The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-09-13 00:00:00

SELECT EXTRACTS.

SUNSET IN EGYPT.—Poets and travellers speak with en-
thusiasm of the sun-sets of Italy, Switzerland, and Greece.
I have seen the sun go down in each of those countries, but
never with half the splendour which on this day accompanied
his disappearance ; and could I succeed in reflecting upon the
reader's imagination half the grandeur of this gorgeous show,
he would unquestionably concur with me in thinking, that,
but for its evanescent nature, it was far more worth a voyage
to Egypt even than the pyramids. No sooner had the sun's
disk disappeared behind the Libyan desert, than the whole
western sky along the edge of the horizon assured a cclonr
which, for want of a better term, I shall call golden ; but it
was a mingling of-orange, saffron, straw-colour, dashed with
red. A little higher, these bold tints melted kith a singular
kind of green. like that of a spring leaf prematurely faded
,;
over this, extended an arch of palish light, like that of an
aurora borealis, conducting the eye to a dish of deep violet
colour, which formed the ground-work of the sky, on to the
very skirts of darkness. Through -all these semicircles of
different hues, superimposed upon each other, there as-
cended, as from a furnace, vast pyramidal irradiations of
crimson light, most distinctly divided from each other, and
terminating in a point; and the contrast between these
-blood-red flashes and the various strata of colours which they
traversed, was so extraordinary, that, I am persuaded, no
combination of light and shade ever produced a more won-
derful or glorious effect.—St. John's Egypt.
NEWS-MAKING.—Can anything dead or alive, more pitia-

bly unhappy be conceived than a jaded scribbler for the pub.
lie press—sitting down to his task at the last moment, with
an aching head and an empty stomach—or vice versa, which
is exactly the same in effect ? Imagine the forlorn drudge's
ecnaation, as he doggedly lifto the quill eturnp and moves it
instinctively towards that fountain of good and evil, the ink-
pot, surcharged with both the gall of bitterness and the ho-
ney of adulation. He is destitute of a topic—his over-
wrought brain has exhausted its stock of images, and he can
fancy nothing but the ghost of an idea already hackneyed
through all the changes of the alphabet—no subject that has
not been hackneyed to death by the hungry scissors of bor-
rowers and imitators. Yet must he continue to feed the
iron jaws of the press ! There is no release from the und: r-
taking. He is in for it, and sterile, feasting or starving,
his imagination must be wrung daily, yea hourly, for where-
withal to meet the merciless demands of the demon at his
elbow. Other men may eat, drink, and sleep ; may live,
move, and have a being like decent creatures; the merchant
may relax in time of sickness, or retire at seasons of enjoy-
ment ; the mechanic may forego a job when he breaks a limb,
or chooses to go a fishing ; the farmer may work, or let it
alone; and the mariner has frequent intermission amidst the
tails and the storms of his career, and the world wags on
without confusion, nevertheless, they only comparatively
feel the consequences. Not so with the slave of types. For
him there is no holiday. No repose, no retreat await his
tired powers. When he skulks, the world comes to an end,
and chaos riots! Nor is it merely indispensable that he
should labour at brief and stated intervals—th.i most irksome
sort of employment from its very constancy and regularity,
and unceasing recurrence ; he must also put forth his efforts
at something new. The reading public has become a spoiled
child, with a depraved appetite, perpetually hankering after
novelties, monstrosities, and impossibilities. In the fabri-
cation of these erudities for quiduuncs, a renewal of intellect
once a-year, at least, should be provided for. There is an
end even to " the spider's most attenuated thread ;" and
what maker of longer yarns can be required, in reason, not
only to spin out, like a spider, the substances of his body,
but that of his brain also ? 'Truly this is .a cruel world; and
the man that meddles with paragraphs, a miserable piece of
earneous machinery.—Buckingham.
RACING ANECDOTE.—The following anecdote is recorded
of John Jackson, the Yorkshire Jockey, who died on the sth
of August, at Northallerton, aged 71. He had won the St.
Leger race eight times. But perhaps the most successful
feat of John was when he was appointed to ride Mr.
Petre's Theodore for the St. Leger in 1822. Theodore, who
had run successfully at two years old, was defeated a few
weeks previously to the decision of the St. Leger; and from
being high in the betting scale, he was knocked down to the
lowest point. In proof of how much he had sunk in public
estimation, it need only be mentioned that, on the morning
of the race, a hundred guineas to a walking-stick of the value
of one shilling was laid against him, and taken. Jackson was
sadly mortified at his chance for the race, and was very de,
sirous of riding one of Mr. Gascoigne's horses, either the
colt or the filly, and declared that he could win upon either
one or the other. But his chance was unalterably fixed upon
Theodore. The extraordinary success which ensued will be
seen. He was extremely low spirited during the whole of
the forenoon, especially when he knew the state of the odds ;
and at length grew rather ill tempered. As the time drew
near, he walked to the ground with his saddle at his back, in
no very enviable frame of mind, and was weighed in due
course. On inquiring afterwards if any one had seen Mr.
Petre, or his groom, or his horse, he was answered in the
negative. He then proceeded into the field, and repeated
his inquiries there with the like success. At length he dis-
covered a horse at the far end of the field, led by a little sta-
ble boy.. He thought that it must be his horse, Theodore.
He trudged across the lands' and, approaching the boy, said,
"Is that Mr. Petre's horse, my boy ?" " Yes, Sir," was the
answer. " Bring him here," said the veteran, " and pull off
his clothes directly," and proceeded to adjust. his saddle, to
strip himself to, his riding dress, &c. The little boy assisted
him to mount, and he re-crossed the field in the direction of

the course. When he was passing the Rubbing-house, a gen-
tleman asked, " What horse is that?"—" Mr. Petre's Theo-
dore," said another.—" What will you lay against him ?"
"A hundred guineas to one."—" Done."—" Done," and
the bet was booked. Jackson heard this, and looked not
very pleasant—in fact, he was mortified, and ill tempered;
and had, even previous to that, let Theodore.feel that he had
his spurs on. But Theodore was alive, remarkably fresh,
and ready for the struggle. In fact, he had done little in the
way of exercise since his previous defeats' and was almost
wholly disregarded. Whilst parading in, front of the Grand
Stand, the objects of universal notice were the first favour-
ites, Mr. Watt's Muta and Marion, Mr. Gascoigne's colt,
and filly, Mr. Poulett's Swap, Mr. Riddell's The Whig, &c.
whilst Theodore was little noticed by any one. They ap-
proached the post in a body ; and Jackson,- who was noted
or obtaining a good place, got in front. The.word " Go" was
given by Mr. Lockwood, and away they rushed, Theodore
taking the lead almost immediately. The pace was very
fast. Jackson was surprised at his own position : and after-
wards observed, in allusion to this extraordinary race, that
" when we got to the first cross road, I had lost all my ill
temper and mortification—l turned my head for a moment—
a crowd of horses (twenty-two) were close at my heels—the
sight was terrific—the speed was tremendous. Theodore
pulled hard, and I held him pretty tight., " Now my little
fellow," said Ito myself, " keep up this speed to the top of
the hill, and I don't care a straw for the whole lot." I felt
as strong as a giant, and the blood rushed merrily through
my veins—away we went—l was first over the hill, and never

headed in any part of the race." Immediately 'after des-
cending the hill, however, he- eased his horse a little ; and
was instantly on the look-out for some of the favourites. H e
could see that Swap, a grey horse, was defeated. Not so
pie others. They challenged him in turns, first Marion,
then Gascoigne's colt and filly, right and left—then Muta—
then Gascoigne's again ; and here the skill and judgment of
Jackson was powerfully evinced. Theodore, perhaps, partly
frightened by the tremendous thunder at his heels, still
wanted to go ,further a-head ; but his rider so continued to
use his powers as not to waste them. Challenge after chal-
lenge was given, and as often defeated. Jackson .never suf-
fered his horse to go much in advance of the rest. Holding
him with a firm hand, but still going very fast, he only slack-
ened the reins when he was attempted to be coupled. " I
could," says the veteran jockey, `see head by head ad-
vance as far as my boots on each side • and when I encou-
raged Theodore forward, I could see head by head glide back-
wards out of my sight, observing to myself (said he) " Now
I think you are all done." I felt then that the race was my
own. as I heard the exhilirating sounds from the Grand Stand
as I approached, " Theodore—Theodore—Mr. Petre—Jack-
son—Theodore wins," which he dd in the most gallant and
skilful manner, by nearly a length, to the perfect astonish-
ment of all the betting men, and of the immense crowd of
spectators, who honoured Jackson with three loud and hearty
cheers as he approached the scales to be weighed,

WAFERS.—The oldest letter yet found with a red waf
was written in 1624, from D. Krap, at Spires, to the Govern-
ment at Bayreuth. Wafers are ascribed, by Labat, to
Genoese economy. In the whole of the seventeenth century
they were only used by private persons ; on public seals com-
mence only in the eighteenth century.--Fosbrooke.
ARTIFICAL MEMOR V.—A humorous comment on such
systems was made by a waiter at an hotel where Feinaigle
dined after having given his lecture on artificial memory. A
few minutes after the professor left the table, the waiter en-
tered with unlifted hands and eyes, exclaiming—" Well, I
protest the memory man has forgotten his umbrella."
DAHLIAS.—Dahlias are like the most beautiful women
without intellectuality; they strike you with aslonishment by
their exterior splendour, but are miserably destitute of those
properties which distinguish and render egreeable less im-
posing flowers. Had nature given the .fragrance of the rose
or stock to the dahlia, it would have been the most magnifi-
cent gem of the garden ; but, wanting scent, it is like a fine
woman without mind.
LOSING GOOD MORALS BY AN EARTHQUAKE.—An
American ship lay in Taleahuana at the time the several
earthquakes were experienced there. Shortly afterwards,
while in another port, the captain thought it necessary to
punish a man, but allowed that if the offender could advance
any reason for his immoral conduct, he would be pardoned.
" Why, sir," said Jack, " you see as how I think that 'are
earthquake shook my moral principles out o' me." Such
able reasoning had the desired effect and Jack was forgiven.
—American paper.
FEMALE RESIGNATION.—Deacon Marvin, of Lyme, Con-
necticut, a large landholder and exemplary man, was exceed-
ingly eccentric in some of his notions. His courtship, it is
said, was as follows :—Having one day mounted his horse,
with only a sheepskin for a saddle, he rode in front of the
house wherein Betty Lee lived, and, without dismounting, re-
quested Betty to come to him : on her coming, he told her
that the Lord had sent him there to marry her. Betty, with-
out much hesitation, replied, " The Lord's will be done."
MINUTE SHELLS.—The following account of the minute
shells common during the ecocene period (the earliest period
of the tertiary strata) is very curious. It is from Miss Zour-
lin's work, " Recreations in Geology :"—" These little crea-
tures appear to have been very numerous during this period ;
for in the formations of the Paris basin, which correspond to
the London clay, a kind of rock or stone occurs, called milli-
olite limestone, which is used in building, and which is al-
most entirely composed of millions of shells no larger than a
small grain of sand. Yet these are by no means the most
minute creatures whose remains have been discovered. A
peculiar kind of stone is found in Tuscany, in an ounce of
which 10,400 microscopic chambered shells have been found.
Of these species a thousand would nearly weigh a grain, and
even these are large compared with the infusioria which Pro-
fessor Ehrenberg has lately discovered."
THE SPERM WHALE.—One'of the mast curious and sur-
prisins• of the actions of the sperm whale is that of leaping
completely out of the water, or of " breeching." as it is
called. The way in which he performs this motion appears
to be by descending to a certain depth, and then making
some powerful strokes with his tail, wl.ich are rapidly repeated,
and thus convey a great degree of velocity to his body, be-
fore it reaches the surface, when he darts completely out.
When just emerged, and at his great elevation, his body
forms with the surface of the water an angle of about forty-
five degrees, the flukes lying parallel with the surface. In
falling, the animal rolls his body slightly, so that he always
falls on his 'side ; he seldom breeches more than twice or
thrice at a time, or in quick succession. The breech of a
whale may be seen from the mast-head on a clear day at the
distance of six miles.—Beale.
MANUFACTURING POTASH.—The manner of extracting
potash from sea weed is as follows ;—When a sufficient
quantity of kelp has been collected, it is spread out in a place
where it will be dried by the sun and wind, and when dry
enough to burn, a hollow is dug in the ground three or four
feet wide ; round its margin are laid stones, on which the
the weed is placed and set on fire. Quantites of this fuel
being continually heaped upon the circle, there is in the
centre a constant flame, from which a liquid substance, like
melted metal drops, into the hollow beneath. This substance
is worked or stirred with iron rakes, and brought to a uniform
consistence while in a state of fusion ; and when cool it
consolidates into a heavy, dark-coloured alkaline substance,
which undergoes in the glass-house a second virtification,
and then assumes a perfect transparency.—Narrative of the
Surveying Voyages of H. M. ships Adventure and Beadle.
WHITEFIELD'S ELOQUENCE.—An Officer in Glasgow,
who had heard Mr. Whitefield preach, laid a wager. with
another, that at a certain charity sermon, though he went
with prejudice, he would, be compelled to give something.
Tpe other, to make sure, laid all the money out of his
pockets ; but before lie left the church, he was glad to borrow
some, and lose .his bet. On another occasion, Mr. White-
field preached in behalf of the inhabitants of an obscure
village in Germany, which had been burnt down, and collected
for them six hundred pounds. After the sermon, White-
field said, " We shall sing a hymn, during which, those
who do not choose to give their mite on this awful occasion
may sneak off." No one stirred : he got down from the
pulpit, and ordered all the doors to be shut but one, at which
he held the plate himself, and collected the above sum.—
Countess of Huntingdon's Life and Times; Vol. I.
CURIOSITY OF THE SkIERIFF OF MEKKA.—The sheriff
ordered his scribe to be t Pint for, and to seat himself on the
divan. He came bearing in his sash an inkstand girdled
with diamonds, from which he took a beautifully decorated
reed ; and the sheriff, while his eyes glistened with delight,
directed him to rec,prd all that had been said respecting Bri-
tish India. "We knovt, something of Hindostan," he added,
" it supplies Mekka with almost all the articles we consume.
We see a great many pilgrims from that country. Your go-
vernment does not interfere with them. That is just, that
is right." He made many inquiries about Europe. " Was
there not a very great Warrior there some years ago ?"—" You I
mean Napoleon Buonaparte." He had not heard his name,
he said, but had heard of his deeds. " And was he not con-
quered, and sent away to die in exile?"—" He was !"—" But
if he was so great a warrior how came he to be conquered?"
—" Because there was a greater warrior than he !` And
what was that other warriors name ?"—" Wellington ."
" Put that down, put that down," said the sheriff to the
scribe. " And what is the name of your king ?"—" We have
no king, we have a queen."—" What! a woman ! Put that
down, scribe ! Put that down. " And what is your queen's.
name ?"—" Nictoria Alexandrina,"—" And what: is the
meaning of her name?"—" Victoria is your Nasrah, a name
given to celebrate the great victory of the great warrior we
were speaking of."—" Write that, scribe.- but Alexandriva
what is the meaning of that ?" Upon which we pointed out
the relationship between the royal family of England and the
imperial family of Russia, and that it was in honour of an
emperor of the north that the name of Alexandrina was given.
But Arabs have no notion of any latitude in name-giving, and
we did not succeed in making the reasons clear to the she-
riff. It was too remote an association of cause and effect ;
and he said quietly, " I do not understand this :" but he did
not say to the scribe, " Put that down."—" But do your
people ever see your queen ? Does she unveil her,face?'—
" Indeed she does, and a very pretty face it is !"--;.! Mashal-
lah ! Put it down, scribe:" We had just been reading in
the papers an account of the city festival in honour of the
queen, and described it to the astonished sheriff as well as
we could—the unveiled ladies of the court, the ceremonials,
the feasting, the procession, the speechifying. " Mashallah !
MaShallah ! I must believe it, because you say it. Put it
down, scribe ! put it all down."—Dr. Bowring's Minor
Morals.

REPORTERS AND REPORTING.—AIthough the duties of
-reporters are both important and arduous, it is only of late
years that a disposition has been shown to afford them"facili-
ties for the discharge of them. Formerly they had no means
of entering the gallery of the Commons beyond those enjoyed
by the public generally ; and, on days when an interesting
debate was expected, they were frequently obliged to take
their places on the stairs early in the forenoon, and, after
standing there for many hours, to depend for their chance of
getting in, by battling their way in the crowd when the door
opened. The first arrangements for the express purpose of
accommodating the reporters were made a few years before
the death of Mr. Pitt. Previous to that time note-bookshad
been very generally introduced; but in the Commons, from
the crowded state of the gallery, they were comparatively of
small use. It happened one night, when the Premier was to
make a leading speech, that the gallery was more than usually
thronged, and neither by force nor entreaty could the re-
porters procure even tolerable accommodation. They took
counsel together; and The result was a secession. Next
morning, instead of the rounded periods of the Minister,
there appeared nothing but one dire blank, accompanied by
a strong comment on the grievance in which it had originated.'
The almost immediate result was the appropriation, under
the direction of Mr. Speaker Abbott, of the uppermost bench
of the gallery to the reporters' exclusive use, with a door in
the centre, by which they alone had a right to enter. Soon
after, a small room at the end of the gallery passage, which
bore on its glass panels the words " Reporters' Room," not-
withstanding the standing order and its penalties, was added
for the convenience of the gentlemen previous to taking their
places in the gallery, and during the divisions. The Lords
followed the Commons in their accommodation of the press,
at the due distance which befitted their dignity. It was not
until about twenty years ago that a note-book was permitted
to make its appearance at the bar of the upper house. If a
young or forward reporter ventured to display the implements
of his trade to the eyes of their Lordships, they were imme-
diately struck from his hand by one or other of the messen-
gers. The first person who ventured to rest his book on their
Lordships' bar is said to have been Mr. Windyer, who now
is, or lately was, a justice of the peace in Sydney, New South
Wales ; his example was followed—and only two sessions af-
terwards the robe of Lord Eldon (while his Lordship was
proceeding to the bar to 'receive a deputation of the lower
house) having accidentally caused Mr. Windyer to drop his
book within the bar, the noble Earl checked his onward step,
picked up the fragments of the passing debate, and presented
them, with an engaging smile, to their collector. In the ses-
sion of 1828-9 when, from the intense interest to which the
Catholic question gave rise,- the press found it difficult to
maintain their station, a portion of the space below the bar
was railed off for them.; and a session of two after, when
a strangers' gallery was added to the Lords, a seat was set
apart for their use. In the present temporary erection, the
privilege of an exclusive place for the press is provided in
both houses—in the Cominons, behind the Speaker's chair.—
Wade's. " British History, Chronologically Arranged."
GLASS TABLE.—APPLICATION OF STEAM.—In noticing
the works of art sent from this district to the meeting of the
British Association at Birmingham, last week, we referred
particularly to a splendid Glass Table, manufactured at the
glass works of Joseph Price, Esq.. of Gateshead. We have
since had an opportunity of inspecting the material out of
which this article has been formed, when we were struck with'
its beautiful appearance, and close resemblgnce to jaspar—an
appearance produced when the glass is in a fluid state in the
course of manufacture. It is now nearly twelve months since
the process of colouring glass in this manner was discovered,
since which time it has been manufactured into vases, snuff-
boxes, smelling bottles, and various other articles of similar
description. Mr. Price is' the sole inventor of this beautiful
and useful, article. We lave also had an opportunity of wit-
nessing the application of an improvement made by the same
gentic:nan, in the mode of constructing steam engine boilers,
by which, with a consunintion of coal less than one quarter
of that commonly employed, the same quantity of steaui was
generated. The peculiarity of construction lies in the interior
of the boiler, the flue of which is made to pass several times
through its entire length, thereby economising the heat, and
producing at the same time, a currrent of air equally strong,
as would he caused by a perpendicular chimney of the same
length. The boiler, which we saw, was attached to an engine
of about 10-horse power, with 20 and a half inch cylinder, and
was working at about 1* lbs. pressure to the inch. The con-
sumption of cdal averages about two tons weekly, which, with
an ordinary boiler producing the same power, would be some
where about Bor 9 tons. There are other important advan-
tages possessed by Mr Price's boiler over those in ordinary
use, and which recommend it to the attention of scientific and
practical men. Mr. Price has, we understand, prepared a
plan of conveying Her Majesty's mails regularly to and from
the East Indies, which he has submitted to the notice of the
Home Secretary and to the Board of Trade. He proposes to
establish a line of steam vessels, which shall leave Blackwall

weekly, and perform the voyage by the Cape to Calcutta, in
eight weeks, returning in the same period, and carrying coals
and provisions sufficient for consumption on board during the
passage. One of the great difficulties attending Mr. Wag-
horn's experiment of overland mails through foreign and in

part hostile, states, would thus be entirely avoided, and cer-
tainty, regularity, and despatch ensured in all our commrni-
cations with the East. Troops, when required, might also be
transported with facility, and brought into field of action
with a promptitude suited to the emergency of the case. The
sum required for carrying out the proposed plan is one milli-
on of money, which when the importance of the object is con-
sidered, will not, we trust, be withheld by Government,
should the scheme be deemed practicable, as we doubt not it
is.—Neuvastle Journal,