The Sun.
London, England, 1845-05-07 00:00:00

DOLMAN'S MAGAZINE.

The third Number of this periodical opens with an
article entitled " The Genesis o' Christendom, or the
Beginning of the Middle Ages," the first of a Reties
of sketches designed to illastrate the history of that
obscure period. A more unpromising subject for the
pages of a magazine could herdly have been selected,
for whatever records of the age remain present little
else than an uninterrupted scene of barbarity,
anarchy, and bloodshed. At the same time, it must
be admitted that the task, though not a pleasing, is a
most useful one, and the author has rendered the
article palatable by quotations from our beit modern
historians. This number likewise contains the
biography of that arch impostor, Joseph Balsam°,
better known as Count Cagliostro, whose extraordi-
nary impostures were for many years the wonder of
Europe. The nature, extent, and success. of his lint-
postures at this day seem incredible. " Fashion ,nd
fanaticism combined to elevate Cagliostro to a degree
of general celebrity and estimation rarely attained;by
even illustrious men. Portraits of him adorned fatlf,
rings, and snuff-boxes, medals—boxes and medals
were cast of him—and beneath his bust were to be
read the words Le devin Cagliostro.' " The vaga-
bond was born at Palermo, in 1743, and first gained
notoriety by pretending to a knowledge of the " black
art." lie subsequently visited most of the European
cities, which he laid under contribution, Fnd his ad•
herents comprised persons of every class, even the
hig' est." 'faking the secrets of feettnannry for a
grand w3rl; whereon to erect a gorgeous superstruc-
ture of mystery and imposture, he became tl.e
apostle of a new sect or degree, to which
he gave the name of the Egyptian rite, and of which,
pretending to be the grand cobble, or master, he suc-
ceeded in establishing lodges over all Europe." He
renewed all the absurdities of the middle ages, and
declared his knowledge of the philosopher's stone, and
to the possession of a powder by which youth could
be successfully maintained, and death successfully
kept at bay. But the grand instrument of fraud was
the masonic system. Cagliostro was initiated at
Frankfort-on-the-Maine into the mysteries of the
German illuminati, which is thus described :

" The candidate is conducted through a gloomy cor-
ridor into an enormous hall, of which the ro of, walls,
and floors are alike covered with black cloth, picked nut
with flames and snakes. Three sepulchral lamps at in-
tervals emit a dying glare, which enables him to distin-
guish piles of human remains, and a sort of altar entirely
formed of skeletons. Here he is abandoned tostis re-
flections for eight consecutive hours, at the expiration of
which, enter phantoms, clad in shrouds, who, after wan-
dering for a time in dead silence, disappear through
trap-doors, from the invisible opening of which t xhale,
the most pestiferous odours. The candidate passes twenty-
thur hours in that darksome vault ; his energies are en-
feebbd by a long fast ; he beholds three cups
filled with greenish beverage ; he e-says to
drink, but turns with disgust away. At length
arrive two seeming ministers of y death. They
bind the pallid brow of the candidate with a
ribbon steeped in blood, place in his hands a metal
crucifix, and hang certain amulets round his neck. He
is then stripped, his clothes are thrown on a funeral
pile, and crosses are traced with blood upon his body.
In this state of suffering and humiliation, he is ap-
proached by five spectral figures, armed with huge
sabres and enveloped in bloody draperies. Their fees
are veiled—they fall to the ground, and remain for an
hour es if absorbed in prayer. At the expiration a
that time plaintive accents are heard. The pile is fired.
The garments of the candidate are con-uzied thereon.
A colossal figure is seen to advancr., and the tire pros-
trate men nppcar to fall into the most terrible convtd.
sions. A trembling voice now articulates the oath
which is to be taken by the candidate. He is made bv
it to sacar, under the most awful penalties, that he will
renounce every natural tie, forswear allegiance to all
human authority, and respect l'aqua tofiana, the
deadliest of all poisons, as the grandest medium ever
discovered for ridding the earth of the enemies of truth.
The obligation having been taken, a candelabrum, with
:even lighted tapers of black wax, is placed in froLt cr
the candidate. lie is thn plunged in a batt Li blorAl
and made to swallow a draught of it. A cold most
seizes him ; from a state of delirious frenzy he falls
into insensibi' ity. . . The cereuiony is over, and
a warm bath and a repast comfosed of various roots
gradually restore him to his senses."
Such are the hideous rites which the besotted
votaries of superstition .have practised even in the
eighteenth century. • Cagliostro, after a run - ot.
twenty year=, at length fell into the hands of the
Roman Inquisitors, and died in prison in 1795.
The remaining articles we have not space to ob-
serve upon. As a fair specimen of the poetry of this
number, we select the following " On a Wild Flower
rom the Grave of Burns" :

S this wild flowret clad on the bard's 10w;37 grave,
Where its tribu'e of fragrance it modestly gave—
'Tis the symbol of him o'er whose relics it bloomed,
The songster of nature, by nature entombed.

Like this flowret, he brew all uncultur'd and -wild—
Untutor'd by man, he was Nature's own child ;
And the dear fragrant sweets of his own teeraint; srml
Breath'd gently around, without guide or centrol.
The sweet scent of the plant has now faded away,
But the songs of the Minstrel of Scotland shall stay ;
And fancy shall hasten its homage to pour
O'er the grave vi here once blossom'd this wild desert
flower.

oAtt
endAut
number, serious
there
se
raeu
slid
s r
ea
n.
subjectsm aTg Ha z Ei u
;e BRITISH
ii
ns chieflythe pred
seMG
e%
oThuiss
interesting article on " Modern Hagiology," exposing
thepro v ee r r or
the ofs
at
ehroescie Commentators
rwhoownseekaddtiotioimn;
" Correspondence" includes letters on " Prophecy,"
the " Clergy and the Middle Classes," "Vestiges of
Creation," and various other subjects. But the mo-t
important topic, the topic of the day, it; of course
Maynooth; the remarks on this subject are worthy of
attention, characterised as they are by extreme mode-
ration and forbearance. As a firm supporter of the
Church of England, the writer approves of the May-
nooth grant, on the ground that education is ever the
forerunner of truth. We recommend the following
remarks to the attention of those who fear that the
Established Church will suffer from the change :
" We believe that this measure will serve the Church,
will tend to its stability and ultimate increase, and what
it may not be wrong to consider even more important
than this great object, that it will tend to the promotion
of truth and real religion among the Irish people in
general. Give the Church in Ireland gentlemen anti
scholars, and men who are sincerely pious in their own
religious creed—give it such men as these for its anta-
gonists, and the truth will find its own way, and pre-
vail over every opposition. The truth fears not learn-.
ing, nor morality, nor piety; it breathes more freely
when it has such opponents to contend against; it finds
itself at a disadvantage when opposition is clothed in the
garb of ignorance, and vulgarity, and scurrilous ridicule.
and political secularity and violence. Against inch an-
tagonists it knows not how to aim its weapons; and be-
sides this—make the Roman Catholic clergy scholars
and theologians, and you at once force upwards the tone
and standard of theological attainment in the Church;
divines who appeared learned beside an almost illiterate
and half-civilised priesthood, must dig deeper into the
foundations of their own theology, when they are to
stand side by side with scholars and gentlemen. The
more learning the Church of Rome brings against tha
doctrine of our Reformation, the more will it bring to
light, and detect the shallowness of its own pretensions,
and the feeble sophistry of its defences. The More.
learnedph:alinrtlimelscholar-like
etsot
etlha
class
tss
ocaoftntiafincrtkmeslaloeteniotsnusa,amnthodee
gamnortodr..
it
e t The whole experience of the Reformed Ceheunreceh of
f
in fact, what is the question
tthh. For,eisßomis Church in Ireland? Is
between
nd
us and proves
not a question between truth and error? between tbt.,
Catholic Church and a schismatical body? Per} aps
neither community can
believing
object to thiP, way of
strtauttiini gantd ci4
hecactabSoeli;bu.t, as wd•e},. iieving that the
1?,
on our side,
Divine presence and power arc
catholicity to the end of the 'world
,
all the Church in Irelar is it not plain that
`..oat we have
c
battle between troll' ar:com'ised to truth and
.
can now desire is. that the
and error should be fairly fought ".=**

T, PH W. OLYTECNIC RE
. ins work is a great acquisition to the lover of
science ; it describes all the wonders of nature and
art, records the discoveries of the ancients, and chro•
moles the inventions of modern times; its subjects
are " universal as its theme," confined to no country
limited to no period ; it touches on every scientific
subject, from the Wass-manufacturing of ancient
Egypt down to Lord Rosse's telescope. In the
present number there is ao interesting account of at-
mospheric railways, by Dr. Ilewlett, in which he
observes :

" A diminution of expenditure is one of the most ob-
vious advantages of the atmospheric system. In the ori •
ginal outlay there is not a necessity for that extensive le-
yellipg as is now required ; engines of very great power
will not be needed ; the wear and tear of materials will
I,e diminished ; and, by consequence, the rates Of cliarrs
fur travelling will be lessened, and cheap travelling wtli
be secured with a certainty of increased safety and ecm-
foorra
ntt„ This
Theal,• a nattamgccs ofr
h erier
safety :,sst
eonnie 0zr.,,,p.174.15) ulerad
p
t 3rrible calamities of bursting boilers and. burning tra.rt,,
Frith which the public has become painfully lamiltsr.
Rtiouing of f the line is also avoided, since, in the Minos.