The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-28 00:00:00

MMENT. TO THE LIVERPOOL STAN

thing may occur in war, and then our trade might
have severely suffered. At this moment he had no
resolution ; he had neither the requisite courage to
face the danger or withdraw from it, and he committed
suicide the very night before the attempt was to be
made. One would suppose that, at any rate, he would
have made the attack, and there was plenty of time if
he had failed, to commit the rash act, if he feared that
bugbear " responsibility." But he is not alone ; many
officers—Collingwood, for instance—as brave as a lion
in the fight, are more afraid of " responsibility" than
a child of a ghost.—Captain Charmer's " Unsenti-
mental Journey."
PENNSYLVANIA.—The name which Penn had fixed
on for his province was New Wales, on account of its
mountainous character. But Secretary Blathwayte, a
Welshman, objected to have the Quaker country called
after his native land. The new proprietor then pro-
posed Sylvania, on account of its magnificent forests ;
and to this the king himself added Penn, in honour of
the great admiral. It was a happy combination—the
forest land of Penn ! The proprietor, however, fearful
lest it would appear an instance of vanity in him to
have allowed a large principality to be called after his
family, appealed to the king, and offered twenty gui-
neas to the secretary to have it altered. Had he ap-
pealed to Blathwayte and bribed the king, he might
have succeeded. As it was, Charles took upon himself
the responsibility of the name ; and the patent was
issued in the usual form. The document itself, the
germ of a great nation, is now in the office of the
secretary of Pennsylvania. It is written on rolls of
strong parchment, in the old English handwriting,
each line underscored with red ink. The borders are
gorgeously emblazoned with heraldic devices, and the
top of the first sheet exhibits .a finely-executed portrait
of His Majesty, still in a high state of excellent pre-
servation. It briefly sets forth the nature and reasons
of the grant, and loosely describes the boundaries of
the
province. This document, although not yet two
centuries old, is already regarded with a sort of vene-
ration.—Hepworth Dixon's Life of Penn.
AN EASTERN ROMANCE.—Mr. Trenery, in his
" City of the Crescent" relates the following as a mat-
ter of fact :---" An Osmanli servant walking by the
side of a lady on the back of a mule, passed us. She
was young, and very lovely ; and we clearly saw that
wherever he was taking her to, she was going against
her will. His yataghan too was drawn. Masharlah !
she will fetch a good price,' said Najib, our dragoman,
turning to look after them. What do you mean, Na-
jib P' I asked. That he is going to sell the Hanoum.'
Then you think he has purchased her for sale as a
slave ?" Either purchased or stole her I' was the
terse reply. Najib, follow me,' said I, wheeling my
horse. We will have an account of her from him.
A few leaps of the animal brought me to the side of
the lady. The man poised his yataghan to make a
pass, but the chamber of a revolver discharged above
his head taught him the best part of valour---discre-
tion. Oreis ahasti Hanoum P What is the mean-
ing of this lady P She tried- to speak once---twice
—thrice--but could not. A flood of tears
saved her from choking. Najib had now come
up. " W'all'lah ! how came you by this woman,
son of a kamal P" He is our servant,' sobbed the
lady. Speak ! speak, I say, son of Sheitan and
brother of a lie ; how came you by this woman P'
cried Najib, passionately. Mashanah ! if I said she
was my own daughter, or that I won her at a game
of damah, you would believe neither. Ne bilrim—
what can I say ? I bought her P" Believe not the
son of Eblis !' said the Hanoum. He was sent to
guard me ; but as soon as 'we were away from the
house, he said he had a husband for me in Stamboul,
and would cut my neck in two if I made any noise !'
Whereupon the worthy attendant was secured, and
as soon as convenient handed over to the mautessib,
or commissary of police. Nuzlu Hanoum was faint
through terror, and we took her home with us. Here,
under the influence of restoratives and kindness, she
soon revived. In the afternoon she returned to her
father's house, under the guardianship of Najib."
THE PREJUDICES OF THE HINDOO CASTES.—TO the
Bramins all animal food, save that of fishes and kids,
is forbidden ; yet, in some districts, they will readily
partake of the flesh of any animal whatever, if only, as
in the case of other Hindoos, it be not killed by their
own hand. The Rajpoots eat fish, mutton, and veni-
son ; fowls, beef, and pork are held in abomination.
Many castes follow the same rules, With some, how-

IARD.

85

ever, pork is the favourite diet;' beef only is prohibited_
Those who shrink from the pollution of eating the
flesh of the domestic poultry will eagerly devour that
of the jungle fowl, which differs from the gime-cock •
only in size. All Hindoos consider themselves defiled
by contact with feathers : among the tribes at the feet
of the Himalays, who are in other respects strict Hin-
doos, this prejudice does not exist. An earthen pot is
polluted beyond redemption by being touched by one
of an inferior caste ; a metal one suffers no such dete-
rioration, Coolies will carry any load, however offen-
sive, upon their heads ; bid them carry a man for a
few paces, and, though it be a matter of life and death,
they will answer you that it is the business of another
caste. The writer caste, or tribe of Kaits, have a preju-
dice against keeping a shop, and they would submit to
the lowest description of personal service in preference
to joining as a partner in the wealthiest house
in Calcutta. The Rohillas will submit to be flogged.
within an inch of their lives with a leathern martin-
gale, but to be struck with a whip or cane would be an
indelible disgrace, and very likely to be resented with
a bullet or a stab. Bramins would be polluted by
drinking from the same cup as a Sudra ; if, however,
the beverage be a species of whey there is no pollution.
Spirituous liquors are in general only allowed to the
Pariahs. In some parts of southern India the Bramins
partake of them without scruple. Among the Nairs
of Malabar the women enjoy a plurality of husbands.
Among the Totiyars, on the same coast, those within
the degrees of consanguinity possess their wives in
common. In Mysore there is a caste in which the
mother amputates the two middle fingers up to the
second joint at the,,marriage of her eldest daughter.
Many castes are only to be known from one another
by the cut and colour of their clothes, the shape and
arrangement of their trinkets, or some other equally
frivolous and unimportant distinction.
PORTRAITS.—WhiIe all these things were passing
the miserable brain of poor Whilmslow, one of the best
creatures in the world was preparing herself expressly
for him, though she did not know it. Look at him.
Look at that sallow forlorn-looking face, with the
moustache, which he had allowed to grow, making it
still more pensive. See how slowly and sulkily he is
putting on that dressing gown—,once gaudy but now
dingy. And how he lights a cigar, which does not
draw well, and he is going to dash it away as in other
days, but remembers that it cost three-pence, which is
money, and pricks it viciously with a Palais Royal
shirt-pin--yes, now the smoke comes out well. And
now he takes up his poor balance of silver, and counts
out the nine and sixpence for the washerwoman, and is
in a shudder because one of the half-crowns looks bad ;
however, he will *try to make the woman take it in the
dark passage, and that leaves him eight shillings, and
they look wretchedly few—but the abominable woman
will not go, that is certain, and so down he goes to pay
her. There is a visage of melancholy. If he only
knew how pretty Jane Tracey is looking, while in the
well-appointed bedroom in Mr. Molesworth's house,
then in Bedford-row (where she has been staying on a
visit to Mrs. Molesworth), she is arranging her bright
hair before the glass. What a rich brown that hair is,
and what a quantity she has, and yet how easily and well
she manages it, laying it right and left into great shiny
folds, and twisting the remainder into a mystic corona',
the secret of which is known but to herself and those
giraffe hair pins. And how fresh she looks, and
healthy, and English. Her figure is rather full, and
if all were not so beautifully rounded (especially those
arms, which you can see as Miss Tracey's hands are
above her head and the loose sleeves of the morning.
dress slip back) you might almost be an ungrateful
wretch, and—think her too plump. But her hands are
so white and small, and her foot—well, you cannot see
that, but there stands a pair of tiny shoes on that chair,
you can see them, and judge of what can be put in
them. Jane is not called beautiful, though sometimes
when her face lights up with merriment—it is always
full of kindness—and her blue eyes sparkle, and her
laugh rings so pleasantly—one feels a great contempt
for mere nomenclature ; and if she is not to be called
beautiful you may keep your adjectives for your dolls
in the Annuals. And did you ever see a head more
gracefully put on ? Look, as she turns to answer Mrs.
Molesworth, who is knocking at the door, to ask her
to come to lunch. And hear the cheerful voice that
says, "In one minute, dear." Jane Whilmslow's voice
is not so cheerful now, for I have written of nearly

86

,

,
er r i ,tlei,
[Av6t7' . ex(':
the .411° Il'e t
le wheo ' ere
e
v.' ') deli
If yoa seep° t4‘ ' '1 c
itantk•
.. ' ger )1 kt:o ti
Rise ne'e oOr 1 i 1,.. the '
dark ctree AA, L 1,1:11 he
orb r ‘)I, e
ast wall ir ,11. )414
Ld. I)°°l'el, 1 1,11t5
fiaws i"
itil,:etli N,,t,Lidl
ed. byt thee°
ii 1 1 , 7,114 i
Arish ° (e .ko li
wears 5 i ' 1111
to likf Y 1,,
0 Vec ti.b C 4 .
the of l,„ (3t
be hou4l/o`, ;.ktl7l)
in the
04;,', (, 'III
It ray r ~,, -rlhd 11)
h 11150°0° oe . 'ill}
ffay no yi , a 1,,
d Sraith't<ot'il ,4) \4,4
d, " tli'filf 1.,t ,3 'iltl,'
L had oe,loc ~,,,,,
iniprolie°A "4/1
—A '4(iet s*
ory to ic,79
gia,,,e ;„ ,
ain the ',7_?`r ,
fell aor[lo"7 :t h-0
to_ poia. by i
~ . , vetti]
uwattel:o (r, / h 4 ,or
La the ,oftil . !tt
he ellsl.°J"eil ( "11, '
He st°",,,o! ~, !' 11'4
in then 1(14 , t
oiitA'V‘i! 10°, 1
3lDEV'fiol)t, ''. 1
yof the ;it . r
~, „i, i
periloo rpo'd •1
i
prets 114e..06,/, SEA
DUglitie-1,16 cei :k ,114(
at he ITO FA 4,
does a° 'pre X I tit
eolly dee e opt) 1 0,(1 rl
;es on ttot If
!FreSel'4loi' .'4,
6te, „4:44 , .s.
3ebow. coil, ,3 IF . 't
)01 1111 PO" fOIV lt ttllf't
vileolio tbe.l,4,i q j
11,1ifell, li!escis ~.0; I,
A :to
-- Ape 4ife ii (,N
licia ,; IV,Toi, Piot
~ ,t
bre't' 9 (I`o' 't ` N:1(
bit P Y 0
Tla 0 4°T tbe 31' 4I
KA fe i 5 P" i' c'P
1, v 1 ;If l'Y p'-
atl , Ole 1 i itti
05,1 „A.., ",i
`e 411t$4e,blt"f
I c
ore, ' 111°et?t fof# , ' h'
hat 11,1-ea 0) of I • t't ti
pliou _nwet v.„ ' tJti
the V; lac it}
Li i,le _o,‘4 ,
, COIA I,l'i
, .4% cr. 1 it if, all'
,iftl ie. 13a fPril‘4ce n ' Ili 0 g4ti ' ''ll
?:4,
use, be °loll' t'k,
of litig e litlc
Tr OaCheC 1 'l
WeaUS S°,iiihit'
uje Vilk' i. Of (4, 1
u.,_, 00
e two 113 f ti3e ' hc, `I
aneester.l°, it,/: t`,l4‘
ere plaP the i, vy
had woo it. 0 tri
and 104,6 e i' Nll
' • e•A" / )14
nt tllll • at, 4,r
,e the el 1/ '
hats for 1 :y
.....:li.aro;is:
Lithibbiel:
i)fsisiiisltileoilieh:
icleoe::: 'vise:0;0:1:c
00 0
.0:114:ii:
.4 ' ,
v:
iillytl‘ii
ly only 5 tV;if
ait---0 ellt
itaffill, et%