The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-10-16 00:00:00

SUPPLEMENI I TO THE LL'ERPOOIt- STANDARD. 138 about before the pretender Demetrius allied him self with Mahomet, son of Amurath, Sultan of the Turks, by which he sought the infidel aid in obtaining possession of Constantinople. .the -wars which arose out of the contention between the troops of the Greek Christians and those of the aggressive Mussulman leader for pos session of Constantinople, the author has -an ample field for the exercise of descriptive talent, and of that he freely avails himself. Conspicuous among the military elements of civilised as op posed to barbarian warfare in those days was a remnant, and a distinguished one, of the famous "White Brotherhood," a band of free-lance mer cenaries, composed of North Britons, Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes, who in all cases choosing their own leaders, and fighting under their own standards, had made themselves famous by the bravery of their exploits in the intestine wars of the Italian States and among the petty rulers of Greece. This formidable band, about five thou sand in number, ranged themselves with alacrity under the rule of Constantine, and animated by fanatical zeal against the Turks, as well as by the encouragement of good pay and liberal largesses, 'they performed prodigies of valour, and served as a model on which to form the armies of the Empire. The host of fearless warriors thus banded together by the ties of bravery and a re lentless esprit d'corps was led by a Scottish hero known as the Knight of the Falcon, and his ad ventures, together with those valiant confederates, afford ample scope for the dramatic talent of Captain Spencer. In his description of fearful combat and fierce encounter, our author takes especial delight, and such delineations of martial prowess and exertion as he crowds his pages with would indeed have been out of place among the " dry historical details" which he has adopted the romantic form of narrative to avoid. Of course love, which we are told rules alike The court, the camp, the cottage, and the grove, forms an important element in the " Last Days of an Empire,"and its hero, the Knight of the Falcon, So faithful in love and so dauntless in war, performs a good many prodigies in both " lines of business," as the theatrical phrase has it. The story, albeit bordering a " leetle" too much on the marvellous side of historic action, is never theless told with energy, and although the dra matic movements are occasionally encumbered with considerable verbosity of dialogue, the in terest is generally well sustained, and the scenes and incidents iniagined and pourtrayed with skill and success. The Dublin University Magazine. Dublin : James M'Glashan. The October number of this magazine is full of rich and mellow fruit, in this respect resembling a well-cared-for farm. Abundant stores of nutri tious Mental alimenthave been sedulously collected and carefully garnered in its well-arranged repo sitories. It is rather more politically important on this occasion than it has been for several pre vious months, opening with a well-concocted paper on that interminable topic " the War," and closing with one on " Educational Reform," the centre between these front and rear divisions being occupied by a pungent article on " The Civil Service," founded on the report by Sir Charles Trevelyan and Sir Stafford Northcote, eked out by the opinion of the Rev. Mr. Jowett ; and an able statistical glance at the " Origin of the Russians." These may be designated the heavy battalia of the number, and they are coun tenanced by a fair array of prose and verse. Among the former we have continuations "Alberico Porro " and of Lever's - tale of the " Fortunes of Glencrore." Calcraft spins on an amusing. yarn of biographical memoranda of the " Dra matic Writers of Ireland." The number is also enriched by an able and vdl-spirited review of the literary character and abours of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Consul in Lilerpool for the United States of America. From tic preceding enumera tion, it will be seen that, variety of contents and in the interest of the abjects discussed, the October number of the Bain Magazine will bear a favourable comparison Wih its predecessors. Proceedings of the Liverpoil Literary and Philo sophical Society. No. /1. Liverpool : Printed for the Members of the Society, by H. Green- wood. This is a well-arranged ligest of the business transacted during the last the forty-fourth ses sion of the society's existeire. From this digest, we learn that the society limbers two hundred and four members, one hmdred and thirty-seven of whom are ordinary and ixty-seven correspond ing members ; that twentgour gentlemen have been added to the list of adinary and one to the list of corresponding menmers ; that four mem bers have died, twelve hay resigned, and three have been removed from the list, " under the operation of the second lay," during the course of the past session—tha for 1854-55. The number contains several uluable papers on sub jects connected with natura history, photography, and philology ; and concldes with a supplement to the Flora of Liverpool )y Joseph Dickinson, Esq., M.D., president of tle society. This num ber, which is tastefully ant well printed, is valua ble in many respects—chifly as an index of the industry and intelligence vith which the members devote themselves to subjets germain to the pur poses of literary and philosophical inquiry. PARIS UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION: {OCTOBEB 16, 11 turers of the north of Ireland, of Don a 1 1) Leeds would like to have at hempenoni fibre e ; .A creased quantities of flax and seeks for more silk ; papermakers are ,s T e l in every direction, for refuse-material al/e0 their trade, and the soap-boiler and canf o l are at their , wits' end for substances sue° can utilize. So it is, more or less , every branch of industry upon which law: capital have been at all strongly coace,7o and, besides- these avowed and pressinco, there are hundreds of new employments„ to start into life, and only prevented from the re() so by the absence in the markets et things which it is known nature has P r i abundance. Witness, as an exampleclosevd the rapid manner in which gutta pere ba d turned to account as soon as its pecoli a l i t were ascertained. Ingenious and obsery triumph over every difficulty, bato4l3:pi vantages are obtained by bringng ' 6 ,4 so which their inquiries must be proseeet r od at hand and so immediately under °l' s riii d, is the case in these exhibitions. A st ,10 5 ' tration of this will be. found in the iswoogi Canada. Knowing that the sturge°llo in the North American rivers , and grill, absence of isinglass from that 4f for (l a Professor Owen drew the attention sfilicifit nial Commissioner to the fact, intt°o to the chief London importer of thi What is the consequence 'I Wily, OW English envier visited the Canadio,;;l6\6 of this Exhibition, the same Conl, n ' l :o' l ,Y his attention to the specimens ul e , - 10 ' „ c "1 and gratefully recounted the 8116e-,00e," attended the efforts to establish Pij this new and valuable product, svPl•ty ent T r h ai e ls e o e f lle t e h t e ie s n tu e r f geo ra n w . to 1851, had been rejected 891011 g A furnishes some very striking es 4131 fu • 413 11 i vf powerful influence exercised 11 )' a rse' D ee , 1 ( opening up new and splendid s?""d" industry and capital may draw the base °ArY prodtice ITes n C i f supplies of material to utilize. 1( ° 11 0 - . I)s lfr o V lemons, citrons, dates, bananas , almonds, figs, sweet acorns, power; $ O O , grapes, and apples ; Indian corn, 11 - c `o'dP e d ye` with wheat, oats, barley, and rye, r i l/I ),Yi cottons, hemps, and flax; a most Ca l '. e r af tiful show of woods, and many otherq, dences of the natural resources of th, e , - ;11V, provinces, including lead ore ricil that exquisite ornamental stone, tilVoil l ' l 4l rine, a sort of transparent onyx , sa'",:nool ~ brought from quarries which were cy worked by the Romans. Here curious specimens of the great WI fibre of which is admirably nelstit•etli;si combined with the precious metals:- o f 1 walnut, and leather, and for o ther of}' purposes. Sir William Hooker or I ° 4 being naturally, composed of tbin ide7 easily worked ; that a solution o f gives it perfect whiteness, and thB ' ,l es the hues that other textile substaniijit, has been successfully applied varnish imparting brilliancy and sea v i tables and screens, to covering 11311e4 boxes, and to the making of wou a '„tte l L , trays, &c. Sir William also directs - 1 „. 1 in the crin veyetale of the dwarf P.'" u rt“, lection, which begins to be extensivevotv to the ol d / substitute for horsehair in stuffi'l, But perhaps the most important Wort.; tained in the notes addressed by • tha t botanist to the Board of Trade relates to the forests of Algeria , be of vast extent and value. Thu of Algiers is said to contain 20S,uv NEW MUSIC The Shooting Star Gay, published by Hime and Son, Liverpool, is a pod specimen of dance music, composed by Mr. V. Allen. It is spirited and appropriate in the metsure, and is tasteful y got up. It has been pubished at the request of Lieut.-Col. Lord Burghley and the officers of the Northamptonshire Militia and is dedicated to Captain James Peat, of tie Shooting Star, a por trait of which gallant and trim vessel embellishes the title-page. " Six Songs Without Words," arranged for the piano -forte, by J. T. Crown. London : Robert Cocks and Co. This set s the piano-forte score of music for the songs " Excelsior," " Three Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue," " The Gipsy's Life is a Joyou3 Life," " The Lime Blossoms," " Why do Sunmer Roses Fade ; and " Weep not for Me." To each of these favourite songs there is an appro?riate melody tastefully arranged. The set is b(autifully got up, and is published at a small charge. RAW MAT3RIALS. AMONG the most important benefits derived from these exhibitions must be included the atten tion which is concentrated thereby upon raw materials, and upon fresh sources of supply for those already in use,, and which are not to be obtained in sufficient cpantity. The surplus labour and capital of the world are useless, and even dangerous, unless profitable employment is provided for them ; and that employment can only be secured by judicious selections from those stores of undeveloped wealth with which the mineral, the , vegetable, and the animal kin g d oms a b oun d . Manchester is constantly shrieking out for more cotton, the West Riding of Yorkshire for larger and more varied imports of wool ; the manufac- , can cl o Ilb