The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-06 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

THE FREE-LANCE. 3 Vols. Bentley, London, 1844.
The White Company of Free-Lances were a body
of English military adventurers well known on the
Continent, and more particularly throughout Italy, in
the fourteenth century, for their skill in war, their
bravery, their enterprise, their licentious conduct, and
the cruel excesses with which all their victories were
sullied. Owing allegiance to no one particular Power,
they freely gave their services to whatever potentate
would pay them highest; but at best they were
troublesome, not to say dangerous, allies, and their
friendship was almost as much to be deprecated as
their enmity. Of this once renowned company, and
the achievments of its enterprising but sanguinary
leader, Sir John Hawkewood, the volumes before us
profess to give an account ; the scenes for the most
part are laid in Italy, where the Free-Lances perpe-
trated some of their worst atrocities, and of course
their enterprising chief figures conspicuously among
the personages of the story. This character, indeed,
is drawn with evident care, and no ordinary ability,
and is by far the completest portrait which the
author has penned. The story throughout is alive
with bustle and incident ; it is, however, singularly
faulty in construction, and must depend for success
solely on its stirring melodramatic character and the
quick changes of its scenes. We have battles, sieges,
skirmishes, and massacres in profusion ; in fact, there
is no repose in the story, but a constant succession of
exciting incidents which at length almost fatigue the
reader. The love passages between Reginald, the
nominal hero of the ,tale, and Margherita, a young
Italian girl of humble birth and most changeful vi-
cissitudes of lot, serve to relieve by their softness the
sterner features of the narrative.

NEW ROYAL EXCHANGE.
(From the Times.)

TO RICHARD LAMBERT JONES, Ese.

POETICAL EPISTLE ON THE SCULPTURE IN THE FEDI'
KENT OF THE ROYAL. EXCHANGE.

Dear Jones, our cits are quite at sea,
Your pediment's a mystery—
'Tis something wonderful, no doubt,
Do tell us what it's all about.
I write to you, old friend, and not
To Trotman Tite or Westmacott-
In chiselling stone or cutting bricks,
Those fellows may play curious tricks ;
But you conceive, create, control,
They're but the body—you the soul.
So now, dear Jones, as you're the man
T' enlighten us (if any can),
Expound, we pray, the sculptur'd riddle—
Who is that lady in the middle,
Perch'd on a stool ? We see the words,
" The earth, et cwtera," are the Lord's ;
But what the lady has to do
With these, we can't divine—can you ?
Is she Britannia in undress,
The Queen, or Lady Mayoress ?
Perhaps a gentler name she owns—
Do tell us—is she Mistress Jones ?
Who'er she is, she seems to stand
With some queer gimcrack in her band,
Quite unconcern'd, with vacant stare—
She can't have any business there.
Look at those worthies clothed in sacks
Who ungallantly turn their backs ;
'Tis clear they think it very strange
The lady should be seen on 'Change.
As for the gentlemen, we guess,
They're all engaged in business,
But why th' establishment's divided,
And cut in half, we're undecided.
Has our friend's genius here designed
Some grand division of mankind—
Two sorts of men, and only two—
Those who don't pay, and those who do ?
Or is this distribution meant
Two principles to represent—
Profit and loss, in civic tongue
Synonymous with right and wrong ?
To some of us who see display'd
The several branches of our trade,
Those gentlemen who sell and buy
Wholesale and retail typify,
And so the dame sans occupation
At home, may stand for exportation.
You've fairly puzzled us, that's certain ;
Give us one peep behind the curtain—
Give us, dear Jones, as Frenchmen say,
Your (if you have one) grandeidee.
If not, some wise interpretation
Or ex post facto explanation.
Give this—we've nothing more to ask.
And now remains the pleasing task,
To pray—may Providence protect
The painter, sculptor, architect—
The something more, for rumour tells
You set the clock and tune the bells—
May history, in future ages,
With Jones's name fill folio pages—
May mighty Wren himself make room,
(Barry, of course, we leave to Brougham),
And Inigo (Heaven rest his bones !)
Give place to Richard Lambert Jones.
J. SMITH.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.—DUNSTABLE, SEPT. 5.—A
very destructive fire broke out here last night (Wednes-
day), which commenced about ten o'clock at night in the
farm-yard of Mr. Henry Goude ; it first began at a
straw-stack in the centre of the yard, which soon spread
to the adjoining farm buildings, and from thence to the
stack-yard, at the same time taking the barns and other
farm premises and rick-yard of Mr. Howe, farmer, also.
The large Wesleyan chapel adjoining Mr. Howe's rick-
yard, soon caught fire, and after raging with great rapi-
dity for about half an hour, fell in with a tremendous
crash. By this time (about eleven o'clock, or a little
after) the fire was at its greatest height, and the awful
glare of the large number of buildings, on about three
acres of ground, was awfully grand. It has been /ascer-
tained that the number of buildings totally destroyed by
the devouring element amounted to the enormous number
of sixty-four, including thrashing-barns, stables, cow-
houses, piggeries, hen-houses, ricks of wheat, barley,
oats, peas, hay, straw, stubble, whiting sheds, the large
Wesleyan chapel, &c. &c. It is thought by some
.per-
sons that the damage will not be less than 6,0001. ; it is,
however, fortunate that all the parties are insured at
nearly the full amount, with the exception of the Wes-
leyan chapel, which is not insured for more than 4001.,
having cost about 1,2001. in the erection. The fire
is
still raging, but all further danger is at an end. Tile
fire is supposed to have originated through the act of
some diabolical incendiary. Fortunately all the valuable
horses were got out unhurt ; no live stock was burnt,
with the exception of a few fowls, pigeons, ducks, &c.
The bookseller, Campe, of Wurtemburg, has pub-
lished the calculation that a woman reading sixteen
hours a day, must live nine hundred and sixty-three
years to peruse all the books on cookery issued in

Germany.
GENEVA, AUG. 30.—The influx of visitors to the
Lake of Geneva exceeds what it has been for many years
past. Almost all the champagnes in the neighbourhood
are taken by English or Russian families. The Grand
Duchess Constantine continues to reside at La Boissiere;
the Prince and Princess de Radale are at the Diodati
Villa; Sir John and Lady Thorold at Chatelaine.
Amongst the latest arrivals are the Marquis and
Marchioness of Queensberry and family, the Bishop of
Rochester and Lady Sarah Murray, Lord Monson and
family, Lord and Lady de Saumarez, the lion. Lady
Palmer, Lord and Lady Charles Hervey, Lord Alfred
Hervey, M.P., Captain and Mrs. Brymer, &c., &c. At
Lausanne, Lord Vernon has taken for the season one of
the most beautiful country houses on the Lake, and
several English families have announced their intention
of passing the winter at Vevay. The following is a list
of the arrivals during the month of August:—Lord
George Quin, Mr. Bailey, M.P., the Lord Bishop of
Cashel, with his chaplain and suite, the Ladies Georgina
and Emily Bathurst, the Rev. J. and Mrs. Leslie, -Mr.
and Mrs. George Haldimand, Rev. Messrs. Irving,
Mackie, Penrose, Colonel and Mrs. Milner, Miss Hob-
house, Lady Lilias Oswald, &c., &c.
SHOCKING CASE.—The Baltimore papers of Mon-
day, August 12, contain the particulars of a most dis-
tressing case of death by violence. It seems that a
young lady, living with her married sister, was receiving
the attentions of a young man very obnoxious to her
sister and brother-in-law. Returning home with him
one evening, her lover and her sister's husband had a slight
scuffle in the hall, and the young lady left the house,
and stayed all night with a neighbour. The next morn-
ing she returned to the house by the back way to get
her smoothing irons and some coal, which she had been
using, and found her sister, who immediately commenced
an altercation, and told her she should not have any of
the coal. The other replied that she had bought a part
of it and would take it, and was stooping to get it from
the bar, when her sister seized the shovel and struck her
twice on the back of her head. She immediately fell,
and was taken insensible into the neighbour's house
where she had passed the night—the lady hearing the
noise, and running to see what was the matter. This
was about two week's ago ; and the poor girl, after
lingering great distress, died on Thursday night of
last week. The names of the parties in this most
lamentable transaction are withheld.
On Monday last, a woman named Twomey com-
mitted suicide by hanging herself at Ballyvoduck, while
labouring under temporary insanity. In the circum-
stances of her death she discovered the extreme caution
and discernment of the means of procuring it which
people in that most dreadful condition are frequently
found to exhibit. The particular turn of her insanity
appeared to be constitutional, for her mother had drowned
herself. A short time previous she sent all the persons
who happened to be in the vicinity of the house in which
she lived upon different feigned errands, tied her own
hands behind her back, and even provided that an article
of furniture upon which she stood should, without the
possibility of her design failing, slip freely from beneath
her feet.—Cork Reporter.
TAXES' DELINQUENT.—MT. Coode, a surveyor o
taxes of two districts in Nottinghamshire, has possessed
himself of money (to what amount does not appear) be-
longing to Government, and absconded. The receiving-
officer, it also appears, is to make good the deficiency,
he being considered blameable (though apparently done
with the best motive) in allowing collectors to stand in
arrear past days of receipt, and which enabled this Mr.
Coode to finger the cash and afterwards decamp. This
will, we should think, be a lasting lesson for other re-
ceiving-officers and collectors.
DISEASE AMONG CATTLE.---We regret to learn
that the contagious disease, which lately caused such
havoc among the cattle, has again made its appearance
in this district, and that some losses have occurred in
consequence.—Dary Sentinel.