The Sun. — 1841-09-01 (London, England)

MAGAZINE 1 )AY.  7-AZINE. BLACKWOOD'S MAt As usual, there are some aintoing inconsistencies in Moga's political article this month. In •" Lessons from the Past," after assuring us that the " English Constitution, the boast of the patriot and the pride of the historian during so many ages, sunk to the dust" at the i'-riocl when the Reform Bill was carried, the wri,ter goes on to assure us that this defunct Constitutie It is just 0.5 well as ever, and as strong au& hea, •ty as if nothing had ever ailed it ! Never was the."e such a phenomena as this same Constitution! It has actually as many lives as a cat. The Tories •confess to its having been put to Cieath not less :than three times within the last twelve or fourte en years, yet now they tell us with all the gravity imaginable that it is in the enjoyrnent of excellent ! Though we differ from the majority of th; opinions put forth in " Lslssons from the Past," ii.4-=re isrone the'spirit of w:iich we Cordially agree ;---" The Conservatives," -.says the writer,' "have inaLv lessons of wisdom to learn." fitey have indeed, fir hitherto they have shown themselves but indifferently furnished with political sagacity. Every great national question brought forward Once the memorable year 1529 has tended only to bewilder, instead o. t to enlighten, their understanding. They bat e been standing in a state ot.' stupid perplexity, while the wortd was in active:. thrward motion about them. Henceforth, they must either nia“e up their minds to accommodate their ideas of legislation to those of the day, or else consent to be shuffled aside as so much )worthless lumber. There is no longer time for hesitation. They must decide -at once b for, while they a."e conside ring, the golden opportunity is passing, ne yer to ret urn. The "World of London" is a lively, shrewd essay. I-low just is this remark !—" There is no fowx i's talk in London; your provincial lion. is here .a Very tame beast, and let him roar ever so loud, not a soul will think more of his roaring than of the rumbling of a cart." London is indeed the best of all places to cure a man's self-conceit Here, he is sure to rise or fall to his proper level. The metropolis is no respecter of persons. It thinks no more of a duke than a dustman. We quote some amusing thoughts on suicide from this entertaining essay : " When Sam Scott, the Amegican, hanged himself, by way of a lark, upon Waterloo-bridge, (by the way, what, may we ask, became of the inquiry, whether or no the Directors sanctioned that disgusting exhibition ?) 'lye happened to have occasion to walk up the Waterlooroad about ten minutes after the untoward event ; the crowd had already dispersed, but some stray sentences dropped by the passers-by induced us to imagine something interesting might have occurred. Laying down Sixpence to pay our toll, while waiting the change, we took occasion to inquire of the gate-keeper what was the matter. " Only a Yankee diver hanged hisself on the bridge, Sir—all right !" replied the functionary ; whether the " all right" referred to the propriety of Sam Scott acting as his own hangman upon this occasion, or to the correctness of the change tendered me by the gate-keeper, I cannot say ; however that may be, I could not help censuring the folly of Sam Scott in executing himsen in London, where, not merely the manner of his death, but his previous existence, was forgotten in some seconds less than five minutes ; whereas, had he onl3 taken the trout; le to strangulate himself in Edinburgh or Dublin, he would have been talked of for a week, and remembered for a fortnight. Songs would have been sung, and sermons made, about him ; public meetings would have been called to petition Parliament against capital punishments. Scott would have• become a household word, and his effigy would have been seen in every shop hanging in mezzotint° ; we would have had the Saut Scott quadrilles, and the Sam Scott magic strop, and the Sam Scott cravats ; in short, if Sam had any sense, he might have been not Only notorious in himself; but the came of notoriety in others. It is, therefore, sheer folly in inteud.7.ng suicides to think of creating a sensation by performing their antics in London. Ithadamanthus Wakley, sitting in, judgment on half a score corpses a day, or thereabouts, Cannot confer upon all an immortality : tumbling " from the monument" even has lost its novelty, and is now considered by the, town a very "slow" way of cutting • one's self off. No suicide, therefore, who cannot strike out a new line of bold, dashing, and original fel° de se has the chance even of seeing his inquest headed " Suicide Extraordinary." We therefore recommend all daring spirits, ambitious of immortality by hanging or otherwise, to take themselves off to the country, where a sensation is worth any money, and where they will have twelve columns of inquest in the county papers." The " Picture of Danae." is a translation from ; a German drama by Deinhordstein. We cannot vouch for the accuracy of the version, as we are 1 unacquainted with the origira; play ; but the blank verse is spirited and meloa,:ous, and some of the imagery is far above emomon place. " Royal Academy, &c.," is a notice pf some of exhibition. The criticism. on the whole is just—so the more prominent pictures in the late .exhibifar at least as our recollection serves us—but it is somewhat out of date. Instead of thinking of the past, the public is now looking forward to the next exhibition. " Biwa and the Bastille " is an instructive historiette, enlivened with sketches of character. The " POwler " is a poem -by Delta. It is in his pleasantest manner. In the article entitled " Sir Robert Peel's Position on next Resuming Power," we have an elaboratelydrawn character of the Right Hon. Baronet, which is not a little at variance with the account given- of him in this very Magazine, immediately after the passing of the Catholic Emancipation. He was then a rat—an apostate. He is now a firm, upright statesman ; the very one to whom, of all others, may be most fitly entrusted the destinies of the empire. " Good Bye to the Whigs" is a smart, satirical farewell to the displaced Ministry.