The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-13 00:00:00

ordinary capacity. The introductory chapters, where-
in the author endeavours to show that national pros-
perity depends on geological position, are argued with
great urgency and acuteness, and contain the follow-
ing statement, which is quite new to us :
" Not less than nineteen of the largest and most im-
portant towns in England, from Exeter to Carlisle, are
all situated along the line of one geological formation,
the new red sand-stone, which, in audition to its own
mineral treasures of rock-salt, gypsum, and metallic
ores, usually covers the invaluable deposit of coal, at
once yielding an incentive and supply to the vast and en-
terprising population of this favoured district."
In an interesting pssage on the srlbject of mining,
Mr. Richardson, while speaking of the different orders
of metals, and the forms in which they are found, tells
us that gold offers an exception to the general rule of
metals occurring in veins, for that it is disseminated
in minute quantities throughout those rocks, usually
of a quartzose character, in which it occurs, and
chiefly obtained in alluvial gravel, resulting from the
decomposition of such rocks ; or from the sands of
rivers which, flowing over them, have washed out
the particles of gold. In discussing the question of
the modern date of man, as compared with that of the
world, the author shrewdly argues that, had the
human race been really the aborigines of the physical
history of our planet, Vhad they actually existed in its
primeval times, their remains would unquestionably
have been found scattered throughout its various depo-
sits, from the oldest to the most recent in the series:—
" No impediment," says Mr. Richardson, " exists to
their conservation: our bones, composed of the same ele-
ments as those of the animal races, are equally capable
of being kept from destruction ; the same battle-field
has preserved the bones of the horse and his rider ; the
same cavern which, in earlier aeras, gave shelter during
life to the hyena and the bear, and retained their skele-
tons after death, has alike preserved the relics of those
human occupants, who, at a later period, found, in the
same retreat, a refuge and a tomb. But it is obvious,
that if man had really been an inhabitant of the earth
during its early history, his skeleton, or' the mere frag-
ments of his osseous strutture, would have constituted
the least of those relics, which he would have bequeathed
to the soil, of which he was an inhabitant. We should
have discovered his mighty and majestic works, which
so far transcend in duration his own ephemeral existence.
We should have found his cities and his structures over-
whelmed in the waters of ancient seas, or buried beneath
the ejections of primeval volcanoes ; his majestic pyra-
mids sunk in the bed of early rivers ; his mountain-
temples hewn on the surface of the deepest and the
oldest rocks ; we should have encountered his bridge's
of granite and of iron ; his palaces of limestone and of
marble ; the tombs which he reared over the objects of
his affection ; the shrines which he erected in honour of
his god. But in the absence of these or any. other trace
of man; in any, save the most superficial of deposits, we
are compelled to acknowledge the chronology of Holy
Writ ; to recognise the complete and satisfactory accord.
ante of science with revelation ; and to admit that the
existence of man has not extended beyond those five or
six thousand years upon the earth, which the Scriptures
assign as the period of his creation.
This is a forcible and eloquent passage; but there
are many such in the volume, which—though, from
the nature of the subject, it might be supposed to be
somewhat dry and heavy—is in reality as entertain-
ing, as it is instructive in its details. The chapter,
in particular, on the fossil remains of extinct animals,
abounds in curious matters of information. We have
not often met with a volume, professedly scientific,
which blends so happily the useful with the agreeable.

THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE. —3 Vols.
Bentley, London, 1842.
Though far from being the best of Mrs. Gore's
novels, the " Ambassador's Wife" is decidedly supe-
rior to any that she has produced since the " Dowa-
ger," which was published, if we remember rightly,
about two or three years since. The subject is well
chosen, and the authoress's intimate and varied ac-
quaintance with fashionable life, both here and on the
Continent, has enabled her to give point and finish,
and, above all, an appearance of reality, to her nume-
rous sketches of character. Her portrait of the
pompous old German Baron, Von Rehfeld, would
seem, from its truth and minuteness, to have been
draw direct from some living original; and there is
an individuality in the carefully sustained character
of his intriguing and ambitious second wife, that
would lead us to the same conclusion. The Baron's
daughter, Ida, is less skilfully delineated ; like the
generality of heroines in modern novels, she is beauti-
ful, accomplished, sentimental, &c., but exhibits no
distinctive peculiarities. From the first chapter to
the last, the tale trundles easily and hurriedly on ;
and as the scene of action is constantly varying, and
new personages appear upon, as others disappear from,
the stage, it is very likely to be in request among
novcl readers.

MISS KELLY'S THEATRE.
We were much delighted by a visit on Saturday last to this
very elegant little place of amusement in Dean-street, Soho-
square. The time was erst when the name of " Miss Kelly"
was enough to draw a crowded audience to any house. Her
sweetly modulated voice, her just conception her truthful act-
ing, and her unstained reputation, were attributes which ren-
dered her at once the favourite and the admiration of the whole
' kingdom. Miss Kelly has lost none of her powers of former
days; her voice is as sweet as ever, her conception juster, more
truthful still her acting, untainted yet her reputation, and yet,
we grieve to ray it, Miss Kelly and her company nightly play
to almost empty benches. Can it be that a fickle
.public has
deserted the old favourite? We can scarce believe It. Can it
be that Miss Kelly's little theatre is unkhown to the public
generally? We think it is, and to that cause, and that alone,
do we ascribe the very poor house which we beheld on Satur-
day. Miss Kelly is an actress whose untiring zr.al
and perseverance, united with the very excellent bill
of fare which she always presents, deserves the support
and countenance of the public; and we are sure her theatre
only requires to be known to be universally visited. The
• entertainments on Saturday consist a of the clever little farce
of The Int, igue, the drama of The Miller's Maid ,and the
farce of The Iri:k Tutor, with between pieces. L. Schully's
much admired Rondo a la Chasse, executed in a most masterly
style on the guitar, by Herr Otto Feder. In the first piece,
every actor was perfection ; not one, indeed, of the whole corps
appears to be mediocre, they are all first .rate in the parts as-
signed to them; Mr. Kinloch, Mr. Garth, J. Webster, and
Miss Dowlon were excellent. In The Miller's Maid, Miss
Kelly sustained her original character of Phoebe, and that
most admirably. It has never fallen to our lot to witness a
more exquisite piece of acting—spurning all petty attempts at
stage effect, not even painting her face to add unnatural graces.
Miss Kelly is content to be natural—truly natural she is, and
with nature to back her, she could not but succeed. Mr.
Grafton, as Giles, was aso admirable, his acting was true to
life ; indeed, Miss Kelly appears to have infused a spirit of
eature over the whole house ; every actor, every thing is natu-
ral. We did not like Webster in this piece, he is not suited for
a sailor nor a walking gentleman; the dashing little active
tiger, or the bouncing servant are his forte, and to those cha-
racters we advise him to stick. Mr. Ayliffee, Mr. H. C. West,
and Mrs. Benson, were very good. The entertainments con-
cluded, by particular desire, with the farce of The Irish Tutor
and here Mr. H. Hamilton. from Liverpool, as Terry O'Rourke,
afterwards Dr. O'Toole, was inimitable. Strongly did he ie-
mind us of poor Power, whom, we recollect to have seen in
this character, and we think we may safely put Hamilton down
as one of the best personators of Irish characters at present on
the stage. 'I he house is exquisitely fitted up, the audience is
always select, and we would strongly recommend the lovers of
pure legitimate dramatic acting to pay a visit to Miss Kelly's
theatre.

SOLDIER'S RO UNDEL AY.
When the beetle's drowsy horn
Winds acro,,s the silent lea,
Ere the rosy-finger'd morn
Throws a bright tint o'er the sea:
When the moon her orb displaying
Beams upon the lonely night,
And the wolf dog loudly baying
Seems to mock her silver light;—
Then we soldiers, ever cheery,
O'er the rugged mountain roam,
Briskly dancing, never weary,
To the merry peal of the hollow drum.
Now the song, the joke, the story
Swell around and cheat the way;
Feats of love and deeds of'glory
Grace the merry Roundelay.
Peals of laughter, care beguiling,
Round their genial magic spread,
Till the day-star sweetly smiling
Tints the gray cliff's mossy head :
Then we soldiers, ever cheery,
O'er the rugged mountain roam,
Briskly dancing, never weary,
To the merry peal of the hollow drum.
When the sun is fiercely beaming
O'er the snowy-tented field,
Of the morrow seldom dreaming,
We to balmy slumber yield.
Or, beneath the shady bowers,
In the jungle we recline ;
Strewing life's dull path with flowers,
Cull'd from love and rosy wine.
Thus we soldiers, ever cheery,
O'er the rugged mountain roam,
•
Briskly dancing, never weary,
To the merry peal of the hollow drum.
—From " Savindroog," in the Metropolitan Magazine.