The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-28 00:00:00

SUPPL plain, I of course pulled up, and expressed a hope that the jockey was not hurt. " Don't stand starin' and jawin' there'; F ed the prostrate man, "but heir me up—l'm propel:tifta , —l blow like a horse that has' go% the heaves;nd I giessithad better wash my facefor:l'veslowed up the ground 'With my nose the matter ar a foot or two: s ' Remembering the trick that haA been attempted on my first appearance on the race-course, at Southsea Common, I was too wary to dismount (which I afterwards ascertained was the Yankee's object), as he hoped by that manoeuvre to get me distanced ; so calling to some soldiers of the artillery to help Jonathan to the weighing-stand, I cantered over the course. No sooner was his trick seen through, than up he jumped, and, mounting his horse, which had now been caught and brought to him, tried to overtake me ; but that was not to be done : I had passed the winning-post ere he had arrived at the distance-flag, and he was declared dis tanced. Of course the volumes are spiced with a good deal of love-making, quadrilling, and ball and drawing-room adventure. They also have sufficient unction imparted to the loftier scenes by an ad mixture of the vulgar and the lowly, all of which are hit off con amore and with spirit ; and the author, even when handling subjects generally garnished with vulgar writing, never loses the tone and characteristics of a gentleman. As a whole, Philip Courtenay is fully entitled to rank among the clever and entertaining books of the day. The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, with Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Ex planatory Notes, by the Rev. George Gilfllan. Edinburgh : James Nichol. The volumes before us constitute two of the library series of the British Poets, which we have had such frequent occasion to commend. In the instance under contemplation, the liberal spirit of the publisher has induced him to travel out of the round of poetic literature which lay open to his hand, and to select for republication a collec tion of poems, the copyright of which has not ex pired, thus adding materially to his outlay in producing the work, but without enhancing in any degtee the price of the volumes to his sub scribers or the public. Such liberality on his part deserves, and will, without doubt, receive encouragement and reward. The popularity of this handsome series continues, we are happy to learn, on the increase, and these two volumes cannot fail to augment it. Besides a full collec tion of the excellent poetry of Bowles, which has been far less popular than its merits entitled it to be, we have, as is usual in these volumes, a brief biographical memoir of their author, and an elaborate, though not long, dissertation on the character of his poetry, by the Rev. G. Gilfillan. In this dissertation Mr. Gilfillan glances briefly over the poetry of the last century, contrasting it with .the more vigorous and energetic produc tions of the present. To the poetry of the eighteenth century we think he does but scant justice, and treats it with uncalled-for severity ; it must, however, be conceded that much truth is mingled with his censure. his theory is that an earnest people creates an earnest literature iu prose and poetry, and thus far he is right ; but we scarcely feel warranted in conceding all he demands in the following passage, in which, after tracing•the dawn of a more earnest age than the preceding, he says,— The French Revolution lifted up its volcano voice, and said to the world of literature and song, as well as to the world at large, " Sleep no more." From this date the character of poetry was changed, and I)gan to assume that antagonistic attitude to the school of Dryden and Pope, which we described in our commencing remarks, and which yet continues. Britain got engaged in a Titanic warfare, an earth-shaking contest —a war of opinion, not of treaties—of people's, not of kings; and instead of " Campaigns," our poets indited Odes to France, to the Departing Year, hymns to " Carnage, God's Daughter," and "VlSiOni of Don Roderick." Our reli s ion became more intense and earnest, v and this produced, 9u the one hand, the fine religious ernes ,MENT TO THE LIVERPOOL STAN of a Montgomery, the poetical prose of a Foster and a Hall, and the rapt effusions of a Coleridge and Wordsworth; and, on the other hand, told even on our scepticism, which became more impassioned too, and wieldad .against religion a bar of burning iron, like " Queen Mab,." - instead of a piece of polished wood, like the " Essay on, Alan." ' Our morality improved, in outward decorum, at least, and the last remains of the indecency of former times were• swept away—to re-appear, indeed, afterwards partially in " Don Juan." Poetry, too, after coquetting for a little, not very gracefully, with Science in Darwin's "-Botanic Garden," and " Temple of Nature," aspired to the hand of Philosophy; and the Lake poets and others not merely found a poetic worship in nature, but set to song_ many of the wondrous speculations of modern psychology. A. taste for ancient, simple poetic writers spread widely, . and produced Scott's brilliant imitations of ballad poetry, and Wordsworth's early lyrical strains. Popular principles began to prevail, and knowledge to circulate among the lower classes ; and they learned not only to read p,oems with relish, but their " poor dumb mouths" ever and anon were opened to utter a stern and vigorous poetry of their own. Along with these and other beneficial changes,,there were, indeed, much extravagance and exaggeration introduced. With the formality and stiffness, much of the point, pith, and correctness of the old school was (query, were),lost —a good deal of false enthusiasm and pretence, mingled with areal inspiration ; jackdaws and mocking-birds, as. well as doves. and eagles, abounded. But, on the whole, we pestion if any age of the world has equalled the early part of, the 19th century in the quantity, or in the quality, in the power, depth, brilliance, or variety of its poetry. As in the previous issues, the editing of these volumes indicate much care and attention ; the , printing and paper are both admirable,. and the lowness of price at which subscriber& can obtain the series seems bordering on the marvellous,. more especially if their general beauty be taken. into consideration. From a remark in the prefra, tory notice we are glad to perceive that tlte Poetical Works of Pope are in preparation ; this will be a valuable addition to the series. The Divine Philosophy of History : a I3i3course delivered in St. John's Church, Liverpool. By the Rev. W. F. Taylor, LL.D., Incumbent. Liverpool: E. Howell. The above discourse is the last of a series deli vered in St. John's Church, by the Rev. Dr. Taylor, suggested, as their author informs us, by the distressing events which characterised the close of the last year's campaign in the Crimea. The heart-rending circumstances of thosed reary months were such as to call from even the most indifferent observer remarks of potent meaning-- from the most callous, expressions of woe and mourning. In Dr. Taylor, the contemplation of them led to the employment of higher impulses than those which find utterance in querulous plaint, or indignant condemnation. Founding his pre sent discourse on the aphorism of Divine wisdom, " Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people," the reverend doctor takes a rapid but comprehensive review of the Jewish decline till the Babylonish captivity. Having done so, he takes a more extended view of the events to which the discourse more imme diately points ; and from these he deduces in happy logical sequence the obvious interposition of the Almighty in ruling the destinies of men. This interposition lie shows clearly is not to be expected in striking displays of individual and particular interference, but in the direction of those natural laws by which the moral and phy sical world is governed. In a series of well-traced parallels he shows the agency of God's moral government of the nations, and demonstrates that, how proudly soever man may promise to himself certain results from what he imagines well-schemed projects, God, through the opera tion of those ordinary laws which He has fixed for man's direction, scatters those projects to the winds. Having eloquently elaborated the princi ples he lays down, the reverend gentleman con cludes by a happily-conceived practical application of those principles to the subject in hand. The iNuGulzr.e..lo,4 BARD. r O l discourse is-at once eloquently peroo humbly hopeful in religious spirit. Flartiwithel . Shilling,Atronet age' and t;e7) 1855, London: R. lifttedigsw el Tlis-handy little volume is an eraiile lL one, and forms a companion to tb e l tis recentlfissued by the same pubiiiker• fr arranged.and easy of ;'consultation= fr • Fraser. O s, , 0 1., A, guide book t3,any town mail. f ee l' simple in its construction, rick or; Iffi e pr ii , style ;.but it would:be a , difficaltlnot t ' v .t , / of interest', conveying_as..it must: cloy" of importance relative to locahties-P0 whick,all feel a greater e f or less degree j i ot t tl , The. one before- us. is.. unique in; sele 1 :01 .t ; Thitt.!its-compiler-i.not very ankbiti° ll o 'erAr honours may be gathered from: 011 „i ‘ v, , arnples.; yet takan.as.a whole the b°,"per y a fair comparison,with many of its c°7e. - - AN Al SING: ADVES 411P' 1 —_,... 'NE reader may be curious to 1‘ 11 : 0 411 period the event: I; am. ahout to reit' 44 o l l, , Theaxons of delicacy, however, preV'oli_ gratifying even,so.reasonable a desire i:4 / only say, that the harrowing circun a i ir t place in the. summer- of . a, certain sate the time of the arrival of the first b til a i T Zoological Gardens. in, London mot er,l6 day. I had been a midshipman i leiri well-known ship named after His - •LettPif William the Fourtk; but receivilli ll 110 home announcing my father's devfrl/ returned to this country to take f ji eOl well as, a minor could, of the foil ' t be ; was not very viell acquainted wi til b ee , ,V except the liquid part of it—haviPg d ipr o . 1 up, in a country town, and shiPP% li a,, .0 . but to make up for that, I. 11 **Th V •A , bol If opinion of myself, and watched 1 e oP e r . ~, and anxiety the sprouting of who t ose At i# be a very promising nionstache• fir 40' after getting myself into full tog i ! se er i on to ing my horsemanship near the Zoo 37 o 4ef f el: when I saw, in the path leading A t te 0 0, one of the loveliest women that T t s .l , e li s e o oi the eyes of an ex-reefer. What;ale'oo,e t ot, Ido not know. It was a thing c° hr to' 11 1 ; 0 4 i in my mind, that I was a full-g r 'of . that a full-grown man has a rigle el A *: woman. In short, I dismounte, u .' v ieitY; r sr to the groom, and followed my ü b i t he O tt o I, girl was behind her, walking wi t o t, io s ie o f who had another child, an infa s c ode:0 1 1Y and to my great satisfaction, th l arr es ° L ate lie'') put the baby presently into th e ir I s c b oo l ii i girl, not much bigger than itseiv re , If or o , proceeding, saw the little ere: i t: l i n g ti:e1 0 1 was but a totter at the best , t ! bv s I°l c i ly under her burden, and the u d a tio . ', l, ' soi l;, f ,i i. trailing on the ground. "M a ac ter-d e 401 6 ; 0 4 lady, touching my hat in q u o . cr ons i' ro eild 1 " that baby, I fear, is in cl;t 1111 " she t ti t he f il l are perhaps not aware of it • , but 0 io , l instantly. It was what I wan t e d , had va l .! i received from her beautiful, o e n ) (4), 0 11% y ou l i, haughtiness in it ; and << Sir, I tho so il s tf, head slightly, and said, 0 ' woman thought I had tal` arcao genil 09, walked k n e o d t i d ,a a p r i e dl t y o ocno.ntillinue I,,,atclinte, ittetaltiavaeoribotvcrioti°o? liberty in criticising the. n .af ity f t be l o w walk ; and as when turm f he face ? 0 , 7 0 . d i scom fiture o .n b , ro uglg es s. smile at my maid, who snatched the I): _l vikvis r dignation mingled with ing 3