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

THE SLEEPY MERCURY.

The Mercury saw, with sorrow deep,
His readers nearly all asleep ;
So potent was the weekly dose
Of his dull, soporific prose.
Quoth he, " Some means we quick must take
To keep our drowsy friends awake :
Cork collars we would fain retrim,
'Were 't not, just yet, too cold to swim ;
Puns, riddles, rhymes, all void of reason,
At Christmas only are in season ;
In politics our powers, too, fail—
' Dan' s threadbare worn, and all his ' tail ;'
And ministers so long we've slaver'd,
The folks no more will be palaver'd ;
For poor as well as rich man feels
They are but keep-place imbeciles.
With what can we our readers humour ?
Of foreign war there 's scarce a rumour :
No frightful storms have we to tell of;
No dreadful fires our sheet to sell off;
And when to neighbour's print we take,
We little find to quote or ' fake.'
Alas ! though now our muse is soaring,
Our readers—sad mishap !—are snoring !!
"We have it ! Without rhyme or stricture,
We 'll rouse them with—a PENNY PICTURE!
Such as will show, to great and small,
That we 're both loy'l and liberal.
Bright thought ! Our enemies shall feel
The powerful influence of our steel ;'
And 't will be very hard indeed,
If we make not the natives bleed.
Prince Albert and our youthful Queen
In loving converse shall be seen.
True, portraits have been given gratis,
Till every town has cried out, ' Satis
But, though the subject 's rather trite,
We care not—if the fishes bite.
We 'll of a handsome present boast,
Yet fix a ` penny' as the cost ;
And twenty thousand sold, we say,
Will, with our papers, amply pay.
We 'll puff it rarely : placard, bill,
Shall every wall and window fill.
The thing will after all be cheap,
And rouse our readers from their sleep."
'l' was fixed : with head and graver busy,
The artist worked till he was dizzy ;
The softened steel his power confessed,
And from it quickly he impressed
A print, to every eye a feast— •
A PENNY FARTHING'S worth at least !
Pleased with the work, the Mercury, then
Resumed his pond'rous " leaden pen ; '
And with strong ink, of poppy juice,
Bestowed upon it puffs profuse.
" Such picture of the moon' called ' honey,'
Is worth ' a crown,' or much more money ;
But though we 're weeks beyond the fair,
Our friends slia'nt yet our bounty share;'
They each must sixpence pay—advance,
Em of a picture they 've a chance :
This will a long impression sell,
And much our circulation swell.
(The man who had grindstones and cheese,
Got rid of both with sim'lar ease :
None wanted stones—all wanted t' other ;
He very quickly stopped their bother—
He not sell one without the other.)
But we must not come out too soon;
We 'll play our bait till 19th June.
We 'll show it them—we hate a quibble—
But not till then allow a nibble :
We must the gudgeons keep in play
Until that glorious harvest-day."
Thus Merc'ry wrote, and then again,
Well pleased, threw down his " leaden pen ;"
And, taking his nocturnal cap,
He joined his readers in a nap.

QUIZ.

SKETCHES OF LIVERPOOL AND ITS VICINITY.

No. V.

(Written for the Liverpool Standard)
EASTRAM.

I had passed the greater part of the forenoon in showing s,
friend from the country several of what are termed the
" lions" of the town, particularly the public buildings ; and
having taken leave of him as he threw himself into an
omnibus to proceed on his destination southward, by rail-
way, I felt wearied, for a time at least, of the din and bustle
around me, 1 could not help reverting to the lines of my
poetical acqnaintance, on a similar occasion, as expressive of
my own feelings :
" The village church that tops the wooded hill,
Far from the town delights me more than these ;
Where swells the music of the mountain rill,
The song of birds, the hum of wheeling bees ;
Where lifted by the summer gales that fill
The air with balm, are heard the rustling trees ;
And streams, and hills, and woods, responsive raise
One general note of happiness and praise."

The day was not very bright, yet the opposite shore, the
nearest and most accessible affording rural scenery, was
rather inviting, and I took my seat on board of an Eastham
packet, in which there was a considerable number of pas-
sengers of all classes, most of them on their way to Chester,
and various parts of !Wales. The passage up was pleasing
and diversified. We passed the Rock Ferry and the quaran-
tine hulks, and finally the entrance to Brombro' pool, a ro-
mantic valley or dell, in which the spring-tides rise a consi-
derable way into the interior, westwurd, in the bed of a
brook. Above this the shore near Eastham becomes more
and more interesting. The margin is composed of free-
stone rock, shelving and precipitous, but not very high. On
the top are small oak and other trees, which twine their fan-
tastic round the banks and stone below. Behind are fields,
and extensive lawns, with clamps of trees, sloping gently to-
wards the water, and backed in the distance by woods, deep-
ening in thickness and verdure, and rising in height towards
the Ferry-house, at the southern extremity of this rocky
shore. The stranger, in place of finding the river contract
as he sails up, is agreeably surprised to find it widen, and on
either side, as well as on the lee shore on the south, the
shores are thickly wooded.

EASTHAM FERRY HOUSE.

This is one of the oldest ferries on the Cheshire coast, and

from its peculiar position, and its surrounding scenery, is
deservedly popular. It is about six miles, by water, from
Liverpool, and ten, by land, from Chester ; so that passen-
gers who go by it enjoy a considerable sail, as well as a ride.
The premises are extensive, having been enlarged from year
to year to meet the increasing intercourse with Chester and
Wales by coaches, in which department a:considerable esta-
blishment is kept up. The whole arc whitewashed and look
well in contrast with the woods. The grounds or gardens
behind are well laid out, and are the favourite resort of par-
ties and families. There are numerous arbours and rustic
seats, covered with ivy and other shrubs, and flitted up for
the reception of visitors in quest of invigorating air and ex-
hilirating refreshment. The dense woods are close behind,
and impart a pleaing perception of coolness, shelter, and re-
tirement. The view of the river, in front, is varied and ex-
tensive, and is bounded by the distant hills of Lancashire
and Cheshire. Passing the north side of the premises, where
a number of coaches are generally standing, the pedestrian
may enjoy a delightful walk through the wood (keeping to
the right,) and thence westward across an extensive lawn, in
front of the seat of - Mainwaring, Esq., to the high road
to Liverpool, near the hamlet of Brombro'.
I preferred, on this occasion, the more circuitous route by
Eastham village, about three-quarters of a mile further on
the Chester road. The walk up the hill is highly pleasing,
and, after the arrival of a steamer, be tomes in fine weather,
a general promenade. It is for some distance overshadowed
by trees, with cottages andother dwellings on the left. The
direction is diagonal from the river, so that the distance be-
tween it and the traveller continues to increase. On emerging
from the wood, near the top of the hill, an extensive view is
obtained. The ground between the road and the river is un-
dulated, is chiefly in meadow, and is enriched by a variety of
trees and enclosures. Here, near the road, stands a beau-
tiful thatched cottage, with a circular veranda, the pillars of
which are covered with ivy. The whole is surronnded by
shrubs and flowers. This is a delightful rural retreat. A
little further on, while looking over a gate, my attention was
caught by a rustling under a thick bush in the field. Under
it, and within a yard of where I stood, I saw a large partridge,
He regarded me with apparently but slight alarm, but soon
flew off on whirring wing. The road throughout to Eastham
village is cheerful, and there are some trees of large growth
on either side. •