The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY MORNING, MAY 28, 1844.

ing this, we mean not in the slightestdegree to depre-
ciate Mr. Phelps' high talents. The dissection of the
tragedy of Macbeth would be an act of pedantry dur-
ing the present reading mania, which increases
and will as time rolls by, but we must say, in sadness
and sorrow, that to see the talent which can at the
present day embody the conceptions of England's—
the world's—intellectual idol, you must walk as far
towards Islington as Sadler's \\Tells, and turn your
back upon Grosvenor, Berkeley, and sundry other
aristocratical and (consequently ?) intellectual squares,
crescents, and quadrangles. Mrs. Warner delivered
an address after the conclusion of the tragedy with
her usual grace, in which was an expression of regret
for the absence of—can it be called appreciation ?
scarcely—but of attention to the attempts of deve-
loping the ideas of him " who was not for an age, but
for all time." Happy are we to say that there was
quite enough of the good old leaven—albeit, those
who manifested it might never have occupied a stall
at the Opera—to appreciate and loudly applaud the
lady at the conclusion of the epilogue. The next
performance • was that of the Hunter's Bride, or
the Rose of Altenheitn, the music of which was by
Mr. Clement White, and in this case he supported
his honestly earned reputation. Mr. George Forman
(lately of the Adelphi Theatre) sustained the rather
difficult character of Maximilian Blokk, and
drew down roars of laughter by his quaint
humour. Few men could have more effec-
tively brought out before the audience such
a character as he had to support in this piece.
" Though last, not least," comes Miss Lebatt, who,
both as an actress and a songstress, was appreciated
by every person of taste and feeling. In conclusion,
we shall address ourselves to old English feeling, and
say, if you like to see the best performance of Shak-
speare (at the present time), and the travestied im-
personation of what we see and hear around us passing
every day, go to Sadlers' Wells.

ROYAL SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

These gardens opened for the season yesterday, and
were crowded to excess. This is the first season the
gardens have been under the management of Mr.
Tyler, who has displayed great taste in the manner
in which he has laid them out. Adorned as they now
are with beautiful parterres, fine casts from antique
statues, and elegant fountains, they form one of the
most agreeable summer lounges in the neighbourhood
of the metropolis. The doors opened at twelve
o'clock, thus giving ample time for a lounge round
the gardens, and for the inspection of the animals ; and
at two o'clock Messrs. Cameron, Campbell, Mackay,
and M'Donald, the Highland pipers and dancers, who
were selected by the Marquis of Breadalbane to
perform their national melodies and national
dances before her Majesty and Prince Albert
at Taymouth Castle, commenced the perform-
ances with their national dances and melodies.
Their costumes were beautiful, and their dancing was
distinguished by a gracefulness, an appropriateness, a
fitness, if we may be allowed the expression, which
we have never before seen infused into so-called
Highland dancing. The dancing of these High-
landers was characteristic, was national. Those who
saw it could not but at once perceive that they were
witnessing the real national dance of the country,
performed by native dancers, denizens of the land of
mountain and flood, who entered into the spirit of
what they were performing with all that intensity
which so completely distinguishes reality from the
most elaborate and even graceful imitation. At five
o'clock General Tom Thumb, the greatest little man
in the world, gave a history of himself, and an imita-
tion of Napoleon ; and shortly after six o'clock
the promenade concert commenced under the
direction of Mr. Godfrey. On the lake was exhi-
bited a Grand New-modelled Representation of
London in the Olden Time, painted by Danson and
Telbin. This model is one of the most elaborately
constructed, and one of the most correctly deli-
neated, of any of the many marvellous models of the
wonders of nature and of art, which have been ex-
hibited at these gardens. In the centre rises Old
St. Paul's, surrounded by the curiously constructed
houses of the olden time, and fllanked on the one
side by the old Lud-gate and the towers of Castle
Baynard, and on the other, by old London-bridge,
covered with houses, and defended by its gates,
leading to the Southwark side of the river. As the
evening draws in, the houses on the bridge are
lighted up, and gradually lights are seen twinkling
in the various windows of the different houses in the
City. These are gradually extinguished, and the
city and its inhabitants are at rest. Suddenly a
dense cloud of smoke is seen rising from the neigh-
bourhood of Pudding-lane—flames burst forth—the
fire-bells are heard tolling in all directions.
We are presented with a view of the
Great Fire of London. The houses on the
bridge are consumed and fall in; the flames are
seen ascending the spires of the churches. Street
after street becomes a prey to the flames, until at
length the smoke is seen issuing from the tower of St.
Paul's, and the magnificent cathedral itself is con-
sumed. The effect produced by the flames as they
are seen issuing from the lofty tower and magnificent
windows of the fine old cathedral is exceedingly fine,
and Mr. Southby, the artist, to whom the manage-
ment of this pyrotechnic spectacle has been en-
trusted, has completely succeeded in his attempt
to give an idea of the great fire of London.
The stage management of the performances, if we
may be allowed the expression, is much better this
year than it has been on any former occasion ; there
is not that unnecessary lapse of time between the end
of the concert and the commencement of the pyro-
technic display, of which we have had occasion for-
bestof tthhae n kws .
for-
merly to complain, and for this improvement we tender
eathNerott"h' Notwithstanding hst
gardensandin gw
erthee
unfavourableM r Tyler
our
state
crowded. There could not have been less than 3,000
persons present, and all seemed highly delighted with
the amusement provided for them.

MADEMOISELLE ROSSINI, THE
LADY VIOLINIST.

Since the year 1756, when blademoisselle Schamling (after-
wards the celebrated Madame Mara), delighted the dilettanti
of Vienna, Paris. and London, by her performances on the
violin, the world has seen no celebrated lady violinist This,
perhaps, may be attributed to an idea which many ladies
may perhaps entertain that the violin is an awkward instru-
ment for a lady. Mademoiselle Rossini, however, proves that
this is not the case. In her hands the violin is the most
graceful of instruments. We had the pleasure of being
present at her private rehearsal concert on Saturday,
at the Adelphi Theatre, and were highly delighted and
equally astonished at her performances.. There is about her
playing a firmness and precision of touch, and a freedom
of bowing which we should not haVe expected in a lady.
Her• purity and correctness of tone is truly wonderful. In
the grand Scotch Fantasia, she introduced the beautiful air of
" Auld Robin Gray," and gave it with an expressive pathos
—a thrilling tenderness of tone that reminded us strongly of
the pathetic and tender expression of Miss Stephens's voice
in the same ballad. She was admirably supported by the
members of the Collini family, one of whom Miss
Emma Collini gave us Bishop's Echo Song in the
most exquisite manner. This young lady possesses one
of the most delightful voices we have ever heard, and will
at no distant day secure to herself a high position in her
profession, if she bestow the necessary study and application
to its cultivation. Her sister, Miss Victoria Collini, performed
one of Corelli's sonatas on the violoncello, and bids fair to be-
come as perfect a violincellist as Mademoiselle Rossini is a
violinist. If we mistake not, the performance of Mademoi-
selle Rossini will make the violin a popular instrument among
ladies. Madame Mara attributed her success as a vocalist to
her practice as a violinist. "If I had a daughter,"
said Madame Mara, " whom I wished to become a singer, I
would have her taught the violin. Neither the human
voice nor any fixed instrument can teach a pupil the minute
divisions of a note so accurately as the vibrations of the
string of the violin." The Great Wizard of the North has
exhibited more than his usual tact in engaging those very ta-
lented young ladies ; and if this great musical treat, in addi-
tion to his own ambidextrous prestidigitations," does not
secure him overflowing houses every night, there is no taste
extant.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.—The Court of
Examiners admitted the following gentlemen members
of the Royal College of Surgeons on Friday evening
last :—Henry Kingsley, Guy's Hospital ; Nathaniel
John Dampier, Guy's Hospital ; Samuel J. Remnant,
St. Bartholomew's Hospital ; Thomas Callaway, Guy's
Hospital ; Robert Ellis, University College ; Edward
J. Protheroe, University College ; Richard Donovan,
Dublin ; James M. Moullin, Dublin ; John Cowburn,
University College ; Thomas Hepwell, Dublin ; Wil-
liam C. Byass, Guy's Hospital ; George Frederick
Wills, Guy's Hospital ; Henry Fearnside, University
College.
LATE FIRE AT LYME.—It is now correctly ascer-
tained that 39 dwelling-houses, including the Cups Ho-
tel, and five other inns and public-houses, were totally
destroyed by the fire on Saturday the 11th instant ; and
there are also from six to ten houses, including one pub-
lic-house, partly destroyed. There are besides this the
Custom-house, a brew house, a malt-house, the exten-
sive stabling and coach-houses of the Cups Hotel, a
bonded store belonging to Mr. Goddard, the wine mer-
chant, the capacious salt stores of Mr. Prosser, and the
coal stores adjoining, belonging to Messrs. Munden,
Prosser, and Urquhart ; the large cellars and counting-
house in the occupation of Messsrs. Gundry and Co.,
the brewers, of Bridport ; and the stabling and coach-
houses in the George yard, belonging to that inn and
the executors of the late Mr. Edwards, totally destroyed.
We are happy to hear that most of the sufferers are in-
sured for the buildings, but some of the parties who have
lost their furniture and wearing apparel are wholly un-
insured. A most liberal subscription, amounting to
nearly 6001. has been entered into by the gentry and
tradesmen of the town and neighbourhood, which will
be fully sufficient, when completed, to remunerate the
sufferers to the extent of their several losses. Had the
wind blown from the east or south-east, nearly the whole
town must inevitably have been burnt down.—Salisbury
Herald.

Died, at Melrose, on the 18th curt., at a very ad-
vanced age, Jean Burnett. She entered the service of
the late Mrs. Gardiner, in the year 1771, and on her
marriage, continued till her mistress's death, eleven years
ago, when she passed into the service of her son, Alex.
W. Gardiner, Esq., Melrose, where she continued till
her own death as above—thus completing, with undevi-
ating integrity and industry, a service in the same
family, without ever having left it, of no less a period
than seventy-three years—a period which, it is believed,
has few parallels in Scotland.

LITERAT LIRE.

COMNGSBY. 3 Vols. CoMurnl London, 1844. I
Of all the works of fiction that Mr. D'lsraeli has
yet produced—and he has for some years been a dili-
gent labourer in the fruitful fields of fancy—
Coningshy is the one that does most credit to his head
and heart. The egotism and assumption that, like
flaws in a vein of marble, ran through his otherwise
delightful " Young Duke"—the tone of flippant
levity, caught from Lord Byron's " Don Juan," that
formed such a drawback to his brilliant " Vivian
Grey"—the exaggerated sentiment and rhapsodical
mysticism of his " Contarini Fleming," wherein he
seemed constantly within reach of fine thoughts and
as constantly missing them ;—all these defects, so de-
trimental to the effect of his earlier and cruder tales,
have disappeared from the work before us ; which is
manly, energetic, and healthy in feeling; sound—
sometimes even original—in thought; bold in portrai-
ture ; sincere, eloquent, and lofty in its political ut-
terances ; and wholly free from anything like conven-
tional cant. Such a work, recommended by so many
sterling qualities, was never more wanted than at the
present time, if only to counteract that low, vulgar,
flash spirit that has crept into our lighter lite-
rature—a spirit which loves to haunt the purlieus of
Newgate and Field-lane, which manufactures heroes
out of thieves and murderers, and apotheosizes upstart
cockneys and vagabond adventurers as though they
were so many demi-gods. If Coningsby do nothing
more than "put out of Court"—to use a legal term
—the prevalent taste for this depraved, unhealthy I
class of works, by imparting a loftier and more
generous tone to fiction, it will have accomplished
great good; but its salutary effects, we hope, will
not stop here ; it is a tale eminently suggestive, fur- ,
nishing the materials of thought even more than of
entertainment, and tending to rouse a spirit of inquiry
in the reader's mind, which can scarcely lead to other
than beneficial results. If we except a few Quixotic
speculations, savouring rather of the idealist than the
practical politician, there is not a single sentiment
enunciated in Coningsby that is not based on truth.
The author is no party man—he is not blinded by
prejudice—he swears neither by Whig nor Tory—he
is utterly indifferent to what may be thought of him
in Downing-street—but in all his theories and sug-
gestions has a reverent regard to what he deems to
be the best interests of the community at large.
Even those who may dissent from his tenets will not
fail to admire the earnest and elevated spirit that
characterises them—the eloquence with which they
are expressed, and the sagacious reasoning with which
they are enforced.
Mr. D'lsraeli, we need scarcely inform our readers,
is one of those ardent and sanguine politicians to
whom their adversaries, by way of ridicule, have
given the nit-name of " Young England." The
leading principle of these comprehensive reformers is,
if we mistake them not, that of faith in the national
character, and distrust of all sects and factions.
Having closely watched the progress of events during
the last twelveyears, they have discovered—and what
thinking man can have failed to do otherwise ?—the
utter hollowness and selfishness of party—its inability
to conciliate the suffrages of the people—to unite
them in the bonds of brotherhood—enlist their cordial
sympathies—and win their unhesitating confidence.
As yet " Young England" is but in embryo ; it has
scarcely chipped the egg-shell ; but it gives promise
of a lusty growth, and will, we suspect, live to see
the downfall of the two feeble, antiquated sects of
Whig and Tory, and raise its head triumphantly
above the ruins. It is impossible, indeed,
that things can continue much longer in their pre-
sent unhealthy and distracted state. True, we have
a Government all but omnipotent in both Houses of
Parliament ; but it is a Government that rules, not
by public opinion, but in spite of it—that owes its
strength to the jealousies of party, and the cold, con-
temptuous indifference of the people who, after many
years of disappointment, seem to have lost all faith in
their rulers, whether of Whig or Tory persuasion. A
nation, slowly indeed but surely advancing in intelli-
gence, and a Government which should originate im-
pulses and head movements, either standing stock-still
or retrograding—a Crown, whose chief-distinction is
a state-carriage and eight cream-coloured horses—an
aristocracy, possessing a world of showy privileges but
little substantial power—a vast commercial class,
careless of everything but the pursuit of gain—a
church cold, indifferent, selfish, and distracted with
sectarian feuds—a peasantry, viewing in their
superiors oppressors rather than guardians, but,
concurrently with their operative brethren,
fast awakening to a true sense of their
situation such are the discordant elements
of which England is now composed; and as if this
state of things were not sufficiently injurious to her
welfare, she has the additional humiliation of feeling
that she is wholly at the mercy of a Conservative
House of Commons' majority—a set of bastard Tories,
devoid of principle, energy, genius, information, con-
sistency—who have neither faith in themselves nor
their countrymen ; whose powers of vision are limited
to their own petty interests ; who recant to-day the
sacred pledge to humanity which they gave yester-
day ; who crouch, like beaten hounds, to the very
man whom, of all others, they most fear and dis-
trust ; who rely only on the Chapter of Accidents,
and, in compliance with the will of their despotic
Chief, take expediency as their sole rule of action !
Never was there an age of such dreary political
mediocrity as the present. Our great statesmen have
all passed from the stage of life, and have left no suc-
cessors. Lofty, comprehensive principles of action
are out of fashion ; sentiments that might touch the
heart of a nation are heard no more in the
Senate ; all is vapid, second-rate declamation,
and peddling details of business, with which the vast
mass of the people have no concern, and in which
they take not the slightest interest. To foster the
growth of a more generous and enlightened system of
policy—to substitute sterling principles for shifting
expediency, hope for despondency, action for lethargy,
things for words, truth for sophistry;—such seems to
us to be the leading object of " Young England ;"
and though this political confederacy is just now but
limited and comparatively uninfluential ; though it
may be said to be groping its way in the dark, doubt-
ful at present of its course, with views not yet suffi-
ciently.defined, and with perhaps a little too much of
the Quixotte in its character ; yet it will most as-
suredly make its way to the heart of the community,
slowly, indeed, but surely, for it is opposed to every-
thing that is mean, and factious, and selfish in policy,
and appeals unhesitatingly to the liberal sympathies
of its countrymen, as the illustrious Chatham did—
and successfully, too—when he found himself fettered
by the ill-concealed dislike of the Court, and the open
hostility of the aristocracy.
' But to come back to Coningsby, of which we have
too long lost sight. The hero is the grandson of the
shrewd, wealthy, profligate Marquis of Monmouth,
who had disinherited his father for presuming to
marry against his will. Pleased, however, with the
spirit and intelligence of the young Coningsby, he
adopts, and sends him to Eton, and then to Cam-
bridge, with the intention of fitting him for public
life in the House of Commons, and at his death, of
leaving him the bulk of his unentailed property. But
all these views are thwarted by the independent spirit
of the young man, who, on the Marquis proposing
to him to stand for his own borough of Darlford, de-
clines, on the plea that he cannot approve the party
principles which he is called on to support. From
that moment his grandfather's favour is w ithdrawn
from him, and on his demise, which takes place shortly
afterwards, Coningsby finds himself left with nothing
but the interest of ten thousand pounds, the bulk of
the Marquis's immense estates having been bequeathed
to Flora Villebreque, his natural daughter by a
French actress. Under these untoward circumstances,
our hero resolves to bid adieu to gay life, and to
apply himself diligently to the profession of the law ;
but before he has time fully to mature his
plans, the young heiress Flora dies, and
having long loved him, though in secret—
for he was almost the only one who had ever
shown her kindness in the days of his prosperity—
she leaves him her entire fortune. Thus suddenly
restored to affluence, Coningsby enters Parliament
under the auspices of a wealthy and intelligent mill-
owner, by name Millbanke, whose daughter Edith he
marries ; and at this interesting crisis of his destiny
our author takes leave of him, previously, however,
assuring his readers that the young statesman—in
conjunction with some friends of his youth—will be an
ardent supporter of the views and principles of
" Young England." From this brief summary, it
will be seen that there is not much novelty in the
plot of Coningsby ; nevertheless, it is skilfully con-
structed; events, too, follow on events in rapid but
natural sequence ; and the story never halts for an
instant. The dialogue throughout is remarkable for
point and brilliancy, and reflections are now and then
thrown out—apparently without the slightest effort—
which will surprise and delight the reader, not less
by their depth than their sublety. Mr. D'lsraeli ex-
cels in the descriptive, but we could have wished that
he had been somewhat less gorgeous in his sketches
of patrician character, tastes, and luxury, which are
far too highly coloured, and are rather more Oriental
than English in their tone. Of the personages of his
story, the best—because an evident transcript from
real life—is the portrait of the shrewd, bustling,
but not very scrupulous Tory hack, Rigby—an
obscure Irish adventurer, who has contrived to wrig-
gle himself into the Privy Council, and attach "Right
Honourable" to his name, by. dint of his intrepid im-
pudence, his cringing submission to his aristocratic
masters, his tact as a party speaker in the House, and
, his " slashing articles" in a certain Tory Quarterly
periodical. Of the character of Sidonia, which is
evidently a favourite with the author, and on which
he has bestowed great pains, we may observe
that it is a creation of the fancy rather than a sketch
from actual life ; it is, in fact, a magnificent idealism,
which none but a poet could have conceived, and
which those readers only who are endued with a
, lively imagination will be able fully to appreciate.
' We close oar notice of this remarkable tale with a

full length portrait of the Right Honourable, Nicholas
Rigby :

" Mr. Rigby was a Member for one of Lord Monmouth's
boroughs. lie was the manager of Lord Monmouth's par-
liamentary influence, and the auditor of his vast estates. He
was more ; he was Lord Monmouth's companion when in
England, his correspondent when abroad—hardly his coun-
sellor, for Lord Monmouth never required advice ; but Mr.
Rigby could instruct him in matters of detail, which Mr.
Rigby made amusing. Rigby was not a professional man ;
indeed his origin, education, early pursuits, and studies, were
equally obscure ; but he had contrived in good time to
squeeze himself into Parliament, by means which no one
could ever comprehend, and then set up to be a perfect man
of business. The world took him at his word, for he was
bold, acute, and voluble ; with no thought, but a good deal
of desultory information ; and though destitute of all ima-
gination and noble sentiment, was blessed with a vigorous
1 mendacious fancy, fruitful in small expedients, and never
happier than when devising shifts for great men's scrapes.
They say that all of us have one chance in this life,
and so it was with Rigby. After a struggle of many
years, after a long series of the usual alternatives
of small successes and small failures, after a few cleverish
speeches and a good many cleverish pamphlets, with
a considerable reputation, indeed, for pasquinades, most
of which he never wrote, and articles in reviews to which
it was whispered he had contributed, Rigby, who had
already intrigued himself into a subordinate office, met with
Lord Monmouth. He was just the animal that Lord Mon-
mouth wanted, for Lord Monmouth always looked upon
human nature with the callous eye of a jockey. He surveyed
Rigby, and he determined to buy him. He bought him ;
with his clear head, his indefatigable industry, his audacious
tongue, and his ready and unscrupulous pen ; with all his
dates, all his lampoons; all his private memoirs, and all his
political intrigues. It was a good purchase. Rigby became
a great personage, and Lord Monmouth's man.
" Mr. Rigby had a classical retreat, which he esteemed a
Tusculum. There, surrounded by his busts and books, he
wrote his lampoons and articles ; massacred a she liberal—it
was thought that no one could lash a woman like Ribgy—
cut up a rising genius whose politics were different from his
own., or sacrificed some unhappy wretch who had brought
his claims before Parliament, proving by garbled extracts
from official correspondence that no one could refer to, that
the malcontent, instead of being a victim, was, on the con-
trary, a defaulter. Tadpole and Taper would back Rigby for
a slashing reply' against the field. Here too, at the end of
a busy week, he found it occasionally convenient to entertain
a clever friend or too of equivocal reputation, with whom he
had become acquainted in former days of equal brotherhood.
No one was more faithful to his early friends than Mr.
Rigby, particularly if they could write a squib. It was in
this refined retirement that Mr. Rigby found time enough,
snatched from the toils of official life and parliamentary
struggles, to compose a letter on the study of History, ad-
dressed to Coningsby. The style was as much like that of
Lord Bolingbroke as if it had been written by the authors of
the "Rejected Addresses," and it began, "My dear young
friend." This polished composition, so full of good feeling
and comprehensive views, and all in the best taste, was not
published. It was only privately printed, and a few thou••
sand copies were distributed amongst select personages as an
especial favour and mark of high consideration. Each copy
given away seemed to Rigby like a certificate of character,
a property which, like all men of dubious repute, he tho-
roughly appreciated. Rigby intrigued very much that the
head master of Eton should adopt his discourse as a class-
book. For this purpose he dined with the Doctor ; told
him several anecdoto of the King, which intimated personal
influence at Windsor; but the head-master was immovable;
and so Mr. Rigby was obliged to be content by his Letter on
History being canonized as a classic in the Preparatory Semi-
nary, where the individual to whom it was addressed was a
scholar.

" Rigby's ' slashing articles' were things which, had they
appeared as anonymous pamphlets, would have obtained the
contemptuous reception which, in an intellectual view,
no compositions more surely deserved; but, whispered
as the productions of one behind the scenes, and appearing in
the pages of a party review, they were passed off as genuine
coin, and took in great numbers of the lieges, especially in
the country. They were written in a style apparently
modelled on the briefs of those sharp attorneys who weary
advocates with their clever common-place, teasing with ob-
vious comment and torturing with inevitable inference. The
affectation of order in the statement of facts had all the lucid
method of an adroit pettifogger. They dealt much in ex-
tracts from newspapers, quotations from the Annual Register,
parallel passages in forgotten speeches, arranged with a for-
midable array of dates rarely accurate. When the writer
was of opinion he had made a point, you may be sure the
hit was in italics, that last resource of the Forcible Feebles.
lie handled a particular in chronology as if he were proving
an alibi at the Criminal Court. The censure was coarse,
without being strong ; and vindictive when it would have
been sarcastic. Now and then there was a passage which
aimed at a higher flight, and nothing can be conceived more
unlike genuine feeling, or more offensive to pure taste. And
yet perhaps the most ludicrous characteristic of these factious
gallimaufreys was an occasional assumption of the high moral
and admonitory tone which, when we recurred to the gene-
ral spirit of the discourse and were apt to recal the character
of its writer, irresistibly reminded one of Mrs. Cole and her
prayer-book."

THELApr
London:
nt:(N
nrE
:4CTiVnl7arrClkepBeU4,ly4Fß)taß.o77E-BmN
his
ay
aCs,,,EpYAe
aenscß
th
,ElLonB
7;4
t.
i.hr._(eerAßFajLa
irtne
after
rtte.AcrT_hort
tauo
cibt
ethe..;re
We really believe that this is the best of all the
Currency pamphlets which have been published since
the introduction into Parliament of the Bill of 1819.
It is a temperate, plain•speaking, closely-reasoned
investigation of the premises assigned, this month, by
the Premier himself, as those upon which he founds
his new propositions for "regulating" (God help us !)
our existing monetary system—for reserving to the
Bank of England its charter, on certain conditions—
and for carrying out, in all their extent and to their
fullest action, the hitherto but half-developed tyranny
and mischief of that measure, which twenty-five years
ago gave the first shock to our commercial supremacy.
It does not seem possible to us that any honest man
can arise from the perusal of this little tract without
being thoroughly convinced of the absolute mistakes, the
portentous blundering, of Sir Robert Peel in the very
rudiments of the scheme which he has concocted for
maintaining a gold standard of value. But we will
not bespeak opinions, still less do we desire—if our
own impressions be errors or prejudices—to innocu-
late others with them. At the same time we will freely
admit that if the reasoning arrayed against Sir
Robert's " assumptions" by the " Enquirer after
Truth" do not amount to demonstrations of the utter
fallacy of those assumptions, we are incapable of dis-
tinguishing between logical deduction and mere un-
proved hypothesis. The author, after admitting that
Sir Robert Peel, in his speech of the 7th instant, did
not over-rate the vast importance of the question then
submitted to Parliament, asks this pertinent ques-
tion :

" Why should you restrict to a fortnight only the time
you permit to be bestowed on a measure affecting inte-
rests of such extent and magnitude? What time is that
for enabling the Members even of the House of Commons
to form a competent judgment of so complex and difficult
a question as the currency, with its bearings sin the
various classes and interests liable to be compromised by
their decision ? If every transaction of business, every
domestic arrangement, every contract subsisting or here-
after to be made, every person in the kingdom from the
Prince to the peasant—the most aged to the child unborn
—will be affected 6y the decision to which the House may
come on this great question—how happens it that you, Sir,
should restrict to so brief a term the period allowed for
studying your propositions, tracing their probable effects
through their multitudinous ramifications, and consulting
those numerous classes of persons, those almost innumer-
able individuals, whose weal or woe depends on the votes
which will be given in Parliament ? Ample notice and
the fullest information to the people should have been
allowed to precede the discussion, and all who apprehend
injury should have been invited to state their doubts and
fears in petitions, memorials, or remonstrances. I think
I may say, with perfect truth, there never was a measure
of such universal and intense interest, hitherto so little
understood, urged on with such indecent haste, and so
little regard to the sentiments of those who may be the
sufferers."

He then reflects on the tyrannous inconsistency of
allowing men no right of private judgment on a ques-
tion like this—of the management of their own mone-
tary affairs—on which every individual naturally
deems himself the best judge, so far as it regards his
own business. He adds—

" Your motive may have been only the desire to avoid
that avalanche of pamphlets which usually descends when
any sudden or extraordinary announcement startles the
public ear. You are justly afraid of those who in our
day write (as you say) interminable pamphlets on the
currency, but never allow us to guess at their meaning.'
In this view of the case I have no right to complain."

In dealing with Sir Robert's preliminary definition
of value, the " Enquirer" quotes the Premier's idea of
" the meaning of a pound," on which we have re-
marked in another part of our paper. The expression
of that idea the author correctly quotes from the re-
port of the debate on the 7th inst., in which Sir Robert
concluded that—

" The standard of silver up to 1716, was fixed about
1567 ; but in 1717, the value of the guinea was deter-
mined to be 21s. ; and for a certain period, both gold
and silver constituted the standard of value. But in the
year 1774 it was enacted that no legal contract should
be discharged in silver for any sum of more than 251."

Our author remarks that the phrase "subsequent
debasements of the currency" conveys a false im-
pression, when these debasements are said by Sir Ro-
bert to have made a change in the value of the pound
sterling. But this passage we have incorporated else-
where. Let us add to it this important pendant,-re-
specting our gold coin :
_

" With respect to our gold coin, which began to be
minted in the 41 Henry 111. (1257), its proportions were
23 carats 3i grains fine gold to half a grain alloy, till
1 James I. (1604), when 22 carats was the standard
with 2 carats alloy; at which standard it remains to this
day. Thus, according to history and fact, the earlier
Kings of England were, in the mintage of their coins,
more remarkable for preserving the purity of the stand-
ard, than for debasing it."
He infers that Sir Robert meant to speak of the
diminution of weight, whereby great alteration had
been made, not in the name, but m the intrinsic value,
of the pound between the reign of the Conqueror and
of Elizabeth. But he shows that the admitted fluc-
tuations of the coined pound of silver, in the same
interval, from the number of 20s. to 625. (through
other alterations of 20s. 3d., 225. 6d., 255., 305., 375.,
Sze.), did not square with Sir Robert's " doctrine con-
cerning the pound"—that " quantity of the precious
metals of certain weight and certain fineness ;" that
" certain definite quantity of gold—of the precious
metals." " Did you by these expressions mean us to
understand that it should consist, at all times, of the
same definite quantity of gold or silver—an invariable,
as well as a definite, quantity ? If so, your histo-
rical examples contravene your assertion
You must mean, only, that the measure of value
bhould be, at that time when it is the measure of

value, whenever that may be, of a certain weight and
certain fineness."

" You next observe, in your brief sketch of our pound
sterling, that it was not until a late period of the reign
of Elizabeth that silver, boing then the standard of va-
lue, received that determinate weight, which it retained
without variation, with constant refusals to alter it, till
1716.' By these words I understand that the pound
sterling, from a late period of the reign of Elizabeth, re-
mained unchanged in value till the year 1716. But here
I must again take leave to doubt the accuracy of your
statement. Do you not omit to take into account, when
you make this assertion, the difference in the value of
silver which was occasioned by the discovery of Ame-
rica ?"

How that proportion came to vary from 10 to 1 to
15 to 1, we have shown in an article which appears
in another column. Recurring to the year 1600,
our author says,
" At the period in question it was esteemed as 11 to
1, and was so repre:rentel in our coins : when, there-
fore, we desire to compare the value of silver coins for-
merly, with the value of silver coins now, we must take
this relation into account. Or if we choose to disembar-
rass the question of all calculations of this kind, we may
at once compare the weight of our gold pound now, with
the weight of that which we had at any former period,
and the difference between the two will show us the
value of the silver pound as well as of the gold pound.
You will find in Harris (Essay upon Money and Coins,
Part 11., p. 2), that the proportion of fine ;jiver to fine
gold in the coinage of 1601, to which you allude, was as
10.905 to I, and in Ruding, that while the proportion
was as above exhibited (or, as he expresses it, 1 to
10 56-59), the gold pound, called the sovereign, worth
205., was coined of the weight of 171 grains. Now, if
our present sovereign contains 123 grains, and that of
Eliz. in 1601 contained 171 grains, it follows that her
pound sterling was worth 275. 9d. of our present coin.
Admitting, therefore, that the silver coin of Eliz. was the
measure of value, and the legal tender of that day, it is
evident that as the value of 20s. was equal to the sove-
reign of 171 grains, the value of the silver pound of that I
period was also of the value of 275. 91 of our present
coin. For more than thirty-nine years before this
change was made, that is, from the 4th of Eliz. to her
43d year (1558 to 1601), the pound of silver was coined
into 605., and the gold sovereign, worth 205., was of the
weight of 174 grains; both pounds, therefore, were then
worth 28s. 3d. of our present coin."

So much for the "certain definite quantity of the
Precious metals"—of certain weight and fineness—of
cur " pound" sterling. This exposure of Sir Ro-
bert's gros:ily uninstructed brief—upon which he has
ventured to move the Commons of England to adopt
his mischievous, rash, and ill-considered experiments
on the currency, ought surely "to put him out of
court," at the tribunal of public opinion, in any case
where the interests of domestic industry and com-
merce are concerned.

The " Enquirer" then gives Sir Robert that severe
castigation touching his " erroneous assumptions
about the antiquity and uniformity of the measure
of value," which we have quoted elsewhere. From
the same point we shall take our second and con-
cluding notice of this remarkable pamphlet.

THE THREE KINGDOMS. 2 Vols.
Bentley, London, 1844.

In these volumes we have en account of the Viscount
D'Arlincourt's travels through England, Scotland,
and Ireland. The work is penned in a slight end
superficial spirit, but it is not, on the whole, un-
amusing, for the author never dwells too long and
wearisomely on any one topic, but hurries from sub-
ject to subject with the velocity of a bird of passage.
The most entertaining portion of his volumes is that
which refers to Scotland, whose varied scenery, toge-
ther with the impression it made on him, he describes
with infinite relish, and gives a lively account of a
day or two he passed at Eglinton Castle, and of his
visit to the far-famed and romantic island of Staffa.

THE GOVERNESS. a Knight, London, 1844.
There are many sensible reflections in this vnas-
suming little duodecimo on the important subject of
female education, and the duties of governesses.
Can we safely assert," asks the author, " that
woman is more informed, more excellent, more
adapted to the duties peculiar to her station and her
sex, than in the days of our mothers—that she is more
exempt from the failings of her sex, or less liable to
their errors? If the answer is even doubtful, the
work of education is still imperfectly understood."
There is no doubt that, even in the present improved
age, the work of female education is not so well un-
derstood as could be wished; still there is no denying
the fact that it has made great progress within the last
ten or twenty years, and that women are now infi-
nitely better and more carefully instructed than they
were in the days of their immediate predeces-
sors. Not only are they more accom-
plished, but the knowledge they acquire is of a
sounder and more practical character, and they are
now, in an immense number of instances, qualified
to take part in conversations which would have been
wholly unintelligible to their mothers. Formerly, if
they could sing a little—play a little—dance a little,
and paint a few extraordinary flowers on card-hoard,
they were considered to be perfect in all that it was
necessary they should know ; but this is the case no
longer; more, much more is expected from them ;
and it is doing them no more than justice to say that
in very many cases they fulfil all the increased ex-
pectations of society, and are yearly approximating
nearer to man, in point of equality of intellect. The
author of the little volume before us points out some
of the more obvious deficiencies that still exist in the
present system of female education ; and his remarks
are deserving of consideration, for they are apparently
the result of an extensive practical acquaintance with
the subject.