The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-04-11 00:00:00

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FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

MONDAY MORNING

THOSE who have been soldiers in their youth amuse the
rising, and the risen generation too, with the history of
marvellous exploits, performed in the da:, s when BUONA-
PARTE, besides being the bueebear with which hard-
hearted nurses frightened children into peaceful slumbers,
amused himself with making kings wipe his jack-boots,
and emperors wait while he looked to the grooming of a
favourite nag. None of these camp reminiscences, how-
ever, including RONEY'S unparalleled bulletins, can corn-
pete, for a moment, with the marvels of the electric tele-
graph. If we are to credit the flashes of intelligence
which emanate from the Vienna pole of that wonder-
working instrument, all the parties professing to watch
the movements of the Russian troops have been looking
through the wrong eye. Their object was, it seems, in a
great measure, to prevent the Russians from crossing the
Danube, and to oppose this movement every available
point, as it was thought, was seized upon. With a facility
only rivalled in a melo-drama, however, it would seem all
the watchers have winked with such an excess of good
will, that the Russian hordes have crossed that noble river
precisely at the point, or points for the accounts are
circumstantial—where resistance could most easily have
been made. It is true that several versions of the same
story have, from time to time, arrived, each varying from
the other, as mach as all of them, no doubt, do from the
truth; yet through their means is set at work another
telegraph as mysterious in its workings, and scarcely more
reliable in its tidings than that which dates from the
Austrian capital, The indicator on the London 'Change
has been observed to vibrate in so surprisingly sympathetic
a manner as to countenance a belief in the very widely-
spread if not absolutely universally disseminated " odillic
influence" of the mesmerists. Indeed, some men, who
are admitted to possess as much wisdom as ever was
indicated in the shake of Lord BURLEIGH'S wig, do not
scruple to say that certain " peoplish," not difficult to be
met with in the region occupied by the Exchange and the
Mansion-house, in connexion with their kindred in Vienna,
have a better knowledge of how, and where, and when,
as well as by what means the Russians ought to cross
the Danube or any other river or boundary, real or
imaginary, than the AUTOCRAT and all his generals
to boot ; and that the %same persons know better which
party should be beaten than all the commanders
in all the armies. This is, unquestionably, one of the
many mysteries of modern science, and ona the
unravelling of which would be both pleasant and profita-
ble. Talking of mysteries, suggests that many of them at
present occupy a good deal of general attention. One of
these is the position Austria in reality means to occupy in
the Tarko-Russian squabble ; this is generally admitted
to be greatly more difficult of solution than the Asian
mystery, as it will depend so much upon the chapter of
accidents. Another, and one which a carnivorous peo-
ple like the English have much interest in unravelling, is
the mystery as to who proposed to feed the equi of HER
MAJESTY'S cavalry with surreptitious lamb, the explana-
tion resting, it is said, midway between his Grace of
NEWCASTLE and the SECRETARY Of the ADMIRALTY.
In all probability, however, the mystery of mysteries will '
be found in the singular union of patriotism and love of
gain which constitutes so singular a mixture in the com-
bination of JOHN Buz u. From one end of the island to
the other, popular indignation is raised against the EM-
PEROR of RUSSIA. His breaches of faith, his hypocrisy,
his tyranny, form the topics of popular oratory, from the
PREMIER—no, not the PREMIER—yes, from the PRE-
Rum downward all classes denounce and anathematize
him. In the midst of these popular demonstrations,
under the very nose of the ministry, and in defiance of
its orders, an industrious and ingenious ship-builder on
the Thames is for months and months quietly joining in
the patriotic outcry—yet, patiently proceeding with the
construction of two wooden scremsteam-frigates, destined
for the use of the very despot whom it seems an object of
general emulation to thwart and humble. More singu-
lar still, the dilligence of the builder was known to my
lords, and some months since they communicated with
Mr. PITCHER—that is the gentleman's name—upon the
subject, while he placidly held on " the even tenour of his
way," clamping plank upon plank ; but with a modest
distrust in his own pecuniary resources; only equalled,
some think, by his prudence, he also kept drawing instal-
ments of the CZAR'S roubles. On Tuesday the game was
= blown up ; Mr. SCANLAN, of the Custom-house, pounced
upon the unlucky hulls, and confiscated them to HER
MAJESTY'S use. In this adventure we have an admirable
instance of private benefit being made conducive to the
public interest. The exchequer of the enemy is impover-
ished, that of Mr. PITCHER is improved. If the grasping
CZAR could have been persuaded to have all his building
yards on the silver Thames, and all his ships constructed
by the simple-minded Me. PITCHER, Sir CHARLES NA-
PIER might still have been knocking in vain at the Ad-
miralty in search of employment, and DUNDAS have been
snoozing—l beg pardon—crnizing off Lisbon, undisturbed
by the bustle of hostile preparation, and careless of sound-
ings in the Exuine.
An allusion to " the clime of the East, the land of the
sun," immediately conjures up the gathering of our gal-
lant army in the Orient, and naturally starts the inquiry
as to when the campaign Will be opened. That, at pre-
sent, remains another of the mysteries, the practical
solution of which, however, cannot be a distant one. In
the meantime it is gratifying to learn that, so far as ap-
pearances go, it will be conducted in a gentlemanly style.
Her MAJESTY has presented the DUKE of CAMBRIDGE
with a splendid camp service of silver plate, prior to his
starting for the Danubian provinces, symbolical, no doubt,
of the fact, that ease, comfort, and gentility, are to be
combined in this war. Another gratifying evidence of
this satisfactory conjecture is furnished by the circum-
stance that the commanders of both branches of the ser-
vice have, prior to leaving Old England, been treated to a
banquet. The feed at the Reform Club, in which NAPIER
was lionized, and some say quizzed and obfuscated, has
been in some degree countenanced by the Commander-in-
Chief—Lord Viscount HARDINGS giving a farewell
banquet on Thursday evening, at his mansion, in Great
Stanhope-street, to the officers about to proced on active
service to the East. The guests included his Royal
Highness the Duke of CAMBRIDGE, Lord RAGLAN, the
Earl of Lercear, the Earl of CARDIGAN, Lord DE Roe,
Sir CHARLES TREVELYAN, General WETMERALL, General
FREETH, General YoRKE, Brigadier-general AIREY,
Brigadier MILLEN, Brigadier EASTCOIIIIT, General Sir
RICHARD ENGLAND, Colonel STEEL, LientaC,olonel
MAULS, Lieut.-Colonel MUNDA.Y, and the Hon. A.
HARDINGE. On the present occasion, the quiet, orderly,
and decorous proceedings offered a marked contrast to the
saturnalia at the Reform Club. The absence of Radicals
and popularity-hunters ensured the omission of spouting
and froth. Still, as the initiatory ceremonies in both
instances commenced with a good dinner, they afford a
practical recognition of the principle, that fair feeding is
no bad preparation for starting on a campaign, and infer
a vigilant attention to the commissariat—a kind of atten-
tion, by the way, very carelessly acted on by our govern-
ment in numerous instances.
In England, dining, it is well known, is assumed to
have many virtues. Here it has been recognised as the
approved valedictory operation of a soldier or sailor about
to encounter the vicissitudes of war. It is also assumed to
be equally suitable as the approving welcome of a states-
man on his return from an arduous foreign or colonial
mission. If the future laurels of our heroes may be
planted, and their roots lubricated at the social board, as-
suredly the civic coronal may, with equal felicity, be
anointed under similar auspicies, ere it is placed on the
brow of him who has been and is destined to wear it. An
illustration of this was afforded on the same evening as the '
military banquet to which I have referred,—an elegant
dinner, unique in its style of splendour, being given by a
number of noblemen and gentlemen in the London
Tavern, as a welcome-home to the Right Honourable the
Earl of ELGIN and KINCARDINE, K.T., Governor-Gene-
ral of Canada. The chair was occupied by Lord JoHN
RussELL ; but care was taken to avoid any appearance of
political partizanship, every shade of opinion in connexion
with the colony being suitably represented. In all, up-
wards of three hundred noblemen and gentlemen were
mustered on the occasion, several gentlemen from Liver-
pool being included in the number. The oratory, as is
customary on such occasions, was complimentary, spiced
with colonial and family allusions. The Earl of ELGIN spoke
in high, very high terms, of the resources of Canada, an ex-
tensive and fertile country, inhabited by a population
derived from the most active and energetic races of men,
Englishmen, Frenchmen, Irishmen, and Scotchmen • and.
bordered by a youthful and vigorous Republic. COnspi-
enons among the notabilities present was Mr. SAY. CHANAN,
representative of the United States Government at the
British Court, who stated, in replying to the toast of his
declarationut in favour of neutral
greatest approbation in
health, that the recievnA
rights would be received
characterized thaeclaration as worthy
America ; and he
civilizedcountry. Allusion to the import-
an•
ce of British America, and an authoritative declaration
peat of the United States, are topics
of good feeling on the
which cannot fail to be welcome and to meet with a y
the frequent and extensive
sponse in Liverpool, considering
interests already existing and
intercourse,and the reciprocal
, a
rapidly extending between its inhabit;ntswaosn?
tthheoserefoorfethe
American Continent. The opportlini T
fitting one, and it was most gratifying to behold the in-
terests and feelings of the great Bitish-American empo-
rium represented and displayed by Liverpool merchants of
acknowledged character and standing.
The attractions of the banquet-hall,
albeit numerous
and seductive, must not be permitted to engross more of
your readers' attention, else it would be an easy task to
dilate upon the gastronomic scene displayed on the occa-
sion last referred to ; to descant on the odorous sweets
which exhaled from the beautiful exotics that filled the
vestibule ; and to charm the willing ear with even imper-
fect allusion to the galaxy of female beauty, whose radiant
smiles and sparkling eyes imparted a splendour to the
scene as rare as its fascinations were incredible.
Thursday was, indeed, a red-letter day; comprising in its
vesper shades two notable banquets, and a parliamentary
kJrmish on the merits or demerits, which you will, of I,lr.