The Sun. — 1837-11-17 (London, England)

THE DRAMA OF LIFE.—It is the custom ou the stage, in all good, murderous melodramas, to present the tragic and the comic scenes in as regular alternation as the layees of red and white in a side of streaky well-cured bacon. The hero sinks upon his straw bed weighed down by fetters and misfortunes ; and, in the next scene, his faithful but unconscious squire regales the audience with a comic song. We behold with throbbing bosoms the heroine in the grasp of a proud and ruthless Baron, her virtue and her life in danger, drawing forth her dagger to preserve the one at the cost of the other ; and just as our expectations are wrought up to the. highest pitch, a whistle is heard, and we are straightway transported to the great hall of the castle, where a grey-headed seneschal sings a funny chorus with a funnier body of vassals, who are free of all sorts of places, from church vaults to palaces, and roam about in company carolling perpetually. Such changes appear absurd ; but they are by no means unnatural. The transitions in real life from well-spread boards to death-beds, and from mourning weeds to holiday garments, are not a whit less startling, only there we are busy actors instead of passive lookers-on, which makes a vast difference ; the actors in the mimic life of the theatre arc blind to violent transitions and abrupt impulses of passion or feeling, which, presented before  the eyes of mere spectators, are at once condemned as outrageous and preposterous.—Oliver Twist in Bentley's Miscellany for Nov. Monday the Duke of Montrose was installed Chancellor of the Glasgow University. His Grace's father, James, Duke of Montrose, held the office for fiftysix years, having been elected in 1781. The Hall was well filled, and the ceremonies observed were highly interesting.i The two galleries were crowded with well-dressed ladies, amongst whom we observed in the front seat the Duchess of Montrose. The Duke of Montrose, accompanied by the Senatus Academicus of the University, entered about one, and took their seats in the Professors' Bench. The Magistrates of the city, and several other gentlemen, were accommodated in the same bench. The next seat was occupied by graduates. The Very Reverend Principal M‘Far. lane delivered a prayer in Latin, read, the minutes of Senatus Academicus, and delivered a short address in Latin. The Duke of Montrose, who appeared in excellent spirits, and delighted with the proceedings, also addressed the assemblage in Latin, which was cheered at the conclusion of almost every sentence. Principal M'Farlane then called Mr. Beckwick, one of the students of the Greek class, who ascended the pulpit and delivered an Hexameter poem in Greek. Mr. H. Parkin, one of the students of the Latin class, delivered an Hexameter poem in Latin, and Mr. W. Kerr several verses in English, all congratulatory of the occasion. Principal APFarlane, according to the established usage, delivered an address on the subject of the ceremonials in which they had been engaged. He urged them to persevere in the pursuits of literature ; and to show how highly they valued success in these pursuits, he men ioneda number of the academic honours which the sena•  tors had recently conferred. The proceedings were then closed with prayer by the Principal, in English. Cheers and hisses were .gven by the students of each party for Sir Robert Peel and for Lord Melbourne and her Majesty's Ministers.—Glasgow Chronicle.