commotion

and bustle incident to a state of war, wherein dan-
ger is magnified, and wasteful expenditure is reck-
lessly thrown broadcast on the wines. By the way

he asks, very pointedly, what has become of the
grand central arsenal at Cannock Chase, which was
once to be constructed as the forlorn hope of our

freedom as far back as 1860? We have but one
arsenal yet, and that is at the mercy of any daring
freebooter who may take a fancy to have a look at
the time of day at St. Paul's, after taking a hasty
breakfast at Woolwich on his way up the Thames,
now being purified for the unwelcome visitor, who
will be welcomed with the same feelings as was the

Grand Turk at the Mansion House. Certainly we
expend plenty of powder and burst great guns in
our destructive gambols at Shoeburyness by way of
learning how long it will take to kill a poor gun
which has weathered some two thousand attempts
on its existence ; and yet we have not
the common prudence of providing an inland
armoury at Cannock Chase, so as to have a shot in
the locker for a stormy day. And yet we are so
very careful of the public money that the Minister
for War who preceded General Peel " had ordered

the conversion of some 40,000 small arms into
breechloaders, at a cost of $l2 a gun " (a very
liberal Minister !), when his successor g)t the con-
version effected for less than twenty shillings,
thereby saving nearly a million in 100,000 rifles

only ! This statement has not been contradicted.
" Marshal Niel on the Performance of the Chas-

depot Breechloader," which is all bu t perfection, with
some slight drawbacks, and L)rd E. Cecil " On
Military Education, Guns, and Other Matters,"
we have not time to dilate upon, but recommend
to the reader's attention. On the subject of in-

vasion, which was once a great bugbear, we will
)nly say that a wise man will not leave anything
which can be guarded against to take the chance

of any unlucky because unforeseen accident. Time
was, time is, but time shall be no more! What

;hen ? England, while there is yet time, must act !
FRASER. —Sonviwliat weighty is the table of con-
ents which "Fra:er" presents to 113 this mouth,
;hough it is not devoid of interesting matt3r:

Lands and Seas of Another World," by K. A.

. _
Proctor, B. A., will attract the astronomer. " The
French Army in 1734" supplies some curious infor-

(nation, while "Trades' eiiionisni in the City and
May Fair" is an article, which shows that exclusive-
ness is not confined to brickinaLrs and file

grinders. IVe have b.:sides a translation of the

Ninth Satire of Horace," by Theolore Martin,

iiree chapters of " Oatnessiana," the continuation
I'atricius Walker's " Rambles," and sundry

papers of a less attractive order.
MACMILLAN.—The conclusion of Mr. Markham's
narrative of the "Abyssinian Expedition" is the first
thing to meet the realr, and the events subse-
quent to the fall of Magdala are briefly though
vividly described by one who participated in them.

Miss Clough contributes a very sensible andsuggestive

article on Primary Education, and her notice of the

' manner in which reading and writing are taught
together in Germany will interest all who know
the difficulties of imparting rudimentary know-
ledge. Next we come to what will to many readers
be the most attractive article in the number, the
continuation of " Realrnah" by the author of
" Friends in Council." It is the " friends in
council" who are in fact the chief characters of the
piece, and their debates and discussions are never
tedious. In the chapter before us Milverton and
another entrap Ellesmere into one of his charac-
teristic semi-humorous harangues by asking him
what he would do if he were to live to a patriarchal
age, and Ellesmere proceeds with a sparkling
mixture of jest and earnest to sketch out his plans,
beginning with abolishing the penny lost, and end-
ing with the encouragement of wholesome recreation
and reducing the standing armies. The "Autograph
of llandel's Messiah " affords matter for a critical
inluiry, and " The Quarrels of Friends" are wisely
discoursed upon. " Saved at Last," by the Rev.
J. Gilmore, is a graphic account of an heroic
rescue performed by the Ramsgate Lifeboat in a
terrible gale of January. The feat was a desperate
one, the lifeboat being beaten back four times from
the wreck by the violence of the waves, and at last
only succeeding by the desperate resource of driv-
ing her in ov,r the sinking vessels, and throwing
the anchor upon her deck. This gallant scheme
was successfully carried out, and the shipwrecked
crew saved after they had thought rescue impos-
sible. When they saw their friends in need driven
off time after time they gave up hope, but one of
them—it was a Danish vessel—assured his fellows
that they had yet a chance. " I have sailed in
English ships," he sail. " I have often heard about
lifeboat work, and I know they never leave any
one to perish as long as they can see them, and they
will not leave us." Encouraged by this hope, the
men clung to the wet and shaking rigging to be all
saved at last. Miss Youge's interesting story of
" The Chaplet of Pearls" proceeds with animation,
and the number altogether is au excellent one.
BELGRAVIA.--As usual this magazine contains a
variety of subjects. " Bound to John Company"
is the first subject met with, and it is an effective
sketch. " Charlotte's Inheritance" still proceeds,
and "Dead Sea-Fruit" and "Diana Gay" also con-
tribute their share to the large stock of fiction
which appears among the contents. " Marriage
versus Celibacy" is a paper on the topic that is just
now so often met with, and Walter Tnornbury's
" London Clubs" are well worthy of attention.
" The Whitebait Mystery" will please many at this
season, and the poems interspersed through the
pages of Belgravia are a useful as well as orna-
mental addition, relieving the monotony of the
prose papers, and imparting a brilliancy to the
style.

CORNHILL—This number is an interesting one,
and the completion of " Avonhoe" is written in a
very powerful style. There is something very effec-
tive in the sketch given of the vanity of human
wishes, and the sad loss of the youth in the full
hope and promise of his career was a warning to
the pride and selfishness of his parents. " The
Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly" is eventful in this

instalment, and the returning Jack Bramleigh is
the hero of new adventures. This romautic story
will soon coins to an end, with will be a loss to the
reader, who has long followed its erratic records,
and been conversant with its stirring events and
peculiar characters. "A Prussian Soldier's Notes
on the Prussian Army" will be found full of inci-
dent and information, and " Anarchy and Autho-
rity" is concluded in this instalment, which is an
impressive one, and carefully written. " Great
Solar Eclipses" is a suitable topic to discuss just
now, when attention is directed in that line.
" How to Form a Good Taste in Art," " Coast De-
fence," and the " Santals" complete the contents of
this number, which is perhaps too solid, but con-
tains much of a noticeable nature.

THE ST. JAMES'S MAGAZINE.--The illustrations
in the St. James's refresh the sight of the weary
Londoner, bringing as they d) visions of trees and
flowers. The literary contents, liwever, are not
without its attractions, beginning with Mrs. Rid-
dell's novel, and following with instalments of two
other novels for the lovers of fiction, and more solid
articles for the wiser reader. " The Secret of

Economy" is a sensible and suggestive piece of
advice to houskeepers, while "Our Cabs" is the
title of a paper which looks at both sides of

the question. " Merlin," that mystic hero of
romance, is resuscitated and his history told, and
the King of Clubs—Brillat Severin—is also chosen
as the subject of a memoir.
TEMPLE BAr:.—" Kitty" is continued, and the
adventures of the heroine in this instalment are
well worthy of note. The fatted cdf is killed, and
it is said that the ceremony is pleasant to all but the
calf and the prodigal. The col-dhearted philosophy
of the damsel is indeed most undeserving of the
attachment she inspires in well-meaning indivi-
duals, but that, perhaps, is not unusual in the world.

Lady Esther" is a tale that tells of the doings of
a young lady who is at war with circumstances, and
cannot decide between the rival claims of a min she
loved without money and a man she hated with
money. It must be said that she got a better fate
than she deserved under the circumstances. A
Popular Swiss Tour" tells how a month may be
spent most delightfully in the country which has
become the word's great playground of late years.
The scene traversed was the l3ernese Overland, and
the description may well tempt any one to follow
the track here put before them. " Vera" is a pecu-
liar sketch, that will be more interesting next time
in all probability. " Adventures in the Mosquito"
is an exciting sketch, and " Vox Populi on the
Turf" has some very sensible observations on that
topic of public interest. An interesting notice of
Samuel Lover is met with, and he is called the most
popular of Ireland's song-writers since the days of
Moore. _

THE MONTII.—" The Story of a Great Li-
brary " traces the fortunes of the Bodleian
Library at Oxford very pleasantly. "Men of the
Thirty Years' War" is the title of a biographical
series, beginning with Firdinand 11. and the Elector
Frederick. "Anne Severin" and " Eudoxia" are
two pleasing stories, while " Of the Sun," an essay
by Fr. Secchi, is full of valuable information, and
illustrated by several diagrams. There is a good
supply of critical notices, and Aubrey de Vere
contributes a thoughtful poem on the memory of
Coleridge.
THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE.—This old friend
with a new face keeps up its improved character.
It opens with four chapters of " Not in Society,"
a smartly-written drama of London life. Part 3

of " Among the Pictures" is worth reading, and
the directions " How, When, and Where to Bathe',

are very useful and appropriate this weather. " Our
Grammar Schools as they are" are considered, prior
to the discussion of what they should be, and the
" Science of Croquet" is dilated upon by an en-
thusiastic votary of the balls and hoops. " Pigs
to Wit," is an essay which possesses:the recommen-
dation of novelty, for few writers ever discourse on
the merits and de:nerits of the various specimens of
pork ! Edwin Arnold contributes a well-written

essay on " Theodore the King," whose ambition
might have been gratified had he known the cele-
brity he was to enjoy in the West. "The Memo-
rial Window" is an interesting story, and " Music
in Vanity Fair" is a pleasant piece of criticism.