From The Spectator, 3 Jan. No two works can be at once more like and more unlike each other than Dr. Lempriere's "American Crisis," and his newly published "Mexico." As a specimen of book-making, in which a small portion of original matter swells by extraneous addition to a crinoline-like amplitude, the more recent work is the true brother of the former one, except that its 480 pages have far outstripped the 296 of that. As patterns of what may be called the harum-scarum style of composition, in which everything turns up anyhow, for instance, a "Summary of Events," narrating the installation of constitutional government, followed without the slightest transition by the items of a posting account, there is nothing to choose between them. The "Mexico" is, perhaps, if anything, even a trifle more ungrammatical, the very title-Notes in Mexico in 1861 and 1862, Politically and Socially Considered, being unrenderable into sense, since the practical character of the work makes it absolutely impossible that Dr. Lempriere should have (as the grammar of the sentence would require) "considered" his own "notes," still less "politically and socially." The new work is moreover distinguished by a sprinkling of Spanish,-of which it is rare to find a single word well spelled, and by translations from the Spanish, executed (no doubt for want of the writer's superintendence), with such intelligence of familiar English terms that our old friend the "pillar dollar" and his subdivisions are found masquerading as "Colonnade Coin!" This much being premised, it must now be said that the spirit of the two works is so different, that one would feel happy to accept the latter as the amende honorable for the former, were it not that Dr. Lempriere is known to be still advocating in London the cause of his Confederate friends. In Mexico, however, instead of suffering himself to be crammed by some designing Southerner, so as to present nothing but a selection of garbled facts under their falsest aspects, he seems to have opened his eyes and ears, and taken in such an amount of honest fact as a disinterested Englishman was likely to receive without having to exer*Notes in Mexico in 1861 and 1862, Politically and Socially Considered. By Charles Lempriere, D.C.L. Longmans. cise any deep penetration. His sources of information are thus in his new work entirely changed, as appear to be his prepossessions; he quotes at length from the New York Tribune, speaks of his "good friend Plumb, the attaché of the American Legation," deprecates the absorption of Mexico by the Southern States of America, warns England and France that "if they do not in a very few months so ordain matters as to secure the independence of Mexico, the whole will as certainly be in the hands of the Southern States, and become a gigantic Slave State, as any political proposition that was ever broached" (a sentence which the reader must construe charitably, and not interpret as really meaning that all political propositions are to pass into the hands of the Southern States, or become Slave States themselves); and looks forward, on the other hand, with at least equanimity to the solution of the Mexican puzzle being found in the suggestion of Mr. Seward, "that the United States, after obtaining proper securities and territorial liens from Mexico, shall assume the foreign debt of the republic." So that, on the wholeto those who are sufficiently fond of truth to jolt after it on the roughest corduroy roads ever laid down by literary backwoodsman— to swallow it down, when found, "holusbolus," in shape of crudest jottings and cuttings-yea, and to search for veriest needles of it amid hay-trusses of statistics and topography,-Dr. Lempriere's book can really be recommended, as embodying a good deal of wholesome unpleasant truth on an important contemporary question. He will be able to point out to them, that the government of Juarez,-to which we were the first to deal a blow," is relatively the most stable and the most popular of all those that have followed each other in Mexico for the last forty years." They may learn from him, if they have not already found out for themselves, that of the murders and outrages on our countrymen which we supposed ourselves bound to avenge upon that government, not one has been perpetrated by it, but all by its opponents, the allies and protégés of France and Spain; that by these was committed the scandalous outrage upon the British Legation (16th Nov., 1860), when its official seal was broken by order of the infamous Marquez, and $660,000, the property of English bondholders, taken away. Above all, they may find reason to doubt the immaculateness | ble proceedings of one of our consuls in the of our conduct towards Mexico, and the creditableness of those claims of the British merchant, of which so much has been made against the unfortunate Mexicans. On this point, Dr. Lempriere's explicitness is inval uable : Pacific; and pecuniary indemnity was executed and enforced for crimes which in any other country would have been marked by the severest reprobation, and visited with punishment. (Lord Clarendon knows something about this). It was a private letter to him which alone prevented the eternal disgrace of a British force appearing in the Gulf to enforce and support this infamous proceeding; but indemnity was, nevertheless, obtained in hard cash. These cases could be multiplied." Again: "The standard of the British character there has been lowered-immeasurably lowered-in the estimation of the Mexican people, by the conduct of our official representatives. Some of them have been needy and embarrassed, and especially open to corrupt influences. The diplomatic protection was a traffic, and chiefly bestowed on persons who had no legal or legitimate right to it, far less their speculations and interests." "I saw myself the boats' crews of our flag-ship at Vera Cruz bring bags on bags of dollars to be shipped to England by the steamer which brought me home, not one dollar of which had paid a farthing to the Mexican Exchequer. .. But the real delinquents are our British consulates; they receive and store the specie which comes down from the coast, until a safe opportunity arrives for smuggling it out of the country. All commercial consulships, especially at ports, should be abolished. They are sought and coveted solely as a protection to smuggling.... One commercial house on the west coast has acquired immense wealth and immense notoriety by this kind of adventure. . . . The chief was a Spaniard, a colonel in the Spanish army, but got himself named British consul; and then all the fam- No one can wonder after this at being ily became English. . . . The British con- told (in however indifferent English) that sulate is convenient on account of the immu-"the working and growth of some of these nity and local influence it affords; and has Mexican claims, which are now advanced been, for upwards of thirty years, a most under the British flag, is (sic) most mysteriuseful appanage to the mercantile concern, to which it is entirely subservient. . . . The ous and inexplicable, and quite as much (sic) British Government listens to no representa- disgraceful and disreputable to us as a nation on the subject, and our envoys there tion." have been influenced to connive at and support the infamous system." Again: ... "The system of smuggling carried on by foreigners on the Pacific coast, and enforced by British men-of-war, deprives the government of nearly all revenue in that quarter, while in the Gulf ports commerce is crippled, and the revenue of the government is, at certain periods, cut down to a low figure by the irregular proceedings and hard exactions foreign ministers, consuls, and traders. A thorough exposure of the universal system of plunder to which Mexico is subjected in her business relations by foreign officials and traders, and a few capitalists, foreign and native, who mostly reside in the capital, would prove that the government of that country is defrauded out of more than three-fourths of its lawful revenue." Again : "Some years ago there was a public prosecution by the British Legation of a member of Congress (Zarco), and a custom-house officer, because they denounced the infamous smuggling transactions and other disreputa And, in short, one may well (making the usual reserves in favor of grammar) agree with Dr. Lempriere that "the policy that England has pursued towards Mexico is inexplicable except in (sic) the fact that a few individuals, official and private, control the action of the British Government, and public opinion in England, on Mexican affairs, to the total destruction of the general and legitimate English interests in that country." Could "Video meliora proboque, deteriora sequor," be accepted as a line of policy, no more striking instance of such policy has ever been afforded than by Earl Russell, when, after pointing out in express terms the profitless dangers of interference in the internal affairs of Mexico, he signed, on the 31st October, 1861, that "Convention relative to combined operations against Mexico," which could have no other result than such interference. In vain had Mr. Mathew, with his long experience of Mexico and its people, pointed out that the only advisable shape of intervention would be a protective one in to reach the mines of Chihuahua only? France might drain to the very last drop of her life-blood before she could restore order in Mexico by force of arms. favor of the existing Constitutional Govern- men have been found necessary for the march ment, either by England or the United on Mexico alone. How many will be needed States, or both, so as to secure to it the peaceable command of the sea-board; in other words, the control of its main available sources of revenue, for the discharge of public obligations and the maintenance of pub- What, then, can be done for Mexico ? lic order. Carried away, apparently, by the The very reverse of what France is attempthot-headed vanity of Sir Charles Wyke, the ing; the very reverse of what Times' correForeign Secretary actually put his hand to spondents din into the public ear. "With a treaty in conjunction with the two powers thirty odd years of misrule and murder," which had persistently favored the bigoted writes Dr. Lempriere, "with half its revenue Church party, with its bands of cutthroats. plundered by malversation and smugglingAnd, although Spain has recoiled from the with scarcely two consecutive years of peace work, at least for the time being, although -Mexico is still rich and flourishing." the French Emperor has been compelled suc-"The people," he says elsewhere, "are docile cessively to abandon the idea of erecting and easily managed . . . three steamers on Mexico into a monarchy, and that of hand- the Pacific would effectually stop all smuging it over to the government of Almonte, still he is intent upon the work of destroying the Constitutional Government, still he accepts with brazen brow, as his allies, the Scoundrel Marquez and his compeers. Meanwhile, the country is given up, as far as the forcible destruction of all authority by foreign hands can do so, to violence and robbery. gling, and ensure an overflowing treasury to any well-regulated administration." "The present government, though really representing the constitutional feeling and strength of the country, is weak and vacillating." Let it be encouraged, and not brutally bullied, as it was by Sir Charles Wyke; let it be helped and strengthened, and not pulled down, as the French may soon have But is there even a chance that the French succeeded in doing. On its banner are inarmy-apart from all question of the justifi- scribed all the principles which can assure ableness of the invasion-can restore order the future progress of the country-freedom in that distracted country? Cast a glance of religion, freedom of the press, local selfat the map prefixed to Dr. Lempriere's book. government, subordination of the army to Here is a country covering, we are told, up- the civil power, the suppression of clergy and wards of 2,000 miles in extreme length, upon army privileges, the reduction of the tariff, an extreme breadth of upwards of 1,100, the suppression of interior duties and passwith a coast-line of over 1,600 miles in the ports, colonization, the encouragement of Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and foreign enterprise in every branch of indusover 4,200 on the Pacific Ocean and in the try. The reactionist party, on the contrary, Gulf of California, with a northern frontier should it recover power by French aid, 1,792 miles long, and a southern of 532. threatens to bring back with it the exclusive On the 7th January, 1861, the French forces sway of Romanism, the privileges of the began to disembark at Vera Cruz. Their clergy and army, the restoration of confissole operations hitherto have been confined cated Church property, the censorship of the to a march upon Mexico, a distance of about press, a high tariff, internal duties, the re256 miles. Of this distance, they had suc-striction of immigration to Roman Catholic ceeded in getting over 192 miles to Puebla, sources, and the establishment of a central when they were obliged to fall back (May, 1861) to Orizaba, a retreat of 108 miles, which left them at only about 84 miles from the point of departure. At the rate of 84 miles in, say, 10 months, over what are probably the best roads in the country, when will the imperial restorers of order reach the But it is probably idle to suppose tha frontier, over vast tracts where no such thing| Mexico can ever regenerate herself by her as a road is to be found? Again, 70,000 own efforts, even if fostered by European dictatorship. In other words, the programme of the Constitutional Government is unmistakably good, requiring only to be realized; the programme of the allies of the French Emperor is radically bad, requiring to be fought against to the death. Meanwhile there are not wanting those in France who believe that in the Mexican expedition, so thoroughly against the grain of French feeling, the Second Empire will find its doom. A story runs that in September last, as some French troops were being embarked at Cherbourg for Mexico, the soldiers discovered that whilst the transports which were to carry them were loaded with salt meat, no potatoes had been shipped for the soldiers' gamelle. They remonstrated and were rebuffed, so, as file after file was put on board, the cry rose up" Vive la Republique, which used to give us potatoes! Vive la Republique!" The ominous cry (not for the first time sent forth of late from the ranks of the army when displeased) had its usual effect. An instant telegram was flashed to Paris, asking advice, and an answer as instantly flashed down granting the sought-for boon. Potatoes were shipped on board every transport; but the soldiers chuckled to each other: "It is still the republic which has given us our potatoes." protection. Her ignorant and superstitious | population requires an infusion of more vigorous blood. Her clergy, of whom Dr. Lempriere has no hesitation in saying that they are "the lowest order of pretended intellectual beings" he ever saw, have so identified themselves with the cause of murder and rapine, that no wholesome spiritual influence can be expected from them. Nothing but the inpouring of an energetic AngloSaxon population, bringing Protestantism with it, under favor of the freedom of worship allowed for the first time by Juarez, can give guarantees that the evils under which Mexico is laboring will be put down. Let it come from England,-when once the dread crisis of Secession is over, let it come from the Northern States of America. Unless rescued by the hands of Anglo-Saxon freemen, it is perfectly true, as Dr. Lempriere warns us, that Mexico must fall into the grasp of the Confederate slave-owners. So late as September last two separate Mexican States had been invaded by Texan Filibusters, Chihuahua by one Colonel Beller, under the pretext that he was hunting for Apache Indians; the town of Piedras, in Nuevo Leon, by a distinct band of some 120 Americans. Are these secret allies of the French Emperor, or do they simply co-operate together by instinct, the petty manstealer with the huge despot, like the jackal with the lion ? With such materials the Third Napoleon undertakes to re-organize Mexico, and his government is now entering into contracts for two years' supplies of provisions for the purpose. "The last laugher laughs the best," says the French proverb. It is difficult to believe that on this occasion the last laugher will be His Imperial Majesty of France. L. DISTANCE OF THE FIXED STARS.-It is not yet twenty-five years since the distance of a fixed star was measured. This was a star of the sixth magnitude, in the constellation Cygnus, and its parallax was found to be less than four-tenths of a second of space, which corresponds with a distance of 592,200 mean distances of the earth from the sun, and which requires a period of nine years for the transmission of its light. This great feat was first accomplished in 1840, by that illustrious, self-taught astronomer and mathematician, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, after three years of untiring application to the problem, and constituted an important epoch in the history of siderial astronomy. The nearest fixed star yet known is the Alpha Centauri, a star of the first magnitude in the southern hemisphere. This star is nearly twenty millions of miles from our sun; a distance which would require nearly three years for its light to reach down to us. It was formerly supposed that the larger stars where much nearer to us than the fainter ones; but this is found not to be the case with all of them. The nearest star is of the first magnitude; yet there are stars of the fifth and sixth magnitudes which are a great deal nearer to us than many of the first. The bright star Capella, which is of the first magnitude, is farther fron us than the pole star, which is of the third. This last-named star is so distant, that if it were now annihilated, it would still serve as a guide to the mariner for a quarter of a century. Among the innumerable stars which the telescope discloses to us, there may be those whose light is hundreds, and perhaps thousands of years in travelling down to our system. From Chambers's Journal. hovered sorrowfully over the marmalade, A VICTIM TO SCIENCE. with which I had not concluded my repast, On the very first morning, this autumn, as usual; my regretful fancy fluttered mufthat I essayed to leave Sandstone for London finward. I drew my cigar-case from my at 8.50, I missed the train by exactly two pocket, and was about to strike a light, minutes and a half. It was more than a when my eye lit upon a dreadful writing on mile from my new residence to the station the wall, which I had not before observed: (without adding in the "miss," which is said "Caution.-Before a full bench of magisto be "as good as a mile”), so I did not trates at Sandstone, on July 9th, Thomas think it worth while to retrace my steps, but Jones was fined £2 and costs for smoking determined to remain where I was for the in a railway-carriage. No smoking is per10.5 express. No railway waiting-room mitted either in the carriages, or in any part with which I am acquainted is a pleasant of the company's stations." This was a sad spot for the passing of spare time; but the blow, indeed, for it was drizzling enough to apartment devoted to that purpose at Sand- make the going out of doors unpleasant. I stone is peculiarly cheerless. One of its sat down and stared at the sixteen-shilling windows looks out on a blank wall about a trousers until I felt all legs. Then I stared foot distant from it, and the other on the out of the window that looked towards the straight, white, treeless road that leads to town. Upon the horizon appeared a black the town. The walls are decorated with the speck, which, after a great length of time, usual advertisements; that enormous Bed, developed itself into a man with an umwith Sent Free by Post printed under it, brella. He moved with all the slowness with which the public is so terribly familiar; and deliberation of a geometrical body; the Mr. Bass's inverted pyramid; and the six-motion of the point produced the line, the teen-shilling Sydenham trousers. There is motion of the line produced the plane, the a missionary-box on the mantelpiece, with motion of the plane produced a very solid a halfpenny in it; but that dropped out at old gentleman carrying a carpet-bag. the slit so easily, that it did not afford me the least satisfaction in attempting to get at it. There is also a time-table in a neat black frame. I was not displeased to find that there was another victim to unpunctuality as well as myself; but being a person of conciliatory disposition, I observed: "I am afraid, sir, that you have arrived a little late for the train." The stout passenger's pale face became florid for an instant, and his eye dilated with terror; but immediately afterwards he replied, with deliberate calmness: "You are mistaken, sir; I go by the 10.5. There are still five-and-forty minutes to spare, which is sufficient time, though by no means too much. You should be careful, however, in making such alarming observations; you might cause angina pectoris." I felt as though I had entered one of those hair-dressing establishments kept by a female, where the proprietress inveigles you into that awful back-room of hers, with the remark, that "the young man will be with you in a minute,” which you both know will be half an hour at least. The book-stall was closed, and the man who kept it had fled away immediately after the train had gone. The clerk had shut himself into his mysterious den, and nothing but fire would induce him to open the same again for fifty minutes, I knew. The two porters were playing some game, with which I was totally unacquainted, with a luggage-truck and a turn-table. There were no less than seven "Are you, then, one of those imprudent severe, uncompromising chairs in the apart-persons who endeavor to catch the train ?" ment, but I was ignorant both of Low and Lofty Tumbling, and could make nothing of them. "I was afraid, sir, that you had missed the 8.50," replied I; "I failed to catch that train myself by but a minute or two." observed the stranger with unaffected pity. "Permit me to present you with a little work, the perusal of which may tend to My wife had been urging me to make prolong a life which you are doing your best haste all the time I was at breakfast, for to shorten." He selected a small yellow fear I should miss the train. I now regret- pamphlet from about a dozen others which ted that I had hurried myself. My memory he carried in a capacious inside-pocket, and |