The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-21 00:00:00

AFFGHANISTAN,

COPY OF A LETTER FROM LADY SALE TO GENERAL SIR
ROBERT SALE, FKOM CAUBUL, GIVING A PRECIS OF
EVENTS IN THAT CITY FROM THE 2D TO THE BTH OF
NOVEMBER, 1841, AND DESPATCHED ON THE 9TH OF
THAT MONTH.

" Aly dear Sale,—The last letter I had from you was dated
the Ist, from Gundamuck. On the 2d an insurrection broke
out in Caubul, the shops plundered, Johnson's house and trea-
sury looted (stripped) and burnt. He was in cantonments, his
guards and servants murdered. Troup and Warburton were
in cantonments; their houses burnt; Sir A. Burnes, his bro-
ther, and Broadfoot, murdered; Skinner supposed to be se-
creted by his gomashta ; Sturt was sent by the General a
message, and was stabbed in four places in the King's presence
—the face, the shoulder, a glance on the arm, and on the side.
There are three principal chiefs at the head of this—Abdoola
Khan, Atehokaye Morita Meuin, and Seeunda Khan. The
Kussulbashes are in, but are afraid to declare openly in our
favour. Shelton, with two regiments and one company, in the
Bala Hissar. On the 3d the 27th came in. They had to fight
their way, being followed by 200 men, and had five killed, and
15 wounded. Gordon slightly wounded. A number of Ko-
histaners came into Caubul.

" The Trevors got out of the city with just the clothes they
had on their backs. Their house burnt. The Affghana at-
tacked the cantonment and fort, but were repulsed by Waller,
who was wounded by a ball, which lodged in his armpit.
Another large party, who have raised the religious standard,
came against the cantonments at the rear gate, where our guns
dealt destruction, and the cavalry cut them up. Sturt able
to speak, the wound in his shoulder deep, the 'isle not so bad,
the lungs uninjured; the face wound near the corner of the
eye ; he was struck on the bone with such force, that he was
stunned for the moment ; he had warded off two blows.
" On the 4th, Khan Shurreen Khan and others drove part
of the fighting men out of the town. The enemy took pos-
session of the small fort nearly opposite our bazaar that joins
on the King's gardens. The guns played all day against the
gate of the Shah Bagh, which is .filled with the enemy ; it
cannot be blown open with powder, as there are too many
people about it. A large party of horsemen showed themselves
on the Shah Sang-hill. Mahmoud Khan's fort, where the
tower has been thrown down, has been taken possession of by
the enemy. He is on our side, and therefore they ha'e cut off
his son's ears. We slotted and shelled the fort opposite our
bazaar all day, but with little or no effect. The Kohistans
up in arms and furious. Maule and Wheeler murdered; their
men overpowered. Maule's khatagie (servant) alone escaped ;
came in half naked this day (tbe 14th). Saw killed Gordon
and St,vayne, of the 44th. Robertson, of the 44th, and four
men wounded. Walsh, Hollaken, Warren, and sixteen men,
6th cavalry, wounded; thirty-one missing. At tea-time an
alarm ; very brisk firing.
" sth inst.—The troops employed all day. Guns and mor•.
tars, with shot and shell, at the fort, with very little effect.
`• 6th inst.—Sturt insisted, weak as he was, in shirt, plastersr
and pay-jumas (drawers), on going to the General (Elphin-
stone), as there was no engineer there but himself. We have
only Warburton and Eyre as artillery-officers—no laboratory-
man—the General gave him leave to do what he pleased—by
ten o'clock we got all in order—by twelve a good breach, and
in a few minutes it was carried--Raban killed—Dear wounded
—Hobhouse and twelve of the 13th volunteered for the assault
—one man badly wounded—those of the enemy who escaped
were joined by a large body of horsemen, well dressed and
mounted, evidently Kussulbash—Sturt says not more than
2,000, others say 3,000—a beautiful sight—Anderson's horse
charged up the bill, ar.d drove the enemy all alonis the crest of
it to the extreme left, where the sth Cavalry charged up—
they were hemmed in—more Affghan horse came up, and they
had a great struggle with swords, but the Affghan matchlock
was so hot, that they in turn drove ours back all along the
ridge, and they had outnumbered us so greatly as to be able .
to retire in excellent order. Anderson's horse again went up
the road to challenge them, but their position was good and
they maintained it. We had every man eut on duty canton-
ments. A brigade was much wanted in the field. Two guns
of Warburton's were seized by the enemy in the city, and the
men forced to work them. They have thrown a number of
balls into cantonments and into Sturt's garden from Mahmoud
Khan's fort. Sir William Macnaghten has given .50,011)
rupees to a Kussulbash chief to create a diversion in our
favour, and promised him two lace if he succeeds. The Envoy
and General agreed to send for the 13th and 35th (Sale's Uri-
gale)—at first the General would not, but yesterday the
order went off for you to return with the 13th and 35th, leaving
your sick, wounded, and baggage in safety to come on by long
marches ; but much responsibility is thrown on you in this way,
and you will have to fight great numbers near this, whatever
the state of the country may be far off.
" The enemy have had possession of the Commissariat Fort
these two day s'—to-day they have set it on tire, as also a village
near the town that fired on them. We thought it was the city
on fire. Sturt got the wall of the garden near the Commissa-
riat Fort down by the Sappers to-day. A new King and
Vizier had been set up, but the other chiefs will not have
them. Codrington's. corps in Chareckan surrounded. All the
officers wounded. Rattray and Salisbury killed. Sturt's
wounds are doing well, but he overworks his strength; his
mind keeps him up ; and Harcourt tells me to give him wine
and arrowroot. He cannot get open his mouth to get food in
properly. His tongue and throat have suffered, and all the
nerves about. He is out all day, and the soldiers 'help him
about. Last night he did not get to bed till one, and then
was waked up by a note. Mackenzie defended the fort he was
in till his ammunition was expended, and then he cut his way
out : has three wounds. We have intelligence that we were to
be attacked to night, and that they were making boosa bays to
throw into the ditch. No one had made arrangements for an
attack. The General and Anquetil gave Sturt a carte blanche.
Ile has told off the officers and people to their posts, and
paraded them this evening, and at nine went with Paten, Eyre,
and l'ellew, all the rounds. The Envoy is in cantonments,
and his place is a cavalry and infantry intrenched camp, and
the walls loop-holed. We have a nine and a six-pound, r in the
battery next us, 15 guns in position, the walls well-manned,
and our men stanch. If we get over to-night, we shall, 1
trust, repel the enemy till you arrive. Heaven shield us all!
I should not be nervous if I could see what was going on. I
hope they will not attack us this night; but the unusual still-
ness of no firing looks like mischief.
" Bth instant.—We had an alarm at four o'clock. The
enemy attempted to take the fort back again. They mined a
large hole, and set fire to the bastion, -but were driven back.
We are all in high spirits, and look forward to your arrival with
interest and anxiety.—With our united love,
4‘ FLORENTINE SALE."

Mondiere, a foot soldier quartered at Paris, was
yesterday condemned to death by the permanent Court-martial
for the offence of striking a sentinel on his post. It appeared
in evidence that, in the evening of the Bth ult., Mondiert- was
returning to his barracks when he met a woman with her eon,
a boy about ten years old, in the avenue Lamothe-Picquet, near
the Hotel des lnvalides, and nut only accosted her, but, not-
withstanding her remonstrances, persevered is offensive o•er-
tures, and forced her to go out of her way home from fear of
giving rise, by being seen with him, to injurious suspicions In
the minds of her friends and neighbours. She walked on till
they came to a sentinel posted near the Ecole Militaire, whose
protection she claimed. The sentinel recommended Mondiere
to retire to his quarters, and leave her to go home with her
child. Fle, however, took offence at the interference of the
sentinel, abused him, and at length struck him a blow on thA
fdce, which produced blood, and induced him to seize his as.
sailant and call out the guard. Mondiere broke away from
him, but left in his hands the epaulette of his capotte, which
came off in the struggle. By this Mondiere was discovered and
recognised. In answer to the depostions to the above effect,
Mondiere had nothing to say but that he was in liquor, knew
not what he did, and had no recollection of the circumstances
As he had previously borne a good character, the President, in
passing sentence upoa him, announced that he would recom-
mend him to the Royal clemency. Upon this a petition to the
King for a commutation was immediately drawn up, and signed
by all the members of the Court.
BRIGHTON, APRIL 19.—A dispute has taken place
between the Brighton Railway Company and Lord Lowther,
respecting the price for conveying the mails by railway, which
is likely to end in depriving the inhabitants here of a day mail
from London. The mails can be sent by coach on the
common road for about half the cost of what the Railway
Directors want to charge for conveying them by railway. The
arrangements for taking off the Portsmouth and Brighton
mail are in abeyance until the dispute between the Company
and the Post-office is finally settled.

LITERAT URE.

METRICAL CHRONICLES OF ENGLAND.
• TV. Smith, London, 1842.

The design of this work is remarkable for its inge-
nuity, and the execution is worthy of the conception.
It is a history of England, commencing with the Con-
quest, and terminating with the death of George the
Fourth, and is written in verse, for reasons which the
author has satisfactorily explained in a modest and
judicious preface. "No fact in the world," says he,
"is better known than that metre, or rhythmical con-
struction, is that form of language which is the best
beloved of memory in its dawn, and the latest which
attends it on its journey to decline. It is the earliest
shoot, and often of the longest duration ; and there is
scarcely any intellect so ungenial, but will offer some 1
corner to the hardy vegetation of song. Take, for ex-
ample, the bulk of that which the memory has
retained of school-day associations, and verse will be
the ally whose intimacy has encountered the least in-
terruption. Like bearded grass, it has crept up the
sleeve of the fancy whence no power can dislodge it.
It has attained • its place with but little 'solicita-
tion, and holds it with obstinacy." This is forcibly
and eloquently urged, and forms an ample justifica-
tion of the present experiment. hundreds will pe-
ruse Mr. inayxnond's metrical Chronicles with avidity,
who would have turned from them with indifference,
had they been written in dry, tame, matter-of-fact
prose. We do not, however, recommend them simply
because they are metrical—for metre is as often as
not associated with dullness ; but because the versi-
fication is of an easy, flowing, and familiar character,
the imagery judiciously sparing, but always appro-
priate, and the sentiments such as become an English
gentleman and scholar, who knows how to interpret
history in a right spirit. The author had many op-
portunities of digressing, and indulging in the use of
such luxuriant metaphors as his fancy, which is any-
thing but sterile, might suggest; but he has had the rare
good sense to resist all such temptations ; and nothing
is more creditable to him than the simple, straightfor-
ward manner in which he progresses with his task,
and the tact with which he everywhere adapts his de-
scriptions to his theme. Now and then he sounds a
loftier note than usual, hut his tone is always in har-
mony with the character of the event he narrates.
We might have wished, perhaps, that he had devoted
a little more space to the circumstances of Henry the
Eighth's marriage with Anne Boleyn, for this
is one of the leading epochs in our history, and
contributed, more than aught else, to precipitate
the great crisis of the Reformation, which certain
Oxford wiseacres hare now, for the first time, dis-
covered to have been, not a blessing but a curse !
Mr. Raymond might here have digressed a little with
propriety ; but he seems to have resolved on avoiding
everything that might have the effect of checking,
even for a moment, the running stream of his narra-
tive. The notes interspersed throughout his wort:
are copious, but not too much so, for they are inva-
riably pertinent, and serve agreeably to relieve and
illustrate the text. Much curious and diligent re-
search is evident throughout them ; and among other
singular extracts, with which the author's reading
has supplied us, is a description, in Latin, by Erasmus,
of the exceeding fondness of the English ladies for
kissing gentlemen, which for the benefit of the un-
learned we thus freely translate :—" They kiss you,"
says he, with a fervour and emphasis worthy of the
occasion—" they kiss you on your arrival, and they
kiss you on your departure. They greet you with a
kiss, and they dismiss you with a kiss. In fact, you
can't move a step without being kissed. All things
are full of kisses.' Alas ! our modern English ladies
are sadly changed for the worse in this respect.
There is no such exuberant kissing now a-days—none
of that show of unsophisticated tenderness of nature
which so delighted Monstrelet, and which old
Cavendish has dwelt on with such minuteness in his
quaint " Life of Wolsey." If a gentleman now
venture to plead prescriptive right in justification of
his kissing a lady, he must pay for it forthwith, as
was the case with an enamoured swain the other
day, who was fined five shillings for the assault, and
looked on as a perfect heretic in point of propriety !
Mr. Raymond concludes his Chronicles with some
remarks in verse, which show much justness and
force of reasoning, clothed in graceful and truly
poetic language.

POEMS: BELMOUR HOUSE, A PLAY.
Simpkin, London, 1842.
The author of this volume of poems assures us that
he has published it " in compliance with the repeated
solicitations of his friends," and adds, that he " aspires
not to public fame" in consequence of the composition,
which is exceedingly modest, considering that not a few
of the poems are marked by such decided originality
as might become even the Muse of Wakley. That
there are occasional defects in them, is true, but what
human production is perfect ? There are spots even
in the sun, why then should there not be blemishes
in the delectable little volume before us ? But not
only is the author a poet of " mark and likelihood,"
he is also a dramatist, as is abundantly proved by
his "Belmour House, a Play," the chief person-
ages of which are a bookseller and his , son
Charles, the latter of whom is, it seems, a traveller for
the paternal firm, and is represented as being endowed
with all those chivalrous and romantic qualities for
which the bibliopolical fraternity have ever been re-
markable. This high-minded young man, while- jour-
neying outside the stage-coach from Bristol, with his
order-book in his pocket, is fortunate enough to meet
with Miss Matilda Belmour—a lovely and susceptible
who is also travelling outside with her father. The
parties happening to like each other, they very soon
fall into familiar conversation, and the result is that
Charles receives an invitation to old Belmour's house,
which he gladly accepts; and, when asked 'what is the
nature of his trade or profession, replies in a fine strain
of eloquence, that he is " a dispenser of knowledge—
in a word, a bookseller," one of those " presiding ge-
niuses who sit at the well-head of knowledge, and send
forth its living streams to the very ends of the earth !"
On receiving this information, Mr. Belmour luckily
remembers that he is having " a large winged book-
case made," and adds, in the true spirit of disinte-
rested friendship,
" As Mr. Booker is a bookseller, I shall certainly em-
ploy our friend, Mr. Charles, to furnish it according to
his own taste and judgment."
To this aft'ectionate proposal; Charles, with a shrewd
eye to business, makes answer,
" Sir, I shall be most happy to do so, and on the most
reasonable terms."
While the parties are thus sociably conversing, a
man servant enters with the pleasing intelligence that,
" dinner is on the table," whereupon old Belmour,
who is evidently a wag, replies with irresistible drol-
lery, " I am very happy to hear it !" We direct our
readers' particular attention to the exquisite felicity of
this unstudied repartee. Can anything be more jo-
cose—anything more appropriate to time, place, and
circumstance? We regret, however, to be obliged to
state that the sally makes not the slightest impressin
on the midriff of the youthful Charles, for he gravely
refuses his friend's offer to stay dinner, who accord-
ingly launches the following brilliant sarcasm against
him :
" I thought you were too old a stager not to take care
of the belly-timber !"
But though the youthful bookseller refuses to make
a longer stay at Belmour's house, he has no idea of
dropping his acquaintance, for it happens that during
his few hours' visit he has fallen in love with Matilda
Belmour, who—we have great pleasure in assuring
our readers—reciprocates the affection. But, alas,
the " course of true love never did run smooth," and
this attached couple are rendered seriously uneasy by
the exceedingly rude conduct of one Chip, a cabinet-
maker, who, it appears, is a discarded suitor of the
young lady. It will scarcely be credited that the in-
stant this monster in human form learns that Charles
is his rival, he resolves on pitching into him; which,
coming to the ears of the enamoured bibliopole, he ex-
claims in a transport of chivalrous wrath, " My ho-
nour is at stake !" and forthwith seeks Chip, with a
pistol in each hand, loaded no doubt to the muzzle,
and for the bloodiest purposes ! When the half-
frenzied cabinet-maker gets sight of these ugly wea-
pons, his courage gradually oozes out at his fingers'
ends, and he faulters out,
" I now look upon you, Sir, as an honourable man
and a gentleman, being thoroughly convinced that you
had no intention of rivalling me in the affections of the
amiable young lady who has been the innocent cause of
our hostile meeting."
Now this was true magnanimity on the part of
Chip, though we fear that the sceptical reader will 1w
apt to attribute it to the sight of the pistol, which, it
is well known, possesses extraordinary logical powers,
and has often brought conviction home to the minds
even of the most prejudiced. When the news of the
intended duel reaches the ears of old Belmour, he is
so enraptured with Charles's boiling courage, that he
cracks several bright jokes, and among others the
following :
" My dear boy, why did you not name the duel to me at
the time, and I would have chopped the impertinent Chip
into a bunch of Lucifer matches. Turn round, my boy,
and let me, see if your limbs are whole, you courageous
dog, you !"
The upshot of the affair is, that Charles and Matilda,
after indulging in divers billings and cooings, are each
made happy with the other's hand ; and the author
winds up his play by invoking a blessing on their
heads, to which, as their sincere well-wishers, we
cordially respond Amen ! Such are the leading
incidents of this transcendant drama, which, ad-
mirable as it is, is surpassed, if possible, by the
poems of the same author. Here, for instance, is
one entitled "Farewell to the Village," which is
replete with touches of the tenderest pathos :
Farewell to the village, the scene of my birth
The loveliest of spots I e'er trod upon earth.
When thy beauties I think on, my bosom cloth swell,
Ah, scenes of my youth, fare ye well, fare ye well.
"There's the old village church, with ivy grown o'er,
With its steeple, which seems to heaven to soar,
The church yard, where friends and companions
are laid,
,t of stern nature each one having paid."

• We. pause here to express our admiration of th
truly benevolent feeling that suggested the last line-
The author, it will be seen, takes special care to N.;
sure us that the " friends and companions," to whom
he alludes, were not buried till they had each Ifeid
the " debt of nature," fearing that otherwise we migh
he apprehensive that they were buried alive, and our
sensibility thereby receive a grievous shock. After
enumerating . a few more particulars respecii.n3 the
" Village," the poet proceeds as follows :
" But the girl I adore, I am leaving behind,
She's my heart's own desire, so loving and kind,
Ah, who, when I'm gone, her sorrows can cheer ?
Oh, my heart it will break, to part from my dear !
" Farewell village streams, willows weepin,,,,, arlund,
Ye sweet blooming vallies with foliage crowlVd.
Farewell thy old church, and farewell to thy people,
Farewell to thy clerk, and farewell to thy steeple."
We have here a complete inventory of affectionate
recollections. How touching is the allusion to tht
parish clerk; and what a world of sentiment is con-
veyed in the adieu to the steeple ! The clerk, the
steeple,• and the weeping willows, indeed, seem to
share the writer's affections equally with the girl
is his " heart's own desire"—a proof how singularly
comprehensive is the range of a poet's sympathies !
We close our hasty notice with the observation
that the present volume abounds in passages worthy
even of the seraphic genius of a Middlesex CoroLsr.

HALL ON THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
Whittaker, London, 1842.
The thoughtful reader will find much matter for
reflection and speculation in this instructive volume,
especially in the chapter on the " Unity of our.
Species," in which the conne:Zion between mind and
matter is argued with force and subtlety. In refer-
ence to the effects produced by excessive joy
on the body, the author observes :—" Joy at
times so powerfully exhausts the brain and nervous
energy es to produce death. The classical reader at
once remembers the unhappy fate of poor old Sophocles,
who died with delight on being crowned for conmiosing
a successful tragedy in his old age ; and also the sto-
ries of the Roman ladies, who expired on seeing their
sons return from the battles of Thrasymene and
Cannae. But to examine facts nearer home. Dr.
Mead says that during the never-to-be-forgotten year
of the South Sea Bubble, more individuals went mad
when they had acquired large fortunes, than other:
who were ruined by that system of fraud." The
volume is dedicated, by permission, to Earl Spencer.

ABBOTSFORD EDITION of the WAVERLEY

NOVELS. Part I. Cadell: Edinburgh, 1842.

When this work is completed, it will be by many
degrees the most satisfactory and elegant edition of
Sir Walter Scott's Tales that has yet appeared. The
embellishments will be in number about two thou-
sand, and will represent the real localities of the great
novelist's scenes, which have already been diligently
explored for the purpose by Clarkson Stanfield, to-
gether with the pictorial and antiquarian Museum
at Abbotsford. In the present Part there are nct
less than twenty-four choice engravings, among the
most interesting of which are the views of the park
and library at Waverley Honor, of the well-known
Eildon Hills; and of the old-fashioned desk wherein
the long-missing MSS. of Waverley was found. But,
perhaps, the engraving that will most interest the
reader is the sketch of Sir Walter Scott's easy chair ;
we see his thick-soled shoes lying beside it, his every-
day coat flung carelessly over it, Ills staff leaning
against it ; but where is the man himself? The sight
of these familiar objects will scarcely fail to call forth
strong feelings of emotion in the mind of the specta-
tor. The engraving is, indeed, one that abounds in
deep pathos. The Part is got up in every respect
with remarkable skill and attention to details.