The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-08-16 00:00:00

alliance with the church, the faith of which he had recent]:
embraced, he demanded the daughter of the Greek Empero

are often discovered

great distance by that Singular appearance on the
:on, which the Dutch seamen have termed
stratum of lucid whiteness, occasioned
glare of light reflected obliquely from the
against the opposite atmosphere. This
which looks always brightest in clear
to the experienced navigator, twenty
,nd the limit of direct vision, not only
even the quality of the ice. The

surface Of the i
shining streal

weather, indicat
or thirty miles lo

the extent and
blink from pt

that which is occasi

ice appears or a pure N
d by snow-fields has some ti

The Polar Seas

SINGULAR COINCIDENCES.—We frequently see a para.
.aph in the papers headed " Singular Coincidences,"
filch upon perusal fails as oftpTi .c

aams ctS val,Gu as iwi, TA) mrnisn us wan
the most remote connection of subject. In order, there-
fore, that our readers may judge of what we consider a
coincidence, we beg to present them with the following :
—The occupant of a house happening to have stepped out
just two minutes before the tax-collector called for the
rates.—A tailor having a large bill to meet on the very
day that he requests payment of your small account.—
A friend, of whom you wish to borrow £5, happening,
strangely enough, to be in want' of the same sum himself.
—A female hailing a Chelsea omnibus when she actually
wants to go there.—And a relative in the country, whom
you propose sojourning with next week, being unable to
accommodate you, owing to an expected visit from an old
maiden aunt at the very same period.—Diogenes.
A FEw Comnamiarrs.—As I was proceeding towards
the police-office, I met, under the piazza opposite the
cathedral, a lady, whose face immediately made me forget
my errand. She was so fair and beautiful, I took her to
be a daughter of the North, and could not resist the
temptation to speak to her. So, stepping forward, and
taking off my hat in the politest manner imaginable, I
inquired, in English, the way to the police-office. " Non
capisco, Signore," was her reply. I then apologised for
addressing her in a foreign language, but said—" I have
mistaken you for an Englishwoman, you are so extremely
beautiful." "And are the English women so extremely
beautiful ?" inquired she. " You may judge," said I,
" since they are like you." "I suppose they flatter a great
deal in England," observed she with a smile, "and you
have probably learned the art there." " Nay, it is in
your country that one learns to flatter; if, indeed, it be
flattering to speak the truth." "This is not my country,"
replied she, " I would it were !" " Then you are a French.
woman ?" She shook her head. " A Swiss ?" The same
dumb sign of negation. My curiosity was now excited.
" I trust you will pardon me, said I, but really I am
curious to know what country has had the happiness to
give birth to you." "I am an Austrian," she replied.
"Is it possible ?" was my involuntary exclamation. "If
you are surprised at that," said she, " you will be still more
surprised when I add that my feelings are all Italian."
This little dialogue took place in front of a shop, out of
which an officer soon came flourishing a new whip which
he had just been purchasing. He looked at me with
something like a scowl, and, saying a few words to her in
German, from the tone of which I could not doubt she
was his wife, walked off with her, though not before she
turned round and bowed to me twice.—" There and Back
Again," by A. 1. St. John.

AMITEIRDIRNTS OF THE TuRICISII WOMICIP.—NearIy all
Turkish women sally out every Friday to take the air,
away from the town, on the banks of the Bosphorus, or
to some of the places where water and shade may be
found. The wealthy go in carts without springs, of un-
wieldy and primitive construction, six or seven heaped
together, and sometimes their husbands lead the oxen or
horses to the chosen spot, and then go away, leaving the
women perfectly free to enjoy themselves as they please.
The most popular amusements are the singing and music
of the gipsy women, who repair thither for the purpose—
music which is amorously languid, and singing which is
detestably indecent. A lunch is generally brought out,
and, when this is despatched, smoking and drinking
commence—drinking not of sherbet, but of good brandy,
or other strong liquors, which soon induce a boisterous
gaiety, so that the sultanas, whom we often imagine as
pining imprisoned, may be seen rolling in convulsions of
inextinguishable laughter on the turf,,or huddled up in a
still more advanced stage of intoxication, like bundles of
rags. Their Montenegrin servants, who are the privileged
beholders of these scenes, are often compelled to haul
them into their carts, in which they are jolted back to the
harem. Those who are not too far gone frequently pull
up passing through the Christian quarter, at the doors of
taverns, to got more drink, and a file of a hundred carts
may often be seen stopping in one street, all full of
women, some made bold and chattering by their excess,
others hanging sleepily about and murmuring to be taken -
home. There is a walk planted with elm trees, not far
from the city, where only women are admitted. Two or
three thousand assemble there at a time, and, sitting upon
a verdant slope, enjoy the indescribable pantomime of a
comedy, which some infathous Jews, hired for the pur-
pose, perform on the limits of the forbidden ground for
their amusement. Europeans, of course, cannot enter the.
walk itself; but they may see the crowds collected at a
distance, and hear the shrill applause which every act'
more than usually beastly of the mountebanks creates in
the female crow d. On these occasions it would scarcely
be possible for a stranger to recognise eastern life from th
descriptions he is accustomed to read.—Bayle St. John.
PORTRAIT OF THE CZAR.—He affects to imitate Napo-
leon in some things, and certainly as regards his inter-
ference, and personal direction of, everything, he is not
behind his prototype. His cabinet is a plain room, and
completely that of a man of business ; he is never out of
uniform, and never lays aside his cocked hat and flowing
white panche, excepting he. leaves the capital, when he
wears a little foraging cap. With the noblest and most
commanding form, he is of Herculean mould, and of an
iron constitution, regardless alike of bodily and mental
fatigue; controlling and inspecting every department and
establishment himself, he seems possessed of the power of
übiquity. Perfectly unattended, he is dashing through
the streets in a two-horse droshky, or walking through
crowded thoroughfares, visiting the dockyards, barracks,
hospitals, and other government establishments. He ar-
rives when least expected, and the consequence is, there
is no negligence or inattention; but precision, military
precision, and uniformity prevail throughout. The very
passengers in the ' streets, and particularly the military,
who form a large portion of the crowd, must be on the
qui vice to salute the monarch as he passes, and this, with
the military, is a matter requiring some dexterity. At
Tsarkoe Selo, I had the fortune to meet the Emperor in
a retired garden, en neglige ; I say fortune, because,
demigod as he is, it is unusual to see him in mortal guise,
undistinguished by the trappings of royalty, and the proud
bearing and theatrical deportment habitual to him. I
went at his side without recognising him in his loose

ment was.

surtout and travelling-cap, strolling 'alonginContempi;
fion ; and it was not till our eyes met, that I felt his pre-
sence—yes, felt is the only applicable form fnr

impossible to Vvithstand his eagle glance without an inde-
finable sensation of awe.—Thompson's Life in Russia.
SANITARY VIEW Or TILE BEARD AND MOUSTACHE.—
They protect the opening of the mouth, and filter the air
for a man working in smoke or dust of any kind ; they
also act as a respirator, and prevent the inhalation into
the lungs of air that is too frosty. Mr. Chadwick, years
ago, was led to the discussion of this subject, by observing
how in the case of some blacksmiths who wore beards and
moustachios, the hair about the mouth was discoloured by
the iron dust that had been caught on its way into the
mouth and lungs. The same observer has also pointed
out and applied to his argument the fact that travellers
wait, if necessary, until their moustachios have grown
before they brave the sandy air of deserts. He con-
ceives, therefore, that the absence of moustachios and
beard must involve a serious loss to labourers in dusty
trades, such as millers and masons ; to men employed in
grinding steel and iron, and to travellers on dusty roads.
Men who retain the hair about the mouth are also, he
says, much less liable to decay, or achings of the teeth.
To this list we would add, also, that apart from the inces-
sant dust flying in town streets, and inseparable from
town life, there is the smoke to be considered. Both dust
and smoke dO get into the lungs, and only in a small
degree it is possible for " them to be decomposed and
removed by processes of life. The air passages of a Man-
chester man, or of a resident in the City of London, if
opened after death, are found to be more or less coloured
by the dirt that has been breathed. Perhaps it does not
matter much ; but surely we had better not make dust-
holes or chininey funnels of our lungs. Beyond a certain
point this introduction of mechanical impurity into the
delicate air passages does cause a morbid irritation, marked
disease, and premature death. We had better keep our
lungs clean altogether, and for that reason men working
in cities would find it always worth while to retain the air
filter supplied to them by nature for the purpose—the
moustache, and beard around the mouth. Surely enough
has been here said to make it evident that the Englishman
who, at the end of his days, has spent about an entire year
of his life in scraping off his beard has worried himself to
no purpose, has submitted to a painful, vexatious, and not
merely useless, but actually unwholesome custom. He has
disfigured himself systematically throughout life, accepted
his share of unnecessary tic-doloreux, and toothache,
coughs and colds, has swallowed dust and inhaled smoke
and fog out of complaisance to the social prejudice which
happens just now to prevail. We all abominate the razor
while we use it, and would gladly lay it down. Now, if
we see clearly.—and I think the fact is very clear—that
the use of it 113 a great blunder, and if we are no longer
such a slovenly people as to be fraid that, if we kept our
beards, we should not wash, or comb them, or trim them
in a decent way, why can we not put aside our morning
plague, and irritate our skin no more as we now do.—
DiCkeid .Elpusehold Words.

in marriage, which was accordingly granted, t

being no

at all reluctant to gain the friendship of so great a prince.
Upon the arrival of the princess at Cherson, Vladimir was

baptised under the name of Basil. Having restored the con-
quered city Cherson. to the Greeks, he departed into his own
country, taking with him a few priests for the purpose of

instructing his Pagan subjects, before whom the Russian idols
were destroyed, and they saw without a murmur the broken
fragments of Perune, their thunder god, floating down the
waters of the Dnei per. Churches were erected ; at the dedication
of the first edifice,Vladimir himself was present, and implored
the divine mercy on the building, asking the Almighty " to

hear the prayers of the good Russians." A change of religion
was followed by an entire change in the conduct of Vladimir,
ferocity gave place to mildness, and he established
for the purpose of instructing youth in the duties of the new
—The fields faith. Thus Vladimir endeavoured to propagate the Chris
, • • -

Russia

church at Constantinople, some of the patriarchs bein,

sians. In the year 1240, the destruction of the city of Kieff,
by the Mongols, caused the removal of their see to Vladimir,
from whence it was transferred to Moscow. Isidore, for giving
in his adhesion to the council of Florence (1434), was first

imprisoned and then banished by his indignant countrymen
In 1467, Paul 11. hoped to gain over the Greek chur
',ringing about the marriage of John Vasi
but s

,ss of the Greek 1

wich with Sophia,

entered Russia, showed herself orthodox, although trained in
the doctrines of the Florentine council. From the circum-
stance of the marriage of Sophia, the heiress of the Greek
Emperor, with the Russian, John Vasilovicb, the arms of the
Greek Emperors, the two-headed eagle, were assumed by the
Russian Czar. The Russian bishops appointed their own
bishops, after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, till
the time of Theodo,.e. In the year 1588, Jeremiah 11., of Con-
stantinople,having been deprived of his office for defending the
rights of his church, fled into Russia ; and, at his request, the
Czar madehim theßussian patriarch. Job, after him, succeeded
to the patriarchal throne, as an independent patriarch. It
was ordained that the Russian should rank among the patri-
archates as the fifth and last. The Czar not being satisfied
with this arrangement, it was finally settled that Moscow
should take precedence of Jerusalem and of Antioch, yielding
only to Constantinople as to the "(ecumenical patriarch,"
and to Alexandria as the " cecumenical judge." The Musco-
vite patriarchs were ten in number; the most famous of
whom were Philaret and Nikon—Philaret was noted for the
correction of errors which bad crept into the Russian Tre-
buik or office book—Nikon ascended the throne A.D. 1653,
and was Philaret's third successor, and, like him, also de-
voted much of his time to the correction of the Sclavonic ver-
sion of scripture. The Czar had been accustomed to treat
the patriarchal office, up to the time of Adrian, with great
reverence. On the death of Adrian a successor was about
being elected, when Peter the Great entered the assembly
and stopped their proceedings by exclaiming, "I am your
Patriarch." Thus (lid the Czar, Peter, arrogate to himself
the title of head of the Greek Church in Russia. The first
"holy Synod" met in Moscow, and afterwards in St. Peters-
burgh, but all the members of the said Synod were under
the control and will of the Emperor. The inhabitants of the
Asiatic province Iberia or Georgia Is now subject to the
Russian Synod. The province just alluded to was converted
from Paganism to Christianity by the means of a captive
Christian woman in the 4th century, by name Nunia. A
Bishop resides at Tiflis, a city of Iberia, who has the chief
control and direction of spiritual affairs, but subject to the
' sanction of the Synod at St. Petersburgh. There is also
another sect, called the Montenegrists, well worthy of notice,
and who have been of late formidable enemies to the Turks,
for whom, as well as for Rome, they have a mortal antipathy
and hatred. They are a bold race of mountaineers, hardy,
and able to bear much fatigue. They inhabit the mountainous
district of Albania, and comprise about 60,000 inhabitants.
The growing strength of Russia and the decrease of the power
and influence of Turkey is evident; the lustre of the crescent
is fading gradually in the horizon to give place to the cross.
The Mussulman and the Turk trample upon those spots
where the religion of Christ first shone forth, and where the
pious early Christians uttered forth their prayers and sung
their hymns of praise to Him—the mightiest of the mightiest,
who ruleth all events—who

Plants His footsteps on the sea,

And rides upon the storm."

Gathering clouds now obscure the horizon of the East.
Men whose minds are thoughtful look forward to something
which is.now shadowed but faintly forth, but which time

alone will unravel.

The following table will show the numbers and extent of
he Greek Church:—
In Russia
In Turkey

In the Kingdom of Greece with Montenegro
In the Austrian Dominions
In the Patriarchate of Alexandria
In the Patriarchate of Antioch, including the
Antocephalous metropolitanate of Cyprus
In the Patriarchate of Jerusalem

50,000,000
12,000,000
800,000
2,800,000
5,000

Sum total
Birkenhead, August 13, 1553

150,000
15,000

65,770,000
G. B. H.

THE FISH DINNER
(FROM TICE PRESS.)

NOTHING is more remarkable in this age of progress than
the rapidity with which improvements are made in the
most recent inventions. The miracles of ether were almost
instantaneously cut out by chloroform ; and the last im-
provements in the electric telegraph, by which answers
are received before messages are sent, will always remain
a proud evidence of the inventive genius of the 19th cen-
tury. One of the most remarkable instances of this new
power was afforded in the acceptance by the Emperor of
Russia of the propositions of Vienna before they had
reached St. Petersburg. We are enabled this morning to
furnish our readers with a similar example of expeditious
information on a subject of domestic interest,—viz., the
Fish Dinner with which her Majesty's ministers celebrate
the close of the session, at the Trafalgar Hotel, Greenwich,
this afternoon.

As this festivity is a species of saturnalia, much depends
upon the happy levity of the chairman, who is, in fact, the
soul of the entertainment. The choice unanimously fell
on the Right Hon. Edward Strutt, who completely ful-
filled all the expectations of his friends. He•was a source
of unceasing amusement. He was never heard to snore
except between the courses : and, generally speaking, his
talking in his sleep was highly diverting.
In this reign of frolic the usual order of the toasts was
reversed, and the chairman began by giving "La Pre-
mil,re and the Ladies."

Lord Aberdeen acknowledged the toast, and said that
he had been called an old woman ; but old women were
made of very durable materials, as he trusted his govern-

Lord John Russell spoke to the toast of "the Channel
Fleet," of which he said he was, as formerly, quite pre-
pared to take the command.

" Success to the Coalition" was responded to in a
speech of grave humour by Sir James Graham, who, hay-

tug in ins tune proxessea every shade of political opinion,
deemed himself a judge of the subject. He said the go-
vernment had been formed on the " enormous sacrifice"
principle, and that many,of its members had sold them-
selves, as is usual under those circumstances,,at half-price.
(Loud cheering from Lord Lansdowne, Lord John Russell,
Lord Palmerston, Lord Granville, Lord Canning, Mr.
Herbert, and others.

Mr. Gladstone spoke very playfully on the state of the
Exchequer Bills, and talked of probably ending his career
by being called to the Upper House, and founding a new
order of nobility, as Lord Discount Gladstone; but Mr.
Bernal Osborne interrupting him with some improper
jokes about conversions, the right hon. gentleman looked
as if he were afraid of losing his temper, and somewhat
abruptly terminated.

Tlie toast of " The Whips" was very much applauded.
Mr. Hayter gave a sketch of some " loose conversations"
he had held during the session with some loose fish—who,
however, were all caught—which was very funny. He
boasted of having some bait which was more attractive
than even whitebait. He spoke handsomely of his sub-
ordinates, which was earnestly and vociferously cheered
by Mr. G. Berkeley. Lord MulgTave, however, on the
contrary, was suffused with blushes. - . -

Sir Itilliam Molesworth was requested to speak to the
toast of " Radical Reform." Unfortunately the right
hon. baronet took the matter gravely, and was dividing
the subject into various sections, before his audience found
out he was not joking. There were then loud cries of
" DiOide !" and " Bar !" but the right hon. gentleman
being used to these accompaniments, went on quite un-
disturbed. _ ,

The Duke of Newcastle delivered an eulogium on the
House of Lords, which he pronounced to be an assembly of
gentlemen, where you were never counted out when you
were speaking—as he invariably was in the House of
Commons. At the end of his speech he qualified his
declaration that the lords were gentlemen, and said that he
confined the description to the government side of the house.
Capt. Bernal Osborne was called upon to return thanks
for the House of Commons, and as the gallant officer had
prepared himself for the occasion, by reading several of
Foote's farces, and the whole of " Joe Miller," a great
effort was expected ; but whether it were the heat of the
weather, the lateness of the hour, an indigestion of water
souchy, or a surfeit of champagne, or, as was more gene-
rally believed, the jealousy of Mr. Lowe, who continually
interrupted him, the gallant captain broke down, and
seemed much discomfited. Seeing this, and remembering
Captain Bernal's faithful services, some few years ago, in
getting up the Hungary debate at the end of the session,
which gave Lord Palmerston an opportunity of calling
Lord Aberdeen, amid the plaudits of Lord John Russell,
"a piece of antiquated imbecility," the noble viscount
came to the rescue with a happy diversion, and, the toast
of their " Next merry meeting," introduced into his
speech several happy recitations from the New Whig
Guide. which made everybody laugh amazingly.
The Solicitor-General then gave " The Corteervative
Club," aml the party broke up.