The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-05-12 00:00:00

FASHIONS FOR MAY.

(From the " London and Paris Ladies' Magazine of
Fashion.")
Our more recent communications from Paris inform us
that the materials in fashion are likely to be of great variety
this season ; silks, glacees and shot, mostly of light colours,
muslins, pekins, satins, mousselines de laine, &c. &c. ; with
respect to the make, there appears to exist some degree of
rivalry between tight sleeves and Louffante ones, but it is
probable the latter will triumph ; the present tight •sleeves
differ from those worn two years since—they resemble habit
sleeves, having two seams and elbows, and four small but-
tons on the bottom. The lull sleeves are moderate in size,
and some are made without any trimming on the top, and ra-
ther short, with a band which buttons, and from it issues a
sleeve of clear or embroidered muslin, also terminating with
a narrow band, to which a cuff is sewed, falling on the hand.
Spencers continue in favour : those of velvet, with straight
sleeves, without any fulness, almost tight, no wristband.
Some very pretty spring dresses appeared at Longchamps,
with biais at the bottom of the skirts, and on the sleeves ;
the bodies open en coeur, with biais laid on, which met those
on the sleeves ; some were with bouillons, others with
flounces lisered with another colour ; embroidery in silks is
very fashionable, both for shawls and dresses. Lace is also
much used on dresses, both black and white ; as a general
observation, it may be said, that the folds on dresses may
either cross over each other or not ; that points are suitable
to married ladies, but for young ladies the point is not so
deep, and the body higher, and the fulness on the top of the
sleeves is confined very low on the arm. Coloured tulles
will be fashionable for light evening dresses, with corsage
drape, trimmed with bouillons.
Bonnets are made rather straight, short in front, Ind not
quite so low at the ears as those of the last year ; the shape
is round in front, and very small; the crown quite low and
very little ornamented. The bonnets at Longchamps were
white, with marabouts. glacees silks, poult de soie covered
with bouillons of crape mixed with violets : pink bonnets
with veils, reps covered with crape, which was bouillonne
at the edge, but in folds under and on the crown. Capotes
of gauze or crape, with a ficu of lace or gauze on them ; the
favourite flowers were bunches of hearts-ease, roses, violets,
lilacs, and lilies of the valley.
Ribbons are but little used on bonnets ; the favourite ones
are apricot, puce, green, violet, grey, pink, and chocolate ;
but before this came the Scotch plaids of ribbon, velvet,
plain, Os epingle, checked, plain ground, or:varied by a showy
flower. A satin or watered ribbon of an inch wide, tied in a
rosette with long ends, forms a pretty ornament for the throat.
Fringes are likely to remain in favour this summer • they
will be worn on the ends of silk scarfs, and round cashmire
and Barige shawls, the latter materials again appearing ; very
large silk scarfs will be worn at the commencement of the
season, without being trimmed with fringe; but as soon as
they become common, it is expected lace will be again re-
sorted to. A great many square cachmires are worn just
now, green or blue, with large pines on a plain ground, fas-
tened in front by a brooch for which purpose coral is very
fashionable.

GREAT COUNTER-AGITATION MEETING IN

BELFAST.

(From the Dublin Evening Mail.)

Since the great meeting at Hillsborough, there has been
nothing in Ireland equal in present importance, and in future
promise, to the magnificent assemblage brought together in
the Music-hall of Belfast, on Saturday last, and of which we
this day extract a highly satisfactory report from two of our
northern cotemporaries. The anti-Stanleyite meeting a few
days before in the Theatre of the same town was, we admit,
to a certain extent a respectable assembly ; hut it was no
more in comparison with this grand demonstration, than the
paltry meeting called " the Leinster aggregate" was in com-
parison with it, itself. Lord Gosford was in the chair at the
theatre meeting, and letters were read from Lords Belfast,
Cremorne, Lurgan, Templetown, and Rossmore. In the
Music-hall meeting the Marquis of Donegal, Londonderry,
and Hertford; from Earl O'Neil, and from the Earls of En-
niskillen, Antrim, Clanwilliam, and Hillsborough, and from
Viscount Castlereagh. At the Theatre meeting were present
Deputy-Lieutenants two, at the Music-hall meeting eleven.
At the Theatre meeting were present High Sheriffs none, at
the Music-hall meeting two. At the Theatre meeting, Mem-
bers of Parliament none, at the Music-hall meeting two. At
the Theatre meeting, Justices of the Peace seventeen ; at the
Music-hall meeting, FIFTY. And, what is infinitely better
and more cheering than all is the fact, that the assembly at
the Theatre was made up of two discordant parties, who
were, with difficulty, got to act for a short time together ;
whereas the meeting at the Music-hall was composed of men
who have always acted together hitherto, and whom nothing
now can disunite. The tone of the meeting throughout was
temperate, gentlemanly, and marked by a moral elevation to
which the advocates of perjury and personation have never
ventured to aspire. Nothing could be more happily timed
or better conceived than the speech of the Marquis of Down-
, shire : calm, fair, elm, and convincing, it expressed the
feelings of an honest man, willing to live and let live, to give
and to take, anxious oily that all parties should have the fair
enjoyment of the franchise upon equal terms ; that the vote
of the honest man, no matter of what party, should not be
overborne by that of the perjurer es the personator; and
that the voice of the man of substance be he of what religion
or party he might, should not be drowned in the claim of the
pauper. The meeting will, we are confident, exercise a very
salutary influence in England.

THE TURF IN FRkNCE.—Major F has betted Lord
S- 500 Louis that he will ride on horseback 25 times round
the Bois de Boulogne_ in a day for three consecutive days.

The distance is aboiit 75 leagues or 180 miles. The day for
the match is not yet fixed definitively.

EXTRAORDINARY MENIORY.— There is in Brampton
'Wesleyan Sunday School a little girl, under eight years of
age, who can commit to memory, with a few hours; notice,
any chapter iu the Old and New Testament. Last week she
said to one of the teachers the whole book of Hebrews, and
the 11th chapter of St. John, together containing 350 verses.
She completed the whole within an hour and 20 minutes.—
Derbyshire Courier.

NEW POST OFFICE ATROCITY.—As if the effigy of the
Queen on the " glutinous wash" aEir were not sufficiently
libellous on her Majesty, the authorites have added to the
affront, in practice, by stamping the Royal head with a
sprawling red arabasque. Of course it was quite right to
take proper precautions against frauduletaly using the badge
a second time, but really Mr. Rowland 11111 has no business
to tattoo the Majesty of England into the resemblance of the
Queen of the Cannibal Islands.—Morning Post.
BRIDGE BUILDING.—The Revue d' Architecture et des
Travaux Publics contains an account of a new system of
bridge building, invented by an architect of New York, Mr.
Town—as exhibited in a bridge constructed over James River,
at Richmond, in Virginia. This system, stated to be " the _
most curious of all inventions which the art of carpentry
owes to the Americans, who are in the first rank of its pro-
fessors," entirely differs from all previous practice in bridge
building, is applicable to arches of any span, and peculiarly
useful in its adaptation on railroads. Mr. Town uses only
planks, so thin as to be readily carried on a man's shoulder.
No iron enters into Vie composition ; the planks are united
by rivets of wood. These bridges, it is said, will bear any
amount or rapidity of traffic, are extremely economic in their
construction, and so simple that a village carpenter might
superintend their erection.
AN APPARITION.—Some time ago, an industrious family
went to Derby, from Wirksworth, to procure employment,
which they obtained. The occupant of the house they se-
lected for their residence had just departed this life. Tte
room in which he died was contiguous to the one where the
family eat their meals, and which opened into it. One
night, the mother of the family while sitting at tea remarked,
that she should not feel right unless the room in which tie
dead man had lain was cleaned and whitewashed ; scarcely
had she spoken, when the latch of the door of the room al-
luded to was shaken as if by some supernatural agency. Be-
fore the horror-struck family could muster courage to enable
them to examine into the cause of so unusual an occurrence,
again the latch commenced shaking with still greater vio-
lence, the door slowly opening. This was too much fin• the
nerves of the party ; and, greatly alarmed, rushed forth the
mistress of the house, carrying her child, uttering load cries,
and protesting she would never again enter the haunted dwel-
ling. Her brother, a stout athletic man, seized the poker,
and with all his might closed the door, holding it fast shut
to prevent the egress of any one from within. The neigh-
bours flocked round, when one of them explained that their
departed neighbour had a cat, which could open the latch of
the door, which no doubt had been the cause of their alarm.
A search took place, when poor puss was found, half famished
and concealed, and had no doubt been driven by hunger to
exercise her ingenuity for the purpose of introducing herself
to the new occupants of her master's dwelling.—Derbyshire
Chronicle.

PARLIAMETAILY REPOnTINGt—By a petition which has
been presented to to the House of Commons and ordered to
be printed with the votes, Feb. 24, 1840, it appears that Mr.
Gurney enjoys a most odious monopoly as a short-hand
writer, to the exclusion of others equally deserving, and of
equal talent. lie was appointed short-hand writer to the
House of Commons in 1803, for the purpose of taking down
the evidence taken before election committees, along Nv-itti
three pthers, namely, his father, Mr. Blanchard, and Mr.
Ramsay. The three latter having died, Mr. Gurney became
sole short-hand writer, and exercises his privilege with no
sparing hand ; no other short-hand writer being allowed to

take the speelies of counsel on a private bill conunittee ex-
cept as Mr. Gurney's deputy. He is also short-hand writer
to the House of Lords, where he exercises the same exclu-
sive privileges ; to the Privy Council, where he claims the
right to take minutes of the evidence in patent cases for the
Council-office, at the expense of the parties ; to all the
Government-offices, namely, Treasury, India Board, War-
office, Admiralty, Customs, Excise, Stamps, Woods and Fo-
rests, &c, and he further claims to he short-hand writer to
all ecclesiastical, goverment, and specialcommissions, besides
having a large and lucrative private commission. The peti-
tion states that Mr. Gurney has been paid no less a sum than
£56,528 for the mere short-hand writing of the two Houses
of Parliament within the last four years. His establishment
consists of himself, two sons, and an assistant, so that his
pickings from his monopoly must be something considerable.
We quite agree with the writer of the article, that " the whole
subject of this monopoly demands an immediate and rigid
investigation."
.
CHRISTIAN AND SAEACEN.—The contest in which the
French are at present engaged in Africa, is reproducing some
of the picturesque effects of the chivalric times, and recalling
the deeds done on the fields of Palestine, or of Spain. The
brilliant defence of Mazagran has aroused the emulation of
all the soldiers of France ; and the feat of arms performed at
Misserghine, where 800 men held the field for seven hours
against 6,000 Arabs, and finally remained masters of it, is a
worthy rival to the former war-passage, and has probably,
attracted the notice of most of our readers. But private let-
ters bring particulars from the field of action, filled with de-
tails of the character to which we have alluded. One of
these incidents, carrying us back into the very regions of ro-
mance, we will quote—" The affair," says the letter, " was
warm and brilliant. Lieutenant Lepic was calm and intrepid
in the midst of danger. At a moment when his cavalry was
compelled to give way before numbers, our brave Lieutenant,
surrounded by a host of warriors who sought his life, and
menaced him with their yathagans, retained sufficient presence
of mind to face his foes, driving his sword right through the
body of the nearest, and wounding many. The Arabs looked
on in amazement. One of these thrusts of his took effect on
no mean foe ; and, next day, Lieutenant Lepic received a
letter from the chief of the Angads :—` I shall know thee,
Christian !' said the missive. " Wherever I meet thee, I
will challenge thee by name ;—and, if thou darest measure
thyself singly against me, take my defiance !'—The Christian,
as you may suppose, has not suffered the challenge of the
Mussulman to fall to the ground, and we are all looking for-
ward impatiently for the day of this chivalric combat. The
two armies, in presence of each other, shall be, as of old be-
fore Jerusalem, the judges of the tourney."
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF THE ORCHARD.—Tn the first
place, you must wash the ball and principal branches of the
tree with hot lime, which not only destroys all the insects,
but gives the tree a fine healthy appearance, and, when wash-
ed with the rain, benefits the roots. If you find the soil be-
coming dry previous to the opening of the bloom, give each
full grown tree ten or twelve gallons of water at the roots
just before the bloom expands. If you have a sufficiency of
manure water, apply that ; but otherwise, soft pouch, or rain
water, or, in preference to either, soap suds, if you can-pro-
cure them. By the application of this at the time directed,
you will find that the fruit always sets a great deal better
than if it were omitted, as it very materially contributes to
the production of perfect stamina and formation. Without
watering, in many cases they would be defective, particularly
apple trees; also, in dry
seasons, generally the greater part
which is caused by the deficiency of
of the bloom drops off,
nourishment to strengthen it at the roots.