The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-05-16 00:00:00

DESCRIPTION OF NAPLES,

We went about, however, next day to see alf the out-
door wonders of Naples without any guide in its stony
wilderness, over which the sun, in Pope's Homeric
language, " refulgent shot intolerable day." Having
always associated the idea of Naples with that of lazy
luxury, I was astonished to recognise in it chiefly the
idea of vastness—of prodigious height and enormous pro-
portions. Looking from the sea margin to its utmost
heights, it rather resembled a city of giants than the
selectest abode of pleasure. Lovely, no doubt—very
lovely—are some of the details which its towering succes-
sion of houses, gardens, and terraces present to the view
of an observer so placid ; but these, breaking the mass of
buildings, augment the effect of vastness, by instructing
the eye to appreciate their extent as it rises from point to
point to the summit. But a walk amidst its mazes, when
the sea and the great outlines of the city are lost, bewilders
and sickens. The height of the houses, which border the
• steep and narrow ways, equalling the loftiest in the old
'town of Edinburgh ; the dangling lamps, suspended by
Topes, which cross the arduous passages ; the loud babble
of strange tongues often accompanied by fierce gestures ;
and the unceasing rattle of carriages of all kinds, driven
with reckless disregard of foot-passengers, as if the coach-
men set human life at a pin's fee. may «•ell astonish the
Englishman who expected an en:,-irean paradise. Pant-
ing for some silent and green r.:l from this noisy con-
fusion, my son and I endeavoured to reach the country,
if country there should be, above this magnificent Tartarus
of a city, and accordingly threaded and picked our way up
one of its central heights, by alleys as steep as one of the
iron cascades down which the ore thunders from a Welsh
mountain mine ; then along almost interminable avenues
`. between blank midis ; then up flights of stone and lava
steps polluted by filth of the most shocking kind. At last
we reached a bastion, and peeped over a battlement into a
barrack-yard, which bore traces of a less degraded
humanity ; but we could find no opening to a prospect ;
and not a blade of grass, not a fountain, nor a breath of
untainted air refreshed our fruitless labour. How it is
possible for English men and women to pass months in
such a place, and " bless their stars and call it luxury,"
even, if the satiated mosquitos give them leave to sleep, is
a mystery which has doubtless a solution—which I sought
in vain. _ _ .

,11.111
'Yet the groups we saw from our windows, which over-
looked the best area for the exhibition of the graceful side
of Neapolitan life, were usually instinct with a careless
grace, and often presented surprising harmonies of colour.
The best were supplied by the peasants bringing to
market, in the early morning, the spoils of the country
in huge baskets, where grapes, apricots, and other fruits
and vegetables were heaped np and capped with fresh
flowers ; sometimes borne on the heads of young girls,
treading with a cheerfulness which heightened the grace
of their movements, but often by haggard women, grown
prematurely old in sun-burnt labour, or bare-legged
tawny men who looked, on near approach, as if they had
crept out of earth-holes—but all, as they streamed along,
or clustered for gossip, unconsciously forming lively
pictures.
The charm of the book is, indeed, the cheerful
-frankness and delicate grace with which the
various subjects are touched upon rather than dis-
cussed. The record is in every respect a personal
one, and yet the author is never felt to be intrusive,
-and this his intellectual legacy will prove a gratify-
ing memorial to many an admirer of his genius.

-Early _Education. By W. H. Bainbrigge,
F.R.C.S. London : Blackader and Co.
This interesting little volume is the substance of
'four lectures delivered by Mr. Bainbrigge, in Oct.
last, in the lecture-hall of the Collegiate Institution
in Liverpool, full abstracts of which we gave in the
Standard at the time of their delivery. These
lectures were greatly appreciated, and yielding to
the urgent solicitations of many who listened to
them, Mr. Bainbrigge has been induced to revise
and publish them. Their chief characteristic and
leading claim to attention will be found in the
completely practical nature of their recommenda-
tions, and the thoroughly catholic tone of the
mental training they inculcate. In his introduc-
tory remarks, Mr. Bainbrigge makes the following
sensible observations on
THE TENDENCY AND OBJECTS OP EDUCATION.
Education, therefore, has a threefold aim :—it looks to
individuals—to the general community—and to God.
These are not parts of different systems, but are insepara-
bly connected by an invisible chain, which connects man
with man, and his whole race with his Creator.
By a universal law of nature, good has an expansive
`tendency; for what is essentially good ceases to be such,
the moment you suppose it to be limited in its operation
by time or space. Mental cultivation is a part of virtue,
and virtue is a part of religion : and as religion aims at
universal good (for benevolence is essential to its exist-
ence), so also its subordinate parts have the same tendency.
And the man who endeavours to enlarge his own know-
ledge, and promote his own happiness, must necessarily
desire to extend the benefits of both to others. For we
cannot conceive true knowledge, or even a desire for it, to
be ever debased by selfishness ; its tendency being to soften
the asperities of our nature, and create sensibilities in the
heart, as boundless as the human race, and as high as the
heavens to which we are destined. By the same general
law of our Creator, whilst we strive to build up the hap-
piness, and promote the well-being of others, we are
employing the most effectual means to advance our own.
A twofold good is thus attained : and efforts, however
humble, and impeded in their progress by weakness and
imperfections, when prompted by virtue and religion, will
be sustained by the cheerful and stedfast hope of the
Divine blessing.
im the moral, as in the material world, the Almighty
works by secondary means ; and to man he has assigned
energies of mind and strength of body, adequate to attain
the ends for which he was created. The earth is all-bounti-
ful, but her gifts must be solicited by industry the hus-
bandman coald vainly hope to see his fields smile with
golden harvests, were he to neglect to scatter the seed in
her fostering bosom. We, by the mercy of God, possess
knowledge : we know our duties, and are
theeendod with
are instru
the means of discharging thet.
ments by which seed, prolific with may base
bsauntt.lrieedss..
The soil to be enriched by their diffusion is
as the earth, for it embraces the multitudes of the human
race who walk upon its surface. And doubtless a kind
Providence will shed its heavenly dew upon the good seed
which man may sow for the benefit of his fellow-creatures ;
until arrayed in the beauty of moral truth, and of religion,
they shall humbly aspire to that elevated position to.. which
they were destined by their benevolent Creator. *
The processes of education are always going on in the
world, either for good or evil. A moral duty, therefore,
is imposed upon us to direct its ever-stimulating power to
a right and legitimate end. The mind cannot lie dormant.
There is an energy in its native constitution which cannot
be checked. The soul has longings after knowledge, which
seem like the aspirations of a righteous ambition to fit it
for a higher state. For this life is but the infancy of our
existence, and though short, the manner in a bich it is
passed is of unspeakable importance. As the world grows
older, the mind of man becomes more quickened to the
importance of progression, and more animated with a
desire to forward it. There eNio- :It this moment nn

energy in the world to which its previous history can bring
no parallel. On! and on! and on ! is still the cry. It
seems (but alas ! the future is hidden from our view,
environed in the mists in which Providence, for wise pur-
poses, has shrouded it,) as if we were verging upon those
days when knowledge shall cover the earth : not as a
second deluge, to destroy, but to renovate and restore the
beauty which was lost by man's transgression. No—the
impulses of the mind, when they lead to good, cannot be
impeded in their course. Their origin is divine, and rea-
son acknowledges their sway, for they assist and enlarge
her own sphere of action. They were implanted in the
human bosom to refine the.soul from impurities, to free it
from the grossness and stupidity which would depress it
to the earth, and alienate it from heaven, whence it came,
and whither it tends. We err when we attempt to separate,
even in idea, our present from our future state of being.
The former is a prelude to the latter, or rather a part of
it, for both form one continuous whole. And the soul,
expanding in its conceptions, and purified and sanctified
in its present existence, is prepared to enter upon its
second stage of being, to receive greater purity, accessions
of power, and increase of sanctity and of bliss.
To the heads of families and the superintendents
of educational establishments, this little volume
will be an invaluable acquisition. Parents should
carefully study its recommendations, and all classes
may largely benefit by its suggestions.

The Northern Monthly Review. Liverpool:
Aylward.

An attempt to gain for Liverpool a place in the
literary world, commensurate with its importance
in commercial affairs, is a praiseworthy effort, and
is entitled to as favourable a consideration as the
merits displayed will possibly allow. The first
number has just been published of a new pe-
riodical, under the imposing title of " The North-
ern Monthly Review of Trade, Banking, and Navi-
gation," and with the equally imposing addition of
" Price Half a Crown." Being a first number, it
is, of course, entitled to a liberal discount for
defects inseparable from first numbers, and to an
admission of the claim for indulgence made in the
opening address. Such liberality was never more
needed, if promises are to be tested by perform-
ances ; and it would be but justice to Liverpool to
warn the public against accepting this review as
an evidence of the commercial knowledge or
literay ability in the northern capital. The first
article, which is "by the editor," is entitled " The
Banking institutions of the north, and monthly
monetary reviews." The writer would appear to
be a man of nothing but hard facts, and of these
he seems to be able to make no use. He wanders
through a number of disjointed statements that
appear separately to have no reference to monetary
affairs, while he endeavours to delude himself into
the belief that he is advocating the establishment
in Liverpool of a rival Bank of England, and show-
ing the advantages of a clearing-house. He is
evidently out of his depth, and is innocent of mis-
chief from his very obscurity of expression. An
article, entitled " The Paddle of the Piston," is to
be continued, but it would be as well to defer any
notice as to its merits until the author has fur-
nished a key by which his meaning may be made
intelligible : at present it forms an ingenious
puzzle, and should have been published at Christ-
mas as an amusement for the long evenings. In
"Protection and Currency," by James Harvey,Esq.,
the writer admits his conviction of the selfishness
of Free-trade policy, and, having thus shown a
gleam of good sense, dashes at once into a crotchet
about an unlimited issue of paper-money upon the
old story concerning the building of Guernsey mar-
ket. The only sensible article is one on "Emigra-
tion Reform," by Sir George Stephen, and this
would have been far more readable but for the pro-
lixity which is too often inseparable from the writ-
ings of members of the legal profession. It is an
excercise of exemplary patience to wade through
pages so destitute of every claim to attention ; but
some little compensation will be afforded in the
extravagant absurdity of a brief article on " Public
amusements." If the conductors be wise, they
will content themselves with the failure of their
first effort, for it will be difficult to tempt any
one to read a second number.

Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire,_ With Variorum Notes.

Vol. 111. London : H. G. Bohn.
This volume of Bohn's valuable edition of Gib-
bon's great historical work maintains its claim on
popular support. It is copiously annotated from
the writings of Guizot, Wenck, Scheiter, and
Hugo ; and is further accompanied by explanatory
notes by its present editor, " An English Church-
man ;" so that, while giving an unmutilated and
accurate text, many of the objectionable tendencies
of Gibbon are obviated. Besides being in all
respects tastefully got up, the present volume is
illustrated by a beautifully-engraved map of the
Western Empire, and it is published at a-remarka-
bly low price

Orr's Circle of Else Sciences. London and Liver-
pool : W. S. Orr and Co.

This beautiful and popular series of elementary
treatises on the various sciences continues to make
gratifying progress. The fourth part, that now
before us, contains portions of the mathematical
sciences, including Geometry and Algebra ; elabo-
rate treatises on the skeleton and on the form and
structure of the teeth of animals ; and the intro-
ductory portion of the ethnological department of
the work. All the treatises are carefully elabo-
rated, with a view to their general popularity,
without being denuded of their scientific worth.
The work is beautifully printed and copiously em-
bellished with well-executed engravings, and it is
published at a very cheap rate.

Our Friend._ A Monthly Miscellany for all Classes.

London : John F. Shaw.

" Our Friend" improves upon acquaintance ; his
miscellany appears even more miscellaneous than
at first, and its contents are increasir,7 in interest
and utility.

THE WAR.

BOMBARDMENT OF ODESSA.

The following are the official despatches of this affair :
ADMIRALTY, May 11.—Official despatch from Admiral
Dundas. Britannia, off Odessa, April 22nd, 1854.
Sir,—l beg you will lay before the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty the accompanying correspondence rela-
tive to the fire of the batteries at Odessa on the Furious
and her boat, when flying each a flag of truce, which will,
I trust, fully explain to their lordships the exact nature of
this uncivilised act of aggression, and the false statements
by which General d'Osten-Sacken has been led to attempt-
to justify it. And as, in addition to the fortress of Odessa,
the Russians were labouring day and night in strengthen-
ing the moles and erecting formidable sea defences, and
had also collected between 20,000 and 30,000 men for the
protection of this military depot, as well as for the secu-
rity of vessels seeking shelter under the guns of the
place, Admiral Hamelin and I decided on sending the
joint demand to the governor, of which the enclosure
No. 5 is a copy.
As no answer had been received up to 7 a.m. this morn-
ing, the combined steam division noted in the margin,*
with six rocket-boats, under the immediate orders of Cap-
tain Jones, opened fire on the imperial fort and mole, and
Russian vessels lying there. By 3 p.m. the magazine was
blown up, the forts were destroyed, and the ships sunk or
burnt. _ _

The city of Odessa and the mole containing the mer-
chant vessels of all nations were not molested, agreeably
to the commands of her Majesty to respect private property
as much as possible.
Our loss has happily been small—one killed and ten
wounded, and the damage to the ships by the enemy's fire
can be repaired at sea.
It is my pleasing duty to state that between the two
squadrons the greatest cordiality exists, and that the con-
duct of the French steam-frigates calls for my warmest
praise. The Vauban was set on fire by red-hot shot, but,
by the cool courage and activity of her captain and crew,
the fire was extinguished.
I recommend all the officers, seamen, and royal marines
employed on the service to their lordship's notice, particu-
larly Captain Jones, the senior officer of the steam divi-
sion, and Commander Dickson of the Britannia, who, in
charge of the rocket-boats, did good service.
I enclose a copy of a letter I have received from Capt.
Jones, and a list of the killed and wounded.

I have, &c.,
J. W. D. DVINDAS, Vice-Admiral.

The enclosures are—firstly, the letters of Gen. d'Osten-
Sacken ; secondly, of Captain Loring, of the Furious,
already published ; thirdly, the evidence of two merchant
captains, as to the firing on the Furious and her boat;
fourthly, a letter from Admiral Dundas to the Russian
general, denying the latter's statement ; fifthly, a joint
letter from the French and English admirals, demanding
the delivery of the English, French, and Russian vessels,
and threatening hostile measures in case of refusal ;
sixthly, report from Captain Jones, of the Samson, to the
admiral, in which he says—" The ships and vessels in Port
Imperial amounted to about 24, most of which being sunk
or on fire at the. time of your making the' recall, and the
explosion of the battery on the pier-head rendered further
operations in that quarter unnecessary."
No. 7 contains a list of killed and wounded—William
Salter, alle seaman; of the Terrible, killed By splinter
wound of neck. Your men on board Terrible slightly
wounded. Six on board Samson slightly wounded.

No. 8 is a list of officers commandingrocket-boats.
*The margin of AdmiilaiDundas's despatch contains the
number of steamers engaged, as already reported'.

CONSTA.NTINOPLE, May i.—Prince Napoleon has ar-
rived. All the Greeks not compromised, and who, are
still at Constantinople, are permitted to remain'.
The Duke of Cambridge, it is reported, has declined to
avail himself of the palace• prepared for his use by the
Sultan. The duke is unwilling to place himself in' any
respect above his commanding. officer, Lord Raglan.
THE BALTIC FLEET.—S. TE7TIN,
Napier's fleet, after going towards Sando, off Gothland;
was proceeding towards the Gulf of Finland. Ten French'
ships had come up. The weather was fine. Russian ves-
sels had been moving in the gulp.• The Norwegian navy
was in Swedish waters. The Swedish Court was thought
to be leaning to the Western Powers. Frequent meetings
of the Council of State had taken place. Great meetings
had occurred.—COPENHAGEN, TIM RELAY. —The French
fleet was yesterday evening in sight of Nyborg, in the.
Great Belt. Accounts from Finland to the 3rd of May,
confirm the statement relative to large defensive prepara-
tions there. General Junker has been appointed Com-
mandant of the fortress of Wiborg; and General Drake
Commandant of the Artillery. Four new companies of
reserve of the rowing flotilla have- been enrolled ; head-
quarters at Rothensaln, where there .are magazines and
barracks for 14,000 men. Expect important news from
Admiral Napier in a few days. Cronstadt reported " not
impregnable." •
The Moniteur of Friday contained a despatch from
Admiral Hamelin, dated off Odessa,. the 25th ult., an-
nouncing that the Retribution, Descartes, and Niger had
captured 14 Russian merchant vessel§ destined for Con-
stantinople. Admiral Dundas had proposed an exchange
of prisoners. The French Government had granted to
the English soldiers the same reduction in the rate of pay-
ment for letters as allowed to those. belonging to the
French army.
The Journal of St. Petersburg, in-its number of April
22 (May 4), republishes from the ihrerlide Russe, two
fresh reports from. General Osten-Saoken respecting the
affair of Odessa. These reports do not communicate any-
thing new ; but General Osten-Sacken adds that Vice-
Admiral Dundas had sent him, by means of an Austrian
merchant-vessel then in the roadstead; 49 men (prisoners),
including the captains and the crews, belonging to the
Russian merchant service, together with a letter, which
we here reproduce :

On board Her Britannic Majesty's Ship the
, Britannia of Odessa, April 12 (24), 1854.

„
Vice-Admiral Dundas— has the , hon ,our to announce to
his Excellency Baron Osten-Saeken, Aide-de-Camp
General of His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias,
that as the allied squadrons do not desire to keep any
longer than was indispensable the small number of Rus-
sian merchant seamen (49 in all) whom they had taken
prisoners, he has placed them on board of an Austrian
vessel, in order that they may be landed at Odessa.
J. W. D. DUNDAS.

From a communication received at the Admiralty,,
we learn that the following British ships were left
in the Mole of Odessa on the 22d April, 1854, which,
it is believed, have been seized by the Russian govern-
ment :—The Richard Mount, Cohen, of London ; Billow
Queen, Kidd, of Dundee; Catharine, Swanston, of Dun-
dee ; John and Eleanor, Lillnaman, of North Shields ;
Swift, Hughes, of North Shields; Sea, Dodds, of Sunder-
land ; Regina, Pratt. of Sunderland.—Shipping Gazette.
BLOCKADE OF THE Russzc PORTS.—The following_
extract of a letter from the German port of Rostock,
dated the 6th inst., furnishes some useful details regard-
ing the probable position both of British and neutral trar
ders in the Baltic, when the expected declaration of blockade,
shall have been made against St. Petersburg and Riga
" Some sixty ships had got into Riga, and were loading
different articles; freights very high-10s. 6d. per quarter
to the Firth for oats, and £lO per ton for flax to Dundee.
The Riga merchants do not know whether they are under
blockade or not ; three English vessels of war were seen
off the port, but they allowed three vessels to wind their
way and enter the harbour. From what I can learn from
good authority, the blockade will not be strictly enforced
until after the 15th inst., when it will be carried out with
all possible rigour, so that the ports not impeded with ice
will have a fair chance to get off some, if not all, of their
stocks ready for shipment. Those who have stuff at St.
Petersburg will, however, stand but a poor chance, and
many innocent persons, both British subjects and those of
neutral states, particularly in Holland, will be ruined,
which is very hard, considering that most of their pur-
chases were made in autumn, or early in winter, when it
was never supposed that war between France, England,
and Russia would actually ensue, and the• British minis-
ters themselves, if their late statements be true, did not
anticipate it would come to extremes, As an illustration
of the extent of these transactions, I may mention this
place (Rostock), which, though but a small port, is inte-
rested to the amount of some 30,000 quarters of rye, oats,
and wheat, upon which advances have been paid, varying
from one-third to one half the amount. Thus, if our
merchants cannot get away their stuff, which they have
hitherto been prevented from doing• by ice, and after the
15th will be prevented by the blockade, the Russians will
pocket the amount, viz., about £40,000. Hence, instead
of doing the Russians harm by strictly blockading St.
Petersburg, they will be benefited. I think that the
allied powers ought to make arrangement for granting
licenses to those parties who bought and partly paid for
their goods on or before a certain period, which might be
proved by the letters, books, and correspondence to be
produced before the magistrates of the place, and verified
by the resident English and French consuls. This would
be a boon to neutral nations, and do no harm to the Bri-
tish or French government, and no good to the Russian..
It is possible that the Emperor of Russia might prevent
ships and goods passing in and out, in order that the state
of his fortresses, &c, might not be made public by cap-
tains. If so, that would be tantamount to a prohibition
of exports, which would release the contracting parties of
their contracts, and the sellers would have to refund the
amount they have received in advance. Thus none but
the Russians would suffer, and the buyers (British sub-
, jects of neutral states) would lose nothing but the inte-
..

rest"— Times.
We learn from Malta, under date the 6th, that the
Pride of the Ocean has just landed a part of the 17th
Regiment of Lancers, under the orders of Major Willett ;
and that the Melbourne had also arrived with 564 men of
the 38th Regiment of Infantry, commanded by Colonel
Sparks. Fourteen other transports were in sight.
LETTERS TO THE FLEETS.—An offer has been received
from the French government to convey the French Levant
packets the correspondence of the British soldiers and sea-
men in the East upon the same favourable terms as those
which apply to the correspondence of the French forces.
This liberal and considerate offer has been gladly accepted,
and the regulations under which it will be carried into
effect will be made public by the General Post-office as
soon as the necessary details have been arranged between
that department and the Post-office in Paris. On the part
of the British government advantages of a like nature will
be made available to the French seamen serving in the
allied Baltic fleet, as often as the communications with
that fleet furnish the opportunity of doing so.
On Friday vast quantities of ordnance stores, gun car-
riages, Congreve rockets, ammunition, and combustibles
were forwarded from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, to be
shipped on board the Sydney, at Southampton, under
orders for the East.
It is believed that unforeseen and unexpected difficul-
ties have been interposed, on the part of the United
States, with respect to the convention which has been
negotiated in this country by Mr. Buchanan and the Earl
of Aberdeen, on the subject of the right of search and the
system of privateering. It is believed, also, as we stated
a day or two ago, that Lord Elgin, in his way back to re-
assume the government of Canada, will be entrusted with
a special mission to Washington, for the purpose of set-
tling any differences which may exist between the
governments of the two countries on the important ques-
' tions to which we have just adverted.—Morning Peat.
Our cruisers continue to pick up numerous Russian
prizes. The Tribune, 31 guns, screw steam frigate,
arrived at Sheerness from the Baltic on Saturday, with

seven Russian merchant vessels, captured by her. The
Russian barque Argo, from Cardenas for this port, has
been taken into Queenstown, a prize to a revenue-cutter.
Two Russian vessels, prizes to her Majesty's steamer
Conflict, 8, screw, have arrived at Hull—the first, the
Industrie, on Sunday, and the second, the John, on Monday.
On Thursday another Russian prize, the George Jonge-
bloed, arrived in the Thames off Gravesend, and was
subsequently placed in the West India Docks. The ship
Johanna Emilie, from Lisbon, seized in the London
Docks by Mr. C. J. Cox, Landing Surveyor of the Cus-
toms, as being a Russian ship sailing under false colours,
has been condemned by the Admiralty. Her cargo con-
sists of wine and gums, and is of considerable value. A
Russian vessel, a barque of 500 tons, was brought into
Plymouth on Thursday, by the pilot, and gave herself up.
She is from Moulmein with carp of stores, it is said, for
the Russian Government. She is named the Thor.

The 36th Regiment, now at Barbadoes and Trinidad, is
to proceed to Jamaica to replace the 16th Regiment, which
is to proceed to Canada to replace the 26th Regiment,
which is to proceed to Bermuda to relieve the 66th Regi-
ment, which is to return to England.

ARRIVAL OP RUSSIAN PRIZES AT HULL.—TWO Russian
vessels, prizes to Her Majesty's steamer conflict, 8, screw,
have arrived at Hull—the first, the Industrie, on Sunday
last week, and the second, the John, on Monday afternoon.
The Industrie was brought home by Mr. James Morton,
and the John by Mr. John Todd. They are two of four
vessels, all prizes to the Conflict, sent home under the
general care of Mr. Mason, master of that ship. The
other two, which are expected daily, are named respectively
the Caroline Charlotte, barque, and the Carl Magnus,
brigantine. The capture of these vessels has already been
made public. Their crews, who were in no way annoyed
at their capture, were handed over to Sir Charles Napier
to be disposed of. The crew of the Carl Magnus, in par-
ticular, expressed their joy at being taken. It is said the
object of bringing the prizes to Hull is, if possible, to find
a market for them. A fine Russian barque, the Alex-
andra, which arrived there with a cargo of linseed, has
been sold.

A TABLE OP OUR WARS SINCE THE REVOLUTION 01
1698.—The War of the Revolution : Enemies, the'
French ; our allies, the Dettch, Austrians, Prussians,
Spaniards, and the people of Savoy; commenced in 1688
and ended by the peace of Ryswick in 1697. Events :
Battles of Dieppe, of the Boyne, of La Hogue, of Stein-
kirk and Nerwinde ; national debt began in England.
—The War of the Spanish Sucression : Enemies, the
French and Spaniards; allies,- the Dutch, Austrians,
people of Savoy, and Portuguese ; commenced in 1702 and
ended by' the peace of Utrecht in 1753-. Events : Battles
of Blenheim, Ramifies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet ;
England gains Gibraltar, Minorca, Nova Scotia, and
Newfoundland.—The Spanish War, 173% and the War
of Austrian Succession, 1741: Enemies, Spaniards and
French ; Austrians, Dutch, Russians, Sardinians,
and Hungarians : ended in 1748 by the peace of Aix la
Chapelle. Battles Dettingen, Fontenoy, Culloden, and
Finisterre.— The Seem Years' War: Enemies, French,
Spaniards, Austrians allies, Prussians ; cotnmenced in
1756 and ended in 1'74'53, by the peace of Paris. Battles,
Minden and Abraham._ England gains Bengal, Canada,
Cape Breton, Tobago, &c.—American Enemies,
Americans, French, Spaniards, and Dutch ; none;
commenced' in 1775, and' ended by the peace of Versailles,
in 1788.—Events : Rodney's naval victories, Gibraltar
besiegek battles of Bunker's Hill, Brandywine, and. Ge-
rman Town. England loses-13 North American provinces,
Minorca, Tobago, and the Floridas.—The War riff the
French Revolution Enemies, French and Spaniards
from 1796 allies, Spaniards till 1795, Dutch, Prussiims,
Austrians, and Portuguese.: commenced in 1793, and,
ended by the-peace of Amiens,. mlB Events : France
loses all power in India ; battles-of Loa Arcola, Marengo,.
and Alexandria ; England gains Malta, Trinidad, and
Coromandel.—The' War against' Napoleon Buonaparte
Enemies, French, Spaniards WIT 1808, Americans from-
-1812 ; allies, ANastrians, Prussians, Russians, Spaniard; •
from 1808, and' Portuguese ;. conzmenced in 1803, and'
ended by the pease of Paris, in 1815. Battles of Auster--
litz, Trafalgar, Saafield, Jena' Eylim; Vimiera, Corunna,
Wagram, Talavera, Barossa, Albuera, Salamanca, Smo-
lensko, Borodina, Leipsic, and Waterloo. England gains
Ceylon, the Cape, Berbice, Demerara, &c.

AVERAGE PRICE' OF WHEAT DVICING TILE WARS.—
The war of the revolution, 445. per qr. ; the war of the
Spanish succession, 445. 6d. ; the Spanish war, 325. 6d. ;
the seven years' war, 395. 3d.; the American war, 48s. 6d.;
the war of the French revolution, 78s. 6c1..; the war against
Napoleon, 925. Bd.

DIFFICULTIES OF TSB' BALTIC.—An English fleet en-
tering the closed sea will not encounter its only trials
at the intricate entrance; The difficulty which 'our fleet ,
had in venturing to pass- the • Sound, with its shallow
waters, the necessity for taking the more .circuitous route
by the Great Belt, formed only a fbretaste of the
obstructive navigation which increases as the capital of ,
Russia is approached. Passing by the clifTh' of Holstein,
the sandy- shores of Prussia,. the granite reeks of Sweden, ,
leaving out of account the ice which walls -up the water-
way to the upper part of the Baltic the greater part of the
year,.let us take only what might be considered the more
vulnerable points. We need not dwell much upon Riga
and the entrance to the Duna, strongly fortified, though
imperfectly manned, and not at present armed enough
against attack to be without terrors at the name of Napier.
The two parts of Russia that would seem to invite the de-
sire& blow, are Finland, for its supposed disposition to -
return, to -Sweden, and its importance in a military point
of view for approaching Russia by land ; and. the Gulf of
Finland, the road to St. Petersburgh. As to•rmland, the
province so dishonestly taken, from Sweden, in, 1808, a
priori, it might be supposed that the inhabitants, whose
ethnological sympathies with the Muscovites are small,
would-be ready enough to shake, off the yoke;_ and return
to their orriginal fealty : but it will.not do to, trust in war
to a priori reasoning. The Fins have a constitution
secured to them for fifty years after,the cession ; they have
severall privileges ; and there is -no positive- evidence of
their Swedish tendencies. Moreover the approaches are
fortified by nature and the Czar; The entrance to the Gulf
is gated by that group et eighty islands which go by the
general name of the largest Aland; an archipelago of
islands, straits, reefs, bans, and banks, which laugh at the
entrance of any craft but the galleys and gun-boats of old
north warfare. To the East, on the Finnish coast, lies
Helsingfors, and the fortified works which pass by the
general name of Sveaborg ; and here lies a prize which
might tempt the approaching Napier, eight sail of the
a frigate, a corvette, and three steamers, of the Rus-
sian,Baltic fleet. But how to get at them ? Through the
single passage of Helsingfors Bay, between Langern and
Nester Svert, a passage two. hundred yards- in width,
raked by a fire from the two islands, with other batteries
to be passed ; and commanded by the great works of Svea-
borg, a pile of battery upon battery, such as Sir Archibald
Alison, says the writer, can alone describe; such it would
seem as John Martin alone couldlpaint, under the inspira-
tion of some military furor: F.neh series of works is
complete in itself as regards stores of all kinds, and bomb
proof cover. The batteries are formidable,. both because
they are unassailable in the baldness of the rocks from
which they are carved, and because they have the heaviest
ordnance. Between Sveaberg and Revel lies the narrow
entrance to the Gulf of Finland, whose-shores recede from
each other, to meet again:near Cronstadt, at the entrance
of .the estuary of the Neva. Well, if the fleet lying in the
Bay of Helsingfors cannot be seized, let the blow be struck
upon St. Petersburgh itself-; and' the Seandanavians of the
Baltic provinces, taught to know that their Czar is not
invulnerable, may be shaken from their allegiance by that
one act of Napieresque daring. But how to get in ?
There is no doubt the• choice of two channels; but the
northern is closed by a double or triple row of piles, five orsix
miles in length, which renders it accessible only to small,
craft. It is Hobson!s. choice therefore ; and taking the-
other channel, the adventurous sea-captain, on invasion,
bent, will have to steer his ship between Fort Alexander
on the left, and Risbank, on the right, each 800 yards dis,.
tant, each built of granite, and bristling with heavy guns ;
then come Fort Peter and the wooden fort of Cronslott,
the last of no formidable character; but then again, the
adventurer enters " the Middle Road," a passage 250 yards
wide, commanded by Cronslott and Mole Head, and, the
cube granite-built Fort Menzikoff, with a very largenum-
ber of guns. Beyond in the narrowing channel, lies a vista
of land fortifications not practically important; no,fleet in
goose's file is likely to enter there, save as the Russian
admiral entered Helsingfors, when a Swedisb4 admiral
capitulated—by force of golden artillery. Here-then lies
the strength of Russia. She is a great hedgehog. Her
means of- offence are not alarming; her seventy-two ships
of all sizes in her Baltic and Euxine fleets, commanded by
generals, with captains who wear spurs, and gunners
who place less than one shot in the dozen—a Napier could
easily put such a fleet under his arm and, present it to a
British museum. But to be conquered, the Russian ships
must come out, and they show no impatience to be con-
quered. Russian fleets steal victories from English foes
by stopping in-doors; and it is a winning game for the
spurred sailors. A mammoth hedgehogs with a more than
rhinoceros hide of granite, Russia cannot easily be made to
feel blows. Perchance she may be locked up and starved,
until her very intestines rebel; but that is tedious work
even for those to whom victory is promised in reversion.
The only strength that can conquer inert, dogged, shame-
less obstinacy, is unflagging patience, actively persevering
paitence in officers and men, tranquil passive patience in
a public, guarded against harrasing its own servants by
expecting and demanding impossibilities.—Fraser's Ma-
gazine for May.