The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-07-06 00:00:00

liberpooi gktanbarb.

OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

Monday Morning.
WELL, the parliament of 1847 has been dissolved—has
been sent to its dread account—has passed into eternity.
The late, piece of complicated machinery by which the
kingdom was moved, and the actions of the civilised world
in a great degree regulated, has been stopped by the tiny
hand of a fairy QUEEN, and broken into atoms—that busy,
fussy, animated body, a few days ago so noisy and so
powerful, is now only a memory, is no better than an old
forgotten song, no more potential than an old almanack.
The six hundred and fifty-six—what shall I call them 1-
- • !"—geese be it—sacred geese, that cackled
.e capitol, having been first politely thanked for their
services, have been turned out to grass—despatched
the country—driven to the market to see what they
ley are worth, and if customers will have them for love
One brace, the St. Albans' fowl, has been

3eese, villain

or money

.eci on the head outright; the birds were judged
rorthy to be presented at any booth ; they were
,acrificed to atone for the sins of the rest—to vouch for
the purity of the remainder. After all, a flock of six
hundred and fifty-six must be very white which has only

ck rascals in it.

The ceremony of a dissolution, or, rather, of a proroga-
tion preparatory to a dissolution, is a magnificent one,
although, like all things human, it has its dark as well as
its; bright aspects. It is the grandest of all possible
sights to see the QUEEN in her royal robes, and wearing
that sparkling diadem which sits so gracefully on her fair
igh brow, accompanied by her PRINCE CONSORT in those
,brated jack-boots, which are now deemed indispen-
, in all royal pageants, and become quite historical,
enter the gorgeous Chamber of Peers, and take her seat
on the constitutional throne of her ancestors. It is splen-
did to see such a fine old warrior as the Duke of WEL-
LINGTON bearing before such a sovereign as VICTORIA the
Sword of State-,—the wisdom, sagacity, and fidelity of
aged manhood,—supporting the gracefulness, the gentle-
ness, and weakness of youthful womanhood. It is brave
1-nld such an Earl as him of DERBY, the type of

.valry, the beau ideal of nobility, the impersona-

tion of the Paladin of old, sans pear et sans reproche,—
proudly bearing the imperial crown, and looking indeed
like one loyally resolved to maintain its honour
untarnished, and its dignity undiminished. It is
surpassing beautiful to observe that brilliant congregation
of superb women, the flower of England's boasted loveli-
arrayed in garments of the rainbow's hues and
c oriental sparkle—of brave peers of
'tate, habited in their scarlet robes
)f peace, and impressing all beholders with the idea of
loci, strength, and order—of richly attired princes

lorned with gems o

ad, pillars of the s

ors, and ministers, the rep

lesentatives of foreign

the guarantees of friendship and cordial rela-

be world. It is an indescribably impos-

ing spectacle this ; and when the clear, sweet, ringing voice
of the QUEEN is heard in that gorgeous hall, while every
other breath is hushed, and every movement is suppressed
lest that profound stillness might be impaired, the effect
is solemn, majestic, and awful, beyond what any one who
has not witnessed it can imagine. But, with all its gran-
deur, such a prorogation as that which took place on
Thursday last has its drawbacks. There was a certain mob
of gentlemen present at that ceremonial to whom the
silver-toned accents of her MAJESTY were anything but

pleasant. That tall, commanding, handsome personage,
with the gold-embroidered stately garments, and full
flowing wig, in every way worthy of his title, " the first
comracner in England," and that placid, philosophical,
remarkable man beside him, who has proved himself in
every way worthy of his responsible charge, the CHAN-
CELLO:i of the ExcHE(tunt, and a few others who pressed
forward to the bar, heard the royal announcement of their

;al to the constituents with composure, and even
feeling of proud consciousnass of a renewed lease
ular confidence. But behind them were many to
the musical voice of the SOVEREIGN sounded harsh
roof, dismal as death

More than one ambitious
(raper and mercer must have felt that he had received his
cone (to return to his counter, and to the exercise of his
best airs and graces—to the practice of seductive bows
and irresistible grins, and the exquisitely mincing utterance
of such delectable phrases, as " What can I show you
next, mem ? We have everything of the best quality,
and in the newest fashions, mem." More than a score
whom I could name, but will not, must have regarded

that royal decree as a sentence of banishment or imprison-
ment— as a cruel order of delivery into the inexorable
hands of justice, who waited outside, in the grim ugly
shape of a sheriff's officer. To such coves it is but
charity to whisper a bit of consolation. Cheer up, jolly
hearts, France is a pleasant place and not far off; bailiffs,
like hounds, are baulked by the water ; and English con-
stituents do like to give an asylum to hard-pressed decent
young fellows and sporting old boys, when regularly run
More than I would

()roughs as a 1

t resource

to number must have deemed that summons to ap-

re their masters, and give an acipunt of their ste-

wardship, tantamount to an order to quit the public service
for ever, conscious that they had betrayed their trust, and
that their debits and credits would not bear overhauling.
Almost all must have heard that solemn warning with fear
and trembling, for electors are fickle and members of the
House of Commons are, at the close of a Parliament,
but mortal sinful men ; and, in short, seats are insecure,
and not to be relied on by the best occupiers. So, with
all its pomp, its purple, and its glory, a prorogation with
a dissolution behind it, is necessarily a lugubrious cere-

that on Thursday last formed no exception to

lt in that august ceremony had a dash of the

n it, and may be worth mentioning. The Duke
Of WELLINGTON stood at the side of the QUEEN, holding
the sword of state, a weapon more remarkable for its

licrous

Eager to catch every syllable

than its inflames,

le from the lips of his Sovereign, and being un-
rather deaf, the veteran soldier leaned forward,
hand to his ear, and, as the QUEEN proceeded,
ser and closer to her, until his venerable head
-.ached her cheek ; and at one moment, what with

—g,ut of the ponderous sword and the awkwardness
,f the position which he gradually assumed, his grace
seemed really in danger of losing his eciuilibrium, and

down on his Royal mistress. It would have
,en strange indeed if the hero who had saved the throne
many a hard-fought field, had overthrown it by a2ci-
mt in the peaceful palace. But history has not to record

" untoward event."

ling adieu to the Parliament of 1847, and con-
to the hands of the historical undertaker, I

to one bright passage which graced its expiring

moments. Like a dying candle, it gave forth a last lumi-
nous flare—brief but brilliant—ere resigning itself to its
impending fate. That incomparable orator and greatly

gifted man, Lord LYNDHURST, once more illumined the
House of Lords with the light of pure genius, and for a