The Sun.
London, England, 1829-12-29 00:00:00

CHANGES OF MANNERS.

The following is from the pen of Captain
Grose, the eminent antiquary, who died in the
year 1791, at the age of GO ; it was written
about the year 1782 :
" I am a man of little more than 50 years of age,
and yet I have nearly outlived a variety of systems
and manners. When I was a young man, there ex-
isted in the families of most unmarried men or
widowers, of the rank of gentlemen, residents in
the country, a certain antiquated female, either
a maiden or widow, commonly an aunt or cousin.
Her dress consisted of a stiff starched cap and
hood, a little hoop, and a rich silk damask
gown, with large flowers, she leaned on an ivory
headed crutch cane, and was followed by a fat
phthisicky dog, usually of the pug kind, who
commonly reposed on a cushion, and enjoyed
the privilege of snarling at the servants, and oc-
casionally biting their heels with impunity. By
the side of this good old lady jingled a bunch
of keys, securing in different closets and corner
cupboards all sorts of cordial waters, cherry and
raspberry brandy, washes for the complexion,
Daffy's Elixir, a rich seed cake, a number of
pots of currant jelly and raspbeny jam, with a
range of gallipots and phials containing physic
for the use of the poor neighbours. The daily
business of this good lady was to scold the maids,
collect eggs, feed the turkeys, &c.
" Another character, now worn out and gone,
is the country 'Squire. I mean the little inde-
pendent gentleman, with a landed property of
3001. a year,* who commonly appeared in a
plain drab or plush coat, large ziilver buttons, a
jockey cap, and rarely without boots. His tra-
vels never exceeded the distance of the county
town, and that only at Assize and Session time,
or to attend an election. Once a week he com-
monly dined at the next market town, with the
attorneys and Justices. This man went to
church regularly, read the weekly journal, settled
the parochial disputes with the parish officers at
the Vestry, and afterwards adjourned to the
neighbouring ale-house, where he usually got
drunk for the good of his country. He never
played at cards but at Christmas, when a family
pack was produced from the mantel-piece. He
was commonly followed by a couple of grey-
. hounds and a pointer, and announced his arrival
at a.neighbour s house by smacking his whip, or
giving the view-halloo. His drink was gene-
rally ale, except on Christmas, the sth of No-
vember, or some other gala days, when he would
make a bowl of strong brandy punch, garnished
with a toast and nutmeg. A journey to Lon.
don was by one of these men reckoned as great
an undertaking as is at present a voyage to the
East Indies, and undertaken with scarce less
precaution and preparation.
" The mansion of one of these squires was of
plaistcr, striped with timber (not unaptly called
calimanco work), or of red brick with large
casemented bow-windows, a porch with seats in
it, and over it a study. The eaves of the house
were well inhabited by swallows, and the court
set round with hollyhocks. The hall was fur-
nished with flitches of bacon, and the mantel.
piece with guns and fishing-rods of different
dimensions, accompanied by the broad-sword,
partisan, and dagger, borne by his ancestor in
the civil wars. Against the wall was' posted
King Charles's Golden Rules,' Vincent
Wing's Ahnanack; and a portrait of the Duke
of Marlborough, and in his window lay Baker's
Chronicle,' Fox's Book of Martyrs,' Glanyil
on Apparitions,' Quincey's Dispensatory,'
The Complete Justice,' and a book of Far-
riery. In the corner, by the fire side, stood a
large wooden two armed chair, with a cushion ;
and within the chimney corner were a couple of
seats. Here at Christmas he entertained his te-
nants, assembled round- a glowing fire,made of the
roots of trees, and other great logs. The best
parlour, which was never open but upon particu-
lar occasions, was furnished with Turkey worked
chairs, and hung round with portraits of his an-
cestors—the men in the character of shepherds,
with their crooks, dressed in full Court suits,
and huge full-bottomed perukes (such as the
Judges wear now;) others in full suits of ar-
mour, playing on the lute. The females, like-
wise, were dressed as shepherdesses, with a lamb
and crook, all habited in high head-dresses and
flowiAg robes.
" These men and their houses are now no
more; the luxury of the times having obliged
them to quit the country, to become dependents
on the great, or members of some profession.
The venerable mansion is, in the mean time,
suffered to tumble down, or is partly upheld as
a farm-house, till, after a few years, the estate is
sold to the steward of some neighbouring Lord,
or else to some Nabob, Government-contractor,
or limb of the law."

• The quantity of land nccesary to produce 3001. a
year then, would be worth near 7001. now, front change
o! price and better vulture.

Mrs. EMOND, wife of a labourer in this town
(Kelso), was on S turlay morning delivered of four
daughters. They were all born alive, but three of them
are since dead ; the fourth is taking Inod, but not likely to
live. They were nice h. althy-looking children. They
weighed on an average 21bs. 120 a., and measured in length
16 inches. The average weight of children, we believe,
is Ilbs., average length 18 inches. Mrs. EmoNn is doing
well ; all the children. were born within an honr and a
half after the birth of the first. —.Edinburgh Observer.

LONDON.
TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 29, 1829.

The French Papers of Saturday have been
received by express. They contain a report that
the French Government made proposals to the
PACHA of EGYPT to assist in subduing the
Regency of Algiers, with the intermediate line
of coast, but that the PACIIA refused. We
think if the French entertained serious thoughts
of reducing the refractory DEY, that they have
force enough themselves. To do the thing effec-
tually, a land force seems indispensable.

German Papers to the 23d instant have been
received this morning. It appears that the
earthquake in Wallachia did considarable
damage to many towns at a distance surrounding
Bucharest. The severity of winter was felt in
all its rigour, the thermometer being from 10
to 15 degrees below the freezing point.

The Grand Duke CONSTANTINE has arrived
at Warsaw, and report says he will visit St.
Petersburg!' :

WALLACHIA.

The earthquake which was felt in the night of
the 25th November, in Odessa, Jassy, Czernowitz,
Hermannstadt, Cronstadt, and many other places in
Transylvania, and the Buckowina, did considerable
damage at Bucharest. A letter from that city, dated
Dec. 4, says—" 115 houses, among IN hich is that of
the English Consul, have been rendered untenable
by the effects of the late earthquake. Fifteen
churches are so much injured that they cannot be
used. Happily no person perished, except a young
woman who was killed by the fall of a stone
near which she slept. The town of Kimpiria,
on the road to Cronstadt, has suffered in pro-
portion more than Bucharest. The newly erected
church, and a large house, were thrown down ; all
the other dwelling-houses have sustained great injury.
The inhabitants of Bucharest dread the return of this
dreadful natural phenomenon. Winter now reigns
here in all its rigour ; the thermometer is continually
at from 10 to 15 degrees below the freezing point.
FRONTIERS OF POLAND, DEC. 12.

Letters from \\lamer, announcing the arrival of
the Grand Duke Constantine and his August Con-
sort, mention a report that his Imperial Highness
would shortly go to St. Petersburgh, on a visit to
the Emperor.
Prince Chosrew Mirza, on his return from St.
Petersburgh, pissed some days at Moscow, where
he appeared to be much pleased with the numerous
fetes given in his honour, at which he behaved with
great politeness to the ladies. It is reported that,
according to the Oriental custom, he had even asked
the hands of three young ladies, at once intending
to take them as his wives to Peisia. However, on
its being explained to him that the accomplishment
of this wish was incompatible with European man-
ners, he made an apology for his mistake. lie
made numerous purchases in Moscow, especially of
fowling pieces.
The accounts from the Principalities respecting
the plague are less unfavourable, and it is hoped
that the increasing cold will entirely put an end to
the disorder.
In the frontier towns of Poland and Gallicia trade
is extremely dull, as the rigorous sanitary measures
subject goods to long quarantine, which causes great
delay in forwarding them to their destination.
(From the Commercial Gazette of St. Pctersburyit.)
ODESSA, NOV. 27.
Since the 21st September, when the salute of
artillery announced the conclusion of peace with the
Porte, this town has become more an more animated.
'There are in the port and road above 300 vessels,
which are loaded and unloaded with incredible acti-
as if to make us forget the last two years, during
iwhich we have hardly seen a merchantman. Our
istock of wheat is beginning to be very low, but as
leupplies continue to arrive from the interior of the
iempire, the prices do not rise. The free navigation
`of ',he Black Sea being obtained for all natiane, will

tend to make our commerce very flourishing. The
establishment of a branch of the house of L. Stieg-
litz and Co. of St. Petersburgh, will also contribute
to it, that house being universally known for the
extent of its enterprise, and the prudence with
which its affairs are conducted.

In recurring to the extraordinary prosecutions
at Westminster during the last week, we arc gra-
tified in being able to record with confidence,
the strong opinion that has been generally enter-
tained on this subject. That opinion, we believe,
coincides with the remarks we made on the ter-
1' mination of the third trial, viz.—that the utter
groundlessness of the imputations on the distin-
guished persons in question had been established
beyond all doubt—but that the prosecutions
against the offenders had very far exceeded the
bounds of moderation and good sense, and had
given the proceedings a character of vindictive-
ness, which, if the first verdict had closed the
affair, would have been avoided. Ne quid nimis
is a safe and good maxim, and whoever violates
it, usually meets with a recoil from the act which
would otherwise have beneficted him. The sen-
sation created by the ATTORNEY-GENERAL has
excited a sort of sympathy for the ultra-Tory
cause which we much regret, but which English-
men are, to their honour, prompt to evince for
all persons and things that are ill-used. The
late QUEEN'S Trial is a lesson in this respect to
all Governments for the time to come, to beware
of making popular, by persecution, the object of
their fear or dislike, however unworthy of popu-
larity that object may intrinsically be.
There is, besides public opinion, another tri-
bunal before whom the want of moderation of
the ATTORNEY-GENERAL will doubtless have
io full weight. We mean the Court of King's
Bench, before which the several defendants will,
next Term, be brought up for judgment. The
four Judges of that Court are too independent
to be turned by political considerations from the
course they are in the constant habit of pursuing,
when defendants have already been pressed to
the earth by a mass of proceedings, and a load of
expense, viz.—to temper justice with mercy.
That mercy is called for %lid) unusual force at
the hands of the Court, by the individuals against
whom verdicts of guilty hare been just recorded.
It has been thought by some, that the several
Juries were bound to find verdicts in accordance
with the instructions of the Judge concerning
the libellous tendency of the publications. That
is a great mistake, and we lament that the re-
spectable individuals who composed the Juries
should have laboured under any such impression.
It cannot be too often repeated, that since Mr.
Fox's Act, the Jury are the sole authority com-
petent to decide what is libellous and what is
not. They are to judge, from their own common
sense, of the intent and effect of the offensive
publication—they are to take the words as they
are read to them, and say simply, whether for
these words the defendant deserves punishment
or not. They are not bound to pay any more
respect to the opinion of so upright and erudite
a Judge as Lord TENTERDEN, thitil to the
ferocious dictum of a JEFFRIES, if such a
scourge were again to visit us. Lord TENTER-
DEN is not a jot better qualified to say what is
a libel than any merchant or tradesman in
London. His Lordship may be in full pos-
session of the decisions of his predecessors
on this head, but those decisions are ut-
terly worthless, because libel is now, happily,
not a question of law, but of fact ; and facts
cannot be determined by adjudged cases. If,
therefore, any of the Jurymen thought that the
Duke of WELLINGTON'S reputation was not
put in jeopardy by the " Morning Journal,"
and that the Duke had won laurels, military
and civil, enough to make him quite easy
as to what Mr. ALEXANDER might say
of him—it was the clear duty of those Jurymen
to have acquitted the defendants. The Jury
which tried the Atlas should, on their own
showing, have done the same ; for to say a man
is merely guilty of publishing, is to say he has
done what he may lawfully do, and virtually
acquits him of a malicious intention. This last
verdict will probably not draw down any sen-
tence ; but it would have had an infinitely better
effect if the Jury had said plainly, " Not
G uilty."
If the Juries were to stand by the Press, as
firmly as the Press has uniformly stood by the
Juries, the liberties of Englishmen would have
little to fear from the indiscretion of an ATTOR-
NEY•GENERAL. They are the two great secu-
rities on which our freedom rests ; but their
power depends on the reciprocal support they
give to each other, and is lamentably weakened
when they work at cross purposes. For this
reason, much as we deprecate and abhor abusive
language in any publication, and thoroughly as
we are convinced of the falsehood of the impu-
tations to which the KING and his Ministers
have been subjected in this instance, we should
have been better pleased to have seen the Juries
interfere after the first trial, and stop a useless
multiplicity of proceedings against the Press, by
delivering absolute verdicts of acquittal.

On Tuesday last Captain Ross's horses were
put up by suction at Melton Mowbray, but only two were
told. Clinker, which lately run the steeple-chase in this
county, was purchased for 3:50 guineas for Lord WIL-
LOUGHBY; anti Polecat In.ttle 250 guineas, for Lord
A XSON.—LeiceFtrr Chrcnichr.

The present is considered to be the most
" old-tishionel Christmas" experienced for many years,
in allusiou to the heavy fall of snow and severe frost.