The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-12-25 00:00:00

Warts.

A SONG FOR CHRISTMAS.

BY JAMES STONEHOUSE.

THE PREPARATION.
Oh : hither bring the holly bush,
To decorate the wall;
With noble bough of rnisietoe,
To hang arnid the hall.
Spread wide the snowy table-cloth
L'pon the shining board,
And bring the best of ev'ry thing
The larder can afford.

Arrange a seat for ev'ry guest ;
Let here the glasses shine :
It was my father's custom,
And so it shall be mine.

Bring here the massy yule log,
And pile the fire well up ;
For we must draw around it,
To drink the wassail cup.
The harmless joke we'll pass about,
With spirits gay and light ;
Our laughter shall be long and loud
Amongst us here to-night ;
The old their gossip shall enjoy,
The young in mirth combine :
These were my father's customs,
And so they shall be mine.

THE FEAST.

Here place the sirloin at the top,
And there the fowl and fish ;
And make the brawn—the bold boar's head—
The middle standing dish.
Bring jugs of ale—bright nutty brown,
With crests white creaming o'er ;
And search within the cellar
For th' oldest in the store.
The glasses all shall sparkle up

With red and amber wine :
These were my father's customs,
And so tiley shall be mine.

Now see the pests assembled,
With each a smiling face ;
They bend their heads in silence,
To ask a holy grace.
Now hark how plates are rattling !
The guests enjoy the cheer;
And see the viands, great and small,
All swiftly disappear.
Be gay, my friends ! be merry now—
To feast let none decline :
These were my father's customs,
And so they shall be mine.

Now clear away the dishes all,
But let the wine remain ;
Bring oranges from Portingale,
And grapes from sunny Spain.
Place here the cate3 and here the nuts,
And there the rich preserve ;
Good housewife, set your dainties forth—
Keep nothing in reserve.
Bring out the bowl, the jolly bowl,
And brim it up with wise :
It was my father's custom,
And so it shall be mine.

Through England's peaceful, happy homes,
Let loyalty be seen ;
Upstanding ail with one accord
Drink " Here's to Church and Queen !"
Hip, hip, huzzah! hip, hip, huzzah !
Now swell the chorus round,
Until the very walls shall ring
And echo with the sound.
Come, send about the bowl, boys !
'Tis Bacchus' goodly shrine :
It was my father's custom,
And so it shall be mine.

Now clear away the tables,
And set aside each chair ;
And let the merry music
For jocund dance prepare.
4411'. We'll play the games of Christmas time,
" Blind man" and " hunt the shoe ;"
And kiss the lasses round about
The mossy misletoe.
Christmas joys come once a-year—
To honour them combine :
It was my father's custom,
And so it shall be mine.

ONE QUARTER MORE.

TO BE StNG WITH GREAT APPLAUSE AT AN APPROAGEI

ING CABINET ENTERTAINMENT.

AIR—" One Bottle More."
Assist me, ye lads, who our festival grace,
To sing of the shifts that have kept us in place;
Where public delusion first open'd the door,
And luck more than merit gives one quarter more.
One quarter more, one quarter more,
livcied—l's own luck gives us one quarter more.
The Tories full often look knowing, and say,
" All's up with them now ; they can't live out the day."
But although not so firm on our pin; as before,
We always revive to have one quarter more.
One quarter more, one quarter more,
We always revive to have one quarter more.
When William dismiss'd us, in manner so gruff,
I fairly confess things were gloomy enough ;
But our Irish alliance laid Peel on the floor,
And the whack from Shilelah brought six quarters more.
Six quarters more. six quarters more.
The whack from Shilelah brought six quarters more.

Again it was thought we must soon cut our stick,
When our worthy old master just died in the nick.
The gracious Victoria the sceptre then bore,
And her name of itself was worth five quarters more.
Five quarters more, five quarters more,
The Queen's name alone was worth five quarters more.
But finding the public disgust now complete,
We wisely determined to sham a retreat ;
We retired from the stage, but the Queen cried encore,
And we could not resist her for one quarter more.
One quarter more, one quarter more,
We could not resist her for one quarter more.

Since then we've met danger in many a shape,
But fortune still farnish'd some means of escape;
The marriage came timely our hopes to restore,
And the birth of a boy may give some quarters more.
Some quarters more, some quarters more,
The birth of a boy will give some quarters more.

Out of proper respect to so princely a youth,
They can scarce turn us out till he cuts his first tooth ;
We may even hold on till he's breech'd about four—
" Which will give us," quoth Baring, " sixteen quarters
more!'

Silteen quarters more, sixteen quarters more,
give us, quoth Baring, sixteen
Which will quarters more.
If a girl shall come first, they must still let us stay,
Till a boy he produced on some more distant day;
Let us hope there are plenty of princes in store,
And that each royal infant gives one quarter more.
One quarter more, one quarter more,
That each royal infant gives one quarter more.
Thus deaths, births, and marriages help us along,
Which brings me at last to the end of my song.
May our Cabinet live till it reaches three-score,
And its last dying accents be—" one quarter more."
One quarter more, one quarter more,
Its last dying words shall be " One quarter more."
(Blackwood's Magazine for December.

LAMENTABLE CATASTROPHE AT THE MAN-
CHESTER ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

On Tuesday m ing, one of the keepers at these gardens,
named William dy, whose employment is to look after
it
these carnivorous imals, as well as clean out their dens
and lairs, was engaged in the cleaning of the den appro-
priated to the leopard and leopardess.
In the discharge of the same duties on the previous day,
he had by his carelessness, or his daring, nearly been caught
in the toils of the leopardess; but, by great good fortune,
he escaped injury. On the occasion now specially referred
to, he was armed, or rather prepared, with a couple of
knives and two pieces of iron ; thus favouring the presump-
tion, that he coveted a contest rather than the avoidance of
one ; and the folly shown in his conduct, as the sequel will
show, seems to corroborate the former opinion.
As soon as Hardy had cleaned what is called the spare
den or lair, instead of retiring from it and closing the out.
ward grated iron doors, and then withdrawing the sliding
partition, betwixt the den in which the leopard and leopard-
ess were, and that which he had just cleared, he, with a folly
unparalleled, forced back the sliding partition whiist in the
adjoining den, and the instant that sufficient room was thus
made for the ingress of the leopardess into that in which the
keeper was, she flew at Harvey and seized him by the scalp,
the greatest part of which she tore away.
It would seem that he had made a desperate struggle ; but,
against such odds, certain death must have been the conse-
quence, had not another of the proprietors' servants, who at-
tends the refectory, had occasion to pass the building when
the contest was at his height. Further assistance was then
instantly obtained, and one man, with more courage than the
rest, boldly entered, accompanied with a bull terrier, which,
flying at the leopardess, caused the noble animal to let go her
hold of the keeper. The attack was followed by a dreadful
wound inflicted in the side of the animal with a pikel.
In a short period, however, a sufficient force was collected
for any emergency, but by a sort of council of war held among
the various persons employed in the gardens, it was unani-
mously decided that the animal should be forthwith despatched
by a musket or rifle, and the shot taking effect in the side,
she almost instantly expired. The lacerated keeper was taken
to the Infirmary, where he now lies, with little hope of reco-
very.
Another of the. servants perceiving the terrier, s- could
:I' not be avoided, and wishing to preserve its life, took up a
' piece of iron about three quarters of an inch in diameter,
boldly went into the building, and bent the iron with a blow
be gave the animal on its nose. This blow was so effectual,
that the leopardess instantly loosed the terrier from its
grasp.
-----

AnvicE.—ln entering a printing-office in cold weather,
.15- :`; ?Always walk in boldly, and *hut the door qftar you.
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