The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-28 00:00:00

ADELAIDE GALLERY.

Me concourse of holiday visitors at this charming
theatre of instruction to the young, and of entertain-
t.
everyage, sex, and condition, was on Monday
ll'ettiag immense. Yet, although there were up •
e_":4,ids of three thousand persons within the building,
4,7041 seven o'clock to eleven, the inconvenience from
LQl'9 ug-and,pressure was but little felt, and. the pro-
menade concerts were freely enjoyed-by the largest,
lion of that vast number; perhaps owing to the
!St variety Of contemporaneous amusements, by
L'ltich the. diversified • curiosity of the company is at-
ilkted,. and theirmanifold tastes are gratified, without
n interference. of one group with the engagements of
'?other. The grand novelty of the present week is
the celebrated. and most beautiful " Toy Symphony'i
"1 Haydn. It was executed with faultless precision
and effect by the very efficient orchestra, under the
‘4.reetion of Mr. Julian Adams. and was rapturously
Cored. The favourite vocalists, Miss Thornton,
:44's. Wilson, and Messrs. Martyn and Smith, were
4„Warded with rapturous and well-merited applause.
:tile Infant Thalia, who has become so great a favour-
`e. is to require her performance three times every day,
!eted with even more than her usual animation, and
pi accordingly the object, if possible, of even more
mn the usual admiration. Dr. Atkins delivered a
)`(irt., interesting, and satisfactory lecture on the
recius light. This new mode of illumination is
adopted in the gallery, and serves to show the
a;ttificent works of art with which the walls are
alomed, in a day-like clearness, at the same time that
the the aid of numerous and costly mirrors it gives
(L'e swoon and galleries a splendid appearance.
IN The extraordinary works of calligraphy by Mr.
4-osei3thal attracted the admiring attention of the
'elder absentees from the school, whilst the children of
all ages find their most gleesome entertainment in the
magic hall of Mr. Crambrooke.

CORONER'S INQUESTS.
SUPPOSED SUlClDE.—Yesterday evening Mr. Payne
Lehi an inquest in the Vestry-room of St. Magnus',
London-bridge, on the: body of Joseph Annis, aged
44. James Ratcliffe, 582 City Police, said that on
SUnday morning, about a quarter-past eight, he ob-
!erved a hat- lying on the steps at the Fishmongers'-
1411, London-bridge, and, picking it up, found some
Zards and papers inside it. The cards were addressed
• Joseph Annis, paper-stainer, 52, Broadwall, New-
(tt, Lambeth." The tide was running out, and he
looked in the river, but could see no one. John
iipooner, waterman, found the body about six hours
fb under the inside arch of the bridge, lying in the
mud, with . his face downwards. His clothes (with
'AB exception of his hat) were all on. Eleven dupli-
to.tes,.rand several other papers, were found upon his
ream. Charles Ogle, 17, Dyer-street, said he had
4nown the deceased,for a considerable time back. He
!vas last seen by witness on Thursday morning, when
he seemed much depresse4, through failure in busi-
ness, and being out of-employment. , Has left a wife
and six chitdrera wiihoiat the means of ~.ub sistenc e.
Verdict--" Found drowned."
The.-JuryvirSt generously- subscribed'li., which
was given to . the- widow, for lithe immediate ,use of her
tout ily._ • •,, 1)•N • ,:,11‘1,1,

Mr-.-Payne iheld another inquest the stinit evening
4t St. Bartholomew's Hospital, on the body of James
41eff, fy fine boy, five years of age. It appeared that
co last Saturday week, about half-past one, as two
!arts laden with sand,' were standing across the stones
in Playhouse-yard, a dust cart was trying to pass
them, when the deceased, in running to get before
the cart, got jammed betwixt it and the post at the edge
of the pavement. The•driver stopped immediately,
and the child was picked up and conveyed to the Hos-
T?ital. his eye was badly hurt, but he went on very
Tavourably for five days, when his breathing indicated
that some serious internal injury had been received,
'kid the child died yesterday morning. A post
wrortem examination was made, and it was found that
several of the intestines had been ruptured. Verdict,
"Accidental Death."
Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held at the
Imperial Crown, Bromley, before Mr. Baker, Coroner
for Middlesex, on the body of George Wenner, nine
Years of age. It appeared in evidence that the de-
ceased had left his home, in Mann's-buildings, Bromley,
about two o'clock in the afternoon of Christmas day,
for the purpose of going out to play with some other
-boys ; not having returned, and having continued ab-
!lent for several hours, search was made for him, but
in vain, and ten o'clock at night having arrived with-
out am tidings of him, his mother thought he might
have fallen into the well in the garden, and having
obtained a pole to fathom the well, the body of the
deceased was found lying at the bottom. He was im-
Mediately got out, but life was quite extinct. The
was within eighteen inches from the footpath
lie.lcling to the house, and was never covered up. An
kat:l-nation was here made to the Court that it would
be at once closed up. Verdict—" Found drowned."

POLTTECHNIC INSTITUTION.—The number of visi- ,
tors up to nine o'clock on Monday evening, exceeded
.by one ti)ousand the number of visitors on any pre-
lions occaction. Several hundred persons were refused
admission in. the course of the day.
A LAST .RESOURCE.—We venture, as the year
draws to a close, to invite the clergy and laity yet
further to support the Gazette. And we would point
out, in as few swords as possible, how that support
`'maybe most efficiently given. First—By procuring
'-additional subscribers at twenty shillings per annum, if
'Paid in advance. Secondly—By advertising in our
.columns, and prevailing on their friends, acquaint-
% noes, and dependents, to imitate their example.
'• Thirdly—By forwarding their works, printed sermons,
reports of Church Societies, and other publications,
10.- review ; and fourthly—By corresponding with the
Ed: tor, and thus joining that phalanx of contributors
to tl to columns of the Gazette, which we desire more
and Imre to render worthy of becoming, in every re-
--spect, a true and faithful exponent of old Church of
England principles. And we press these matters the
mate rargently, inasmuch as our usefulness can only
increase by means of a larger circulation.— Church
• and State Gazette.
A man in white habiliments, with snowy head and
beard, by the name of Silas Lamson, is going about
among the Millerites preaching a new doctrine. He
- believes that the resurrection is already past, and
.that we are now iu heaven !—American Paper.
HEREFORD GRAND STERPE CHASE.-1N o under-
stand that the number of entries for the grand chase
(handicaps with 1501. added), which closes on the 2d
• Of Japuary next, will be very numerous, and that the
line of country over which it is probable to come off,
is one of the best in England.
Tim WOOL TRADE.—The wool market at Berlin,
on Dec ember 15, continued flat. The appearance of
an early winter having put a stop to all other but the
business, we had already made up our minds
to keep our large stocksof wool until the spring, when
al lat once, with the news from China, some buyers
arrived from Hamburgh. They were followed by
others from the Netherlands, and at the same
time combers and specu.lators made their appear-
ance in the market, whioh immediately became
huoyant, and for many veal's past, with the excep-
L'on of the fairs, there has not been 3o much woof
sold in so short a time. Fun 10,000 cwt. have
changed hands within the last 1 days, with a fair
prospect of more sales being effected. The qualities
mast in demand were the lower sorts—from 45 to 50
—ls. 6d. to ls. 71d. per pound, but a great deal of
business has also been done in the sorts from 50 to

55, at Is. Md. to Is. 9d. per pound, which are consi-
dered much cheaper. In better qualities from 60,
about is. 104-d. and upwards, there has been little
done. In respect to prices, I cannot say that they
have advanced much, for most of our holders were
very ready to sell. The latter purchases, however,
are fully id. to id. per pound higher; at the present
:moinent many dealers are not disposed to sell even at
'thin advance. There is every pros/ wet that these
prices will be maintained, and some of our speculators,
-who entertain very sanguine expectat;.ons on the sub-
ject, have begun already to contract for the new clip.
—Leeds Mercury.

LITERATURE.

MEMOIRS of the QUEENS qf FRANCE. 2 Vols.

Cdbur- n, London, 1842.
To that numerous class of readers who hurry
through a work at railroad pace, for the mere
purpose of amusement, these volumes will be very
acceptable, for they are lightly and pleasantly
written, and such information as they contain,
may—with perhaps one or two unimportant ex-
ceptions—be relied on. The student, however,
who reads with a view to increase his stock of

knowledge, will find himself somewhat disap-
pointed on perusing them, for, notwithstanding
the authoress's assurance that her " paTes pre

the result of much labour • and research," they

are, in truth, at best but shallow, skimming the
surface only of historical character. This is par-
ticularly the case with the Memoir of the famous
—or rather infamous—Catherine de Medicis,

Queen and Regent of France, the leading events of
whose sanguinary career are just slightly glanced
at, with scarce a word of comment; while, as
regards Catherine herself, there is at best but a
meagre attempt made at minuteness and indivi-
duality of portraiture, notwithstanding; that the
materials are so abundant; and we are told little
more than that she was crafty and unprincipled,
and that her ruling passions were ambition and
a lust of power. This is perfectly true, so far as
it goes, but the remark is not sufficiently
characteristic, but applies also with more or
less force to Queen Elizabeth of England—Ma-
ria Theresa of Austria—Catherine the Second
of Russia—and, in fact, to almost- every female
sovereign who has won historical renown. Now
the ambition of Catherine De Medicis developed
itself in a manner peculiar to herself, and such
as gives us a vivid insight into her idiosyncrasy.
For years it lay apparently dormant. For years
it was unsuspected, even by those who were in
habits of familiar communion with her. Treads=
ery and dissimilation, unbounded in their extent,
were the agents by which this master-passion
worked. There was nothing straightibrward in
its character. It was wily and circuitous to
degree never known before or since. Even when
the frankest and boldest course of action appeared
the most likely to ensure success, Catherine;
from a perverse impulse which she could not
control, would adopt the most secret and jesui-
tical. Though a stranger to fear, she invariably
acted as if sheer timidity dictated her move-
ments. A thorough Italian in mind and man-
ners, she had a honied smile and a soft word ever
ready to lull the distrust of those on whose de-
struction she was bent. Thus for years she op-
pressed with her courtesies her husband's cele-
brated mistress, Diana of Poitiers, whom she ut-
terly detested, and let pass many an opportunity
of obtaining revenge, in order that the blow, when
she struck it, might be the more secure and de-
cisive. In the character of most ambitious wo-
men, stained though they may be with crime,
something of frankness and magnaminity may at
times be detected. Even the RusSian Semiramis
was not without her redeeming qualities. But
Catherine de Medicis had positively none. She
was licentious in her conduct without the excuse.
of passion; though anything but a bigotin rel Hon,
she projected and carried in to execution the Stlar-
tholomew massacres, on'thepleaof upholding the
Catholic faith ; and even her loftiest ambitious
views had reference to no earthly interests but her
own. Above all, she seems to have been wholly
devoid of that sense of right which Providence,
for wise purposes, has implanted in the breasts of
even the most unscrupulous and abandoned.
Thus she sedulously corrupted the morals of her
own children, apparently without any adequate
motive, or without the slightest idea that she was
thereby outraging one of the great primary laws
of nature ; and committed murders by wholesale,
less from absolute cruelty than from an innate
indifference to human suffering. Having stated
this, we need scarcely add that remorse was an
utter stranger to her breast. In fact, it may ad-
mit of a question whether, in the tortuous and
supremely depraved course she pursued, she
really believed that she was deviating from the
brosd path of virtue. Our authoress, we per-
ceive, seems doubtful as to whether Catherine
poisoned her son Charles the Ninth. Unfortu-
nately this does not admit of a doubt, for more
than one chronicle of the period is decisive on
the-point.
The Memoir of" Anne of Austria," Queen and
Regent of France, is'written with more skill and
spirit than any other in the work. This Princess
was the -wife- of Louis the Thirteenth, and .not-
withs'sanding the " joy she experienced at the
prospectnr her marriage," she passed but a
miserable lire with her husband, chiefly in con-
sequence of the intrigues- of Richelieu, whose
advances she -'had'repulsed, and who took every
opportunity of sowing dissensions between the
Royal couple.- Alluding incidentally to the
Queen's intercourse with the Duke -of Bucking
ham, our authoress says :ss." She is accused of
having favoured the advances of his Grace, who
was sent to Paris in 1625, by Charles the First, as
Ambassador." This accusation is well founded,
for Madame de Moteville, who was in
all Anne's secrets, has told us in her
Memoirs, that, after the Duke's return
to England, the Queen sent him her own gar-
ter, which, we conceive, is tolerably conclusive
evidence that her attachment was something more
than platonic ! " The Duke of Buckingham,"
adds our authoress, " when recalled by Charles
the First, instead of taking leave of Anne of Aus-
triain the ordinary form, wentin to her apartment,
fell on his knees by her bed-side, and gave way to
the most extravagant expressions of brief; so that
she was obliged to reprove him, and inform him
that it was a great innovation on the rules of
etiquette to address the Queen of France in that
way." It would appear from this slight account
of a remarkable love passage in Anne's life, that
the Duke entered her apartment uninvited; but
such was not the case ; the Duchess de Chevreuse
had previously prepared her for his visit, so it is
impossible that it could have taken her by
surprise. As the circumstances of this inter-
view are curious, we will give them more in detail
than our authoress has thought fit to do. On
entering her Majesty's chamber, Buckingham—
who, we should premise, was one of the hand-
somest and most courtly gallants of the age—
knelt down by her bedside, and kissed her sheet
with every sign of the deepest emotion. As she
took not the slightest notice of this strange mode
of salutation, an old dame of honour who, limn-
nately for Anne, was in the room, wishing—as
she significantly phrased it—to prevent " other
liberties," seated herself in the Royal arm-chair,
and putting on her most virtuous demeanour,
ordered the Duke to rise, observing that such
behaviour was not tolerated in France. His
Grace immediately began to argue the point like
a statesman, maintaining with consummate im-
pudence that, as he was .not a Frenchman,
he was not bound by the laws of the Coun-
try ! He then again addressed himself to the
Queen ; confessed the ardent passion with which
she had inspired him; and, in fact, went the
whole hog in the way of sentiment. Anne now
pretended to be exceedingly indignant at his pre-
sumption, and ordered him to leave the room,
which he did, but, as she received him in public
the next day, it is very evident that her wrath
was by no means of an implacable nature. As
the mention of this Queen immediately suggests
the recollection of Cardinal Mazarin, with whose
chequeredfortunes her own, during the last twenty
years of her life, were so closely linked, we
think our authoress should have halted awhile
in her narrative to say a few words respecting
this wily statesman, and given a brief outline
also of the wars of the Fronde, in which Anne
cut so conspicuous—and at times so grotesque—a
figure. This is the only fault we find with a
Memoir which is penned in an easy, flowing, Un-
pretending style, and abounds in variety of inte-
resting matter.
In the Memoir of " Marie Leckzinsky," wife of
Louis the Fifteenth, we have a passing sketch of
the Regent Orleans, whose character is drawn in
too favourable colours, for surely to say merely
that he " was a man of licentious habits, but not
criminal," is to state only half' the truth Of a
Prince who was addicted to every species of pro-
fligacy and vice, short of absolute murder; who
corrupted society to its very heart's core ; and
whose reckless extravagance brought his country
to the verge of ruin ! Pope's famous denuncia-
tion of the general corruption that marked the
habits, tastes, and feelings of the higher classes
in England during the reign of Anne, applies
with tenfold force to France during the Orleans
Regency. Of Madame de Pompadour, the mis-
tress of Louis the Fifteenth, our authoress gives,
not so much a portrait, as the outline of one.
Nevertheless, the lineaments are correct, and will
be readily recognised by all who are acquainted
with the history of the period. This celebrated
woman was of low origin, by her mother's side ;
ambitious to excess; jealous and domineering;
and extravagant to a degree only equalled by her
successor, Madame Dubarri. Her figure was
graceful; her countenance expressed mingled
cunning and melancholy; her complexion was
fair; and her arms and hands were eminently
beautiful. She was first seen by the King while
huntit:g in the forest of Senart ; and lie was so
struck by her elegant horsemanship, as at once.
ta avow his attachment. The period of her as-s
cendancy was one specially disastrous to France,
for she was the distributor of all Government
employments, and cared little for she worth or
talent of those whom she preferred to important
offices in the State, provided they sufficiently
flattered her vanity. As Goldsmith observes
of Garrick, "Whoe'er peppered highest was

surest to please." For, many years of
her life this haughty favourite exercised the
most despotic authority. The church—the law—
the army—all the statesmen—ill the courtiers—
all the aspiring wits of the day—vied with each
other in their adulation of the de Pompadour.
The business of the State was conducted in her
boudoir. She was the last and highest court of
appeal, from whose award there was no dissent-
ing. In a word, she was King, Queen, and Mi-
nistry, for Louis was a mere cypher—a mecha-
nical puppet, who only moved when she
pulled the strings. She died in the palace of
Versailles, in her forty-second year, and her
Royal lover, when he beheld her corpse pass be-
neath his window, on its way to her own hotel,
looked •up at the sky, which was dark and
lowering, and coolly observed, "Madame de
Pompadour will have bad weather fir her voy-
age l" Justly has Solomon remarked, "put not
thy trust in Princes!" . .

In concluding our hasty notice of these inter-
esting volumes, we cannot-:but observe that—
notwithstanding the splendid female triumphs
they record—the impression that they must
leave on the reader's mitid can scarcely be
otherwise than a melancholy one. How few of
all the Queens and Royal Favourites who Occupy
for centuries together the tbreground of French
domestic history, ever kqew what it was to
enjoy—what Pope has so beautifully called—
" eternal sunshine of the cloudless mind !"
Some, smitten with remorse, retired into the
gloomy shades of a convent ; others, haunted
with apprehensions of a fall, even while basking
in the broad sunshine of prosperity, sighed fbr
the happiness which they had once known,
but which could never again be theirs ; and
others drooped day by day under the slow butsure
corroding influence of a breaking heart. Queen
Margaret de Valois—the far-descended.othe in-
tellectual—the beautiful—became liypondriacal
in age, and died in convulsions of terror, occa-
sioned by the recollection.. of her dissolute con-
duct, anti the trying scenes through which she.
had passed ; Queen Mary de Medicis, persecu-
ted by Richelieu, passed years in obScure exile,.
and expired at last in indigence and misery;
Anne of Austria, after experiencing the most
cruel vicissitudes, discovered 'too late that the
crown of France,. which she had looked forward
to with such pleasure, was little better than a
crown of thorns ;" Queen Maria Theresa dropped
into the grave the victim of hopeless melancholy;
Madame de Maintenon, notwithstandigg that
she had achieved the grand object of her
ambition by her marriage with Louis the Four-
teen th, confessed in a letter to Ninon de l'Enclos
that she " envied her peaceable independence ;"
Queen Marie Leckzinsky expressed herself im-
patient for the approach of death, declaring that
she was weary of existence; Madame Dubarri
fell under the axe of the guillotine; Marie An-
toinette, too,. expired on the scaffold; and the
Empress Josephine, after being compelled to
descend from the proudest throne in the world,
died.of a broken heart, on hearing of Napoleon's
exile to Elba! The moral we would deduce from
these striking instances of mutability of fortune
is, that for women the materials of happiness are
only to be found in the calm retirement of pri-
vate life; this is the sphere in which nature
designed them to shine; and they never quit it,
but at the risk of encountering every species of
disappointment and disaster!

THE COMIC ALBUM. Orr, London, 1842.
The "Comic Album," like its prototype, the
" Comic Almanac," is excellently well adapted
for Christmas fire-side reading, for, in the first
place, it is lavishly embellished with a variety of
the most humnurous engravings; and, secondly,
it contains numerous lively articles, in verse as
well as prose, not a few of which—such as the
hits at the Income-tax and the Chinese war...
will be sure to create infinite diversion, if only
by reason of their apt and seasonable character.
Among the Plates, we may single out for special
praise one which is intended to illustrate the
folly, not to say, the danger, of a man supping
off toasted cheese. An unhappy wight who has
thus indulged himself, is roused at midnight by
an abrupt visit from two enormous black rats,
one of whom is perched upon-his nightcap, while
the other is peeping inquisitively into his open
mouth, both being attracted by the savoury per-
fume of the sleeper's breath. The animals look
wondrously curious and determined, and the one
who is squatted on the gentleman's nightcap,
seems :strongly, disposed to lean forward, and
snatch a hasty mouthful from his nose. " A
Great card" represents a Professor of Dental
Surgery busied in drawing his patient's teeth, in
a variety of comical modes. In one engraving,
he-has got fast hold of a man's tooth with a bit
of tough whipcord, and with his leg planted
firmly , against the sufferer's breast, is tugging
away, with all the force he can muster. In an-
other plate, he is punching a fat little gentleman's
tooth down his throat with a boot-jack, evidently
mare -to his own than his victim's satisfaction.
This series of illustration abounds in extravagant
humour. " Dressing a Duck" is another whim-
sical conceit, and shows us an angry father giving
his infant child a smart slap or two, infinitely to
the annoyance and dismay of the fond mother,
who has no notion of having her " duck dressed"
after that fashion. We have instanced a few of
the best among the Plates, but there are many
others which exhibit much of the grotesque
humour of Thomas Hood's designs. Of the
prose and verse, we may say—as is generally the
case—that the prose, on the whole, is the most
entertaining, though the quiz on the Income-tax
is by no means amiss, and the " Life and Adven-
tures of Robinson Crusoe" contain one or two
ludicrous images not unworthy of Ingoldsby. We
quote an amusing poem, entitled " A Modern
Morning Conversation" :

DAUGTITER.
My dear mamma! 'tis most unkind!
Why teaze me thus to wed the earl?
Who is so very lame and blind—
Besides, too old for Liny girl!
.mAmma.
Remember, love, few girls can choose
Rank, title, wealth, and power,—his proffer !
Become a countess, ne'er refuse
Your hand to him, but take his offer.
DATJGHTEII.
Oh ! I'd prefer a maiden's grave
Ere I'd relinquish Captain Gray,
I'd rather plunge beneath yon wave.
MAMMA.
That were to "throw yourself away!"
Come, be a good obedient girl,
And say that you'll accept the earl.

DAUGHTER.
Can I subdue my fond regrets,
And leave dear cousin Harry lonely ?
MAMMA.
Whose income, like his many debts,
Is limited to half-pay only.
To hear you talk in such a way
Excites my pity and derision.
DAUGHTER.
I'd rather sta:ve with Harry Gray,
Than I'd enjoy the earl's—provision I
You'll own the captain is not lame,
We want no carriages, 'tis clear;
I'd follow him through scorn and shame.
MAMMA.
A constant march throughout the year I
DAUGHTER.
Harry's not blind, nor deaf; nor yet
Will I prove false, whate'er befall!
MAMMA.
He very blindly ran in debt ;
He's very deaf when tradesfolk call!
Consider, love! my own dear girl!
For him would you reject an earl ?
DAUGHTER.
Why, he's so monstrous deaf and old,
I scarce made out a word he muttered!
MAMMA.
The less you'll heed, love, should he scold,
The less he'll hear against you uttered!
DAUGHTER.
Then terribly his lordship halts ;
Besides, he's very blind indeed !
MAMMA.
Blind will he be—but to your faults,
And quick to follow where you lead
Bethink you how a coronet
Would grace that brow surpassing. fair!
DAUGHTER.
But should I join the Almacks' set ?
And have a house in Belgrave-square ?
MAMMA.
All, all, my love, if you'll engage,
And pledge the earl in sober truth.
DAUGHTER.
Ah ! must I then unite with age !
Why should I cut my coz ?
MAMMA.
Poor youth !

DAUGHTER.
Mamma, you've quite convinced your girl ;
Harry, adieu! I'll wed the earl.

DAY DREAMS. 011ivier, London, 1842.

This collection of poems is from the pen of
Mr. Charles Kilo*, author of the Rittmeister's
Budget. The pOems evince much skill and
sweetness of versification, more especially the
first one in the volume, which is entitled the
" Minstrel Warrior," and contains many bold
and animated images. The embellishments,
which are upwards' of twenty in number, are,
some of them, of superior merit, and the work is
splendidly bound in a sort of bright blue cloth.
It is every way calculated for a Christmas present.