The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-12 00:00:00

and a glow of thought. Men who read to
learn are active readers; they gripe the subject
with a strong intelligence, and master it with
an effort and make it their own by dint of
stress, the principles, or facts, or views, put
forth. The various kinds of readers can be
judged almost by the way they look at a book
—certainly by the way they handle it. The
pleasure reader has no love or reverence for the
book. He takes it up as he does his glass, and
throws it down ; were it not contrary to cus-
tom, he would as soon throw it under the
table as cast it upon the table. He is a mere
pleasure animal, and he eats and drinks and
gormandizes upon these mental foods, but is
both too selfish and too gifted with worldly
common-sense to care for the food except to
cat it. If he takes up a book by chance which
he does not understand, he flings it down as if
it had offered him a personal affront. He is
a coarse kind of animal enough, and we «ill
not touch him any more. The study-reader
loves and reverences the books of all gco 1
men. He looks upon books as treasure-stcre;
of mental labour. He sees in them a man's
mind, bound in calf or board, a folio, quarto
or octavo, as the case may be. He touches
them, carries them about, takes them down,
and puts them back, more as if they were
livinc, creatures than dead paper and ink. His
eyes look tenderly on them, and if they be
the works of great men, master minds which
have 'gone away, minds which have left a deep,
broad mark on the face of humanity, he could
kiss their pages, and sigh quiet gratitude and
love to them, and treat them as the most pre-
cious monuments of the most noble part of
noble men. He knows that a book is a mark
of mental travail, and that the dead words
contain thoughts that once lived in a splendid
mind. He loves to think their thoughts, and
to fashion his own intelligence into the same
conceptions which they indulged in, and to
become participant of the brightest flashes
or deepest colouring of their varied powers.
So far for readers at present. We have only
made a few points upon readers who read to
themselves. There is another class full of
curious ways and habits, which read to others.
Of them we must say a word at another time.
How full of life—of manifestations of life, each
his special way—these classes are ! Man is
many-sided,
and on all sides his soul peeps
out, and says—l am great, or lam vile; lam
generous, or I am selfish; I am vain, or I am
lowly.—Westininster Gazette.

7IIE STATE TRIAL.

(From the Anglo-American Times.)

When we wrote last Friday we little anticipated
having again to write in ignorance of the result. of
the Impeachment trial. What we imagined proves
to be the cause ; the Managers gained their point,
and they are drowning the Senate and deluging
Washington with the flood of their eloquence. The:
Hon. THAD. STEVENS earnestly desires to support.
the Article of Impeachment, which he insisted upon
adding to the charges, and for this he craved an
hour, alleging that " without some explanation of
that Article his position before the country would
be truly awful." The hour turns into a day, and
the time of the Assembly is wasted in needless argu-
ments, which convince no one and do no earthly
good. The only telegram this week referring to the
trial was dated Washington, May 2. The Mana-
gers had finished, and on Monday, the 4th instant,
Mr. BINGHAM was to close. No intelligence has
reached us of the time taken by this Manager ; but
we will be much surprised if the 'verdict is not
known in Europe by the time we go to press. A
tremendous pressure has been brought to bear upon
the doubtful Senators, COLE, FRELINGHUYSEN,
FESSENDEN, FOWLER, SPRAGUE, GRIMES, and
CORBETT, with three or four more whose spectacles
are so slightly coloured that all objects may not be
seen with the Republican hue. To get up a little
of the necessary dye, to wipe the eye, and clear the
sight of the oblique-visioned, Republicans of the
highest influence from many States, friends, home
companions, and relatives have been hurried up to
Washington, and the doubtful are subjected to a
style of treatment that might make them sigh
for the peace and quiet of the grave. On one
side are imploring eyes ; on the other, averted
heads ; before the Senator is an impassioned
friend, picturing the ruin of the country ; behind
him an influential 112 publican whispering in his ear
the great rewards that await the 'aonest and manly
discharge of his duty. It is now stated, with what
truth we know not, that the Senators will vote by
ballot. If so, those who go against what is pro-
nounced to be the party interest, will be unknown,
and the threats and coaxings alike defeated. Mr.
BOUTWELL'S speech occupied the greater part of two
days ; Judge NELSON'S was even longer ; General
LOGAN'S fills nearly 21 closely printed columns of
the Globe, and we may judge of the length of the
others by the time occupied. The order in which
both Managers and counsel were to speak was pre-
viously arranged, and we believe it has been strictly
adhered to. Mr. Bo unvELL's address was delivered
from printed slips, Judge NELSON'S was for the
most part extempore, being merely aided by a few
manuscript notes. It was mainly devoted to the
personal character of Mr. JOHNSON, and the counsel
makes a strong point of his unfaltering defence of
the Union when other Southern Senators were false
to their allegiance, and what he had suffered for his
loyalty. Backing this argument, the Democratic
papers reprint an order of 1862 by a court in Knox-
ville, Tennessee, headed "Confederate States of
America," &c., confiscating "the estate of ANDREW
JOHNSON, an alien enemy." They contrast how he
adhered unfalteringly to his Union principles in
1862, and how he is treated by the Unionists in
1868. There is a remark in Mr. BOUTWELL'S ad-
dress that is sot an inapt answer :—" He has one
rule of life : he attempts to use every man of power,
cipacity, or influence within his reach ; he attacks
to destroy all who will not become his instruments,
and all who become his instruments are destroyed
in the use." In truth, ANDREW JOHNSON loves
opposition ; he is essentially pugnacious ; if he found
men around him good he would be bad in opposition,
and we are half inclined to believe if he found all
men around him bad, he would be good out of pure
devilment. He has ability enough to make his op-
position felt ; and a man of his character could
scarcely fail to be a strong and unscrupulous oppo-
nent of the Confederacy when most around him
were its supporters, and go over to the rebels when
those around him were loyal. The PRESIDENT de-
sired Judge NELSON to speak, although this was
opposed by his counsel. A body like the Senate
is not to be influenced by Tennessee stump orators,
and the able lawyers employed in the defence were
fully aware of the fact. Mr. NELSON endeavoured,
by impassioned gesture, to make up for his lack of
arogud haveulinent,atbideenn a mostodoubt, in a field gathering, he
w effective speaker. But it
is considered on the whole that his speech was a
mistake. One portion of it excited much interest,
and Mr. CHASE was narrowly scanned to see the
effect on him. This was when he appealed to the
Chief Justice to charge the Senate upon the law
treating the Assembly merely as a jury, and assert-
ing his own position as a Judge. Not much is ex-
pected from General LOGAN'S address, but all
heartily congratulate themselves on the absence of
General BUTLER. The self-assertion of that gen-
tleman is one of the most remarkable facts elicited
by the trial. The man who could not take Fort
Fisher stood alone on the crowded fl ior in the
highest national assembly, and bullied Judge,
jury, counsel, and witnesses, overcoming alike
all efforts of suppression by friend or foe.
He is a singular character this General BUTLER,
and is rapidly making a biography for the
amusement and instruction of posterity. Sur-
rounded by men of far greater talent and far more
legal knowledge, of a record pure and undefiled, it
is amazing to see what audacity can effect in giving
prominence to one individual. That the PRESIDENT
will be convicted is the general impression. What
we have all along said is what we have now to say,
that ANDREW JOHNSON undoubtedly broke a law,
and the Senate will merely have to decide whether
it was with a guilty intent, in which they cannot
fail to be influenced by expediency, and as four-
fifths of the Assembly believe it to be necessary for
the peace and wellbeing of the country that he