The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-06 00:00:00

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY.

The scandalous discomfiture of the royalist troops
by Humbert in '9B, familiarly known as " the race
of Castlebar," is graphically described in " Maurice
Ti,-rney," wherein there is also a most humorous de-
scription of Torn Colooney's first appearance on pa•
rade, which, did &pace permit, we would willingly
transcribe. '• The Mystic Vial," than which few
better tales have appeared in the monthly press, is
brought to a conclusion. The interest is well sus-
rained to the end, without the interposition of any
preternatural agency, as we were induced to antici-
pAre from the earlier portion of the st,ry. A dwarf
Tale of the Crusaders," entitled " Marguerite de
Vienne," has the merit of brevity. 'We lika rather
the simple and plaintive ballad of " Dark Margaret."
The other four papers in the present number are ad-
mirable. The essay on the writings of the great
modern historian, Alison, is a masterly production,
and will amply repay perusal. " Leaves from the
Portfolio of a Manager" are evidently a contribu-
tion from an amiable and accomplished gentleman, Mr.
Calcratt, the lessee of the Dublin Theatre. Well (1,,
we remember his first appearance on that stage—
Consule Fiance—in poor Abbott's managerial reign,
in Tullus Aufidius, Anno Domini 1825. This is a

delicious piece.. of dramatic go.sip, replete with shrewd
remarks. 'SI/ can but indulge in a single ex;ract,
wherein is too much common sense to be palatable to
many :--
" Don't collect books, and don't envy the possessors
of costly libraries. Read and recollect. Of course you
have a Bible and Prayer-book ; add to these the
Pilgrim's Progress, Shakspere, Milton, Pope, Byron
(if you like), a History of Engiaed, Greece, and Rome,
Boswell's Life of Johnson, and Napier's Peninsular War.
A moderate sum will give you teese ; and you possess
CAinet Encyclopedia of religious, moral, and enter-
taining knowledge, containing more than y ai want for
practical purposes, and quite as much as your brains
can easily carry. Never wind the old classics. (What,
not Horace ?) Leave them to college libraries,
where they look respectable, and enj.)y long
slumbers. The monthly periodicals will place
you much more au courant with the conversation and
acquirements of the day. Add, if you can, a ledger, with
good sound balance en the right side, and you will be
a happier, and perhaps a better read man, than though
you were uncontrolled master of the Bodleian, the Na-
tional Library of France, and the innumerable tomes of
,he Vatican into the bargain."
The description of the unequalled Paganini is capital.
It was no joke for a manager to engage a star who
wept off a clear two-thirds of each night's receipts,
besides insisting on minor allowances. Think, too,
of 7 0001. being received for six nights' performances
of Jenny Lind in Dublin, in the height of the famine,
and 5,8001. thereof going into the pockets of herself
and the parties with whom she was associated.
Verily managers have to play a hazardous game!
We shall look for more from Mr. Calcraft's note-
book In a deservedly eulogistic critique on
Blackie's version of Aschylus, the respective trans-
lations of the famous passage of " the Watchfires,"
by Potter, Kennedy _Bailie, Harford, and
Blackie, are given ; each successive translator, in
our opinion, rising superior in merit zo his predecessor.
Jonathan Freke Slingsby, whilst, as usual, he
delights, this month almost surprises us, in his
" Carol for Christmas." After some prose paragraphs,
fraught with exquisite simplicity, which more than
once verges on the sublime, he pours forth a poem
iully worthy of Alfred Tennyson. Well knowing,
as we long have done, his powers of ballad writing,
whether grave or gay, pathetic or sparkling, and the
faultless finish of his versification,: yet we confess
to having scarcely been prepared for the development
of such high poetic powers as pervade the verses of
" Ravenscroft Hall." It contains some seven or
eight hundred lines relating:to—but we will not now
enter into a detailed consideration of the story, or
even of the exceeding beauties of this touching and
melodious lay. The present ege is not so rich in poesy
that a production of such singular sweetness, purity,
and power, as " Ravenscrofc Hall," should long be
suffered to remain unpublished in a separate form,
albeit it immortalises the present number of the
Dublin Magazine.

---
It is understood that the pamphlet, announced under
the title of " What shill be done with Cardi,al Wiseman,"
is from the pen of an ern vent journalist connected with one
of the London daily papers.
PiiII,ANTIIitoPIC SOCIETY.-4 quarterly meeting
of the Board of Directors of this society was held yesterday,
at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street ; Mr. Gladstone in
the chair. It was stated that in consequence of the large
amount of several legacies which had been bequeathed to the
society, they had been induced to purchase for 10,0001., the
farm which they formerly rented, which consisted of about
140 acres; bequests to the amount of 11,8001. had been re-
ceived within the last few months. There were now hinety-
seven boys in the school, who were severally brought up to
particular branches of industry—four as carpenters, two as
bricklayers, two as smiths, five were re, erved for domestic
purposes, and there were generally eighty-five or eighty-six
employed on the farm. The boys, within the last three
report would
week:3, had accomplished for dOs. what, by enlPl'Yiag
irteigto%lzetruliaebrottitrlears,have cost the sociey upwards of 8/.
unanimously received. and
highly • satisfactory, and was
_nd adopted. The secretary luenr
toned that it was intezlPa. that a view of the school shuuld
be paiMe,i for exhibition in the sprint/ of 18 1, w,th a view
&.
to tile increase' of the mods a the soviet). No cher bag-
-ness coming before tlf'ffieetthg
i
olatirman as ' carried unaliimOut V' '
yi And'the,court broke tip. .
._.. .
- • ,•• ' • ' -
''''ti;'ttite of thank os
to the

THE CRYSTAL PAL iCE in HYDE PARK.

&nee our last notice oft his great building the pro-
. gress made in its construction hue really been won-
' earful. Toe rapidity with which the work is pusbei
forward beats everything of the kind which hay ever
been attempted even ie this laud of industry, and we
know of nothing which can at all compare with it,
except, perhaps, the growth of particular branches of
our manufactures, developed by the full force of auc-
cessful enterprise, Only a fortnight ago, though
extraordinary progress had then b: en made, little more
had been done than arranging the bones and verte-
braa so to speak, of the vast skeleton ; but now the
details have been filled up over a large portion of the
edifice, and the realisation of Mr. Paxton's design is
brought within the limits of a few days. Tnere now
remains no room for doubt thet before the close of the
year the Crystal Palace will be completed, and that
what Messrs. Fox and Henderson, the contractors,
have undertaken they will fully perform. Looking to
the magnitude and novelty of the enterprise one can-
not help being struck with the extraordinary energy
and skill of which this building will he a lasting monu-
ment, and great as unquestionably is the merit of that
' happy idea which first suggested that the master-
pieces of the world's industry should be enshrined in
a gigantic glass case, even that splendid suggestion is
almost lust sight of in the presence of hose wonderful
executive powers, those nice calculations of propor-
tion and forces, that dexterous application of :meia- •
nical facilities, and, above ail, that organized distribu-
tam of labour, by which in little more than three
months so vast an amount of difficult and untried
work has been achieved. It is but right, now, while
the undertaking is in process of completion, while the
busy hands of more than 2,000 mechanics and arti-
sans are engaged in the actual labours of construc-
tion, to stamp with its true character that energetic
execution which has here been so remarkably dis-
played. The uninitiated can form no idea of the task
which the contractors fbr the erection of the Crystal
Palace have undertaken, and the public when this
great work has been finished will with difficulty
recall the exertions requisite to fill up a scheme not
planned by a regular architect. It is unfortunate
in some respects, that when such a structure is com-
pleted the energy which created it cannot be very
forcibly realised ; but if, in the approaching exhi-
bition, a rare proof is required of what within a
given time English enterprise and English capital
can do, the great building in Hyde park will furnish
that evidence. Its pillared terraces are now at length
to be seen in their full proportions ; for of the tour
extreme corners, east and west, three have been
reached. The transept too begins to be crowned
with its spacious arched roof, the happy suggestion
of Mr. Barry, who, it should be known, has intro-
duced several very important features into the design
of the building, by which the general effect will, no
doubt, be greatly heightened. The raising end
placing of the ribs which are to form the roof has
only just been commenced. The operation is one of
great nicety, and involves, perhaps, a greater amount
of mechanical skill than any other part of the work.
Some account of the process may be interesting, and
we interrupt our narrative of the actual progress
made in order to supply it. For the last two months
the most remarkable-looking objects in the huge
piles of material collected upon the ground have
been a number of huge semicircular wooden ribs,
which one might have thought had been originally
intended for the waist of a man-of-war These are

raised upon end and set up in plirs, with " purlues"
fittrl in, distance-pieces to support the intermediate
gutters, and six set', of cross•bracing to make the
whole sufficiently stiff. Ropes are then attached to this
frameworkfrom scaffolding on either side of the transept,
at the point of intersection with the centre aisle, and
the power used in raising the ribs consists of four
" crabs," so disposed that the men working them can
see exactly the extent to which the rope affixed to
their crabs should he pulled. As the framework is
necessarily brooder than the transept, one side is
raised about 36 feet higher than the other until the
whole mass is raised to the desired elevation. It is
then moved on rollers to its proper position in the

. .
arch, and dropped into a socket four feet deep, formed
for its reception at the top of each cast-iron column in
that part of the third tier. The whole of this arrange-
ment is exceedingly ingenious, and the simplicity of it
is not leas admirable than the strength and stability
which are insured. Eight pairs of ribs are required
to complete the roof of the transept, and Messrs. Fox
and Henderson calculate that all will be raised and
placed in about ten days. Yesterday two pairs had
been mounted, and on one of them, at the very crown
of the arch, the Union Jack was flying, as if in token
of the triumph thus achieved. The transf-pt and the
parts of the building adjacent to it have supplied
the chief difficulties of construction with which the

contractors have had to contend, but just in pro-
portion to the obstacles overcome will be the splen-
dour of the effect produced. This airy and vaulted
compartment will enclose within it a row of lofty
trees without any violation of the rules of proportion,
and in harmony with the green leaves and wide-
spreading boughs in the centre, not only of the tran-
sept, but also of the whole building, will be placed a
splendid fountain thirty feet high. In anticipating
the effect which will be produced by this portion of
the new building, it cannot but be regretted that the
roofs of the transept and the nave are not of the same
form and pitch. Mr. Barry proposed that the arched

roof should be carried along the whole centre aisle,
and, had his t.u2gescion been adopted, the coup d'ail
would probably have been one of the finest in the
_ _

world ; but the Commissioners were frightened by the
ad ibional expense, which was calculated at about
7,0001. We may here mention that the idea of the
transept was originated by Mr. Henderson. Returning
to the progress made in the construction, as far as the

building has been carried the galleries are prepared
for the laying of the floor-b3ards. A very large pro
portion of the glazing, also, has been done, and this
part of the work is vigorously pressed forward. In a
iormer notice we described the sort of hooded carriage
in which the painters and glaziers carried on their
operations. In some portions of the building these
are now congregated in such numbers as to look like
a gipsy encampment. Not the least remarkable fea-
ture in the present appearance of the new building is
the extent to which accumulated stores of material of
all kinds—columns, girders, window-frames, sash-
bars, gutters, &c.—have disappeared from the ground,
where they lay piled in heaps, and taken their place
aloft. Yet the wants of the artificers are still for
from being supplied. The contractors speak with
great warmth of the zealous assistance which they
have received from the North-Western Railway Com-
pany in the rapid transmission of material, and it may
be mentioned as not the least curious example of the

extraordinary facilities which tt is age and country
enjoy, that pieces of iron, shaped in the foundry of
Messrs. Fox and Henderson at Birmingham, are often
within eighteen hours fixed in their assigned places
in the Crystal Palace, Hyde-pack. The visitor to
the busy scene within thehoarding will find in
what he sees' there an ample compensation for
the 55. entrance fee which is at present charged.
The arrangement, the intelligence, and unfligging
zeal with which the work is pressed forward, the op-
portunity of watching how a gree, inclustriou,, and
skilful population like ours supplies hands fit to ac-
complish the most novel and arduous undertakings—
all these things furni,h an ample field for observation
and reflection, even when curiosity about the building
itself has been exhausted. Accordingly, the number
of visitors attracted there daily is considerable, and as
touch as 20/ is usually taken at the doors. The
money thus collected is, we are informed, applied as
an accident fund for the benefit of the workmen. In
this respect, when the dangerous character of the ope-
rations is considered, the people employed have been
very fortunate.
Yesterday the Royal Commission held its first sit-
ting in the Crystal Palace, and was presided over by
his Royal Highness Prince Albert, who arrived there
as early as eleven o'clock, and, having minutely ex-
amined the works, expressed himself greatly pleased
with the progress made. One of the chief subjects
under diacussion before the Commissioners was the
manner in which the siew building should be painted
and decorated. In order to assist them in forming
an opinion on this point, flags were placed at differ
ent points on the exterior, and drapery suspended
within. A portion of the principal façade also was
fitted with the ornamental castings suggested by Mr.
Barry, and Mr. Owen Jones had prepared by way of
experiment some specimens of the way in which the
interior might be painted. As to the exterior, the
Commissioners decided that it should be p Anted plain
stone colour. The interior Mr. Owen Jones propos-d
to paint as follows :—Blue, white, and yellow fur the
columns; blue, white, and red for the girders; red,
white, and yellow for the roof. Tne effect of this
combination of colours he illustrated in two very
clever pictures, giving the perspective of the centre
aisle and the transept, and finished in the marvel-
lously short space of six days. These pictures were
certainly not ill calculated to do away with the
strongly unfavourable impression which the experi-
ment on a portion of the building produced on
nearly all who saw it. The Commissioners went fully
into the matter, and the result at which they have
arrived has considerably modified the suggestions of
Mr. Owen Jones. Red is to be expunged from the
roof, and white and blue colours, the most delicate and
the best adapted for a crystal palace, are to be substituted.
On the upright columns and girders red is rejected,
blue and white being retained, and just sufficient of
the yellow to reduce the effect of the whole to a neu-
tral tint. Wnat the appearance of the interior may
he, with the colours which the Commissioners have
selected, it is not easy at present to say, but, at least,
their selection is an improvement upon the design of
Mr. Owen Jones.`
As the Pririce was laying the Exhibition a singular
meene took plane. lai,Lie b:-11 at the entrance was
sounded, and in an instant, from every part of the
huge pile, the 2,000 men 'employed came scrambling
Onward, to give hint a tparting cheer. It was a re-

markable spectacle to see so large a body of people
approaching in so many difr,rent ways, some slipping
down columns, otl-ts skipping- across joists, and ba-
lancing thuinselves dexterously along girders. At-, list
they all forme4 in a pernicirele round the spot v..here
the Royal carriage was drawn up. As they w3ited
in respectful silence the Prince's appearance, a
brewer's dray enter.d the gates with 250 gallons of
beer, and, as if by instinct, they recognised that the
grateful supply was fur them. Of course they wel •
coined the dray with cheers. His Royal Highness,
on taking his departure, was saluted with enthusiastic
hurrahs.

We are glad to announce that the Committee of the
Exhibition have been so fortunate a 4 to secure the ser-
vices of Mr. Thomas Belshaw, of Manchester, whose
great practical experience in the arrangement and
management of the various exhibitions of manufac•
tures at Manchester, at Birmingham, at Dublin, and
at various other towns, renders his aid as an organizer
of the greatest possible value.

INS lITU HON OFCIVIL ENGINEERS.
Nov. 26 AND Dk.c. 3, Is3o.

(William Cubitt, E.q., President, in the Chair.)
Tile discussion on Mr. Strtne6 paper, on " Tnel Ven-
tilation of Collieries, theoretically and practically
consid,red," was continued throughout both the
evenings, to the excluion of any oth,,r subject.
Toe principal points of the paper were explained.
to the members who were present at the rt ading of
the paper. Great stress was laid on the advantages
of splitting the current of air, so as to reduce the
velocity of its transit through the mine, and to afford
a full supply to the most remote points of the
workings._

The -nigh temperature in the upcast shaft, necessary,
to produce the requisite velocity of current in the gal-
leries of mines, when furnaces were employed, was
adduced in favour of the employment of Struve 's
mine ventilator, or other mechanical means of draw-
ing out air through shafts which were also used for
drawing the coal, or raising the men to the surface.
The wasteful application of steam, in the form of
a jet, was insisted on, and contrasted with the small
power actually employed at the Eaglesbush Colliery,
for giving motion to Struve's mine ventilator.
These statements were fully confirmed. It was
shown that the speed of the mine ventilator could be
regulated to produce any requisite velocity of current
in the galleries, anti that it was an eficie❑t indicator
of the occurrence of any stoppage in the air passages,
as on the supply of air being, arrested the machine
would soon be stopped.
In the best mines of the north, furnace ventilation
was found to be most efficient, and the stated danger
apprehended from the firing of the gas at the furnace
was concluded to be more ideal than real. Never-
theless it was admitted, that a good simple mode of
theehameal ventuution merited the best attention of
the owners of collieries. Fans for forcing air down
i❑to mines had bee❑ tried, but were found inefficient,
although considerable power was consumed in pro-
pelling them.

- difficulties found in using mechanical exhaus•
tors were then attributed in a great degree to the
small size ot the inlet and outlet valves, and the im-
provements introduced by Dr. Arnott in the appa-
ratus for ventilating the New County Hospital, at
York, were instanced as ex ,inples of the necessity for
using curtain valves, of large area, for the machines,
as it had been found, that as the dimensions of the
VaiVeS were increased, the power required to work
the machines diminished. The most b‘tueficial effects
had resulted from the use of ventilating machines
similar in principle to Struve's Mine Ventilator, in
hospitals, and on baard crov%ded emigrant and con-
vict ships, and by proper attention to the area of the
valves the power required to work them was very
small. The application of small water-power engines,
like those made by Mr. Armstrong (ot Newcastle),
tor giving motion to the ventilating machines, was
recommended as very effective, end most economical.
Tne importance of large air channels in short
lengths, for furnishing ample supplies of air under
wound, was admitted t,y other speakers, who, how
ever, objected to the application ot mechanical venti-
lation, preferring its being effected by natural means,
which it was contended could beattsined by a judicious
system of "winning" arrangements. When, however,
this was notpracticable,Struv e's apparatus wasapproved
as the be-t mtnerto introduced. A somewhat similar
but less perfect system had been used for some years
in Germany, Prussia, Belgium, and in some mines in
England. _ _

'he system of sinking shafts on the dip, for the
advantage ot collecting water, with Jut considering
the tendency of gas to accumulate in the upper
cavities of the workings, was deprecated, and the
more advantageous pia❑ proposed ot havi►,g the down-
cast shat t on the dip, and the upcast on the crop,
whereby an easier exit would be provided, and a
more effective ventilation be established.

The application of the steam jet was advocated, and
instance. were given of its alioiency in clearing the
after-datnp from pits were explosions had occurred.
It was argued, from experiments, that the :team jet
could be rendered much more efficient than the fur-
nace; but no statement of the relative expense of this
plan, us compared with mechanical ventilation, was
entered into.

The evidence given before the House of Commons
in 1835, the House of Lords in 1849, and to the
Santo Snields Committee on Accidents in Coal Minese
in 1843, was carelutly analysed, with the intentem of
demonstrating, that beyond certain limits, it was us •
less to force furnace ventilation, tv, under certain cir-
cumstances, a current of cold air was found to descend
forming a false brattice, and arrest-
ingnstilaaftti
the on. The steam jet was stated to be
capable
such increase of power, and of such varied
application,t e u p c
v of
s h
as not to be subject to this inconvenience.
It was contended, on the other nand, that in reality
this natural brattice was seldom perceived, and that
when it did occur the system of scaling off a portion of
air, at some distance up the shaft, sufficed to destroy it.
It was shown that mechanical ventilation was es-
sential to clear away the choke or after-damp, so as
to enable a mine to be entered after an explosion,
when it might be dangerous to light the furnace at
the bottom of the pit; but by setting the machine at
work with increased velocity a much greater circula-
tion of air could be caused under any circumstances
of barometrical pressure, and the mine could be
cleared in a short time. Had this system been adopted
the dreadful effects of the choke-damp after explosions
would have been frequently obviated, and much waste
of human lite might have been avoided.
h built " 1 e
itpoha gep ,e
wastuoeys 'Tuesday,
sal
tyi
ooDecember
toi be read
The discussion was adjourned until the next meet-
n
Tweed, on the line of the York, Newcastle, and Ber-
-"
vDtehreesetrthibpeltlioowrniivneogrf
wick Railway," by Mr. G. B. Bruce, M. Inst. C. B.
At the monthly ballot the following candidates
were duly elected :—Messrs. J. Barrett, T. W.
Booker, M.P., T. Bunch, D. Brandon J. P. Budd,
E. Clack, A. B. Cochrane, jun. L. Elliot W. Exatl,
C. Geach, E. Grove, EL Gwyn, J. Lianvey, H.
W. Hannan, C J. Mare, J H. Porter, R. Turner,
C. H. Waring, F. R. Window, and M. D. Wyatt, as
associates.

WATER.LO 0-BRIDGE.
a
The halt-yearly meeting of th proprietors of Water-
?flair The
report stated that
y a
100-bridge was held yesterday at Freemasons'
Tavern, Great Queen-street; Mr. F. Jenkins in the
in the receipts of the tolls in the year amounting to
353/. 7s. 3d. over the corresponding period of last year,
of which increase 2571. had been derived from horses and
there had been an increase
carriages, and 961. from foot passengers. After paying
the current expenses, providing fur the interest of the
company's bonds, and giving a dividend of 3s. in the
pound to the annuitants, there remained a balance of
7601. 12s. The committee beg to cull the attention of
me meeting to a clause in the Act of Parliament autho-
rising the proprietors to reduce or raise the horse-gate
,
toll, not exceeding the tolls authorised to be taken, as
they might find it necessary for the protection of their
interests to raise some of the carriage traffic. The
structure continued in a sound state, without any appear-
ance of defect or settlement. The statement of accounts
showed that the income for the half-year had been
9,0391. 153. The foot toll amounted to 4,6761. 17s. 11d.,
and the horse to 3,758/. The rest comprised rents and
interest, &c. Their total disbursements had been
1,5541. ; 5,6251. was to meet the dividend to the annui-
tants of 3s. in the pound, and 1,295/. was f,r the inte-
rest on bonds, hutving a stock surplus of 564/. The re-
port was adopted. (A proprietor having complained of
the inconvenience occasioned by the crowding of cabs at
the toll-gates at the hours when the trains were about
to leave the Waterloo station, the Chairman said that
necessary precautions had been adopted. and new hands
had been put on in consequence of the increase of
traffic.) A resolution was Caen passed giving the com-
mittee power of raising the tolls on c.rtitin vehtchs. It
appeared that it was the intention of the South-Western
Company to run ornaibuses from their station across the
bridge to the Strand for a very low fare. This would
evidently be to the loss of the company, a 3, supposing
the omnibus carried twenty persons, t would be t,klng
103. from their tolls. It was merely to be used ns a
measure of self-[:r ,tection, and would affect no private
carriages. Four of the committee were then re-elected,
and a vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the
proceedings.

Thp parish church of Aliciallows, atrk:ng, was bur-
glariously entered on Tuesday evening and some mischief done.
Although the depredators only succeeded in taking away
some black cloth and the communion table cover, they de-
stroyed, however, two very old candelabra that were upon
the altar, and did some other damage. It is pre: tuned that
some one was secreted in the church.

yv
We have much gratification in being able to state,
that the returns of the revenue for the current quarter,
during the eight weeks of it which have elapsed, are of a very
encouraging kind; and should the remaining four weeks be
correspondingly productive, the Chancellor of the Exchequer
will have great reason to felicitate himself on the financial
position of the country. It is not improbable, that at the
close of the current financial quarter, the Commissioners for
the R 'duction of the National Debt will be able to announce
their intention of investing_ in the public funds a sum little
short of 1,000,0001. At all events, we can state with confi-
dence, that the amount will be much larger than it has been
for many years pasts—Advertiser.