The Sun.
London, England, 1842-09-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 2, 1842

MAGAZINES.-(CONTINUED.)

MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

We have here a very agreeable, social, chatty, sort
of blank-verse poem by Leigh Hunt, which he calls
" A Rustic 'Walk and Dinner." There are many
subtle, fantastic, and some fine thoughts scattered
through this poem, which breathes .the very spirit of
placid enjoyment, and deserves special praise for the
grace and freshness of its scenic descriptions. The
next article, which' is in prose, furniihes us with an
account of a " Progress through the cities of the
Loire and the Seine," in which there- is nothing of
particular interest, except a sketch of the town of
Saumur, which, it may tic remembered, figures con-
spicuously in the Memoirs of Madame De la Roche-
jaquelin. "On Young People, 'and My Love of
Them" is a cheerful essay, penned in a kindly view of
feeling. Old maids and old bachelors—arcades ambo
whose bump of selfishness on the. occiput is usually
a.. iarge as an ostrich-egg, will turn from this essay
with contempt, hut it will come home to the hearts of
all parents. The remaining articles, whether in prose
or verse, are of an average order of merit.

body apprehended 'flitch harm, as..the water had not as-
aulted the -city with rage and fury, but-stolen upon it
with mild and friendly ph3rsiognotny. Worst of all were
its at first invisible effects, and the bad consequences
which followed. Great numbers of houses fell on the
following day, after the waters had returned to their bed.
Few could get rid of the damp. The inhabitants Were
thrown upon a sick bed, and for weeks afterwards fatal
diseases raged in many parts of the eq, The night was
particularly awful, as the water continued to rise till
towards evening, and the intense darkness seemed to
cut off all hope of escape in case it should get higher.
Thousands of families, whose members were dispersed
perhaps in different parts of the city, passed the night in
the most painful anxiety. The scenes of horror among
the 500,000 sufferers in that fearful night were no doubt
sufficiently diversified and interesting. Thousands of
comic as well as mournful anecdotes concerning that
eventful day are . still' current iii Petersburgh. A
gardener told me that, bein;:: in a tree which he was
pruning, he had not at first observed the rapid rise of
the water, and was then obliged. to mount fur safety
upon the roof of a small garden-house. But so pro-
digious was the number of rats and mice which gradually
joined him in this retreat, that he was afraid of being
devoured by them. Luckily, a dog and a cat also sought
refuge there, and with their aid he saved himself from so
appalling a death.

AFFGHAAISTAN.
(From Colburn's United Service. Magazine.)
In our last, a general view was given of the position
of affairs in Alighanistan, and little has subsequently
appeared to better our prospects. All that we have
to show for the expenditure since incurred by the
feeble attempt to increase our military establishment,
is the mere safety of Sale's and Nott's divisions—
not another step to any ulterior object. Our two
corps are moving from the base of a triangle which is
800 miles in extent, and marching respectively on the
other two sides ; they can give each other not the
least support till they meet at the apex (Cabul).
While our countrymen in India are calling loudly
for satisfaction and the punishment of the perpetrators
of the Cabul tragedy, and every soldier's breast
swelling with indignation,
we see the two divisions of
the army stationary in the mountains, wanting the
means of carriage for their supplies ; and how are they
to procure them ? With every thing urging us on
to redeem the national credit, and restore the national
lustre of our arms, we are stopped on the high road
by the commonest of physical impediments ; and while
we ought to have in India the head of a Wellington
to direct affairs, and remedy the complicated blunders,
there is no one in high authority who seems to know
his right hand from-his left; and all the subordinates
exercise their own discretion or folly, as the : case
may be.
Reports have been published that the insurrection
at Cabul arose from the discovery of a plan laid by
Sir Wm. "M`Naghten to secure the person of Shah
Shooja as a guarantee; and that the worthy Emperor
of Dooranee, our very dear ally, only anticipated this
measure by turning the tables on the British Envoy.
Whether this story is true or not, the letters of Gen.
Elphinstone (if they are ever allowed to see the light)
will prove; but so far it appears possible enough.
The Residents in India are so much accustomed to
have Princes under their thumbs, and use them as
puppets, that they
might consider it quite a matter of
business to lock up an Emperor as long as it might be
thought requisite.
We have had, in common with most of our country-
men, an ardent desire to see the honour of our arms
restored, and proper punishment inflicted on the barba-
rians who had perpetrated the wholesale massacre on
our division retreating from Cabul under the faith of
a treaty, without being at all aware that any under-
hand proceedings on our part could, have given a pre-
text for such an act. Should the reports just alluded
to prove correct, the merits of the ,case will be mate-
rially altered, especially when we consider the cha-
racter of the enemy we have had to deal with : even
should these reports prove unfounded, we much fear
that the hopes we had entertained are not likely to be
realized. The difficulties of the country, the nature
of our force, and the total failure of the means of
transport, leave scarce a chance that the army will be
again able to occupy
Cabul ; and consequently that,
having no further object in view beyond the release
of the divisions of Nott and Sale, already accom-
plished, the army will return within the Indus before
the winter sets in. We have, indeed, on full consi-
deration of the circumstances, little doubt that orders
to that effect have been already issued. Our reasons
are these :—From the vast expenditure of animals of
burden on the former advance, the whole of the North
of India has been drained of its stock of camels, and
is no longer able to
.provide the means of carriage for
conveying the provisions, forage, and ammunition of
the army ;-L-that, without these means, it would be
madness again to commit the troops in such a coun-
try. The divisions of Pollock and Sale having
remained inactive a whole precious month, shows evi-
dently that they are stuck fast from this cause alone,
or they would have been, at the time the accounts left
India, already in possession of Cabul. '
Although most painful to our feelings, we have
thought it our duty to prepare the minds of our
readers for the evacuation of Affghanistan. We shall
look with much anxiety for the next accounts, and
endeavour to find out such circumstances as may serve
in any way to counterbalance this possible conclusion
of one of the most unjust, unnecessary, and foolish
wars, in which this or any other country ever was
engaged.

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