The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-07-21 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

NOTIC

Vonaly Prize Essays. Londoi
8, Leadenhall

iliar plan

great!
men.

BEST WATER FOR PLANTS.—It iS well known that
rain water is far better than spring water for promoting
the growth of plants ; this is from the former containing
that which is a necessary ingredient in their formation—
viz., ammonia ; and which is abundant in liquid manure.
The efficacy of this may be, soon developed by sprinkling
one half of a grass-plot with spring water, and the other
half with water in which pounded carbonate of ammonia
(about one ounce to the gallon) has been dissolved; the
former will keep it alive, but the latter will give it vigour
and luxuriance.— The Builder.
AUTUMNAL SPLENDOUR IN CANAAA.—From the Ist
of September to the beginning of November, and some-
times even to the end of it, the weather, although delight-
t fully pleasant and beautiful, becomes gradually colder

Madden and Malcolm,
.eet.

ication conducted on a very unusual and
end is capable of being made to conduce
ent of literature and literary
et each number shall

to the e

The conducto

being in let
re than tweni

contai

led. •Tt

wo 'pound

ill prot

the publication becomes

)rs more num

ietical contributions;

ss than twelve pages
:es ; the poetical piece
These are to be sen

ng the author's mum
I until the contributior

the remuneration for

est essay in prose,

; the secon

For the three essays
ed entitled to prizes,
e prizes for poetry

and colder ; the sweet melody ott the birds gradually dies
away, till all is silent. Even the unceasing chirp of the
cricket is hushed ; but the trees in the boundless, mea-
sureless forest exhibit, in the-bright sunshine and the
pure atmosphere of this lovely season, a picture as heau-
tiful as it is novel to the eye of the stranger. Instead of
waving their luxuriant foliage over mountain, hill, and
valley, in one rich monotonous hue of livi

g green, they

The present being a

now gradually, one by one, assume colours which, in
brilliancy and variety, exceed all description. The soft
maple is the first to commence this gorgeous display, by
changing to a rich crimson 'he sugar-maple then follow,
I flown, and the in simii t:- -ated

t to be a fair specimen,
same amount of merit

exte❑sively

numbers, when

contains, however,

says of a high order

,
3f talent and learning,
may particularise that entitled " His-
ained by History," and
shall look with great

of Civilisation."

interest for the ne

Village T

.utume, illustrative of
neighbourhood of the Block
German of Berthold Auer-
, 'Taylor. ..ght to be read exten-
sively, not only for their simple beauty, but for the
excellent sentiment and moral which they convey. We
trust Mrs. Taylor will favor us with a further series.

from t.

Old B

t. London : toseph
-street.

This is
,easant ar

translated from the

They o

A Manual of Map Making, and Mechanical Geography.
By Alexander Jamieson, LL.D. London, Edinburgh,
and Dublin : A. Fullerton and Co.
A very useful work, containing all that is necessary to
be known by the student of this interesting science.

VARIETIES.

FASHIONABLE INTELLIGENCE.—DEPARTURE.—Mr.
John Bull and family, from Peel's Coffee House to the
Russell Hotel.—Punch.

There is not
vated to

other prof

single instance of a physician being ele-
rage, though there has been of all the

he pee

,sions, military and learned

A gentleman recently became" a member of the Royal
Humane Society, under the impression that he could have
one of their Drags to go to Epsom races in.
One day last week a man living at Cadton, Notts, was
'-'-'ng that his knife bad been stolen,
st one of nis neighbours, whose garden had been
Lort time previous, said to him, " Hold your
tongue, old boy, I found your knife amongst my cabbages,
bow came it there?" The fellow was struck dumb.
"Aw wbant to go to Wimslow and hack to see my
" said a simple but honest countryman to the clerk
ig office of the Manchester and Birmingham
'We dont give return tickets," replied the
- said the countryman, " for

uncle,

antsy complain

in the book;

Then a

snould not loike to goo fra whoam for ever.
A NEW ELEMENT.—A railway traveller, conversing
'-ilow-passenger the other day, finding that he was
him whether he thought the new tariff
'awn the price of meat. "It may have
in time,- replied the grazier ; " but meat can
reap in the neighbourhood of London—
London is such a devouring element. sir!"
While the novel of " Kenilworth" was going through
the pr--- 'leman called on its printer, Mr. Ballan-
le business, and found him in an agony
.s some time before the visitor could ea-
r from the worthy gentleman, but at length

would ever bring d

;as, a gent]
3 settle sot

I, "17,.r God's sake, leave me alone.' I have 14en
so deeply affected by the death of poor Amy Rosbart that
cannot attend to any business to-day."
SHMT TREE.—Providence bas not only been bountiful
n a supply of food, but even of raiment. In the forest of
ca) there is a tree which often
feet. The natives make shirts of
the bark of this tree, which requires only to be stripped
off and to be deprived of its red fibrous parts. The head
is thrust through one end, and lateral holes are cut to

Aar though more sombre tints, vane& with the
yellow of the trembling poplar, the orange and gold of
the beech, and the sere brown of the butternut and the
basswood, while the sturdy oak still maintains his deep
green.—Memoirs of a Missionary in Canada.
WREN WAR WILL CEASE.-1. War being primarily
caused by disparity of moral condition, it must cease
when nations are educated up to a moral equilibrium, or
to such approximation to at as to make the difference a
less evil than its ecollisation by force. 2. Wars are rare,
or frequent, in proportion to the destructive power of the
respective combatants. Wben the sword and buckler, the
javelin and the spear, were the weapons of offence and
defence, permanent peace was a thing unknown. An in-
road, or a battle, was a thing of at least yearly occurrence
between neighbouring towns. Now, it is a matter of ear-
nest and solemn deliberation : concession and compromise
are tried. In short, only after reason bas failed to de-
cide are actual hostilities begun. Were the destructive
qualities of our war-weapons increased a thousand-fold, as
in the natural progress of science they may soon become,
the battle-field would be a thousand times scarcer than it
is. Could a fleet be sunk, or an army swept away, in a
moment by some new invention, that machine would be
the real peacemaker, as the best adjudication would then
cost more than it is worth. 3. Lastly, when the great
problem before indicated is worked out, and our race is
redeemed from the necessity for manual drudgery, the va-
lue of an individual life will be so much enhanced, that no
external advantage would compensate its risk ; and, as the
public voice already determines all international questions,
the choice will be its own.—Monthly Prize Essays.

THE GREAT BILL BROKER.—The head of the-house of

youth Arne
eight of 5(

Overend, Gurney, and Company, is Mr. Samuel Gurney,
or, as he is called in Quaker language, Sam Gurney. He
appears to have been bred and born in the money market,
for all of his relatives and friends are bankers in the pro-
vinces; and Essex and Suffolk boast of some of their
wealthiest people bearing his surname. The death of Mr.
Overend gave Mr. Gurney, as second partner, the manage-
ment of the great house in Lombard-street; and, with a
snn and other partners, he now carries on the transactions
of the firm with considerable success. Mr. Gurney, who
is a portly and robust man, must be 60 years old ; but he
possesses a hale and hearty constitution, which renders his
appearance much less indicative of an advance towards age
than most persons would imagine. He dresses strictly in
the garb of the sect to which he belongs ; and his dark
brown, straight-collar cut coat, with a white broad-brim
of beaver, make him almost a caricature of the Rev.
Sydney Smith's Pennsylvanian debtors. Mr. Gurney is
reputed to be individually a very wealthy man, and must,
besides, receive a considerable income from his business.
Among his own particular fraternity Mr. Gurney is re-
garded as a man of sound sense and judgment; and, not
only do the Quakers consult him in religious matters, but
they adopt bis advice in their secular controversies. To
the poor he is extremely munificent ; and the cottagers in
the neighbourhood of West Ham, where he resides, bear
testimony to his worth and kindness.—The City; or, the

The natives we

r these shirts in rainy

ich, according to Humboldt, are equal to any
0' our Mackintoshes to keep out the wet.--American

seasons

Montgomery was shot

Physiology of London Business. -
THE PEERAGE.—ASSUMED NAMES.—The Duke of
Wellington is not a Wellesley ; his real name is Colley, his
grandfather, Richard Colley, assumed the name of Wesley
(now modified into Wellesley,) without having a particle
of blood of that family in him, but merely because he suc-
ceeded to the Wesley estates, under the will of a distant
relative. The Earl of Clarendon is not a Hyde, his only
connexions with that noble family reside in the fact that
his grandmother was the granddaughter of Henry Hyde,
last Earl of Clarendon of that line; paternally the name
is Villiers. The Duke of Northumberland is not a Percy ;
his real name is Smithson, and his ancestor paternally was
Sir Hugh Smithston, who took the name of Percy, and
received the honours of that famous house under a new
creation, solely because his wife's grandmother was a
Percy. The Marquis of Normanby exhibits a still wider
excursion in search of a title, which seems ancient but is
not really so. His Lordship has not a particle of the
Mulgrave or Normanby blood in him. His great grand-
mother, when she married Mr. William Phipps, was the
widow of Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, who was also
Marquis of Normanby and Baron Mulgrave; thus Con-
stantine Phipps, her son, contrived to get a reaction of a
title belonging to his mother's first husband, whom he
had never seen, and whose descendant he was not. Lord
1.„

ament)
lay. 1S

Egerton, although he assumes that name. Lord de Tab-
ley is not a Warren, which designation he now assumes ;
nor is be Leicester, which name he bore a few years ago;
he is in truth the descendant paternally, of a certain
Gregory Byrne, of the Queen's County, in Ireland, whose
successors having married two or three Cheshire heiresses,

seized upon tile-name of those ancient houses. The
Duke of Marlborough is not a Churchill, his real name is
Spencer; and he is only connected with the great military
commander, by the fact, that his ancestor married the
celebrated Duke's daughter. Earl Nelson is paternally a
Bolton; his father was Thomas Bolton, and his grand-
mother was the immortal Nelson's sister. The Marquis
of Anglesey is not a Paget, his father's name was Bayly.
The surname now used by Earl De Grey is the same as
his title; a few years ago he called himself Weddell; but
his real name is Robinson.—The Topic.
ATTACHMENT OF THE IRISH TO THEIR NATIVE
HOMES.—There is no man on earth so wedded to his
home as the Irishman. The Englishman or the Scotch-
man leaves his native place with comparative indifference :
with the Irish it is a life-struggle ; the instinct of love of
country is stronger than in most men, the domestic affec-
tions are more intense and sacred, and the social feelings
of friendship and relationship are more powerful and
binding; hence, the departure of a body of emigrants is
one of the most harrowing scenes the eye can light
upon, even in this land of suffering; the wailing and
lamentations of some, the calm, subdued grief of others,
the wild over-acted merriment of others, put on to con-
ceal their anguish, and cheer the spirit of some one left
behind,—but through which you see the starting tears.
How often have I seen strong men weeping scalding tears
upon the shoulders of their friends, aged men and women
struck down under the bereavement of losing the last rem-
nants of their families ! I shall never forget one aged
woman : she sat upon a beam, her straining eyes riveted
upon the receding emigrant ship, and as it left her sight
she raised one long dismal scream of anguish, the dreadful
music of a breaking heart. Her tale was sad but short.
Her " two fine boys" had gone to America three years
before, and her niece and daughter, the last remnants of
her family, were departing, and she was left alone, with
no refuge but the workhouse, or the charity of her neigh-
bours. These emigrants no country need be ashamed of;
they are healthy, robust, intelligent, and industrious,
careful even to parsimony, and what is of more value,
they are chaste, temperate, and virtuous. Would such
men go away if there was security for life and property
at home ? They are chiefly from the counties of Tippe-
rary, Clare, Galway, and Limerick ; they leave the finest
land in Ireland, some of the finest in the world, to till the
deserts ; a climate where they can work the whole year,
for one where they can work for a period of six months
only.—There is abundance of reclaimable land in Ireland,
in precisely the same condition—so far as human industry
is concerned—as it was left by the deluge. They carry
with them, and spend in the expenses of transit, abun-
dant capital for its redemption from waste, and they have
willing bands and thalwart arms, but neither can nor will
be sold, and they dare not fix a spade in it : 3850 such
emigrants left the port of Limerick this spring, and as
many more must have taken their departure from other
ports; the whole number cannot fall short of 10.000 in
the year from Tipperary and the surrounding counties
alone.—Douglas Jerrold's Magazine.

PROVIDENTIAL PURPOSE OF COMMERCIAL DES-
PATCH.—What a glorious epoch our lot is cast in ! Light
and knowledge of a scientific sort are diffused far and
wide. Boundless facilities for the obtainment of moral
truth, are at hand. What a privilege at such a time as
this, to be " stewards of the mysteries of God ;" to be
commissioned to dispense them to every family of the
children of men, and above all, through their instrumen-
tality, to break down those barriers which exclude from
their healing influence the victims of Popish delusion.
Let Babylon tremble to her foundations, the tide of truth
is flowing in upon her, and it will

" Like
The Pontic sea, ne'er know returning ebb."

Those arts and sciences which Protestantism has given
birth to, and nourished up, are now prepared to act in
the service of their glorious parents. Any one of them,
however directly bearing upon her interests, would be to a
great extent inefficient without the rest. Vast as has been
the revolution which the art of printing has undergone,
of what avail would it be, if we could not, with almost
the rapidity of lightning, circulate the publications that it
supplies us with ? Would the London Times, exhibit its
present huge dimensions, if the journey to York were
now as it was some years ago, the pilgrimage of a week ?
Confined, as under such circumstances the journal would
be, almost to the readers of one single city, wherefore the
extension of its columns ? Wherefore their multiplica-
tion by the giant power of steam ? Archdeacon Paley
dwells in his " Evidences," wills the emphasis of a true
philosopher, on the circumstance that the Messiah was
sent at a moment, when the ambition of Rome had just
completed immense lines of road-way, which branched
off from the seat of her empire in Italy to its utmost
limits—limits, which at that day were coincident with the
boundaries of? the known world. It was to facilitate the
march of her troops, as they were sent forth to trample
upon the nations, that these roads were intended. But for
them, her armies would have had to traverse pathless wilds,
where they would constantly have been subjected to the
covert attacks of their enemies, and been entirely de-
pendent on mercenary guides. He, however, who held
in his hands the destinies of mankind, contemplated a
result of her ambition, that she never dreamt of ; the
roads that she formed for her warriors, were intended by
supreme wisdom, to be the pathways of those, whose
" feet should be shod with the preparation of the Gospel
of peace." Mercy reached mankind through those issues,
which were designed to make them the victims of tyran-

nical power. Is not a similar power manifest at the pre-
sent moment ? To what end countless millions expended
on railway schemes? Has Providence no end in view
higher, and more glorious, than that which their projec-
tors contemplate,—that they should be subservient to the
gratification of an unfeeling covetousness ? No ; they
are intended to give übiquity to the blasts of the trumpet,
which will prostrate to the earth, the walls of that spiri-
tual Jericho—Babylon the great. The minister will
thunder in the morning in Dublin, and in the evening his
voice will be heard at St. Jarlath's. Now he will preach
in London, and in the lapse of a few transitory hours,
Rome will re-echo with his voice. Science has furnished
him with wings fraught with a rapidity that surpasses the
ture of our
iat was

GENERAL MISCELLANY.

It is said Herefordshire is the only county in England
in which there is not a steam-engine.

message; let us not damage the noblest cause t

ever committed to the guardianship of men, by miscon-
ceiving the terms on which it should be maintained.
When we should be putting our heel upon the head of the
serpent, let us not waste our time by endeavouring to
inflict wounds, which, however they may irritate, they
cannot destroy.—Greyg's Free Thoughts.
THE MOON IN LORD ROSSE'S TELESCOPE.—With re-
spect to the moon, every object on its surface of the height
of one hundred feet was now distinctly to be seen; and,
be had no doubt, that under very favourable circumstances
it would be so with objects sixty feet in height. On its
surface were craters of extinct volcanoes, rocks, and
masses of stones almost innumerable. He had no doubt
whatever that if such a building as he was then in were
upon the surface of the moon, it would be rendered dis-
tinctly visible by these instruments. But there were no
signs of habitations such as ours—no vestiges of architec-
tural remains to show that the moon is or ever was in-
habited by a race of mortals similar to ourselves. It pre-
sented no appearances which maid lead to the supposition
that it contained anything like ffie green fields and lovely
verdure of this beautiful world of ours. There was no
water visible—not a sea or a river, or even the measure of
a reservoir for supplying town or factory ; all seemed
desolate. Hence would arise the reflection in the mind
of the Christian philosopher—Why had this devastation
been ? It might be further inquired—Was it a lost world ?
Had it suffered for its transgression? Analogy might sug-
gest the question. Had it met the fate which Scripture
has told us was reserved for our world? It was obvious
that all this was mysterious conjecture.—Dr. Scoresby's
Lecture on Astronomy.
ZUMALACARREGUI possessed great courage, but he
made no show of it. It would have been more brilliant
if he had had more vanity; and the exposure of his person
was always subservient to some object of utility. He had
a comprehensive view of the military movements, but he
never forgot the peculiar nature of his warfare; and he
never ambitiously allowed himself to be carried away by
plans or manoeuvres beyond the exigencies of his position.
As an administrator in forming reserves, in procuring sup-
plies, in discovering resources, in bringing raw battalions
to a state of rough efficiency in the shortest possible time,
he was unrivalled ; yet his mind was not cramped by de-
tail, and when he descended to minute matters, it was be-
cause they were really important. He was severe and in-
flexible, even taciturn and morose ; yet he was extremely
loved by his troops. At the time that he was comman-
der-in-chief, commissary-general and treasurer, and that
all the sums of money, raised or sent, passed through his
bands without a check or a receipt, there never was a
breath raised against the purity of his moral character.
These certainly are the elements out of which great gene-
rals Are made ; and it is not irrational to think that, under
other circumstances, tFe same man, this Navarrese guer.
rillero, far superior as such to the brave but improvident
Mina, or the active but dull Jauregui, might have ex-
panded into a European hero, and have left a less perish-
able name.—Blackwood 's Magazine.

THE COD FISHERY IN NEi"ir BRUNSWICK.—The cod-
fish caught and cured on the shores of Gaspe are gene-
rally of small size, but are much liked in foreign markets,
from their being well preserved. This arises from the
fish being caught near the shore, and being split and
salted while perfectly fresh and firm. The process of
cleaning the fish is carried on in a very neat and expedi-
tious manner. The boats, as soon as they return from
the fishing bank, run alongside a stage, which is built
over the water, on which they are thrown out. The first
man who handles the fish cuts the throat with a single
stroke of his knife ; then he slides it along a sort of table
to another, who whips off the head, and drops it, with the
entrails, through a hole in the table into the water be-
neath, retaining only the liver, which is thrown into a
tierce to make oil. The next man splits the fish, and
takes out the bone ; and on the manner in which these ope-
rations are performed, in a great measure depends the
quality of fish for market. When split, the fish are car-
ried to a large covered building, where, after being well
washed, they are rubbed with salt, and placed in little
flat piles on the floor to drain ' • after being sufficiently
struck with salt, they are carried to the shingle beach to
dry, or, where there is no beach, are spread on long nar-
row wicker frames, or stages set up for the purpose. The
labour of spreading and turning the fish is incessant and
severe : they require to be frequently turned to prevent
their being scorched by the sun, or salt. brunt. The per-
son who turns does so in a systematic manner, with his
right and left hand alternately, so that no one fish in
thousands may be missed. After the fish are sufficiently
cured, they are collected and laid in small circles, with
the tails outwards ; these circles are continually built
upon, each row being larger than the one below it, until
the pile is about three feet high, when the circles begin to
diminish, so as to form a conical roof; this is covered
with birch-bark, and stones are laid upon it. The piles
are thus rendered impervious to the heaviest rains, and in
Lig pauwect-
for exportation.—Echoes from the Backwoods,
__

Two young men have been apprehended for the murder
at Kineton in Warwickshire.

The potatoe disease has made its appearance among the
crops of this season, in the neighbourhood of Cardiff.
Bristol has petitioned for the appointment of a packet
station for the proposed new Hue of royal mail packets to
New York.

The anniversary of the battle of the Boyne was cele-
brated at Birmingham, Kidderminster, and other midland
towns, with all becoming honour.
Three men were, on Tuesday, committed for throwing
a large oak gate across the Bristol and Exeter Railway,
with intent to overturn the mail train.

On Saturday, Mr. Beck, a gentleman living in Carlisle,
while walking with his daughter near the river side, jumped
into the water and was drowned.

It is rumoured that a new paper, on liberal principles,
is about to be established in a midland county, to be con-
ducted exclusively by two young ladies.
On Tuesday, Ibrahim Pasha, by his aid-de-camp, Colo-
nel Bonfort, transmitted to the Lord Mayor the munifi-
cent sum of £509 for the poor of the metropolis.
The ship David Malcolm, which sailed from Auckland,
New Zealand, on the 16th of February, with Captain
Fitzroy on board, arrived at Gravesend on Monday.
The Stamford Mercury says that some of the new
potatoes brought into that market, are tainted with the
same kind of disease as prevailed last year.
John Rossiter, aged 42, a resident of Writhlington,
undertook for a wager of a sovereign to mow, in two days,
71 acres of clover grass, considerably above an average
crop. He completed his task with ease.
The annual meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society
of England commenced on Tuesday at Newcastle-upon-
Tyne. It was but indifferently attended. The great show
took place on Thursday.
At the Exete► meeting against capital punishment, a
single hand was held up against each resolution. At length
some one cried out, " It's Jack Ketch," and the dissen-
tient hand appeared no more.
The confession of Tawell, the murderer, has been the
subject of another discussion amongst the magistrates of
Bucks. The chaplain still refuses to give up the docu-
_
went.

At the Winchester Assizes, George Thomas Rustic was
sentenced to seven years' transportation for stealing two
post-office letters, one containing a sovereign, and the
other a half sovereign.
INCENDIARISM.-At the York Assizes, on Saturday, a
man, named Joshua Collins, was convicted of having set
fire to a barn in the neighbourhood of Halifax, and sen-
tenced to transportation for life.
A destructive fire occurred in Birmingham on Tuesday
morning, on the premises of Mr. Hasluck, button-manu-
facturer, Princep-street. Its origin has not been ascer-
tained, but, before it was extinguished, property to the
amount of nearly £2,000 was destroyed.
Between Charlbury and E nstone, Oxfordshire, letters
are conveyed by a mail drawn by two dogs, which travel
with incredible swiftness, running a distance of three
miles and a quarter, when haste is required, in about fif-
teen minutes.

THE GAME OF CHANCE.-At the Leicester sessions, on
Tuesday last, a prisoner was sentenced to ten years' tran-
sportation for felony. On hearing the sentence, he said
to the chairman, " I'll toss up with you, Sir, whether it
shall be twenty years, or nothing !"

RUSSIAN CIVILISATION.—" Peter the Great," says
Mackintosh, " did not civilize Russia : that undertaking
was beyond his genius, great as it was ; he only gave the
Russians the art of civilized war." The truth was, he at-
tempted what was altogether impracticable. No one man
can at once civilize a nation : he can only put it in the way
cf civilization. To-complete the fabric must be the work
of continued effort and sustained industry during many
successive generations. That Peter failed in rendering
his people on a level with the other nations of Europe in
refinement and industry, is no reproach to him. It was
impossible to do so in less than several centuries. The
real particular in which he erred was, that he departed
from the national spirit, that he tore up the national if."
stitutions, violated in numerous instances the strongest
national feelings. He clothed his court and capital ia
European dress; but men do not put off old feelings with ,
the costume of their fathers. Peter's civilisation extended
no further than the surface. He succeeded in inducing en
extraordinary degree of discipline in his army, and the ap.
pearance of considerable refinement among his courtiers.
But it is easier to remodel an army than change a nation ;
and the celebrated bon-mot of Diderot, that the Russians
were " rotten before they were ripe," is but a happy ex-
pression, indicating how much easier it is to introduce the
vices than the virtues of civilisation among an unlettered
people. To this day the civilisation of Russia has never
descended below the higher ranks; and the efforts of the
real patriotic czars who have since wielded the Muscovite
sceptre, Alexander and Nicholas, have been mainly di-
rected to get out of the fictitious career into which Peter
turned the people, and revive with the old institutions the
true spirit and inherent aspirations of the nation. The
immense success with which their efforts have been at-
tended, and the gradual, though still slow descent of civi-
lization and improvement through the great body of the
people, prove the wisdom of the principles on which they
have proceeded. Possibly Russia is yet destined to afford
another illustration of the truth of Montesquieu's maxim,
that no nation ever yet rose to durable greatness but
through institutions in harmony with its spirit. And in
charity let us hope that the words of Peter on his death-
bed have been realised :—" I trust that, in respect of the
good I have striven to do my people, God will pardon my
sins."—Blackwood's Magazine.
THE FAMILY OF BACH, THE COMPOSER.—In the
Bach family, musical instinct was hereditary. Through
six generations it would be difficult to find two members
of it who did not make music the business of their lives.
A baker of Hungary was the patriarch of this fertile tribe,
the luxuriant stem whence sprung so many wonderful
shoots. At the commencement of the sixteenth century,
disturbed by the religious wars, Veit Bach abandoned
Presburgh, carrying with him all he could save out of his
small fortune, and reached Thuringia, hoping to find
there an asylum and protection. He settled at Wechmar,
a small village at no great distance from Gotha, where he
resumed, at the same time, his profession and his long-
neglected musical studies. Every day he took his lute
into his mill, and accompanied on it the sacred melodies
which be sang, in the midst of the noise of the millstones
and wheels. Veit Bach sowed in the souls of his two
sons the seeds of harmony, which they transmitted to
their children in such a degree, that there soon resulted
thence a musical family in possession of the most impor-
tant posts in almost all the provinces of Thuringia.
Certainly the Bachs were not all men of genius ; yet, in
each generation, two may at least be found who distin-
guished themselves. The members of the Bach family
always preserved a tender attachment for one another ;
as they could not all dwell together, and yet wished to
maintain their frank and loyal friendship, they instituted
the custom of meeting once a year in an appointed spot.
When, later, the family had grown more numerous, and
was dispersed out of Thuringia into Upper Saxony,
France, and Italy, this annual meeting subsisted never-
theless. The place of rendezvous was generally Urfurt,
Eisenbach, or Arnstadt. According to the habit of that
period of sanctifying ell things by religious practices, di-
rectly after the first embraces, they sang a chorus. It
was at first a grand and majestic chant, a thanksgiving to
God who permitted them to find one another happy and
in good health ; and the music then became sad and slow,
and all knelt down to pray for their deceased relatives;
then all arose, and the chorus ended by a hymn, in which
the fathers called down all the blessings of Heaven on the
heads of their children. No stranger was admitted to
gaze on this first effusion of love, and the people of the
inn, who, attracted by the noise, came to listen at the
door, could not hear without emotion the harmonious
concert of so many voices of the same family ; for in the
same way that the Bachs resembled one another in vigour
of body and in features, so their voices, without being
perfectly similar, had amongst them resemblances which
were striking, especiall when hearing the weak and shrill
voice of the child rising up with that of its father, which
sustained it in harmony, as the sparrow sustains in the air
its little ones whose feathers are beginning to grow. Af-
ter this pious beginning they sat down to table, and sup-
ped joyously. At the end of the repast, music recom-
menced—only hymns gave way to national songs, for
these men first remembered they were Christians, then
Germans—after God their native land. These choruses
set the whole town in commotion; the passers-by eel.
lected in groups round the house. The officious inn-
keeper introduced, with an air of protection, those who
sent their incomes most assiduously in his house, and
left the others waiting in vain at the door. It has been
said that the Bache had improvised at these meetings se-
, veral airs which have since become popular. We think
i that they merely varied them, as the primitive ideas of
these melodies are to be found in a collection printed at
Nienna in Is42.—Fraser's Magazine,

IMPORTANT POINT !—One Of the first decisions of
Lord Cottenham, on retaking the seals of office as Lord
Chancellor was, that Corporations of cities must be
styled " the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens," and those of
boroughs. " the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses."
THE " SCHOOLMASTER WANTED" IN SHREWSBURY.
—On a well painted sign, near the bottom of Wyle-Cop,
appears the following choice specimen of orthography:—
" New Established Shoeing Shop on the improved Prin-
cipal."

" The people now rule the country, as they ought to
'—" Public opinion is too strong to be led by any
faction within the walls of parliament ! !"—" The nation
has spoken, and houses parties and sections must
obey 1 ! !"—Tines, (the times, indeed.)
Mrs. M`Lellan, of Dunning, near Edinburgh, has been
committed for trial, charged with the murder of her hus-
band by poison, which was administered to the unfortu-
nate gentleman on a " soda scon," the butter and aJsenic
being covered over with currant jelly.
On Tuesday, a pane of glass was cut out of a jeweller's
window in Oxford-street, London, and 240 gold and other
rings, a variety of gold seals, keys, and brooches, silver
pencil cases, two silver pickle forks, and 100 gold and other
breast-pins of great value were taken away,
On Friday, a little child, aged about fifteen months,
whose parents reside at Little Madeley, while playing
round a washing tub containing soap wash, overbalanced
itself and fell in. It was not observed for some time, and
died a few minutes after its rescue.

Boxes have been put up at the public-houses and beer-
shops in numerous parts of the metropolis, for the re-
ception of pence for the purpose of presenting a national
testimonial to Sir Robert Peel for the advocacy of free
trade measures.

At the Oxford Assizes, on Tuesday, two wandering
tinkers, named James Biddle and Isaac Sheriff, were con-
victed of a murder perpetrated in September, 1842. Their
own confession was the principal evidence against them,
but they stoutly denied at last. They are left for ex-
ecution.

Ibrahim Pasha left Londqr) on NVednesday. and em-
barked at rortsmouth, on Thursday. ins uighness
contemplates visiting Cadiz and Gibraltar, and most pro-
bably Lisbon, it is uncertain how long it will be before he
reaches Alexandria : but he is desirous of being there by
the 15th of the next month.
THE INCENDIARY FIRE AT SOHAM.—On Saturday,
Mr. Cornelius Harvey, a wealthy farmer, and his nephew,
James Harvey, were finally examined before the magis-
trates on a charge of having been the incendiaries at the
recent destructive fire at Soham, near Cambridge, and
tbey were committed for trial at the assizes.
A guard on the Bristol and Birmingham Railway,
named William Stock, met his death on Monday morning
by his head comingin contact with a bridge near the Barnt
Green station. He was standing on the carriage to reach
the break, and not observing the bridge, was immediately
knocked off, his head being smashed in an awful manner.
EXTRAORDINARY DESPATCH! MAESTEG, TUESDAY.
—On Saturday last, a fond couple were married hue; the
same day a lovely child made its appearance ; on Sunday
it was christened; on Monday it died; and this day,
(Tuesday) it is to be buried. So much for locomotion,
or march of intellect, which you please.—Cardiff paper.
At Newport, Monmouthshire, a new order, that of the
" Odd Sisters," exists, and on Tuesday week they to the
number of two hundred, celebrated their anniversary, but
without the adjuncts of processions, &c. The morning's
entertainment consisted of a plain dinner, and the even-
ing's of a social or Platonic conversation with husbands
and lovers. _ _

THE HARVEST IN ESSEX.—The wheat harvest has
generally begun in this neighbourhood, but in some in-
stances it has been suspended, the straw, which has dyed
of a most healthy colour, being much forwarder than the
grain. So rapid has been the ripening of the spring corn,
that it also will be ready next week should the rain con-
tinue to hold off.

ARSON BY A. CHILD.—Mary Anne Mead, aged only
twelve, pleaded guilty, at the Assizes of Chelmsford, on
Thursday, to a charge of having maliciously set fire to a
barn, the property of John Smith. No motive was
alleged for the crime. The judge lectured on the atrocity
of the act, and sentenced her to be transported for four-
teen years.

THE MOOES.—We are glad to be able to inform sports-
men that the ensuing season will be in most places an ex-
cellent one for hill sport. On the lower moors coveys are
large; and in some instances so strong as to be equal in
size to old birds. On the very high moors they are much
later and fewer in number, averaging generally three to
four brace.—lnverness paper.
PROBABLE SCARCITY OF GAME.—We believe that
the number of pheasants and partridges, which, in the
early part of the summer, promised to be very abundant,
will be found to be rather scarce, for the late very heavy
rains have proved very destructive to them. Four old
partridges and thirty-eight young ones, were found dead,
near each other, on the Worksop Manor estate.—Not-
tingham Journal.

A horse-dealer, named Soirs, while in company with a
girl of ill-fame, named Minors, at Birmingham, on Mon-
day, was proceeding up Pinfold-street, when they guar-
telled, and Soirs struck her under the ear, from the
effects of which she fell and died instantly. Considerable
excitement prevails in Birmingham. At the inquest a ver-
dict of manslaughter was returned, and the man has been
committed for trial.

TIIE SOCIALIST SYSTEM.—Harmony-hall, near Stock-
bridge, in Hampshire, has followed the fate of all its pre-
decessors of the " Communist," or " Owenite System."
Last week a general congress of the members of the " Ra-
tional Society," from all parts of the country, was held at
Rose-hill, in the vicinity, where the accumulated pro-
perty was transferred to three trustees, for the benefit of
the creditors.

IRON TUNNEL ACROSS THE MENAI STRAITS.—Mr.
Stephenson, in order to set at rest the doubts expressed
respecting the practicability of this scheme, has had an
iron model of his intended tunnel, 20 feet long and 4 feet
high, made and fixed at an engineering factory at Mil'wall.
A number of extensive experiments were made on it in
the presence of several distinguished scientific gentlemen,
with the most satisfactory results. _

A painting on lava, by T. Jollivet, destined for the
porch of the church of St Vincent de Paul, at Paris, has
lately attracted the attention of artists in the French ca-
pital. One of the eminent advantages of painting on lava
is its brilliant effect, and its resistance to the intemperance
of the seasons, as it offers all the consistency of mosaic
without requiring the labour in its execution demanded by
the latter.

A WORD FOR THE PRESS.—Mr. Serjeant Talfourd,
and Mr. John Walter, the principal proprietor of the
Times, are to stand, it is said, on the liberal interest for
Reading, at the nest general election. The learned ser-
jeant as an author, and the worthy proprietor as a patron
of type in another form—both, or either, as book or news-
paper producers—ought to be the most acceptable candi-
dates to Reading men.
SUICIDES.—On Sunday week, Mr. R. Preece, brewer,
Worcester, hung himself in his cellar.—On the same day
Mr. John Shawcross, who, kept the Shears public-house,
at 1•1,,,,C, as found dead in a field near to that place,
un ter eircumttances leading to the belief that he had laid
vi dent hands upon himself.—On Monday, Ellen Hope,
a fine young unman, belenging to the farmer town, threw
herself into the canal, and was drowned. She had been
disappointed in love.—On Tuesday, a man of the name of
Baynes. employed at the Crown and Anchor Inn, Ripon,
committed suicide by cutting his throat.—On Tuesday
last, George Archell, farmer, of Frome, destroyed himself
by poison ; and on the same day, a young woman daughter
of a tailor in the latter town, drowned herself. The pro-
vincial papers of last week give many similar melancholy
instances of self destruction.

A public meeting was held in London, on Tuesday, to
adopt measures for the purpose of relieving the distress
occasioned by the fire at St. John's, Newfoundland. The
large room of the London Tavern, in which the meeting
was held, was filled. Amongst those present were Lord
Sandon, Sir 'H. Douglas, the Bishop of Jamaica, Capt.
the Hon. F. Motile, R. N.,'Capt. Prescott, late governor
of Newfoundland. Upwards of £3,000 was subscribed at
the meeting.
A fatal accident occurred in the implement yard of the
Royal Agricultural Society's exhibition at Newcastle on
Friday. Crosskill's steam thrashing machine was at
work under the superintendence of the judges, when sud-
denly it broke with a tremendous noise, and the frag-
ments of wood and metal were thrown in all directions.
One of these struck a labourer named Swanston over the
right eye, fracturing his skull. He fell senseless to the
ground, and in the course of a few moments expired.
From a lecture delivered before the Young Men's
Christian Association, in London, by the Rev. Wm.
Arthur, the startling yet indisputable fact is made evi-
dent, that if we decide according to numbers, Paganism
must be pronounced to be the religion of the British Em-
pire. " There are in it," says Mr. Arthur, " more
Pagans than Mahomedans and Christians of both names.
The numerical order of the four great religious distinctions
prevailing in the empire is, first, Paganism ; second, Mo-
hamedanism ; third, Protestantism; fourth, Romanism."
DEATH FROM FIGHTING.—At the assizes at Bedford,
on Tuesday, two men, named Ames and Morgan,_were

indicted for the manslaughter of J. White at Southill, on
the 10th of June. The offence rose out of a fight in which
Ames was a principal, and Morgan his second. The con-
duct of Ames had been very brutal, while Morgan had
exerted himself to restrain his principal. Ames was
found guilty, and Morgan was acquitted. The former was
sentenced to be imprisoned for six months.
AWFUL WARNING.—On Tuesday last, one of the fish
men who generally congregate at the sign of " The Bell,"
on Peas Hill, after calling on the Almighty with horrid
imprecations, was apparently struck with death. After
recovering a little, he observed to the bystanders—it was
all very well, but it was an awful thing to be between
death and eternity. Let us hope this will prove a warning
not only to himself but his brethren, whose language,

July 21, 1846.

I CHAMBERSTB BANKRUPTCY.—We are confidently in-
formed that the dividend paid under the estate of Mr.
Chambers, the banker, in November last, has not brought
with it any alleviation to the unjust privations of a family
whose sympathizers have some difficulty in reconciling
certain unexplained facts,—on the one hand an estate that
has yielded nearly £500,000, implying little less, if any,
than a dividend of 40s. in the pound ; whilst, on the other.
Mrs. Chambers has not even yet been able to see the
money under her marriage settlement in train of payment.
SALE OF SHARES OF THE " GLOBE" NEWSPAPER.
—On Thursday, 19 shares of the Globe evening newspaper,
the property of which consists of 62 shares, were disposed
of by auction, by Mr. Edmund Robins, at the Auction
Mart, which attracted a large number of literary gentle-
men. The shares were severally divided into lots, of
which the first four were purchased by Mr. Aldridge, and
the remaining 15 were bought by Mr. Ridgway, pub-
lisher, Piccadilly. The following were the prices each
lot went for :—No. 1, 850 guineas; No. 2, 790 guineas;
No. 3, 750 guineas; No. 4, 700 guineas; and the other
lots at 660 guineas each. The preemption price per share
was, in 1846, £1540, realising a dividend of £180; in
1845, £1230, the dividend being £l2O, and in 1844, £872,
yielding a dividend of £lOO. The total amount the
shares produced was 12,990 guineas.
OPENING OF THE TRADE BETWEEN ROTTERDAM,
YARMOUTH, AND NORWICH.—An interesting excursion
is proposed, on Thursday next, from London and Yar-
mouth to Rotterdam, the parties having in view the eaten-

oftentimes is horrid and disgusting to hear.—Cambridg
Advertiser.
At the Staffordshire Sessions, last week, as a person
named Stringer, who had been sentenced to fourteen
years' imprisonment, was being removed from the dock,
he drew a large stone from his pocket, and threw it with
great violence at a policeman in court, who bad given evi-
dence against him, The stone struck the policeman on
the shoulder ; and, had he not stooped when he saw the
attempt, the consequence might have been fatal. Stringer
was, of course, instantly removed, and placed in close
confinement.

sion of trade between the places named. A special train
will leave Shoreditch at five in the morning, and arrive at
Yarmouth at eight a. m. ; thence the steamer will proceed
to Rotterda n, and the entire journey will be performed in
twelve hours ! Yarmouth is nearly directly opposite to
Rotterdam, and vessels may ran between them in nine or
ten hours, aivil by means of tramways from the former
persons from' he latteritown, may be in a railway-carriage
in less than twelve hours. Holland produces tobacco,
flax,,wool, linen-yarns, madder, fruits, vegetables, poultry,
butter, cheese, tiles, toys, &c., &c., all available for Eng-
lish markets. A. new steamer, the •' Norfolk," is to run
in this trade every week, at low freights.
FALL OF EARTH.—About one o'clock on Friday morn-
ing week a stream, carried by a culvert under the Mart-

cliester and Saltersbrook turnpike-road at Woodhead,
became so swollen from the excessive rains, that the cul-
vert, unable-to tleatiThe peesiffeTrom with'n, burst,
embankment,bririging'do couwnistila stiintgthoef
earthtu andpik rock,
e-roadamndanpyahrtundroftehde
tons in weight, right across the line of the Sheffield and
Manchester Railway. The railway, of course, was ren-
dered impassable for some hours, and passengers had to
be taken over the hill by stage-coaches, which were im-
mediately provided, but the labour of 150 men was not
long in making an impression, and by three o'clock lathe
afternoon the mass of material was so far removed as to,

A correspondent from Herefordshire says that the po-
tatoes are everywhere round attacked by the same disease
as last year. At one farm the early potatoes dug cannot
be used. In the gardens of this place tops of potatoes
sown of the best seed, on entirely new ground, planted in
February last, are within the last two days rotted away—
a black or purple spot appearing on the leaves of some
plants, but generally on the stems, which usually wither
away and corrupt downwards. The next patch of pota-
toes, sown in May, are likewise infected a little, though
both were perfectly healthy a few days back.
POTATOES FROM BERMUDA.—It seems that the im-
portations of this vegetable from foreign and distant parts
still take place. A vessel, called the William and Mary,
which had arrived in the St. Katherine's Docks from the
place named, had so extensive a quantity on board as to
require notice, having, consigned to different parties, no
less than 517 barrels, 5 half barrels, and 25 boxes of the
description of vegetable mentioned. In addition to the
usual supplies from Bermuda, consisting of arrow-root
and other articles, this vessel had several packages of
lemons and 87 boxes of onions on board, the produce of
the place.
EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE BY A CHILD.—It may be
remembered that, in the Cambrian of the 19th of last
month, was announced the suicide by hanging in a loft
over the stable, of a person named John Thomas, residing
at Cowbridge, On Tuesday last, his son, a child about
seven years of age, was found lifelessly suspended by the
very beam on which his father had terminated his exis-
tence. It is supposed that the child, whose curiosity had
been excited by hearing people describe the manner in
which his father came to his death, bad proceeded to the
loft with the view of making experiments. It appears he
did so with the same fatal result.— S wansea Cambrian.
Two LIVES LOST.—On Monday a distressing accident
happened at Bankside, Leeds, by which two lives were
lost. A number of youths had been bathing during the
forenoon, when a cry was raised that a youth was drown-
ing, and one was seen struggling in the agonies of death
within fifteen or sixteen yards of the bank. Another
youth, named Pry; fifteen years of age, hastened to the
spot where the boy bad been seen to go down, and dived
after him, but when he rose it was seen the other had
grasped some part of his body, and that they were both
drowning. Before a boat could be put off to their assis-
tance, the youths had disappeared, and were not seen
afterwards.
ALLEGED DEATH FROM FLOGGING.-011 Tuesday, a
jury was impannelled at Hounslow-heath, near London,
to inquire into the circumstances attendant upon the death
of Frederick White, aged twenty-six yeari, the private of
the 7th Royal Huzzars, whose death it was alleged had
been caused by the effects of the corporal punishment he
had received under an order of court martial. Ou the
hndv heimr examined. from the nave of the neck down to
the loins presented a deep purple appearance:— Tile
middle of the back, between the shoulders, where the
greatest inflammation had evidently been, a great piece of
skin, nine inches one way, and eight inches the other,
had been cut away. After the inspection of the body,
the inquest was adjourned till this week.
ROMANTIC ESCAPE.—Lieut. Frazer, of the 56th regi-
ment, and Mr. John Swift, of Fort William, Mulligan,
while boating on Lake Owel on Thursday week, were
upset, and saved themselves from immediate death by
clinging to the keel of their boat. They were in a very
exhausted state, when three young ladies, who happened
to be in a boat in the offing, perceived the accident, and
with the utmost promptitude plied their oars, and came in
a most dextrous manner to the rescue. The heroines took
the young gentlemen on board their boat, and, in a short
time, landed them safely at Clomhugh, where they re-
ceived every attention from the owner of that hospitable
dwelling. The ladies are Miss Swift, sister of one of the
sufferers, and the Misses Hamlin, of Belville-lodge.
MANIACS IN SCOTLAND —The Inverness Courier states
that at Lochcarron, Ross-shire, a maniac resides in a
lonely little hovel, who has been chained to a pillar for
many years, and so confined is he by the necessary re-
straint, that his body is actually grown into the form of
his crouching posture. Some years ago, he had a brother
residing with him under similar restraint. One night, the
brother broke loose, and having seized an axe, was about
to sacrifice his mother, when she in terror loosed the other
maniac to protect her. The two enraged madmen flew
upon each other with the fury of tigers, and fought for
several hours ; at length the subject of our notice having
torn and vanquished his brother, rebound him,7and then
quietly returned to his own chains.
At Winchester, on Thursday, Lieutenant Hawkey sur-
rendered to take his trial for the murder of Jas. Alex.
Seton. The deceased, it will be remembered, fell in a
duel, owing to an insult which it was alleged he had put
upon the wife of the prisoner at a public hall. The facts
are fresh in the recollection of the public. At the termi-
nation of the evidence, the jury, almost without con-
sulting together, acquitted the prisoner. The announce-
ment was received with a vehement burst of approbation.
which the officers of the court strove in vain to repress.
Lieut. Hawkey, immediately on his liberation, was sur-
rounded by friends and brother officers, offering him their
hearty congratulations ; and upon his exit from the court
he was loudly cheered by the people.
IMPORTATION OF BUTTERFLIES.—One of the largest
flights of butterflies ever seen in this country, crossed the
channel from France to England, on Sunday week. Such
was the density and extent of the cloud formed by the
living mass, that it completely obscured the sun from the
people on board our continental steamers, on their pas-
sage for many hundred yards, while the insects strewed
the decks in all directions. The flight reached England
about twelve o'clock at noon, and dispersed themselves
inland and along shore, darkening the air as they went.
During the sea passage of the butterflies, the weather was
calm and sunny, with scarce a puff of wind stirring, but
an hour or so after they reached terra firma, it came on
to blow great guns from the S.W. the direction whence
the insects came.—Canterbury Journal.

admit the trains proceeding as usual. No injury appear;
to be occasioned to the railway beyond the temporary
stoppage from this unexpected irruption of the turnpike-
road and its works.
DESPERATE CHARACTERS.—At Marlborough-street
police court, on Tuesday. Julia Higgins and Sarah Crick
were brought before Mr. Maltby, charged with having
wilfully broken five squares of glass in a coffee-shop in
Oxford-street. From the evidence of a witness, named
Dyke, it appeared that the prisoners went about one
o'clock in the morning into No. 5, Oxford-street, a coffee
shop, and after being served with refreshments, they set
to work and broke the windows. They were taken to the
station-house, and while there they pulled a stretcher
pillow to pieces, and made up the stuffing into balls,
which they concealed in their dresses. When the evi-
dence against them was finished, and after the magistrate
had sentenced them to pay the damage, and a fine of 20s.
each, the prisoners, with a volley of execrations, drew
out these missiles, and sent them at the head of the ma-
gistrate. The gaoler and several police-constables imme-
diately seized the prisoners, who swore, screamed, and
fought lustily, and it was with considerable difficulty
they were forced out of court, and secured in the lock-up
cells.
DREADFUL ACCIDENT.—On Wednesday, a fatal acci-
dent occurred on the Midland railway, near the Barnsley-
station, whereby one man, John Salter, aged 29, a cloth
dresser, in the employ of Messrs. Gott, at Bean Ing,
Leeds, was killed on the spot, and Mr. Robert Neale, of
the Bull and Mouth Tap, Leeds, received such severe in-
juries that he died on Friday. John Salter, along with
Mr. Neale and other friends, left Leeds, with the first of
two special trains conveying the members and friends of
the Leeds Mechanics' and Literary Society, on a plea..
sure excursion to Wentworth House, the seat of Earl
Fitzwilliam. Salter had been very anxious to give
as much information as he possibly could to his friends in
the same carriage, (a third class one,) Mr. Neale being
-irnmediattly behind him, with his back to the end of the
carriage, and as the train was approaching the Barnsley-
station, near ten o'clock in the forenoon, the steam being
turned off to slacken the speed caused a sudden jerk of
the carriages one against the other, which threw Mr.
Neale backwards, and in his endeavours to recover him-
self, he caught at Salter, and pulled him over the end,
both falling down between the carriages, which passed
over them.
COACHING IN THE NORTH.--Union-street, Aberdeen,
furnishes, every lawful morning, a sight that cannot be
witnessed in any other town or city in Great Britain, and
which certainly will soon disappear from this quarter
also. We refer to the coaching establishment. There
are some 10 or 12 departures every day, and, of course, as
many arrivals. But the chief bustle and excitement oc-
curs at seven o'clock, a.m., when no fewer than six or
fnn r- horn. a cuichsig-111.11 ha found
stationed near the same spot, and starting within a few
minutes of each other, north, south, and west, with
crowds of passengers and heaps of luggage. On Wed-
nesday last there was more than the usual excitement. It
was the anniversary of the birthday of the Defiance, and,
as usual, the employers and their employe's had made
great preparations for celebrating the event. For 17
years the Defiance has run regularly. Its main line is
from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, a distance of 115 miles, but
it has a grand branch to Glasgow of 70 or 80 miles, and a
continuation to Inverness of 100 more, so that altogether
it accomodates not far short of 300 miles of traffic.—Scotch
paper.
BIRMINGHAM MUSICAL FESTIVAL.—The programme
of our musical festival is at length complete, and we give
an outline of it in another column. It will be seen. that
the committee have taken good advantage of one of the
most valuable functions of the large and perfect band
about to be assembled within the walls of our Town-hall,
namely, the power of giving a more perfect developement
of the magestic grandeur of some of the highest class of
compositions than could be attempted with success by a
less numerical orchestra, (however talented,) and in a
smaller room. The intended performance of Beethoven's
grand Mass in D, is an illustration of this fact. Last year
this noble work was executed on a gigantic scale at the
great meeting at Bonn, and made a most profound im-
pression. It was pronounced by all who heard it to be
the most sublime monument of the genius of its composer.-
The same piece, performed during the present season, by
the Philharmonic Society, at the Hanover-square Room,
though admirably got up in many points, was marred by
the totally inadequate size of the room. It now remains
for the Birmingham festival, with its vast congregation of
executive talent, the advantages of its immense music-
hall, and its powerful and fine-toned organ, at once to
rival, if not eclipse, the celebrated performance at Bonn.
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nmnaneo
part , and the " Messiah" will be opened by Mr. Braham,
feetive efforts. We perceive that the evening performafst will tnatcekhsi
Madame
who
l halals tsGatkilrelisnipoalnareidveaSliagntneoathrriehMimTa
Theatre, as heretofore—an arrangement that, by giving
room to the entire band, will enable the symphonies and
overtures to be heard to the greatest advantage. One of
the moat charming novelties in the evening concerts will
be Mendelsschn's overtme to "The Midsummer Night's
Dream," with the whole of the vocal music. The most ef-
fective arias, duets, and concerted pieces have been al-
lotted to the various vocalists, both foreign and English ;
and from the efficient manner in which diet choir is being
trained, we may expect the highest success in every de-
partment.—Midland Counties Herald.
FIRE ESCAPES.—There can be no question of the

AN EXTRAORDINARY Pr.LESTRIAN PERFORMANCE. great value and importance, more especially in large
—Three young men, Matthew Atkinson, tourists' guide, towns, of possessing the means of saving life in case of
of Keswick, George Mackerith, shepherd, at High Low- fire. Mr. A. Wivel, of Birmingham, has invented an
dore, and James Robinson, of Low Lowdore, left Lowdore apparatus, which has been brought into successful opera-
at one o'clock in the morning to perform what has often tion in London, Birmingham, Gloucester, and other
been attempted but never been performed, viz., to ascend places. Tne following description, 'prom the Hereford
the extreme summit of Scarr Fell, lielvellin, and Skid- Journal, gives a correct idea of the invention :—" 111
daw, and return to the starting point in 24 hours, which order to convey a familiar idea of the escape, we may
two of the party performed in 20 hours. When the rug- state that when passing along the streets, which, being
ged nature of the country to traverse is considered, the upon wheels, it is enabled to do at a very rapid rate, it
wading of the intervening rivers, the distance to travel resembles a tall, slanting chimney, and somewhat reminds
(52 miles,) and the climbing of the three mountains, each one of the approach of a majestic locomotive railway
above 3000 feet in height, and most difficult of ascent, engine to a station. The ready means afforded for three
the performance appears almost impossible.—Carlisle men to run with the machine before them, and to raise
Patriot. the ladders to each floor of the house, surpass every
CURIOUS FIRES FROM LUCIFER MATCHES.—A day attempt of the kind before witnessed. The whole is
or two ago a person who keeps a few pigeons about his arranged upon a spring carriage, at the end of which is a
premises was surprised to see the feathers of one of them lever, with two ropes extending from the sides to the top
considerably burnt, and on examining the cote he found spokes of the principal ladder, whilst two ropes are Ro-
the nest of the injured one completely consumed, a couple pended under to strengthen and keep everything straight,
of roasted eggs only remaining. From the fact of two or Upon this ladder is another on hinges, with iron levers
three matches being found outside of the nest, there was and ropes, by which it is raised in a few seconds to the
no doubt but the pigeon had carried some into the place, highest window or the roof, whilst a third ladder is
and caused them to ignite by treading upon or rustling removed to the first window from the pavement. Affixed
amongst them on going to her eggs. On Tuesday, a highly under the main lader is a canvass-trough, enclosed in net-
respectable gentleman, whilst in the public officer, per- ting, into which persons rescued get and slide down ae
ceived a smoke issuing from the inner pocket of his coat, quietly and leisurely as they choose, having a rope to lal
and feeling something warm he hastily retired into an hold of to regulate their descent. This ladder with its
adjoining room, and taking off his upper garment he found slanting trough, as we have termed it, can be raised of
that some matches, carried for the purpose of lighting depressed at pleasure. When the apparatus is taken!'
cigars, had been ignited by friction. In neither case did few paces from a house, the command over the lever is
any material injury arise, but it shows how necessary it is such that Mr. Adams, the Superintendent of Policer
to use caution.—Birmingham Advertiser. ascended with the leather hose of the fire engine (the Oa,
SHOCKING ATTEMPT AT SUICIDE AND CHILD-MUR- of the hose being attached to his side by a strap acroso
DER.—Eliza Allen, a woman about thirty years of age, the shoulders, which is a very happy thought,) to the te_,P
was charged at Marlborough-street police-court, on Wed- of the ladder, a height of 32 feet, when the engine tr.
nesday, with having just attempted to destroy herself and worked to the best effect. Such a command as tel'
her child, a little girl about five or six years of age. A must, in an actual case of fire, tend to prevent e‘mrs
gentleman residing in Tichborne-street, said he was in siderable damage to property, as the branch PiPv,f
Hyde-park about two o'clock that day, when he saw the can he immediately directed on the main body "
woman at the bar with a child struggling and screaming flame. But exclusive of the advantages of an ascent „
the top
in her arms. The woman was endeavouring to throw the the ladder, as the branch pipe is made a fixture to
child into the water, but the little creature, in its terror, spoke, the Escape can be moved in various directionlVio
resisted the woman so effectually as to prevent her car- that the pipe may be guided to any precise spot. Te,:eet
rying her intentions into effect. The woman, finding she axle of the Escape is suspended a box, containing a s.to
could not accomplish her purpose, fell down in a fit. Mr. of canvass, three yards and a half by seven feet, 11:.,0
Maltby asked Abe wretched woman, who was weeping which, on being held under a window in front or at T.,
bitterly, what she had to say. She replied, "Distress back of a house, persons may be dropped, or can rcrieri
made me do this, I have nothing but troubles before me." from a considerable height—thus every means is air" ..te
Mr. Maltby directed the police to take the child to St, for the public safety from fire, as regard both proPe"
George's Workhouse. and life."