The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-01-29 00:00:00

EXPERIENCES AT AN INN IN PORTLAND.

With the pleasant consciousness of being in a perfectly free
country, where every one can do as he pleases, I entered an
hotel near the water, and sat down in the ladies' parlour. I
had not tasted food for twenty-five hours, my clothes were
cold and wet, a severe cut was on my temple, and I felt
thoroughly exhausted. These circumstances, I thought, jus-
tified me in ringing the bell and asking for a glass of wine.
Visions of the agreeable refreshment which would be produced
by the juice of the grape appeared simultaneously with the
waiter. I made the request, and he brusquely replied, " You
can't have it ; it's contrary to law." In my half-drowned
and faint condition, the refusal appeared tantamount to posi-
tive cruelty, and I remembered that I had come in contact
with the celebrated "Maine Law." That the inhabitants of
the State of Maine are not "free" was thus placed practically
before me at once. Whether they are " enlightened." I
doubted at the time, but leave the question of the prohibition
of fermented liquors to be decided by abler social economists
than myself. I was hereafter informed that to those who go
down stairs, and ask to see the " striped pig," wine and
spirits are produced ; that a request to speak with "Dusty
Ben" has a like effect, and that, on asking for "sarsaparilla"
at certain stores in the town, the desired stimulant can be
obtained. Indeed it is said that the consumption of this drug
is greater in Maine than in all the other States pat together.
The subterfuges of the abstinent Maineites to
obtain " intoxicating liquors," narrated in the con-
cluding sentences of the preceding extract, savour so
much of what we are told of " Yankee 'cuteness,"
and taste for circumvention, as to obtain ready
tredence in most circles of intelligent British society ;
but when advanced in the unostentatious manner in
which they are placed by our authoress before her
readers, few will be inclined to dispute their verity.
They in some degree remind us of what we have read
relative to the Turkish abstinence from wine, and the
mode in which that difficulty is surmounted in
Stamboul. The devout Mussulman,

" Whene'er to drink he is inclined,"

betakes himself to the Greek quarter of the city in a
state of mental unconsiousness. In this oblivious
state he accidentally enters a cafe, and seats himself
near a small table, without seeing or knowing where
he is. Speedily a small bottle, containing something
concerning which he has not the slightest knowledge,
is set before him, by an individual, who retires. The
Moslem, a profound believer in ordination, sees in the
circumstance of the uncalled-for wine being placed
before him, a gift from the Prophet, which, with
grateful veneration, he unhesitatingly applies to his
personal gratification ; and, duly thankful for the
miraculous gift, he deposits an alms on a small salver
which has unaccountably been placed beside the bottle.
This little oblation the ministering Greek carefully
notes ; if his customer is completely satisfied, he walks
away, and both parties are pleased. If a further
libation is required, the oblivious Turk retains his seat,
and the gift of the Prophet is again mysteriously
repeated, till occasionally it is said the wine-denounc-
ing Mahomedan reels off his seat. Such, alas ! is the
frailty of human nature, that practically artificial
stimuli appear indispensable to man's enjoyment; and
he, we fear, is but a sorry moralist who thinks that
" because he is virtuous, there shall be no more cakes
and ale.

Not to dwell longer on the social impossibility of
the Maine anti-liquor law, we shall quote another
illustration of an American peculiarity, in tills in-
stance selecting one peculiarly illustrative of the
national partiality for " going a-head." It may
be described as—

A MISSISSIPPI STEAM-BOAT INCIDENT.
An old lady was going down the river for the first time, and
expressed to the captain her earnest hope that there would be
no racing. Presently another boat neared them, and half the
passengers urged the captain to "pile on." The old lady
shrieked and protested, but to no purpose; the skipper "piled
on ;" and as the race was a very long and doubtful one, she
soon became excited. The rival boat shot ahead ; the old lady
gave a side of bacon, her sole possession, to feed the boiler fires
—the boat was left behind—she clapped her hands—it ran
ahead again, and, frantic, she seated herself upon the safety
z s snagged,
It was again doubtful, but lo ! the antagonist boat
and the lady gave a yell of perfect delight when
she saw it discomfited, and a hundred human beings strug-
gling in the water.

Examples similar to the preceding are so numerous,
if we are to rely on the testimony of travellers, and
are so commonly recounted, that we are almost tempted
to believe we have seen the same anecdote before.
Our authoress gives a very repulsive impression of
the political institutions and condition of the United
States, and out of the mouths of several natives,
enthusiasts in the belief of American perfection, adduces

fearful evidence of political corruption. One gentle-
man whom she met, who hotly upheld the superiority
of American institutions over those of all other coun-
tries, concluding his eulogy with the impressive re-
mark—" I think I shall give up politics altogether.
I don't believe we have a single public man who is not
corrupt." The italics are not the lady's ; but she
gives many analogous illustrations of the low state of
political morality in the " Model Republic."
The Englishwoman does not take usveryfar through
the American Union, but throughout her journeyings
she evinces a ready self-possession and great clearness
of perception. As a result of these qualities, she pro-
duces a pleasing, as well as an instructive book, which
will be read with avidity and reflected on with satis-
faction. Its authoress is no grumbler, but takes her
share of peril or privation with resigned good-humour;
and when present matters look least cheering, she
hopefully peers into the future.

The Irish QuarteOly Review. Dublin : W. B. Kelly.

This periodical, which devotes much attention to
matters peculiarly Irish, is deserving of high com-
mendation for the general ability with which it is con-
ducted. Intensely, though not insanely, Irish in its
partialities, it advocates the social and moral condition
of Ireland, and is eminently practical in its recom-
mendations. Sensitively, yet faithfully alive to the
value of literature as a means of national improvement,
the Irish Quarterly takes a prominent part in advo-
cating the claims of Irish literary men, and pays more
than a passing regard to the intellectual status and
worth of those gifted Irishmen residing in their native
land, who have not yet devoted their time and atten-
tion to the literary advancement of their country. In
following out this object, the conductors of the Review
have renered good service to Ireland, by directing
general attention from the unprofitable political squab-
bles of the day, to the more healthful and invigoratinc,
discussion of topics which in their progress necessarilyp
involve the process of social regeneration. It has, in
pursuance of this object, been peculiarly kind and en-
couraging to the literary efforts of those whose posi-
tion in life rendered the extension of a helping hand
not only useful but necessary ; but it has not done this
at the expense of neglecting or sacrificing those with
higher pretensions and more widely-founded claims.
In the number for January, No. XX. of the series, we
have a capital paper, entitled " A Quartette of Irish
Poets," in which the poetic merits of four of the
Poetes Minores of Ireland are brought forward in a
fair, liberal, and candid spirit. The object of the paper
is twofold ; first, to bespeak public attention and pa-
tronage on behalf of obscure yet sterling merit ; se-
cond, to direct as far as possible the national intellect
into some permanent and useful channel of literary
pursuit, instead of wasting itself in the desultory and
hurtful efforts to invest ephemeral subjects with
abiding interest, by the fervid outpourings of a popular
but worthless oratory ; a literary sin, by the way,
which unfortunately is making great and dangerous
progress among ourselves. Besides the class of sub-
jects referred to, this periodical contains two admir-
able articles on European politics. The one is entitled
" Polonia Redux ; a Steadfast Ally," in which the ge-
neral advantages to Europe arising from the re-esta-
blished nationality of Poland is insisted on with calm
judgment and penetrating sagacity. The other is
named " The War and the Future ; and it contains a
masterly resume of the facts and bearings of the war,
since the opening of last year's campaign in March tx;
its conclusion in September, by the capture of the
town and southern defences of Sebastopol. In this
the position of European politics, as bearing on the
military character of Great Britain, is carefully con-
sidered, and many of the fallacies which ignorance or
waywardness has heaped around the question are
swept away. The author, without despairing of our
military prestige, or becoming unnecessarily dolorous
on the subjects of our numerous and palpable blunders,
inculcates caution and courage, and a thorough de-
parture from those routine rules of diplomacy and tac-
tics which have cost us so much in blood and treasure.
This paper is well worthy of attention, and, under the
peculiar circumstances of the time, it acquires a double
claim on public notice.

The New Quarterly Review, and Digest of Current

Literature. Lon-don : Bosworth and Harrison.

The New Quarterly for January, like its prede-
cessors, opens with a smartly-written and lively
" Retrospect of the Literature of the Quarter." In
this paper we find the following pointed yet truthful
observations on the psuedo great book of the day and
age, Macaulay's new History of England. "If his-
tory be nothing but a series of tableaux vivants, a
procession of gay fete-like figures, wherein each mem-
ber of the train, each garment, each acolyte must be
portrayed with a minuteness and brilliancy of colour
resembling Mr. Harding's festival of the Madonna ;
and not only that, but the whole suffused in an Italian
translucency of sunshine, and mock the medium of
apotheosis for some imaginary hero, then good-bye to
the continuity of historic events, to organic truth,
and to the laws of visible fact. If we can project our-
selves, our prejudices, our sympathies, and aversions,
apply them to some given period, wheel opposite,
events rapidly together as children wheel a chroma-
trope, we shall be contributing as greatly to the
popular delight as Mr. Macaulay too often does in the
pages• before us." Bravo, New Quarterly ! For a
disciple in the new school of progress, of which Mr.
Macaulay is, or was wont to be considered, a great
light, you speak with a freedom and terseness most
commendable. The elaborated word-pictures of Ma-
caulay are so intensely studied, that they possess no
semblance of natural fervour, but present to the
mind's eye a series of regulated undulations, in which
the ever-recurrent wave becomes nearly as monoto-
nous as the dreary and flat sameness of the arid desert.
Besides the retrospect referred to, the number of the
New Quarterly before us contains well-written reviews
upon not a few of the leading publications of the by-
gone three months ; and an especial claim possessed
by it on public regard will be found in the laudable
attempt it makes to keep pace with the literary cur-
rent. To this end its labours are judiciously directed,
and for the results of those labours it is entitled to
general gratitude. Before closing our remarks we
cannot refrain from observing the general spirit of an
able article contained in the number. It is a review
of the late Professor Johnston's " Chemistry of Com-
mon Life." The review, like the book reviewed, is
seasonable and useful.