The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-01 00:00:00

MAGAZINE DAY.

BLACKWOOD.—The second number of the sketch
of the Right Hon. Benjamin Disraeli is met with,
and the same conciseness of style and general know-
ledge are displayed that were apparent on the
previous occasion. At the conclusion of these
pages we meet with an important extract on the
subject of Reform, taken from a speech delivered
twenty years ago. Mr. Hume had brought for-
ward a motion, in which he laid great stress on the
claims of property, and in criticising it Mr.
Disraeli declared that no plan could be more hard
and unsatisfactory to the great body of the people
than one which recognised property alone as its
basis, that being a failing in the measure of 1832.
" Letters from a Staff-Officer with the Abyssinian
Expedition" are brought to a conclusion, and they
will be found to convey a very fair idea of the state
of things and the fortunes of the venture. Speak-
ing of the Abyssinians it is said that they are a
brave and hardy race, but their vanity and love of
g may "mania." One thing
mentioned
he b r
eies
worcalledthy
of
fnotice, which is that
the assertion has been contradicted that the
British soldier is not so well adapted for the vicissi-
tudes of " campaigning" as the Indian one. Cor-
nelius O'I)owd continues his disquisitions on public
matters and social questions with more or less
pungency and force, and chooses several subjects to
discuss in this portion. "Madame Aurelia" is the
first part of a new story, which promises well so far
and is well described. It brings in a good many
characters, and seems likely to be entertaining as
it proceeds. An impressive passage is that in which
the secret of influence is described, and great stress
is laid upon the way in which the personal character
of a man makes itself felt in the " voice." It is
".more than half the secret of the orator, and more
than half the secret of the secret itself lies in what
musicians would call its timbre, the after-ring of its
vibration." An interesting article is that on " Bun-
sen," and it truly says that he was fortunate in
personal advancement. "Blessings fell on him like
dew wherever he went ; honour and love attended
his steps." In some points he met with failure, it
is true, but Madame Bunsen has presented to the
world the image and reflection of an honourable
career and an enviable life, and he has
left to his country a noble possession, the
" tradition of a spotless, honourable, and pious
life—inspired from beginning to end with the
truest devotion to the Fatherland." In this the
sixth part of " Historical Sketches of the Reign
of George the Second " we meet with the
" Young Chevalier." An effective description is
given of one of the most " extraordinary, splendid,
and hopeless expeditions ever recorded in history."
It had been better for his fame had the " Young
Chevalier" been all we ever knew of this hero, and
if he had not survived to see his latter days as they
were. Still painful memories and pitying thoughts
attend the spot where Charles Edward, " with all
the Catisars, has slept for nearly a century, and
his daring exploits flash with meteor rays across
the dark horizon of history." It is said here that
had he died after quitting Scotian] it would have
made the story complete—" an epic beyond all
competition of poetry, but death under such cir-
cumstances Inuit be a crown too splendid for the
exigencies of common humanity. It does not
come when its presence would complete and perfect
the round of life." One of the most pleasing remi
niscences of his career is that, with a price of thirty
thousand pounds on his bead, he went safe'y from
cabin to cabin, and from guide to guide.
FRASER.—Fraser this month is not peculiarly
interesting, but rather the reverse. Its main sub-
jects are weighty, and there is little or no attempt
to relieve them. It opens with a lengthened article
in favour of Teetotalism, which it is unhappily never
difficult to support by illustrations from the facts
around us. Those who advocate the suppression of
the liquor traffic, however, would find if it were