The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-01-25 00:00:00

S MIL 1 iv with t For be If there are acts that niadc Why, there are things that . _ r hath i e may I weep the tear ire to love us When sorrow b in our c [chea at t tnd each may fill the morn With weather dull or fine LITERATURE )L STANDARD to for Ir. C. Mitchell's, Red Editor 1 be forwarded opular favour, which number among its contributors several eminent names, including Professor Nichols and Thomas de Quincey. The most attractive paper among the dozen which the present part contains is apparently from the pen of George Gilfillan, of Dundee, and is devoted to a review of the life of Robert Burns. Mr. Gilfillan reads a terrible lesson from the daily life of the unhappy Bard of Coils, with which many may differ, but in which not a few will cordially concur. From another article we quote a pa Ige on SANITARY REFORM DUCATIO ', AND TEMPERANCE Whether they stand to one another as effects or causes ; or sometimes the one and sometimes the other; or, at one and the same moment, partly effect and partly cause, they stand together in a state of indissoluble union, as the most needed and most potent agencies fitted to work out a more intelligent, a more moral, a healthier, and a happier condition of social existence, Rivalry, and far less anta gonism, there is none. Whether the leaders in either section may at all times see the advantages of the onward progress of the other, may be doubted; but that in reality each is helpful to each, and that they stand mutually aidful in the common cause of human improvement, never can be doubted by any enlightened and impartial observer. That their influence is felt in our day, in a way never felt before, is obvious to all ; and that they form the mightiest instrument of social stability and pr ress (subordinate of course, to the rightful supremacy of true reiigion) can not be questioned. No political movement, change, or theory ; no form of government, no action of government, unless bearing directly or indirectly on the effective ope ration of these great agencies, can contend with the masses of vice, ignorance, filth, disease, and crime which have threatened so portentously our national strength and well being. Sanitary, educational, and temperance reformers are the truest patriots, the best friends of human advance ment, the real pioneers of the reign of virtue and peace. 'What has been done, under some aspects, may no doubt be regarded as but the " earnest of our inheritance." We are only on the confines of the ,land of promise. The Anakim of rotten bones, stagnant pools, dirty puddles, airless dwellings, of brutish ignorance, and of worse than brutish drunkenness, possess many a stronghold, and many a league of land. They are not be dislodged without a vigorous and persevering onslaught. But their doom is written in heaven; and as surely as we have faith in God, his laws, his government, and, under God, use the reason and the instruments his providence has furnished, so surely may we count on the attainment of a final ejectment from our country of the foulest evils that have tyrannised there. The call obviously is to greater energy in the direction of every social advance. If a pig's dwelling incommodes, let nds forth its disease-bearing it be removed vapour, let it t a gutter s is a - cond I and concealed ; if a ne bourhood genes of vice, ignor - - and crime, in ..et it be visited and taught; and if a ain of sn;-=` - 410, let it public-house tout,— .uous ruin can he a. be done by what hands soever that are willing to aid. He who brings more water, purer and cheaper, helps Eng land's sanitary salvation ; he who teaches " a beggar's brat" some useful knowledge, from the alphabet to the grace of immortality. aids the march of mind-power; and he who lifts a drunkard for ever cut of the mire, or prevents from falling thereinto, is a friend of the anti•drunkenness movement. THE LEPERS IN JERUSALEM (FROM THE DIARY OF AN AMERICAN TRAVELLER. In my rambles about Jerusalem, I passed through the quarter of the Lepers. Apart from the interest attached to this unfortunate class of beings (arising from the frequent allusion made to them in the Scripture,) there is much in their appearance and mode of life to attract attention, and enlist the sympathy of the stranger. Dirt and diseases go revoltingly together here ; gaunt famine stalks through the streets; a constant cry of suffering swells upon the dead air, and sin broods darkly over the ruin it has wrought in that gloomy and ill-fated spot. Wasted forms sit in the doorways ; faces covered with white scales and sightless eyes are turned upwards ; skeleton arms, distorted and fetid with the ravages of leprosy, are outstretched from the foul moving mass ; and a low howl is heard, the howl of the stricken for alms. Alms, oh, stranger, for the love of God ! alms to feed the inexorable destroyer; alms to prolong this dreary and hopeless misery! Look upon it, stranger, you who walk forth in all your pride and strength, and breathe the fresh air of heaven ; you who have never known what it is to be shunned by your fellow man as a thing uncleaned and accursed; you who deem yourself unblessed with all the blessings that God has given you upon earth ; look upon it, and learn that there is a misery beyond all that you have conceived in your gloomiest hours—a misery that can be endured, Learn that even the Leper, with death gnawing at his vitals, and unceasing tortures in his blood, cast out from the society of his fellow man ; forbidden to touch, in friendship or affection, the hand of the un tainted ; still struggles for life, and deems each hour precious that keeps him from the grave. The quarter of the Leper is a sad and impressive place. By the laws of the land, which-have existed from scriptural imes, they all actual contact with their fellow men ; ems to be no prohibition to their going out nd the walls of Jerusalem. and begging by the road Near the gate of Zion, on the way to Bethlehem, I saw many of them sitting on the rocks, their hideous faces uncovered, thrusting forth their scaly hands for alms. Their huts are rudely constructed of earth and stones, seldom with more than one apartment, and this so filthy and loathsome that it seemed unfit to be occupied by swine. Here they live and propagate, whole families together, without distinction of sex ; and their dreadful malady is perpetuated from generation to generation ; the groans of the aged and dying being mingled with the feeble wail of the young that aro brought forth branded for a life of misery. Strange and mournful thoughts arise in the contemplation of the sad condition and pro bable destiny of these ill-fated beings. Among so many, there must be some in whose breasts the power of true love is implanted ; love for woman in its purest sense, for offspring, for all the endearments of domestic life which the untainted are capable of feeling. Yet they are doomed never to exercise the affections without per petuating the curse. There must be some, too, in whom there are hidden powers of mind, unknown save to them elves, ambition that corrodes with unavailing aspirations ; thirst for action that burns within unceasingly, yet never all the ruling passions that can be im nd noble purposes—n are isolated fror can be a planted i for great a ever, never to give one moment's pleasure unmixed with the perpc,, gloom of that curse which dwells in their blood. As I plodded my way for the last time through this den of sickening sights, a vision of human misery was impressed upon my mind that time cannot efface. I passed when the rays of the sun were cold and the light was dim ; and there came out from the reeking hovels leprous men, gaunt with famine, and they bared their hideous bodies, and howled like beasts ; and women held out their loath some and accursed babies, and tore away the rags that covered them, and pointing to the shapeless mass, shrieked for alms. All was disease, and sin, and sorrow, wherever I went; and as I passed on, unable to relieve a thousandth part of the misery, moans of despair and howling curses followed me, and Lepers crawled back into their hovels to rot in their filth, and die when God willed. VICTOR HUGO is said to be at work on a new phillippic and a new poem. THE TWO MOST POPULAR POETS of America,Longfellow and Holmes, are both professors at Haward University. 3(3" MARTIN Crupps, the companion and fellow traveller of Dr. Clarke, died recently in Sussex, at the age of 73 years. THE CATALOGUE OF BOOKS a t the Leipsie fair fo r previous years. new Publications, a great increase on THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM is about to publish, from f am ily documents, certain memoirs of the court and cabinet of George the Third. " PARLIAMENTARY LITERATURE" iS as!iuming for midable position. During the past year the blue-books sold realized something more than £40,000. D OU GLAS JERROLD'S new comedy, e n titl e d 1 . st. Cupid ; or Dorothy's Fortune," was produced at Wind sor Castle on Friday evening before Her Majesty. THE LITERARY - INSTITUTIONS OF BIRMINGHAM have most of them died out, and it is now proposed to arrange the foundation of one giant institution for that town. MR. DISRAELI' S " Lord George Bentinck," and Mi ss Martineau's " History of the Thirty Years' Peace," have been translated into G erman, an d pu bli s hed at Berlin. MR. SAMUEL PHILLIPS, the " literary gentleman" of the Times, has had conferred on him a German doctorate, spontaneously proffered to him at the instigation of Chevalier Bunsen. M. ALEXANDRE pumi . ks is publi s hi ng a new nove l of novels in the qonstztutzopne . /, embodyi ng th e t h oug ht s and feelings of his busy lifetipie. Its title i s " I saac Laquedern," and its subject is—The Wandering Jew. There are to be six novels within the novel. The most !sacred personages of the Old and New Testaments are freely Introclaced talking and acting. IND TB LITERARY PAPERS hint that the late Edward 1 son-in-law of William Wordsworth, left a behind him, which will ARIETIES. humous poe ACTIVITY in three letters—N.R.G. And " sourness" in four—A.C.D.T. ,e issued SPELT, don newspapers, including the 'art/ Gazette, have resolved to I HOLD it to be a fact, says Pascal, that if all persons knew what they said of each other, there would not be four friends in the world. of the press privilege of writing orders n to the theatres THE complain that their liters- CFI REVIEW; 4 ho * MANY BOOKS require no thoughts from those who read them, and for a very simple reason—they made no such demand upon those who wrote them. newspapers ,nd that their lish nothing which has not passed arance in afeuillelon NOURISHING DIET.—A returned gold hunter from California says that he once lived for ten days on broth made from an old door-mat !It was that made him so fat. FOUR HUNDRED YEARS have elapsed since the invention of printing, yet books are not in circulation all over the globe ; while the use of tobacco became universal within fifty years after its discovery NT RA ORDINARY RATIONALITY.—We are enabled to state as a fact, which, tho ug h apparent l y incredible, may be entirely depended up on , th at a lady-, being offered a new bonnet by her husband, positfvely declined the pre sent, on the ground that she did not want it. Hence it appears that there is not, in all cases without exception, unqualified and absolute truth in the complaint of married men that women are always wanting new bonnets.—Punch. A YOUTHFUL PARTY. — Sixadmirals dinedtogether last week at Portsmouth, and their united ages amounted to 556 years. The youngest of the party, who was not more than 73, is anxiously waiting for his turn to be called into active exercise. It is strongly feared by his friends, how ever, that his age will stand materially in his way, as he is considered far too young at present to be appointed to any responsible post. Th e other admirals join their ships (gout permitting) in a few days.—Punch. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MARRIAGE. — Fanny Fern, a very pretty writer for som e lit era ry papers, says she is ready to jump at the first offer of marriage, and presents her qualifications as follows :—" I have black eyes and hair, and am petite. I am as sensitive as a ' mimosa,' spirited as an eagle, and untameable as a chain of light ning. Can make a pudding, or write a newspaper squib ; cut a child's frock, or cut a caper; and throw more hap piness or misery into ten minutes than any Fanny that was ever christened."—American paper. C U ARAN AND CHANCELLOR CLARE.—Lord Chancellor Clare, on one occasion, while Curran was addressing him in a most important case, occupied himself with a favou rite spaniel or Newfoundland dog, seated by him ; and all the world will remember the rebuke administered to him by that rarely-gifted man. Curran having ceased speak ing, through indignation, or malice prepense, Lord Clare raised his head and asked, "Wby don't you proceed, Mr. Curran 1" " I thought your lordships were in consul tation," replied Curran.—Re m i n iscences o f an Emigrant a vain one Birkenhead, 21st Jan., 1853 Milesian, EXPRESSIVE SIGNS.—Tosay "Leave the room," is less expressive than to point to the door. Placing a finger on the lips is more forcible than whispering, " Do not speak." A beck of the hand is better than " Come here." No phrase can convey the idea of surprise so vividly as open ing the eyes and raising the eyebrows. A shrug of , the shoulders would lose much by translation into words. Of Hawthorne, the American author, it is said his principle seemed to be, if a man cannot understand without talking to him, it is quite useless to talk, because it is immaterial whether such a man understand or not. CHURCH, OLD SWAN." THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, JANUARY CORRESPONDENCE. Letters addressed to the. Editor should be accompanied by the real name and address of the writer, not for publication, but as a guarantee of g o od faith ; this is indispen in any statement of facts. The Editor wishes it to be understood that be does not hold himself responsible for the opinions or statements of his correspondents. WOODSIDE FERRY-PIOUS .ably reqais. To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD, SlR,—When we toast " The PresS" at our public dinners, we ouglit not to forget its important " mission," to use a favourite term, as the redresser of public grievances; and it is in full appreciation of its valuable services in this respect, that I address these few lines to you. My attention was attracted a few clays since to the very in efficient accommodation provided at Woodside Ferry for thos, who sit at the receipt of customs. Instead of a commodious building, in which so large an amount of traffic could be con ducted with comfort to those concerned in it, there is a nest of little pigeon-heles arranged in a kind of promiscuous proximity (as though division and addition had been practised ill ventilated, most imperfectly protected from the weather, and without sufficient height for a tall man to stand erect. Surely the Commissioners can hardly be aware of the interior of a place which presents so fair an outside, or some other .t random), influence must be at work to prevent its reform. It may be asked, what concern have I, as simply one of the public, with the comforts of a place through which I have merely to pass in my way to and from the steamers, in common with many thousands more, who have the like brief business to perform . _ _ in it? I answer, not much, or perhaps none at al a strong feeling of sympathy for the unfortunate clerks whose business compels them to remain so large a portion of their time within its walls. It may be that their position precludes them from complaining, though I have heard that it is no un common thing for one or other of them to be laid up from ill ness so produced. It is, therefore, as one of the independent public, who am simply an observer, that I desire, through your columns, to call the attention of the proper authorities to the fact, in the confident hope that the appeal to them will not be I am, Sir, yours, &c., ALPHA. TENANT RIGHT FOR ENGLAND.—No. I To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Sin,—As the important subject of securing a tenant right for Ireland is now before the legislature in Mr, Napier's series of bills, it is, I believe, a fitting opportunity to direct public attention to the necessity of improving the present law of tenure in England with reference to agricultural improve. ments. I shall, therefore, with your permission, offer the following remarks ; premising that the whole subject may occupy three or four letters. The progress of nearly,very department of industrial acti vity has been of so startling a character within the last few years, that the spirit of enterprise has almost paused to dis cover a new field of operations upon which to exert its skill for effecting improvements. In nearly every branch of manufac tures the resources of science have been almost exhausted—in mechanics, in chemistry, and in mineralogy. The steam engine has been applied to locomotion to an extent which ren ders ancient fables no longer incredible, while electricity in the spread of intelligence has almost outstripped the power of belief. While skill and ingenuity have done so much for every thing which may add to the comfort and luxury of man, the question may be asked, how is it that so little has been done to supply his actual necessities? While our population is year by year increasing in number, and still more so in the means of purchase and the consequent increased consumption of food, our amount of production has not kept pace with the demand, so that England might be rendered independent of foreign supplies for the most indispensable requisite to the mainte nance of her people. The simple fact may be broadly stated, that we have but the same number of acres available for culti vation, while the number of people to be supplied with food is daily being added to. The only legitimate resource, therefore, is to increase the fertility and productiveness of the soil, to cause two blades to grow where but one grew before, and reap each year from each acre a greater quantity than was done the year preceding. This can only be accomplished by improved scientific knowledge, by the investment of that capital which is too often thrown away on idle speculations, and by an eco nomical devotion of industry and skill to the desired object. In the giant strides which science ems made towards perfection in manufactures, in locomotion, and in commerce, has nothing been done towards the far more important art of agriculture? Has the genius of Enterprise, mindful of everything else, been only neglectful of the cultivation of the earth, the mainstay of national greatness, and the foundation of every other pursuit ? This can hardly be said to be the case. The discoveries of Liebig and others in science have done much, and the actual operations of practical agriculturists have also tended to prove that the land may be made capable of yielding produce even beyond the requirements of man. We read of improvements effected by means of draining, of sub-soiling, and other me chanical contrivances ; of the wonderful effects of bones, guano, and other foreign and artificial manures; of the pecu liar advantages of particular courses of cropping, and the suc cessful application of industry and skill to the cultivation of the soil. But while these facts are instanced as proofs of what may be clone, it is nevertheless a fact that they have been con fined to a few individuals, whose names stand prominently forward as pioneers of agricultural improvement ; while the great body of English farmers have been content to follow the beaten track, and till their land in the same manner as their fathers did before them. This unwillingness on the part of agriculturists to avail themselves of improvements, the advan tages of which have been so clearly demonstrated, must be attributed neither to apathy nor to want of intelligence. Eng lish farmers, as a class, are quite as intelligent as the inhabi tants of the large towns who have been more boasted of, and fully as alive to the importance of increasing their products by the aid of capital and skill ; but causes over which they have no control have operated as an incubus upon their energy, and stayed the course of improvements, from which all classes of the community would have received direct and immediate benefit. In every other pursuit, the man of capital, of enter prise, and of skill, is protected in the possession of the fruits of them. He invests his wealth, and devotes his energies, with the moral certainty that he or his family will profit by the advantages derived from them ; and the natural consequence is, that wherever there is a reasonable prospect of profit, there is no want of either money or industry to prosecute it to the utmost limit of improvement. The tenant farmer, on the other hand, has no such advantage and no such protection. He is bound by the law to restore the land of which he has the use, in the same state of fertility as that in which he took it; but he has no claim, either by the statute law cr that of cus tom, for any additional value which he may have given to it. He may be fully aware of the advantages of the numerous improvements which have been pointed out to him ; may en tertain no lingering doubts as to the results of particular ma nures, or the profitable returns from additional expenditure; but then comes the conviction that he has no further interest in it than the mere annual return ,nd that he would be ex- pending his own property to confer an additional value on that which belongs to another. Ile may even entertain the most confident opinion in the honour of his landlord, but that is subject to numerous contingencies, and never can be consi dered a security upon which any man of ordinary prudence would hazard the outlay of his capital, or even exhaust his energies. It is in vain to convince a practical agriculturist that a certain expenditure in labour, in manure, in farm build ings, or in other adjuncts to his art, would add to the produc tiveness of his fields, when he is equally aware that no impro bable contingency may deprive him of the advantage without any legal redress, and that he has no title to that property which his own outlay has created. He is consequently deterred from the risk, and compelled by force of circumstances to continue the former system ; for though he may be also con vinced that the immediate returns in increase of crop will more than reimburse him for the amount he has expended, it is not in human nature to expect that a man will undertake all the hazard, to afford another the certainty of perhaps the Zreatest share of the profit. This was the case in the former system of taking tithes; and so strong was the impression that the Church taking a share of the increased produce tended to retard improvements, that the Tithe Commutation Act was passed, fixing the amount of tithe upon the simple question of marketable value of grain, without any reference to acreable quantity. But if the case was so strong as to call for legisla tive interference where but a tithe of the increase was taken, bow much stronger must it be where so large a proportion is concerned as that which now absolutely depends upon the will of the landowner! The effect is evident. The means of great improvement are capable of being exercised by the agricultu rist; he has the knowledge, the will, and in numerous instances the requisite capital ; hut as a tenant farmer he has no ade quate security, and the improvements are consequently not effected. The evil of this want of protection is evident in se veral ways, all tending to the same unhappy results, because they retard that growth of supply which is indispensable to national security. I am, Sir, yours, Cheshire, Jan. 20th, 1853. AGRICOLA, " THE SINGULAR EXHIBITION AT ST. ANNE'S To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SIR S In reply to a paragraph in your last publication, en titled "Singular Exhibition at St. Anne's Church, Old Swan," I have to state, in the first place, that the exhibition, if it may be so called, was not singular, but plural. Secondly, there was neither three nor four Irishmen, but only one present. There was also one Englishman, your humble servant, with two wo men and two infants, a boy, and two girls; in all, nine in dividuals. Thirdly, they were not under the impression that they were in a " Romish mass house." Fourthly, they didnot approach the communion rails in front of the communion table, nor did they commence a series of external evidences of devotion. Again, the incumbent was not at his reading desk; and, I am prepared to prove there was no intrusion committed by any one of the party. I think there was no delay before the party were removed, and though one police man was sent for, he was too late to be of any service, though it was quite unnecessry to call 'him, as we considered ourselves dutiful members of the church. On arriving at the church, we entered, without delay, pew No. 44, one of three shown to us by the se x t on . S oon a ft er being seated, the sexton came to me and stat e d th at t h e i n di v id ua l s w ith me could not remain, b u t upon l that I might. I i nformed h i m t h a t " th e y. were w ith me an d I with them." He replied that a party had ." engage d the pew for the morning," whereupon himselfu with tl ie pr e t I s ie o r n e s s i t b la i i f t t y,o th t e pew another. Some of the party entered, but the incumbent took p ordering were shown to them out. A directed them to tit iu the tree seats, ito which I TH volume of 1 shortly 1 I of admis 1 the ordeal of an ar M. AMPERE. a French savan, has published "A Stroll in America." He remarks, " The literature of the United States will not certainly be a new world. but it will be one province more in the vast empire of civilised literature." A RECENT WRITER, talking of America, remarks that " no country has a literature so rapidly and at the sam time so grandly growing, and no thorough nation I press so paltry and insignificant Thomas " THE ENGLISH OPIUM-I cey, one of t pdring.for publ 1 bab' most remarkable men of the day, is pre tion "Autobiographial Sketches," pro ublished in y an extension of cer n papers rec gh periodical. THE Athenaum protests against the practice of authors and students being charged, like attorneys, when they wish to make extracts in the ecclesiastical courts from documents deposited there : on the substantial ground that the author does so for the national, and not for a private, interest. MR. ROBERT FORREST, a self-taught Scottish artist, born at Carluke, Lanarkshire, and bred as a stonemason, died on Wednesday week. His first great work was a statue of the national hero, Sir William Wallace. Mr. • • •.•4•l4vv• ...a • Forrest had a permanent exhibition of his own statuary on Calton Hill, Edinburgh. TURIN says the last number of the Athenceum, " has become the capital of Italian ideas. Gas—railways — teiegrapns—toieration—popular literature—reoresenta tive institutions—all the chief features of the modern world have been welcomed there." A society of political economy has recently been founded in Turin. LORD. JOHN. RUSSELL some years ago spoke sneeringly of " the writers in the daily newspapers ;" now his lord ship is a member of a ministry which includes in its ranks as secretary of the Board of Control, one of the same writers, namely,Mr. Robert Lowe, the colonial contributor to the Times, and now M.P. for Kidderminster. Mr. Lowe was, we believe, born at Bingham, in Nottingham shire, of which parish his uncle is at the present time incumbent. GENERAL CASS, the democratic leader in the American • Congress, on the 3rd of January current, introduced a me morial from the Baptist Union of Maryland, praying the interposition of the United States to secure religious freedom for Americans abroad. Mr. Hale, " a free- Boiler," said "he thought the object sought a most•com mendable one. He would be glad that all nations should be taught that there was a God, whose laws and commands were supreme ; but he did not think this was the nation to send forth missionaries to preach that doctrine. We were the last people in the world to make that appeal." " Mr. Cass.—lf I understood what the Senator meant, I would perhaps reply to him." " Mr. Hale—The difficulty is, that I meant just what I said, which is such an unusual thing here, that the Senator cannot understand me." (Laughter.) AMONG THE REMARKABLE PERSONS who died during 1852 were the following:—Mrs. Harlowe, the actress; the Prince de Broglio, Eliot Warburton, G. N. Rodwell, Thomas Moore, Vice-Admiral Sir W. A. Montague, Armand Marrast, Lady Jane Dalrymple Hamilton, Marshal Marcnont, Duke de Raguse, John Landseer, the engraver.; Madame Thiers, Miss Berry, the Queen Dowager of Denmark, Duchess Ida of Saxe Weimar, Prince Felix Schwarzenberg, Nicolo Gogel, a Russian author ; Arthur O'Connor, the Grand Duke of Baden, Henry Clay, Sir James M'Adam, Duke of Hamilton, Dr. Hubert Mayo, G. R. Porter, Ada Byron (the Countess of Lovelace,)Abbe Gioberti, Prince deLeuchten burg, Vincent George Dowling, Marshal Etienne Maurice Gerard, Alexander Mackay, author of "The Western World ;" Prince Paul of Wurtemburg, Countess de Buffon, Alfred Count D'Orsay, Daniel Webster, Thomas Thomson, one of the founders of the Edinburgh Review ; the Bishop of Moray and Ross; the Bishop of Meath; and His Grace the Duke of Wellington. AMUSING ANECDOTE OF GEORGE lII.—In looking over an old English journal the other day, we found an amusing anecdote of a social concert in the family of George 111., the party composing a quintette, under the direction of the monarch himself. The Princess of Wales presided with grace at the harp, the Duke of New castle played the first violin, the Duke of Devonshire, the tenor, and the facetious Philip Dormer discoursed on the flute. The story proceeds as follows :—lt so happened that the king had his own notions of time and tune, therefore every member of the concert, while giving his eyes to his own music, was obliged to give his ears to the king's, and as rapidly as possible to follow the direction e royal performer. On the present occasion it however, that the concerto was going became evid rong, but t most acute of these select amateurs could not imagine where they were in error. The royal bass viol was proceeding on its course with all due sedateness ; the violin looked in vain, backwards and forwards for several bars, to see where he could glide in, but could discover nothing resembling what he had heard ; the tenor, knowing there was a difficult passage just passed over, and being well aware of the royal practice with regard to such, boldly went back and repeated it; the harpsichord, believing the time had been altered from fast to slow, slackened its pace ; and the flute, entertain ing a different opinion, went away at double speed. Such a strange medley was never heard before; nevertheless, the king was seen leaning forward, with his eyes fixed on the music, evidently too absorbed in his own performance to heed the confusion that distracted the audience, and made the other musicians feel extremely uncomfortable. The Duke of Newcastle, a studious courtier, knew not what to do ; he played a few notes here and there, whis pered to the Duke of Devonshire, nudged Philip Dormer, whose blowing had become desperate ; he glanced at the music of the princess, without obtaining any clue to the cause of the inextricable disorder ; but still he plied on, knowing that matters could not be worse than they were. The king, at last, brought the concert suddenly to a close, by finding himself suddenly and unexpectedly at the end of his symphony. The princess, who alone dared to speak, discovered that the king had turned over two leaves at once ; the monarch, with the utmost composure, turned back to the part which had not been played, and without uttering a word set to work, followed by the other musicians, who were well up at the finish, and in at the death with tolerable exactitude. REMARKABLE OBITUARY NOTICES.—The following are among the most singular obituary notices published in the course of 1852:—Lydia Burnham, in Groton, 'U.S., aged 104 years and 9 months. She retained her faculties to a remarkable degree until a few mouths before her death. There are ten children now living, descendants of the deceased, of the fifth generation.--Elie Kurbander, in Prague, on the Etbe, aged one hundred years. H e was the oldest pianist, and probably the o!dest of all musi cians. He was one of the first music masters to Meyer beer.—Mrs. Mehitable Currier, in Danbury, U.S., aged 103 years 9 months. She survived her husband forty-six ren, tw Christina Paterson, one of Rob, whose name, at the time he wrote, was Morton, at ..uauch line, Scotland, aged 87.—John M'Lean, in Inverness, Scotland, aged 105 years. He recollected the first post chaise, and when the first coal was burned.—Captain Rowland R. Crocker, in New Bedford, of disease -of the heart, aged 82, for many years a popular shipmaster out of New York, and was one of the first commanders of the " Black Ball" line of Liverpool packets.—Mrs. Margaret Lagedon, near Mount Savage, Maryland, aged 101 years. She removed to that section when it was a wilderness, and containing few inhabitants save Indians. She left 500 descendants.—John Wilson, in Edinburgh, Scotland, aged 101 years and 11 months. He was a mechanic. Until the last few months he was able to read, and occa sionally to walk out by himself.—Francis Russell, in North Eaton, Massachusetts, aged 67. Ho was born February 29, 1784, and has had, therefore, only seventeen birthdays.—Elizabeth Douglas, in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, aged 105 years.—David Rennison, in Chicago, Illinois, aged 115 years 3 months and 7 days. He is said to have been the last of the " Boston Tea Party." He was engaged at the battle of Bunker Hill.—Henry Gibson, of Newberg, New York, aged 101 years and 14 days. He was one of Washington's Life Guards.—Jose Francisco Rodrigues, in Havana, Cuba, aged 112 years and a few days. He was a negro.—Janet M'Donald, at Inverness, Scotland, aged 105 years. She could thread a cambric needle to within a short period of her death.—Marguerite Boatillier, at Genzie, near Cognac, aged 102 years. She laboured in the fields to within a few weeks of her death, and preserved her faculties to the last.—Tibby Renton, in Edinburgh, Scotland, aged 102 years and 3 months. She was " hale and weel" to within a few days of her death.— Reuben Edmondson, in St. Louis, U.S., aged 63. He was better known as " Jack Bowers," the most noted thief in the Mississippi Valley. Ho had been arrested 115 times, and incarcerated in various prisons 61 ti mes .— Charles Bouches, near Montreal, Canada, aged 106 years. He was married to three wives, with whom he had sixty children. He leaves forty-three children, sixty-six grand children, thirteen great grandchildren, twenty-eight ne phews, seventy grand nephews, and eighteen great grand nephews.—M. A. Mieville, at Berne, aged 86, called by his countrymen " the Nestor of Swiss journalism."—• Peter Minotto, in Turin, aged 83 years. He was the last member of the ancient Venetian nobility, and the only living Senator of Venice when she was the Queen of the Adriatic Sea.—Mrs. Mary Pritchard, at Cre'ngilach, Scotland, aged 108 years. She was married when she was twenty-seven years old, and lived with her first husband forty years. She remained a widow two years. She lived thirty years with her second husband. Her sight failed her three years before her death—her other senses and faculties were unimpaired.—Joseph Swinden, near Blythe, England, aged 100 years 11 months and 25 days. Had not had three days sickness during his life, and only a day before his death was busy sawing and chopping wood. —Ann Kelly, in Lewisham, Kent, England, aged 103 years. From early youth she was a member of the thea trical profession, and- acted at various theatres in Eng land, Ireland, and Scotland. She was in the same com pany with the late EdmundhiKs briefean, careerandalso with James , . Sheridan Knowl es duringas an ac-or her eud i est boast that she had often played "Jane Shore" of Mrs. Siddons. About a ,, n A d li i e t ia w ,, a t s ethe town u wa w s i t y h re A p l r r i was then residing in the same t li h n e qu a gis e h o t f b G e o sstlaiegelo;stshleerhearing, and was obliged to re ltehs.e—fPa famous LiN s e ic a o t l i e n t g , i p n al P ae a e ris e , a r_ le r . a d n ot c h e e . came to Paris, with whip an, " Petit Ram - 'tonneau." Twentyb-one se y , e t a o r ss seek ko his c le t t iC o r n ° o f cv for tune as a cabdriver. For many years he has dined ten thousand, and sometimes twenty thousand, in a day. The ordinary consumption of the house was a dozen calves, twenty sheep, quantities of beef fish a nd poultry, and about twenty h o , gsv , ...eads of wineper day. Pere Nicolet was his own h ea d cook, and might be seen daily in his ample kitchen directing the labours of same eight or ten aide-de.camps. His own enormous bulk was a standing advertisement of the generous qualities of his meat. Many curious observers might be daily s een kitchen windows, to marvel at the euriO e u e s p i i , n g through the he supported his immense " co rp oration," He is said to have died worth £40,000. efts with which rt Burns's heroines, AT CHESHIRE AND WA LES. CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAlLWAY.—Treffie for the week ended Jan. 16, 1853 :—Railway : Passengers, par cels, &c., £1,768 I3s. Id. ; Goods, £1,015 16s. Id. ; Steam-boats : passengers, parcels, &c., £2OB 17s. 9d. — Total, £2,993 6s. 11d.—Tncrease compared with the corre sponding week last year, £667 Os. 6d. WALLASEY LADIES' CHARITY BALL.—The annual ball on behalf of the ladies' charity of Wallasey took place on Tuesday evening last, at the Egremont Hotel. The attendance comprised the principal families of Wallasey and neighbourhood, together with several parties from Liverpool. Amongst the company present were Mrs. and Miss Littledale, Mrs. and Miss Reddy, Mrs. and Miss Winch, Mr. and Mrs. North and party, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Mann and party, Mrs. and Mr. Commissioner Perry, Mr., Mrs., and the Misses Stringer, Mr. and Mrs. Coulborn and Miss Bell, Mr., Mrs., and Miss Wright, Miss Mackay, Miss Wardell, and the Misses Hutchinson, Mr. and Mrs. J. Glynne Bateson and the Misses Dover, Mr. and Mrs. George Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. Powell, Mr. and Mrs. Driver, Mr. and Mrs. Haynes and Miss Jones, Mr., Mrs., and the Misses Davies, Mr. and Mrs. Fox and the Misses Anderson, Mr. and Miss Bateson, Mr. and Mrs. Bird, Mr. and Mrs. H. Hassell, Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Bourne, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. and Miss Rimmer, Mr. William, Mr. Charles, and the Misses Chambres, Mr. and the Misses Maine and party, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Norris Jones, Mr. and Mrs. Daunt, Mrs. Maunder and Miss Lloyd, Mr. and Mrs. Bouch and party, Mr. Ewart, Mr. Neilson, Dr. Parr, Mr. Peel, Mr. W. L. E. Coulborn, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Maude, Mr. Muller, Mr. Low, Mr. Miles, Mr. Crawley, and Mr. Wilson. Mrs. Hassall, as lady patroness, admirably discharged the duties in connection with the ball-room. Gribbin's brass band occupied the orchestra, and played some very select pieces of music. Supper was provided by Mr. Mansell, of the Egremont Hotel. A TALE OF MYSTERY.—During the last few weeks, considerable excitement has existed among the residents in Tranmere and Rock Ferry. About three years ago, an old gentleman named Green, who was last seen at a public-house in Limekiln-lane, Tranmere, when he was supposed to have had a considerable sum of money on his person, was missing, and has not since been heard of, though every effort was made at the time to discover the cause of his sudden disappearance. On the day when he was last seen he bad been collecting the rents of some property, and it was supposed that he had been murdered and buried. After a lapse of time his property was di vided amongst his relatives, and by degrees the affair be came almost forgotten. Some short time since, a labour ing man resident in Tranmere, and yclept "The Admiral," dreamt for three successive nights, so it is said, that he saw the murderer of Mr. Green and the place where that gentleman's remains were buried. He mentioned the fact to a neighbouring clergyman, who paid but little attention to it, but ro strongly was the man impressed with the truth of his dream, that he began digging about the spot revealed to him in his dream—a small plantation adjacent to a house near the Rock Ferry slip. He men tioned the facts to Mr. Green's daughter and described the murderer so minutely, that from the description she recognised a labourer resident in Tranmere, whom she met in the public highway, as the alleged murderer, faint ing, so say the gossips, at the unexpected sight. Of course, such a mysterious affair affords ample food for village gossips, while the strange and sudden disappear ance of Mr. Green lends to the affair an air of romance, attractive even to persons unlikely to be moved by su perstitions of any kind. " The Admiral" ceased his labours a few days ago, although he had previously con sulted a clairvoyant as to the truth of the impression left on his mind, during his sleeping hours, the clairvoyant, as the story goes, fully confirming him in his previous idea, which has however turned out to be all moonshine. If this affair be really worth consideration, why do not the Cheshire magistrates cause this digger for dead men to be brought before them, and examined as to the " actual" rea sons which induced him to undertake his unwonted operations. NORWICH UNION FIRE-OFFICE. On Tuesday, the 11th instant, the annual general tmheeetoiffingceo,f i t n h espurror Surrey-street, y r l e s t t o r e r s e t o , of Norwich,hi si ti i pursuant tuti an w as to li p e u ld bl a ic t advertisement. Between forty and fifty gentlemen at tended, and at twelve o'clock the President, Anthony Hudson, Esq., took the chair, and called upon the Secre tary, Samuel Bignold, Esq., to open the proceedings, which he did by reading the clauses of the deed of settle ment (which prescribed that this meeting should be held, and the advertisement, as it appeared in the Gazette, convening the same). The PRESIDENT then proceeded to lay the accounts before the shareholders, which he did with great minute ness and perspicuity, commenting on the items as he went along, so that the fullest exposition of the affairs took place. The president concluded by stating, that though the year had not been favourable as to a diminution of fires, for, in fact, it was in amount of loss above the aver age, yet there was an available balance, after providing for every contingency, of £8,595. At the sitting of the directors on the previous day, th e y h a d th oug h t it right to make an appropriation of £5,000 of this balance, leav ing in hand £3,595 to begin the next year's account. The president observed that one-fifth of this appropriation was, by the constitution of the office, available for the yearly dividend to the shareholders, and being added to the interest produced by their capital, enabled the direc tors to declare a dividend of £3 per share, or £lO per cent. on the amount originally paid up. (Hear, hear.) He felt himself justified in avowing, that in no period of the past history of this great: office were its affairs . a more healthy or satisfactory position than at this time. (Hear, hear.) Some discursive discussion arose on many matters of detail, in which Captain Money, Mr. Mottram, the Rev. John Bailey, and other gentlemen, took part. At the close, Mr. BIGNOLD shortly addressed the meet ing, stating that the dividend which had been declared would be payable at the treasurers', Messrs. Gurneys, on and after Thursday, the 13th instant. He further drew the attention of the proprietors to the still onward course of this great institution, which, the returns on the table showed, had increased more th an a quar t er o f a million in . its aggregate sums insured in th e l as t y ear . attri buted to three causes—first, the great and distinctive principle on which the office was founded, that of making returns to the parties insuring ; no less than £21,072 had been paid back in this way, between Michaelmas, 1831, and Michaelmas, 1852, to those who had been insured in the previous five years. (Hear, hear.) The second ground of the greatness of this office was, he thought, to be traced to the confidence of the public in its executive management. Although its directors were known in this city and county by their position and influence, they were only known at distant points, (great seats of business of this office,) viz., London, Liverpool, Manchester, Bir mingham, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dub lin, by their strict and honourable fulfilment of the en gagements of the office, and in all these agencies their business was prospering in a very high degree. The third ground of the greatness of this office was, in his opinion, co a o g f o e t n ph c e y e r ip all en present o v n e ft r a eg t re h an e t ps c o t o sh u s ae n ns t sr wereey d . a to be ascrib e d t o i ts experienced and well-appointed H me n e o gr b ea e g l ie i n e dt v ei e ln d l gtt the en a t t s ea n rn o vdi office f 1., o r s wtßignoldohwhich, pi nrt progressive : x i w p v expressed rise p ethopehreshdtilvri dividend . e t nhi in at t o h n i dt s hd s e o r ep c w i r e o t ap y tr . rent M ot future success of the society would fully equal the past, 1852, 425.; and at this year was 60s. ' ,hear.) The business of the annual meeting being onclu . ded it was declared special, formally to pass a resolution, sanc tioning the society's carrying on foreign insurances, Which, after some explanation by the President, was approved and confirmed. The thanks of the meeting having been voted to the president and directors for their able administration of th e affairs of the office, the meeting terminated. Duty paid to Government in 1851 , £74,100 15 s . 3d., and the amount insured on farming stock, which is free of duty, amounted to X 9,150,698. 25, 1852. they moved ; but the minister followed them and told them could not do with them, and immediately ordered them to be - - - put out of the church. I then immediately left the church and proceeded with my eight companions to the new church, where the worthy Bishop of Madras was in attendance. To him I stated the treatment to which I had been subjected. His lordship did not turn us out, nor did he accuse us of being excited ; I rather believe he was gratified that some were be- ginning to turn from the error of their way.—Your obedient servant ROGER EAVES. rs-terrace, Green-lane, West Derby. idividuals complained of conducted themselves decently and orde not justified in 1 them turned out of the church ; but we have since been in formed that not only did they misbehave themselves, but one of them was overheard to say, church and kick up a row " Now let us go to some other SCRIPTURE READERS' SOCIETY The annual meeting of this institution was held at the Collegiate institution, on Tuesday, the chair being taken by the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, and the platform occupied by several clergymen and gentlemen. His LORDSHIP said the object of the society was to spread the light of the Gospel among the poor and ignor ant classes of the population who were crowded together in this immense town ; and if the society's operations lay within that narrow sphere, still it lies nearer home. The present state of Liverpool in this respect gave rise to very mixed and varied feelings. . It was a picture that had its bright and dark parts, its lights and shades. There were many things to be thankful for, arid there were many things still to wish for ; there was very much that, thanks to the Christian spirit of the place, had already been done; and such was the necessity and magnitude of the case, that there yet remained much for them to do. It was a very gratifying thing, one of the things that called for our thankfulness, that there had been of late years such a vast increase in the number, both of the churches and the clergy in the place. That was a most gratifying fact, a matter of great joy, and he hoped that through God's blessing it had also been a matter of great benefit to this large town. But at the same time, if we compared the total amount of free sittings in all our churches with the number of the poor population in this vast teem, we must be painfully impressed with a feeling of the utter inadequacy of the existing church accommodation to meet the exigencies of the case. He feared there were very many of the poor who never thought of entering a church ' • but, if they were ever desiro us o f d o i ng so ; t h ere were not free sittings in our churches to receive a tenth part of them. Alluding to the duties which the clergy have to perform, his lordship said that most of them had three sermons, or even more, to preach every week, and they must make some allowance for the tax that it was upon a clergyman's time to prepare those discoures in estimating the portion of time a clergyman can devote to the pastoral visitation of the poor, in going from house to house. He did not say that he was to omit that last duty, but still he certainly could not, from the nature of the case, give, the whole of his time. But be was sure all of them must feel that if each clergy man, in his own church, in his own sphere of labour, was left to worked single-handed and alone, without help or assistance, either from a curate, Scripture-reader, or dis trict visitor, it would not be from want of desire or heart in him—but from the physical circumstances of the case it was utterly impossible he could get through his work, or fulfil a task which would be far beyond his strength. Happily, through the liberality of the people of Liverpool and the aid of great soc!eties, help was provided in the way of providing curates to some extent, and the especial object of the society for which they were met that night was to strengthen the hands of the clergy, and to give them as sistance, in affording them what their own stipends in many cases could not afford, the help of a:Scripture-reader to go among the people where they themselves could not go, and to carry the Word of the Gospel to the multitudes of the poor in the several districts of the town, and esr cially that class of the poor who had not been broughtup attend Divine service or seek religious instruction in o churches, and to whom, if they were to hear the Word the Gospel at all, it must be carried to their own homes, their own doors, and their own firesides ; and it was to create and give machinery for this purpose that the present society had been established ; and he hoped through the means of it and through God's blessing, great good might be effected in Liverpool in this way. The Rev. F. BARKER read the report, which stated that "The society was first intended for the special en lightenment of poor Romeo Catholics in scriptural truth, but its objects were subsequently extended. The sub scriptions amounted to £1,311, the donations to £482, and the interest to £l7. There were 800 subscribers to their fund, and the balance now in the bank amounted to £609. The committee estimated their expenses would shortly be £1,600 annually. with' necessity for increase. The report stated that the Rev. J. Bardsley had been ap pointed superintendent clergyman of the society, and gave a detailed account of his proceedings. Amongst these were a weekly meeting in Cornwallis-street school, to dis cuss the principle of Romanism, when any one who de sired might enter into the argument. Some Romish champions came forward at first, but from the tenor of the report they appeared very shortly to have exhibited the better part of valour—discretion, many running away. The society's readers had been very useful to the Romanist population, many of whom are searching after the truth. The visits during the past ten months amounted to 45,837, of which upwards of 9,000 had been to Romanists." The report also stated that the Rev. Mr. Lowe had furnished the society with a number of tracts on Romanism for cir culation. Amongst the remarkable features of the report was a statement that an Irish Scripture-reader had been reading the Word of God to many Roman Catholic families from Ireland in their own tongue. The report concluded by calling for further assistance to carry out the efforts of the society, and thus extend the cause of true religion ie to ur of The Rev. Rector CAMPBELL said, it was impossible to think of the population of such a great town as this with out mingled feelings of sorrow and alarm. With sorrow for the spiritual destitution of which so large a propo: Con of them seem to be contaminated, and with alarm for the responsibility consequent upon themselves. They (the clergy) were prepared, to the best of their ability, in per. formance of their ordination vows, " to drive away all strange and erroneous doctrines," whatever form they might assume. But then he thought the time was come when it was incumbent upon them to press upon the laity the practical recognition of that faith, that the church did not consist of the clergy alone, but that it was a mixed body, the clergy and laity combining, and of which the laity, as they were the most generous, were the most important part. If they proposed lay agency as necessary, it was desired because, in the present state of the body politic, it was utterly impossible for the clergy to do the work alone. After reading an extract from the seventh annual report of the London society, he con cluded by recommending the report of the committee to the anxious and charitable consideration of all who heard and having named the gentlemen who had consented st loud applause. to act upon the committee, s have listened to a mar Mr. He ALL, M.P down at , said ne never recollected to admirable report than the one kern. While it gave them ample tions of the society, gave them at the same time a testimonial of their committee as to the effi ciency of their Scripture-readers, and also the testimony their Scripture-readers bore to the efficiency of the laity who acted as the committee. At a meeting held in that the Workin g M an ' s proceedings of that ' Associith ation, a few iinnligteesrerasetge,o'fantby d ?: ehe was struck with a it was es imated that there were generally in circulation s bmC t u a leli r uel t. dtr l ici i nn ni observation made by their excellent rec t or , th a t amongst the population not less than 28 million of infidel and other demoralising publications. If that were so, it required no stronger argument to point out the necessity of some such counter-action as was contemplated by the Scripture Readers' Society. But it was not the infidel publications only with which the Scripture -reader had to contend. These publications undermined the principles of the population ; but there were other adversaries which undermined their practice. They had heard in the report that they had seventeen Scripture-readers ; but what were these when every Sabbath they had 1,452 public-houses open ? 'What were these Scripture-readers when they knew that Sabbath after Sabbath they could not pass through the streets of the town without seeing an immense number of shops open of every kind ? It might seem strange for him to say that the British legislature was one of the most powerful enemies the Scripture-reader had to contend with. Year after year they were paying £30,000 to support a great anti-Scripture reading society. Why, what was the fact ? They were sending their Scripture readers into tlie streets of Liverpool to tell the people to search the Scriptures ; and the men from Alaynooth, who were enemies to British legislation, were coming to the same streets and telling the people that the Bible Society was a pestilence, and that the Word of God in the vulgar. tongue did more harm than good. It was by the act of the British legislature that the money of England was paid to enable these men to come to this town ; and when the Scripture-reader went to tell the people that there was but one mediator between God and man, the emissaries of the British legislature were coming to tell them that there were many mediators. So long as the Constitution remained as it was ; so long as they had the power to protest; so long as they had the power to repeal a law, it was their duty to do everything in their power to get the law repealed. Upon these grounds he contended that no law could be binding upon a man which violated the law of God, and believing, as he did, that that law violated the law of God, it was their duty to seek to have it repealed by every means in their power. He believed that no law founded upon expediency ever did, or could, conduce to the individual, social, or national happiness of mankind. (Loud cheers.) The meeting was afterwards addressed by the Rev. Mr. Bardslev, Mr. Wm. Gregson, and the Rev. Dr. M`Neile, and a liberal collection was made. peen read to ti LONGEVITY.—Tbe decease of the "oldest woman in the world"—Marißenton, the well.known "old woman of Elton," took place last week. There seems to be some dispute as to the precise age of this wonderful woman. On the coffin-plate it was stated to be 117, but it is gen erally supposed that this is considerably beneath the fact. A correspondent states that if she had survived until the 13th February next she would have attained the unprece dented age of 122 years. Her form, as might be expected, was very much bent, but her conversation was free and lively, and her eye, though dimmed, retained much of its former lustre, and she was able to dispense with the assistance of spectacles to the last. This interesting per sonage was a native of Cockfield, in Durham, and resided for some time at Long Newton, previous to her cominn , to her daughter's house at Elton.—Halifax Guardian. THE ARMY.—The following important notice has just been posted up at the Horse Guards, under the head of " Encouragement to Soldiers." It is stated that by Her Majesty's warrant, it is provided that commissions are to be given to deserving non-commissioned officers recom mended by their colonels. In appointments to the cavalry, a sum of £l5O will be granted as an outfit ; and in the appointments to the infantry, a sum of £lOO as an outfit. All sergeants, corporals, and privates, are also to be allowed a gratuity for length of service or good con duct ; a sergeant to have £l5, a corporal £lO, and a private £5. They will also be allowed a progressive pay per day over and ab ove th e usua l pay. It was stated in a note that several regiments of cavalry at present offer an opportunity for recruits joining from the age of 16 to 25. Since the alteration cif the standard of height many young mu join the line, LOUIS. N. Counties, v LEON AND THE NOTTING- HAM FACTORY GIRL. idowed lady, whose educational d justly esteemed in the Midland not a little surprised at the arrival of trio n of Nottingham, of whoa) girls from the neighbouring to man saddle she knew ti , the daughters of a poor journey re accompanied thither by a femalgi a desire that the girls might be as they had been bountiful) w amply afford to receive uriosity, or rather the suspi• were very naturally excited, and still prudently determined to make inquiries before she decidedj upon the course she should adopt with regard to the re markable application. Those inquiries terminated in the discovery of a story which, of course, prevented her re ceiving the girls into a miscellaneous school of young ladies, and a few particulars of which we are able to pre) sent to our readers : relative, who expr received into the seminary, provided for, p- nn first-class ' Three or four years have transpired since little Katie r lShaw, (as we shall call our h ero i ne ,) t h e e ld est daughte of a humble saddler, first attracted general attention her native town. As she went to and from her dailP labour, many remarked the superior beauty and carriage o the young lace girl ; and still, from h er h aug ht y d epor t went, few were surprised when she s u dd en l y di sappeare d , without having even apprised her parents or any of her; companions. It was hinted that the only son of an olci l baronet, whose mansion stands pn the banks of tha " thirty-armed" Trent, had something to do with the mysterious flight of the runaway. In vain did some of her relatives institute a search ; their endeavours proved; utterly futile, and the investigation was soon given up., Not till somewhere about six months ago was the secret revealed. Then a letter was received by the parents 04 Katie, dated from the Elysee, and communicating tb fact that their daughter had found a friend in the Empe-I ror. Money was inclosed, and a desire expressed that the younger sisters of the writer should be sent to some first class educational seminary, and rendered fit for a higher, grade of society than the one in which they were born., The result of the application to obtain admission to school of the kind we have already detailed. It appears, and we have all the particulars from a reliable source], that the unfortunate English beauty had gone to the Con tinent with the baronet's son ; that in Paris she accom panied her prote c t or t o several balls, at one of which she attracted the attention and gained the favour of the Prince President, now the Emperor of the French people, to whom she was willingly transferred by her English A few weeks ago she was still at the Elysee, - -nittances have been received by her companion and subsec mrents - The Nottingham girl, whose singular career we have traced above, is, we believe, the so-called Mrs. Howardr whose name has appeared so conspicuously of late in con nexion with the Emperor, and upon whom, it is said, the - Empress to-be looks with no favourable eye. LIVERPOOL GOVERNESSES' INSTITUTION. The annual meeting of the members, subscribers, and friends of this institution was held on Wednesday, at the Savings Bank, Bold-street. The Bishop of Chester pre sided. There was a large attendance of ladies. Mr. BAINDRIGGE, the honorary secretary, read the' report, which was of a very encouraging nature.—The number of residents during the year has been limited to' twenty-six, five of whom were daily governesses. One hundred and ninety-three names have been entered on' the book of registration, out of which number 62 have* formed engagements. The two ladies who commenced' their payments for deferred annuities in the previous year are still pursuing their purpose, and arrangements are now in progress to secure for a third lady a similar annuity. With feelings of grateful respect the committee record the late Miss Hamilton's bequest of £531 Os. 3d.► for the foundation of a permanent annuity, to be enjoyed by a governess in the decline of life, who shall have been a native of Liverpool. A lady, whose generous efforts have never slackened in favour of the institution, desiroue of laying the foundation stone of another annuity. to be, like " the Hamilton," perpetual in its benefits, bee obtained a donation of £5O from the late Dowager Lady Hoghton, and a considerable further amount has been subscribed. The present recipient of the permanent annuity of £l5 from the benevolent fund, is a lady whose circumstances and time of life rendered such an aid of the greatest importance. A further sum of £l2 has been paid, in three donations, to as many ladies, whose mis fortunes brought them strictly within the intention of this fund. The report concluded by the enumeration of several presents to the institution.—The treasurer's state• merit showed that the total amount expended during the year had been £570 4s. 10d., and that the total cash in hand at the present moment, after discharging all liabilities, was £203 7s. 7d. The balance in the hands of the bankers to the credit of the benevolent fund was £Bl 2s The Yen. Archdeacon BROOKS moved the adoption of the report, and stated that, in 1852, the number of applications for governesses was 206—more by between 60 and 70 than the number of applications in 1851. The applications in 1852 came from a much more extended neighbourhood than before, and this showed that the nstitution was making its own progress. The number of , gistrations in 1852 was 193, eleven more than in 1851. `Jr. NOTTINGHAM seconded the resolution for adopting the report, and it passed unanimously. The next resolution, which was moved by the Rev. J-- B. Lawn , and s econ d e d b y th e R ev. D. JAMES, spoke of the progress made by the institution since its formation in 1830, and the great encouragement for further exer tions. registr, Dr- '`' The CHAIRMAN here explained, with reference to one particular annuity, of which Miss Hamilton was the founder, that there was the condition attached to it that the recipient must be a member of the Church of England. He was desired to make it understood that there was no' intention, at any rate there was no resolution at all stand ing, to attach the same restriction to other annuities that it had been thought fit to attach to this. The Rev. Dr. HUME moved; and Mr. Lightbody seconded, a resolution, thanking the lady friends of the institution and re-appointing a committee. A resolution was next passed fixing the annual meeting to take place in January in each year instead of Decem ber. Tn acknowledging a vote of thanks, his lordshiP alluded to the interest he felt in the institution, and dwelt upon the necessity of treating governesses with kindness and consideration. They were, he said, refined and sen sitive by education, and keenly sensible of their position► and, though not members of the family, yet attached to it by ties of mutual confidence and respect. THE MYSTERIOUS SUICIDE IN LIVERPOOL•- In the STANDARD of Tuesday last we gave some parti culars relative to the singular suicide of a female residing in Cases-street, Liverpool. Subsequent investigations. and the evidence at the coroner's inquest, have thrown a *r of mystery around the unfortunate woranar ill greate rs. Crown, by whorl he rash act was committed -. q uest, on Tuesday, a Mrs. Chubb, who 1i as opposite the house occupied by the deceased, depose"c e follows :—Last week she told me several times that was in a great deal of trouble. I often saw her in driu , '• She was more or less in drink every day last week. On Sunday morning, about half-past nine, I wen t over and washed out the shop. After dinner, I took her some gin, and she said, '' I will drink this noggin if I never have any " I asked her if I s h ou ld fry her some beef for her, " Oh, no, I cannot eat anything. ..vpeared in a very low way. She told me she had a letter that morning from London. I saw her reading 1 letter. She said, " I wish I had not received this letter. She said she had received instructions in the letter to make the best of her things, and to make her way to London. She said they did not know in London what difficulties she was in here. She said she did not mind anything so much as the taxes ; it was the taxes she was frightened at. She said she had never been in such diffi culties in her life before. I wanted her to clean herself, as she would have some customers in, it being Sunday afternoon. She said, " Oh, lam gone very careless; I don't mind."—Afterwards, as related in our last, Mrs. Crown went to the attic stair, and hung herself—the body being discovered in the afternoon by a little boy, the sort of Mrs. Chubb. dinner, and she The jury returned a verdict to the effect that the de ceased hung herself in a fit of temporary insanity. In connexion with the deceased, the foKowing particu lars have since been discovered :—lii the first week 0 January, last year, Mr. A. 8., who is connected wit three establishment at the north end of th e t own , cil , Le u ' at the house of Mr. Evans, shipbroker, 15, Galton-streett and took apartments —a bedroom and back partour—fot a w i a o d lady aaindd her t l n e a m e n , • w w a h s o e r r s! e p m a a l rr k, i e d. shortly The a ufiteecrewaas afterwards came to reside at the house. She stated that she was married woman; that her husband was a merchant; and that the person who took lodgings for her was her cousin William. During her residence with Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Palk received no visitors except her reputed cousin ; and she conducted herself generally in a becoming and lady like manner. She was not at all addicted to drink ing. Mr. A. B. (her cousin William) dined with her every day except Sunday. He came to town every morning by the Bootle omnibus, 'a little before nine o'clock, and several times a week (at first every morning) he got off the omnibus at the end of the street, and called at the house between nine and ten o'clock in the morning. Mrs. Palk never rose till about ten o'clock in the morn ing ; and Mr. A. 8., after leaving his hat in the parlour below, always went up to see the lady in her bedroom.. Mrs. Evans had her suspicions aroused by this strange conduct, especially as the husband of the lady never made his appearance, although the lodgings were taken for a , man and his wife. On Good Friday morning Mr. A. B. came to the house at half-past ten o'clock, went into the bedroom of Mrs. Palk, locked the door, and remained there for a considerable time. As soon as Mrs. Evans was made acquainted with this proceeding, she intimated her suspicions to the lady and her supposed paramour,- and gave them notice that the lodgings. must be vacated. Mrs. Palk pretended to be very indignant that Mrs.- Evans should suppose she was a pers on o f d ou b t f u l cha racter ; but Mr. A. B. did not return to the house except to take away some things which Mrs. Palk had . left. The money due was paid, and th e l o d g i ngs were l e ft on the Saturday in Easter week. About the same time man, answering the description of " Cousin William," called upon a house-agent, representing that the friends of a young woman from London had left her £5O, with which he wished to start her in business in the shop in Cases-street, and, after sundry negotiations, the shop was taken, and Mrs. Palk then assumed the name of Mrs. Crown. The rent of the shop was regularly paid to the. agent, but the deceased had been summoned for the taxes.. The fate of the poor girl has been before detailed. It said that Mr. A. B. is a married man, and that his wife,. who is in a delicate state of health, is not at present in. Liverpool. AT THE KENSINGTON Petty Sessions, Mrs. G. R. Lawe, Victoria Grove, Kensington, appeared to a very novel in formation, for penalties incurred under the 14th and 15th Vict., c. 116. " by permitting her female servant to stand on the sill of an upstairs window, in order to clean it, whereby the life of the servant was endangered, and the public decency shocked." A formal inaccuracy in the in...- formation alone prevented the infliction of the powilty. dendal of the patron Rev. Launce .Rev. to the and DI Uranbr Rev. ary Ca Rev. Trinity Rev. Norfoll Rev. College Worces Rev. near R School, Rev. Hixon, Rev. BEE in the A Pc struck conseq THE tourisl 376 pal MAI county from tl " Jo annual the do( politic THE pointer ported of Mr. Tw( on We in Cot calling afterwi THE meetin Tuesd Tenant other much brigad e Secret phiage the site fncy B p c indis - pC may iv _ A F figured liar wi before attornE Jury. flaw, lady h: FRI( was pe name at a p 1 side al entere , order I fired t their f THE the no the HE propos by Mr posed the nc trieetin favour Mr. A the ell 91; m Roy been excite sense lordsh of the as the with i newly, passed the co were r ceremi holy a durin nurse 1 2.1 1 Y e Hal; objet the s erain a ge grace all r are g pent Well II( CUR ed w to th that uses !est° 110 s /, pint eas es sore s Yield