The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-11-13 00:00:00

" THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN.'

Painted by _Edward prentis, engraved by Scott, and pub-
lished by Ackermann and Co., London, and
Linnecar, 5, Ranelagh-street, Liverpool.

Perhaps there never was a painting more expressive of
domestic affliction and trial than this, or one that came
more home to the heart. It tells its own tale : at a glance
we discover a history. In a lofty chamber we find a family
group assembled, every face bearing a different expression,
yet all indicative of the subject. Upon one knee, on the
floor, with his head deeply buried in his hands. we find the

figure of a young man, apparently overwhelmed with grief
and remorse, the stick beside him indicating that he has
walked to that home which perhaps he left in less humble
manner. In an arm-chair is seated the attenuated form of
his mother, stretching forth her arms as if anxious to em-
brace him. Near her stands the father, averting his face,
which bears strong marks of contempt and anger. From
his dress and appearance we may suppose him to be a mem-
ber of the sacred profession. With one arm fondly entwined
round his, in an attitude full, of the most intense interest,
we perceive the sister entreating for her brother'

pardon

Her sweet countenance is full of maidenly beauty and rare
expression : modesty, gentleness, and love are all legible is
the lineaments of her face ; in them are blended the pliancy
of the mother and the firmness of the father. She appears

to urge her suit with the most pressing earnestness, yet in a
respectful mode, highly becoming in a daughter pleading for
a much-loved, but misled brother. This charming creature
cannot fail to be admired by all who look upon her—by all
who have hearts to feel, and minds to appreciate that which
is beautiful and good. She is a gem, such as is found to
adorn many an English home. At the door of the apart-
ment, with her hand upon the lock, we find the old nurse,
gazing on the group with the most intense anxiety. Her
favourite's pardon would soon be granted if left to her dis-
cretion. Her look of aged affection is delightfully expressed.
The artist has charmingly introduced the minutice of the
picture. The piano is open, as if quitted by the dear girl
at the moment of her brother's appearance, her fingers hav-
ing just quitted the keys, and her voice having but just
stopped breathing the simple ballad of " Home, sweet
home," which appears by the open book to have been the
object of her attention. This is a pleasant thougbt of the
artist, as it speaks at once as to the singer's simple habits
and her unpretending accomplishments. The sun, darting
his rays through the window, lights up the room, giving
warmth to the picture. On the wall, suspended between two
large pictures, is an empty frame, in which doubtless hung
the prodigal's portrait.
This picture is an admirable composition, rich in thought
and true to nature, while the execution of the engraving is
exquisite. The " Prodigal Son" ought to be put into every
portfolio, and hung in every house in the kingdom. It
really " points a moral," and would " adorn a tale."

The following lines, from the pen of Mr. James Stone-
house, convey an idea of the fervency of the sister's en-

. THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN.
TO ILLUSTRATE THE PICTURE, BY EDWARD PRENTIS,

NOW IN THE POSSESSION OF ROBERT NAPIER, ESQ.,

GLASGOW

Dear Father, do not turn away—
In deep.distress my brother kneels;
Though he hath sinned, within his breast
Repentance now he truly feels.
Oh ! father, He who died for all—
Whose blood was shed that we might live—
Exclaimed amidst his cruel foes,
" They know not what they do : forgive."
He hides his face, with conscious shame
He cannot meet your angry eye—
Oh ! would you seek to know his thoughts,
His tears, his bitter tears reply.
He may have mixed in folly's train,
And mingled with the light and wild,
And revelled in a thoughtless throng ;
But still, oh ! still, he is your child.
Father, recal that happy time
When, striving wisdom to convey
You taught our little knees to bend,
And our young guileless lips to pray ;
You bid us then let not yon Sun,
That streams upon us pure and bright,
Go down upon our wrath, but let
Our anger die, as fades the light.
Oh! bear that precept now in mind,
Let kindness to his faults be shown ;
Or how can we at judgment-day
E'er ask forgiveness for our own?
May I not bid my brother rise,
And say from mind the past you blot ?
Oh ! place him in your heart once more,
And be his vrand'rings all forgot.
A flush is on my mother's face,
A look of hope, a ray of joy ;
Her arms are stretch'd to press again
To her fond heart her truant boy.
Though his disgrace, his sin and shame
May blight her health—her spirit chill,
Nature's sweet voice can ne'er be hushed,
Through all she dotes upon him still.
See where old nurse, with tearful eye,
Half smiling stands beside the door—
The faithful creature, bold in love,
Has dared to welcome him once more.
Dear father, let me bid him rise—
Oh! gaze not thus with looks so stern ;
With prayer your daughter clings to beg
You'll bless the Prodigal's Return.
Nov. 6, 1840. JAMES STONE HO USE

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HIGH STEWARDSHIP.

CAMBRIDGE, WEDNESDAY EVENING.—This being the
first day appointed for taking the poll, the doors of the
Senate-house were thrown open at 9 o clock. From a much
earlier hour numerous carriages and coaches continued to
arrive with the supporters of each candidate, and amid all the
bustle usually attendant on a contested election it was inte-
resting to observe, as the time of polling approached, the
vast concourse of members of the Senate in. their academic
costume congregated from all parts, many who from their
years had evidently long left the University, yet still taking
as lively an interest in the contest as their younger brethren.
STATE OF THE POLL THE FIRST DAY.
10 o'CLocx.
_

Lyndhurst
Lyttelton..

11 o'CLoci-

Lyndhurst
Lyttelton. ,

12 O'CLOCK

Lyndhurst
Lyttelton..

1 O'CLOCK

Lyndhurst
Lyttelton.

2 O'CLOCK

Lyndhurst
Lyttelton..

3 O'CLOCK

Lyndhurst
Lyttelton

4 O'CLOCK

Lyndhurst
Lyttelton 292
When the poll closed for the day,
Majority for Lord Lyndhurst l2B

Amongst those who voted for Lord Lyndhurst, we notice
the name of Cresswell Cresswell, Esq. The poll was ad-
journed until yesterday morning, and we hope to be able to
announce the result of that day's polling from our, corres-
pondent in a second edition.

The New York Star undertakes to derive the words
" King Jeremiah" from a cucumber, thus:—" Cucumber—
ghet kins—jerkins—Jerry King—King Jeremiah."
The Philadelphia Ledger says, " Every lady who runs
away froth her husband is beautiful of course, as every
woman who is hung has a remarkably interesting appear-
ance.

A new paper called the Mosquito, has been started at
Houston, Texas. The Picayune says it is the only mus-
quito they ever saw that was worth anything.

- -
" Why, Tom, my dear fellow, how old you look !" " Dare
say, Bob, for the fact is, I never was so old in all my life."
Mr. J. W. Long, editor of the Southern Crisis, asks
" When will the editor of the Louisville Journal. learn to tell
the truth ?" To which Prentice replies, " There's no doubt
that we shall tell it before Long."
The editor of-the New Orleans Picayune, in describing the
launch of a grand steam-boat, says, " She dipped into the
wave as gracefully as Widow Green could make a courtesy."
FALL FASHION3.—Lest sabbath morning, a young lady
was seen wending her way to church with Elssler buttons on
her wrists, and a hole as big as a ninepence—in the heel of
her stocking! says the ProvidencC Republican Herald.

A COUNTERFEIT.—A fellow pretending to be in a fit, wa►
carried from the street, in New Orleans, into a grocery store
and laid upon the counter, where brandy was poured down
his throat, and he recovered. A wag, happening to be pre-
sent, said the fellow was a rogue, and the fit was a counter-
fit !

AN Excust.—Miravaux was one day accosted by a sturdy
beggar, who asked alms of him. " How is this," inquired
Miravaux, " that a lusty fellow like you are unemployed ?"
"Ah replied the beggar, looking very piteously at him,
"if you did but know how lazy 1 am !" The reply was so
ludicrous and unexpected, that Miravaux gave the varlet a
piece of silver.
The Marquis of Waterford seems to be gaining golden
laurels on his estates in the county Waterford, where his
arrival has been hailed with every mark of esteem and
respect. On his arrival at Thurles, his lordship received an
address from the inhabitants expressive of their joy at his
arrival amongst them. Rockwell and its neighbourhood is
in future to be called New Melton, and the extensive stabling
recently erected eclipses that of our hunting metropolis in
Leicestershire. The " eccentric marquis," as he was once
called by his aristocratic friends of the west, is spending his
princely fortune, with true Irish freedom, amongst his fellow-
countrymen.

EXTENT AND POPULATION OF ICELAND.—Of the thirty-
eight thousand square miles of which Iceland consists, only
a ninth part is inhabited, and even over this the houses are
very widely scattered, with many black and dreary intervals,
so that man and his dwellings seem like something foreign to
the land. The hamlets are always so inconsiderable that
they never become the principal object in the landscape, and
even the commercial towns seem lost amid the rocky defiles
in which they are placed. Assuming the population at 50,000,
which it has rarely exceeded, the average will be about I+ to
the square mile ; and if we exclude the central deserts, rather
more than seven, that is, about a third of the number found
in the thinnest inhabited of our Highland countries.—His-
torical and Descriptive Account of Iceland.
- -

MODE OF BURIAL IN IN GREENIIAND.—In Greenland the
dead are buried in a sitting posture, dressed in their best
clot4s. As the earth is shallow or foreign, they build tombs
of stone, and cover the body with plates of mica slate or clay
slate, to preserve it from carnivorous animals. The kayak
and hunting instruments of the deceased are placed at the side
of the grave, and they put a dog's head into that of a child,
in order that its spirit may guide the helpless infant to the
land of souls. On their return to the house, they continue
their lamentation in a sort of monotonous howl, at the con-
clusion of which some refreshment is taken, and each departs
to his own dwelling.—Historical and Descriptive Account of
Iceland.

The flag of Lord Exmouth, which was supposed to have
been destroyed, with other valuable relics, in the conflagra-
tion at the dockyard, has been discovered on board a barge,
where it was thrown with other things during the confusion.
Plymouth Journal.