Presbyterian banner & advocate. (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 1855-1860, October 23, 1858, Image 2

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PITTSBURGH. OCTOBER SS E 1158.
TiSRBIS••• 111.50, lR &drones; or is Chiba
01.11di or,dNlvorod at rottolhommes of Mabadolo
beilOt ifii - PrOlipOOillOg OR Third P.m.
R MN MWAL. i shaeld lie yealayt; a MU*
whit. before tam year expires, that ws may
aiaka fa tlittliaseats fir it steady inatiply.
THU REID WILA.PPIint ludiestae that we
desire a renewal. If, howaelore I Us* haat*
at thallhip &hied/peal should he earktted,
kalatehlr .Ihilandi-wlllsitill fork us.
RIGNIFIVANCIMInd payment by safe
heads, lobes easysideatt. _Or, send by naafi,
anelosing wink ordinary sere" and troubling
nobody with a knowledge of what you are
dots.. Par s liuige itillousitteutd a Draft's'
tags role". Per obe or two paps:wend doll
Sr alkali nbtN.
.•
TO IiAIMCIIIIANON4 ilsord postage stamp*
eni bettor still, owe ter num Pepersi,eay SO
or thveatlrisradmimor $1 tor Thiirtyothiet
writiirs.
~0111,111)%all Letts", and Coasinumleatlist
2,16 V., DAVID keICINNIAV. Pittabivirk.
Pak
Taxes and Chezities. , ...WMA and the State.
,A worthy ~paator, suggests whether the
following ,quettions might not be advanta
geously disquesed , by all our elders; deacons,
and members :
,
Ought u men to ply Much i nto , the
traits - Uri, as they ply into the State
iireiatirY?
Or; Might our benevolent contributions,
of iniiiii;arnotOit tees much as‘our taxes ?
Does Christi our King, do more for us
than the State f end' what
d'oireotions,
''We make great endeavors to print cor
ruptly, and golden', afterwards, notice a mis
take which may have occurred, ttnistis it is
`tasty f injury. We, hewever, note the
following r with the suggestion that figures
curl'liFteibeln t as well as proper names,
eliouldbetalways written very distinctly.:
In'first No. of Notices of the Late Rev.
; Win W. 'Wylie, for "varying featnres,"
read, " varying fortunes:"
In second No. of Ditto, fourth lines, from
beginning, for " ten," read " two."
„goxr. than twenty lines further down, for
" 1810," read " 1816."
Pink Preehyterien Synod of the
West.
T>iagynod..hae just terminated its first
annual meeting. It eat in the United Pres.
hitirien Church, on Siiti Street, Oetolx:r
6th to 9th. The sessions were harmonious,
sad a great amount of business was Uns
eated.
One peculiarity of the' !meting was, that
the Associate Reformed Synod, composed of
nearly the , same members, keeps up its
. loclilisstical organization, and held its
meetings at intervals with the other--
" a wheel within a wheel
.partood yet not connected. This,contin
nibee of the old Synod is, we understand,
for the sake of "holding some Church
property, and exerCising some legal trusts.
The Altaic= Sunday School 'Union.
e,Ameman Sunday School Union is
the oldest of the PhiladelPhi&religions book
concerns: Ita Catalogue numbers over one
thontmdmoltmes. Most of these are small,
yet many of them sell largely, and. the sg-
mimic of tate entire sales is not much less
'the. , present year, we understand, than a
`qnarter of a million of dollars. They are
now publishing: new volume every Saturday
morning: The emkarrasement, as we see
statef, - pr,oduced by.the unfaithfulness of one
of their'Miters last Pall offered'only a ten -
rainy eiieok to tbeir business; and the
proniptness withithich the Managers came
forward !a, make it up out of their own
pockentOns created for the' Society a very
general feeling of hindnem.
The Tonzig Iten's Christian 'Ammoiation.
Daily prayer-meetings are atill,kept up in
the rooms of this union of the good young
mewoof- our eity, and the attendance is 'en
couraging. Last week the Association was
cheered by a visit from Richard 0. MoCer-
Mick . ; P t ici., , ef the Young ,Men's Association
of New York. On Thursday evening Mr.
Mooiiiinfoki ' a public address, in the
Centril Presbyterian church, by which the
attention of the audieneemaa deeply enlisted.
We had, never, .previously, heard the rise,
mime, sod preppie lef , the inatitution, in
. :IPProPe and in this country,so ably.pre
suited.. • -
Mi.'MoCormiele and publishes the
lean, Men' sliagazifte, at 384. Broadwiv,
New;:York. This a Monthl*, at 0100,
anti is ably conducted.
The New School.,
Oar biethren have not yet all found for
themeetees comfortable homee.
'The,ZintWoky ministers and ,; churches
AillOW very strong 'sympathies for the Old
f3ehool;)nid are returning to the fold.
The
' Synod of Missouri, which, recently
iifet'atSt. Joseph, is greatly divided in aeri;
tent tut year they resolved to continue,
toy IF time, independent. This year they
find themselves as much, distracted as they
then were.' Some are for going South,
some `North, some for , the Old School, and
some for no movement. The subject of the
Status, and duty, was'discussed for two days,
and it was theri &aided, by, a
_vote of thir
teen to •firrie l •iliat they — mould remain for
another ;year; sreitteluo.
Ia Delaware , also, there ie dissatisfaction.
..A.t,thel4o intuiting of the , Presbytery of
%Wilmington at Milford , a resolutiOn was
Pffer,e4 k whiatt thei- 0 4tiet4m$ . 05server says,
had ihetapprobstion of all tut two or three
members, iiitinfeffeet that on account of the
notion of the Assembly at , Cleveland in 1857,
nut yet rearetpd. , "'the Presbyteryy'of Wu.
minton ccojewEeor.dially cooperate with the
Getter* Assembly." This proposition was
resisted with eo initeli feeling that the con
gregation riquested4S - Withdrawal.
The iliwibinbly is to' meet in Wilmington
A, •
next Spring s and, lf light floats indicate
which warthe current frets, there will be
;AIL for gratitude:On at least one subject.
ar
Quarto,' Review of Art, Science, and
Litexature:
NUMBER V.
Env- one LONDON 00/RDSPONDINT.j
LONDON, October 1, 1858.
1' begin with a reference to Aim Onr
London connoisseurs, especially those who
are wont to buy pictures, are, for the most
part, out of town. Many of them are among
the: Highland hills and moors, studying,
from the life, the noble Stag which Land
seer loves to paint . ; and, perhaps—after a long
'd ay , a war y and. weary deer stalking, with
gillies watching from behind the rooks, and
the eager dogs held in—Prince Albert, and
other sportsmen of high degree, bring home
their slain spoils to the front of Balmoral
°akin, with • torch-light procession, present
ing a tableau sufficiently picturesque for
perpetuation on the canvas.
Others, and they are many, are Just now ex
amining the Galleries of the Continent. Over
the polished floors of the Louvre of Versailles,
of Dresden, of Munich, of llorencet, and of
the Vatican, they glide softly, in silent en
trancement and wonder. Others, profes-
S'onal artists," are to be seen sitting, with
easel 'and' pencil, before the 'chef douvres'of
the mighty dead, scattered over the.galleries
of Enrope. . •
The taste for Art is certainly growing in
England, and an intelligent appreciation of
it also increases every year. Nevertheless,
to buy, at any cost, a real original picture
of great merit, and not a copy, is a success—
even if a man have plenty of money, and
sometimes an artist to advise him—of which
it may be said, "non cuivis attingit" The
art of forging pictures, as well as of forging
bank notes, has attained a marvelous, and
most iniquitous perfection.
In the month of August, a picture-dealer
in St. ,Paul's church-yard, was brought up
before a city magistriste, charged with hav
ing passed off upon a gentleman in the West-
End, rich in purse, but soft in head, quite a
number of pretended " old masters," which
"a lady in .distress" waiting on the said
gentleman, represented as part of the col
lectien of a " noble family reduced to great
straits. The imposition in this case was
thoroughly exposed, and yet justice was
evaded; for the matter was hushed up, by the
guilty parties refunding their victim all his
money. These picture•dealers have artists
regularly employed to copy fine pictures.
What with clever coloring, good figure
4rawingf and last, not least, the - trick of
giving a cracked aspect to the canvas, as if
it were at'least some centuries old, the mod
ern copy has sometimes deceived eminent
connoisseurs, and even`Royal Academicians
themselves.
This week; I have been lookieg at a pro
fessed "Turner," a sea-piees, in a window
in the Strand. In large characters under
heath, it is proclaimed to be real and original,
by the would-be seller inside, who tells the
public outside that it may doubt, = but that
'here, as in other cases (specified,) where,
afterwards, the reality` - ; was . discovered, and.
enormous prices paid, there is no deception.
The very ingenuousness of ihe plea may. moo
and. win some victim, although (besides'
having no money to buy,) as for myself,
having only two days before been examining,
a second time, several real Turner's, in
Sheepshank's Gallery, , I should say of the
Strand picture, " It's no more like Turner,
than I'm to Hercules." Of course, equal
credit is to be given to the proclamation of
genuineness:to the real "long-lost, now re
covered " Titian's " Venus"—hidden from
vulgar view in an inner sanctum, behind the ,
picture.shop—whose value is " twelve thou
sand guineas," but which may be viewed for
the small sum of " one shilling."
IZEM
Turning to ScrxricE, and its-accompani
ments, the two prominent events'in this con
nexion are—lst. The inauguration of the
Statue of Sir Isaac Newton, at Grantham.;
and, seeotAly,,the recent meeting of
, the
British Association at Leeds. With regard
to. the= former, although the erection of a
statue at the end of a century and a half
after his death BOOLIII3 but tardy justice• to an
illustrious memory, yet that is only seeming
neglect - toward 'one whoie name, in connex
ion with the noble marble bust in the poi.
lege, of Old Trinity, is, and has been, an
inspiration to multitudes at his Alma Mater,
Cambridge University.; whose memory is
embalmed 'in the memorable Couplet
" Nature and Natures laws, lay, hid in night;
God'eaid let Newton lie, and - ail was light , ;"
Whose life has been made familiar and pre
cious loy such a biographer as Brewster, and
whose principia have given" an' achnowledged
impulse Co mevements, whim ma.nificent
results are cumulative to - this hour.
In Lord Brougham.—.." the old man elo
quent"—was found an orator worthy of the
great occasion of setting up a` statue to tbe
memory of Newton; at thiiPlace of hi's birth.
Its style was probably .above the compre
hension of many of those , wbom he immedi•
ately addressed. But "fit audience," and
not " few," has the oration found among all
educated men, all the world over. One or
tWO , speermeas let me subjoin. Speaking of
comparstively late development of New
ton's genius, and its yet rapid advancements
and triumphs,. the 'orator said :
The remark ie common and is obvious, that the
genius of Newton did not intinifeet itself at a very
early age; his faculties were not, like those of
some great and many ordinary individuals, pre
cociously deve loped . ~h is earliest history is in
volved in obscurity;some and the most celebrated
of - men'has. in this particular, been compared ' to
the most celetrated , of rivers (the Nile,) as if the
course of both in its feebler state had been con
cealed from mortal eyes. We have it, however,'
well ascertained that within four, years, between
the:age of eighteen and twenty-two, 'heihad, begun
to Study mathematical Soience---and - had taken
his place amongst its greats masters, learnt for
the filet time the elements a of geometry and an
alysis, and discovered calculus which entirely
changed the face of ,the science, effecting a revo
lution in that, and in every branch of philosophy
connected with it. Before 166 r he had not read
Euclid"; in 1665, he had committed to writing
the method of fluxion& At twenty-five years of
age he had discovered' the law of gravitation, and
laid the foundation of celestial dynamics, the
science created by him. Before ten, years had
elapsisd he added to his discoveries that of the
fundamental properties'of light. Bo brilliant a
course of discovery,• in so short a time changing
and reconstructing analytical, astronomical, and
optical science, almost defies belief. The 'state
ment could only be deemed possible by an appeal
k $
r 9 k 9k J
•
to the incontestible evidence that proves it strictly
true.
Contrasting the neglect of Newton's mem
ory, by those who were only the adinirers of
ambitious and devastating Conquerors, with
his.claims, Lord B. said :
The inscription upon the cathedral, the master
piece of-his cefebrated friend's' arc. itecture; may
possibly be applied in defence of this neglect
"If you seek for a monument, look around." If
you seek for a monument, Situp e your eyes: o the
heavens, which show-forth' his fame. Nor; when
we recollect the Greek, orators' exclamation,. that
the whole earth is the monument of illustrious
men,, can, we stop short,of declaring that tho Ull
iverse iteelf, is Newton's t Yet, int raising the
statue which preserves his likeness, near the place
of his birth, and on the spot where his prodigious
faculties were unfolded and trained, we -at once
gratify our honest pride as citizens of the same
State, and humbly testify 'our grateful sense of
the 'Divine goodness which deigned to bestow
upon our race one so marvellously gifted to com
prehend the works of infinite wisdom, and to
make all his study of them the source of religious
contemplation, both philosophical and sublime.
(Enthusiastic applause.)
The straightlacked carved arm•chair on
the platform, from which the oration was
delivered, was the 814010 as that used by
Newton when composing "The Principle,"
two hundred years ago.
With regard to the •British Association
its meetings have not been marked by any
extraordinary interest, while yet abundant,
evidencd has been given that in all depart.'
ments of Science the true spirit of inquiry
into Nature's arcane, is vigilant and-pene
trating. In Section A., (Mathematical and
Physical Saience,) Papers have been read---
many of them followed up by discussions—
.
Cu Electre-Magnetism, Optical Instruments,'
Submarine Telegraphe, Quadratic Equations,
(by Dr. Whewell,) and Views respecting the
Nature and Value of Mathematical Defiai-
CCM.
In the Geological Section; one Paper was
by Professor Rogers, ",On the Discovery of
Strata, of supposed Permian age, the
interior of North America, by Mr. Meek,
and other American Geologiatsf' Geogra
phy, and Ethnology, also, .received due at
tention, while in Mechanical &deuce,
among other practical and seasonable. Pa
pers, there *was one "On River Steamers,
their form, construction, and fitting, with
reference to the necessity of improving the
present means of shallow water navigation
on the rivers of British India," and another
on if,The Drainage of the Metropolis."
In the "Economic Science and Statit6
tics" Section, a thoroUgh exposure was
made by Mr. Newmarch, of the great bubble
Association of Paris, formed some years ago,
the " Credit Mobilier." While the shares,
in 1855, were £7O and £BO, they fell, the
next year, nearly one•half. " The repor
for 1857, was very long, and contained
much fine writing; but the fact was, that no
dividend was declared." But for the influx
of gold from England and the 'United States,
to the extent of one hundred millions ster
ling since 1845, from the balance of trade
being in favor of France, had helped to
keep away absolute ruin, but " The Credit
Mobilier," said Mr. N., " was a striking
exemplification of the entire , powerlessness,,
except for great udsohief, of any institution
that aimed at great results, by any but the
most honest and straight forward means. 'f - *
A nation could only increase its material
wealth' by relying entirely upon'the industry
and intelligence of its citizens:" These
observations were received with Warm ap
plause, and indicate how " Eoonomical - Sci-,
erns" helps, when rightly understood, to
enforce those lessons and warnings of sound
morality and true religion, which, alas l—as
proved by our periodical crises, and the,
gambling eagerness of prosperous times-7.
nations are so slow to learn. '
Daring the period of the Association's:
sojourn at Leeds, tbe usual rural scientific
excursion was made, and at the Mechanic?,
Institution,- Dr. Booth, Fellow'of the Royal .
Society, delivered, on a Saturday evening, a
'noble lecture on " The Self:lmprovement of
the working classes." He reminded the
artizans and working men present, of their
great advantages, as compared with fifty
years ago, when a young man, trying to
raise and to improve his condition, would
have been accused of having a discontented
mind, and been viewed with suspicion and
dislike: -
¶.he lecturer hinted strongly his opinion
in favor of an tt education franchise," in
any new Reform Bill. He referred, also, to
the recent introduction of the competi
tion examination principle for Government
offices, (a •measure, the result of 'which, is
already giving a poWerfed stimulus to litera
ture,) as well as for the Artillery and En
gineers' department of the British army,
and for the civil service of India, whose
'`teeming population is now brought into
closer connexion with the talent, energy,
morality, and Christianity of England."
It is encouraging to find that in York
shire alone, .the members of the County
Mechanics' Institutes' Associations nuMber
nearly twenty three thousand, and that as
many as from seven thousand to eight thou
sand pupils are attending the classes of its
united associations—" nearly as' many as
are receiving instruction in the Universities
of Oxford and Cambridge combined!'
Bat, returning to the British Association,
let me add that its 'next anniversary meet
ing is wbe held at Aberdeen, with Prince
Albert as its President, (Profiesor Owen is
the President 'for thisT year,) and that in
the meantime active steps are to be taken
for an advancement of the great objects of
the confederation. Among other resolves
lication is to be made f " the Sardinian
app.o
- for obtaining additional facili
ties for scientific men to puraue their re-',
searches on the summits of the Alps; to
appoint a Committee to take steps for im
proving the patent system, and securing a
better reward to meritorious inventors.; and
to communicate .with the Board of Trade
for making Oceanic observations ; to take
steps for making magnetic and other observa
tions in various parts of the world; to re
guest the attention of the Lords of the
AdMirally to the importance of authorizing
further research on the depth, temperature, I
&c., of the sea, with especial reference to
communications . with distant shores, 'by i
means of submarine telegraphs; and to
endeavor to obtain greater facilities for pro
moting geographical. obswations.
The number of members present at Leeds,
was one thousand . six hundred and ninetyp
three, including thirteen foreigners; the
naoney,received,,Xl,929; and the meeting,
as a whole, in the words of Lord Monteagle,
" a very successful one, and in relation to
Leeds, and tiled West 'Riding, a union Ve
tween science-in .the abstract, and soience
applied and brought to,practical results."
A " tittsset Club," belonging to Section
E. (Geography And 'Ethnology) of the
British Association, held its annual dinner
duiing the meeting. Its object is to pro
mote the study of archaeology, and to place it
on the footing of an, exact science, An ex
oursion was afterwards made by a number of
the members, to visit a large and interesting
collection of medialvtd antiquities at Horton
Hall, near Bradford.
Another interesting incident let me no
tice. A Mr. Yeats took advantage of the
allusions made, in a discussion on a scientific
subject, to the loss of several distinguished
men; to read the copy of a letter which he
had addressed to Sir R. 'Murchison, (Presi
dent. of, the 'Royal Geographical Society,)
- concerning " the grave of Bruce, the
Abyssinian traveler " It appears that his
remains in Larbert Church-yard, Stirling.
shire. Mr. Yeats says that " the rude
monument which marks his resting place, is
but a type of the' cold contempt and can
kerous - criticism that have assailed his
memory." • ,
As many of your readers are aware, Bruce,
in his life-time, and long after, was consid
ered to have " drawn the long bow" in an
unconscionable manner. More than one of
his narratives, now proved to have been
matters of actual fact, were. no doubt .pro•
pounced, in the . Scottish vernacular; to be
"wig lies." Sir Roderick Murchison has
himself vindicated- Bruce's fame, and an
appeal is now made to the Royal Geograph
ical-Society, to do proper honor to Bruce's
grave.
At .a Soiree of the. Mechanics' Institute of
Leeds, Sir R. Murchison, himself a Scotch
man, a Highlander, and the greatest living
geologist, made special mention of a remark
able man, Robert Dick,
o a baker in Thurse,
eminent in geological lore, and such a pro
found botanist, that there were only twenty
or, thirty specimens of flowers which he had
not collected, and , scientifically , arranged,
with their names attached.
As to LmuATURE—to which I now turn
—several points must be consecutively no.
tioed. First, as to middle class examina
tions, a second experiment has been made
recently, at Leeds, by Oxford examiners.
In the first examination, the extraordinary
number of seven hundred, out of eleven
hundred, candidates, were rejected for ig
norance and inaccuracy in the very elements
of education. The failure was not in the
higher departments; hut, as Dr. Booth ex
pressss it, "in the vulgar matters called
reading, writing, and spelling, and the corn
inert rules 'of arithmetic." Well may we
sigh over a young lady, who can pliy ad
mirably on'the piano, or speak French, who
yet makes ;a slip in, spelling in every little
perfumed billet deux that she writes to her
lover, who grows cool as he finds the words
of endearment assume 'strange abbreviated
or elongated forms ! 'But worse it is still
for loung men, who aim at getting on in
life, and climbing to posts of honor, useful
ness, and emolument For " what is the
use of 'a'mah's algebra, if he cannot work a
sum correctly in the rule of three ? An
acipmintance with the common facts of
English history, will not compensate for
mistakes in spelling the English language.
Of what avail will his, certificate of merit
be, if he cannot write a common business
letter r
At the /ost Middle-Class Examination,
not much more than one-third of thecandi
dates passed. Whereupon the Times
die
misses' the question, (putting aside, as
worthless, the pleas and assertions of school
masters to the contrary,) why the natural
principle of competition has not prodUced
bitter MiddlaClass Schools. It is not that
the middle' class is " stupid "—far from it.
" It is one of the great facts'of the country
and the age.- how, then, is it that such, a
class, who pay well, cannot get a thorough
education ? Why cannot it raise a proper
standard of education from within itself,
without having recourse, to an external
authority?"
One reason is in the father of the boy.
•
44 To him a' school is a school, and a school
a schoolmaster." He is very discriminating
in his own line of business, a minute judge
of his own sphere of action, but he pets
book learning aside cavalierly, =as a thing
which does not contribute much to success
in . life. Of course he sends * his son to
school, but he does it as a thing of course.
His mind is a perfect picture of accuracy
and knowledge of detail in his own business,
but his whole idea of education is a 46 daub';"
he takes everything for 'granted; he sup
poses if he pays a certain sum, "it is 'all
right." And so this sharp, clever man of
business, becomes the dupe of impostors.
He sees a puff in the newspapers, and
believes it. Thus his son is not educate&
Thus this class of men need assistanoe from
without for raising the standard, and this
examination test supplies it.
' Quack teachers will now be fond out,
lazy teachers will be roused to fidelity,
and every real instructor—eliciting and
training youthful talent—will have his
legitimate reward : The " Do Thee Boys
Halle" system:of starving both ,mind and
body, so thc!ronghly exposed by Dickens, is
now comparatively rare, and all things indi
(sate that a mighty impetus and impeove
meni, in the edncatibn both of the middle,
class and the masses, ire at hand.
This casual reference to- one of , the works.:
of Charles 'Dickens, invites me to give a
brief notice here of a recent visit paid by
me to the rural home of this renowned
Literaleur, I mord Roeheater in August )
and in one of my ordinary letters, I gave =a
brief notice of a Sabbath day spent there.
I have now to add that next morning I set
out on a literary pilgrimage. My destination
was Dickens' home on the old London Road,
about two miles out, of town: Accompanied
by a friend, I was passing along the high
street, when we were met by an old gentle
man, to whom •we intimated our object.
Whreupon, " dignus nindiee nodus,7 he
told - Us Of his long intimacy with the father
of Charles Dickens, and his knowledge also
of the early antecedents of the son. The
father was a clerk in the ordnance depart•
ment at Chatham,• and there the author of
" Box " was born, and spent his boyhood's
years There were laid, too, several of the
best scenes of the " Pickwick Papers," of
which a curious statement was made to me
.by my venerable informant, to the effect—
and this on the personal assurance of -a
bmither of Charles Dickens—that the idea
of " Pickwick " was the conception of the
sire, and that by him, and not the son, was
the opening chapter written. Videat quan
tum ; still I think there is something in it.
No motive for falsehood could exist in this
Matter. The father left Chatham for. London,
and continued in his clerkship at the Gov
ernment offices in Somerset House. But
wh;le there he wrote for the press, and my
informant vividly remembered the night of
the grand illuminations following Queen
Victoria's coronation, and seeing his friend
Dickens in a corner of the supper room at
" The Cock," near Temple Bar, jotting
down his impressions—doubtlese for one of
the morning papers—of the exciting scenes
of the night and the day. It was in London
that Dickens received his education, and
what was better, educated himself by his
keen fnquisition of every class of mankind,
such as: is to be found in this metropolis.
Here distress, woe begone in her aspect, and
with moaning, melancholy tones; oft, would
bespeak his pity, and mirror her image on
his I cart. Here, too, " laughter holding
both her sides," would gambol fantastically
before him, and all his own characters in
real life—made 'his own by marvellous
genius—would have their prototypes in the
million peopled city.
But to return to my narrative. After two
miles' walk on the London Road, I found
myself standing opposite Mr. Dickens' fa
vorite dwelling place. It is a tolerably
large house, built with that deep red...brick
which is peculiar to the architecture of fifty
•
years ago. It is inclosed in its own grounds,
and has a small cupola on the top. At the
Southern end of the house, is the author's
library, projecting from the main building
in a graceful manner, and with a fine bow
window, .commanding a magnificent pros•
pea, of the hills above Chatbani, and 'an
undulating scene of hill and dale, terminat
ing in fine old woods, Westward. The`Lon
don Road runs past the flower garden in
front of the house, and on the other side, of,
that road, is a- thick-shrubbery, -where hie
younger children - are wont to dieport them
selves with a swing, and other amuseMents.
Passing round by a lane, toward the rear
of the house, we saw two fine boys, about
twelve and ten years of age respectiiely,.in
the yard, with the manservant. Chained
near them were * two of the canine race,
.of -,a
choice description—one a blood-hound, and
the other a St. Bernard& Coming back to
the front, we repaired to the "Sir John
Franklin," opposite, from whose gardens we
heard the, notes of the piano from the fin.
gers of the Misses Dickens, opposite. The
father was then in Ireland, (where his
"Reading...," brought him a shower of gold,)
and Id is. Dickens had left this fair scene, it
may be, to return no more. It seemed a
Paradise ; but was not.
`Miss Hogarth has, for years, been the
virtual, housekeeper, and the director, of the
education of the young people. The oppo
site neighbors spoke sternly of her, and
seem to think Mrs. Diekensas much wronged.
Bat that was testimony, if such it could
be called, by no means to be relied on,
Dickens has settled a large annuity on his
wife; but the fact remains, that hisr lire
wants what ought to.be its chief 'cynosure
and charm, the wife and the mother. 'And
so, sadly and with a sigh,,l took my last
look of Dickens' dwelling, and turned , away.
Of the predicted " Book of the Season,".
Carlylo.'s Life of Frederick.the Great, the
two first volumes have just made their ap
pearance.. No doubt they will speedily be
re•produeed in the United• States, and, there
fore, I shall not dwell - upon the pictorial
power, and historical power manifest in this
work, which, if Carlyle lives to complete
the many volumes it,most : embrace, will.be,
indced, the magnum opus of hisAitorary
life. He deals very severely, in a prelimi
nary paper, with The Fib called German His-,
toriea of Frederick and his times; nor does.
he spare (what he, evidentlyregards asnrich,)
the caricature picture cf his hero, which so
many of your readers have read in . Macau
lay's Essays. There is less of" Carlylism "'
in the style of these volumes, than in the
earlier produCtions of the same pen; and
there is a manifest enthusiasm about the.
Reformation, its genius, and its issues, which
not only speaks to the heart like a trumpet's
voice, but wakes up the hope that this foal:
wart Skeptie—whose pen, alas ! ere now has
blasphemed—may ynt, penitently return to
the glorious Faith which; long, long ago, he
learned at a Scottish Mother's knee. I
Of Literary Gossip, I 'may give the
specimens, that Baron Humboldt has just
put the last finish on'" Cosmos ;" - tbat Isaac
Watts, a desdendant of the Divine and imet,
has lately died, "remarhable only for his
loquacity," (poeta noscitur, &c.;) that the
Queen is to open a new museum at the
Grand Oxford Commemoration next. year;
that GaVSIZZI is publishing "'My Recellee
tions of the Pour last Popes'," a biting, re.
sponse and:contrast to the Cardinal's 44 Re
collections ;" that Walter- Savage Landor
heat gone to Genoa, where his flintily bas
fine estate, and that he is reconciled to his
wife, after a separation of forty years.
Tennyson's new work, " The..Ptiocees,"
ie on the eve of publication. That nf your
own Longfellow, "The Courtship, of Miles
Standish and other Poems," has just ap
peared. The Literary Gazette, in the open
ing of a very fall review, remarks on the
fact, that the anther, "in order to pro
tect himself .from the plunder .usmd in the
case of American books, on the part of cer
tain English booksellers, has had a email
but sufficient" (legally speaking,) "part of
his books contributed by an English author."
Otherwise our copyright laws would give no
protection. "his no excuse to allege that
Tennyson or Browning would be used in
America as Longfellow has bePn used here.
The state of the copyright laws on bath
sides of the Atlantic, is a disgiaes to the
two great , nations of ths world." In con
nexion with this point, I may mention, that
a Congress on copy right is now sitting at
Brussels.
Of works on India, we have seleral new
ones, including "Oubbin's Account of the
Mutinies in Oude," and, "The Journal of
an English Officer," giving the first faithful
record of the deeds of arms perfOrMed by
Hivelook's little band which relieved Luck
now.
Mr. Disraeli finds time , to edit a new edi,
tion of his famous father's "Curiosities of
Literature," and has prefixed a most inter-
eating biography.' ,
" Sala's Journey due North," is emi
neatly characteristic of a very fresh, origi
nal, and witty writer. lie was sent to
Russia after the peace, and this is the graph
ic series of photographs taken by him. He
now edits a new popular serial, "The Wel•
come Guest."
To the other Quarterlies, a new one is to
be added by Bentley, the publisher, in the
beginning of, next year.
In 'Theology, nothing remarkable has re- -
eently appeared. " The Tower of the Priest•
hood in Ponfession," is intended by the
author, Rev. W. Cook . l to subserve the Ro
manizing Greeley School, and cause. An
elaborate work, "The Book of Job "—a
new translation, with elaborate notes, an
analytical paraphrase, Various Readings,
and six preliminary dissertations—has just
been published by Wertheim & Macintosh,
Paternoster Row. J. W.
P. S.—While the length of this Quarter
ly communication demands an apology, its
incompleteness and necessary omissions,
most grieve the writer.
The Presbyteries.
Quite a number of Presbyteries present
abstracts, this week, of the business of their
late meetings. In such matters, many read
ers take a deep interest.
The. -attachment of the churches to the
missionary work, is strong, and the
.mani
festation of that attachment, in the Church
Courts, is pleasing.
To. the Presbyteries before noted as
having expressed a desire for dispensing
with an office `not, really needed, in' the
-Board of Domestio 'Missions, Ve novilidd
those of Northumberland and St. Clairsville.
The Synod of lowa hasexpressed a similar
sentiment. The strong desire exhibited to
abolish: the Associate Secretaryship, con
nected with the manifestation of an undi
minished, or rather an incressed; interest
in Domestic Missions!, to be conducted
through the Board, is decisive evidence that
the discussiOn is tending toward great bene
fit The more the hopes of a true and wise
economy in our Boards' affairs shall rise,
the, more will those good agencies of Church
beneficence be loved, and be confided in and
cherished :by the people.
We cheerfully give place to the protest:of
the minority in Huntingdon 'Presbytery.
Those who fear the influence of .discussion,
might well object to the publishing of such
matters, as by the responses they usually ,
call forth, the agitation is both widened and
prolonged; but, advocates as we are for the
dissemination of knowledge in regard to the
public affairs, of our. Church, and assured as
we are that truth will be mighty for goodi
we hesitate not to give the document. We
do not ourselves make any resPonse, because
we have been informed that Presbytery
appointed a , Committee for that purpose.
The Atlantic Cable
This intended highway of thought be
tween the Old World and the New, has
failed to, do its work intelligibly. There is
something wrong; some defect, or injury
sustained. Impulses pass, but no longer
with sufficient power to indicate . lektters.
There are still hopes that the damage may
he repaired. The principle, however, is
fully demonstrated. A cable can be laid
which will convey. the electrio current with
sufficient distinctness and rapidity to answer
the.purposes of intercourse; and 3f the one
now, laid shall prove yermanently defective,
another will take its place;
,The rejoicings on . the subject have been
extensive. The pulpit has, shared with the
press, in speaking of, the. triumph. It has
ascribed praise where, praise is due. The
Pacific coast also, with the Atlantic, has
hailed the triumph. The San Francisco
Times, of Sept. 21st, brings ns a sermon, by
Scott, on the occasion. When minis
ters of Christ will turn such events to spir
itual edification in their Sabbath ministra
tions, and when the daily papers will pub-
lish their sermons, the evidence is clear
that we are a Christian people. . .
The Princeton Review..
• The contents of the October number of
this Journal, .are—i.Jonatban'Edwarde,
and the Successive Forms of Nei,' Divinity;
It De Tocqueville and Lieber, "as writers
on Political' Science, Ill; The Life of
Cardinal Mezzofanti ; IV., Harrison on the
Greek Prepositiona ; V. Adoption of ther
Confession of Faith; VI. The Revised
Book_ of Discipline. Short Notices,
This bill.of fare l ie rich, and the manner
in which the Princeton alwayttets up its
articles, ensures to the reader a • pleasant
repast. We have not had time to examine
this number with care, but the character of
the Work is such, that we may safely com
mend it. Articles 1., V., and VI., have a
peculiar value, from their adaptation tu.tbe
Tan PRESBYTERIAN Ex.Posrroit.--:The
October number of this Journal is peculi
arly. valuable. The work should have a
extended circulation. Direct to Presbyte
rian ExposiW)r, Chicago, 111. , inclosing
$1 50 for the year, or $2.00 for seventeen
numbers.
EA STERN'SUMMA RT.
BOSTON AND NEW ENGLAND.
The enterprising Pub Hither% Messrs. Gould 4-
Lincoln, have entered into an arrangement with
the family of the late Sir William Hamilton, the
eminent Scotch Metaphysician, whereby they be
come the authorised'publishers Obis Posthumous
Works, in this country. They will be brought
out under the editorial supervision of Professor
Manse!, Of Oxford University, assisted by Mr.
Witch, one of the author's most distinguished
students, and will embrace the Lectures on Meta
physics and Logic. These works will be frtm
early sheets, and be issued simultaneously with
their publication in Edinburgh.
The same' House alsO announces The Life of
John Hilton, by David Masson, Professor of Eng
lish Literature in University College, London.
Professor Masson is a distinguished Edinburgh
Reviewer; and a. contributor to that great Work,
the EndyolOpedia Britannica. - It is said that this
Life of.the, illustrious Poet will be the most- emu
plete and elaborate that has yet been issued.-
The Hon. John G. Palfrey is engaged on a
loty, of New England. He was lately on a
visit to Newport, R. 1., gathering lap materials
for a thorough delineation of.the life and charac
ter of the celebrated Roger Williams. A general
impression exists in this country, and.has_been
carefully promulgated by some, that Roger Wil
liams was banished fronv Massachusetts, because
of his Baptist principles. The Maine .Ecangeliat
pronounces this an error, and gives the following
statement as the true_ version, which is widely
different from the popular opinion:
He did not become , a Baptist till some two years
.after he left that State. He was a Congrega
tionalist pastor of Salem, and as such, taught
such doctrines as the magistrates considered sedi
tious and revolutionary, and were preparing to
fransport him to England for triaL To avoid
this, he fled to Rhode Island, and two years after
ward embraced Baptist views, and formed a Bap
tist church, but remained in it but a year, with
drawing from- all church connexion. Whatever
may havb been the truth or error of his principles
which gave offence, they were Buckets he held as
a Congregational minister.
The Hon. Edward Everett has been of late
turning' his attention to the study of the life,
genius, and influences of Benjamin. Franklin, and
has prepared a lecture which will soon be deliv
ered before the Trustees, Faculiy,` and pupils of
the Girard College. .Mr. Dierett's oratory is ad
mirably adapted to the.elass of 'subjects on which
it has, been, lately exercised. It is , calm, polished,
and conversational, but itis such a conversational
style as only Edward Everett can use.
The many friends of Dr. Pommy, one of the
Secretaries of the Ainerican Board of Foreign
MißSiollB, will regret to learn that he has been
compelled to make a,voyage to Europe, and ex
pects to be absent until Spring, owing to an injury
to the nervous system under which be is suffering.
He bas gone abroad according tothe prescription
of .his physicians, that be may have a•period of
entire cessation from officialresponsibility, which
seemed impossible, while here.
The Claes that has just entered Andover Theo
logioal-Seniiaar,y, -numbers forty, and is the
largest secession• for several years. The whole
number of students now in the Seminary is one
halsdred and sixteen s The revivals in the
churches and Colleges are already beginning to
bring forth much fruit, ,in the enlarged number of
candidates for the ministry.
The Massaohnsetts State Convention'of Sabbath
&hew! Teachers, assembled at New.buryport week
before last. The attendance was very large, and
the'hospitalities•of that compriiitively small city
were'extinded to'about two thousand delegates.
The exercises 'were exceedingly' interesting and
appropriate, and stirring addresses were deliv
ered by n number of Ministers and laymen.
Among other subjects, the importance of thorough
study of the Word of God,' of sound doctrinal
insquotion, of direct efforts for the conversion of
their pupils, and the"necessity for the visitation
of the children at their homes by teachers and
Superintendents, were discussed. The number of
Sabbath scholars hi the State was reported as
follows: In the Orthodox Congregational schools,
73,000; Baptist, 34,000; Methodist, 31,000;
Episcopal, 6,000; Unitarian, 15,000; treiveraal
ist,ll,ooo: S wedenborgian,sl4 ; Christian, 4,000;
Freewill Baptist, 1,600; Friends, 1,500; Roman
Catholic, 27,000; all others, 3,000. Total,
210,000. -In -the whole Commonwealth, there
are 360,000 youth, and consequently 150,000 not
connected with the Sabbath Schools.
Mr. Trumbull, of the Connecticut Historical
Society, has access to manyreminiscences of the
olden times, froth which others are excluded. He
has lately been looking over a collectien ser
-1130118 three hundred years old. In these be
notices the habit then prevalent, of preaching
many successive discourses, sometimes as many
as twenty:five, from the same text. A chaplain,
is Cromwell's army, once preached eight hours
upon the word, ' 4 Pomegranate," taken from the
description of the priestly robes of 'lsrael. He
said he would unfold the - truth contained there
in, seed by seed. , And after discoursing for
eight hours; he postpened the remainder until the
next day. How would such a performance be
relished by a congregation in our day.!
NEW YORK.
Flightfulficenee of disorder\ crime, and blood
shed, have lately occurred in some, of, the public
gardens and drinking shops, on the holy Sabbath.
And from present appearances, the struggle for a
better observance of the Lord's day, by. closing
the drinking shops and' stippressini the sale of
papers on that day, is not over yet. The election
of the present Mayor, and the manifestation of in
creased vigor on the part of the police, inspired the
friends of order with hope, that
,the magistracy
of the city would become indeed a terror to evil
doers, and ,a praise to them that do well. But,
unfortunately, the city government is not a unit.
Under the auspices of the Mayor and Police
Commissioners, nearly twenty thousand com
plaints for the violation. of the Sunday Liquor
Law, were sent op to the District .Attorney; but
, that functionary of the lair put these complaints
in his breeches pocket,, and there they remain.
In the meantime, thivguilty parties continue their
Sabbath• traffic, and go unwhipt of justice. -But
this is not The police undertook to abate
the`nnisanceof the neweboye on thipord's day,
so that there might be on'e whole day in seven; of
„rest and quiet. But Mr. Recorder' Barnard, in
his charge to the Grand Jury, has thought proper
to appear as the advocate of the Runday papers,
adopting all their cant and spleen about " oppres
sion," " Pharisaism," Illtri-Sabbatarian Inter
pretaticin of the laws," and all that sort of thing.
That such a charge shofild have been
-given by
one holding a high judiCial office, causes a deep
feeling of regret and shiime. But it affords mat
ter for great rejoicing, that the secular papers
are almost unanimous in their condemnation of
the course of the Recorder. Rarely have they
!spoken with more united voice. In a lengthy
article, the TOtes makes use of this seething lan
guage:
The Ree,order, while uttering platitudes enough,
ae he supposes, to avoid the displeasure of those
'who retain a respect for. Sunday laws, and hesi•