Monthly Record Of Current Events.
The Political Incidents of the past month have been interesting and important. Congress, after spending eight or nine months in most animated discussion of the principles, results, and relations of various subjects growing out of Slavery in the Southern States, has enacted several provisions of very great importance to the whole country. The debates upon these topics, especially in the Senate, have been exceedingly able, and have engrossed public attention to an unusual degree. The excitement which animated the members of Congress gradually extended to those whom they represented, and a state of feeling had arisen which was regarded, by many judicious and experienced men, as full of danger to the harmony and well-being, if not to the permanent existence, of the American Union. The action of Congress during the month just closed, concludes the controversy upon these questions, and for the time, at least, prevents vigorous and effective agitation of the principles which they involved. What that action has been we shall state with as much detail and precision as our readers will desire.
In the last number of the New Monthly Magazine, we chronicled the action of the Senate upon several of the bills now referred to. They were sent of course to the House of Representatives, and that body first took up the bill establishing the boundary of Texas, and giving her ten millions of dollars in payment of her claim to the portion of New Mexico which the bill requires her to relinquish. Mr. Boyd, of Kentucky, moved as an amendment, to attach to it the bills for the government of Utah and New Mexico, substantially as they had passed the Senate, both being without any anti-slavery proviso. He subsequently withdrew that portion of the amendment relating to Utah; and an effort was made by Mr. Ashmun to cut off the remainder of the amendment by the previous question, but the House refused by a vote of 74 ayes to 107 nays. The subject was discussed with a good deal of animation for several days. On the 4th of September, a motion to lay the bill on the table was defeated—ayes 30, nays 169. A motion to refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole, which was considered equivalent to its rejection, was then carried—ayes 109, nays 99;—but a motion to reconsider that vote was immediately passed—ayes 104, nays 98;—and the House then refused to refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole by a vote of 101 ayes and 103 nays. Mr. Clingman, of North Carolina, moved an amendment to divide California, and erect the southern part of it into the territory of Colorado;—but this was rejected—ayes 69, nays 130. The question was then taken on the amendment, organizing a territorial government for New Mexico, and was lost—ayes 98, nays 106. The question then came up on ordering the Texas Boundary bill to a third reading, and the House refused to do so by a vote of 80 ayes and 126 nays. Mr. Boyd immediately moved to reconsider that vote, and on the 5th that motion passed—ayes 131, nays 75. Mr. Grinell, of Massachusetts then moved to reconsider the vote by which Mr. Boyd's amendment had been rejected, and this was carried by a vote of 106 to 99. An amendment, offered by Mr. Featherston, of Virginia, to strike out all after the enacting clause, and to make the Rio Grande, from its mouth to its source, the boundary of Texas, was rejected by a vote of 71 in favor to 128 against it. The amendment of Mr. Boyd was then passed by a vote of 106 ayes and 99 noes; and the question was then taken on ordering the bill, as amended, to a third reading. It was lost by a vote of 99 ayes to 107 noes. Mr. Howard, of Texas, who had voted against the bill, immediately moved a reconsideration of the vote. The Speaker decided that the motion was not in order, inasmuch as a reconsideration had once been had. Mr. Howard appealed from the decision, and contended that the former vote was simply to reconsider the vote on the original bill, whereas this was to reconsider the vote on the bill as amended by Mr. Boyd.—On the fifth, the House reversed the Speaker's decision, 123 to 83,—thus bringing up again the proposition to order the bill to a third reading. Mr. Howard moved the previous question, and his motion was sustained, 103 to 91;—and the bill was then ordered to a third reading by a vote of 108 to 98. The bill was then read a third time, and finally passed by a vote of 108 ayes to 98 nays.—As this bill is one of marked importance, we add, as a matter of record, the following analysis of the vote upon it:—the names of Democrats are in Roman letter, Whigs in italics, and members of the Free Soil party in small capitals:—
Ayes.—Indiana, Albertson, W.J. Brown, Dunham, Fitch, Gorman, McDonald, Robinson.—Alabama, Alston, W.R.W. Cobb, Hilliard.—Tennessee, Anderson, Ewing, Gentry, I.G. Harris, A. Johnson, Jones, Savage, F.P. Stanton, Thomas, Watkins, Williams.—New YORK, Anrews, Bokee, Briggs, Brooks, Duer, McKissock, Nelson, Phænix, Rose, Schermerhorn, Thurman, Underhill, White—Iowa, Leffler.—Rhode-Island, Geo. G. King.—Missouri, Bay, Bowlin, Green, Hall.—Virginia, Bayly, Beale, Edmunson, Haymond, McDowell, McMullen, Martin, Parker.—Kentucky, Boyd, Breck, G.A. Caldwell, J.L. Johnson, Marshall, Mason, McLean, Morehead, R.H. Stanton, John B. Thompson.—Maryland, Bowie, Hammond, Kerr, McLane.—Michigan, Buel.—Florida, E.C. Cabell.—Delaware, J.W. Houston.—Pennsylvania, Chester Butler, Casey, Chandler, Dimmick, Gilmore, Levin, Job Mann, McLanahan, Pitman, Robbins, Ross, Strong, [pg 701] James Thompson.—North Carolina, R.C. Caldwell, Deherry, Outlaw, Shepperd, Stanly.—Ohio, Disney, Hoagland, Potter, Taylor, Whittlesey.—Massachusetts, Duncan, Eliot, Grinnell.—Maine, Fuller, Gerry, Littlefield.—Illinois, Thomas L. Harris, McClernand, Richardson, Young.—New-Hampshire, Hibbard, Peaslee, Wilson.—Texas, Howard, Kaufman.—Georgia, Owen, Toombs, Welborn.—New Jersey, Wildrick.
Nays.—New York, Alexander, Bennett, Burrows, Clark, Conger, Gott, Holloway, W.T. Jackson, John A. King, Preston King, Matteson, Putnam, Reynolds, Ramsey, Sackett, Schoolcraft, Silvester.—Massachusetts, Allen, Fowler, Horace Mann, Rockwell.—North Carolina, Clingman, Daniel, Venable.—Virginia, Averett, Holiday, Mead, Millson, Powell, Seddon.—Illinois, Baker, Wentworth.—Michigan, Bingham, Sprague.—Alabama, Bowdon, S.W. Harris, Hubbard, Inge.—Mississippi, A.G. Brown, Featherston, McWillie, Jacob Thompson.—South Carolina, Burt, Colcock, Holmes, Orr, Wallace, Woodward, McQueen.—Connecticut, Thomas B. Butler, Waldo, Booth.—Ohio, Cable, Campbell, Cartter, Corwin, Crowell, Nathan Evans, Giddings, Hunter, Morris, Olds, Root, Schenck, Sweetzer, Vinton.—Pennsylvania, Calvin, Dickey, Howe, Moore, Ogle, Reed, Thaddeus Stevens.—Wisconsin, Cole, Doty, Durkee.—Rhode Island, Dìxon.—Georgia, Haralson, Jos. W. Jackson.—Indiana, Harlan, Julian, McGaughey.—Vermont, Hebard, Henry, Meacham, Peck.—Arkansas, Robert W. Johnson.—New Jersey, James G. King, Newell, Van Dyke.—Louisiana, La Sere, Morse.—Maine, Otis, Sawtelle, Stetson.—Missouri, Phelps.—New Hampshire, TUCK.
This analysis shows that there voted
For The Bill:
Northern Whigs: 24
Southern Whigs: 25-49
Northern Democrats: 32
Southern Democrats: 27-59
Total: 108.
Against The Bill:
Northern Whigs: 44
Southern Whigs: 1-45
Northern Democrats: 13
Southern Democrats: 30-43
Total: 98.
The bill thus passed in the House was sent to the Senate; and on the 9th that body, by a vote of 31 to 10, concurred in the amendment which the House had made to it; and it became, by the signature of the President, the law of the land.
On Saturday the 7th, the House took up the bill from the Senate admitting California into the Union. Mr. Thompson, of Mississippi, moved an amendment, making the parallel of 36° 30' the southern boundary of California, which was rejected—yeas 71, nays 134. The main question was then taken, and the bill, admitting California, passed—yeas 150, nays 56.—On the same day the bill from the Senate organizing a territorial government for Utah was taken up, and Mr. Wentworth, of Illinois, moved to amend it by inserting a clause prohibiting the existence of slavery within the territory. This was lost—ayes 69, nays 78. Mr. Fitch, of Indiana, moved an amendment, declaring that the Mexican law prohibiting slavery, should remain in full force in the territory: after some discussion this was rejected—ayes 51, nays 85. Several other amendments were introduced and lost, and the bill finally passed by a vote of 97 ayes and 85 nays.
The bill to facilitate the recovery of Fugitive slaves was taken up in the Senate on the 20th of August. Mr. Dayton submitted an amendment providing for a trial by jury of the question, whether the person who may be claimed, is or is not a fugitive slave. After some debate, the amendment was rejected by a vote of ayes 11, nays 27, as follows:
Ayes—Messrs. Chase, Davis of Massachusetts, Dayton, Dodge of Wisconsin, Greene, Hamlin, Phelps, Smith, Upham, Walker, Winthrop—11.
Nays.—Messrs. Atchison, Badger, Barnwell, Benton, Berrien, Butler, Cass, Davis of Mississippi, Dawson, Dodge of Iowa, Downs, Houston, Jones, King, Mangum, Mason, Morton, Pratt, Rusk, Sebastian, Soulé, Sturgeon, Turney, Underwood, Wales, and Yulee—27.
On the 22d, Mr. Pratt, of Maryland, submitted an amendment, the effect of which would have been to make the United States responsible in damages for fugitive slaves that might not be recovered. This was rejected by a vote of 10 to 27. Mr. Davis, of Massachusetts, offered an amendment extending the right of habeas corpus to free colored citizens arriving in vessels at Southern ports, who may be imprisoned there without any alleged offense against the law. This amendment, after debate, was rejected—ayes 13, nays 25. The original bill was then ordered to a third reading by a vote of 27 ayes to 12 nays, as follows:
Ayes.—Messrs. Atchison, Badger, Barnwell, Bell, Berrien, Butler, Davis of Mississippi, Dawson, Dodge of Iowa, Downs, Foote, Houston, Hunter, Jones, King, Mangum, Mason, Pearce, Rusk, Sebastian, Soulé, Spruance, Sturgeon, Turney, Underwood, Wales, and Yulee—27.
Nays.—Messrs. Baldwin, Bradbury, Chase, Cooper, Davis of Massachusetts, Dayton, Dodge of Wisconsin, Greene, Smith, Upham, Walker, and Winthrop—12.
On the 26th the bill had its third reading and was finally passed. On the 12th of September the House of Representatives took up the bill, and after some slight debate, passed it, under the operation of the previous question, by a vote of 109 ayes to 75 nays.
On the 3d of September the Senate proceeded to the consideration of the bill abolishing the Slave-trade in the District of Columbia. Mr Foote of Mississippi offered a substitute placing the control of the whole matter in the hands of the Corporate Authorities of Washington and Georgetown. To this Mr. Pearce of Maryland, in committee of the whole, moved an amendment punishing by fine and imprisonment any person who shall induce or attempt to induce slaves to run away, and giving the corporate authorities power to remove free negroes from the District. The first portion of the amendment was passed, ayes 26, nays 15, and the second ayes 24, nays 18. Mr. Foote then withdrew his substitute.—On the 10th the consideration of the bill was resumed. Mr. Seward moved to substitute a bill abolishing Slavery in the District of Columbia and appropriating $200,000 to indemnify the owners of slaves who might thus be enfranchised—the claims to be audited and adjusted by the Secretary of the Interior: and submitting the law to the people of the District. The amendment [pg 702] gave rise to a warm debate and on the 12th was rejected, ayes 5, nays 46. The amendments offered by Mr. Pearce, and passed in committee of the whole, were non-concurred in by the Senate on the 14th, and the bill on the same day was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, by a vote of 32 to 19. On the 16th it was read a third time and finally passed, ayes 33, nays 19, as follows:
Ayes.—Messrs. Baldwin, Benton, Bright, Cass, Chase, Clarke, Clay, Cooper, Davis of Mass., Dayton, Dickinson, Dodge of Wisconsin, Dodge of Iowa, Douglas, Ewing, Felch, Frémont, Greene, Gwin, Hale, Hamlin, Houston, Jones, Norris, Seward, Shields, Spruance, Sturgeon, Underwood, Wales, Walker, Whitcomb, and Winthrop—33.
Nays.—Messrs. Atchison, Badger, Barnwell, Bell, Berrien, Butler, Davis of Mississippi, Dawson, Downs, Hunter, King, Mangum, Mason, Morton, Pratt, Sebastian, Soulé, Turney, and Yulee—19.
It was taken up in the House of Representatives on the 15th and passed by a vote of 124 to 47.
By the action of Congress during the past month, therefore, bills have been passed upon all the topics which have agitated the country during the year. The bill in regard to the Texas boundary provides that the northern line shall run on the line of 36° 30' from the meridian of 100° to 103° of west longitude—thence it shall run south to the 32d parallel of latitude, and on that parallel to the Rio del Norte, and in the channel of that river thence to its mouth. The State of Texas is to cede to the United States all claims to the territory north of that line, and to relinquish all claim for liability for her debts, &c., and is to receive from the United States as a consideration the sum of ten millions of dollars. The law will, of course, have no validity unless assented to by the State of Texas. No action upon this subject has been taken by her authorities. Previous to the passage of the bill, the Legislature of the State met in special session called by Governor Bell, and received from him a long and elaborate message in regard to the attempt made, under his direction, to extend the laws and jurisdiction of Texas over the Santa Fé district of New Mexico, and to the resistance which he had met from the authorities of the Federal Government. After narrating the circumstances of the case, he urges the necessity of asserting, promptly and by force, the claim of Texas to the territory in question. He recommends the enactment of laws authorizing the Executive to raise and maintain two regiments of mounted volunteers for the Expedition. A bill was introduced in conformity with this recommendation; but of its fate no reliable intelligence has yet been received.—A resolution was introduced into the Texas Legislature calling upon the governor for copies of any correspondence he might have had with other states of the Confederacy, but it was not passed. A letter has been published from General Quitman, Governor of Mississippi, stating that in case of a collision between the authorities of Texas and those of the United States, he should deem it his duty to aid the former.—Hon. Thos. J. Rusk, whose term as U.S. Senator expires with the present session, has been re-elected by the Legislature of Texas receiving 56 out of 64 votes. He voted in favor of the bill of adjustment, and his re-election by so large a majority is looked upon as indicating a disposition on the part of the authorities to accept the terms proposed.—Both Houses of Congress have agreed to adjourn on the 30th of September.
Intelligence from the Mexican Boundary Commission has been received to the 31st of August, on which day they were at Indianola, Texas. There was some sickness among the members of the corps, but every thing looked promising.—Hon. William Duer, member of Congress from the Oswego District, New York, has declined a re-election, in a letter in which he vindicates the bills passed by Congress, and earnestly urges his constituents not to encourage or permit any further agitation among them of questions connected with slavery. Hon. E.G. Spaulding, from the Erie District, and Hon. George Ashmun, of Massachusetts, also decline a re-election.—Captain Ammin Bey, of the Turkish Navy, arrived at New York on the 13th, in the United States ship Erie, being sent out by his Government as special Commissioner to collect information and make personal observations of the character, resources, and condition of the United States. He is a gentleman of ability, education, and experience and has been employed by his Government on various confidential missions. He was the secret agent of Turkey on the frontiers of Hungary during the recent struggle of that gallant people with Austria and Russia. He has been warmly received here, and enjoys every facility for prosecuting the objects of his mission. Congress has appropriated $10,000 toward defraying the expenses of his mission.—Hon. A.H.H. Stuart, of Virginia, has been appointed Secretary of the Interior, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. M'Kennan. He has accepted the appointment and entered upon the duties of the office. Mr. M'Kennan resigned on finding, from an experience of a day, that his health was not adequate to the performance of the duties of the place. Mr. Stuart has been a member of Congress, where he was universally recognized as a man of ability, assiduity, and character.—Mr. Conrad, of Louisiana, on accepting the office of Secretary of War, addressed a letter to his constituents, explaining and justifying the course he had taken in Congress. He said that opinions on the subject of the extension of slavery might be classified as follows: 1. There are those who seek, through the direct agency of the Federal Government, to introduce slavery into this territory. 2. Those who wish, by the same means, to prevent this introduction. 3. Those who resist any interference with the question by the Federal Government, and would leave to the inhabitants of the country the exclusive right to decide it. He claims to belong to the latter class. The Union, he says, is too [pg 703] great a blessing to be staked upon any game of hazard, and the prolongation of the controversy upon the subject of slavery, he deems in itself a calamity “It alarms the South and agitates the North; it alienates each from the other, and augments the number and influence of those who wage an endless war against slavery, and whom this discussion has raised to a political importance which, without it, they never could have attained.”—Dr. Henry Nes, member of Congress from the Fifteenth District of Pennsylvania, died at his residence in York on the 10th.—Several American citizens residing in Paris, having observed in the London papers an account of a gross insult said to have been offered to Hon. Mr. Barringer, United States Minister at Madrid, by General Narvaez at Naples, wrote to him, assuring him of the cordial response upon which he might count to such measures of redress as he should choose to adopt. Mr. Barringer replied by declaring the whole story to be false in every particular. In all his personal and official intercourse with him, he says, General Narvaez had been most courteous and respectful.—An election for state officers was held in Vermont on the first Tuesday of September, which resulted in the choice of Charles R. Williams (Whig) for Governor, and the re-election of Hon. Messrs. Hebard and Meacham to Congress, from the Second and Third Districts. Thomas Bartlett, jun., Democrat, was elected in the Fourth District, and no choice was effected in the First.—Professor J.W. Webster was executed at Boston on the 30th of August, pursuant to his sentence, for the murder of Dr. Parkman. He died with great firmness and composure, professing and evincing the most heartfelt penitence for his crime.—Intelligence has been received of the death of the Reverend Adoniram Judson, D.D., who is known to all the world as the oldest and one of the most laborious missionaries in foreign lands. He left the United States for Calcutta in 1812, and has devoted the whole of his life since that time to making Christianity known in Burmah. He translated the Bible into the language of the country, besides compiling a Dictionary of it, and performing an immense amount of other literary labor in addition to the regular preaching of the gospel and the discharge of other pastoral duties. He returned to this country in 1847, and married Miss Emily Chubbuck, with whom he soon returned to his field of labor. His health for the past few months has been gradually declining, and during the last spring it had become so seriously impaired that a sea voyage was deemed essential to its restoration. He accordingly embarked on board the French bark, Aristide Marie, for the Isle of Bourbon, on the 3d of April; but his disease made rapid advances, and after several days of intense agony, he died on the 12th, and his body was committed to the deep on the next day. Dr. Judson was attached to the Baptist Church, but his memory will be held in the profoundest veneration, as his labors have been cheered and sustained, by Christians of all denominations. He was a man of ability, of learning, and of intense devotion to the welfare of his fellow-men.—Bishop H.B. Bascom, of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, died at Louisville, Ky., on the 8th of September, after an illness of some months' continuance. He was in many respects one of the most influential and distinguished members of the large denomination to which he belonged. He enjoyed a very wide reputation for eloquence and was universally regarded, by all who ever heard him, as one of the most brilliant and effective of American orators. His person was large and commanding, his voice sonorous and musical, and his manner exceedingly impressive. His style was exceedingly florid, and elaborate, and his discourses abounded in the most adventurous flights of fancy and imagination. He shared the merits and the faults of what is generally and pretty correctly known as the Southern and Western style of eloquence, and always spoke with great effect. His labors in the service of the church have been long, arduous, and successful. He has exerted a wide influence and has exerted it in behalf of the noblest and most important of all interests. His death occasions profound and universal regret.—John Inman, Esq., favorably known to the country as a literary man, and as editor of the New York Commercial Advertiser, died at his residence in New York, on the 30th of August, after a lingering illness of several months. Mr. Inman was educated for the bar, and practiced law for some years in New York; but left the profession for the more congenial labors of literature. He was engaged for some years upon the New York Mirror, and soon after became associated with Colonel Stone, in the editorial conduct of the Commercial. Upon the death of that gentleman in 1847, Mr. Inman became the principal editor, and held that post, discharging its duties with ability, skill, and unwearied assiduity, until failing health compelled him to relinquish it during the last spring. He wrote frequently for the reviews and magazines, and sustained confidential relations, as critic and literary adviser, to the house of Harper and Brothers. He was a man of decided talent, of extensive information, great industry and of unblemished character. He died at the age of 47.
The most exciting event of the month has been the arrival of the celebrated Swedish vocalist, Jenny Lind. She reached New York in the Steamer Atlantic on the 1st of September, and was received by a demonstration of popular enthusiasm which has seldom been equaled in this country. More than twenty thousand people gathered upon the wharf where she landed, and crowded the streets through which she passed. She gave her first concert at Castle Garden, in New York, on the evening of the 12th, and this was rapidly followed by five others at the same place. The number of persons present on each occasion could not have [pg 704] been less then seven thousand. The receipts on the first night were about thirty thousand dollars, and Jenny Lind immediately bestowed ten thousand upon several of the worthiest charities of New York City. The enthusiasm which she excites seems fully justified not more by her superiority as an artist than by her personal qualities and character. Of her life a brief but spirited sketch, from the graceful pen of her distinguished countrywoman, Miss Bremer, will be found in another part of this Magazine. Her charities are already well known and honored wherever there are hearts to glow at deeds of enlightened benevolence. A young woman, who has not yet seen thirty years, she has already bestowed upon benevolent objects half a million of dollars, not inherited or won at a throw, but the fruit of a life of severe and disheartening toil, and has appropriated to the benefit of her native country the profits which she will reap from the willing soil of America. As an artist she has powers which are met with but once or twice in a generation. Her voice is in itself a wonder, and unlike most wonders is beautiful to a degree which causes those who come under its influence to forget surprise in pleasure. It is compared to all things beautiful under the sun by those whose grateful task it is to set its attractions forth in detail: to the flood of melody from the nightingale's throat, to light, to water which flows from a pure and inexhaustible spring. We shall be content to say that it appears to us almost the ideal of a beautiful sound. It would puzzle the nicest epicure of the ear, we think, to say in what respect he would have its glorious quality modified. He might object possibly at first to the slightest shade of huskiness which appears sometimes in its lower tones, or to an equally slight sharpness in the very highest, but if he listened long he would surely forget to object. The purely musical quality of Jenny Lind's voice is its crowning charm and excellence, in comparison with which its great extent, brilliance, and acquired flexibility are of but secondary worth. Its lowest tone can be felt at a distance and above, or rather through, all noisy obstacles and surroundings, whether they be vocal or instrumental. Another of its chief charms is its seeming inexhaustibility. It pours forth in a pellucid flood of sound, and always produces the impression that there is more yet, amply more, to meet all the demands of the singer.
M'lle Lind's vocalization is to the ordinary ear beyond criticism. Her intended effects are so completely attained, and attained with such apparent ease and consciousness of power, that the hearer does not think of questioning whether they could be better in themselves or better performed, but gives himself up to this unalloyed enjoyment. Her intervals are taken with a certainty and firmness which can not be attained by an instrument, so nicely, so rigidly accurate is her ear, and so absolute is her power over her organ. Her abilities have been best displayed in the first aria sung by the Queen of Night in Mozart's Zauberflöte, and by a taking Swedish Herdsman's Song. In the former she vocalizes freely above the lines for many bars, and in one passage takes the astonishing note F in alt. with perfect intonation. In the latter, which contains some very difficult and unmelodic intervals, her performance is marked with the same ease and accuracy which appear in her simplest ballad, and the effect of echo which she produces is to be equaled only by Nature herself. M'lle Lind's shake is probably the most equal and brilliant ever heard. There are some critics and amateurs who object to her manner of delivering her voice and to her unimpassioned style; but although these objections seem to have no little weight, their consideration would involve a deeper investigation of questions of pure Art than we are at present prepared for, and are content to offer our homage, with that of the rest of the world, to the Genius and Benevolence which are united in her fascinating, though, we must say, not beautiful person.
The Gallery of the American Art-Union was re-opened for the season in New York on the 4th of September, Jenny Lind honoring the occasion by her presence. The collection is unusually large and excellent. It already numbers over 300 pictures, several of which are among the best productions of their authors. The number and variety of works of art to be distributed among the members at the coming anniversary will be greater than ever before. The rapid and wonderful growth of this institution is in the highest degree honorable to the country, and affords marked evidence of the energy and spirit with which its affairs have been conducted. We understand that the subscription list is already larger by some thousands than ever before at the same time.
The Literary Intelligence of the month is devoid of any features of startling interest. G.P.R. James, Esq. has commenced in Boston a series of six Lectures upon the History of Civilization, and will probably repeat them in New York and other American cities. The subject is one with which Mr. James has made himself familiar in the ordinary course of his studies for his historical novels; and he will undoubtedly bring to its methodical discussion a clear and sound judgment, liberal views, and his characteristic felicity and picturesqueness of description and narrative. The lectures are new, and are delivered for the first time in this country.—All who are interested in Classical Education will welcome the appearance of the edition of Freund's Lexicon of the Latin Language, upon which Professor Andrews has been engaged for several years. The original work consists of four octavo volumes, averaging about 1100 pages each, which were eleven years in passing through the press, viz., from 1834 to 1845. By the adoption of various typographical expedients, such as adding another [pg 705] column to the page, and using smaller type, the whole will be comprised in a single volume, an improvement which, while it diminishes the cost, adds greatly to the convenience with which it may be used. This Lexicon is intended to give an account of all the Latin words found in the writings of the Romans from the earliest times to the fall of the Western Empire, as well as those from the Greek and other languages. The grammatical inflexions, both regular and irregular, of each word, are accurately pointed out; and the etymologies are made to embrace the results of modern scholarship in that department as specifically applicable to the Latin language, without invading the proper province of comparative philology. To the definitions, as the most important department of lexicography, particular attention has been given; and the primary, the transferred, the tropical, and the proverbial uses of words are carefully arranged in the order of their development; the shades of difference in the meanings and uses of synonymous terms are pointed out. Special attention has been given to the chronology of words, i.e., to the time when they were in use, and they are designated accordingly as belonging to all periods of the language, or as “ante-classic,” “quite classic,” “Ciceronian,” “Augustan,” “post-Augustan,” “post-classic,” or “late Latin,” as the case may be. The student is also informed whether a word is used in prose or poetry, or in both, whether it is of common or rare occurrence, &c, &c.; and each of its uses is illustrated by a copious selection of examples, with a reference in every instance to the chapter, section, and verse where found. To those familiar with the subject, this brief description of the work will suffice to show its vast superiority over every dictionary of the Latin language at present in use among us, and how much may be expected in aid of the cause of sound learning from its introduction into our seminaries and colleges. It will appear from the press of the Harpers very soon.—“The History of the United States of America, from the adoption of the Federal Constitution to the end of the Sixteenth Congress, in three volumes,” is the title of a new work by Mr. Hildreth, whose three volumes, bringing down the history of the United States to the adoption of the Federal Constitution are already favorably known to the public. The present volumes, the first of which is already in press, are intended to embrace a fully authentic and impartial history of the two great parties of Federalists and Republicans, or Democrats, as they were sometimes called, by which the country was divided and agitated for the first thirty years and upward subsequent to the adoption of the Federal Constitution. The volume now in press is devoted to the administration of Washington, a subject of great interest and importance, since, during that period, not only were all the germs of the subsequent party distinctions fully developed, but because the real character and operation of the Federal Government, from that day to this, was mainly determined by the impress given to it while Washington remained at the head of affairs. This subject, treated with the candor, discrimination, industry, and ability which Mr. Hildreth's volumes already published give us a right to expect, can hardly fail to attract and reward a large share of public attention.—An Astronomical Expedition has been sent out by the United States Government to Santiago, Chili, for the purpose of making astronomical observations. It is under the charge of Lieut. J.M. Gillis, of the Navy, one of the ablest astronomers of his age now living. The Chilian Government has received the expedition with great cordiality, and has availed itself of the liberal offer of the United States Government to admit several young men to instruction in the Observatory, by designating three persons for that object. Letters from Lieut. G. show that he is prosecuting his labors with unwearied zeal and assiduity—having, up to the 1st of June, catalogued nearly five thousand stars. Humboldt, in a letter to a friend, which has been published, expresses a high opinion of Lieut. Gillis, and of the expedition in which he is engaged. In the same letter he speaks in warm terms of the great ability and merit, in their several departments, of Ticknor, Prescott, Fremont, Emory, Gould, and other literary and scientific Americans.
From California our intelligence is to the 15th of August, brought by the steamer Ohio, which reached New York on the 22d ult. The most important item relates to a deplorable collision which has occurred between persons claiming lands under titles derived from Capt. Sutter, and others who had taken possession of them and refused to leave. Capt. Sutter held them under his Spanish grant, the validity of which, so far as the territory in question is concerned, is disputed. Attempts to eject the squatters, in accordance with the decision of the courts, were forcibly resisted at Sacramento City on the 14th of August, and a riot was the result, in which several persons on both sides were killed, and others severely wounded. Several hundred were engaged in the fight. As this occurred just upon the eve of the steamer's departure, the issue of the contest is unknown. There is reason to fear that the difficulties to which it gives rise may not be very soon or very easily settled. Among those killed were Mr. Bigelow, Mayor of Sacramento City, Mr. Woodland, an auctioneer, and Dr. Robinson, the President of the Squatter Association.—The news from the mines continues to be encouraging. In the southern mines the dry season had so far advanced that the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers were in good working condition, and yielded good returns. Details are given from the various localities showing that the gold has been by no means exhausted. From the northern mines similar accounts are received.—The total amount received for duties by the Collector at San Francisco from [pg 706] November 12, 1849, to June 30, 1850, was $889,542.—During the passage of the steamer Panama from San Francisco to Panama the cholera broke out, and seventeen of the passengers died. It was induced by excessive indulgence in fruit at Acupulco.—Rev. Horatio Southgate D.D., formerly Missionary Bishop at Constantinople, has been chosen Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church for the Diocese of California.—In Sonora the difficulties which had broken out in consequence of the tax on foreign miners had been obviated, and order was restored.—Mining operations are prosecuted with the greatest vigor and energy, and were yielding a good return. Companies were formed for carrying on operations more thoroughly than has been usual, and new locations have been discovered which promise to be very fertile.
From Oregon there is no news of interest, though our intelligence comes down to the 25th of July. Business was prosperous. Gold is said to have been discovered on Rogue's river, and companies had been formed to profit by the discovery. A treaty of peace has been negotiated with the Indians by Gov. Lane.
From Jamaica we hear of the death of Gen. Herard, ex-President of Hayti, who has been residing in Jamaica for several years. The season has been favorable for the crops, and the harvests of fruit were very abundant. There had been several very severe thunderstorms, and several lives had been lost from lightning. Efforts are made to promote the culture of cotton upon the island.
From New Mexico Major R.H. Weightman arrived at St. Louis, Aug. 22d, having been elected U.S. Senator by the state Legislature. He was on his way to Washington where he has since arrived. His colleague was Hon. F.A. Cunningham. In the popular canvass the friends of a state government carried every county except one, over those who desired a territorial organization. A conflict of authority had occurred between the newly elected state officers and the Civil and Military Governor, the latter refusing to transfer the authority to the former until New Mexico should be admitted as a state. A voluminous correspondence upon the subject between the two governors has been published.—The Indians at the latest dates were still committing the grossest outrages in all parts of the country. The crops were fine and promising.
In England the month has been signalized by no event of special interest or importance. The incident which has attracted most attention grew out of the visit to England of General Haynau, the commander of the Austrian armies during the war with Hungary, who acquired for himself a lasting and infamous notoriety by the horrible cruelty which characterized his campaigns and his treatment of prisoners who fell into his hands. His proclamations, threatening butchery and extermination to every village any of whose inhabitants should furnish aid or countenance to the Hungarians, and the inhuman barbarity with which they were put in execution, must be fresh in the public memory, as it certainly was in that of the people of London. It seems that, during his stay in London, General Haynau visited the great brewery establishment of Messrs. Barclay & Co. On presenting himself, accompanied by two friends, at the door, they were required, as was customary, to register their names. On looking at the books, the clerks discovered the name and rank of their visitor, and his presence and identity were soon known throughout the establishment. The workmen began to shout after him, and finally to follow and assail him with denunciations and dirt; and before he had crossed the yard he found himself completely beset by a mob of coal-heavers, draymen, brewers' men, and others, who shouted “Down with the Austrian butcher!” and hustled him about with a good deal of violence and considerable injury to his person. Fully realizing the peril of his position, he ran from the mob, and took refuge in a hotel, concealing himself in a secluded room from his pursuers, who ransacked the whole house, until the arrival of a strong police force put an end to the mob and the General's peril. The leading papers, especially those in the Tory interest, speak of this event in the most emphatic terms of denunciation. The Liberal journals exult in the popular spirit which it evinced, while they regret the disregard of law and order which attended it.
Parliament was prorogued on the 15th of August by the Queen in person, to the 25th of October. The ceremonial was unusually splendid. The Queen tendered her thanks for the assiduity and care which had marked the business of the session, and expressed her satisfaction with the various measures which had been consummated. In approving of the Colonial Government Act, she said it would always be gratifying to her to extend the advantages of republican institutions to colonies inhabited by men who are capable of exercising, with benefit to themselves, the privileges of freedom: she looks for the most beneficial consequences, also, from the act extending the elective franchise in Ireland.—Previous to the prorogation, Parliament transacted very little business of much interest to our readers. Marlborough House was set apart for the residence of the Prince of Wales when he shall need it, and meantime it is to be used for the exhibition of the Vernon pictures. Lord Brougham created something of a sensation in the House of Lords on the 2d, by complaining that all savings in the Civil List should accrue to the nation, and not to the royal privy purse,—as the spirit of the constitution required the Sovereign to have no private means, but to be dependent wholly on the nation. His movement excited a good deal of feeling, and was very warmly censured by all the Lords who spoke upon it, as betraying an eagerness [pg 707] to pry into the petty details of private expenditures unworthy of the House, and indelicate toward the Sovereign. Lord Brougham resented these censures with bitterness, and reproached the Whigs with having changed their sentiments and their conduct since they had tasted the sweets of office. This course, he said, showed most painfully that absolute prostration of the understanding which takes place, even in the minds of the bravest, when the word “prince” is mentioned in England.—We mentioned in our last number the presentation of a petition concerning the Liverpool waterworks, many of the signatures to which were found to be forgeries. The case was investigated by the Lords, and the presenters of the petition, Mr. C. Cream and Mr. M.A. Gage, were declared to have been guilty of a breach of privilege, and sent to Newgate for a fort-night.—Lord Campbell, on the 14th, expressed the opinion, “as one of the judges of the land,” that the new regulations forbidding the delivery or transit of letters on Sunday, had a tendency, so far as the administration of justice was concerned, to obstruct works of necessity and mercy. The regulations have been essentially modified.—The bill concerning parliamentary voters in Ireland, after passing the House of Lords with the rate requisite for franchise at £15, was amended in the Commons by substituting £12;—the amendment was concurred in by the Lords, and in that form the bill became a law. The effect of it will be to add some two hundred thousand to the number of voters in the kingdom.—Lord John Russell, in reply to a question from Mr. Hume, explained the nature of the British claims on Tuscany for injuries sustained by British subjects after the revolt of Leghorn, and the occupation of that city by an Austrian corps acting as auxiliaries to the Grand Duke. After all resistance was over, it seems, that corps plundered a number of houses, and among them houses belonging to British residents, and conspicuously marked as such by the British consul. The amount claimed was £1530.—Complaint was made in the Commons by Mr. Bernal, of the defective state of the regulations for the immigration of Africans into the West Indies. He said that contracts were now limited to one year, which often caused serious loss to the employer. He thought the evil might be remedied by making the contract for three years. He was told in reply that Lord Grey had already sanctioned contracts for three years in British Guiana and Trinidad, and would, of course, be quite prepared to do so in Jamaica. The immigration of free labor from Africa had proved a failure; but this was not the case with the immigration of Coolies. Many requests had been made to renew it, and arrangements had been made to comply with those requests. Arrangements had also been made, in consequence of communications with Dr. Gutzlaff, for introducing free Chinese immigrants into Trinidad. The Tenant-right conference of Ireland held its session on the 6th in Dublin. The attendance of delegates was large. Resolutions were adopted declaring that a fair valuation of rent between landlord and tenant was indispensable, that the tenant should not be disturbed so long as he pays the rent fixed; that no further rent shall be recoverable by process of law; and that an equitable valuation for rent should divide between landlord and tenant the net profits of cultivation. A tenant league is to be formed.—A dinner was given by the Fishmongers' Company of London to the Ministers on the 1st. Lord Brougham was present, and excited attention and mirth by his way of testing the sentiments of the Company on matters of public reform. If they applauded what he was about to say, they were reformers, as of old: if not, it would show that they had been corrupted. He was made a Fishmonger in 1820, and he hoped the Company were not ashamed of what they did in favor of an oppressed queen against an aggressive king and his minions of ministers. The remark was not applauded, whereupon Lord B. drew his fore gone conclusion:—“Ah, I see;—you are far from having the same feeling you had in 1820. Honors corrupt manners—being in power is a dangerous thing to public virtue.”—The report of the Railway Commissioners for 1849 states that in course of the year the Board had sanctioned the opening of 869 miles of new railway—630 in England, 108 in Scotland, and 131 in Ireland—making the total extent of railway communication at the end of the year, 5996 miles, of which 4656 are in England, 846 in Scotland, and 494 in Ireland.—The Queen left on the 22d for a short visit to the King of the Belgians at Ostend. She was received with great enthusiasm, and returned the next day—Prince Albert completed his thirty-first year on the 26th of August. The Queen left town on the 27th for Scotland.—Sir George Anderson has been appointed Governor of Ceylon, in place of Lord Torrington, who has been recalled.—The American steamer Pacific arrived at New York at half-past six P.M., on Saturday, the 21st ult., having left Liverpool at two P.M. on the 11th. She thus made the passage in ten days, four and a half hours: this is by several hours the quickest voyage ever made between the two ports.
From France the only news of general interest relates to the tour of the President through the provinces. The Assembly had previously broken up, there not being a quorum present on the 9th. It was to re-assemble on the 11th of November. A Committee of Surveillance was to sit during the recess. On the 12th, the President started on his tour. He had given several military banquets, which, from their imperial aspect, and the political spirit manifested by the guests, created a great sensation. On one of these occasions, a dinner was given to the officers of a portion of the garrison of Paris; it is told, that after the company [pg 708] left the table, they adjourned into the garden to smoke their cigars; and there Louis Napoleon seeing a musket, took it up, and went through the manual exercise with great dexterity, to the great delight of the sergeants and corporals, who shouted “Vive le petit Corporal!” (the Emperor's pet-name among the soldiers) with great enthusiasm. During his tour, which was unattended by any very noticeable incident, he made very liberal distribution of crosses of honor, sometimes accompanied by gratuities to old officers and soldiers of the imperial army. He had a most brilliant reception at Lyons, where he spent a day, and was entertained at a grand dinner by the Chamber of Commerce. At Besançon he had a less gracious reception: at a ball given to him in the evening a mob broke into the room, shouting “Vive la Republique,” and creating great confusion. The President left the room, which was cleared by General Castellane at the point of the bayonet. At several other places demonstrations were made of a similar character, but much less violent.
Louis Phillipe, late King of France, died on the 26th of August, at Claremont, England, where he has resided since he became an exile. His health had gradually failed since he first left France, but it was not until the 24th, that he became fully sensible of the gravity of his disease. On that day he was carried out into the open air, and was present at dinner with his family, although he ate nothing. During the night he was restless, and was informed by the queen that his medical attendants despaired of his recovery. The next morning, the doctor, on being asked his opinion, hesitated. “I understand,” says the king, “you bring me notice to quit.” To Col. Dumas he dictated a last page of his memoirs, which terminated a recital in which he had been engaged for the last four months. The king then sent for his chaplain, with whom he had a long interview. He repeatedly expressed his readiness for death, which came upon him at eight o'clock on the morning of Monday, the 26th. Louis Phillipe was born in Paris, Oct. 6, 1773, and was the eldest son of Phillipe Joseph, Duke of Orleans, known to the world by the sobriquet of Phillipe Egalité. His education was intrusted to Madame de Genlis, under whose direction he made himself familiar with the English, German, and Italian languages, and with the ordinary branches of scientific knowledge. In 1792, being then Duke de Chartres, he made his first campaign against the Austrians, fighting at Valmy and Jemappes. His father was executed January 21, 1793, and he was summoned with Gen. Dumouriez, before the Committee of Public Safety, seven months after. Both, however, fled, and escaped to Austria. Retiring to private life, and refusing the offer of Austria, he was joined by his sister Adelaide and their former preceptress, and repaired to Zurich, whence, however, he was soon compelled to make his escape. He became greatly straitened for means, and, finally, found protection in the house of M. de Montesquion, at Baumgarten, where he remained until the end of 1794, when he quitted the place, and resolved to go to the United States. He was compelled to abandon this project from lack of funds, and traveled on foot through Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Negotiations were now opened on the part of the Directory, who had in vain attempted to discover the place of his exile, to induce him to go to the United States, promising, in the event of his compliance, that the condition of the Duchess D'Orleans should be ameliorated, and that his younger brothers should be permitted to join him. Through the agency of M. Westford, of Hamburg, this letter was conveyed to the duke, who at once accepted the terms offered, and sailed from the mouth of the Elbe in the American, taking with him his servant Baudoin. He departed on the 24th of September, 1796, and arrived in Philadelphia after a passage of twenty-seven days. In the November following, the young prince was joined by his two brothers, after a stormy passage from Marseilles; and the three brothers remained at Philadelphia during the winter. They afterward visited Mount Vernon, where they became intimate with General Washington; and they soon afterward traveled through the western country, and after a long and fatiguing journey they returned to Philadelphia; proceeding afterward to New Orleans, and, subsequently, by an English ship, to Havanna. The disrespect of the Spanish authorities at the Havanna, soon compelled them to depart, and they proceeded to the Bahama Islands, where they were treated with much kindness by the Duke of Kent, who, however, did not feel authorized to give them a passage to England in a British frigate. They, accordingly, embarked for New York, and thence sailed to England in a private vessel, arriving at Falmouth in February, 1800. After proceeding to London they took up their residence at Twickenham, where for some time they enjoyed comparative quiet, being treated with distinction by all classes of society. Their time was now principally spent in study, and no event of any importance disturbed their retreat, until the death of the Duke de Montpensier, on the 18th of May, 1807. The Count Beaujolais soon afterward proceeded to Malta, where he died in 1808. The Duke of Orleans now quitted Malta, and went to Messina, in Sicily, accepting an invitation from King Ferdinand. During his residence at Palermo he gained the affections of the Princess Amelia, and was married to her in 1809. No event of any material importance marked the life of the young couple until the year 1814, when it was announced in Palermo that Napoleon had abdicated the throne, and that the restoration of the Bourbon family was about to take place. The duke sailed immediately, and arrived in Paris on the 18th of May, where, in a short time, he was in the enjoyment of the honors to which he was so well entitled. The return of Napoleon in 1815, soon disturbed his tranquillity; and, having sent his [pg 709] family to England, he proceeded, in obedience to the command of Louis XVIII., to take the command of the army of the north. He remained in this situation until the 24th of March, 1815, when he resigned his command to the Duke de Treviso and retired to Twickenham. On the return of Louis, after the hundred days—in obedience to the ordinance issued, requiring all the princes of the blood to take their seats in the Chamber of Peers—the duke returned to France in 1815; and, by his liberal sentiments, rendered himself so little agreeable to the administration, that he returned to England, where he remained until 1817. In that year he returned to France, continuing now in a private capacity, as he was not a second time summoned to sit in the Chamber of Peers. For some years after this period the education of his family deeply engaged his attention; and while the Duke of Orleans was thus pursuing a career apart from the court, a new and unexpected scene was opened in the drama of his singularly eventful and changeful life. In 1830 that revolution occurred in France which eventuated in the elevation of the Duke of Orleans to the throne. The cause of the elder branch of the Bourbons having been pronounced hopeless, the king in effect being discrowned, and the throne rendered vacant, the Provisional Government which had risen out of the struggle, and in which Laffitte, Lafayette, Thiers, and other politicians, had taken the lead, turned toward the Duke of Orleans, whom it was proposed, in the first instance, to invite to Paris, to become Lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and afterward, in a more regular manner, to become King. The Duke of Orleans, during the insurrection, had been residing in seclusion at his country seat, and, if watching the course of events, apparently taking no active part in dethroning his kinsman. M. Thiers and M. Scheffer were appointed to conduct the negotiation with the duke, and visited Neuilly for the purpose. The duke, however, was absent, and the interview took place with the duchess and Princess Adelaide, to whom they represented the danger with which the nation was menaced, and that anarchy could only be averted by the prompt decision of the duke to place himself at the head of the new constitutional monarchy. M. Thiers expressed his conviction “that nothing was left the Duke of Orleans but a choice of dangers; and that, in the existing state of things, to recoil from the possible perils of royalty was to run full upon the republic and its inevitable violences.” The substance of the communication having been made known to the duke, on a day's consideration he acceded to the request, and at noon on the 31st came to Paris to accept the office which had been assigned to him. On the 2d of August the abdication of Charles X. and his son was placed in the hands of the Lieutenant-general, the abdication, however, being in favor of the Duke of Bordeaux. On the 7th the Chamber of Deputies declared the throne vacant; and on the 8th the Chamber went in a body to the Duke of Orleans, and offered him the Crown on the terms of a revised charter. His formal acceptance of the offer took place on the 9th. From the accession of Louis Philippe as King of the French, in 1830, his life is universally known. His reign was marked by sagacity and upright intentions. He committed the unpardonable error, however, of leaving the people entirely out of his account, and endeavored to fortify himself by allying his children to the reigning families of Europe. He married his eldest son Ferdinand, Duke of Orleans (born 1810) to the Princess Helen of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; his daughter Louisa (born 1812) to Leopold, King of the Belgians; his son Louis, Duke of Nemours (born 1814) to the Princess Victoria of Saxe Coburg Gotha; his daughter Clementina (born 1817) to Prince Augustus of Saxe Coburg Gotha; his son Francis, Prince of Joinville (born 1818) to the Princess Frances Caroline, of Brazil; his son the Duke of Aumale (born 1822) to the Princess Caroline, of Salerno, and his son Antony, Duke of Montpensier (born 1824) to Louisa, sister and heir presumptive of the reigning Queen of Spain. But these royal alliances served him not in the day of his distress. The fatal 24th of February came, and swept away the throne he had taken so much pains to consolidate, and he signed his act of abdication, accepting the regency of the Duchess of Orleans. His subsequent fate is familiar to all. His flight from Paris to the sea-shore; his escape in disguise to England; his kind reception in that country, are well known. Claremont was given him as an abode, and there, with the exception of occasional visits to Richmond and St. Leonard's, Louis Philippe continued to reside. There, too, he breathed his last on Monday morning, the 26th of August, in the 77th year of his age. His death excited general comment, but was universally regarded as an event of no political importance.—A very imposing review of the French fleet at the harbor of Cherbourg, took place on the 7th inst. A great number of the English nobility and gentlemen were present by special invitation, and a magnificent display was made of British yachts. An immense concourse of people was in attendance, and the President, Prince Louis Napoleon, was received with distinguished honors. The parting salute at sunset, when over two thousand pieces of ordnance crashed forth with a simultaneous roar, was highly effective.—The trade of Paris is said to be unusually brisk this season. Wheat is abundant and all the harvests yield good returns, though fears are entertained that the quality of the vintage may be inferior.—The proceedings of the General Councils of sixty-four of the eighty-five departments of France are now known.—Forty-seven have pronounced in favor of the revision of the actual constitution. Seven have rejected resolutions recommending the revision, and ten have declined the expression of an opinion upon the subject. Only three have declared themselves in favor of an extension and continuance of the power now confided to Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. [pg 710] Nearly all have expressly desired that the revision should be effected in the mode and time prescribed by the constitution itself.
The Literary Intelligence from abroad lacks special interest. The Magazines for September contain nothing worthy of mention, which will not be found in the foregoing pages of this number. Bulwer commences a new novel in Blackwood, the opening chapters of which are here reprinted. It is in continuation of “The Caxtons,” and promises to be exceedingly interesting. It will, of course, be given to our readers as rapidly as it appears. Our opening paper this month is a spirited and eloquent notice of Wordsworth, evidently from the popular and effective pen of Gilfillan, who is a constant contributor to the London Eclectic Review from which it is taken. “David Copperfield” by Dickens, and “Pendennis” by Thackeray, draw toward their end, and our readers may therefore anticipate new productions from their pens ere long.—The question whether an American can hold a copyright in England comes up before the English Courts in a suit brought by Murray for interference with his rights by a publisher who has issued an edition of Washington Irving. It is stated that Irving has received from the Murrays the sum of £9767 for the English copyrights of his various works.—The Gallery of Paintings of the King of Holland has been sold at auction and the returns are stated at $450,000. The Emperor of Russia, and the Marquis of Hertford in England, were extensive purchasers. Two portraits of Vandyke were bought by the latter at 63,000 florins.—Lamartine writes to the Debats from Marseilles, denying, so far as he is concerned, the truth of statements contained in Mr. Croker's article in the London Quarterly upon the flight of Louis Phillipe. He has commenced the publication of a new volume of “Confidences” in the feuilleton of the Presse.—The Household Narrative in its summary of English Literary Intelligence, notices the appearance of an elaborate work on Tubular Bridges by Mr. Edwin Clark, with a striking folio of illustrative drawings and lithographs. Also of an Essay in two goodly octavos on Ancient Egypt under the Pharaohs, by Mr. Kenrick, full of learning, yet full of interest, because grafting on the ascertained old history all the modern elucidations of travelers and artists, critics and interpreters. It appears to be but a portion of a contemplated work comprehending a complete history of those countries of the East whose civilization preceded and influenced that of Greece; and to our proper understanding of which, the discovery of the hieroglyphic character, and such researches as those of Mr. Layard, have lately contributed an entire new world of information. Another book remarkable for the precision and completeness of its knowledge, is Doctor Latham's Natural History of the Varieties of Man, a very important contribution to the literature of ethnology; and with this is connected in subject, though not in any other kind of merit, an eccentric fragment on the Races of Man, by Dr. Robert Knox.—Mrs. Jameson has published a second series of her Poetry of Sacred and Legendary Art, in a volume of Legends of the Monastic Orders, similarly illustrated; and nothing can be more graceful than this lady's treatment of a subject which has not much that is graceful in itself.—To biography, a new volume of the Life of Chalmers has been the most interesting addition. A Life of Ebenezer Elliott, by his son-in-law, possesses also some interest; and, with a little less of the biographer and more of the biography, would have been yet more successful. In English fiction, a semi-chartist novel called Alton Locke, full of error and earnestness, and evidently by a University man of the so-called Christian Socialist school, is the most noticeable work of the kind that has lately appeared. The other romances of the month have been translations from the German and French. The Two Brothers is somewhat in the school of Miss Bremer; and Stella and Vanessa is a novel by a graceful French writer, very agreeably translated by Lady Duff Gordon, of which the drift is to excuse Swift for his conduct to Mrs. Johnson and Miss Vanhomrigh. The subject is curious, and the treatment (for a Frenchman) not less so. Nothing painful or revolting is dwelt upon, and if it does not satisfy it fails to offend.—The London Morning Chronicle has an extended and elaborate review of Mr. Ticknor's great “History of Spanish Literature,” in which it pays the highest possible compliments to the accomplished author. “The masterly sweep of his general grasp,” it says, “and the elaborated finish of his constituent sketches, silence the caviller at the very outset, and enforce him to respectful study, while the unaffected ease of the style, lively but not flippant, charms the attention, and not seldom disguises the amount of research and indigation which has been bestowed upon each stage of the history.” It closes its review with this emphatic praise: “this History will at once take its position as the standard book of reference upon Spanish literature, but it will not take the cold honors of the shelf usually accorded to such volumes, for it will not only be consulted but read. We cordially congratulate our American friends upon possessing a compatriot who is able to make such a contribution to English literature—we are not aware that we are equally fortunate.”—The third series of Southey's Common-Place Book has just appeared. Unlike the former series, which consisted of selections of rare and striking passages, and so possessed a general and independent value, the present volume consists mainly of brief notes or references to important passages in a great variety of works, bearing upon the subjects of Civil and Ecclesiastical History, Biography, and Literature in general. The references are so brief, and the works referred to so rare, that the book will prove of little service except to [pg 711] those who have access to large public libraries. Probably not one book in ten of those referred to is to be found in any library in this country. The volume, however, furnishes evidence still stronger than the others, of the wonderful extent, variety, and accuracy of Southey's reading; it shows that he was a sort of living library, a walking study; he read almost every thing that appeared, and methodized, and laid up in his mind all that was worth preserving, of what he read, and thus gained a super-eminence of information which has rarely been surpassed. The third volume of his Common-Place Book is not altogether destitute of those quaint and singular selections which gave so rare a charm to those that preceded.—The North British Review for the current quarter, from which we gave some extracts in our September number, has an article upon the disputed claims of Messrs. Stephenson & Fairbairn to the credit of having invented the Tubular bridge. If the facts upon which the reasonings of the reviewer are based, are correctly stated, there can be no doubt that a large, perhaps the larger share of the credit due to this greatest triumph of modern engineering, belongs to William Fairbairn, of Manchester, by whom all the experiments were undertaken that demonstrated the practicability of the undertaking, and proved that a square form was much stronger than the elliptical one, which was originally proposed. Mr. Fairbairn, it is stated, showed conclusively by actual experiment, in opposition to the opinion of Mr. Stephenson, that suspension chains, as an additional means of support, were not needed, thus avoiding an outlay of some £200,000. Successful as the experiment has been in a scientific point of view, the railroad of which this bridge forms a link, has been most unfortunate in a pecuniary aspect. The stock consists of two kinds, the original, and preferential. In July, 1850, the former was selling at a loss of £72 10s., and the latter at a loss of £33 6s. 8d. on every £100, involving a total loss to the stockholders of £1,764,000.—The Barbarigo Gallery at Venice, celebrated for ages for its rich collection, especially of the works of Titian, has been purchased by the court of Russia for 560,000 francs, or £22,400 sterling. A new singer, Madame Fiorentini, has appeared at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, who attracts considerable attention. She is a native of Seville, and married to Mr. Jennings, an English officer. She received her musical education in London, and made her first public appearance at Berlin only twelve months since.—The telegraphic wires between Dover and Calais, or rather Cape Grinez, have been laid and got into operation. Dispatches have been received in this country which were sent from Paris to London by this means. Thirty miles of wire, incased in a strong coating of gutta percha, have been imbedded, as far as this could possibly be done, in the bottom of the channel, by means of leaden weights. It remains now to be seen whether the precautions taken are sufficient to protect the wire from the ravages of the ocean's denizens, the assaults of ships' anchors, and the shifting sands which are known to underlie the Straits of Dover.—A duel took place at Perigueux between MM. Chavoix and Dupont, in which the latter was killed. The latter was editor of a paper called Echo de Vesone, and had offended M. Chavoix, a wealthy proprietor, by severe strictures on his conduct. Both were members of the Assembly. They fought with pistols at twenty-five paces. M. Chavoix won the throw for the choice of position, and M. Dupont for first fire. Dupont fired and missed. Chavoix, declaring that he could not see clearly, waited till the smoke of his adversary's discharge passed, and fired at an interval of some seconds. His ball struck the forehead of Dupont, who fell stark dead upon the plain without uttering a cry or a groan.—The distinguished French Novelist M. Balzac died at Paris on the 18th of August, aged 51. He was in many important respects, the foremost of French writers. He was originally a journeyman printer at Tours, his native place. His earlier works obtained a fair measure of success, but it was not until after many years' apprenticeship, either anonymously or under assumed cognomens, that he ventured to communicate his name to the public. And no sooner was the name given than it became popular—and in a little while famous—famous not in France alone, but all over Europe. His success was almost as brilliant as that of Walter Scott himself. In addition to his romances, Balzac wrote some theatrical pieces, and for a while edited and contributed a good deal to the Revue Parisienne. Since the revolution Balzac published nothing, but was engaged in visiting the battle-fields of Germany and Russia, and in piling up materials for a series of volumes, to be entitled Scenes de la Vie Militaire. He leaves behind several MS. works, partially or wholly completed. His design was to make all his romances form one great work, under the title of the Comedíe Humaine,—the whole being a minute dissection of the different classes of French society. Only a little while before his death, he stated that, in what he had done, he had but half accomplished his task. Next to his great celebrity, the most remarkable feature in his career is a strong passion which he formed for a Russian countess, and which, after years of patient suffering, he had the satisfaction of having rewarded by the gift of the lady's hand. Shortly after his marriage—which took place some two years ago—he was attacked with a disease of the heart, and that carried him off. He and his wife had only been a few months in Paris when this sad event took place. His funeral was celebrated with a good deal of ceremony, and an eloquent funeral oration was pronounced by M. Victor Hugo.—Sir Martin Archer Shee, President of the Royal Academy, died at Brighton on the 19th, in his 80th year. He was elected to the above office in 1830, on the death of Sir Thomas Lawrence, when he received the honor of knighthood. He [pg 712] retired in 1845 from the active duties of the office, which have been since performed by Mr. Turner.—The late Sir Robert Peel has left directions in his will for the early publication of his political memoirs, and has ordered that the profits arising from the publication shall be given to some public institution for the education of the working classes. He has confided the task of preparing these memoirs to Lord Mahon and Mr. Cardwell.
In the settlement of German affairs little progress has yet been made by the Congress at Frankfort. At a meeting on the 8th of August, at which Count Thun, the Austrian plenipotentiary, presided, it was decided that Austria should formally invite all the members of the Bund to assemble at Frankfort on the 1st of September next. A circular note of the 18th of August, in which the Minister-President reiterates the assurances so solemnly given in the circular of the 19th July, that it is the earnest wish of Austria to make such reforms in the Act of Confederation as may be required by the recent change of circumstances in Germany, and may conduce to the unity of the common fatherland, was accordingly dispatched with the Frankfort summons to the different courts on the 15th. It remains to be seen whether Prussia and the League will accept this proposal.—The third meeting of the General Peace Congress commenced at Frankfort on the 22d of August. There were some two thousand delegates in attendance, mostly from England, France, the United States, and Germany. Gen. Haynau was present for a time. Resolutions were submitted, discussed, and adopted, deprecating a resort to arms, and urging the propriety and expediency of settling all international differences by arbitration. Dr. Jaup presided, and speeches were made by delegates from every nation. Among the most prominent representatives from the United States were Elihu Burritt, Professor Cleaveland, Dr. Hitchcock, and George Copway, an Indian chief; Mr. Cobden, of England, and Cormenin and Girardin, of France were also in attendance. The session lasted three days.
In Piedmont a great sensation has been produced by a collision with the papal power. The Sardinian Minister of Finance, the Cavalière Santa Rosa, who had supported the ministry in passing the law which rendered the clergy amenable to the civil courts, being on his death-bed, was refused the sacrament by the monks, under the direction of Franzoni the Archbishop of Turin. At his funeral such excitement was manifested by the people, that to avoid an actual outbreak, the monks were ordered to leave the city, and the possessions of their order were sequestered. In the search through their house, documents were found which inculpated the Archbishop Franzoni himself, and he was consequently arrested and imprisoned in the fortress of Fenestrelles. Both Austria and France, however, have interfered; and, in consequence, the editor of L'Opinione, a liberal journal, has been banished from the Sardinian States. It is stated that Lord Palmerston has addressed to the Court of the Vatican a most energetic note, in which he cautions it against adopting violent measures toward Sardinia, and persevering in the system hitherto pursued by the Pope with regard to that Government.
A letter from Rome, of the 20th, in the Constitutionnel, states that several persons have been arrested there for a supposed conspiracy to assassinate the Pope, on Assumption day, by throwing crystal balls filled with explosive substances into his carriage when on his way to church to pronounce the benediction. The discovery of the plot prevented all danger. There was some agitation on the following Sunday, as it was supposed that there had been a plot against the Austrian Ambassador, on the anniversary of the birth of the Emperor. A strong armed force was placed near his palace to protect it, and in the evening some arrests were made.
A continuance of heavy rain in Belgium on the 15th, 16th, and 17th has produced disastrous inundations in various parts of that country. At Antwerp there was a tremendous storm of rain, wind, and thunder. The lightning struck several buildings; many of the streets were under water, and large trees were uprooted in the neighboring country. At Ghent a large sugar manufactory was destroyed by lightning, and people were killed by it in different places. A great part of the city of Brussels and the neighboring villages were under water for nearly two days; and many houses were so much damaged that they fell, and a number of persons perished. Near Charleroi all the fields were submerged, and the injury done to the crops was immense. At Valenciennes the Scheldt overflowed, inundating the neighboring country, and causing vast devastation. The damage done to the crops has produced a rise in the price of flour. Many bridges have been swept away, and the injury done to the railways has been immense.
From Schleswig Holstein, we learn that the continued rains have prevented all renewal of operations in the field. The Danes have established a permanent camp near Ramstedt, and the marshes in that vicinity have been completely flooded. The Emperor of Russia has created General Krogh, the Danish Commander-in-Chief, Knight of the Order of St. Anne of the first class, for the distinguished bravery and prudence which he displayed in the engagements of the 24th and 25th of July, at Idstedt.