The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-09-07 00:00:00

What think you of my
j recognising in the person of a cri-
minal in a Paris court of ustice, a magnificent and dignified
count, the favourite of all the ladies in Loudon, exalted by
them to the table of English lords and ministers of state, a
nobleman who used to travel about London with a magnifi-

cent red and gilt morocco book of his pedigree unde-r his
arm, showing how he was descended from the noblest blood
in Europe ? This amiable nobleman has been condemned
by the disciples of the blind goddess for the trifling matter of
fifty-four robberies. Who do you think he turned out to be,
this divinity of the London soirees? Why, the son of a
Roman cook. This virtuous and agreeable man, if I remem-

ber right, ran away from Rome because he had robbed and
thrashed his culinary sire.—Correspondent of the Morning
Post.

MELANCHOLY DEATH.—CAUTION.—A person of the name
of John Slee, a pensioner, residing in Kendal, on Sunday
week imagined that an issue in one of his legs would be be-
neficial to him; and he undertook the task of cutting for one
himself. In making the incision for that purpose he cut into
a vein, which he was unaware of, and, after slightly bandag-
ing it, laid himself down upon the bed, imagining that the
hemorrhage would shortly cease; and in this state his wife
left him to manage her ordinary concerns in a room below.
The blood; however, continued to flow so profusely as in a
short time to drop through the ceiling, and then it was that
his wire awoke to all the terrors of the moment, She ran up
stairs, and a medical gentleman was immediately sent for ;
but, alas! the poor fellow was i❑ the last stage of exhaustion,
and be shortly breathed his last. He was interred on Tues-
day, and was borne and followed to the grave by his fellow-
pensioners, members of the Royal Veteran Society.—Man-
cheater Guardian.

INGENIOUS CALCULATION.—In one of the spinning and
power-loom establishments in Bury, there are 1,140 looms at
work. An intelligent book-keeper employed at these works
has made the following curious calculation, viz.:—The shut-
tle of each loom, in traversing through the shed formed by
the warp, passes over a space of 4 feet 6 inches at least;
some more, but none less than that. Whilst at work, the
shuttle is thrown 100 times per minute, of 27,000 feet per
hour. The looms are in operation twelve hours per day,
consequently each shuttle traverses 324,000 feet, or 61 miles
640 yards in one day. Amongst so many looms, there will
be always some standing, from various causes; allowing,
then, 140 out of the 1,140 to be the average number standing,
and assuming that 1,000 are kept constantly going for twelve
hours each day, these shuttles will travel 61,363 miles and
1,120 yards each day, or through a space almost equal to 21
times the circumference of the earth, in the short period of
twelve hours ! Wigan Gazette.

SINGULAR ADVENTURE OF FOUR BOYS.—In that well-
known and often-visited Middleton Dale, where the towering
rocks stand in such majestic grandeur, capped with forest
trees and mantling ivy, the threatening attitude of which has
often struck with the sublimest admiration and awe the mind
of the idle wanderer, the careless pedestrian, and the tasteful
and inquiring tourist—amidst the crags which surround the
base of one of these stupendous rocks is a narrow creek,
which leads through a long and tugged subterraneous pas-
sage into a cavern called " The Wonder," but which, owing
to its dangerous and rugged path, is not often visited but by
the most enterprising and curious, and the most daring chil-
dren of the High Peakers. Four boys of the latter descrip-
tion, from the village of Eyam, about the age of 11 years,
ambitious to explore the secret cavern and narrow windings
of " The Wonder," a few days ago provided themselves with
a candle, and immediately after dinner proceeded.to carry
their purpose into effect. Various are the reports as to the
lengths of this cavern; some asserting that it extends for
severed, miles under the naialabouring hills. It is not often
explored further than about 300 or 400 yards; to which point
it appears our youthful subterraneous travellers extended
their rout, when, unfortunately for them, a drop of water
from the top of the rock extinguished their light, and left
them in total darkness in the gloomy cavern. Night came
on, and their parents began to be uneasy about their absence,
and not returning home when darkness began to cover the
earth, immediate search was made for them, and every in-
quiry among their playfellows; when it happened that they
found one to whom it appears this scheme of exploring
" The Wonder" had been communicated Provided with
lights and mining clothes, two men immediately started at
midnight to seek for them, when at the extremity of the
cavern they found the little daring creatures fast asleepr
with their clothes torn, scratched, bruised, and bleeding from
the wounds they had received in their attempts to make their
way
that
atiti tin darkneso
s.
wasa ye Frombxaticnkg
iuntihe
syhaieridnon ,
they:v a f
after
account
which
severali appears, t
they knelt
kn e 1
at-
temptst
down
and repealed their prayers, and then tried again, with-
outany greater success. They then prayed againandagain, '
tt
and each time attempted in vain to get back, till exhausted
and wounded by falling over the rugged pieces of rock which
theirthey awfultere
line the windings of the cavern, and terrified
situation, they sank into sleep, in which statye
found.—Sheffield Iris.
MOCK PIANO-FORTES.—Among the ingenuities of modern
trade is the practice of constructing piano-fortes in a showy
and, indeed, elegant style, so as to appear, as far as the ex-
terior is concerned, equal to the best and most costly manu-
factured by respectable makers. An assumed name flou-
rishesinstruments;
price.
halfthoen
theaccustomed
hap-
pens, which might be expected ; the instrument, being made
of imperfect wire and materials and of unseasoned wood,
soon warps, and, of course, renders tuning impracticable,
and thus the whole affair, with its fine French polished rose-
wood veneer and stylish silk drapery, is found to be of no
more value than when its component parts are converted
into a travelling case or a lady's work-box_ A number of
pianos of this description have been sent out to South Ame-
rica, and found, on their arrival, to be of no other service
than, after taking out their works, that of using them as
parlour cupboards ! The proper security against this mis-
chievous disappointment is, to purchase only from those
houses which, having a reputation at stake, will be sure not
to risk it by an imposition on those who confide in them.—
Loudon paper. We have reason to think this trick has not
beer‘Nontined to instruments intended for exportation, but
that, in many of our principal towns, the system has been
carried on of advertising piano-fortes in the way most likely
to attract those who are not "up to the thing!"—" a lady
going abroad, having no further use for her piano, purchased
only a few months ago, selected by an eminent professor,"
&c.,—referees are ready prepared for the suspicious, and so
the gulls are caught. We hope, the hook being a little ex-
posed, the bait will not take so easily as it has done.—Ereter
Flying Post.—[We suspect the trick is often tried in this
town. We have frequently seen very suspicious looking
advertisements on the subject in the advertising columns of
our Liverpool contemporaries.—E.L.S,l