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Miscellaneous.

;"■'''■ !; TILE LYTf6l* liisJ'ATqn'iK f FCrit.. : •"■ '. ' :;i ' \ ""'■ (l?rom ''JPuilbh))' ,';' ' [ .. . '.'"[ . ; . Thanks-to our little birdjn the CcloniaL.Qflico I (not'^r. t^Gllington Guern«ey)» \vo are.enablod to) ; lay b'bforq a hungrily- expectant, publi(rtlj|(> passages j ''of $\q 'g'feat 'LyttonVdespdicii'Avh'ich'1 we're .omitted \ from thes copy officially made^public.' ', ; ; After expi'essing.tlie h6pe (see published despatch) j l that " witlrtime arid forbearance'the supposed j'ea- i busies ofrace would vanish .amid congenial insti-1 '.tutions1 and cqninion. interests,", Sir B. B. Lytton's , 'pOwerfurrnanifesto, in the copy sent' to ( Sir John ', Young; proceeds as follows:— - "That a;race individually gifted, however weak politically — the seigndry;'iof which has passed ' through so many and various phases, from the iron , of the, Macedonian conqueror to the lawreverencing fasces of Imperial Rome, and thence from. the enervate ; grasp of $ie. degenerate. Byzantine to the stern but .glorious guardianship of the Lion of Saint Mark and the tortuous tyranny of the Muscovite^ that Byzantine of the 18tli century, in' whom alone' atnohg the "nations'.'the -craft .of Constantinople'has -not";excluded ;the 'sternn.ess of the Scyth arid 'the rapidity^Of/Rbxalane-^-tliatsuch WTace-^alternatelyJhe. oppressed of, the Cross and the decimated'pf the Scymitar—-should, chafe under the mild iiiciderice^.,o£'British rule is aiphenomenon which might ,\yell .provoke;the!incredulity,' if it-did not.endanger, the risibility.of, thje historic student. But in the contemplation; of the Real we must -suspend our reverence for The Abstract; and; submit ourselves1 to the stem dominion of The Fact, even wheix.it conflicts riiost with ihe^Sireri-like suggestions of The Idea. ■ -: ' ' ■ ' • ' • ; ' ''

:• " The Beautiful'has ever found hey favourite home aniongthe purplie inlands' of the Blue. 2Egean; butthe Rational ,'has spurred those. s.eductiyej shores for .tlie' more, inclement regions of .the .north. Erqm the! wave, that .crisps . along the- yellow sands of Cythera arose theljomeric Aphroditer-rthe. Foamborn—and fancy still. loves, to trace in. The Actual/ the faint but fascinating ■ traces of The? Mythic. Aphrodite—the daughter of the foam—still; ha\ints these- shores^ but: no longer asjthe Incarnation.'of The Beautiful. As 'an ( eiribodinient of The Unreal she disports 'herself. in the'^ Senate; of: Corfu, and paints'the bright but Nimpossible" future of a Septinsular Eepublic, tipdff"^|ie bubbles'.'blown'I. by.'tie breath 'of a ..Press .'too^sbon, s.et "free,;,\y;hile she floats, forwards before the popular breezes unwisely fanned into an. occasionally.'tempestuqus existence by, the Seton.Constitution.of -18|9 V - - : "Her Majei%'s Government have viewed with regret these unexpected results of a policy which, if it partook largely of The. Rash, cannot surely be refused the praise justly.'due to The Confiding. Erom.. ground still hallowed by; the' recollections' of the,.'. Garden of/Alciupus they had hoped for fruits"; less repulsive in kind and less acrid itinavouiv They; had fondly imagined: thatvthe descendants of those, who owned the gentle sway of .the Phoeacian Monarch ;w6uld !ilhave: imitated'at' le.ast'the hbusehold. virtues of Kis'dau'ghteiv. a,nd, lijce Nadsicaa, have' washed' the family' linen without': catling Europe to witness.. its,', foulness.. 7 Her. Majesty's G|oVoriiraent had. not' anticipated; that the factions,whose bitterness in the ' Corcyfa of the Pelopon^. nesian campaignrhad taxed-the pen;of; a' Thucydides, would in ; this, our. more .philosophic dayV have; called forth the!reprobation o£ one who, did-lie not reverence Thucydides so profoundly, iniglit also venture to inscribe .his own name on theemblaZ' oned^ and undying roll of Hellenic historians. The senators, of the^ Isles of Greece will surely pardon me :fpr 'rei^ijnding'tliem that, it cannot be grateful to iKe autlibr of J.tyens', and llie > ''Xt)ie'isai\s. to.be cho'sen''as itlie- organ,, for ' c,6n'j?eyHig^td^them. the , opinion of England and the -English upon their councils Jind their, conduct. ,' But, they, will not, I trust, confound, the 'language jof advice, ,]ibweyeil- !- -unwelcome,, :that of ; , 111-will,, however.:justi-. fi'able. If Eros led thepassionate'poetess^of Hellasto;: the ;^yhite rocks of, Jjeucadia,- affection for* the Hellene may Avell urge-the Goldhial "Secretary of England'to. sacrifice popularity oh: the altar of Truth. Sappho sank Bub to sing;jigain. \ if;'the.; waves of septinsular execration clos,e for aiyhile over the name of Lytton, I may Still lo6k for comfort to the fate, of Sappho, and...bear, .iijy barbitbn aloft, amji the'Scylleanhowl of Co>icyrean- execration and the turbid outpourings of aiibnyoious detraction. ,

"But her Majesty's. Government would appeal to the gentler elements.of the,Hellenic:race, which still, they would fain hope, find a home where Odysseus garnered the wisdom culled; in a: lifeharvest, off travel anxl an thropologic observation, and where.; Eumsaus practised^ the contemplative occupation of -guardian of the Eoyal Swine. They;trust they are not unreasonable in' their hope that the power of drawing the long bow is not the only legacy' left to his descendants by the sagacious Basile'us of/Ithaga, arid that her Majesty's Government may find some better precedent, for action in this crisis..'than that furnished by the constant and cautious Penelope, for. undoing in 1859 ; the web woven w ; ith such pains by : the Lord High Commissioner: in. the first year of the decade which is (about to expire: lince the Seton Constitution was bestowed."

The despatch then continued as printed :— "These are the general "sentiments entertained by;her Majesty's Government with reference to the questions'which at .present agitate the lonian mind," &c. . . .

It is believed that the omission of the passage we, have supplied is. 'due to the. narrow. notion of Sir John. Young: and Mi*. Bowen, that, as it was unintelligible" to them, it. was not'likely to produce, any wholesome.effect upon the lonian Senate. They appear to have forgotten that what a scholar, and a poet writes to the collective wisdom of a Hellenic people people may be—indeed ought to be—Greek-, and therefore when Sir" John states —as he is understood ■ coarsely to have stated— that the omitted passage, was "so.much heathen Greek to .him,!! he was pronouncing, at once its highest:eulogy and most conclusive' 1 justification. ! THE CHIVALRY OF SCIENCE. - !On another occasion, M. Biot having made an important discovery in one.' of the.. abstrusest ; branches of mathematics, which had baffled evei'yi one, mentioned it to Laplace, who listened with \ great attention, questioned him.respecting his me- ' thod, and the details of his solutions, and finally ■ desired him to bring his memoir on the following. : day. Joyfully, yet tremulously, the young inath'ematician^preserited his memoir to the illustrious : master. Having carefully read it, Lapalace said, " This is an excellent bit of work; you havetaken the right path. .But the notions you present at the close are somewhat too remote. Don't go be-, yond; the actual results you ; have reached. The present state of analysis does not permit, of your going, further." After a, struggle,, which every, author will understand, Biot yielded, and struck out the conclusion. "Now;" said Laplace, " all is very good. Present your memoir to-morrow to the Academy, and dine with in,e,afterwards." Tomorrow came, and fit tho Acailemy the young man found Monge who had been informed by.La-, place, df the,discovery, and spoke about it; Lagrange and Lacroix. were also there ; and no less a person, than Genei-al Buonaparte, recently aiM'ived from, Syria; but the gonoml was a less terrible I personage to the young mathematician than wna. i Lagrange; and when Buonaparte, glancing at the diagram, exclaimed " I know thafcby the figures," Biot silently thought' to himself-"'you must bo i yery clever tb;recognise these figures, inasmuch as ; nobody' except Laplace has ever seen them before,;" and his respect for the general's opinion on such

'questions? must ; have (Oscillated about zero. And. now cornea the beauty ,of the anecedote. The ■memoir was read,'and imincnue success oht.iiined— -Biot was a "mademan." He accompanied La-' place1 home, receiving his congratulations on his way. Arrived'there,' Laplace said, "come into my 'study for a minute} 1 have something to show you." Biot1 followed, sat down and prepared to listen. Laplace unlocked a little drawer, took out a bundle of papers, yellow with age,.and," there he showed mo ,all my problems solved by that very method . ■which TJidd discovered. He had made the discovery years before, but had been ■ arrested by the very difficulty which he pointed out to me ; and had paused, where he advised me to pause—hopIng at some" future time to surmount the Obstacle. He had never mentioned this- to anyone—not even tome when I brought- my memoir, to him." A more noble anecdote is not to be found in the annals of science. Instead of the .irritable jealousy so usual among men, instead of the clamorous assertion of priority, and the ignoble insinuations of plagiarism, we here see a man not only capable.of abnegation in favour of a younger rival, but capable of a delicacy as rare .as the abnegation, never alluding to his' own discovery, until his rival had obtained success and obtained it parity;'by the judicious advice to remove what was hazardous in the memoir. " Had he shown me his paper before the .meeting,. I could hot have presented mine, knowihg' his priority; and even "had he required me,,to me, keep, it- secret, with what embarrassment should I ,have been. seized, knowing myself to be an echo only." Laplace carried ,his delicacy to the- point of insisting on the i secret being kept, -even after this success ; and'he forbade Biot from: even making an allusion to it. Not.uritirißso was the secret revealed, and then said his grateful friend and pupil, " en rendemt cet hqmmagea sa mdmoire, je lvi des6bdis."~ Blachwodd. . . '. '. ;.;.' ■ ''.]-"..'', ' BAILWAT NOyEL^IES,; V ■"" ; The.Erench railways are generally, well managed and comfortable. to travel .upon, although rather slow, and the. directors are not behindhand?-in adopting improvements, but the following 'proposals will startle the most,radical-minded directeur or geraiit. . M. Guichard Petrus, civil engineer, says that one cause of expense, and of detention of passengers" on railways is, the'time lost stopping at the various stations on the line; he has arrived at the conclusion, that a train need only stop three . times a day to allow opportunities for refreshment; and he proposes to do away Avith the""necessity for any other stoppages by special machinery, which ; sKall lift, one carriage off and place another; on the : train while in progress. Each carriage is to con: : sist of a long parallelogram, placed on. a frame. ; fixed on wheels ; inside and outside of each ! carriage. is to be written the "name of-:,i,the I place of its destination, the size of the carriage ; being in proportion to the 'wants of the station. ! All the carriages are to communicate one with the ' other by'means of a small drawbridge or gangway, ' which is to:he lifted tip as; the train' approaches a. i station. , .The passengers will thus be enabled to Circulate from- one carriage to another. A few 'minutes before arriving at a station each person ' wishing to descend-there must place himself in the j pr,oper carriage. ; A machine placed on the edge of | the railway will lift off this caariage;:and another 1 machine will'place a carriage 'on the train, contain- ; ing the passengers- joining it there. The latter jhaye then only1 to let dOwn the drawbridge arid get jinto the Carriage which is inscribed with the name. |of the station at which they wish to descend. The jtrain'may even itself be made, by nieans of a lever, j to. work the. two machines referred to, and thus I produce more in. the service. Regularity; ! certainly,; will be rather desirable.— Building 1 Newsi ■■; '•:.'■ :■""•■ •': •"'.'•■"' .- . ■ • •■ '■

THE LAST ANGLO-AMERICAN. " DIFFICULTY."

The Americans have at last got a decided case against' this country. It Is indeed twice blessed, for it is at once a grievance and. a triuniph. Let small'men raise the'question whether Lord JSfapiei; is recalled by a'British Ministry because he is'tcjo, American, or Mr., Dallas by an American Ministry because he is too. English ; England has been mada to know her place.in the creation by an independent American, without lordly, diplomatic, or official aid. The starspangled banner has cowed, if not St George, at least St. George's Club, in the person of a distinguished member. In :rthe summer there arrived in this country a very : wonderful man,-—Mr. Paul C. Morphy, heralded by all the trumpeting that the Union" could muster. He can fight eight men at the game of chess, simultaneously, and beat them all, or nearly so. The power is really surprising. Sitting at one, end.of a room, with the .eight-antagonists,' ranged at their different boards, Mr. Morphy can carry on all the games—knowing the position of every man on each one of the eight boards. Sarratt, we believe, said that he found it easier to play three or four games with one'of the boards before him, than two without any such help: Morphy plays oh eight unseen boards. ' He knows each more accurately than the men who are looking over. During the late Chess Congress, at a point in 'one. of the' games, his proxy, called out that .the. enemy had moved, say,. King's paw^n. to,.King's,fourth; square: "An impossible move;" exclaimed Morphy,; "there has been a knight on that square these two= hours and a half." This is a yery wonderful ■faculty; but not content with winning laurels from Lord and Commoner, with astonishing England and Europe, and.beating Harwitz, Mr. Paul C. Morphy burns to beat England's champion on the Chess Board, Mr. Howard Staunton.

But liere comes rather a serious difficulty : Mr, Staunton cant be beaten. We do not mean that he is invulnerable to the attack of Jtorphy, but that he cannot be placed in the position of a gen vine combatant. Chess.-is,'after .all, neither the sole nor: the chief, occupation of life; and it so happens that Mr. Staunton is engaged on what Englishmen will consider a move important avocation —in producing a standard edition ;of Shakapeare, with notes calculated to elucidate instead of obscuring the text. Besides literary pride and conscience, Mr. Staunton holds more tangible obligations ; his publisher will not run! the'risk of losing thousands by' delaying' a " part." ' So, long out of practice, deeply immersed in the endless Shakspearian questions, Howard Staunton the anno'safcqr .finds that he is not: Howard'Staunton th 9 chess-player who originally earned his fame, in the black arid white lists; That Staunton would have to be recalled at present from Prospero's Island; and Prospero,— i. c., Mr. Routledge, will not release him. Morphy is mystified. Being one of " the Upper Ten," and loudly declaring that lie has no professional ends in view, he cannot understand how any gentleman should be otherwise than-at leisure. From his tone, he would ascribe any backwardness on the pare of : the Lord Chancellor himself to simple cowardice. Mr, Staunton cannot throw up his more professional engagements: but the American exquisite; like Lord Foppington, does not understand the meaning of the words. Morphy has noL eye' to money.; but.if money is in question; his aristocratic' friends over thero-, -where money comes arid goes with such ease, will subscribe £10,000 for the freak : and he assume^ that English gentlemen will always bo found, liico Eastern cbcknghtei'B, to stake their thousands on a gain 3. Ho is told that tho English champion is out of practice—"?o much the botter!" 'the Yankee seems to think;"tho British Lion out of practice is fust in right trim for a brush with the Bald Ea*le. Stauntoh; ho assumes, must be ready-to play when he ia wanted, especially if there ia raoneys; .be. lost; but " for myself porson^lly^raiiu--tatio'ril^'the only incentive I recognise;" So

Jie,- the .disinterested,.-the-magniuiimous, tries .-to:bully his senior in the order, his courteous host and generous panegyrist, into putting on'the -gauntlets, that he, the knight-errant, may win 'reputation and stages''from- a hard-worked man, out of-practice,—who willingly offers to play him a private game sans fafon, over a private table! And as he cannot extort a victory on the s;tand and deliver principle, Mr. Morphy tries to snatch it by inference; half the journals, of the Union telegraphing the victory of their iUvouritc-r-oyer every rule of courtesy, good sense, and sound chess-playing.— Spectator.

THE MANCII ESTKB_ MANIFESTO... (From ' Puiich.') . It having beeri'announced''that Mr. Bright, Reformer-Extraordiiifixy to her M;VjesfyV Government, would appear at Manchester on Friday evenr ing last, and stale his intentions for the benefit of the country, Mr. Punch macVe immediate electric arrangements for receiving intelligence as to the destinies of, tlie nation. He caused . a wire to be carried from the 'Telegr'aph-ofSt:« ne.ir Temple-bar to the left'hand side of lif« desk in Fleet Street just between his letter-weigher and cigar case, and having ordered a number of pages to be in atiendace, in case ■of eriiefg'ency, lMr. Punch calmly awaited tlie Manchester utterances. ,And this was the order in which they arrived :• — ■; "Free Trade-hall,-Man'che'sler. "7 15 p.m.—Mr. Bright is up, and smiling affably."1- . ' -' :;. '

Mr. Punch dipped a pen into ink, and prepared for action. - " 7 30.—Mr. Bright announces that lie will not dethrone the Queen,'whom he.compliments." Mr. Punch despatched a message"to.Osbbrne to relieve the minds of the .Royal party.-------7 45:—Mr. Bright will not touch the House of Lords, and, indeed, considers it beneath the notice of practical men. 'It.'is moribund." ■■■'••• ' Mr. Punch'wrote brief notes to the aristocracy, congratulating them. ■ •■ •'-.-■■ "8 p.m.—Mr. Bright reminds* the audience that it is not he and his'friends': who have raised the question joflleform. ; „''•-"•'.' ■■■ ■'::■ : Mr. Punch made a cdrnical'face.: ■■" 8 s.—Mr. Bright states flat he never saw the British Constitution." : Mi\ Punch 'made; a contemptuous face. "815.—But considers that it was not meant solely for'the' monarch on'his throne, or the peer in his gilded,chambers." .■ ■ Mr. 'Punch nearly yawned, and thought of replying ;' ''' '' , . • ' " Get on." ...... " 8 20.—Mr. Bright abuses the county proprie-. tors." '. ' ..:.,- • ■• : •:•. ■ '■■ ■ Mr. Punch observed " .Connu." . " 8 30.—Mr. Bright abuses .the boroughs." Mr.' Punch quite yawned, arid sent out for :. some-.snuff., . • "■ ■■ : ■ "8 25.—Mr. Bright abuses the House of Commons."'" ■ Mr. Punch took a good deal of snuff. " B,4o—Mr. Bright abuses' the Game Laws." . Mr. Punch agreed,.but didn't see how hares could vote, even with the protection of the ■'Ballot.. .-■■",..-..' f -.-■■ : ' "8 45.—Mr. Bright annonnres that Reform is not only necessary^ but inevitable.". ■•-••■. Mr. Punch again took up the pen. " 8 46.—Mr. Bright states that-it is the Independent Liberals who habitually save the country by making; Government impossible.'-' ■ ;' ;'; Mr. 'Punch smiled- tolerantly." ' ." t «8 50,-^rMr,,Bright has'decided \tltat he will grant.the 8a110t."...'. . .. " • . " Mr. Puiich took a note, but wished to hear more., ; '.-..... ; . . "8 53.-n-Mr-; Bright has decided that he will grant Household Suffrage." _ ■■■'_■ ' Mr. Punch*, who. only .lives in splendid lodg- . ■■■. ,ings, felt 'furious. . - • ■•■-■■■ "8 55.—Mr. Bright taunts-the aristocracy with being afraid.of American'instituticns,'when they ,-gla'djy.'paid '£10 -to;t}i fe Am'erica'ni j;]Vlr. Earey, for MivPjirt!;^ . "9 p.m.—Mr., bright .compared, hlnaself to M. de Montalembert'.whose' praise of England, was treated as Mr. Brigh't's praise of America is." Mr. Pmich repeated'•'Bosh!". .:•."., ...". . " 9 10.—Mr.. Bright admits that he has only given the faintest.sketch of his intentions.": ' - Mr. Punch'growled. ■ ■■ ■ '■■' ' ■ " 9' 20.—Mr. Bright strongly urges upW the^ people, of England to consider whether they, really; want Reform,/ "and if they do,' 'whaißefpfni';, and' then to hold ;meethlgs,' an'd;petition,| anß.let'jiim know what they,' wpiild .like, as he sees great diMculties in his, way.". *. ; •.': ...:. .. ( '. t ..... ..-,-. Mr., Punch,cast off the wire, and mixed himself ,an exceedingly, strong glass - of : brandy and water, during the imbibition wherepf.lie uttered several significant sentences touching fish out of water, promises arid performanceSj case of real distress,- &c, and finally g-ot rather maudlin in his compassion for J. B. Wateklgo.—-As a matter of course, it was well understood 'liy'the'Government, that the despatcli, wheheVer'.it afri^e.3,:'woiil'd''be': tak i eiivin.tlie first instance to; the; War Earl' Bathnrs'fy and therefore' several; members 'ofthe'Cabinet fel threat pleasure,'dh the.2lst, in accepting'-the noble earl's invitation to'iiimjer, in order "that they miglit' be pn. the spot when thedespatch arrived. They dined—; they sat. No despatch came. 'At length, when the night was far advanced, tliey broke up. ' Yet, delayed by a lingering hopethat the expected messenger might appear, they stood awhile in a knot, conversing on the pavement; when 'suddenly, was heard a faint and distant shout. It was the shout of victory ! Hurrah"! Escorted by a running and vociferous multitude the-major drove up. He was taken into the house; and the despatch was opened. The despatch contained not only the puke's narrative of the " action," as he termed it, at Waterloo, but an account of the brief campaign from its commencement, including Quatre Bras and Lighy. On a first and hasty perusal the impression received was somewhat indefinite I the'great fact of the final triumph stood not forth in sufficient relief, and the Cabinet were at fault. It was now certain that an important Victory had beeii gained on the 18th ; but they could, not exactly gather from a first reading of ! the despatch on what scale the allied armies had been triumphant; or how far the success was final and complete. They turned for information to Major Percy; but the gallant mnjor was dead beat,— much more disposed to-go off into a doze than to answer questions. In fact, he was still feeling the effects, as it afterwards transpired, of hard fighting as well as of hard travelling; for in the interval between the two he had found no leisure for repose, having been occupied in attending upon his wounded friends and brother officers up to the moment when the Duke started him with the despatch. "What number of prisoners taken?" they aslced. "I saw a column of 10.000.'* "How many of the enemy's cannon?" "All." Thus enlightened, the assembled Ministers read on. Presenth r another question. No answer! The mnjor was asleepl The above particulars of the scene at.Earl Bathurst's were related to a most excellent and exemplary clergyman, the Hon. and liev. R. L. Melville, l»3' a distinguished member of the Cabinet, who was present on tlie occasion,-—no other than thy Right Hon. Nicholas Vansittwt. Chancellor of the Exchequer, afterwards Lord Boxley. Mr. Mt-lvil!e was kind enough to repeat the particulars, as be had them from Lord'Bexley, to the writer of these lines. — Notes and Queric.% We have great satisfaction h' being enabled t<\ contradict, on the authority of the latest intelligence received from the spot, a report which has been copied into several English journals from an American newspaper, to the effect that three English gentleman, younger sous of the.Duke of Devonshire.

*sso M«rg*ir of Westminster, tuul the Karl of ' fSbrttieabuiy; hud been imndored wliiic him their across t.hic'4'rainee.from the Mississippi to j£ho lied liivur. CTJHi-Btoty seems to have originated .^nl!he«nur<iar«f.tyo Canadians who were killed iv •ra drookeu with a tribe of Sioux Indians iv <*ountry. .

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18590406.2.9

Bibliographic details
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Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 669, 6 April 1859, Page 5

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Tapeke kupu
3,665

Miscellaneous. Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 669, 6 April 1859, Page 5

Miscellaneous. Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 669, 6 April 1859, Page 5

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