CHAPTER XIX.

Brief as had been his absence, the host could see that, in the interval,

a great and notable change had come over the spirit of his company. Some

of those who lived in the town were evidently preparing to return home

on foot; those who lived at a distance, and whose carriages (having been

sent away, and ordered to return at a fixed hour), had not yet arrived,

were gathered together in small knots and groups; all looked sullen and

displeased, and all instinctively turned from their host as he passed

them by. They felt they had been lectured, and they were more put out

than Richard himself. They did not know if they might not be lectured

again. This vulgar man, of what might he not be capable?

Richard's shrewd sense comprehended in an instant all the difficulties

of his position; but he walked on deliberately and directly towards Mrs.

M'Catchley, who was standing near the grand marquee with the Pompleys

and the Dean's lady. As these personages saw him make thus boldly

towards them, there was a flutter. "Hang the fellow!" said the Colonel,

intrenching himself in his stock, "he is coming here. Low and

shocking,--what shall we do? Let us stroll on."

But Richard threw himself in the way of the retreat. "Mrs. M'Catchley,"

said he very gravely, and offering her his arm, "allow me three words

with you."

The poor widow looked very much discomposed. Mrs. Pompley pulled her by

the sleeve. Richard still stood gazing into her face, with his arm

extended. She hesitated a minute, and then took the arm.

"Monstrous impudent!" cried the Colonel.

"Let Mrs. M'Catchley alone, my dear," responded Mrs. Pompley; "_she_

will know how to give him a lesson!"

"Madam," said Richard, as soon as he and his companion were out of

hearing, "I rely on you to do me a favor."

"On me?"

"On you, and you alone. You have influence with all those people, and a

word from you will effect what I desire. Mrs. M'Catchley," added

Richard, with a solemnity that was actually imposing, "I flatter myself

that you have some friendship for me, which is more than I can say of

any other in these grounds--will you do me this favor, ay or no?"

"What is it, Mr. Avenel?" asked Mrs. M'Catchley, much disturbed, and

somewhat softened--for she was by no means a woman without feeling;

indeed, she considered herself nervous.

"Get all your friends--all the company in short--to come back into the

tent for refreshments--for any thing. I want to say a few words to

them."

"Bless me! Mr. Avenel--a few words!" cried the widow, "but that's just

what they are all afraid of! You must pardon me, but you really can't

ask people to a _dejeune dansant_, and then--scold 'em!"

"I'm not going to scold them," said Mr. Avenel, very seriously--"upon my

honor, I'm not! I'm going to make all right, and I even hope afterwards

that the dancing may go on--and that you will honor me again with your

hand. I leave you to your task; and, believe me, I'm not an ungrateful

man," He spoke, and bowed--not without some dignity--and vanished within

the breakfast division of the marquee. There he busied himself in

re-collecting the waiters, and directing them to rearrange the mangled

remains of the table as they best could. Mrs. M'Catchley, whose

curiosity and interest were aroused, executed her commission with all

the ability and tact of a woman of the world, and in less than a quarter

of an hour the marquee was filled--the corks flew--the champagne bounced

and sparkled--people drank in silence, munched fruits and cakes, kept up

their courage with the conscious sense of numbers, and felt a great

desire to know what was coming. Mr. Avenel, at the head of the table,

suddenly rose--

"Ladies and Gentlemen," said he, "I have taken the liberty to invite you

once more into this tent, in order to ask you to sympathize with me,

upon an occasion which took us all a little by surprise to-day.

"Of course, you all know I am a new man--the maker of my own fortunes."

A great many heads bowed involuntarily. The words were said manfully,

and there was a general feeling of respect.

"Probably, too," resumed Mr. Avenel, "you may know that I am the son of

very honest tradespeople. I say honest, and they are not ashamed of

me--I say tradespeople, and I'm not ashamed of them. My sister married

and settled at a distance. I took her son to educate and bring up. But I

did not tell her where he was, nor even that I had returned from

America--I wished to choose my own time for that, when I could give her

the surprise, not only of a rich brother, but of a son whom I intended

to make a gentleman, so far as manners and education can make one. Well,

the poor dear woman has found me out sooner than I expected, and turned

the tables on me by giving me a surprise of her own invention. Pray,

forgive the confusion this little family scene has created: and though I

own it was very laughable at the moment, and I was wrong to say

otherwise, yet I am sure I don't judge ill of your good hearts when I

ask you to think what brother and sister must feel who parted from each

other when they were boy and girl. To me (and Richard gave a great

gulp--for he felt that a great gulp alone could swallow the abominable

lie he was about to utter)--to me this has been _a very happy occasion_!

I'm a plain man: no one can take ill what I've said. And, wishing that

you may be all as happy in your family as I am in mine--humble though it

be--I beg to drink your very good healths!"

There was an universal applause when Richard sat down--and so well in

his plain way had he looked the thing, and done the thing, that at least

half of those present--who till then had certainly disliked and half

despised him--suddenly felt that they were proud of his acquaintance.

For however aristocratic this country of ours may be, and however

especially aristocratic be the genteeler classes in provincial towns and

coteries--there is nothing which English folks, from the highest to the

lowest, in their hearts so respect as a man who has risen from nothing,

and owns it frankly! Sir Compton Delaval, an old baronet, with a

pedigree as long as a Welshman's, who had been reluctantly decoyed to

the feast by his three unmarried daughters--not one of whom, however,

had hitherto condescended even to bow to the host--now rose. It was his

right: he was the first person there in rank and station.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," quoth Sir Compton Delaval, "I am sure that I

express the feelings of all present when I say that we have heard with

great delight and admiration the words addressed to us by our excellent

host. (Applause.) And if any of us, in what Mr. Avenel describes justly

as the surprise of the moment, were betrayed into an unseemly merriment

at--at--(the Dean's lady whispered 'some of the')--some of the--some of

the"--repeated Sir Compton, puzzled, and coming to a dead

lock--('holiest sentiments,' whispered the Dean's lady)--"ay, some of

the holiest sentiments in our nature--I beg him to accept our sincerest

apologies. I can only say, for my part, that I am proud to rank Mr.

Avenel amongst the gentlemen of the county, (here Sir Compton gave a

sounding thump on the table,) and to thank him for one of the most

brilliant entertainments it has ever been my lot to witness. If he won

his fortune honestly, he knows how to spend it nobly!"

Whiz went a fresh bottle of champagne.

"I am not accustomed to public speaking, but I could not repress my

sentiments. And I've now only to propose to you the health of our host,

Richard Avenel, Esquire; and to couple with that the health of his--very

interesting sister, and long life to them both!"

The sentence was half drowned in enthusiastic plaudits, and in three

cheers for Richard Avenel, Esquire, and his very interesting sister.

"I'm a cursed humbug," thought Richard Avenel, as he wiped his forehead;

"but the world _is_ such a humbug!" Then he glanced towards Mrs.

M'Catchley, and to his great satisfaction, saw Mrs. M'Catchley wiping

her eyes.

Now, though the fair widow might certainly have contemplated the

probability of accepting Mr. Avenel as a husband, she had never before

felt the least bit in love with him; and now she did. There is something

in courage and candor--at a word, in manliness--that all women, the most

worldly, do admire in men; and Richard Avenel, humbug though his

conscience said he was, seemed to her like a hero.

The host saw his triumph, "Now for another dance!" said he gaily; and he

was about to offer his hand to Mrs. M'Catchley, when Sir Compton Delaval

seizing it, and giving it a hearty shake, cried, "You have not yet

danced with my eldest daughter; so, if you won't ask her, why, I must

offer her to you as your partner. Here--Sarah."

Miss Sarah Delaval, who was five feet eight, and as stately as she was

tall, bowed her head graciously; and Mr. Avenel, before he knew where he

was, found her leaning on his arm. But as he passed into the next

division of the tent, he had to run the gauntlet of all the gentlemen,

who thronged round to shake hands with him. Their warm English hearts

could not be satisfied till they had so repaired the sin of their

previous haughtiness and mockery. Richard Avenel might then have safely

introduced his sister--gown, kerchief, thick shoes and all--to the

crowd; but he had no such thought. He thanked heaven devoutly that she

was safely under lock and key.

It was not till the third dance that he could secure Mrs. M'Catchley's

hand, and then it was twilight. The carriages were at the door, but no

one yet thought of going. People were really enjoying themselves. Mr.

Avenel had had time, in the interim, to mature all his plans for

completing and consummating that triumph which his tact and pluck had

drawn from his momentary disgrace. Excited as he was with wine and

suppressed passion, he had yet the sense to feel that, when all the halo

that now surrounded him had evaporated, and Mrs. M'Catchley was

redelivered up to the Pompleys, whom he felt to be the last persons his

interest could desire for her advisers--the thought of his low relations

would return with calm reflection. Now was the time. The iron was

hot--now was the time to strike it, and forge the enduring chain. As he

led Mrs. M'Catchley after the dance, into the lawn, he therefore said

tenderly: "How shall I thank you for the favor you have done me?"

"Oh!" said Mrs. M'Catchley warmly, "it was no favor--and I am so glad--"

She stopped.

"You're not ashamed of me, then, in spite of what has happened?"

"Ashamed of you! Why, I should be so proud of you, if I were--"

"Finish the sentence, and say--'your wife!'--there it is out. My dear

madam, I am rich, as you know; I love you very heartily. With your help,

I think I can make a figure in a larger world than this; and that

whatever my father, my grandson at least will be--But it is time enough

to speak of _him_. What say you?--you turn away. I'll not tease you--it

is not my way. I said before, ay or no; and your kindness so emboldens

me that I say it again--ay or no?"

"But you take me so unawares--so--so--Lord, my dear Mr. Avenel; you are

so hasty--I--I--." And the widow actually blushed, and was genuinely

bashful.

"Those horrid Pompleys!" thought Richard, as he saw the Colonel bustling

up with Mrs. M'Catchley's cloak on his arm.

"I press for your answer," continued the suitor, speaking very fast. "I

shall leave this place to-morrow, if you will not give it."

"Leave this place--leave me?"

"Then you will be mine?"

"Ah, Mr. Avenel!" said the widow, languidly, and leaving her hand in

his; "who can resist you?" Up came Colonel Pompley: Richard took the

shawl: "No hurry for that now, Colonel--Mrs. M'Catchley feels already at

home here."

Ten minutes afterwards. Richard Avenel so contrived that it was known by

the whole company that their host was accepted by the Honorable Mrs.

M'Catchley. And every one said, "He is a very clever man, and a very

good fellow," except the Pompleys--and the Pompleys were frantic. Mr.

Richard Avenel had forced his way into the aristocracy of the country.

The husband of an Honorable--connected with peers!

"He will stand for our city--Vulgarian!" cried the Colonel.

"And his wife will walk out before me," cried the Colonel's lady--"nasty

woman!" And she burst into tears.

The guests were gone; and Richard had now leisure to consider what

course to pursue with regard to his sister and her son.

His victory over his guests had in much softened his heart towards his

relations; but he still felt bitterly aggrieved at Mrs. Fairfield's

unseasonable intrusion, and his pride was greatly chafed by the boldness

of Leonard. He had no idea of any man whom he had served, or meant to

serve, having a will of his own--having a single thought in opposition

to his pleasure. He began, too, to feel that words had passed between

him and Leonard which could not be well forgotten by either, and would

render their close connection less pleasant than heretofore. He, the

great Richard Avenel, beg pardon of Mrs. Fairfield, the washerwoman! No;

she and Leonard must beg his. "That must be the first step," said

Richard Avenel; "and I suppose they have come to their senses." With

that expectation, he unlocked the door of his parlor, and found himself

in complete solitude. The moon, lately risen, shone full into the room,

and lit up every corner. He stared round, bewildered--the birds had

flown. "Did they go through the key-hole?" said Mr. Avenel. "Ha! I

see!--the window is open!" The window reached to the ground. Mr. Avenel,

in his excitement, had forgotten that easy mode of egress.

"Well," said he, throwing himself into his easy-chair, "I suppose I

shall soon hear from them; they'll be wanting my money fast enough, I

fancy." His eye caught sight of a letter, unsealed, lying on the table.

He opened it, and saw bank-notes to the amount of L50--the widow's

forty-five country notes, and a new note, Bank of England, that he had

lately given to Leonard. With the money were these lines, written in

Leonard's bold, clear writing, though a word or two here and there

showed that the hand had trembled--

"I thank you for all you have done to one whom you regarded

as the object of charity. My mother and I forgive what has

passed. I depart with her. You bade me make my choice, and I

have made it. LEONARD FAIRFIELD."

The paper dropped from Richard's hand, and he remained mute and

remorseful for a moment. He soon felt, however, that he had no help for

it but working himself up into a rage. "Of all creatures in the world,"

cried Richard, stamping his foot on the floor, "there are none so

disagreeable, insolent, and ungrateful as poor relations. I wash my

hands of them!"

Historical Review of the Month

THE UNITED STATES.

Both political parties are already moving with reference to the choice

of a Presidential candidate for the coming campaign of 1852. The

demonstrations thus far, however, have been principally local, and give

no clue whatever to the probable choice of the National Conventions of

the parties. In Boston, a paper nominating the Hon. Daniel Webster for

the Presidency, on the ground of his devotion to the Union and

Constitution, has been circulated for signatures. The Democrats of New

Hampshire have declared their preference for the Hon. Levi Woodbury. The

Whigs of Pennsylvania manifest a strong predilection for taking up Gen.

Scott. A considerable class, who advocate the freedom of the Public

Lands to actual settlers, have formally adopted the Hon. Isaac P.

Walker, of Wisconsin, for their candidate.

The President and Cabinet reached Buffalo on Friday afternoon, the 17th

of May. Here they were received by an immense concourse of people, and

publicly welcomed by the city authorities. On the following day the

President went to Aurora, to visit his father's family, and Secretaries

Graham and Crittenden took the opportunity to visit Niagara. The

distinguished guests left Buffalo on the following Tuesday morning,

dined at Rochester, where a public reception was given to them, and were

greeted at Syracuse, where they arrived at midnight, with a torchlight

procession.

The next day they visited Rome, Oneida and Utica, where they remained

all night, and were received in Albany on Thursday afternoon, the 23d,

with a grand military and civic reception. From Albany they returned

directly to Washington, making no stop at any intermediate point. Mr.

Webster, who had been detained at Dunkirk by the illness of his son,

remained at Buffalo a few days after the departure of the Presidential

party. On Wednesday evening, the 21st, he was complimented with a dinner

from the citizens, at which he made a familiar speech of some length.

The following day he addressed the citizens of Buffalo. His speech was

an explanation and defence of his course with regard to the Compromise

measures, and the questions which have recently agitated the country. It

is regarded as one of the most able and effective addresses he has made

for some time past. On his return to Washington, Mr. Webster delivered

another speech at Albany on the 29th.

The Government has received information from Chihuahua, that claims to

the amount of twenty millions of dollars, for damages done to Mexican

property by the Indians from the American side of the Rio Grande, have

been filed with the Mexican authorities for presentation to our

Government under the Treaty which provides that this country shall

prevent Indian depredations. Much damage has unquestionably been

committed since the Treaty, but the amount has been enormously

exaggerated.

The Postmaster General has announced an arrangement, to take effect

after the 1st of this month, by which letters to the West India Islands,

ports in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Atlantic Coast of South America,

can be sent through the United States Post Office, on prepayment of the

American postage to any of the British ports, with the addition of the

British postage, when destined for ports belonging to other Governments.

M. de Sartiges, the newly appointed French Minister to this country,

presented his credentials to the President on the 29th of May. Mr.

Paine, who claims to have invented a process for manufacturing gas from

water, is in Washington endeavoring to procure a contract from

Washington for the illumination of light-houses. The pendulum

experiment, exhibiting the rotation of the earth, has been tried in the

Capitol, with the most satisfactory result.

The projected expedition for the invasion of Cuba, has, it is believed,

been completely broken up. The Steamer Gaston, after searching the

coasts and rivers, returned to Baltimore with twenty-five men under

arrest. A camp of three hundred men, near Jacksonville, had been broken

up just before the arrival of the Steamer. Upwards of fifteen hundred

persons had visited the place since the invasion was projected, but

after squandering their funds, they again dispersed. The U.S. revenue

cutter Fancy went on a similar cruise, a week after the Gaston, and

succeeded in discovering an encampment on a branch of the St. John's

river. The three officers and leaders of the company were arrested and

taken to Savannah; the men were ordered to return to their homes.

There has been considerable stir in State politics and legislation

during the past month. In the Virginia Reform Convention, the violent

debate on the question of representation, on which the members of the

eastern and western parts of the State were arrayed against each other,

has been settled by the adoption of a compromise. The difficulty was in

relation to slave representation. The committee to whom the subject was

referred, reported a plan providing that the House of Delegates shall

consist of 150 members, eighty-two to be chosen from the West and

sixty-eight from the East, making a Western majority of fourteen; the

Senate to consist of fifty members, thirty from the East and twenty from

the West, making an Eastern majority of ten. It is also made the duty of

the General Assembly, in the year 1865, to re-apportion the

representation in both Houses. The people of Maryland have adopted the

new State Constitution by a large majority. Its prominent features

are--the ineligibility of clergymen to seats in the Legislature; the

disqualification of persons engaged in duels as principals or seconds,

from holding office; the extension of the Governor's term to four years,

at a salary of $2,600 per annum; the election of judges by the people;

the abolition of lotteries and of imprisonment for debt, and the

exemption of the homestead, to the value of $500, from legal process.

The Massachusetts Legislature adjourned on the 24th of May, after a

session of nearly five months. A bill for the aid of the proposed

European and North American Halifax Railroad, was debated at

considerable length, but was finally referred to the next Legislature.

The message of the Governor of Maine, which was delivered to the

Legislature on the 19th of May, contains a strong complaint against

Massachusetts for her policy in regard to her claims in Maine lands, and

especially for refusing her aid in the construction of the Aroostook

Road, which passes through the territory claimed by Massachusetts. The

election in Texas for Governor and Members of the Legislature, is

exciting great interest. Unusual importance is attached to the election,

as the disposition of the Ten Millions received from the United States

will be in the hands of the successful candidates. Mr. Foote, U.S.

Senator from Mississippi, has been nominated by the Union Convention of

that State as candidate for Governor, which nomination he has accepted.

The secession excitement is on the decline in South Carolina, and no

further action on the subject is anticipated. In Georgia, the

secessionists held a State Convention at Milledgeville, on the 28th of

May. A series of resolutions was adopted, declaring that the rights of

the South had been violated, and advocating the extension of the line of

36 deg. 30', as the limit of slavery, to the Pacific Ocean. The Union

Convention of the same State met on the 3d of June, and after

re-adopting the resolutions of the Georgia Convention, nominated the

Hon. Howell Cobb, late Speaker of Congress, as candidate for Governor.

An important law-suit, which, has some resemblance to the late agitation

on the Slavery question, has been pending in the United States Circuit

Court, in New-York. The suit was commenced at the instance of the

Southern Methodist Conference against the Trustees of the Methodist Book

Concern, in New-York, for the establishment of a claim to a large amount

of property now in the hands of the Trustees. A division of the American

Methodist Church took place in 1845, on account of a difference in

relation to the ownership of slaves by the ministry of the Church. The

Southern members formed a separate organization, called the Methodist

Episcopal Church, South, and have since then claimed a division of the

funds of the Book Concern. The Northern Church, in their defence,

maintained that the separation was a secession on the part of the South,

and therefore that the Church was not entitled to any share in the

establishment. As the property of the concern is valued at nearly a

million of dollars, the case assumed an important aspect, and the ablest

counsel were employed on both sides. Daniel Webster and Reverdy Johnson

were engaged by the plaintiffs, and Thomas Ewing and Rufus Choate for

the defence. The case has not yet been decided, but in the mean time

proposals for arbitration and compromise have been made, which may prove

successful.

The elections in New-York to supply the vacancies in the State Senate,

created by the resignation of twelve senators, for the purpose of

defeating the bill for the enlargement of the Erie Canal, by leaving

that body without a quorum, took place on the 27th of May. Six of the

former senators were returned, and five others, favorable to the

enlargement, in place of those who had resigned: the vote in the 26th

District was a tie. The special session of the Legislature met on the

10th of June. The election secured to the Senate a quorum of the friends

of the Canal Bill, and therefore insures its passage.

The Seventh Census of the United States has been published. The total

population amounts to 23,267,408, including 3,179,470 slaves. The whole

number of Representatives to Congress based on this population is 233.

An attack of "gold excitement," on a small scale, has appeared in Maine.

It is reported and generally believed that the precious metal has been

found in the Northern part of the State, in the streams which flow into

the west branch of the Penobscot and into Moose River. The country is a

high plateau, near the Canadian boundary, where, also, the tributaries

of the Chaudiere take their rise. On the latter streams, it is said, the

Provincial Government of Canada has been quietly carrying on mining

operations for two years past. Several companies of adventurers from the

towns of Maine and New Hampshire have started for the Northern Eldorado.

Several of the Western States have been visited by violent and

destructive tornadoes. In the city of St. Louis, upwards of one hundred

buildings were injured. The regions about Louisville, Ky., and

Pittsburg, also suffered severely. During the last week in May an

immense amount of rain fell in the Northern part of Illinois; occasional

great freshets in all the rivers. The flood was greater than had been

known for many years; the mill-dams and mills were swept away, and a

great amount of property damaged. Two viaducts on the Indiana Canal were

entirely destroyed. The grain crops of the Middle and Western States

promise an abundant harvest. The cotton crop in South Carolina, the

northern part of Georgia and the Tennessee Valley, has been considerably

injured by the coldness of the season.

A serious riot occurred at Hoboken, near New-York, on Monday, the 26th

of May. It was the holiday of Pentecost, and the German residents of the

city, to the number of near ten thousand, crossed the Hudson to

celebrate the day according to their national customs. They were beset

in the afternoon by a company of rowdies, between whom and a German

society of gymnasts an altercation arose, resulting in a general fight,

in the course of which the Germans were grossly injured by their

antagonists. Two persons were killed, and forty or fifty badly wounded.

The rowdies all escaped, and of fifty Germans who were arrested, only

ten were found to have participated in the affray. The riot, after

lasting till 9 o'clock at night, was finally quelled by calling out the

military. The inhabitants of Hoboken have organized a company for the

prevention of disorder in future.

During the month of May Jenny Lind gave fourteen concerts in New-York,

without any diminution of her wonderful success, the last concert

realizing upwards of $18,000. At the close, the termination of her

contract with Mr. Barnum, at the hundredth concert, was announced. On

giving her first concert at Philadelphia, however, a new agreement was

made, by which the contract was at once broken off, Miss Lind having

then sung ninety-three times, on condition of her forfeiting the sum of

$25,000. The concerts in Philadelphia, given on her own account, were

very successful.

Several large defalcations in public officers have lately come to light.

The Postmaster of Macon, Ga., failed for the sum of $50,000, part of

which was the Post-office funds. He escaped by flight. The late City

Collector of Baltimore is charged with a deficiency of $30,000 in the

accounts of the Custom House, but has surrendered his property in trust,

and expresses his desire to have the subject investigated. A man named

Brown was recently taken to Washington by the Marshal of Michigan, on a

charge of forging Land Warrants. A company of Mormons, under the

government of a man named Strang, on Beaver Island, in Huron River, have

got into difficulty with the authorities and the American citizens. They

recently attacked two men by the name of Bennett, who were known to be

hostile to their claims: killed one, and dangerously wounded the other.

Strang and some of his companions voluntarily delivered themselves into

the hands of the authorities, and are awaiting their trial.

In the Lake Superior region business of all kinds has become very

active. The steamboats on the Lake are crowded with passengers and

freight, and the country about the mines is improving rapidly. Lands are

being cleared, roads laid out, houses built, and the region rapidly

assuming the appearance of a permanent settlement. Several new mines of

unusual richness have been discovered, and all the old shafts deepened

and extended, with the most successful results. The prospects of the

mines on the Ontmagon are equally favorable. Hostilities have again

broken out between the Sioux and Chippewa Indians. Several of the latter

tribe were murdered by the former, who formed into war parties, and

marched against their enemies.

The first Centennial Celebration of the Pennsylvania Hospital took place

on the 3d of June, in Philadelphia.--The cholera still appears at

intervals along the Western rivers. There were 13 deaths in New Orleans

during the week ending May 31st.--In the case of Scott, indicted at

Boston for the rescue of the fugitive slave Shadrach, the jury were

unable to agree upon a verdict. Although agreeing as to the

constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Law, they stood equally divided

on the question of convicting the prisoner. A new trial has been

ordered.

A personal combat took place in the streets of Lynchburg, Va., on the

5th of June, between Mr. Saunders, a member of the State Convention, and

Mr. Terry, Editor of the Lynchburg "Virginian." Five shots were

exchanged, and both parties so severely wounded that they died shortly

afterwards.

The emigration across the plains has commenced, but will be much smaller

than that of last year. It is calculated that 300 wagons will cross

during the Summer, three-fourths of which will go to the Salt Lake and

Oregon, and the remainder to California. Grass is abundant on the

plains, but the snow is reported to be very deep in the mountains beyond

Fort Laramie.

Advices from Texas give accounts of the rapid improvement of the lands

on the Brazos River. The troubles with the Indians still continue. A

battle between a small company of Texan militia and a band of Indians,

took place near the head waters of the Lema River, on the 24th of May:

Six Indians were killed, and the remainder driven off. An expedition has

been ordered by Gen. Harney, to aid the Indian agents in their demand

for the release of white prisoners in captivity. A train, composed of

170 wagons, with a large escort, left San Antonio for El Paso on the 7th

of May. A company of Americans, while crossing the Rio Grande to attend

a ball at Rima, were fired upon by a party of Mexican soldiers. Two of

the American soldiers were severely wounded, and the Mexicans apologized

for the act on the ground of its being a mistake.

News from Santa Fe to the 1st of May has arrived. On the 2d of April,

Governor Calhoun consummated a treaty with Francisco Chacon, principal

chief of the Apaches east of the Rio Grande. The savages agreed to give

up what stolen property had been in their possession for the previous

eight months, and to settle in towns, provided teachers and implements

of husbandry were furnished them. As might have been expected, this

treaty was broken within three weeks of its adoption, although Chacon

bound himself to maintain the peace, on penalty of forfeiting his head.

Fifteen companies of the U.S. troops were to leave Santa Fe on the 10th

of May, upon a campaign against the Navajo Indians. This movement was

considered necessary, on account of the serious injury which the health

of the soldiers had sustained from the inactivity of their mode of life.

Governor Calhoun issued a proclamation on the 23d of April, appointing

the 19th of May for the election of members of the Legislative Assembly.

The first session of the Legislature was to commence at Santa Fe on the

2d of June. The Mexicans were well pleased with the new Government,

since it removed the power from the hands of the military. Business was

very brisk at Santa Fe, and a number of mills were in the course of

erection in the neighborhood. The census of the territory, taken by

direction of the Governor, shows a population of 56,984, in addition to

the Indians. The Boundary Commissioners were on the Rio Grande, near

Dona Ana, and had decided to place the corner-stone six or seven miles

below that place.

The news of the formation of a Territorial Government for Utah, and the

appointment of Brigham Young as Governor, was first received at the Salt

Lake, by way of California. The General Assembly of the Church for the

State of Deseret, have transferred all their powers to the Territorial

Government, and adjourned. The "Quorum of Seventies" had agreed to erect

an extensive rotunda in the Salt Lake City, to be called the "Seventies'

Hall of Science." The Mormons have established a colony in Iron County,

about 250 miles nearly south of the Salt Lake City. Several families,

with 130 men and supplies of all kinds, under charge of Elder Geo. A.

Smith, left on the 7th of December, and when last heard from, they had

1600 acres cleared, and 400 sown with grain. Elders Lyman and Rich left

early in March with 150 wagons, to form another settlement on the

Colorado, on the Californian line. The Mormons design establishing a

continuous line of stations on the Pacific on this route.

The steamers which left San Francisco on the 15th of April and the 1st

of May, carried away $3,000,000 in gold dust, nearly all of which was

shipped to the Atlantic States. The news from all parts of the gold

region is unusually favorable. The rains which came on towards the end

of March continued for two weeks, and furnished an abundant supply of

water for the dry diggings. The piles of earth which had been heaped up

during the winter, were yielding excellent returns. In the higher ranges

of the mountains there had been heavy falls of snow, which had cut off

the supplies of some of the remote diggings, and several persons were

frozen to death near the head waters of Feather River. The rich placers

discovered in this region have attracted many thousands of miners; and

the trail through the snows was lined with the carcases of mules which

had perished from the cold. On account of the scarcity of supplies,

board had risen to $56 per week.

Important discoveries have been made in Shaste Valley, in the northern

part of the State. One thousand acres were tested, and found to yield

ten cents to the panful of earth. The first discoverers averaged $80

apiece daily. The diggings differ from all others in the circumstance of

all the earth containing gold down to the bottom rock, which is struck

at a depth of four feet. The gold is found in coarse grams, interspersed

with large lumps. An extensive emigration had already set towards the

new placer. The Volcano diggings continue to give large returns; while

there is no diminution in the yield of the old localities on the

American Fork, the Stanislaus and the Mariposa. The quartz veins on the

latter river and in the neighborhood of Nevada City, give proof of

astonishing richness; but the gold is generally found in such fine

particles, that not more than half of it can be collected by any

machinery which has yet been brought into use. Veins of silver ore,

which promise to be very rich, have been discovered on Carson's Creek.

The Californian Legislature adjourned on the last day of April, after a

session of four months. Among its last acts was the passage of a law,

exempting homesteads and other property from forced sale in certain

cases. It also passed a Usury Law, fixing interest at ten per cent., and

allowing eighteen per cent. by special agreement. Party politics have

attained a height scarcely known in the older States at present. The

City election in San Francisco was very hotly contested, but finally

resulted in the choice of all the Whig candidates, except two. Both

parties are marshalling their forces for the coming State election. The

prominent candidates for Governor, are Major Roman, the present State

Treasurer, with the Democrats, and Major Pearson B. Redding with the

Whigs.

A body of Indians have been committing depredations on the Salinas

Plains, near Monterey. They have killed three persons near the town of

San Luis Obispo, robbed all the ranches, and driven away the horses from

San Antonio to San Miguel. According to the treaty made with the Nevada

Indians by the U. S. Commissioners, six tribes, numbering in all 1500

persons, have been removed to a tract of land twelve miles square,

between the Merced and Tuolomne Rivers, which is secured to them for

ever. In the vicinity of Los Angeles, the tribes still continue their

depredations. Lynch law still remains in force in all the mining

districts. A band of five Mexicans, who had been detected stealing

cattle on the San Joaquin River, were tried in a summary manner, and all

executed.

A project has been started to supply San Francisco with water from a

lake called "Mountain Lake," a few miles from the city. It is described

as a body of pure water, a mile in circumference, and 153 feet above the

sea. A line seventy-five feet long, was dropped into the centre without

finding bottom. It is estimated to furnish twenty-five millions of

gallons of pure water daily. In the neighborhood of San Francisco, San

Jose, Sacramento City, Sonoma and Bodega, large tracts of land have been

brought under cultivation: and the harvest of grain and vegetables will

this year go far towards supplying the wants of California. Nearly all

kinds of vegetables attain a size and flavor which are not equalled in

any other part of the world.

It is rumored that an expedition is about being raised in the southern

part of California, for the purpose of invading the Mexican province of

Lower California. A certain Gen. Morehead is said to have left with a

force of two hundred men, well armed and provisioned. There is also talk

of similar movement, having reference to the State of Sonora.

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company have made their depot in Oregon at

Pacific City, on Baker's Bay. The coast region of Oregon, from the mouth

of the Umpqua to Vancouver's Island, is rapidly filling up with

emigrants. Another steamer, of 100 tons burden, has been placed on the

Williamette, to run from Oregon City to the mouth of the Columbia. Gen.

Lane, the ex-governor of the Territory, has been nominated by a

convention of the people, irrespective of party, as a candidate for

Congress.

EUROPE.

The main topic of interest in ENGLAND is still the Great Exhibition.

Even the uncertainties of the Ministerial existence, the Papal

Aggression Bill, the Ceylon Question, and other measures, sink into

insignificance beside the imposing display of the products of all

nations, opened in Hyde Park. The continued support and encouragement

given by the Queen, who has visited it almost daily since the opening,

has contributed greatly to the success of the undertaking. The receipts

for the first two or three weeks were from $10,000 to $15,000 per day.

After the price of admission was reduced to one shilling, the receipts

decreased considerably; but in the last accounts, from fifty to sixty

thousand persons visited the building daily. The entire amount received

from the sale is already more than L50,000; and it is expected that the

proceeds will be sufficient, with the amount subscribed, to defray the

whole expense of the building. The limit for the admission of articles

has been extended to the 1st of September. Thirty juries have been

appointed, to decide on the merits of the different classes of

contributions, and adjudge the medals, which will be distributed to the

value of L20,000.

The Ministry of Lord John Russell holds its position with better success

than was anticipated. The Malt Tax, one of its measures, was carried by

a majority of 136. The debate on the Ceylon Government question, where a

defeat was again anticipated, resulted in sustaining the Ministers by a

majority of 80. As this was the main question before the House, Lord

John Russell's place is secure for the rest of the session. The two

great parties have agreed not to make the Papal Aggression Bill a point

of political difference. In consequence of this, the Government carried

every question on the bill by a large majority. Mr. W. G. Fox made an

unsuccessful attempt to introduce a bill for Free Schools in England and

Wales. A riot occurred at Tamworth, the residence of the late Sir Robt.

Peel, on account of a Protectionist banquet having been held there. A

mob broke into the hall, and dispersed the company, who armed themselves

and engaged in a regular fight. The quarrel was only subdued by the

intervention of the military. The Collins' steamer Pacific, having made

the trip from New-York to Liverpool in nine days and nineteen hours, the

English papers admit the defeat of the Cunard line.

The recent political movements in FRANCE contain no salient points of

interest. The subject of the revision of the Constitution is still

agitated among all parties, and there seems a slow and gradual

preparation for a severe struggle. The Legitimatists are strongly in

favor of the measure. The debate thereupon will come on about the 1st of

July, and will probably last about a month. Next to this in importance

is the subject of the next general election, which will take place in

May, 1852. All parties are mingling their intrigues in the general

preparation. Among the different plans is that of the fusion of the two

branches of the Bourbon family into a single monarchical party, to which

Guizot and the Duke de Nemours are said to be favorable. The friends of

Louis Napoleon are in favor of a revision of the Constitution for the

purpose of prolonging his term. The _Constitutionnel_, the organ of the

middle class in Paris, advocates the repeal of the law limiting the

suffrage. Emile de Girardin, editor of the _Presse_, has made a violent

attack upon Generals Cavaignac and Changarnier, charging the latter with

having formed a design of invading England, while Ledru-Rollin was

minister of the Interior. To this attack neither of the generals has

responded.

In GERMANY, the Dresden Conferences have closed. The King of Prussia and

the Emperor of Austria have visited Warsaw as the guests of the Emperor

Nicholas. The meeting, however, is considered as something more than a

mere visit of courtesy. At the latest dates the three potentates were

still at Warsaw, but nothing had transpired indicative of the nature of

their conferences. The Prussian General Assembly had adjourned. During

the recent session upwards of eleven and a half millions of thalers were

voted for the expenses of the late useless campaign.

Austria is making desperate efforts to relieve herself from her

embarrassing financial position. Baron Rothschild, one of the principal

creditors of the empire, has been summoned to assist at the

consultation; the prospect is said to be better than had been

anticipated. A change has taken place in the Austrian Ministry,

Baumgarten having been made Minister of Commerce in place of Brueck. The

Countess Teleki, and her companion Madame Eardly, have been arrested in

Hungary, on charge of conveying letters from the political refugees in

London to their partisans in Asia Minor and Hungary. They are to be

tried by a court martial.

ITALY is in a most unfortunate condition. The reaction continues to

increase in power, while the discontent of the Republican party still

ferments in all quarters. The condition of the country is very analogous

to what it was previous to the Revolution. The Government of Tuscany is

entirely under the control of Austria; while that of Naples, grown bold

in tyranny, is more actively oppressive than ever. The death of the King

of Naples was reported; but it turns out that instead of this being the

case, he is more vigorous and tyrannical than ever. In Rome, the rule of

the French soldiery is almost insupportable. Persons are daily arrested

for the cut of their beards, or the color of their garments. In addition

to this, there is a bitter hostility between the French and Roman

troops, and several sanguinary quarrels have occurred. At Nice there has

been a threatening meeting, claiming the revocation of certain fiscal

regulations of the Government. There has been no league of Sardinia with

any other of the Italian States.

The insurrection of the Duke de Saldanha, in PORTUGAL, was entirely

successful; and the Queen has been obliged to name him President of the

Council, after an attempt to appoint the Viscount de Castro and the Duke

of Terecira, friends of the fallen Minister, Count de Thomar. The latter

gentleman was dismissed from his situation as Minister to Madrid, and

has taken up his residence in England. Saldanha remained some time in

Oporto, administering the Government in the name of the Queen, but

afterwards proceeded to Lisbon. He has not yet announced the course he

will pursue. In the mean time, large bodies of Reformers are calling

upon the Queen to abdicate.

The negotiations in relation to the release of Kossuth, Count Bathyani,

and the other Hungarian leaders, have taken an unfavorable turn; and it

is now almost certain that the Sublime Porte will consent to retain the

unfortunate exiles as prisoners for some time to come. The Governments

of Austria and Russia protest against their release, and their influence

will probably prevent the acceptance of the liberal offer made by the

United States in behalf of the Hungarians.

BRITISH AMERICA.

The Canadian Parliament met at Toronto on the 20th of May, by Lord

Elgin, the Governor-General, who read the Royal speech in English and

French. The most important topic it contained was a project for

increasing the representation. It was also stated that the change in the

Navigation Laws had increased foreign shipping in the Canadian ports;

that the new Postage Law will soon yield an equal revenue with the

former exorbitant system; that a measure will be introduced for reducing

the civil list and withdrawing the troops. The Government refers to the

Halifax and Quebec Railroad in a manner favorable to the adoption of the

conditions on which the Imperial Government offer to guaranty a loan.

The Government has since introduced a measure to abolish the law of

primogeniture in Upper Canada. The question of a reciprocity of trade

with the United States, has given rise to a long discussion in the

Legislature; but the Governor refused to produce the correspondence on

the subject with the Government of the United States. The Minister of

Finance insisted on measures of retaliation, and proposed to close the

canals against American vessels. The question was finally postponed for

a fortnight, in order to await the result of negotiations with the

American Government. The Governor-General sent to the Assembly a

detailed account of the public debt of the Canadas, which, on the 31st

of January last, amounted to $18,049,875, paying an annual interest of

$877,674.

The Annexation feeling is said to be on the decrease in Canada, and the

idea of an independent Northern Republic, consisting of the British

Provinces and the territory now held by the Hudson's Bay Company, has

arisen in its stead! The Episcopal Church is making great efforts to

prevent the secularization of the Clergy Reserves, and a general

Convention of both the clergy and laity has been held at Toronto, in

opposition to the measure. A large and enthusiastic meeting has been

held at Halifax, and Earl Grey's proposition in regard to the Halifax

and Quebec Railway, was unanimously accepted. The propeller Franklin,

running between St. John's, Newfoundland, and Halifax, was wrecked on

the 17th of May; the passengers and mails were saved.

MEXICO--CENTRAL AMERICA.

The Mexican Government is in a state of great perplexity, on account of

the desperate state of its finances. All projects for the adjustment of

the revenues, or the consolidation of the Interior Debt, have thus far

entirely failed. Senor Esteva, the Minister of Finance, resigned early

in May, on account of the difficulties he encountered in attempting to

carry out the imperfect provisions of the law. Senor Yanez, the Minister

of Foreign Affairs, was appointed in his place. He proposed a plan of

increasing the revenue by reducing the expenses of the public offices,

imposing a tax on manufactures, and levying contributions on the

States,--a course which was strongly opposed by the friends of the

Administration. Congress adjourned on the 22d of May, without making any

provision for the emergency: and a special session has been called, to

meet on the 2d of June. The Tehuantepec grant to Garay was annulled in

both Houses by a large majority.

Ex-President Pedraza died in the capital on the 13th of April. The

commercial house of Rondero, in the city of Mexico, has failed in the

amount of $600,000. The police in the city is very deficient, and many

of the streets in the suburbs are almost deserted, on account of the

hordes of robbers which roam and plunder at large. The Northern States

of Mexico are in great distress, from an unprecedented drought. No rain

has fallen since last August; provisions are enormously dear, and a

general famine was apprehended.

In Yucatan, the Indian war is drawing to a close. Gen. La Vega, who had

arrived at Campeachy to take command of the forces, was received with

great enthusiasm. The Indians have recently sustained several bloody

defeats, and are evidently very much discouraged. In their endeavor to

take by assault the town of Bacalar, they were received with such a

heavy fire by the garrison, that they were utterly routed, and the river

was choked up by their dead bodies, while the whites suffered only a

trifling loss.

There is little news of interest from Central America. A mule-track, or

transit-road as it is called, has been made from Rivas de Nicaragua to

the Gulf of San Juan del Sur: and the line from New-York to San

Francisco is expected to be completed by the 17th of July. The subject

of a new Constitution is engaging public attention in Honduras. A

violent earthquake was experienced in the State of Costa Rica, on the

morning of the 18th of March. A great amount of property was destroyed

in the cities of San Jose, Heredia, and Barba.

WEST INDIES.

In Cuba, the fears of an invasion, with which the island has been

agitated for three months past, appear to have subsided. A number of

arrests have been made, but no revolutionary preparations have been

discovered. Several prisoners have been convicted of disaffection to the

Government, and are to be sent to Spain for safekeeping. Mr. Christopher

Madan, who voluntarily delivered himself up to the authorities, has been

banished to Spain, and condemned to pay his share of the damages done by

Lopez at Cardenas.

The Jamaica House of Assembly was prorogued by the Governor on the 23d

of May; the Governor made a long speech on the occasion. The cholera

still lingers in the island, and appears in several localities which

have been hitherto exempt.

The island of Hayti is tranquil for the present. The proposition of the

U.S. Commissioner. Mr. Walsh, in connection with the French and English

Consuls, for a ten years' truce with the Dominicans, was rejected by the

Haytian Government. The Emperor has since addressed a proclamation to

the former Government, proposing the appointment of delegates on both

sides, to negotiate terms of peace. Prince Bobo, who, in consequence of

having been engaged in a conspiracy against the Emperor, had fled to the

mountains with a few adherents, has not been captured.

SOUTH AMERICA.

An insurrection broke out in Santiago, the capital of Chili, on the 20th

of April. It was occasioned by excited political feeling, growing out of

the approaching Presidential election. About twenty persons were killed,

and fifty wounded. The province was immediately placed under martial

law: and as the Government possesses much power, no further trouble was

anticipated. About seven o'clock, on the morning of the 2d of April,

Valparaiso was visited by a terrible earthquake. The earth continued to

heave violently for a minute, throwing down a large number of buildings,

and cracking and damaging others. The population assembled in the

squares in the utmost terror and distress. Soon afterwards a heavy rain

set in, which, on account of the shattered roofs, did immense damage to

property. The entire loss is estimated at $1,500,000.

The Government of Brazil is adopting stringent measures for the

suppression of the Slave Trade. Several of the most prominent dealers

have been fined or forced to leave the country.

The hostility to Rosas in Brazil, Paraguay, Entre-Rios and the Oriental

States, became so great, that, seeing no way of extricating himself from

the difficulty, he offered his resignation to the Legislature of Buenos

Ayres. This, however, was considered as merely a trick to shift the

responsibility from his own shoulders. Five of the Argentine Provinces

have passed resolutions refusing to accept his resignation, and

restoring to him all his former powers. The city of Montevideo is still

besieged by the forces of Gen. Oribe.

POLYNESIA.

In the month of March another difficulty occurred between the French

officials at the Sandwich Islands and the Hawaiian Government. The

French demanded a repeal of the duty on wines and brandies, the election

of a Frenchman to the Cabinet of King Kamehameha, and the adoption of

the French language as the official tongue! In case of refusal, they

threatened to blockade Honolulu, and take possession of the island. A

compromise was effected, however, in which the King agreed to refer the

disputed subjects to the Legislature, and to receive documents from

French subjects in the French language.

RECENT DEATHS.

DR. SAMUEL GEORGE MORTON, one of the most eminent of our men of science,

died suddenly in Philadelphia on the 15th of May. Mr. E. G. Squier, in

announcing the occurrence to the Ethnological Society, said: "The name

of Dr. Morton is best known to the world through those splendid

monuments of scientific research, '_Crania Americana_,' and '_Crania

Egyptiaca_', which attest alike his industry and zeal!--his patient

analytical and comprehensive generalizing abilities, and his sound and

impartial judgment. Besides these works, he was the author of numerous

papers in scientific journals of this country and of Europe, as also of

a number of pamphlets on various subjects connected with the studies in

which he was engaged. Among these the 'Inquiry into the Distinctive

Characteristics of the Aboriginal Race of America,' published in 1844,

deserves to be specially mentioned as a comprehensive _resume_ of the

general results of his inquiries. Dr. Morton had a wide practice in his

profession, of which he was a distinguished member--a profession

peculiarly subject to those interruptions and contingencies so

unfavorable to philosophical investigation. Yet in the intervals of

leisure which were afforded to him during hours snatched from sleep, he

made those arduous researches of which we have the leading results in

the works which I have enumerated. The facts and data upon which these

researches were based, were collected with almost incredible labor, and

at an expense which few students could afford, or affording, would have

consented to incur. Dr. MORTON'S museum of Crania, presented by him to

the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, of which he was a

principal supporter and most active officer, comprised not less than 900

human skulls, and 600 of the inferior animals. These were collected from

every quarter of the globe, and afford types of every race, and almost

every family of men. The correspondence and general and special

exertions, which the collection of such a museum involves, must have

been immense; and we can but admire the untiring zeal and patient

industry of the man who undertook and accomplished it. It is a brilliant

example of what men may do if animated by a true spirit; and must afford

encouragement to those engaged in cognate researches in a country like

our own, where public aid is rarely extended to objects of this nature.

As Americans we may take just pride in the reflection, that an American

physician, by his individual exertions, with the aid of a few personal

friends, made a Craniological Museum surpassing extent the united

collections of half of Europe, and one which must now be consulted by

every scholar before he can undertake to write upon the great questions

involved in the natural history of man. In March last the Government of

the United States placed in the hands of Dr. MORTON the Crania collected

by the American Exploring Expedition, with a view to their careful

investigation at his hands; but the interesting results which we had

every reason to expect from such investigation, have been cut short by

his untimely death, which has also suddenly terminated a wide series of

inquiries, instituted by the same active mind, looking to a work more

comprehensive, if not more interesting and valuable than any which he

had published before. Dr. MORTON was essentially a man of no theories;

he brought to the service of science an earnest love of truth in its

simplest and severest form, and was always ready to yield his opinions

to the rigid requirements of facts. Possessed of a high intellect and a

generous disposition, he always assumed that those who differed most

widely from him in their views, were animated by the same desire to

arrive at truth, and dealt with questions of science as matters to be

kept superior to all personal considerations and influences. He had, in

short, a true appreciation of the dignity and aims of philosophy. In

private life, and in his personal intercourse with men, Dr. MORTON added

lustre to his high character as a scholar and philosopher. Mild and

courteous in his demeanor, devoted in his friendships, generous,

upright, and true; as a husband, father, friend and citizen, he was a

man in the noblest acceptation of the word--one whom, none knew but to

esteem, and whose whole life as a model of virtue and excellence."

* * * * *

MR. SHEIL, one of the most brilliant rhetoricians of the age in which he

lived, has prematurely closed his remarkable career in a foreign land,

and in a manner so sudden that the surprise which the event must

occasion will be only exceeded by the deep affliction of his friends and

the regret of the public. The Right Hon. Richard Lalor Sheil was a

native of Dublin, born in the year 1793. His father, imitating the

example of many Irish Roman Catholics of good family, sought in other

countries that independence and those means of advancement which the

penal laws, then in force, denied them in the land of their nativity. He

resided for many years at Cadiz, and engaged in mercantile pursuits with

more than ordinary success. Having amassed a competence, he returned to

the county of Waterford, purchased an estate, and built a mansion.

Unfortunately, he was again led into commercial speculation, which

proved of a disastrous character, and he eventually died unable to

bequeath to his son more than the means of acquiring a liberal

education. That education, commenced at Stoneyhurst, was continued at

Trinity College, Dublin, where the young Mr. Sheil, then remarkable for

the precocity of his talents, graduated with much distinction, and at

the age of twenty-one, in the year 1814, he was called to the Irish bar.

In the profession of the law, though he attained the rank of Queen's

counsel, he never enjoyed a lucrative practice. On remarkable occasions

he held briefs and made showy speeches, but the attorneys had no

confidence in his legal acquirements, and though the judges regarded

affectionately his personal character and greatly admired his genius,

yet his arguments were listened to with comparatively little attention.

It was said, however, that he determined, if possible, to get on in the

more arduous walks of the profession, and hoped for especial favor in

the Rolls' Court, having married at an early age Miss O'Halloran, niece

to Sir William MacMahon, (who then presided in that court), and niece

also to Sir John MacMahon, who at that time was private secretary to the

Prince Regent. But all this gossip of the "Four Courts" ended in

nothing. Mr. Sheil, instead of an eminent lawyer, became a political

agitator, and in the Roman Catholic Association reached a position

second only to that of Mr. O'Connell. His speeches at public meetings in

Dublin, the first of which was delivered by him at the early age of

eighteen, attracted the admiration of all classes; his passionate tone

delighted the vulgar, his wit and exquisite fancy charmed the most

cultivated minds, while his perfect amiability of character, his high

and generous nature, secured the friendship of every one who enjoyed the

advantage of his acquaintance. With all this celebrity, however, he was

not making a fortune, and when literature offered to him some of its

rewards, he gladly contributed to the monthly periodicals of that day,

producing at the same time the tragedy of _Evadne_, and many other

dramatic works.

The Roman Catholic Relief Bill of 1829, when it became a law, opened to

Mr. Sheil a new and more extended sphere of action; he was returned to

Parliament for Lord Anglesey's borough of Milbourne Port, and soon

became one of the favorite orators of the House. At first, there was

some disposition to laugh at his shrill tones and vehement

gesticulation, but Parliament soon recognized him as one of its

ornaments. His great earnestness and apparent sincerity, his unrivalled

felicity of illustration, his extraordinary power of pushing the meaning

of words to the utmost extent, and wringing from them a force beyond the

range of ordinary expression, much more than the force of his reasoning

or the range of his political knowledge, obtained for him in Parliament

marked attention, and, for the most part, unqualified applause. When he

rose to speak, members took their places, and the hum of private

conversation was hushed, in order that the House might enjoy the

performances of an accomplished artist--not that they should receive the

lessons of a statesmanlike adviser, or follow the lead of a commanding

politician. Still, for twenty years, he held a prominent place in the

House of Commons, though throughout a great portion of that period he

represented very insignificant constituencies. Mr. Sheil was returned

for Milbourne Port in 1830, having been an unsuccessful candidate for

the county of Louth. In 1831, however, he got in for Louth; in 1832 was

returned for Tipperary, without contest, and again in 1835; but in 1837

there was an opposition, against which he prevailed. His principal

influence in that county, exclusive of the weight of his public

character, is understood to have been derived from his second marriage

with the widow of Mr. Edmund Power, of Gurteen, which took place in

1830. It will be remembered that the eldest son of that gentleman fell

very recently by his own hand; and during his minority, whatever

influence he might possess as a landlord was in a great degree at the

command of Mr. Sheil, who continued to sit for Tipperary till 1841,

though he encountered some opposition on accepting office in 1838. From,

the general election in 1841 till the time of his departure for Florence

in 1850, he represented, through the influence of the Duke of

Devonshire, the small borough of Dungarvon, always of course supporting

the most liberal section of the Whigs. Amongst his first appointments

was that of Vice-President of the Board of Trade, in the last Melbourne

Ministry, and then he became Judge Advocate General, which office he

held only from June to September, 1841. On the return of the present

Ministers he was appointed Master of the Mint, and in 1850, went out as

British Minister to Florence. For many years past, his health had been

declining, his fits of gout grew more frequent and severe, his speeches

in Parliament, never very numerous, came at length to be few and far

between; though his political friends regarded him with infinite favor,

they began to think he might be just as useful to them in Florence as in

London, especially as the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill was soon to be

brought in; and although that appointment amounted to shelving for life

a man not yet 60 years of age, though it was nothing less than an

expatriation of the individual and an extinction of what might have been

a growing fame, yet he submitted not merely with a philosophical

indifference, but almost in a joyous spirit, feeling, or seeming to

feel, that it was great promotion and a dignified retirement. He was old

in constitution, if not in years, with powers better suited to the

development of general principles than to that successful administration

of details which a practical age demands. With Grattan, Flood, and

Curran, he would have well co-operated from 1782 to 1800, but amongst

the public men of England in the middle of this century he appeared

grievously out of place, and he therefore was perhaps quite sincere in

the expressions of delight with which he escaped from Downing-street to

enjoy the fine vintages and bright sunshine of the south. He is stated

to have expired at Florence on the 26th ult., owing to an attack of gout

in the stomach.--_London Times, June 3._

* * * * *

MR. RICHARD PHILLIPS, the well-known chemist, died suddenly in London on

the tenth of May. He was in his seventy-fifth year, and at least fifty

years of his life had been devoted to science. He was one of the

founders of the Geological Society, a very old member of the Royal

Society, and for many years a member of its Council. In the

_Transactions_ of that body will be found numerous papers by him on

chemical subjects, and many of his discoveries were of great importance

to the analytical chemist. He was editor of the _Annals of Philosophy_

from 1812, and one of the editors of the _Philosophical Magazine_. He

was appointed Lecturer on Chemistry at the London Hospital in 1817, and

for many years was Lecturer on Chemistry at St. Thomas's Hospital, to

which office he was appointed in 1832; and was among the earliest

chemists to the Museum of Practical Geology.

His attention to Pharmaceutical Chemistry was very great; and the

regular improvement which has marked during the period of more than

twenty years the _London Pharmacopoeia_ has been largely due to his

suggestions and criticisms. His first translation was published in 1824.

He had been during the last twelve months busily engaged for the College

of Physicians on the new edition of the _Pharmacopoeia_,--and

considerable progress had been made in the new translation. For many

years Mr. Phillips had been in the habit of furnishing to the faculty

and the druggists of the United Kingdom a translation of the

_Pharmacopoeia_, with appended notes, the value of which has been

fully appreciated by those for whom it was intended. He was for the last

two years the President of the Chemical Society--by all the members of

which he was regarded with the highest consideration. In his "History of

Chemistry," Dr. Thompson says--"Of modern British analytical chemists,

undoubtedly the first is Mr. Richard Phillips, to whom we are indebted

for not a few analyses conducted with great skill and performed with

great accuracy." All the chemical articles in the _Penny Cyclopoedia_

were by Mr. Phillips:--and scattered through the various scientific

journals will be found papers on various chemical subjects and reviews

of scientific works from his pen.

* * * * *

"OLD DOWTON," the celebrated comedian, is dead. He was born at Exeter in

1763, and consequently was in his eighty-eighth year. At sixteen he was

apprenticed to an architect, but having performed successfully the part

of Carlos, in "The Revenge," at a private theatre, he was induced to

join a travelling company, and after completing a circuit, was engaged

by Mr. Hughes, manager of the Plymouth theatre. His first appearance at

Drury-lane was on the tenth of October, 1796, in the difficult character

of Sheva, in Cumberland's comedy of _The Jew_. This had long been a

favorite part of Bannister's--Elliston had also marked it for his own.

Mr. Dowton stepped into the field, and, without taking the laurel from

either, honorably shared it with both. His first appearance at

Drury-lane was on the tenth of October, 1796, in this difficult

character. He was hailed as a genuine actor, and crowned with applause.

In 1805 he was engaged at the Haymarket, and on the fifteenth of August

in that year revived for his benefit the warm-weather tragedy of the

_Tailors_, which produced a memorable fracas. The principal _roles_ in

the burlesque were sustained by Dowton, Mathews, Liston, and Mrs. Gibbs,

as _Francisco_, _Abrahamides_, _Zachariades_, and _Tittilinda_. The

great success of _Tom Thumb_, in which Dowton played _King Arthur_ very

humorously, stimulated him to this attempt. His two principal

Shakspearian characters were _Sir John Falstaff_ and _Dogberry_. As _Dr.

Cantwell_ in the _Hypocrite_ he was inimitable. His other best parts

were _Sir Anthony Absolute_ and _Major Sturgeon_. With the proceeds of

his farewell benefit at Her Majesty's Theatre a few years since, an

annuity was purchased, on which he has lived to a fine green old age,

happy in the bosom of his family and a large circle of professional and

private friends.

* * * * *

ADMIRAL SIR EDWARD CODRINGTON died recently in London. He entered the

naval service in 1783, and bore a part in some distinguished affairs. He

was lieutenant of the Queen Charlotte in Howe's victory of the 1st of

June, 1794, and captain of the Babet in Bridport's action, July, 1795.

At the memorable victory of Trafalgar, he was captain of the Orion. He

commanded on the Walcheren expedition; was afterwards employed at the

defence of Cadiz, and commanded a squadron co-operating with the Spanish

patriots on the coast of Catalonia. He was also captain of the fleet in

the Chesapeake, and at New Orleans in 1814. In October, 1827, with the

combined fleet, he destroyed the Turkish fleet in the harbor of

Navarino. He was gazetted on five occasions, viz., in 1805, 1809, 1811,

1814, 1815. For some period he commanded on the Mediterranean station.

He has also held other naval appointments. He represented Devonport in

Parliament from 1832 to 1840. In politics he was a "liberal."

* * * * *

The death of EARL COTTENHAM, late Lord Chancellor, took place at the

small town of Pietra Santa, in the duchy of Mucca, on the twenty-ninth

of April. Charles Christopher Pepys was born in Great-Russell street,

Bloomsbury, in 1781. The family was originally of Diss, in Norfolk, but

early in the sixteenth century it removed to Cottenham, in

Cambridgeshire, from which place the deceased derived his title. Amongst

his ancestors may be mentioned Samuel Pepys, author of the _Diary_, and

Secretary of the Admiralty in the time of Charles the Second; and

Richard Pepys, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1664. William Weller

Pepys, the father of the late Lord Chancellor, who held the office of a

Master in Chancery, was created a baronet in the year 1801. Lord

Cottenham was in the seventy-first year of his age, having been born in

1781. He was graduated LL.B. at Trinity College, Cambridge, 1803; was

called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, 1804; appointed a king's counsel,

1826; Solicitor General to Queen Adelaide, 1830; solicitor-general to

the king, February, 1834; master of the rolls, September, 1834; first

commissioner when the great seal was in commission, in 1835; lord

chancellor from 1836 to September, 1841, and again appointed to that

office in August, 1846; was appointed a commissioner to consider the

state of the bishoprics, 1847. Represented the borough of Malton in

Parliament from 1832 to 1836; had previously sat for Higham Ferrars.

Under his second appointment he held the great seal until the Easter

term, 1850, when ill health compelled him to retire.

Record of Scientific Discovery.

Professor S. F. B. MORSE has written an interesting letter to the

_National Intelligencer_ respecting the _Hillotype_, an improvement upon

the daguerreotype which appears to be genuine and very important. The

improvement by Baird exhibited lately in London, is spoken of as a great

advance upon the silvered plate, as it cannot but be: it is making a

surface of porcelain susceptible to the sun's rays. And now, in the very

depths of our forests, a discovery has been perfected which leaves

nothing to be desired by daguerreotypists. France, England, and America,

have thus each contributed to the perfection of the photogenic art, our

country supplying the crowning improvement:

"You perhaps have seen it announced," says Mr. Morse, "that a Mr. Hill,

of this state, formerly a Baptist clergyman, was under the necessity,

from ill health, of abandoning the ministry, and for a support practised

the daguerreotype art, and has made the discovery of photographing in

colors, or chromotography. The magnificence of this discovery is as

remarkable as the original discovery of photography by Daguerre. Many

affect to doubt the fact of this discovery by Mr. Hill, but I have every

reason to believe it strictly true. A week or two since I received a

most interesting letter from him, in consequence of his learning that I

had expressed a hope that he would not think of attempting to secure his

property in his discovery by a _patent_. I determined to visit him, and

save him, if possible, from the evils I had experienced. So last week I

went up to Kingston, and, hiring a gig, I set forth in a northwesterly

direction in search of Westkill, in Greene county, some thirty-six miles

in the interior, and after seven hours' drive through a wild region of

the Western Catskill mountains, passing into the very outskirts of

civilization, through a deep gorge of mountain precipices that rose on

each side of the road more than a thousand feet, at an angle of

forty-five degrees, I at length found the little village of some three

hundred inhabitants of which I was in search, embosomed in the deep

valley of the Westkill creek. I had no difficulty in finding Mr. Hill.

He is unquestionably a man of genius, intelligence, and piety, retiring

and sensitive; and his simple description of the effect upon him when

the result of his discovery stood revealed before him, was true to

nature, and, among other things, demonstrated to me that his discovery

was a fact. I have not time to give you the details of the conversation;

but I succeeded in dissuading him from thinking of a patent as a

security, and in this I am rejoiced. He shall not be plagued by

lawsuits, have his life shortened and made miserable, and his just right

in the property of his discovery snatched from him, if I can prevent it.

His discovery, fortunately for him, is one that can be kept secret, and

his case furnishes a capital example of the reality and nature of

property in invention or discovery. It can be seen at a glance in this

stage of the matter that Mr. Hill now has that property absolutely in

his own possession, and no one has a right to demand it of him, nor

request it, without paying him such a price as he may affix to his

property. I have a plan which pleased him, and which I think, will

secure the object aimed at, to wit, ample remuneration to him, and in

such a shape as to leave him the use of his powers the remainder of his

life (unlike my own case) for further research and scientific pursuits,

without fear of fraud, of attacks on his character, and endless

litigation. More of this another time. I must now stop, simply remarking

on the strangeness of the circumstances of this discovery as contrasted

with Daguerre's discovery; the latter surrounded by every facility for

experiment in the metropolis of refinement and science, the former

surrounded by no facilities whatever for experiment, excepting such as

were transported by him at great trouble and comparative expense, with

limited pecuniary means, into the primeval forest, with scarcely an

individual to consult with except his wife, and literally surrounded by

wild beasts--the deer, the bears, the wolves, the wild-cats, and the

panthers too, still inhabiting the wild mountain forests that inclose

the village."

* * * * *

PROFESSOR BLUME, of Leyden, has been elected a member of the French

Academy, to fill a vacancy in the section of botany. Among the

candidates were Professor John Torrey, of New-York, and Professor Gray

of Harvard College. Professor Blume presented on the occasion his

splendid new work on botany: a Flora, in four volumes, folio, of the

peninsula of India, the islands of the Sonde, and of the Indian

Archipelago; the title is _Rumphia_, the contents being collected from

the seven folios of the botanist Everard Rumph, published in the middle

of the last century. Professor Blume resided many years in Batavia, and

added the results of his own scientific and extensive research

throughout Java and the Archipelago. On the 24th ult. M. de Juissen

submitted to the Academy an interesting report on the work, in which he

says, "A poisonous tree, the _Upas-Antiar_, has been the subject of

numerous fictions, by which it has acquired great celebrity. It has

therefore attracted the attention of many travellers, who have

dissipated the stories, as Mr. Blume does, with piquant details." He

explains a part of the terrible reputation of the tree, by the fact that

the volcanic soil emits, on different spots, deleterious gases, which

have a fatal effect on animal life--an effect erroneously imputed to the

adjacent trees. Their juice, indeed, possesses highly energetic

properties. The birds often take refuge on their elevated tops, without

the least injury. [A specimen of the Upas tree has been recently brought

to the United States by an officer of the navy, and it is alleged that

while it does not poison the atmosphere, its sap is quite as fatal to

life as its effluvia has been represented to be.] The natives poison

their arms with the juice of another Upas, _Strychnos tieute_. Mr. Blume

visited a mangrove tree--_ficus India_--of gigantic dimensions and

remote antiquity, which is regarded and preserved as a sort of religious

monument. The branches spread a shade over a vast area, and form

themselves for the parasite growth of a multitude of other plants on

their surface. The professor obtained license to herborize on the top.

He collected thirty-seven species, without reckoning lichens and mosses,

but being restricted as to time, did not inspect half of the display.

The plants were fully developed, with rich foliage and graceful and

brilliant flowers.

[Illustration]

Ladies' Summer Fashions.

The changes for the season are not in general very striking. There is

said to be an unusual prevalence of sombre colors, with artistically

agreeing brighter ones. Striped silks, taffetas, and bareges, are all in

vogue.

For BONNETS the materials employed are very numerous. Paille de riz,

fine Florence straw, gauze, tulle, crape, and crepe lisse, are all

fashionable; silk, also, but it is not much in request. The stripes are

round, very open at the sides, but not standing out so much as they were

last season over the forehead; the crowns are also very low, and the

curtains full, and always short enough to be becoming. Among the most

elegant rice straw bonnets are those lined with white tulle and

ornamented with tufts of violets and snowdrops, the exterior decorated

with a wreath of the same flowers. Others have exteriors trimmed with a

light panache, composed of fuschias, heliotropes, and sprigs of

eglantine, mingled with long blades of grass (this ornament droops over

the brim on one side), the interior trimmed with small tufts of fruit

blossoms. Rice and Florence straw bonnets are trimmed with a petite

couronne of rose and white marabout tips, forming a tuft on each side;

the interior is lined with rose and white tulle bouillonnee, and tufts

of narrow blonde intermingled with small tips of rose marabouts.

Bouquets of white roses and flowers of the double-blossomed peach are

also in great request for these bonnets. The majority of gauze, tulle,

crape, and crepe bonnets, are trimmed in a light style with flowers or

marabouts. French chip, trimmed with broad lace, promises to be

considerably worn. Plain straw is always respectable, but it is less

worn this season than heretofore.

In PROMENADE AND CARRIAGE DRESSES the redingote form is adopted in plain

silks of a quiet kind, or striped, that are not showy, for the

promenade. Redingotes for carriage dress are much trimmed, some with

passementerie, lace, or ribbon; lace is much in vogue; ribbon is more

so; it admits of a great variety of forms; one of the most novel is a

cockle-shell wreath arranged in two rows of festoons up each side of

the front of the dress. Fashionable as flounces are for in-door and

carriage-dress, they are, comparatively speaking, little seen in the

promenade; the extreme width of the skirts, which does not seem at all

likely to diminish, accounts in some degree for this.

In EVENING DRESSES silks predominate for robes, but always the new

spring silks, the heavy ones being quite laid aside; the bodies are cut

low, but moderately so; they are of the Louis Quinze, and la Grecque

styles; the latter have the draperies attached by knots of ribbon, or

brilliant ornaments, as the dress is rich or otherwise. A deep fall of

lace, placed under the last drapery, is looped with it in the centre,

and also on the shoulder; it turns round the back, and falls, _en

mancheron_, over the sleeve, which is always very short if the corsage

is _a la Grecque_. The Louis Quinze has the lace disposed in a full fall

_a l'enfant_; or also a berthe, either round or pointed; the latter is

_en coeur_, very voluminous at the top, but with the lace narrowing to

a point at the waist; the skirts, if trimmed, are flounced, but many are

made without garnitures. Several white dresses, trimmed, with black

lace, have lately appeared; this fashion gains ground, but it is not yet

a decided one.

The majority of evening dresses combine richness of effect with the

light textures adapted to summer, ball, and dinner costume. Dresses of

white crape have been made with double jupes, or with three flounces,

the latter edged with pink-ruches, or with four or five rows of narrow

ribbon. The berthe is of the shawl form, and should be trimmed to

correspond with the flounces, either with ruches or rows of ribbon. A

bouquet of flowers may be worn in the centre of the corsage. New barege

dresses are made with three flounces, scalloped, and trimmed at the edge

with a quilling of ribbon. The corsages of some of these dresses are

made close to the figure, and with basques; the latter, like the

flounces, having a scalloped or vandyked edge, trimmed with a quilling

of ribbon. Other dresses of the same material have drawn corsagas, and

then the top flounce is set on at the lower end of the waist, and by

that means serves as a basque. The flounce may be open or not in front.

Sleeves are almost universally worn open at the ends, whether the dress

be plain or of a superior kind. The under-sleeves worn in dressed

costume are also open at the ends, in the pagoda form, and are trimmed

with fontanges or frills of lace, or richly worked muslin. Dresses

intended for walking or neglige costume have muslin under-sleeves

fastened at the wrist with turned-up cuffs. For sleeves reaching to the

wrist, and not open at the ends, cuffs of various patterns are worn.

Those generally adopted have two or three buillonnees, with a row of

lace between each; or a single buillonnee, edged by a lace frill,

falling over the hand.

MANTELETS are likely to supersede pardessus in a great degree; there is

a variety in their forms, and they are made of silk, muslin, and lace.

The Medicis, the Violetta, and the Victoria, are the most remarkable of

the new shapes. The first is of deep violet taffetas, small, and the

hind part of an oval form--the garniture composed of three flounces, cut

in dents, and encircled with a deep fringe, surmounted by a light

embroidery; a narrow flounce in the same style goes round the throat.

Being set on full it has something of a ruff.

BLACK VELVET COLLARS date from the earliest days of Louis XV., for the

_beau monde_, who adopted them from the peasantry, with whom they had

been long in vogue. They are now revived, and likely to become general.

The collar is a black velvet ribbon, never very broad, crossed on the

throat, and fastened by an ornament of jewelry or gold, according to the

fancy or the fortune of the wearer; the ends descend upon the neck, and

some are bordered with seed pearl or diamond fringe. These collars can

be becoming only to blonde belles.

There is no probability of any radical change in the costume of women of

the better classes.

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