The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-12-03 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STANDARD

SIR,—I noticed with great satisfaction, in your paper of
Friday, your allusio❑ to the lamented death of Mr. Clough,
late organist of St. Nicholas' Church ; and which, I trust,
you %yid further notice to-morrow, by stating the favourable
mention that was recorded of him by the Rev. Mr. M'Gill,
(I believe,) in his sermon yesterday morning. Also the further
respect paid to his memory by having the organ hung with
black, and the scarlet draperies of the choir removed and re-
placed with black ; the organ also closed for the day, and the
musical portion of the services entirely vocal ; a part of the
90th psalm was also very appropriately sung in the morning.
—I have taken the liberty to state the ab:;:e thinking it
possible that it might not be wholly known to you ; and am,
sir, one of your constant readers, &c., J. L.
Monday Morning, Nov. 29, 1841.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STAVDARD,

SlR,—Can any of your readers inform ❑w whether Mr.
John Finch, agent to the " Low Moor Iron Works," near
Leeds, is the same Mr. John Pinch, the Socialist, of Liver-
pool?—l beg to remain, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
AN INQUIRER.

Dec. 2, 1841

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SIR,-1 trust you will allow me to address you, through
the paper you have the honour to be editor of, on a subject
which you will give me some credit for being sincere in—the
corporation schools. Now, Sir, I must inform you that I
am one of the old freemen, although a young man ; I was
born free, and, as such, I was brought up to expect that 1
had a right to vote for who 1 pleased, and with what littlu
education my parents could afford to give me I never hesi-
tated about tendering my vote yet ; how I may be disposed
next November I cannot now say. lam now the father of
three children; two of them are of an age to go to school,
but I Irwe delayed placing them in any school for the last
twelve months in the hope of putting them, with the Bible,
into the corporation schools, Where I think I have a greater
claim (as a burgess) for my children to be educat d. I run
really tired, Sir, of telling my little boy and girl that they
cannot go yet, as the Bible is not there. And more than
once I have been reminded by them that I said it 'naiad be
there in December at the latest. When I read the council
proceedings, yesterday, 1 was again reminded of my children,
and how they would be disappointed. The gentlemen of the
education committee must have been asleep, or intoxicated
with success, never having prepared their resolutions about
the system we are to have instead of this Papist system ; and
I can assure you, Sir, if au; of the officers of our club had
been so neglectful, we should before now have had a meeting,
about "calling upon them to resign."
I have left my family sick many nights to assist in my hum-
ble way to bring about a change in our corporation, and now
that we have a conservative mayor and a conservative majo-
rity in the council, we have not the Bible and Bible teachers
in the schools ; indeed, sir, I did not think of it before, but
we have now in Liverpool a conservative corporation teach-
ing popery !! in their schools for the last month.
1 am, sir, yours, truly,
AN OPERATIVE BURGESS.

Toateth-park

E" An Operative Burgess ", though a humble man, writts
sensibly, and some of our professing protestant councillors
would do well to give good heed to his advice.—E. L. S•J

ANNIVERSARY DINNER OF TILE TRADESNIEN'S AS6".
T.\NTS.—The first anniversary dinner of the members and
friends of the Association of Assistant Tradesmen took
place yesterdry evening, at the Brunswick Hotel, Hanover-
street, and was numerously and most respectably attended.
Mr. Flower ably presided on the occasion. Mr. Scholfield
vice-president. The dinner was sumptuous, and in every re.
spect did great credit to the good taste and management of the
worthy host, Mr. Wightman. Amongst the gentlemen present
we observed Mr. Belshaw, Mr. Hodgson, and others—friends
of the Association,—Messrs. Diill, Agard, Jones, Hillyard,
Gibson, lanson, Clarkson, Connor, Hodgson, Pytield, Wil-
liams, Wright, Clarkson, and others—members. On flit
cloth being drawn the usual loyal toasts were given with
"all the honours," followed by the National Anthem, glees,
tke. The toasts followed of " The Association of Assistant
Tradesmen," "Health and prosperity to the tradesmen of
Liverpool who have generously shown the example of clos-
ing their shops at seven o'clock," The
great and good
of the town of Liverpool who have advocated the CtlllSe
sod strengthened the hopes of the assistants in the ob-
ject they have in view. To the last toast Mr. Hodg-
son, secretary of the Mechanics Institution, (who had
greatly exerted himself in behalf of the Association,,) most
ably and eloquently replied, giving some excellent advice to
his young hearers to employ the time already partially granted
to some of them, and that which would yet be granted, to
moral and physical- improvement, which would be the
means of obtainins. all that was required for the whole
body, and of reconciling to their cause all who might enter-
tain an opinion that they would abuse it. He proposed " the
health of the Committee of the association." He was loudly.
applauded. This was ably responded to by Mr. Willmer,.
who after a suitable eulogium on the chairman, for his exer.
tions in behalf of the association, proposed his health, which
was received with three times three. The Chairman re-
sponded in an able and feeling manner, impressing upon the-
members the necessity of every possible exertion .on their
parts, not only in their meetings, but in the circle of these
private acquaintances. He alluded, in a very happy' and
facetious manner, to the Publicity he had himself given
to the cause, by his endorsements of envelopes, bank.
noses, &c. &c. with short sentences or mottoes in further-
ance of the objects of the society. Mr. Gibson proposed
the health of Mr. .Hodgson, who again spoke in felicitous
terms, pointing out what he conceived would conduce to
the benefit of those who. heard him, and secure the object
in view for the whole of - the young assistants. The
Chairman and several other gentlemen afterwards addressed
the meeting on several topics in which they were interested ;
but we regret that we have not room for *detail. Sufficz it
to say, that between the addresses the company was higTily
entertained by the glee singers, and that the evening wilt;
past amidst a flow of convivial feeling, and the utmost'
good-will, from the employed to the ewpioyer, which gives
promise Of the keiviest rcettlte,

tottro

ON THE SABBATH

Again, again we hail this day our sweet subbatic rest,
Which, when our etti thly world was formed, the God of
Israel blest :
He bade us on this sacred day from worl.ily- toil to cease,
And seek for Him, the Lord alone, in prayer, in joy and peace.
My Father, to thy holy courts I ever will repair,
And with thy faithful gladly join in adoration there;
In supplicating meekness then I'll bend before thv throne,
And to a God of mercy all my guilty acts wake known.
Assist me, 0 ! my Father, that, by thy heavenly grace,
My faith, my love, my hope, my all, on Jesus 1 may place ;
To look to Him, the mighty one, the holy, and the just,
And, since for me he gave his blood, in Him alone to trust.
Father, I pray that carnal thoughts may not possess my heart,
And, whilst 1 worship at thy shrine, 0! let them all depart;
Thy holy spirit on me pour from realms of peace above,
And raise my thoughts to Thee alone, Lord of unbounded love.
Roscommon-street. E. M.

THE CELESTIAL EMPEROR,

The world rests on a tortoise,
And a teapot rests on that,
And on the teapot sitteth
Earth's emperor, fierce and fat.
He's brother to teu comets,
And a dozen suns and moons;
The ocean is his slop-basin,
And his subjects are all spoons.
Forty cups of tea he taketh
Every minute of the day,
And he's owner of a milk-walk
Called by men the milky way.
But for all his mighty emperorship,
I wouldn't be in his shoes,
For there's steam enough about him
To stew the chops he issues.
If stronger he his tea makes,
'Twill blow out half his teeth ;
For hot's the water under him,
And there's gunpowder beneath.
Yet danger can't convince him,
Though it grow more strong and hot ;
Of "green" he's proved a sample ;
He's " a spoonful for the pot."
" Tu doses" means " thou tea chest,"
But to teach old China's tribe.
We must read it thus—" Two doses."
Such as Nelson would prescribe.

As sure as that's a teapot,
He'll go upward with a whiz,
And be, though more celestial,
Less majestic than he is.

As sure as that same crockery
Community are crackt,
Their spouts, and lids, and handles,
Will go smash, and that's a fact.
Though t be first and last of it,
Iu them there'll be no trust,
Till " with your leaf, or by your leaf,"
Death turns them to " tine dust."
How puzzled be their crania
Beneath our canon's roar !
They never tasted any thing
But " cannister" before.
They'll wonder what it's all about,
When shot yet more abounds ;
They look into their tea cups,
And can't understand the grounds.
While they fancy that there's nothing
With their own tea on a par,
I wonder what they think of
The British t-a-r.
This fact, celestial emperor,
From experience we may know,
If amongst the quick we leave you,
You will leave us—to the aloe.

LITERARY NOTICES,

The Mind, and other Poems. By Charles Swain. Illus-
trated by various Artists and Engravers. Tilt & Bogue,

London.
We have absolutely devoured this poem. We took it up
with the fullest expectation of being gratified, and we have
not been disappointed. Mr. Swain has been long known to
the reading public as an elegant song-writer and accomplished
poet ; but it will be on this his last work he will rest his lite-
We have no hesitation in pronouncing it to be the
cleverest poem that has issued from the press for years. It
occupies four cantos or parts. The first, after a beautiful
invocation, treats upon the mind's divine and imperishable
nature, its creative faculties, its dominion over all animate
and inanimate objects. The bard then touches upon elo-
quence—its power over the passions—and alludes to Cicero
and Demosthenes, Chatham and Sheridan. Painting is next
introduced. The emotions of the mind produced by the
beautiful, sublime or melancholy character of scenery are
described. The names of those great masters of their art,
Angelo, Raphael, and Correggio, are brought forward as
The influence of the productions of art upon the
mind, is then traced. We next find an invocation to Shak-
speare, Milton, Byrcrn, Mrs. Hemans, and Miss Landon.
An episode showing the progress of dissipation concludes
this portion of the work. A high devotional feeling is sus-
tained throughout, and Mr. Swain appears to avail himself
of every opportunity of gracefully, and without any ostenta-
tion of piety, drawing the mind of the reader to the excel-
lencies of religion. As an example, take the following,

rary fame

instances

which occurs in praise of poetry:—
Love poetry—for she is Heaven's growth,
Wisdom's sublimer spirit, made alone
For man and man for her : Nature for both.
Affection makes her glowing heart its throne ;
Beauty meets music on her lips ; her tone
Gives life to thought when all save thought 's expired.
Love poetry—and make her charms thine own :
She loves thee ; —never spirit more desired
To bless and grace mankind, than she, the God-inspired!
The next verse is equally beautiful. Now mark the follow.
ing on the same theme :

Devotion reigns wherever she has trod,
For she is virtue's and religion's friend ;
Unto the footstool of a listening God
Upon her wings the Sabbath hymns ascend;
Her steps to all sublimer regions tend,
Man's dark and still repining doubts to quell.
She 'gainst oppression's front her bow did bend :
She struck for freedom in the shaft of Tell,
And Brutus beard her voice when the last Tarquin fell.
The next verse to this soars still higher, and is finely and
powerfully conceived. The love of country is charmingly
expressed in the thirteenth stanza :
Oh, my own land—my beautiful free land !
Soil of the gifted—mother of the brave !
I love the very shells that gem thy strand ;
I gaze with pride upon thy bounding wave.
The ensuing stanzas are equally patriotic. The poet loves
art. See what he says—having previously done homage to
the genius of Michael Angelo :
Who may behold the works of Raphael's hand,
And feel no mountings of the soul within ;
Find not his sphere of intellect expand,
And the creations of the pencil win
His thoughts towards heaven—to which they arc akin !
Ennobling his whole being—touching chords
Of holiest sweetness—purifying sin—
Raising a deathless moral that records
The majesty of truth in tints surpassing words
In the nineteenth verse we find a spirited flow of language,
imparting solid truth :
What though pale penury may haunt the spot
That genius hallows with its earliest flame,
Correggio lives while princes are forgot—
The canvas speaks when kingdoms lose their name.
Where lie the great, whose gold was all their fame ?
May costly cenotaph—can sculptured tomb
Save titled ashes from oblivion's claim ?
Yet there be names that years may not consume,
Nor misery corrode, nor death despoil their bloom.
The twenty-eighth stanza brings Shakspeare, and the twenty-
ninth Milton, before us, in a charming and pure strain of
poetry. The thirty-third is devoted to Byron, the thirty-
sixth to Mrs. Hemans, the thirty-ninth, fortieth, and fol-
lowing verse to Miss Landon : the fortieth we must quote,
for its pathos, truth, and beauty :
Thou, who received'st her rose-encircled head,
Our minstrel in the bloom of her young fame,
Give back our lost and loved—restore our dead !
Return once more her first and dearest name !
We claim her ashes—'tis a nation's claim.
Her—in her wealth of mind—to thee we gave ;
Yet—plead we for the dust of that dear frame!
Oh ! bear our world-lamented o'er the wave!
Let England hold at last—'tis all she asks—her grave !
Is not this exquisite?

The episode that concludes this portion of the poem is
admirably written : it is studded with poetic gems, flung
over it here and there, bursting upon us with a sparkle and
brilliance that quite take us by surprise.
Come we now to part second. Herein we find the subject
continued—the source of the sublimity and beauty of ex-
ternal nature. The poet then shows that without the gift of
mind it were impossible that we should have had any concep-
tion of grandeur, sublimity, delicacy, or beauty. Next we
find the poetry of sculpture, its antiquity and splendour.
The powers of Angelo are again alluded to—the figure of
Moses on the tomb of Julius ll.—the Apollo Belvidere, and
Canova's works are touched upon. Next we have music and
its influence on the mind. The episode is an instance of
heroic fortitude in woman ;—the subject " The Maid of Sa-
ragosa., The stars and Newton conclude this part. The
second, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas, are exquisite; they
are a string of pure pearls. Here is the second :
There's beauty in the soft warm summer morn,
When leaves are sparkling with the early dew,
When birds awake and buds and flowers are born,
And the rich sun appears, half trembling through
The crimson haze and dim luxurious blu
Of the far eastern heavens There's beauty dee
From mountain tops to catch the distant view 13
Of
quiet glen—wood path—wild craggy steep,
Or cool sequestered coast whe:e lonely waters sleep.
The next stanzas are even sweeter than these. Stanzas
from twenty to the close are replete with the noblest philoso-
phy and devotional sentiment ; take the thirtieth :
Come view the golden fabric of the spheres,
Read the majestic volume of the sky,
Mark the grand dial of eternal
years,
The rounds of ages ever wheeling by'.—
The watch of worlds ! the index set on high
To teach the proud how little is theiri)ride .
Let them regard the planets—and forth try
To sum the time—myriads of ages wide—
Their cycle may be made—then number all who've died.
We have not done with this delightful work yet ; shall
find a place for another review, In the meantime .
in
we must
i
not forget to notice the very beautiful illustrations
vig-
nette that adorn the pages, from drawings by Stothari
Rank, Bury, Bosall, Liversege, Stevenson, and others, all
engraved in the best manner. The annuals will this year
meet with a powerful opponent in Mr. Swain's poem ; it is
worth, in our estimation, half a dozen of the very best of
them. The getting up is in their own style, while the mate-
rial is far superior.