The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-09-13 00:00:00

TUM Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun ; Conspiring with him now to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run, To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel ; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o'er-brimmed their clammy cells. Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep, Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy book Spares the next swathe, and all its twined flowers; And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook ; Or by a cider press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours. Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou bast thy music too, While barred clouds bloom the soft dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue; Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn, Among the river gallows, borne aloft, Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; And full grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourne, Hedge•crickets sing ; and now with treble soft The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft, And gathering swallows twitter in the skies. KEAT& REVIEWS OF BOOKS. ,Tie Comedies of Aristophanes, (A new and literal translation.) By W. J. Hickie. London : H. G. Bohn. In the book before us, which forms one of Bohn's Classical Library, and the first volume of the dramas written by Aristophanes, we have six of the comedies, rendered as literally into English as the differinc , idioms of the Greek and English languages will permit. The plays here produced are " The Acharians," " The Knights," " The Clouds," " The Wasps," " Peace," and " The Birds," all produced in as plain an English ren dering as is compatible with a due understanding of the various habits, customs, and phrases of the Greek poets and people. In addition to the trans lation, which exemplifies the terse and significant conciseness of the Greek original, Mr. Hickie furnishes his readers with copious notes and parallel passages from different translators and commen tators, who have illustrated the author, or translated his works, in Latin, German, or English. He also supplies illustrations from original English, historical, and dramatic authors. The aim of the present edition is evidently completeness joined with portability and cheapness. It will, when finished, form a valuable addition to the English collection of Greek and Latin classic authors. Hogg's Instructor, Edinburgh : Jas. Hogg Thcs - serial, which, as noticed on - a former occasion, has been changed from a weekly into a monthly publication, continues to labour hard in its efforts to deserve public favour. It opens with an elaborate essay devoted to Disraeli as an author more than as a statesman; although the essayist does his best to induce a belief that the brilliant orator, the sagacious and chivalrous statesman, and the dashing novelist, are merely convertible phases of the same intellectual essence. In his endeavour to effect a demonstration of this somewhat difficult proposi tion, the author of the essay gilds with no stinted distribution of ornament the literary labours and achievements of the author of " Vivian Grey" and " Coningsby," while, with equal profusion and much less candour, he hints doubts and hesitates dislike in reference to his political career. Such a course of procedure is disingenuous and unworthy. There exists no regulation, literary or otherwise, to induce a compulsory admiration of Mr. Disraeli's wonderful political aptitude any more than there did to ensure his ministerial sway ; but candour, not to say generosity, ought to restrain even a political opponent from insinuating implied feeble ness in one walk of life, by affecting an intensity of admiration for another. Is an example, it could scarcely be admitted, as a fair mode of testing the essayist's ability as a critic, to insinuate that he was a brilliant conversationalist, or had exhibited wonderful self-possession in unfolding and uphold ing some false and scarcely plausible theory in Physical science. To laud him for the latter quality to such a degree as comparatively to obscure the former, would be about as fair a mode of action as lie has exhibited in his mode of treating Mr. Disraeli. It is an attempt to smother his greater fame, by heaping admiration on what the critic takes pains to exhibit as the smaller. The second article in the _lnstructor is a silly and sad attempt to spin a pathetic story out of an incident which its author, with much labour a n d a n i n fi n ity o f vu l gar pcotticisms, fails entirely to accomplish. The story is as unskilfully elaborated, as it is tastelessly over laid and encumbered by provincial vulgarisms. In point of fact, instead of being intended to pre serve what might have been an interesting little domestic tragedy, its sole aim appears to be a wish to embalm in a printed form some childish and strictly local idioms of the Scottish dialect—not, be it understood, the racy, musical doric of Burns, of Ramsay, or of Scott, but of some twaddling, loquacious, and illiterate Moorland herd. A patois as inexpressive as it is repulsive. The number contains a fair and readable essay on " The Life and Poetry of Milton," chi e fly d evo t e d, h owever , t o laudation of a new edition of the poet's works. In the essay, nevertheless, there is a considerable amount of interesting reflection. "Monsters of the Deep" and " Glasses from Life's Phantas magoria" are amusing as well as instructive ; and in the " Notes on a Visit to France" much sharp ness of observation and readiness of description are manifested, as will be gathered from the following epitomized view of FRENCH TOWNS, A pretty good idea of French towns in general is got by the sight of one. The old towns are each other's Photographs. Your juvenile readers may, however, at once banish all ideas of what they have seen at home, if they wish to realize a French town. Let them bring up again the bright tableaux of Bagdad and Bassora, which their " Arabian Nights" created. Open bazaars display the gayest wares ; and blandishments to allure unwitting wayfarers into a purchase are formed by a prodigal num ber of huge-sized letters, the literary decoration of every house. Silence, said to be characteristic of Oriental houses, is altogether wanting. The Sunday carpet of Cairo streets has its representative in a pave of stone blocks, more rudely sculptured than the worst parts of London could show, and sorely testing the benignity of one troubled with corns. While fine shops line either side, a gutter in the middle forms a meridian of longtitudelor the whole street, while ropes thrown across from house to house at intervals, to suspend an oil lamp upon, become the parallels of lata.de. At night these lamps throw their pale gleams upon the kennel like the moon upon the silver stream, and by day the fat horses of the town plash through it, dragging after them their lumbering vehicles, which correspond in clumsiness to the blocks over which they jolt. Foot-pavements are superfluities, except in the best parts of Paris, and in those towns where Ei intercourse has initiated the luxury. Close to the market, the old church, with ornate win dows and walls crumbling to decay, chimes an accom paniment to the great vocal choir outside. Every tongue is vibrating as fast as a steel spring. To dispute about prices is so identified with habit and character, that abate ment is very energetically argued as a matter of course. Where this is not going on, other merchants, of garlic or cabbages, make quite as much noise with their protesta tions of un bon march 6, if the listners will but " deal here, and not with those imposing people over the way." Yet a sense of dilapidation is begot. The strange gable roofs, with tiers of attics one above another, run so high up as to make the whole appear as a basement floor, with a Primrose-lull" at the top. The centre of gravity, in innumerable instances, goes beyond its valid boundaries, giving to the houses every legal claim to be entered in the category of leaning towers of Pisa, as illustrations in works of juvenile philosophy. Too high, too broad, too huge in every sense ever to get a thorough overhauling, their ruinous aspect continuously sets us moralizing. Very like is the present condition of the northern towns, and much, too, of Paris itself, to what our pictures give ris of London in olden times. Mediaeval architecture and ruins arrest the eye, and bespeak the status of centuries back, wonderfully contrasting with the exquisite and tasteful embellishments of the splendid parts of the ca pital, which as plainly indicate France to be in the rear of nations by as many hundred years. The number contains, besides the articles to Which we have alluded, a couple of sweet poetical contributions ; and, as a whole, the September Publication is entitled to claim a fair rank among t he mnnthlies. il l im JEWS IN POLAmD.--We learn from Warsaw,. that ,Th4s„government has lately ptblished the following order "'"". teference to r t he Jewish ceremonial observed at the celebration ofrriage :--" As the custom in Jewish. L it l rria ß, es of cutting a part of the hair of the fiancees de v`—`-`s, es the most part, upon the good pleasure of the Rabbine or Jewi s h priests, the latter shall for the future abstain from. this I ceremony, and shall so engage to do in writing. , ri, Wien be po sh who refuse to enter into this engagement d by a detention of two or three years in a house of corretiou. or priest sh ou l d inf If it should happen that any Rabbi ringe this order, he shall immediately be incorporated in the military servi ce, he active 'y • and if he is not fit for sh m ili tary penal colony. all Pass ten or twelve years in a The Jewess who shall have sub ofmitted to this ceremony shall be compelled to PaY a fine five silver rouble s Jew i s h benevolent , whieb shall be appropriated to the edablishmente."—lournal de Frank fort. . . VARIETIES. THERE is a man out west who is so bent upon accom plishing his purpose that he has become hunchbacked. GENIUS unexerted is no more genius than a bushel of acorns is a forest of oaks. A Goon WORKMAN WANTED.—He must be able to rivet the attention," must understand how to join " a broken rest," be able to " sharpen the understanding," and to bring rambling arguments ff " to the point." Any " old file" having a few wise saws," will probably suit. Persons used to "vice" need not apply. EVEEY FAMILY at Matagorda, Texas, can have a salt water bath on their own premises. Under the city, at a depth of about eight feet, is a stratum vein of saline water, and clear as rock crystal. Almost every house holder has dug a well, inserted a chain pump, and erected a small bath horse in his own garden. CHARACTERISTIC CANT OP THE AGE.—We live in an age of universal cant, and I swallow all your shams on the easy condition that you swear to mine ; and whenever I hear people praising the present age, and extolling its wonderful progress, and all that, I just think of all the quackery I see advertised in the newspapers, and sigh heartily to myself at our degradation ! Why, man, the " Patent Pills, for the cure of Cancer," and the Agape mone, would disgrace the middle ages. And it is not a little remarkable that England—so prone to place herself at the head of civilisation—is exactly the very metropolis of all this humbug !—Dodd Family Abroad. YOUNG PEOPLE have an astonishing craze for every thing that can bear the name of multum in parvo :—a knife with a dozen blades of different design ; a stick that is at once a staff, a whistle, a telescope, a toasting-fork, an eel-spear, and a yard-measure ; a pencilcase that has as many contrivances in it as there are colours in a pencil of light ; a penholder, a toothpick, a seal, a sovereign-gunge, and a letter-weight ; last, not least, a theory of universal appliance. The world is all before them ; they have much to learn ; they entertain a vast admiration for the man who can supply them with quintessences.—Hogg's In structor. CUVIER AND SATAN.-In the Gentleman's Magazine, for this month, an article called " Traits of the Trappists," and bearing the signature of "John Doran," concludes with a characteristic anecdote of Cuvier. He once saw in his sleep the popular representation of Satan advancing towards him, and threatening to eat him. " Eat me !" exclaimed the philosopher, as he examined the fiend with the eye of a naturalist, and then added, " Horns ? hoofs ? graminivorous ! Needn't be afraid of him !" This might be made applicable to the threatenings of some of Satan's friends in the Popish community levelled against the Pro testant Church, which knows, also, how to value their menaces.-Church and State Gazette. A DAGUERREOTYPE OF SYDNEY. - The streets of London are said to be paved with gold. The streets of Sydney are slabbered with slush. The principal thorough fares are in a most filthy state, and the pavements are still worse, because, besides being filthy, they are absolutely dangerous. In the parts where there are pavements, those pavements are generally in a very dilapidated state, whilst other portions of the pavement are repaired with a slippery substance, on which people may be seen sliding and slipping, unless they prefer going into the street to avoid the dangers of the footpaths. The attention of the proper authorities requires to be attracted to the state of the lightning conductor at the powder magazine on the Flagstaff-hill, in Fort-street. The conductor is led over the roof of the magazine, being supported upon several small chocks of wood, and at the gable end, facing Miller's Point, the chocks have fallen away, so that the rod actually lays upon the gable end of the building, which might have the effect, in a heavy lightning storm, to set the magazines on fire-a blow up not to be desired by the residents in Fort-street. Altogether the way in which the rod is laid along the chocks seems a very rude idea in these days of advancement.-Sydney Empire. SIWESPEARE PILGRIM s.-A curious statement has just been prepared of the number and nations of the several visitors to Shakspeare's house, at Stratford-upon-Avon. The statement has been compiled from the signatures of the parties themselves ; and for the period from the Ist of May, 1851, to the 30th of April, 1852, the total number is 2,216 ; and of these, England furnished 1,642, Scotland 58, Ireland 9, United States 444, East Indies 1, Australia 3, Brazils 5, Germany 18, Channel Islands 1, Hungary 3, Switzerland 2, California 2, France 4, New Zealand 1, Italy 3, Newfoundland 1, South America 1, Russia 2, Swe den 1, Mauritius 1, Cape of Good Hope 2, Canada 1, Hol land 3, Finland 1, Bagdad 1, Madeira 1, Belgium 1, Austria 4. For a like period, from the Ist of May, 1852, to the 30th of April, 1853, the return shows a slight increase, the total being 2,821 :-England 1,898, Scotland 4, Ireland 14, United States 306, Australia and New Zealand 8, South America 4, France 12, Egypt 1, Switzerland 5, Cape of Good Hope, 1, Germany 8, East Indies 3, Hungary 2, Islands of South Pacific, 1, Russia 3, Canada 5, Silesia 1, California 1, Turkey 1, China 2, West Indies 1, Spain 3. Jonathan, it will be seen, considering the distance at which he lives from the poet's house, is about as great a Shaks peare worshipper as John Bull himself.---Athenceum. FOREIGN COMPLAISANCE. - Ask what you will of a foreigner, be it an inquiry into the financial condition of his country, its military resources, prison discipline, law, or religion, he'll never acknowledge his inability to an swer, but give you a full and ready reply with facts, dates, and data, all in most admirable order. At first you are overjoyed with such ready sources of knowledge. You flatter yourself that even with the most moderate oppor tunities you cannot fail to learn much ; by degrees, how ever, you discover errors in your statistics, and at last, you come to find out that your accomplished friend, too polite to deny you a reasonable gratification, had gone to the pains of inventing a code, a church, and a coinage for your sole use and benefit, but without the slightest inten tion of misleading, for it never once entered his head that you could possibly believe him ! I know it will sound badly ; I am well aware of the shock it will give to many a nervous system ; but for all that I will not blink the declaration-which I desire to record as formally and as flatly as I am capable of expressing it-which is, that of one hundred statements an Englishman accepts and re lies upon abroad, as matter of fact, ninety-nine are un true. Full fifty being lies by premeditation, thirty by ig norance, ten by accident or inattention, and the remainder, if there be a Balance, for I'm bad at figures, from any other cause you like.—Dodd Family Abroad. INTEREST IN FAVOUR OF YOUTH.—Never at any for mer period of our history has the child-life been magnified into such importance in the pages of literature, and in the eyes of thinking men. Look at the last novel : the first volume is a minute analysis of childish experience. Look at the innumerable schemes of education ; think of the esteem in which the teacher of youth is now held ; think of the host of books composed expressly for children, ser mons for schools, manuals of devotion ; the man who overthrew ancient history, writing Greek legends for his grandson, the most popular author of the day penning a " Child's History of England;" a veritable Archbishop inditing " Easy Lessons on Reasoning," and " Easy' Les sons on Money Matters.' It is the mark of a missionary epoch, dissatisfied with the past, and doubtful of the pre sent, but having in hope, and better than hope—expecta tion. And no one, certainly no statesman, represents this tendency more strikingly than Mr. Disraeli. His mind is singularly well balanced in the regard which it bestows alike on the past, the present, and the 'future. He is ab solutely unrivalled for the intensity of his gaze, and the depth of his insight into the secrets of the future. Pro phecy, fortune-telling, astrology,. soothsaying—call it what you will—this fascinated gazing into the future as into the eye of a basilisk, is a part of his oriental heritage; as, in like manner, also, and as the natural effect of it, is the warmth of his interest in the possibilities of youth. Where do we find such biographies of youth as in the Hebrew Scriptures ? It is because youth is in the season of pro mise, and because of the many senses in which the child is the father of the man, none is more often true than this, that the achievements of the man are but the schemes of the stripling.--Hogg's Instructor. SEVILLE AND ITS INITABITANTS.—SeViIIe is situated on the banks of the Guadalquiver, in a large plain, whence it derives its name of Hispalis, which, in Carthagenian, means a fiat piece of ground, if we may believe Arias Montano and Samuel Bockhart. It is a vast, straggling town, of very recent date, gay, smiling, and animated, and must really appear a charming place to Spaniards. It would be impossible to find a more striking contrast to Cordova. The town of Cordova is dead : it is an os suary, a catacomb in the open air, on which neglect is slowly sprinkling its white dust ; the few inhabitants you meet at the corners of the streets look like apparitions that have mistaken the hour. Seville, on the contrary, is full of the petulance and busy hum of life ; the sound of gaiety floats over her at every instant of the day ; she hardly allows herself time to take her siesta. She cares little for yesterday, and still less for to-morrow ; she exists altogether for the present. Memory and hope are the consolation of those who are unhappy, and Seville is happy. She enjoys herself, while her sister, Cordova, wrapt in silence and solitude, appears to be dreaming mournfully of Abdoraman —of the great captain and all his departed glories, brilliant meteors in the nights of the past, while all she now possesses are ashes. To the great disappointment of travellers and antiquarians, whitewash reigns supreme at Seville ; the houses have a new coat of it three or four times a year ; this gives them a look of cleanness and neatness, but effectually prevents any hives tigation of the remains of the Arabic or Gothic sculptures which formerly adorned the place. Nothing can be less varied than this network of streets, where the eye sees but two tints—the indigo of the sky, and the chalky white of the walls, on which the azure shadows of the neighbouring buildings are thrown ; for in warm countries the shadows are blue instead of being grey, so that the objects appear to be lighted up on one side by the moon, and on the other side by the sun ; the absence, however, of all sombre tints produces a general appearance of life and gaiety. Doorways closed by iron gates allow you to look through and see the patios ornamented with columns, mosaic pavement, fountains, flower-pots, shrubs, and pictures. As regards the external architecture, it offers no particularly remarkable features ; the houses are rarely more than two or three stories high, and you hardly meet with a dozen facades that are interesting in an ar tistic point of view. The streets are paved, like those of all Spanish towns, with small pebbles ; but, on each side, there is a kind f pavement consisting of tolerably large flat stones, on which the crowd walks in single file. If a man and woman meet, the man always makes way for the woman with that exquisite politeness which is natural to Spaniards, even of the very lowest classes. The women of Seville quite, deserve the reputation for beauty which they enjoy ; they are almost all alike, as is always the case in pure races of a well-defined type ; their long eyes, opening to the temples, and fringed with long brown lashes, produce an effect of black and white, which is un known in France. When a woman or young girl passes you, she slowly drops her eyelids, and then suddenly opens them again, shoots at you a look so searching that you are perfectly unable to bear it, rolls the pupil of her eye, and then again drops the lashes over them. The Bay adere Amany, when dancing the Pas des Colombes, was the only person who could convey the slightest notion of the murderous glances which the east has bequeathed to Spain ; we have no terms to express this play of the eyes ; the word ojear is wanting in our vocabulary. These glances, which are so full of vivid, sudden brilliancy, and which almost embarrass strangers, have, however, no par ticular signification, and are cast upon the first object that presents itself ; a young Andalusian girl will look with the same passionate expression at a cart passing by, a dog running after its tail, or a , group of children play ing at bullfights. The eyes of the people of the north are dull and, meaningless in comparison ; the sun has, never left its reflection in them.—Gautier's Wanderings in Spain. THE LIVERPOOL HE UNruNc AL WOMAN', like t it time, inter- becomes disliked, beca feres with our plans, causes uneasy feelings, and 17 tells us we are not of sufficient importance to make h( more prompt. To the business man time is money, and to the business woman it is more—it is peace, comfort, and domestic prosperity. ADVICE TO A BRIDE.—I beg to remind my new,daugh ter that the husband has in his daily avocations a thousand elements of disturbance to which the wife is an utter stranger ; and it will be her privilege, and her title to the respect of all whose respect is worth having, to make his own fireside the most attractive place in the universe for the calm repose of a weary body or excited mind. VITALITY OF EGGS.—It is well known that eggs will keep a considerable time in Milk of lime or other means of entirely excluding the atmosphere : and we have an ac count of some, dug out of an old wall of a sacristy near Lago Maggiore, quite sound after having been encased there 300 years. It becomes then a curious inquiry, how long the productive vitality of the eggs can exist in this state of atmospheric exclusion—whether they retain it, like toads, snakes, and cold-blooded animals, sometimes found in solid stone ? Can any of your readers give or refer us to any instances, respondent to the question ? J. Prideaux. THE MlsAppLicAnox of English words by foreigners is often very ludicrous. A German friend saluted us once with, " Oh, good-bye, good-bye"—meaning of course, " How d'ye do ?" It is said that Dr. Chalmers once en tertained a distinguished guest from Switzerland, whom he asked if he would be helped to kippered salmon. The foreign divine asking the meaning of the uncouth word kippered, and was told that it meant preserved. The poor man in a public prayer soon after offered a petition that the distinguished divine might long be " kippered to the Free Church of,Scotland." A CONVENIENT AURA.NGEMENT.—At the recent cap ture of Amoy the four city gates were thrown open. Through three of them the " patriot army" entered, and took possession of the town, while the fourth was left open for the accommodation of the Tartar officers, in case they should be of opinion that— lie who fights and runs away, May live to fight another day. The convenience of this arrangement so forcibly struck the Mandarins, that they evacuated the town without further ado. __STATE OF SCULPTURE IN ENGLIED. - It has been said, writes " a Working Sculptor," that sculpture can scarcely sustain itself in England, that it is an art not suited to the English taste, and which never can flourish here. That it is at a very low ebb is very evident from the amount of talent and labour in the market unemployed, or not employed as it ought to be. Much is said about art education, and training men to a high pitch of perfection, so that they may be able to carry out designs properly ; but the matter is not considered with that regard to truth and right which should influence our reasonings. What is the use of stocking the market with that which no one will purchase ? Where are your buyers of art-labour ? Do they exist in sufficient numbers, and do they know how to buy in the best market,? In a word, have our aristocracy a sufficient knowledge of art to enable them to judge whether a piece of sculpture be good or bad ? I see enough of them to know that very few of them have this knowledge. What can be a better proof of this than the fact that hundreds of figures are yearly imported from the continent, and eagerly bought, which are a disgrace to the maker and the buyer Schools should be established for the education of the sons of the aristocracy in the true principles of art, which principles are to be found in Greek art and in the works of Flaxman. When they have formed their taste they will find that there are men to execute designs in England, and that she stands at the head of the world so far as sculpture is concerned.— The Builder. HAYDON PAINTING CLABKSON, THE PHILANTHROPIST. —Found the dear old man at tea with his niece and wife, looking much better than when in town, Playford is a fine old building : 1593 the last date, but must he much older they say. It is surrounded by a moat, with running water. Clarkson has a head like a patriarch, and in his prime must have been a noble figure. He was very happy to see me ; but there is a nervous irritability which is peculiar. He lives too much with adorers, especially women. As he seemed impatient at my staying beyond a certain time, I went to bed, and wished him good night. I slept well, rand the next morning walked in the garden and fields. He breakfasted on milk and bread, (alone,) and I breakfasted with Mrs. T. Clarkson up-stairs, I promised to sketch him at ten, and at ten I was ready. When all was ready, the windows fitted, he said, " Call in the maids." In came six servant girls, and. washerwomen (it being washing-day.) " I am deter mined they shall see the first stroke." In they all crowded, timidly wondering. Clarkson said, " There now, that is the first stroke ; come again in an hour, and you shall see the last !" We now began to talk. He said, " When Christophe's wife aud daughters, all accom plished women, were brought or introduced by him to Wilberforce, and others in high life, there was a sort of shrink at admitting them into society." I told him I believed it, because when I resolved to place the African in front of the picture, on the same level as the Euro peans, there was the same delicacy; but I got him, and put him in at once. Shame prevented remonstrance. — Life of Haydon, by Taylor. A 1 5 Ruktives:1nee.:The Boston Courier has the following curious, although somewhat hyperbolical ac count of a tree lately felled about 20 miles from a place called Murphy's Camp, in California :—" It measures at the ground 98 feet in circumference, and 85 feet 10 from the earth, which size it holds for 100 feet. It is 300 feet high, though the top has been broken off. There are many trees in this vicinity higher than that, from 50 to 70 feet in cireumference. It is estimated that this tree would square 25 feet at the butt, and consequently a cut of 12 feet in length would make 90,000 feet of lumber. A party of men are now at work in taking off the bark for 60 feet in height, in sections, so that it can be put together again. It is about one foot in thickness, and will be sent to the World's Fair, where it will be put up, and have the California specimens exhibited in it. Thirty feet in diameter is quite a room, large enough to hold political mass meetings in just before a presidential election. It is estimated by those who have counted some of its rings, that the above-named tree is not less than 6,500 y6iti old, or 500 years older than this world, according to the vulgar notion. It must have been something of a tree when Adam and Eve went round to name the productions of the forest. Can any one (the American editor con tinues) read this story without indignation at such a stupid act of vandalism P A tree which, from its descrip tion, must have been one of the noblest works of nature— the wonder of the vegetable world—the pride and glory of the American forest—murdered—we can find no other appropriate word—that a basket-full of chips may be sent to a show-shop ! Any man who could have a hand in so wanton an act of barbarism, deserves to have his shin bones made into button-moulds and sold for three cents a gross." Tan NORMAN " CONQUEST,"--" I think," says Mr. H. Duesbury, "it can scarcely be called a conquest in the usual acceptation of the term, that is, a conquest by a distinct foreign nation. The early Britons established themselves in Amorica, the subsequent site of Normandy, and the Britons, still under the Romans, established a colony in Bretagne, the adjoining province, now Brittany. The people to whom Normandy was allotted in 918, were the same as those to whom Northumbria and E. Anglia were allotted in 872, and they were invited as mercenaries in 975. Further, it appears that Ethelred the Unready, A.D. 978-1016, married Emma, the sister of Richard, Duke of Normandy, and aunt of the Conqueror ; that he fled to Normandy, after the Danish revenge, and left his wife and two sons, Edward and Alfred, there ; that after his death, Canute, the Dane, married his widow, who still left her children in Normandy ; that after Canute came the son, Edward, (called by the priests the " Confessor," and whose dominion he was entirely under,) who had been reared and educated in Normandy, and who brought over Norman priests and favourites to succeed the Saxons. (The Saxon priests were not over obedient to the Pope : the Normans were ; so the Pope, after the manner of popes, cursed Harold and blessed his opponent.) He invited his cousin William over to see him, and left him his throne by will. He married the daughter of Earl Godwin, (apparently to keep the great earl quiet,) and shamefully neglected and ill-used her ; hence most bitter animosity between the parties ; and Harold's (the earl's son) seizure of the throne, after shipwreck on the Norman coast, where he saw William, who offered him his daughter in marriage and swore him, not being able to help himself, on a tub full of the bones of the saints, (probably taken from the nearest shambles or graveyard,) not to attempt the throne of England. William seems to have relied, in fact, on his equally near descent, the will of the late king, and this oath, to justify his claim. The affair seems to me, I must confess, to have partaken more of a personal quarrel for succession than a national conquest. Indeed, the Normans have scarcely given a name to a single town, river, place, or district in England ; and, althoukh they introduced their barbarous French in law language, the tongue of England (still so called) to this day is essentially Saxon, with a small proportion of British, Celtic, and Latin left by the Romans.—The Builder. Nouns or LA BOITE.—A very mortifying comparison may be made between the days of actual and of nominal life, even in the case of the favoured individuals who may have attained the statutable age of threescore years and ten. Let us presume that the person in question shall really be a painstaking, hardworking man, severely intent upon discharging what middle-aged gentlemen call the real business of life. He shall rather transact than enjoy existence, and comport himself in every way as though he were bound to produce at the end of each day his ap pointed piece of work. It would scarcely be too much to dock off thirty entire years from the tale, for during the first twenty years of an average Englishman's existence he is passed from the nurse to the preparatory school, from this to the grammar-school, and from this again to college ; and during this period, if he be a painstaking lad, the most serious occupation of his thoughts is to at tain a competent skill in the concoction of Greek lambics, and an intimate acquaintance with the scansion of Aris tophanic choruses, according to the theories of various German illuminati. We allow the ten years before the grave for repose and preparation. Forty years remain, although in how few instances can it be said—in this country at least—that a young man begins to do man's work so early in life as at twenty years of age ? However this may be, the forty years soon become twenty on any reasonable scale of allowance for sleep, daily ablutions, spells of illness, and so forth. But to return to the twenty years of waking life, he is a most remarkable man indeed who shall spend but one-third of his waking hours in serious and useful thought. In all probability no man who has ever lived has done so much as this ;—not Sir Isaac Newton in the exact sciences—Lord St. Leonard's in conveyancing lore—James Watt in mechanical inven tions—or Walter Scott in poetry and fiction. The pro portion is, in truth, disproportionate ; but still, take the calculation for what it may be worth, and the prodigies of industry and longevity contrive to devote about six years and eight months of actual life to business purposes. Of course, we exclude from our reckoning all shams and make-believes. Sir Isaac Newton, in his half-hour's saunter under the pleasant lime-groves of Trinity, is hard at work, while the man who sits for fourteen hours at a stretch upon a high stool in an office, frittering away his time, or waiting upon Providence, is a mere idler. He has gone to town in the morning with a grave aspect and with a brown umbrella, and he has penned himself up in well elidirt-zany d n e t n lif f e or has the wo pe rk r t : d od named, but at the end of the time he has no t even a hatched egg to show for his pains. That is a Prodigy wh an o d in tho th ug e ht course o e f ff a ec br for g amid /ears and a half.--The Times STANDARD, AND GENERAL COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. AND NORTH-WESTERN WESTERN RAILWAYS. LONDO: TO THE EDI AND GREAT :TO OP THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD Sin,—As a shareholder in one of the above undertak ings, and having leisure to think over their affairs, parti cularly respecting the long-pending dispute, as it has been called the Battle of the Ganges," with all the accompa nying rival projects with the view of abstracting each other's traffic, and competing fares when the lines come into competition, which has and is still causing both com panies to spend every year such a heap of money, thereby causing diminished or stationary dividends, when, from the extent of traffic increasing so enormously, the share holders would have every right to expect at least one per cent. additional dividend in both undertakings, I am led to conclude that, so long as human nature is what it is, no settlement can ever be arrived at between both boards of directors, so long as jealousy, avarice, and ambition in fluence the actions of fallen man, and unfortunately the exercise of those feelings under other names and motives is considered necessary for the protection and interests of each body of shareholders. What, then, is to be done, in otder to give the share holders an equivalent and just return for their capital embarked, and to secure the public safe and expeditious travelling ? It is impossible the shareholders can have the power and influence effectually to control the executive in every particular,—any gross mismanagement could be checked ; but, where a difference of opinion exists amongst the members of. both companies, the, majority, no doubt, desirous of equity and peace ; but how to bring together that majority, scattered as they may be over the globe, a difficulty insurmountable presents itself, evidently prov ing that the shareholders in such mighty concerns, as a body, cannot accomplish the desired end. To the Legislature alone we must look, to solve our dif ficulties, determine our relative positions, and by their sovereign power put an end to the present state of things, not less injurious to the public from the insecurity of tra velling, than detrimental, in a pecuniary point of view, to the shareholders. I would, therefore, recommend a petition to both houses of parliament drawn up, embodying the matters in dispute, praying them to define the extent or limits of the broad gauge, establishing some fixed rules for amalgamation, so as to embrace the much-vexed question of the Shrewsbury lines, laying down some final regulations respecting the promotion of new or competing lines, in order to avoid the enormous expenses (legal and parliamentary) incurred very session, regulate the rates of fares where competition exists, and so place these two great companies in a friendly footing, for the benefit of the country. Such petition to lie for signature 'of the shareholders of both companies at various convenient places, presented next session and sup ported by members favourable to railway interests. The railway committee of last session, in their report, condemns competition as injurious to the public, and the Legislature have thrown out all new bills for a mixed gauge, and bills for the extension of the broad gauge northward, so that their opinion on those points has been expressed; but whether the President of the Board of Trade intends bringing in a bill founded upon such report or not, still his hands should be strengthened' by such a petition. Hoping, if this should meet the eye of any of those who take a more active part in the matter, that it may have some consideration and be the means of inducing the di rectors of both, or either company, to lead the way in such a step in an energetic and determined manner, I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, H. H. Liverpool, .Bth September, 1853. NOTES, NOTICES, AND OPINIONS. BY JOHANNES EIISTICITS. VII.—RELIGION IN TITS SENATE.—" The only memorial of religious legislation during the session is the successful effort of Mr. LUCAS to ensure religious attendance upon Catholics in English prisons." Such is the triumphant exclamation of the Nation—and the fact, if fact it be, is a sufficient cause of triumph to the Nation and every other enemy of Protestant truth. But can it be possible the Legislature of this great Christian country has passed a whole session in deliberating on and providing for the wants of the people, and yet has done nothing whatever to counteract the heathenism which is admitted to exist in all our large towns ? The vigilance of a most watchful foe to our religion has failed to detect any effort of the kind, its only act being a law compelling Protestant clergymen to retire from the cells of Romanist prisoners ; and inviting the attendance of Popish priests, who will teach the criminal to look to himself for pardon rather than to God, whose commands he has broken—and to respect the laws of Pope Pius rather than the statutes of Queen Victoria. Whether this is legislation befitting a Protestant Parliament or no, let the people of England consider. If the boasted strength of a coalition Govern ment is made apparent in such miserable weakness as this, in so fatal a compromise of the most momentous interests of the people, it behoves us to pray that Her Majesty may be endued with a little more of the firmness of her royal grandfather, and choose men of right principles for her advisers. VIII.—RAILWAYACCIDENTS.—IS it not possiblethatthe principle of mutual insurance could be advantageously ap plied to cases of accidental injury or death on a railway, in such a manner as to afford at once a relief to the railway companies and a compensation to sufferers ? Suppose the various railway companies were to form themselves into a mutual insurance, company, paying into a common fund some small sum per head for every passenger—a less suns than one penny wonWprobably be sufficient—and binding themselves to pay to any individual injured, or to the representatives of any individual killed through the negligence or default of any railway official, such sum as would be deemed a fair and reasonable compensation, the amount to be decided by arbitrators appointed in the usual way. Many advantages would, it is conceived, be derived from such an association :-1. The public would travel with greater satisfaction, as compensation for injury would be offered them, instead of having to be fought for through a tedious and expensive and uncertain course of law. 2. Any delinquent company of directors who would deliberately hazard the safety of travellers, from a parsi monious desire to secure a good dividend, would have the disposition checked by remonstrance from all the other companies. 3. No company would be so seriously affected, even by a great calamity, as to cause any very great de pression in the value of its shares. Let us hope that some scheme of this kind will be adopted. ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE. PREPERMEN TS AND APPOINTMENTS, .A.N Rev. H. Bellairs, M.A., Rector of Bedworth, Warwickshire, to an Honorary Canonry in Worcester Cathedral. Rev. H. B. Bullocke, M.A., to the Vicarage of Mullyon, Cornwall. Rev. F. W. Collison, 8.D., to the Rectory of Marwood, Devon. Rev. H. J. Davis, Vicar of Gonwil Gaio and Llansawel, to the office of Surrogate. Rev. T. E. Espin, M.A.,. Fellow and Tutor of Lincoln Col lege, Oxford, to be Professor of Pastoral Theology at Queen's College, Birmingham. Rev. H. Evans, jun., 8.A., to the Rectory of Eriswell, near Mildenhall, Suffolk. Rev. H. H. Higgins, of Liverpool, to be Chaplain of the Rainbill Lunatic Asylum, Lancashire. Rev. F. Hocken, M.A., to the Rectories of Phillack and Gwi thian, Cornwall. Rev. D. Parry, M.A., to the Incumbency of Nerquis, Flint shire. Rev. C. P.. Rowlatt, M.A., to the Vicarage of West Thur. rock, Romford, Essex. Rev. T. Smith, 8.A., to the Incumbency of Ossington, near Newark. Rev. J. Sowter, 8.A., to be Chaplain of the new Essex Lu natic Asylum, Brentwood. Rev. G. Stevenson, M.A., to the Incumbency of All Saints, Newmarket. Rev. E.Thring, M.A.. Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, to be Head Master of Uppingham Grammar School. Rev. J. S. Utterton, M.A., Rector of Calbourne, Isle of Wight, to the Vicarage of Farnham. Rev. F. Wheler, M.A., Perpetual Curate of St. Chad's, Lichfield, to the Vicarage of Dunchurch, near Rugby. BURNLEY CHURCH.—The works necessary to the resto ration of Burnley Church are proceeding rapidly, although it is not expected that the restoration will be completed before next Midsummer. AUGMENTATION OF POOR LIVINGS.—The Rev. Leveson Vernon Harcourt, son of the late Archbishop of York, is, as Chancellor of the Cathedral of York, patron of certain benefices in the neighbourhood, and appropriator of the tithes in each parish. As the opportunity of doing so has presented itself by the falling in of leases, Mr. Harcourt has availed himself of the powers of 1 and 2 William IV., &c., and augmented the benefices as follows :—Laughton, former value £l9O, increased to £310; Thorpe Salvin, formerly £7O, now £355 ; Wales, formerly £B2, now £211; Letwell, formerly £145, now £265 ; Woodsets, a new church, endowed by Mr. Harcourt with £lOO per annum. BAxaoa CA.THiDRA.L.—The North Wales Chronicle, remarking on the necessity of extended accommodation for the English and Welsh congregations at Bangor Ca thedral, states that " for several Sundays past every pew and bench were crowded, and many were compelled to return to their homes, to exercise in private that religious observance which they were unable to attain in public. The labour and zeal of our several clergy have most suc cessfully awakened a corresponding sympathy on the part of the inhabitants, and in. a far greater ratio than might be attributed to the increase of population. These are, indeed, signs of the times which indicate the advancement of intelligence, and the advantages which accrue from its proper religious culture. The example set by our vene rable prelate cannot fail to operate beneficially on all within the range of his benign influence. His lordship, notwith standing his advanced age, continues to take an active part in the services of the cathedral, and preaches twice every Sunday when in residence." ECCLESIASTICAL CONFERENCE AT BERLIN.—A kind of Ecclesiastical Conference, or Church Union Meeting, is to be held from the 20th to the 23d of this month at Berlin. The object of the meeting, which is of a purely voluntary character, and at which both clergy and lay members of the so-called " Evangelic" Church usually attend, is to concert measures for raising up a spirit of practical piety and counteracting the infidelity and latitudinarianism so long prevalent in Germany, more particularly in Prussia. . The origin of these meetings dates from the troublous times of 1848, when the Kirchen Bund, or Church Union, was first founded. It has since held its yearly conference at Wittenberg, in 1849 ; at Stuttgard, in 1850; at Elber feld, in 1851; and at Bremen, in 1852. The meeting this year in the capital of Prussia gains an additional interest from the recent encroachment of the Romish Church in Germany and the consequent struggle between the govern ments of Prussia, Wurtemberg, Nassau, Baden, and Hesse, and the prelates of the diocese of the Upper Rhine. CURIOSITIES OF MEDICAL PRACTICE IN ENGLAND. —The census of 1861 showed 21,435 persons practising one or more departmenta of medicine without qualification. The youth and sex of some of, the practitioners were also remarkable. In Birmingham there was one " herbalist " under 20 years of age, two " keepers of lunatic asylums " under 20, fourteen female leech,bleeders, and one female physician ; one female " dentist "in Taunton ; a phy sician " in Norwich under 20 ; two " medicine vendors!! in the Tower Hamlets under go ; one " m id w if e " in Preston, under 20; one " physician" in Canterbury - under 20 ;`two physicians " in Bristol under 20 ; a female " chemist and druggist "Sn Colchester under 20 one " physician " in Darlington under 20; and one feit;ak ".surgeon " Stt Cornwall under 20, EXHIBITION OF THE LIVERPOOL ACADEMY. THE annual opening of a local academy of art cannot fail to be an event of more than mere passing interest in any community pretending to intellectual culture; and we accordingly look with much satisfaction at the interest evinced by the intelligent classes of Liverpool in the open ing of the twenty-ninth annual exhibition of the works of art under the auspices of the Academy. That exhibi tion was opened to the public yesterday, the private view having taken place on Saturday. On both days, we are glad to learn, the attendance of visitors was large. The numbers who on Saturday visited the galleries were more numerous than on any previous occasion, and in cluded, besides a large number of ladies and gentlemen belonging to Liverpool, a very considerable accession of visitors from Manchester, Preston, and other towns and places in the neighbourhood, and, as was to have been ex pected, all manifested a lively interest in the collection, and most of them expressed sentiments of approbation as to the exertions of the committee in making the requisite arrangements, and of congratulation as to their success in securing the display of so interesting a collection of pictares. Considering the reputed taste, the intelligence, and the wealth of Liverpool, it would probably be saying more than strict justice could approve of, were we to aver that the exhibition is in all respects what might have been an ticipated or wished, either in respect to the character of the works shown, or as regards the accommodation for their advantageous display, or for the comfort and convenience of visitors. As to the last named ground of complaint, if any such exist, the public have the matter pretty much in their own, hands, for by afford ing countenance and pecuniary aid to the academy, that body will experience little difficulty in procuring the most ample and suitable accommodation which even the most fastidious could desire. To improve the character of the works exhibited is an achievement probably less within the reach of public aid ; yet by no means absolutely beyond the operation of their influence ; but to effeet this most desirable object, the public and the academy must co-operate in a liberal and enlightened spirit. Preconceived theories of artistic excellence, and slavish imitations of particular schools must not be per mitted to overrule the dictates of sober reason. To secure true excellence in art, nature must be appealed to as the guiding star of the artist's course, and a truly great artist can no more be created by even the most devoted study of pictures, than a great poet or philosopher could be reared up by the most painstaking familiarity with books alone. Severe self-culture in the various walks of litera ture and science, and a continual looking up to nature in an humble yet intelligent spirit, must form the ground work of an artist's - efforts, who aims at anything beyond the evanescent fame of mere coterie commendation. Familiarity with the noble works of those great masters whose excellences form an exhaustless subject of admira tion, and a never-failing theme of commendation and delight, will, no doubt, do much to increase his resources as an originator of really estimable works ; for it is cor rectly said by Sir JOSHUA. REYNOLDS, (we quote from memory,) " He will ever be found most original, who is most familiar with the ideas of others." " But," says the same master, with equal truth, " to follow in the path of a great man, it is not necessary that he occupy his foot prints or step into his worn-out slippers." Mere imitation is the bane and destruction of true greatness in any walk of science or of art. In carrying into practice the artist's efforts to attain excellence, public countenance is indis pensable, as approbation and reward are " the breath of life" to an artist, without which he must inevit ably languish and die ; and, on the public, therefore, in a great degree, depends the course an artist has to steer. Relying upon this truth, we know it is but too much the fashion to lay blame upon public patronage, when the error has in reality rested with the cultivators of art. The effect of public encouragement upon art, and the products of artistic culture, must of necessity act and react on each other. If the public confer the reward, the artist, in a great degree, sets the current on which favour is wafted to his door. Art, in this country, is acknow ledgedly of recent origin, and it is no disparagement to the general intellect to avow that intimacy with artistic excellence is by no means universally diffused. Still we are not to infer from that, that the public is either illiberal or unjust in its treatment of artists. Capricious and fickle it may be in its tastes, as those generally are who have no fixed principles to guide them in their judgment ; but, with all its waywardness, the .liberal hafid,'the generous impulse, is not absent. Let artists be true to themselves, and loyal to the legitimate object of their allegiance, and they need not fear the absence of public sympathy . and support. Let them remember that it was not following the conventionalities of a particular school which induced BIIONAROTTI to compass the wonders of his " Last Judgment." It was not conforming to principles evolved in the labours of a particular master, which enabled DE Visci to conceive and delineate the sublime and mys terious beauties of " The Last Supper." Nor was it fol lowing the dicta of CIMABUE which urged upon RAPHAEL the design and execution of the " Transfiguration." No ! Each and all of these great works may have been in some degree beholden to the maxims and rules of preceding professors or schools of art ; but they owe their value and their greatness to the independent workings of intellect in their respective authors. We have been led into a some what lengthened digression on this subject, because, from what we can learn, there appears to be an under current of popular feeling in favour of what cannot be look& as other than a tramelled and factit he case ; ye gitimate art, we have deemed it rig; subject as one of vital importance to its interests. To return to the exhibition, however; we learn from the catalogue, that there are 712 works of art contributed by 333 artists, being an increase of 112 pictures over the number exhibited last year. Of these there are a con siderable number from the pencils of artists who occupy a prominent position in British art, including specimens by the late J. M. W. TURNER, R.A. ; W. P. FRITH, R.A. ; C. STANFIELD, R.A. ; J. P. KNIGHT, R.A. ; C. LANDSEER, R.A. ; NOEL PATON, R.S.A. ; J. A. HOUSTON, R.S.A. ; J. G. GILBERT, R.S.A. ; besides characteristic contributions from the studios of our best resident artists, in nearly all the walks of art, comprising landscapes, sea-views, .por traits, conversation pieces, historical incidents, and life. There is, likewise, a numerous display of miniatures exhibiting various degrees of merit ; and a small collection of sculpture. The latter is placed in such a situation as to be seen to great and manifest disadvantage. From the artists and the subjects we have enumerated, it is not difficult to infer that, as a whole, the collection must be one of ati interesting and highly gratifying kind ; and we might well be content to conclude our preliminary notice at this point, but reflection induces us to perceive that in even the few general remarks which we are enabled to offer, we ought to say a word in reference to the standing assumed by our local celebrities, artistic and non-artistic. In the por trait department we recognize with pleasure twofemale por traits by Jon ROBERTSON, both of which are possessed of high merit, and deservedly hold a distinguished place in that walk of art. The portrait of Sir JOHN BENT, recently Mayor of Liverpool, is a favourable specimen, by WEST COTT ; and SAMUEL HOLME, Esq., the present Mayor, is also represent& cl at full length, in a painting ATTEIf, who likewise presents a half-length portrait of T11031A6 BERRY HORSFALL, Esq., M.P. Among the numerous pictures falling under the 'general denomination of conver sation pieces, " A Shebeen, at Donnybrook," from the pencil of E. NrcoL, deserves prominent consideration; it is instinct with life, and is so prodigally imbued with indivi duality of character and varied expression as to remind us of WILKIE'S earlier productions. " Life among the Gypsies at Seville," by J. Pamir, is also a meritorious picture, containing bold drawing, rich colouring, and copious grouping. Of TURNER, STA NFIELD, FRITH, N. PATON, MARTIN, and others whose names have been long and favourably known to the public, it is not necessary here to spec have ample k, more especially as in after notices we sl opportunities of referring to their pecu styles and merits. Meanwhile we co: commending the exhibition to the favo of our readers, as one which will afford hem muc gratification, and which is well deserving of public en couragement and support. THE THEATRES e AT THE ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE the performances during the past week have been chiefly confined to a re petition of those pieces in which the combined talents of Mrs. Fitzwilliam and Mr. Buckstone form the chief at traction ; and among them " Mr. Buckstone's Ascent of Mount Parnassus" has continued to prove a leading feature. The houses have' generally been well filled, and the histrionic acquirements of the two performers we have named have met with their usual and deserved modicum of applause and patronage. Besides the parts sustained by Mrs. Fitzwilliam and Mr. Buckstone in the "Ascent of Parnassus," they have likewise repeated their characters in " The Serious Family," " Green Bushes," " The Mouse trap," and " The Flowers of the Forest." On Friday evening the performances were for the benefit of ,Mrs. Fitzwilliam, when an entirely new play, entitled "Ap pearances are Deceitful," from the pen of Mr. Palgrave Simpson, was produced for the first time on any stage. The comedy, as we are informed in the announcements, has been written for the purpose of displaying the stage capabilities of the two stars, who have for some time back been shining with gratifying lustre in our theatrical sky. The mode of its production was welcomed and applauded by a numerous auditory, who, in a style of enthusiasm, acknowledged their approbation of Mrs. Fitzwilliam's varied skill and representative powers. The new comedy was followed by " Parnassus," the stock piece of the sea son, which was, as usual, received with loud demonstra tions of delight. HORTICULTURE STOVE, CONSERVATORY, GREENHOUSE, &C.—The plants for winter display will now require all the attention of the gardener. The seedsmen have received their stocks of bulbs, which are in excellent condition this year. An early selection should be made, .as the best are usually chosen first. A good number of Hyacinths, Narcissus, Jonquils, early Tulips, Sachenalias, &c., should be put in, as they supply a most agreeable means of decorating the house when other flowers are scarce. Lay out the stems of Chrysanthemums singly to neat sticks ; this is not only pecessary.for improving their appearance, but it also assists in preventing mildew, by admitting the air thoroughly to all parts of the plant. KITCHEN GARDEN. — The fruit crop is now ready in most places for gathering and storing : this operation re quires much care and attention. Dry weather and very careful handling are essential to its future preservation. Those intended for the fruit-room should be perfectly free from bruises and other defects, and all windfalls should be rejected. Take up the onion crop, and dry it under shelter, if possible, with free admission of air and light to ripen the bulbs. If new beds of strawberries have been planted, they should be watered with weak liquid manure during dry weather. - Earth up the winter crops, such as alery, cabbage, brocoll, &c. FO_RER FRANCE INTELLIGI the Corps Legislatit have terminated vernment candidat " abstentions" took place amongst the electors, particu larly at Orleans, where in five cantons of the town nearly 8,000 electors " abstained" out of 9,969. For many years past, long before 1848, the question of the transatlantic steamers has been concocted in France, but the rivalry of the principal seaports as to which was to get this bonus never allowed the matter to be definitively settled. The Emperor has given the grant to a certain M. Lefevre, a French gentleman established in the United States, where he has, by inheritance and industry, made a considerable fortune—of some millions of dollars. Having asked an audience from Napoleon, he declared himself ready to undertake the.whole scheme without the assist ance of government, which the other contractors had invariably asked, provided he was allowed to buy his steamers ready-built in England or America. This per mission was verbally granted, in spite of the opposition of some of the ministers. The first boat is to start a; the end of October for New York. Dieppe is the port designated as the principal starting place ; of course, the necessary arrangements for a seaport must be made by government. There are to be, for the beginning, eight vessels, which number afterwards, however, will be increased in, 16, and they are to run in three lines between France and New York, the Gulf of Mexico, and.Brazils. It was declared very positively on the Bourse on Thurs day that accounts had reached the French Government of the refusal of the Emperor of Russia to accept the note of the Porte in a modified state, and that it was for the purpose of discussing the course to be pursuel that M. Fould had been summoned to Dieppe by the Emperor Napoleon. An opinion is held by some politicises in Paris that the Emperor of Russia himself has, by means of corruption at Constantinople, assisted in producing a decision of the Divan which gives him a pretest for pro longing the occupation of the Principalities. - BELGIUM.—A succession of fetes, almost unbroken since the marriage of the young Duke of Brabant wits the still more youthful Duchess, has marked the royal condescen sion and the popular sympathy, in all the principal towns of Belgium. At Antwerp the king and the newl3-married royal pair had a most enthusiastic reception. HANOVEIL-It is stated that the reigning Duke of Brunswick, who has no issue, is about to abdicate. The titular duke, so long notorious in London and Paris, is de barred from the succession, having been deprived of his duchy by the Germanic Diet. The consequence of the projected abdication of the present duke will be, commer cially as well as politically, important. The duchy of Brunswick is merged in the kingdom of Hanover, which thereby becomes nearly as large as Saxony. AUSTRIA.—The 'Russian reply to the despatch contain ing the modifications of the Porte is expected at Vienna about this period. The Russian cabinet's objection to the modifications will refer principally to the treaties of Kain ardji and Adrianople. To prevent further complications, the Austrian govern ment, supported by the Ambassadors of the great Powers, has proposed the opening of direct negociations on the points in dispute. These negociations are to be conducted by the Count Nesselrode and the Ottoman Ambassador, who is to be sent to St. Petersburgh. This proposal, it is hoped, will be accepted by the litigant parties. The Rus sian Ambassador is said to assert that the evacuation of the Principalities will shortly commence, and that in any case the Russians will not pass the winter in those provinces. TURKEY.—The news of the 25th from Constantinople and of the 26th from Odessa is not satisfactory. The pre , valent impression in the Turkish capital is that Russia will consider the proposed modifications equivalent to a rejection of the Vienna note. At all events the Porte is preparing for the worst, as fresh troops are continually sent off to Varna and Shumla. On the 25th a detachment of the Imperial Guard left Constantinople, and it is again rumoured that Mehemet Ali Pasha, the Minister of War, is about to follow it to the camp. A letter from Shumla of the 15th ult., states that the army of Omar Pasha consists of 65,000 men and 180 pieces of cannon. He was daily receiving reinforcements, whilst the Russians, it was said, had lost 13,000 men by typhus and diarrhoea since their entrance into the Principalities. The Russians, to the number of 6,000 men, pitched their tents on the 10th at Totragun, on the left bank of the Danube, so that the sentinels of the two armies are within musketshot of each other. Letters from Odessa state, that the wheat in the town stores amounts to 2,000,000 of chetwerts,' and that the rent of warehouses had been quadrupled. The latest accounts from the Danubian provinces state that the Russian army is suffering severely from disease, and that provisions have reached a famine price at Bu charest. It is believed that the Emperor would willingly withdraw his troops if an " honourable excuse" were offered to him. It was positively stated at the Russian Embassy in Paris, that when the Emperor was informed that the Porte had modified the note of the Conference of Vienna before accepting it, he observed in a tone of much modera tion, that he would willingly make concessions for the express purpose of meeting the wishes of the European Powers, but that he would not hnmilitate himself in the eyes of the world by submitting to propositions proceeding direct from the Sultan. Russa..—A letter from St. Petersburg, of the 27th ult., in the Hamburg News, says : " The manoeuvres of the corps of Grenadiers of the Guard has just been terminated by a grand review in presence of the Emperor and of all the Court. The next day the troops took repose, and then were marched off to their winter quarters. The Emperor is shortly to set out for Warsaw, and may perhaps even visit Austria." Another letter from St. Petersburg, of the same date says : " Intelligence has been received here from Teheran, that the proceedings of the sect of the Babis, who some time ago attempted to assassinate the Shah, still continue. They lately spread a report that the Shah was dead_ and flip rumour mainAd sneh irronnd that his Majesty through the bazaars and the principal streets. Several Babis were arrested, and tortured in the most cruel man ner in the presence of the people." _ _ _ AruicA.The royal mail steam-ship, Forerunner, Capt. Barnwell, arrived at Plymouth, on Friday, with mails from the west coast of Africa, &c. The Forerunner made a good passage, and would have reached home earlier but for her being obliged to call at Ferrol for coals. She brings news that the boats of the Faith, which were sup posed to have been lost, with the purser and crew with mails, had since been seen, and search was being made for them by the Ferrol and Waterwitch. H.M.S. Volcano and the American frigate Constitution were at Sierra Leone. The Britomart sailed the day pre vious to the arrival of the Forerunner at that place. The Polyphemus was off Accra. Admiral Bruce was expected at Lagos on the 16th of August. The slave trade is said to be more than usually brisk. AMERICA. ARRIVAL OF THE AMERICA By the British and North American royal mail steam ship America, Captain Shannon, which reached the Mersey on Sunday afternoon, we have intelligence from New York to the 30th and Boston to the 31st ult. The America brought 79 passengers, among whom were the Earl of Elgin, Governor of Canada, Lady Elgin, and three children. She also brought $127,569 on freight. The steam-ship Europa, which sailed from this port at 11 35, a.m., on the 20th ult., arrived at Boston at 5 30, a.m., on the 31st. gold dust on freight and $250,000 in the hands of pas sengers. ..tne great snip of o,ut by Mr. M`Kay, and intended for the Liver lian trade, had been named the Great Bel was to be launched in about five weeks. papers announce the formation of a joint-stock company to run six iron ships, of 800 tons, between that port and Liverpool. Two bales of the new cotton crop, received in New York from Charleston, had been sold at 13c. per lb. The first bale of Sea Island cotton was received in Savannah on the 26th. _ _ . )1 and Austra , nblican. She ie Montreal From New Orleans we have the following communica. ms !—Ano. 26th. The interments yesterday were•2l9. Deaths by - yellow fever The ' interments to-day caused by yellow fever. The New Orleans papers give an account of the operations of the Howard Association. The of these 2,204 were discharged cured; 723 died, and 1,606 were under treatment still. They were providing nurses and homes for 162 parentless infants, and had 300 nurses employed. Five deaths from yellow fever had occurred at Mobile on the 23d ult. The firing of cannon in the streets had been discontinued on account of its bad effects on the sick, but the burning of tar was continued. A correspon dent of the New York Tribune, says, "The officer in charge of St. Patrick's Cemetery informed me that they have fights there every day over the dead. Many of the Irish pull up the pickets of the fence and bury their dead, without a certificate or any account taken of them. Cattle had got into the cemetery and trampled upon and in the new-made graves. At Potter's Field they bury in trenches, dug from two to two-and-a-half feet deep. A deputation, of citizens from Baton Rouge has arrived to assist in nursing the patients." A disturbance had occurred at Niagara Falls. It ap pears that the Deputy Marshal proceeded to arrest a coloured waiter, named Sneed, alias Watson, on the charge of having killed a Mr. Jones, at Savannah, four years ago, and for whom a reward of $1,500 had been offered. The other waiters, believing that their companion was arrested as a fugitive slave, rescued him from the officers, and, after a severe fight, started with him for the Canadian shore. The ferryman, who had some misgivings about the matter, rowed out into the stream, and then came back to ascertain the nature of the negro's offence. Upon being informed that it was murder, he promptly returned the man to the American shore. By this time upwards of two hundred negroes had assembled at the landing, fully prepared for a desperate resistance. The officers, however, called to their assistance some three hundred Irish railroad labourers. A regular pitched battle ensued ; the negroes were put to flight, and the prisoner was conducted by the officers to Buffalo, where he will be detained till the necessary papers are received for his transfer to the south. Advices from the City of Mexico to the 9th ult. state that the establishment of a national bank had been unfa vourably reported upon. The black vomit was prevailing at Acapulco. Many deaths had occurred. Geu. Manuel Villada had died of the disease. Accounts from New Mexico announce that the Mexican troops had again ad vanced, as if to take possession of the Mesilla Valley. Letters from Montreal report the arrest and liberation on bail of the Hon. Charles Wilson, mayor of the city, on a charge of murder. This charge arises out of the colli sion between the troops and the people on the occasion of the Gavazzi riots. The British mail steamer Quito was wrecked on the 10th of August. She struck unexpectedly upon a rock, twelv e miles from Huasco, an d , rebounding from it, was dashed against another, so as to stave in her bottom ixnmediatelye. The Quito was a new i ron vesse l , th e property the Pacific Pacific Steam Navi ga ti on C ompan y. One passenger, Don Cruz Tobar, was d rowne d . ' o with H.M.S. Th e ti s pu t i n t o P anama on the 6th ohm _ $ 4 20,000 in specie, of which 2, , W,000 would be sibipped arig to across the isthmus, and the bAla.uog Vale a o England. PTEMBER 13, 1853• TUESDAY, The Valp& ie arrival of tn! Th e Acacia WI arrived with the crew of a deserted French vessel,' A had arrived from Cardiff. A British ITO' a of tallow had been lost at the south of Chiloe• and crew saved themselves in the boats. to Advices from Punta Arenas, Central A merica, are Aie 20th July. Business was very dull, and great culty was experienced in procuring cargoes. The govern . ment had it in contemplation to close the p ort of Punt 3 Arenas, and establish another in its stead a t a more nor' therly point, as being more convenient for the comMe rce of the republic. The Avoc with a carp The officers from Sydney COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. . NEW YOBS, AITGUSTO!,„ MONEY.—The stock market is dull, and prices ge ri er ns lower. Money is more at ease, and the rates for paper declining. The Exchange on England, with an A money market, the rate continues to advance, elasi n ' 109/ to 1091 per cent. Of COTTON.—(From MP. Wright's Circular , of 11.11 30.)—The operations in cotton have been o n a braaeci scale, except on Satu r day, w hen 3,000 bales were disi lid of ; buyers are not disposed to pay the present raw , holders are unwilling to give way. The chief business '.„ been for export and on speculation; our doniesticise; sinners are taking very moderately just now. The r e,. the alteration to note in the quotations from last wee'2 4rec t lower grades, • however, are entirely nominal, and t° sales a reduction would have to be submitted to• a s, sales since 23d inst. to last evening amount to 8,00 vet The accounts from the south a r e con flicting on th a of the new crop. From some sections we bear of davt.e by rain, worms, &c. ; from others, that the prospects a' improved, and that a good crop will be made. IS SO 1853 1852 1851 , r, OO Receipts at the ports 3,221,000 3,018,000 2,331,00 0 2,vi 5,010 Exports to Great Britainl,737,ooo 1,665,000 1,41 6 ,0 00 l qg 00 0 if France 427,100 422,000 301.00 0 1 9 1:000 „ other for. ports 363,000 352,000 268,000 577, 00 Total exports 2,527.0.0 2,439,000 1,98 5 0 0 l' l4 2 P * Stock on hand BREADSTUFFS.—In consequence of a break in the c nog supplies of flour last week were retarded; and even %It, the article comes forward slo w ly, p resen t prices be in ,f r be rel remunerative to the millers. There has been O _,P demand for flour and wheat fo r th e F r ench P °l- ' s C rea" also for Belgium. Further, there have been some for sive purchases of flour for October delivery at '! ° tv rice, Western Canal, being 25c. per b r l. a b ove the curre”,, - I;iiied of the day of pu rc h ase on th e spo t . Th es e co of the caases have not, only sufficed to counteract the eff ee , — some decline in the English markets, b u t even t o prea ti f ilog of advance, the quotations being 12i-,c. per brl. abov e ea a t tlis day week, the m ar k e t b e i ng s till scan til y suPP - ba sbei, thz enhanced r a te s . Wh ea t de c li ne d l c. t o 2c. POOl torards the close of last week. Th ere was a good u ` for Indian corn. riee s ' brovisrorrs.—There is no alteration to notice i n Tho demand is moderate but steady, and prices well 5" taired. to 131, lioy.—A limited busi n e ss i n S co t c h p i g , at $ 34 1 / 4 per ton, six months. n o tice. FmlanTs.—There is very littl e a l terat i on to The rites to Liverpool are, for cotton, 7-32 d. to itl•,P e ; D er flour, 2s. 6d. per brl. • grain, in bulk, 7d. to 71"..,', bushel To Lo n d on : ffour, 2s. 9d. to 3s. per brl. ; in bulb, 9d. per bushel. To H avre : co tt on , ic• P er flour, 6;c. to 70c. per b r l. ; w h ea t , 18 c. per bitshel. „A k r e, NEWOELEANS, AUGUST 27.—The ma r ket was it with small sales, and prices were nominal. ant , k CIIALESTON, AUGUST 27.—Receipts for the w•-;.,,i01 ing Augist 25, 2,201 bale s Up, an d 14 S. No export. cotton attracts very little attention. Pri. ces i ,t without ciange, and the sales 1,200 bales. Frog' Liverpool,fd. , MOBILE AUGUST 22.—Receipts for the weekT o ro, August lf, 69 bales. Exports to Havre, 2,4 20 Quotationsnominal. No freight for Liverpool. #,ItRIVAL OF THE HUMBOLDT. bie ll By the tilted State s M a il s t eams hi p H um boldt, pee arrived at Seuthampton on Thursday, we have intel h g e from New 'York to the 27th ult. ( Rac e The New York papers haVe published the c,orresPnn t ice between Lord Joh n R usse ll an d M r . C ram pton, ret re at to the reply to the tripartite treaty proposition frora,„„ell, Britain and France. I n answer t o L or d John -nulbis after alluding to the geographical distance between o f country and Cuba, it info rms hi m th a t, if the interestts be this country should in any way be a ff ec t e d, it n En ° lo a regarded with indifference. In short, though g' r in has threateningly declared he rse lf free to act singly' that conjuiction with other powers, assurance is given • er ce • there will be no hesitation on the part of President P; th e to protect and uphold the interests and dignity United States. 0 t be Accounts have been received of immense Wall' NI crops in the Southern States, i n co nsequen ce of the he 3 rains, and the cotton has been very much damaged. for Lord Elgin had left Quebec for Halifax, en route Englaid. on e The Tellow fever in New Orleans has increased, ands of the litest reports mentions 315 interments in one t he Advies from Jamaica to the 12th ultimo state that political and commercial situation was unchanged. , a nd The steam-ship Cherokee, one of the New YOTh i , O n California steamers, was destroyed by fire at New Y ol. ' the 26th alt. Ole More arrivals from California, but no later news. fortnightl; gold will be two millions. to The United States Minister to Mexico is empower ed negotiate fit a railroad through Sonora to California" FOREIGN .MISCELLANY. Ll l ' THE Fon' SMITH Herald learns that an iron 1 13° taro has been discovered in S co tt coun t y. Severa l sPec mens of lead, silver, and iron, from that secti on of tv country, have been received at Fort Smith t ement inuudati°' of th e atter ,. valley is safe ; and the Cairo people have leisure di s " tion for the grand news—that a coal mine has been covered on Mount Sinai. The news is of verY,' - p ers portance to the Puha, and he has sent off eug' -- to be examine into the matter, and ordered preparati r l s he CO"I made for the immediate working of the field, u t. should prove to be of a quality that will repay the ‘" - hoo per ENTEB,PRISE 1-IEwA.EDED.—The fast -sailing r - icing Dee, belonging to the St. John Wrecking an U - , l oe in Company, has just returned from a successful vq`," )00 the Bay of Fundy, laden with some of the long' s het treasures of the deep, richly repaying the enterprise oed owners. We understand she will immediately pr of ( e )0 0,•-' an old wreck supposed to contain $40,000 to s'"', St. John (N. 8.) Freeman, Aug. 18: ece atl, A MYSTERIOUS INDIVIDUAL.—A man was ts r r ffe lodged in the gaol of Pithiviers, France, on a e ija ' tO vagabondage. He is of gigantic strength, but refas tell his name or answer any question put to him. 4 9 11 body presents the peculiarity of being tatooed ain l y e n ; p e,' over. There may be read on it " Proserpine," " de " Eurydice," " Armide," " Arthemise," " Artille a r rot Marine," " Pas de Chance," " Ste r n u th, 1851, 1 5 010 " L'enfant de Malheur," " Adam et Eve," " Rhine' fi v er B. Lucien ;" and there may be seen, also, sundry of men and women, of a man armed with sword and latic; of anchors, of a cock, &c. The police are making, a di , exertions to discover who this profusely illustrat e " vidual can be aot THE AMERICAN YACHT IN ITALY.—By a solae‘;,iit singular coincidence, the celebrated American stetunt-sos North Star, Captain Vanderbilt, with about 80 perst the board, arrived in the port of Civita Vecchia, Isita.„" of intention, or_ the part of the owner and his paying a visit to Rome, just at the period when the t he covery of the so-considered Mazzinian plot had throtsPrrhe government into a paroxysm of suspicion and terror. rit'-ace police authorities, staggered by the imp os ing aPP eg dota of the vessel and the number of the crew set the whole to as a sympathising expedition, and refused perinis,s„ G t iacy land; so that, after two or three d a y s ' use l es s nega l :'„•itli the North Star proceeded to Naples, where she an; tl) 6 no better reception, and was u lti ma t e l y f orce d to see b more hospitable sho res o f M a lt a. „ saYl BREAKING A CONTRACT.—" A married couple , „h a d the Gazette des T r ib unaux, " a f ter li v i ng together a a ' ta te• for some time, resolved- a few days ago to se i l l 9 e s ata but finding the the cow ' , Gs cerday they St. Martin to execute the design. The tro a aer , leaped in first, but after a while, being a capitals ofa went t he a y t parnopeoasie.idy t iii a . .o ,3t t a he raised his head above water, and perceived le"shee, standing quietly on the bank watching him. abusing her, and said that, according to their eonc_e;o9ol she ought to drown herself. Instead, however, wool; plying, she accused him of intending to let her oa bee whilst he saved himself by swimming. He called bat 'el. to plunge in at once without any more tallc , refused. Thereupon he got out of the water, an d e e re a tremendous thrashing. Some persons, who sir went to seek for the guard, and the loving YV, e as,- arrested. On being questioned they made the fac t ; ktv,„ de' THE EARTHQUAKE AT THESES.—A letter fr° o f of the 26th ult. gives the following particulars , 4 , Ve ts the struction of Thebes by an earthquake :—" fil l or have lost their lives, and 18 have been take,i ruins badly wounded. The town was comnas` - a es, new houses, solidly built, and partly of old ° e atir u e ef structed of wood and bricks. The first have b ee i ti ,cl destroyed, and had not the inhabitants hurri,eu;b e see n would elof have hoos es bee ar n e s b o uled in ch The whole population are encamped injuredthe ruins; to s : ben ant: in v ha bita Thebes, where water was formerly so abund,%,,g Of th e 1 ;117:P e j o ° scarcely any, and the dust raised by the that the houses has so covered the gardens and vinerrrbid hss eri qa e a e a, aci i fruit has lost all its sa vour . The King ti when informed of this s a d e ve nt, sent 6 00 d rac Not oi l / a quantity of military tents to the inhabitantr as riatt; Thebes, but also the neighbouring villages as l it _ v a l icb PA have so much suffered that there are 17 of theln_ has h as so,, quite uninhabitable. The town of Chalcis t he 1" s some houses destroyed by this earthquak e ; _ t Thebes e m 18 years shocks have been frequently felt a Athens, sometimes several shocks have been ce, the space of 24 hours." from V ey A letter NEW STYLE OF NAVIGATION: - A Gazette, sa.vs, of the 22d ult., in the New Prussian w hp of the Bar of young nobleman, Mr. S--, n e p t ; - 11 -41 1 an d his ac INT—, who by his Herculean st _ lutist a r ailw.a-Y, rashness, such as racing on horsebacir. ag, iestre carr y_oat.. train, and swimming from this place to - 5 uired k ind the an open umbrella in his hand, ha_s e h a‘ccivauld perforrav _ renown, recently made a bet te tha o t ne, and standing, on passage from Venice to Tries al foot 'de and four .11„„r7 feet by one, mid planks four ,,, dto each other in the int On Fri' thick, strongly attache h 1 than pole' e hno other e a iron clasp, and with gentleman made 11118 ter , day morning last this young this raft his own felt witw ance before the Prezetta on of p e . on which 'librium. Scarcely had he passed it' Ever , serve an &int He did not, how w ait, it was very difficult to stand uprtgli than he was upset by a wave. rovis l° t • some p /n en and, after placing on it a box containing , uninterrupte d s courage, but, bringing his raft to the shore, rePa l . • as, again started. After six hours' u Church at a short distance from Carole, ,:i_lend s th_sy . of his arms he was seen from the steeple of he appeared from sight. The Trieste Geizlre o ca - tbat this extraordinary voyage was accomplishe d, . The distel l 5 arrived in that port safe and sound. veil_ Vnetille from Venice to Trieste is more than se . n miles, allowing for the necessary deviatto lay straight course." tey sold off their furniture, very im