The Express.
London, England, 1847-11-09 00:00:00

FATAL COLLISION ON THE LONDON AND

NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.

LIVERPOOL, Nov. 8, EIGITT P.M.—We regret to
state that a collision, attended with fatal consequences,
occurred to-day at Winsford, a station lying near Hart-
ford, and about midway between Warrington and
Crewe, on the London and North-Western line of rail.
way. The circumstances, so far as they have yet
transpired, are exceedingly brief, but of their gene-
ral accuracy, we believe, no doubt need be enter-
tained. It appears that a heavily-laden luggage train left
Liverpool for Birmingham this morning, and that when it
had reached Williford, a train of coal-waggons suddenly
emerged from the siding+, and both trains ran vio-
lently into each other, and caused a tremendous col-
lision. Some idea of the force of this collision may
be gathered from the fact that the waggons attached to
both trains were completely thrown off the line, and more
or leis injured ; that the engine of the up-train was over-
turned and damaged, and that the engine-driver was killed
upon the spot. The first account that reached Liverpool
was to the effect that the engine-driver, stoker, and breaks-
man were all killed ; but the subsequent accounts tend to
confirm our statement that the life of the engine-driver only
fell a sacrifice, and that the stoker was injured, but not dan•
gerously. The impassable state of the road, rendered so by
the broken waggons, and scattered coals and luggage, caused
the down mail train from London, to bean hour behind time,
the passengers having at Winaford to get out of the carriages
in which they bad travelled from the metropolis, to walk
across the covered rails, and to get into another set of car-
riages, in which they came on to Liverpool. We forbear
from giving any of the rumours as to the cause of this ca-
tastrophe, but doubtless the inquest on the body of the un-
fortunate deceased will throw some light on this important
point.

THE LORD MAYOR'S PROCESSION.
The annual civic procession of the various compa-
nies accompanying the newly-elected Lord Mayor to West-
,
minster, took place this day, and, as might be expected, the as-
. aeroblage of pervems was equally as numerous ma in years passed
by. The procession was much on the acme scale u last year,
including, of course, knights in full and half armour, their
attendsn'a, hemlde, a troop of Light Cavalry, the boys of the
Marine Society, the numerous splendid banners of the City
companies, and military bands, composed of the First Lite
Guards, Grenadier, Coldstream, and Scots Fusileers of the
Household, as well as that of the Honourable Ar-
tillery Company, and many others from the perambulating
street-bands of the mi tropolia. The Lord Mayor, his p.. _e-
cessor, the sheriffs, and other functionaries, were loudly
cheered, and, although the assemblage was very great, the
utmost order prevailed. As might be expected, the muster
of the light-fingered fraternity was far from small, but they
were well watched by the police, who were at their posts in
Geary direction.

ANTIQUITIES.—In the extensive excavations now
carried on in the formation of the Watliegton and Lynn
Railway, near the Elm-road in this town, many relics have
been turned up. A jar, apparently of Roman manufacture,
with Roman eagle and ammeters raised thereon, has been
brought up, and placed in the hands of a local antiquary,
Mc. Short.

WOOD'S EDITION OF THE SONOC OF SCOTLAND.
EDITED DT G. F. GRAHAK.—This is a new serial publics-
tine, carried on at Edinburgh. The editor, Mr. Graham of
Edinburgh, is well known as the author of the "Treatise on
Music" which originally appeared in the last edition of the
" Encycloptedia Britannia," and was afterwards published
in a separate form—the most philosophical and comprehen-
sive view of the principles of the art which is to be found in ,1
our language. He has deeply studied the history and chi_
ratter of the national music of his country, and the fruits of
his researches are to be found in the copious notes upon each
of the songs with which he is enriching the collection, notes
which, notwithstanding their terse brevity, really exhaust
the authentic information on the subject, both as to the
melodies and the songs to which they are united. They
contain much new and curious matter, correct a multitude
of commonly-received errors, and throw light on the true
character and construction of Scottish national melody. We
find, for example, a complete exposure of the fallacy of the
opinion deduced from the thousand-times quoted passage in
Tansoni, that James the First of Scotland composed minty of
the national melodies, and was imitated is this style by Carlo
Gesualdo, Prince of lienosa. Mr. Graham explains TAlMOni'l
real meaning in the passage in question, and, from the Prince
of Venosa's known compositions, shows the absurdity of
supposing that he could ever have written anything like •
Scottish melody. Mr. Graham likewise refers to David
Rizzio's supposed share in the composition of these national
airs—a belief the currency of which was evidently owing to
the wilful fraud of the celebrated James Oswald, who, for
the purpose of enhancing the valise of his own collections in
the eyes of the public, frequently passed off his own tunes as
the compositions of Mary's unhappy favourite. In regard
to Oswald himself Mr. Graham makes a just remark, which
is the more called for from the manner in which this man'.
merits have been exalted by many writers on Scottish mimic:
" Oswald's own compositions want the simplicity of
the old airs, and do not rise shove mediocrity, con-
sequently not even one of them has taken its place
among the popular melodies of Scotland." In the
choice of the melodic. Mr. Graham confines himself
strictly to such as can properly be styled national, though he
rightly includes under this category a few which are evi-
dently modern ; but he admits none which have not ob-
tained general popularity in Scotland, and which do not
deserve this popularity. He has been careful to give them
in their purest form, frequently clearing them from corrup-
tions and misplaced modern embellishments ; and, by thus
restoring their simplicity, he has uniformly heightened their
beauty. Ts be convinced of this it is sufficient to hear the
primitive set which he gives of " The Flowers of the Forest,"
with its line burst of passion in the last bar but one, which
is loot in the more modern air ; " The Brae. of Yarrow ;"
" Waly, waly ;" " Tweed side ;" and various others. There
are many instances, too, in which the ancient character of
the air has been restored by the removal of alterations en
single notes, especially the seren€A of the scale, which has
been often improperly made sharp in order to reconcile the
melody to modern rut.. Some curious cases are pointed out,
in which of two airs seemingly distinct the one is only an
alteration of the other. We had never, for example,
though we have listened to both a thousand times, dreamt
that ' My hoy Tammy" is merely a modern transformation of
" Muirland Willy ;" and yet nothing can be more certain,
notwithstanding their difference both of measure and expres-
sion. In regard to the selection of poetry, Mr. Graham has,
of course, taken the songs of Burns in every Instance where
the poet has " married the music to immortal verse" in
such a manner as to preclude every other union whether
past or future. But this has not prevented the editor from
introducing, with the happiest effect, fanny of the finest of
the old snags, as well as those produced since Burns's day.
Among these we may mention the songs of Captain Charles
Gray, and of Mr. Robert Gallen, which are full of
the spirit of the Scottish muse. There are several
anonymous temp of considerable beauty; such as the
new words to " Alas, that I came o'er the moor,"
and to "The Birks of Inverznay," which last are a preeli-
tous improvement on the well-known namby-pemby of
allet. here are some things, however, with which we
are less satisfied. Tke song, " Tkere came a young man to
my daddies door," contains (says the editor) ' a good deal
of vulgar humour." Its vulgarity is evident enough, not so
its humour; and few people now-a-da's would care to sing
it. " Allastair Macalastair " is of a mailer stamp, though
Wilson raises a laugh by his manner of singing it. " Saw
ye Johnny comic.'," as Mr. Graham truly observes, " when
played or sung slowly, as it ought to be, is exceedingly
pathetic, nor lively." Burns, accordingly, wrote for it the
pathetic song, " Thou has left me ever, Jamie," for Mr.
Thomson'. colleetion ; but Mr. Graham (inconsisteatly with his
own opinion) has united the sir to the old ludicrous words.
In the composition of the pianoforte accompaniments to the
airs, the editor is assisted by several musicians resident in
Edinburgh—Mr. Mudie, of the Royal Academy of Music,
Mr. Finlay Dun, Mr. Surenne, Mr.Lawrie, and Mr. Dibdin.
This portion of the work is executed with judgment and
taste, the accompaniments being pare and correct, and fre-
quently (especially those by Mr. Graham himself) original
and characteristic. In a few—but a very few—instances we
have found the harmonies somewhat more full and elaborate
than this species of music requires ; as in " Auld Robin
Gray," where the concluding symphony, beside, being
crowded with notes, contains the inaccuracy of a " false rela-
tion." We are convinced, from long observation, that in
the accompaniment of national airs simplicity is the first of
virtues, and that attempts to confine theme " wood notes
wild" within the limits of regular harmony are, for the most
part, worse than thrown away.