The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-24 00:00:00

" One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,"

And this is the secret of -Liss Cook's success. In her
writings wo find no foreign ornaments, no studied phra-es,
no strivings after effect—all is genuine, simple, and un-
affected. The language is beautiful and the style me-
lodious. The authoress has been extolled by critics,
and admired by thousands, but no praise can be so gra-
tifying as the following incident, which powerfully il-
lustrates the truth and feeling of her poems :
" One of my friends who happened in his travels to con-
verse with a wretched-looking felon at a penal settlement in
Australia, was much struck by the acute suffering the man
betrayed when questioned about his home and relatives,
' Let this tell you how I think of them,' said the miserable
offender; there, see, I have almost worn it out with read-
ing over and over again,'—and he polled forth a tattered
piece of dirty paper, on which was copied in rude unformed
hand, ' Our Native Song.' His eyelids fell, and his lips
compressed, as he unfolded the blurrel scrawl, and glanced
over the stanzas. He commenced reading them aloud, but
when he came to the line,
Some lay his mother taught her boy,'
his voice broke, and he wept like a child."
The most elaborate commendation would be feeble, com-
pared to this heartfelt acknowledgment, this genuine
tribute, well deserved by one who has followed nature
in her wild and varying course,—
" And caught her beauty from the day—her music from the
wind."
The following is a copy of the poem, it needs no com-
ment, the tears of the felon are its highest praise :

Our native song! our native song!
Oh ! where is he who loves it not?
The spell it holds is deep and strong,
.-Where'er we go, whate'er our lot.
Let other music greet our ear
With thrilling fire or dulcet tone;
We speak to praise, we pause to hear,
But yet—old yet—'tis not our own!
The anther, chant, the ballad wild,
The notes that we remember long—
The theme we sung with lisping tongue—.
'Tis this we love—our native song!
The one who bears the felon's brand,
With moody brow and darken'd name,
Thrust meanly from his father land,
To languish out a life of shame;
Oh ! let him bear some simple strain—
Some lay his mother taught her boy—
Hell feel the charm, and dream again
Of home, of innocence, and joy !
The sigh will burst, the tear will start,
And all of virtue, buried long—
The best, the purest in his heart,
Is waken'd by his native song.

Self-exiled from our place of birth,
To climes more fragrant, bright, and gay,
The memory of our own fair earth
May chance awhile to fade away:
But should some minstrel echo fall,
Of chords that breathe old England's fame,
Our souls will burn, our spirits yearn,
True to the land we love and claim.
The high ! the logy ! in weal or woe,
Be sure there's something coldly wrong
About the heart that does not glow
To hear its own, its native song.
The third edition of this work makes its appearance at
a fitting time. It is truly a Ch, utmas present. Its
kindly feelings, its earnest generosity, its simple unos-
tentatious piety, and the spirit of charity and sympathy
which pervades the whole, render it a most appropriate
book for the coming season—an admirable Christmas
present for old or young. It is adorned by numerous
highly finished illustrations, including a full-length
portrait of the authoress, and the vignette, which con-
tains five minature scenes, is of peculiar delicacy and
softness.

THE LATE CASE OF MURDER AND PIRACY ON
THE HIGH SEAS.—The twelve Judges, before whom the im-
portant question of international law, in this case, was argued
on Saturday. the 15th, have not yet been able to come to a de-
cision, and have intimated their wish that the points should be
argued again by civilians from Dactore-commous ; the 3d of
December has been fixed * 0* argument by one Learned
Doctor on either side in the Court of Exchequer. The respite
of the prisoners, which expires to-morrow, has been extended
to meet the delay consequent upon this arrangement.—

Observer.
TUB OXFORD AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.—We ob
serve that the above society has just elected W. Harington,
of Brazennose College, their president for the ensuing year.
The live new members of the committee, it is remarked, are
all among those who signed the address to the proctors for
preventing the condemnation of Tract 90. This society is
following fast in the steps of the " Cambridge Cattaden."—
Church and State Gazette.
BIRKENHEAD.—TURN•OUT OF WORKMEN AT THE
NEw Docxs.—Con Wednesday last a portion of the labourers
employed on the works connected with the new decks struck
for an advance of wages. In the morning about 300 of them
assembled in Cannon-street, and marched in a body from
thence to Chester-street, where they dispersed shortly after-
wards. During the afternoon some stones were thrown at
several of the men who had refused to leave off work, and
there was a second meeting in Chester-street, when the
police were called out. The men who had assembled were,
however, very peaceable, with the exception of one or two of
the leaders, who used some violent and threatening language
to the police, which led to their being taken into custody.
The parties who hay.e struck are termed the day men, and
we understand they seek an advance from 2s. Bcl., and in
some cases 26. 10d. to 3s. per day. Yesterday numbers of
them were loitering abo 'at the streets.—Liverpool Mercury.
LIGHTING MINES BY ELECTRICITY.—M. Delarive
has succeeded in obta.'ning a brilliant light for lighting
mines by the galvanic b attery. His pile is composed of
several concentric cylinder s of copper or platina, separated by
norous cylinders, and fortni 'lg a series of four or five couples.
An amalgam of liquid zinc, or what is preferred, an amalgam
of potassium, is the positive metal; and a solution of sul-
phate of copper, for copper 0 "lenders, and chloruret of platina
for platina ones. The difficui, les in maintaining a constant
light has been overcome by ern, eloving small hollow cylinders
of coke, similar to those used in
.. I lamp. A ring, or disc, of
-
and arranged like the Wicks of
metal is placed above these, and of the same diameter; and
the electric current thus passes Bunsen's pile, but smaller,
?De tween the two. The cur-
rent must be made to pass from the coke cylinder, that the
particles of carbon, which are ca rried off, may fall again by
their own weight. The whole is placed in a glass globe,
which must be hermetically scale d. There is no occasion to
form a vacuum in it, as the small portion of oxygen is so soon
absorbed; but; it must bs careful ty excluded from the outer
atmosphere. The pile is fitted wi th two metalic wires—one
commimicating with the cylinder Of charcoal, and the other
with the metallic conductor.