The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-10-22 00:00:00

In a world like this
it is

we thin;

We May lose enjoyment, it is true, by a want
of refinement in our organisation, or by neglecting to culti-
vate it with sufficient assiduity; but if so, the balance of
comfort is restored, and more than that, by the manifold and
multiplied miseries which we escape. It matters very little
to what particular species of pleasure this highly-wrought
susceptibility may be directed—whether it be of the purely
poetical, the pictorial, or the musical kind ; in all cases a
result similar in kind, though not perhaps in degree, muse
ensu

sensibility

The bad, the indifferent, and the worst must in each
class exceed the good ; and the occasions of offence be con-
sequently more numerous than those of gratification. Of
the three, however, which we have enumerated, the third
seems to be that which we would say is most decidedly fertile
in misery. The days are gone by when poets used to insist
on reciting their own verses, and would hold the sufferer by
the toga, or, in later days, by the button-hole, while they
recited a hundred verses, standing on one leg ;—the lays of
the last vocal minstrel have long since been sung ; and your
poor ballad-singer scarcely dares to raise his voice at the
corner of the street, lest be incur the penalties of some
" vagrom " act or other, or be driven on or bociked with a
charge by some too neighbourly policeman. Bad poetry one
is not bound either to hear or read • and as to sign-painters'
daubing—the stiff, the grotesque, the unnatural, or the ab-
surd, in outline or in colouring, in the divine art of Raphael,
Correggio, or Lawrence—there is nothing so easy as to shut
one's eyes, and not see it. But the man, or woman either,
who is afflicted with a fine musical ear, exquisitely improved
by study, is in quite a different case—a far worse condition.
He is at the mercy of almost every wind that blows ; he may
say with Macbeth— _

" How is't with me, when every noise appals me?"
His misery may come upon him as he lies in bed, through
the night-serenade of some idle apprentices ; may meet him
upon the land, or upon the water ; in the city cry, the rail-
way whistle, or the coachman's trumpet. It may flow from
various sources, till, meeting in a confluence, it drives him
distracted, and he stands with hands on ears, the very beau
ideal of an " enraged musician " ; or it may encounter him
more subtilely in a single stream—in the assumed concert—
in the quasi music of some very zealous but young perfor-
mers—in the attempted flourishes of some would-be Wood,
or the grand polacca out of tune. In this case the poison
works more slowly, but not less surely; the misery is pro-
tracted, and, heightened by sure and utter impossibility of
escape, goes on increasing in intensity till it rises to perfect
agony. We have experienced a little of the thing ourselves,
and can feel for those who have the misfortune to be still
more curiously compact in this particular ; for here in this
our good town of Liverpool, we venture to say, there is as
ample a supply of the discordant, or, what to a musician is
even worse, of unmusical sounds, as in any town in the
kingdom ; and that, we presume, is going sufficiently far.
We speak not of the rumbling of our heavy waggons, carts,
and drays, the rattling of our cars and coaches, and other
merely city sounds ; these distract us not ; we rather like
them, for they speak of trade and life, and accompanied by
the busy hum of men are suggestive of cheerful musings ; but
the organ players—the eternal organ players, and the voices
not unfrequently accompanying them—the clarionet men—
chiefly of our own country—the fifers, and fiddlers, and bag-
pipers, and oh, worse than all, the " resin chips," the
" rubbing stones," herrings, oysters, muscles, and all the
et cetera of Liverpool cries—truly these are indescribable,
and a tax upon our nerves almost too great for poor human
nature. Full many a fine thought—as we meditated stanzas
for our poet's corner—have they put to flight upon us—
sometimes freezing up altogether the " general current of
the soul ;" at others, curdling it so that nothing would come
off but a thin whey, or small sour beer, fit only for the Mer-
cury, or some other old lady's album. Some of the old
London cries were really beautiful, and have afforded themes
to many of our ablest composers. There is a charming
quartette by Pleyel, the subject of which was borrowed from
the street cry of " ground ivy ;" every body knows Horn's
arrangement, or composition, if you please, with a borrowed
melody, of " Cherry Ripe ;" and there are a hundred others.
The " fire-wood" boys of Dublin are a positively musical
class, and chaunt with a precision. and sweetness of cadence,
which would do no discredit to a chorister of St. Patrick's
Cathedral ; but as to our Liverpool cries—they are " most
melancholy indeed, but not most musical. if we had ever
thought that there was any soul of music in our corporation,
we would have made an appeal to them on the subject ; we
would have submitted a proposition to their most worshipful
and humane consideration ; but we were distrustful on this
point, especially since they became a " reformed body ;" and
so our proposition remained buried within our own breast,
and undivulged up to this hour.
The particulars we shall not now enter into; we shall re-
serve them, on the plan of o'er Mercurial friend, for the first
supplement we publish ; but we may mention, generally,
that we contemplated the formation of a " Musical Commit-
tee" from the council, who should be the especial conserva-
tors of harmony In the town, the rectifiers of discord, and
guardians of all the delicate distressed of this department.
/Cot only should they act thus negatively or defensively,
and protect nice cars and weak nerves from the rude assault of
barbarious yells and afflictive dissonants—they should be en-
gaged in actively promoting the " concord of sweet sounds."
We would have a college of musicians, and not ahawker should
be permitted to raise his voice within our municipal boundary,
till he or she had taken his degree therein. We would have
an endowed professorship of the art of crying soles and had-
docks, shrimps and salmon, fish, fruit, vegetables, knives-
' le_ after the most

improved manner; and then the eraduates should be dis-
persed like a cargo of most accomplished German bull-
finches, to delight the town with the most tuneful announce-
ment of hawker's wares. Thus what is now a nuisance would
be converted into a pleasing ministration—a peripatetic
minstrelsy combining the utile and the duke—mingling traffic
with melody, and giving a decided impetus to the musical
genius of our people. The details of the plan of which we
claim to be the original propounders, we reserve, as we have
said, for another opportunity ; meanwhile, it would appear
that Mr. Hullah, of London, has made a discovery which
will give extraordinary facilities t• our speculation. In the
Herald of the 15th of this present October, there is an ac-
count of a meeting at Exeter-hall of above 300 of the school-
masters of the national, and others schools for the humbler
classes in and about the metropolis, who have for the last six
months placed themselves in a class under Mr. Hullah, to
learn, through his instruction, the art of singing according
to the continental system of Wilhelm, by which, as the news-
paper states, " that invaluable accomplishment is rendered
facile of acquisition and communication." We shall make a
short extract or two from the report, promising that one ob-
ject of the meeting was to present a piece of plate to Mr. H.,
as a token of the estimation in which his services was held
by his pupils :
" At the suggestion of Dr. Kay, the vocal class, which ap-
peared to muster nearly three hundred members, preluded
their act of presentation with the performance of some exer-
cises to exemplify the system of their tuition, and their pro-
gress under it. In this they did themselves and their master
much credit for their observance, well indicative of time,
their correct tone and quickness in obeying the digital noti-
fication of the sol fa. One of their number then ascended
the platform and expressed the sentiments with which he and
his class-fellows were, in this instance, actuated. He stated
that, although lie and others had approached the task of learn-
, ing to sing with an apprehension that it was surrounded with
insurmountable difficulties, their first lesson with Mr. Hul-
lah had made them happily conscious that they had erred in
their anticipations. They soon found that, under the system
pursued by him, the art ceased to be a mystery. It proved
to be most simple. It was to be hoped that the performances
of the class offered evidence that this was practically the re-
sult of the course of instruction through which it had gone.
It was not as a source of gratification to themselves indivi-
dually that those for whom he spoke valued the acquisition
at which they had thus arrived—they cherished it as a means
of communicating an innocent and elevating enjoyment to
the humblest classes of society—for the facility with which
they would be enabled to transmit it to the children with
whose education they were entrusted." _

Lord Wharncliffe, who presided, observed in the course of
his speech " that he had attended there on this occasion,
because the office which he had the honour to till in her ma-
jesty's government brought the subject of the education of
the people more particularly under his consideration, and
he wished unequivocally to manifest his concurrence with
the opinions of those who considered that instruction in vo-
cal music should form a part of its arrangements. He con-
cluded his speech, in the course of which he highly com-
mended the bland and amiable qualities of Mr. II ullah, as a
teacher, by saying that he looked forward with confidence to
a time, at no great distance, when there would be o general
prevalence in the humblest classes qf society of the most
pure and humanising of arts. (Much applause.) " On
reading this account we expressed our thankfulness that the
school-master of music—was at length " abroad," and that
his march might be traced, not like that of other " school-
masters " that we have heard of, by the puzzlification of the
intellect, and souring the temper, but by blending the whole
family of man in one sweet chorus of song, and delightful
thrill of harmony. " Oh, Music," said we,

- -
" sphere-descended maid,
Friend of pleasure, wisdom's aid,
Why, goddess ! why to us denied,
Lay'st thou thine ancient lyre aside''
Arise, as in that elder time "
&c.—Seriously, we were delighted with the prospect which M r.
Hullah's successful effort conjured to our mind's eye—or ra-
ther ear, if we may use the expression—and joined the noble
lord most heartily in the wish that the time may not be distant
when this pleasing and refreshing art may have great prevalence
among the humblest classes. We can perceive no practical
difficulty in the way. Our commonalty are by no means de-
void of a taste for music. Often arc we delighted with little
fellows " whistling as they go " along the streets, and fol-
lowing quadrille, waltz, and opera air, not unfrequently
through all its turnings with the utmost accuracy. There
then is the taste speaking plainly through thelips; why should
not the school-master do the rest? We could say much more
upon this subject ; but what we have said may suffice for an
opening chapter.

The cost of the rural police for Gloucestershire, for the
year ending last Easter, amounted to £15,673 2s. Ild., and
the prospect of an increase.
HORRID, IF TICUE.—A lady of Algiers,
.who some time
ago buried one of her children, recently obtained permission
from the municipal authorities to have the grave and coffin
opened, for the purpose of placing in the latter a still-born
infant. The coffin was found to he entirely empty, and an
inquiry being set on foot as to the cause of the disappearance
of the i
remains of the first child, it was ascertained that the
gravedigger, who is the owner of an immense number of
pigs, and who supplies most of thepork-butchers of Algiers,
fed his pigs with the corpses which he buried. In his house
were large quantities
.of
.human flesh chopped up, and, on
examining the graves in the cemetery, every coffin was found
empty. A discovery was also made in the house of the
gravedigger of jewellery Co the value of about 50,000 francs,
which had been buried with the bodies. The criminal is ar-
rested, and the prosecution is going on ; but what a dread-
ful reflection it is for many persons to think that they may
have been eating pork fed with the flesh of their own rela.
tires ! The use of pork has been interdicted for some time,
and all the gravedigger's pigs have, by order of the Procu-
wur•General, been killed and instantly buried.