The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-09-25 00:00:00

de' D 10„ SUPPLEMENT TO t. # 0 0 1 4tbrrimoli u~_", AND GENERAL COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER Free," should have caught that infection of frothy exaggeration which so peculiarly besets the intel lectual efforts of our Transatlantic brethren, having for its aim a singularity mistaken for originality, a restless eccentricity paraded for distinction. That Mr. Murray, who is obviously fitted for better things, has been seized by the Yankee form of personal vanity, which reveals itself in the statement of an ordinary circumstance through the media of extraordinary metaphors, is proved in numberless instances ; yet in even the most nauseous of his affected drolleries there is some such scintillation of mental power as makes us heartily regret that his capabilities were not con trolled by the dictates of a better taste. He seems to forget that many an observation which passes for fun, or may be even permitted to do duty for wit in casual conversation, cuts but a sorry figure when soberly written out, and phlegmatically laid before a scrutinising public by the printer. His exclamation on reaching Cleavland—" Here we are, and by the powers of Mercury—this exple tive originated, I believe, with a proud barometer 7 - it is raining cats and dogs, and a host of in ferior animals," if uttered in the dripping circle of travellers momentarily assembled round the blazing fire of a snug inn, would under the circumstances have passed for a lively sally of wit, and would, in all probability, have been rewarded by a burst of merriment as loud and genuine as it would have been ephemeral; but dressed out as it is in the book before us, as material for rational cogitation, it becomes vapid and overstrained. So also are his continual allusion to the boilers of locomotives and steam boats under the similitude of the " Hissing Kettle," and his extravagant pictures of hostels and hosts ; his overstrained quaintnesses in con cluding factitious moralisings, and numerous other offences against the canons of literary com position, which lead in too many instances to a suspicion of poverty of fancy, while in reality they may be only the results of indolence—the misshapen and decrepid progeny of carelessness and questionable taste. Enough, however, and more than enough, in respect to the faults ; let us now see something more of the author, who with these numerous drawbacks to success has, nevertheless, furnished us with a book, out of which many useful lessons and much valuable information may be readily extracted. His observations on men and man ners, and on social institutions, when he chooses to examine these, are full of shrewdness, and indi cate no small amount of penetration. In pursuing his investigations, Mr. Murray necessarily encounters the American social blot of slavery, which he admits he cannot see the means of immediately curing. He considers and condemns the Fugitive Slave Law, and curiously enough perorates his suggestions for the amelioration of slavery by proposing that " a proper instrument for flogging be authorized by law ;" that is, on the supposition that the odious infliction cannot be dispensed with. The descriptive powers pos sessed by Mr. Murray are of a valuable character, deriving their chief importance from the stern and vivid earnestness with which they are em ployed ; in this respect forming an interesting contrast to the flippancy so unpleasantly remark- T 1.1 ___________Lll '8 P4LL op D A Y. A • ojec„ 'rut tall—t------ Tr' 441 k iti,,,,, . tees et 4 hi":11101is on the sunny slope ; tkit,,ilit thtir az,44otuagricilti the traced seas YOnder forest ope, - IN of : tar al ; the breezes through the grass T heo , : ale °ld quaint mysterious mass. The 11/ItitiNt tattllZ' aWay Zuith, NII&141144111Mber on the hill, the bahe4tevening and of day teak into 4kooh , t u ti ll the glittering rill ' long, 41441014;N, the while it glides Th e ~ N, fairy song. Rlitt • tarth ~ t he h g ta rt War d sink eare,„.t. . 8 g•lSoghtil9e s inging as he falls air drinks tit i A '4lb His Yalos-0 how the calm 'tidil NI sio • 1111°Werl, madrigals l ow nett tint ever since the morn, II do 'l l4 O t, tvtl among the golden corn. tipi,ell.4 tits I,reeD a thrill ,t.. Inca i'cee'l leaves, 'tie but the zephyr's wing :Se th : e l ) a Inoment—now 'tis still ; 11.041 iaS'lly 4-‘4O, lately wandering, taittshtekhunis hiveward rich with dowers s. It . 'thorns of sweet summer flower ojit'lltNwithl'i.°ll Dale cloud r• "le litta-4ttue sUnset's hectic flus h , ed. z!tr.., tor now glory-brow . r's fro, Ana st th e ,gt th. , .00W a solemn hush oeeD ;Niel adown the m . ountain-side, C re i 4h.liillees of the eventide. 4riltb t°l (leh 'be v.h*te moon '-‘,ter ~ -in tb 1 of the sky ; sue qi , e grey dome 1,1,01,11., . NIT kiiniarthe dark'ning steep, and soon ttrth tht Ind% lithten radiantly. ' 44. %act a:,it NtDie hues of even ~,,,-, teem blending into heaven. ;',. now no" utitielitcialt t4ett tar is spiendids:; for all ja dusk around N ottheeete:rrt'etta ti t t r plea ns.er the seal, the breeze rl' t he k 3de With eVery sound eyes kYriads of loving ny t ,t, -1 / 1 nut the bending skies. t tb kl etti 'he brown tint e f‘ t btto Itioo/0 on 11 stain, Nll the sharp crest eke). Is utily starlight& glint At let' 4 44 h 4 the stream's heaving breast. t the e are quiet—tke warm glow il k cloud and the hill's frowning brow' li! ti th• lisi -gt,,- sort -ll' dews ,5 - " , ais. eyelids of ni.ht dled flowers, ak4 ihtlid,, b -cra h , 4 41 ~ 1, ;. but when the warm sun woos 4-4 w4"ratA;,manght's golden hours, tlis d." 11 the with the twilight grey, Nay , s . ',II, r hYtie is laid away. Dubli n university magazine. able in other portions of the book. Let us take as an illustration the following delineation of a scene, unfortunately of no rare occurrence on the western waters ; it is A CATASTROPHE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. Night came on, and we all toddled off to roost. I am habitually a very sound sleeper, dropping off the moment I turn in, and never awaking till daylight. On this occasion, however, I awoke about two o'clock, a.m., and, do what I would, I could not coax myself to sleep again. While tosOng from side to side, I felt the vessel strike, as if gently touching a bank, and wood being a good conductor of sound, I heard water, as it were, gurgling in. My first idea was, "We are snagged ;" then, re membering how slight tie concussion had been, I calmed my fears, and turned over on my side, determined to bottle off a little more sleep, if possible. Scarce had the thought crossed the threshold of my mind, when men with hasty steps rushed into the saloon, banging frantically at the cabin doors, and the piercing cry was heard, " Turn outif turn out ! we're sinking." Passengers flew from their beds, and opened their doors to get what scanty light the lamps in the saloon might afford. A mysterious and solemn silence prevailed : all was action ; no time for words ; dress, catch up what you can, and bolt for your life. As I got to the side of the vessel, I saw a steamer ' alongside, and felt the boat I was in careening over. A. neighbour, in fear and desperation, caught hold of me, as a drowning man catches at a straw : no time for compli ments, this, when it is neck or nothing ; so, by a right hander in the pit of the stomach, I got quit of his clutch, and throwing my desk over to the other boat, I grasped the o wooden fender an d s lid d own . Thank God, I was safe ! ' o a. r the. alonga my companion was a l rea dy sa f e a l so . It was about half pastrdr dri zzly, wet more oe planktr morning,epasws passengers, eg q ros u t o t a e nn d db a oe r a k vr e, exceptboard of s o the me boat, of a t sinking the flame u t°c luggage were saved. The crew of the sound boat had hard work to keep people from trying to return and save their luggage, thus risking not only their own lives, but at the same time impeding the escape of others. From the gal lery above I was looking down upon the wreck, lit up by the lurid light of some dozen torches, when, with a crash like thunder, she went clean over, and broke into a thou sand pieces. Eighty head of cattle, fastened by the horns, vainly struggled to escape a watery grave. It was indeed a terrific and awful scene to witness. From her first striking till she went to pieces not a quarter of an hour had elapsed ; but who was saved ? Who knew ? and, alas ! that ',must add—Who cared ? The crew worked hard enough to rescue all, and to them be every credit for their exer tions; but the indifference exhibited by those who had been snatched from the jaws of death was absolutely appalling. The moment they escaped, they found their way to the bar and the stove, and there they were smoking, drinking, and passing the ribald jest, even before the wreck had gone to pieces, or the fate of one-half of their companions had been ascertained. Yet there was a scene before their eyes, sufficient, one would haveimagined , to have softened the hardest heart and made the most thoughtless think. There, among them, at the very stove round which they were gathered, stood one with haggard eye and vacant gaze, and at his feet clung two half-naked infants; a quarter of an hour before he was a hale man, a hus band, with five children; now, he was an idiot and a widower, with two. No, tear dimmed his eye, no. trace of grief was to be read in his countenance; though the two pledges of the love of one now no more hung helplessly round his legs, he heeded them not; they sought a father's smile—they found an idiot's stare. They cried : was it for their mother's embrace, or did they miss their brother and sisters ? Not even the piteous cry of motherless infancy could light one spark of emotion in the widowed husband's breast—all was one awful blank of idiotcy. A wife and three children, buried beneath piles of freight, had found a wretched grave; his heart and his reason had fled after them —never, apparently, to return. Surely this was a scene pre-eminently calculated to excite is those who were, by their very escape, living monuments of d-od's mercy, the deepest feelings of gratitude and com miseration ; yet, there stood the poor idiot, as if he had not been; and the jest, the glass, and cigar went on with as much indifference as if the party had just come out of a. theatre, instead of providentially escaping from a struggle between life and death. A more perfect exhibition of heartlessness cannot be conceived, nor do I believe any ~~ ft .4 I '4 e ite -E S 4 1s tcc ! , )l 4ve, 4,ket, ori a,nd the Free : or, Cuba, fray. Canada. Canada. By the Hon. 911 014, London : Parker and Son. ' I t ltr e : e4 °f th 0n ,1v4 g eet e Work now under c /( .41 t Y the production of one 441 1 t a co„ 11 31, ar e p r ehension, where left to sharp and trustworthy ; by a „" alld twisted, as in the pre t, affectation of that literary t'st h Qtiir e grow, and ' l 4l attin • -- cannot be put on at tt t i,t t def i • c lal and conventional mode cr i. b ; h t %' 4 l(i i redi let Vg Whatever comes in their 4,,etttttt ti lad het e eonles a patchwork of ill goth„ th_ eregeneous material. It is N 17:: t ° a:: 011 "e so qualified to turn 1 1t, for the good of others, 14 alid s o f the Slave and the , •0