The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-28 00:00:00

FR. EGHTFUL DISTRESS.

A Dissenting Minister of this city, on paying
pastoral visit last week to a family comprising several
of his members, learnt from (ae of them that they
were in deep distress, in consequence of having that
morning received a letter from a near relative at Kid-
' derminster, stating that they were in circumstances of
actual starvation, The family at Kidderminster con-
sists of seven persons, the parents and five children :
the father is a steady, industrious, moral character,
and the mother a member of a Christian church. The
following is a copy of the letter penned by her, and
sent to her husband's brother, and which will show,
better than anything that we can say, the dreadful
situation of themselves and multitudes of others at
this terrible crisis : February 12,. 1842.
DEAR BROTIIER ASO SISTER,—We write these few
linea to you, hoping to find you in good health, as '
thank God, we are as well as can be expected under
present circumstances. We have no disease among
us but the gnawings of hunger, of which none . can
give any idea what it Is but those who are the fatal
objects of experience. We have no work, nor have
had but 10s. worth since the 11th December. James
has had but six weeks' work since he was at your
house, and Ann has been at home all the winter out
of work. Mary has some at present, and that is the
only one we have to bring in anything., She brings
in 3s. a week when she works all the week, but that
is not always the, case ; last week she got but 23., and
that is all we have, for we have no one to give us a
bit of anything, nor have with anything left to make
money of, :as we have parted we everything we pos-
sibly can, being so short of work so long before we
were out entirely. Our chief diet is potatoes, for bread
or' other necessaries we cannot get, nor yet half
enough of potatoes; and I have been the day through
without a crumb of anything within my lips; in
short, it .is 'impossible for a family to be ✓in greater
distress than we are, and live. Your brother often
says, if it were not for an eternity, he certainlyshould
make away with himself; and, to- add to our trouble,
we look every day- to have another added to our fa-
mily-, without the least preparation whatever, not
even a sufficiency to dress it in: So dark does the
dispensation of Providence appear towards us at pre-
sent, that there appears no way of escape ; but, mind
you, we do not send to you for relief, as we expect
you have enough to do to provide for your own fa-
mily, but we write just to let you know how we are
situated, that, should we perish with hunger, or any-
thing else happen to us, some one belonging to us
might know something about us. So no more from
your affectionate brother and sister,
JAMES AND ANN —. I
This -is one-case out of many, for others could be
cited did not delicacy of feeling forbid.—Worcester- '
shire Chronicle.

A few days ago died, at Villefranche,on the Rhone,
Lieutenant du Terrail, of the gendarmerie, who was a lineal de.
scendant from the .brether of the Chevalier du Terrail.
KinwELLy.—The ceremony of laying the founda-
tion-stone of the new Viaduct now ' erecting, near thie,River
Gwendraeth Fawr, near this town, took place a few days ago. A
structure which no doubt will prove all important to this long.
neglected district, and render valuable many hundred acres of the
firiest marsh land in the kingdom, and will connect the whole of
the mineral districts of this fine county, and open a communication
to the commercial world long sought for.—Cambrian.
A Paris Corrrespondent of the Augsburg Gazette
Writes on the 7th inst. :—" M. Guizot lately addressed to the
English Cabinet a note founded on the release of the Marabout,
pointing out certain modifications as necessary to be made in the
Treaty of December 25, before it could be ratified by France.
New negotiations must be opened, and the Plenipotentiaries of the
other contracting Powers will have to apply for further instruc-
tions; so that several months must elapse before all the parties
can be again of accord."
' GEESE v. TURKEYS.—About a century ago the
Lord Orford made a large bet with another Nobleman that a flock
of geese would beat an equal number of turkeys in a race from
Norwich to London. The event proved the justness of his Lord-
ship's expectations, for the geese kept on the road with a steady
pace, but the turkeys, as evening approached, flew to roost in the
trees adjoining the road, from which the drivers found it very chili.
cult to dislodge them; in consequence of which the geese arrived
at their destination two days before the turkeys.
FRENCH AND BELGIAN PIRACIES OF ENGLISII
WoßKB.—The attention of the Legislature and of the Govern.
ntent is loudly called to the subject of foreign invasion cf British
copyright, which is daily increasing to a most serious extent. To
take the most recent instance:—Mr. Warren's Tale of "Ten
Thousand a-Year," after having been first published, during nearly
teiro years, in Blackwood's Magazine, was thoroughly revised, and
ip many parts entirely re-written, by the author ; and though
@re times the length of Sir Walter Scott's " Waverley," was
published, about Christmas last, in three vols., post Bvo., closely
Printed, price 11. Us, 6d., at a considerable sacrifice. It has hail
a very large sale, but has had to encounter a serious obstacle in the
French and Belgian editions, in the English language, published at
Brussels, and by Galignani, at Paris, which have beets poured into
this country to an extent of many thousands of copies, in two thick
12mo. vols., sold for four or five shillings. These are all mere re-
prints from the pages of Blackwood's Magazine, and one moment's
comparison of them with the authentic English separate editions
will demonstrate the injury thus done, not only to the author and
publisher's pecuniary interests, but to the literary reputation of the
former, and to the British public, on whom is palmed off a vastly
inferior edition of a very celebrated and successful work. To such
an extent is this carried, that we positively know of circulating
libraries and private book-clubs, both in town and country, to ray
nothing of great numbers of private persons, to whom these foreign
editions have been disposed of easily, and as a matter of course.—
:We understand that the attention of Parliament is to be speedily
called to this subject, with a view to either altering the law, or at
least securing a rigid enforcement of the existing law- It is well
known that Mr. Murray suffered to a tremendous extent by the
French editions of Lord Byron's works surreptitiously introduced
into this country, Our French and other foreign friends forget
that they have nothitag, as our publishers have, to pay to the author !
—The Publisher's Circular.
TORY LAMENT.—We have this day to present to
our readers a choice sample of popular ebullition, as exhibited at
the municipal fabric of this city. Who ever dreamed that a "com-
mon hall," convened by the Mayor of this loyal city, should have
determined on forcing the attention of our rulers to the " points"
of the Charter—involving universal suffrage, a total disregard of
the rights of property, and the adoption of a sneaking and un Eng-
lish mode of suffrage. Verily, these are among the signs of the
times. We have not leisure at present to analyze and compare the
curious "flights of fancy" indulged in by the principal performers
in the scene, the meeting not having terminated till three o'clock.
—Worcester Journal.

I A few evenings ago the dwarf, Matthew Gallia,
i who is the great attraction at one of the cafes in Lyons, being at
a masked ball at the theatre in disguise, where he had the appear.
ante of a child, a person, who knew him, took the liberty of tear-
ing off his mask. The dwarf, Justly indignant at this piece of
insolence, and possessing plenty of courage, although with so
diminutive a form, instantly challenged the aggresior to fight a
duel, and it was with great difficulty that the Commissory of Police,
who interfered, could restore his mind to a state of calm.
THE DECLINE AND FALL OF BARBER-ISM.
—There has arisen in the metropolis a race of travelling barbers—
penny shavers, who travel to every point of the Compass. Several
of them exercise their vocation in the neighbourhood of Penton-
vilk, in the dusk of the evening,-uttering a low cry opposite to
every paricur window, and down every area—" Hair cut to day—
whole family round sixpence two cuts for a penny, and so forth."
It is presumed that there are about 200 of this tribe of tonsors ex-
ercising their calling in the metropolis.