The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-12-11 00:00:00

flexible materials affected by their weight. On the ridges of
the roofs are uncouth figures of animals, and other decora-
tions in clay, stone, or iron, The town is full of shops con-
taining chiefly articles of clothing, food, and furniture. dis-
played to full advantage. Even coffins arc painted in a v
riety of lively and contrasting colours. The smaller c

mad- I

rupeds, including dogs, intended far food, are, as well as
poultry, exposed alive for sale. Loose garments and trousers
are worn by both sexes, but the men have hats of straw or
cane which cover the head, their hair, except one long lock,
being cut short or shaved, while the women have theirs en- •
tire, and plaited or coiled becomingly into a knot upon the
crown of the bead, as is sometimes seen on the female statues ,
of antiquity. Throughout the place there is an appearance
of quick and active industry, beyond the natural effect of a
clime not quite thirty degrees from the equator.

Sir Robert Peel, Bart, M.P., has kindly intimated his
intention of giving the munificent sum of £lOO towards the
establishment of a reading-room at Tamworth for the work-
ing classes of that neighbourhood, besides becoming an annual
subscriber to a liberal amount.

DANCING.-Swift called dancing " voluntary madneis."
The Chinese seem to think it useless fatigue, for when Com-
modore Anson was at Canton, the officers of the Centurion
had a ball upon some court holiday. While they were
dancing, a Chinese, who surveyed the operations, said softly
to one of the party, " Why don't you let your servants do
this for you ?"

BOURDONNAIS THE CHESS-PLAYER.---M. De la Bour-
donnais is of noble family, being grandson to that goVernor
of the Mauritius, immortalised by St. Pierre in Paul and Vir-
ginia. De la Bourdonnais is now about forty-five years of
age. He was educated in the college of Henri IV., but has
never followed any profession except chess, which be took up
as a passion about twenty-five years back. La Bourdonnais
inherited a small paternal estate ; but I regret to say that
this was devoured by some unfortunate building speculation
at St. Maloe's. His frame is largeand square, the head pre-
senting a tine study for a phrenologist, bearing the organs of
calculation enormously developed. Solid and massive, the
head of La Bourdonnais is a true Napoleon front; carved out
of marble, and placed upon shoulders of granite, like those
of Ajax Telamon. That eye so piercing, looks through and
through the board, so as to convey the feeling that La Bour-
donnais could really see well in the dark, which hypothesis
accounts for his playing so beautifully blindfold. You have
never seen La Bourdonnais at chess? Come, then ; although
late, this is a glorious opportunity. He is about to give the
rook to Boissy d'Anglas, pair de France ; let us hasten to
get a favourable position for looking on. The spectators of
the duel are no mean men :—Generalliaxo, who commanded
the artillery for the son of Thunder at Waterloo ; Mery, the
poet ; Lacretelle, the naturalist ; Calvi, Chamouillet, Ro-
bello, and others of the elite, are in the press; while the vener-
able Chevalier de Barneville, nearly ninety years of age, who
has played with Philidor and with Jean Jacques, serves as
the connecting link of three generations, and reminds one of

Philidor himself come back to with the triumphs of his illus-
trious heir. I would rather play chess a day with Do la
Bourdonnais, than spend a week with Sardanapalus.—From
Fraser's Magazine for December.

Asiturs
Montreal, Pot.
Pearl, new .

U. States, Pot
Pearl
BARK, Quercit.
Oak, ton
German