The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-10-27 00:00:00

'own the Rhon
kix is a lar

country a'

ve water

indignantly pr

great that t

transact its 1.,

rig onl

Decided in mud and water, near the ruins of Memphis ;
3: although a friend of mine offered to land it in London
-'OO, this also has been declined.—But let us proceed
3r Chalon

;.3 the office, and t

,-sur7Saone ;

sorest trial of tr

tience in all my travels

hours s

and a half, t

nd walk the deck

one of those long

be Rhone and the Saor
itfts on the Rhine ! It

n their nec

of Country Life

without

of the poor
the

could net stop to visit

is rich and luxuriant. All the way to Montpelier is a
lively neighbourhood. The springs at Aix are medicinal ;
and many bronze images left by the Romans have been
dug up, which display the high esteem the waters were

held in by that sagacious but Cruel people, that subjugated
all Europe and great part of the inhabited portion of the
globe. At Marseilles, I stopped at the Hotel of the Em-
peror, and a very comfortable house I found it ; but a
grand funeral ceremony, with the military, mutes, and
sable-clad officials, ill accorded with the bustle of this
large hotel ; but is not our life a journey, our solemn

1 the grave the port where

Moored in safety's breas.

We mock the mountain wave and tr

VARIETIES

WINDMILLS IN HOLLAND.—There are 1800 engines of
this description in Holland, averaging a force of 90,000
horses power, of which 60,000 are required to keep the

—The Builder

SUBSTITUTE FOR CREAM IN COFFEE. Beat the
cite of an egg to a froth. Put to it a small lump of

butter, and poor the coffee on it gradually, so that it may
not curdle. It is difficult to distinguish the taste from

ORIGIN OF THE WORD " TOADEATER." -At the
final overthrow of the Moors, the condition of the Mo-
risco population in Spain was scarcely better than that of
the Helots of Sparta, or the Fellahi of Egypt. under the

The Castilians,

I too proud to wait upon each other, made use of alien

humble and obedient servants-of-all-work, whose satisfied
masters lavished on them the affectionate diminutives
mi lodilo, mi lorlila, " my all and everything," the tru
etymon of Toadeater.— Quarterly Revicie
AD

AMPER TO ELOQUENCE.—Amusing scenes occur
nally in grave assemblies. During the late session
of the New Hampshire Legislature a newly-fledged ora-
tor rose to make his maiden speech in the House of Re-
presentatives. A bill had been brought in to tax bank
dividends, and watching his opportunity the debutant ad-
dressed the members:—" Mr. Speaker, the gentleman
from Dover, who introduced this bill, does not seem to

be aware of its inevitable results. He would strip the
widow." (Roars of laughter, and cries of " The widow
who ?" " What widow!" " Not in this public hall, I
hope," &c.) As soon as the tumult had subsided in
some degree, and the orator could make himself heard, he

put me down- by clamour

—" Gentlemen need not think to
Is there no 'sympathy here

than stripping. Put on this tax, and I say you drive the
widow to her last shift." here the clamour became so
speaker, despairing of a hearing, resumed

,ular business.—Neto York Paper

AT CAIRO

THE ARRIVAL OF THE OVERLAND MAIL
—You can imagine nothing to equal the bust!
of Cairo during the two last days ; at no time a very quiet
place, was absolutely hurried into hysterics the day
before yesterday, by the arrival of the two overland mails,
one going out to India, the other coming from it, and
leo:•1 both depositing for a few hours their respective live car-

goes in the oldecity of the

The confusion this
incursion occasions cannot be described, in a place like
two European hotels, which are
generally•tolerably well filled with other travellers, and
the proprietors of which are not over inclined to put

themselves much out of the way for mere birds of passage
like the Indian passengers, who are not allowed to make
any delay at Cairo beyond the necessary time for making
up the mails. It often happens that the floors and stair-
cases of these two hotels are dotted with
the accommodation of ladies' maids, &c. &
Itervals of re- I three children are stowed away for the night on the top of
I. I • . _

mattresses for
c., and two or

and not unfrequently when ti

believe themselves to be peaceably disposed of until the
morrow, they are suddenly roused up in the middle of the
night, and obliged to resume their fatiguing progr,
Certainly, those who have borne th_
the most of their time during their short stay here, such
scampering about upon donkeys as there is ! such displays

journey well, wall

of pink and blue bonnets, and dandy travelling-caps,
hastily turned out of their band-boxes to create a momen-
tary sensation ! such cheerful faces beneath them of lovely
young girls and light-hearted young cadets on their way
out to India, the world all before them, and every thing
tinged with the bright hues of hope ! And, on the other
hand, many a wan and sallow face, and broken-down
form, are to be seen.—Mrs. Romer's Pilgrimage.
SHEEP-SHEARING FEAST.—The great copper is filled
with furmity, made of boiled wheat, which, when cold,
cuts like jelly ; currants, raisins, spices of every kind ;
sugar shot in, in pounds, which, when boiled enough, is
emptied into basins and pans, and cooled with new milk.
Round this delicious mess assemble the young, three, or

eating out of one
pansion, or large earthenware vessel, about two feet wide.
Sometimes they quarrel like pigs around a trough—one
has thrown a spoonful of furmity into the other's face ;
others have left off, and. gone into the orchard to swing ;
the great kitchen is a very Babel of sounds. Sometimes
the feast is in the barn; the immense door is turned into
a table, and almost bends beneath its load of provisions.
We talk of roast beef—taste what is placed before them !
quell of that chine ! what a nosegay ; it is stuffed with all
with the kinds of savoury herbs : it tastes like duck, goose, pork,

veal, as if all good things were rolled into [t and made
one. It would make a sick man well only to smell of it.
What slices ! what appetites ! what horns of brown ale they
empty ! A waiter in a London eating house
hr qt-'^'--- I

would run

away horror-stricken, arm proclaim a coming famine
throughout the land. They eat their peas by spoonfuls ;
a new potato vanishes at every mouthful ; dishes are full
and emptied ere you can turn your head. That was a
whole bam ten minutes ago ; now you behold only the
bone. Who ever before saw such enormous plum-pud-
dings? Surely they have eaten enough. Why, that broad-
shOuldered sun-burnt fellow has clapped a solid pound
upon his plate—it is burning hot : look how he holds that
large lump, and blows it between his teeth ; the tears fairly
start into his eyes. Where are those legs of mutton? the
chines, and sirloins, and egebones of beef? Gone, for
ever gone. And now come the custards, and cheese-cakes,
and tarts. The men will assuredly burst : see, they un-

2iefs,_ their waistcoats, as if they were

ig to begin again in downright gamest. Every man
ns as if he had brought the appetiTe of three.—Pietures

EDUCATION OF THE POOR.-

og a few words

SNOW-HARVESTING AT NAPLES

(From " Matlivarlane's Popular ,Customs Sports, and
.Recollections of the South of Italy.)

To supply the city of Naples, one of the largest cities of
Europe, which has a population of 450,000 souls—all
snow consumers—a very extensive mountain-range is
put into requisition. From the Appenines, and from all
the nearer branches and ramifications of those moun-
tains, snow during the summer months is constantly be-
ing brought into the city by land and sea—always, how-
ever, by sea when practicable, as by that mode of con-
veyance it is kept cleaner, loses less by melting, and costs
less for carriage. Hundreds of men and boys are em-
ployed exclusively on this business. A mountain that
contributes very materially to the supply of the capital is
Monte Sant' Angelo, the loftiest point of the bold pro-
montory that separates the Bay of Naples from the Bay
of Salermo. This mountain, which towers majestically
behind the town and seaport of Castellamare, near the
end of the Neapolitan Bay, is only about twelve miles
from Naples itself. On account of the short distance,
and the advantage of an easy water carriage, the snow is
there harvested with great industry and care, and Monte
Sint' Angelo is well provided with caves and chasms as
we have described. Some of these contain singly an im-
mense heap of snow, but prodigious as the quantity may
be, it rapidly disappears before the labours of the work-
men, who, with iron-spiked poles and shovels, dig into it,
and break it UP much after the fashion of men working in
salt mines. These labours, for a very obvious reason,
when, in the day time, Fahrenheit's thermometer often
marks 90 degrees or 100 degrees in the sun, are nearly all
performed during the cool of the evening and at night.
Long strings of mules, each like a little caravan, ascend
the mountain to the snow cause. There they are loaded
with the snow broken into large lumps, and secured from
the external atmosphere as well as may be, and then,
with all the speed that can be managed with heavy bur-
den!, and on steep, precipitous, and, in parts, very dan-
gerous roads, they descend by Quisisana to Castellamare
and the whurfs, where large roomy boats are in readiness
to receive their loads. As soon as the very perishable
cargo of one of these boats is completed and covered over
with straw, dry leaves, and tarpaufing, it pushes off di-
rect for N,ples. The time of their departure is from
twelve o'clock at night to one or two in the morning.
They are all furnished with mast and sails, which may be
useful on their return ; but as there is seldom a breath of
wind on a summer's night in this bay, they are of little
use in going to Naples, and the sailors are obliged to pull
the boats with oars and long sweeps. This labour, from
the clumsy, bad construction of the vessels, and the dead
weight thrown into them, is excessively severe, particu-
larly when t

hey are delayed in starting, and threatened
with the heat of the rising sun before trey can reach the
port of Naples. Fire ought to be brought to the aid of
snow. A small steam-boat might tow over a line of these
vessels without any uncertainty as to time. During the
summer nights, at the town of Castellamare, the tramp-
ling of the mules from the mountain, the cries and songs
of the muleteers, the putting off of the snow-boats, and
the shouts of the mariners, the roll of whose heavy oars is
heard far across the bay, are scarcely ever interrupted for
five minutes at a time. When the snow-boats arrive in
the port of Naples they are quickly unloaded by a number
of facchini, or porters, regularly appointed to that ser-
vice. These fellows, who are very active and very strong,
though their principal food is bread, olives, garlic, and
other vegetables, with now and then a good dish of mac-
caroni. run with their loads of snow from the water side
to a large cool building erected on purpose to receive it.
This building, which is called " La Dogana della Neve,"
or the Snow Custom House, is situated a little in the rear
of the port, at the distance of a few hundred yards from
the great Neapolitan Custom House. To this general de-
pot the retail dealers come to furnish themselves from all
parts of the vast town ; and there is scarcely a street in
Naples, however miserable and remote it may be, but has
its snow-shop. By an old law of the country, these shops
are never allowed to be shut up during the hot weather,
either by night or by day ; or, if the owner closes the
door or absents himself, he must leave some one in the
shop ready to serve, should snow be called for.

DR. TumvstiLL's TANNING.—The new method is to
prepare a mixture of sugar and water and sawdust—it
may be of any other substance containing saccharine mat-
ter, such as beetroot, potatoes, turnips, honey, &c. The
action of the sindr and proxalic, or wood-spirit, is so ra-
pid that the skins are rendered fit to

receive and imbibe
the tannic acid immediately ; and thus the operation of
tanning is perfectly accomplished in a very short time.
The leather thus produced is heavier and of finer quality
than any leather produced by the present method of tan-
ning. This method of removing the lime is of vast im-
portance, as it not only improves the leather in weight
and durability, but enables the tanner to produce a supe
nor article in a much less space of time, and at a much
less expense than heretofore. The advantages of the new
method appear to be, first, a great additional weight of
leather, especially in calf-skins ; second, leather of a much
better Quality, soft

and not liable to crack or strain;
third, a considerable diminution in the expense; and
fourth, the tanning is effected in one quarter of the time
consumed by the present mode of tanning.—Hall's Book
of the Feet.

AUSTRALIAN SERPENTS.—I have met with several and
witnessed many wonderful and narrow escapes. A friend,
who had been out shooting for some hours, coming home
tired, without thought or reflection, was on the point of
throwing himself on a stretcher to rest, when he was sud-
denly pulled back by a bystander, who had observed a tre-
mendous brown snake coiled up on the opossum cloak.
He was horrified but providentially saved. The snake of
course was soon dispatched. Another friend, on a cruise,
put his saddle down for a pillow at night, as usual, and on
lifting up the saddle flaps the next morning, he observed
a beastly deaf adder lying flat down. He soon dropped the
saddle, and killed the snake. While giving our horses
water one day, my cousin saw a black snake, half in and
half out of the water; he shot it and put it upon an ant
hill, to watch the ants at work. While so engaged, its
mate came at 114

, passing over my instep, in a state of great
excitement: it was also shot. On going over the Main
Range a deaf adder was observed creeping on a poor quail,
which crouched on the ground fascinated. We allowed
the poor bird to fall a victim, and then struck at the adder.
The blow did not take effect, and the reptile sprang three
feet at my friend, who escaped unhurt. The adder was
subsequently killed. Again, being one day encamped on
the Main Range, for the purpose of cutting bark with my
brother and friend, I had to go down to a little water-hole
to fill the quart pots for tea. While stooping down to my
task an enormous black snake slid down the bank, quack-
ing and hissing. Before I could recover from my fright
be had passed over my arm and up the opposite bank. I
was much too terrified to shoot at him, though I had my
gun at my side. Two more instances will suffice. A little
child, the daughter of a friend of mine, playing on the ve-
randah, was on the point of picking up what she thought
a varnished piece of wood—so flat and straight was it ex-
tended—when her father called her back. The snake (for
such the piece of wood turned out to be) basking in tFe
sun, proved to be a large diamond snake about nine feet
long. Again, I was sitting with my sister, after the
children were put to bed, and having heard that a snake
had been seen in the house during the day, we were fright •
ened. While engaged in conversation, we heard noises of
" Cab, cah, cah," issuing from the rafters and shingles ;
and, to our horror, beheld a nasty, yellow snake hanging
down over our heads, as if about to spring upon us. Up
we started ; a gun was brought to bear upon him, and he
fell down. I found two mice inside him, for which, no
doubt he had visited us.—Hod.oson's Reminiscences of
Australia.

AN AGED PEASANT WOMAN.—That old woman who
resides at the little cottage beside the pond in winter
gathers broken branches and decayed boughs in the woods
and lanes, and these she ties up in a bundle of nearly a
hundred weight, which she carries on her head to the
neighbouring market-town, a distance of nearly three
miles, and sells for fourpence. Sometimes she makes
two journeys a day, and gets a lift on the road in any
waggon or cart that may chance to pass, for no one would
refuse so small a favour to an old woman. You may
meet her at the entrance of the wood on the bleakest day
in winter, when the ground is ancle-deep in snow, and no
footcnatk but her own has invaded that silent solitude ;
her heavy burden on the little roll which sits on the top
of her close-fitting cap ; her old-fashioned, faded, black,
gipsy bonnet hanging by the strings from her arm, while
her weather-stained red cloak adds to her picturesque ap-
pearance ; and, with a heavy, broken branch for a walk-
ing-staff, she trudges along through all weathers, nor does
she murmur at her hard lot. The ruddy tinge of health
is on her rough, hard cheeks, and her face is marked
with numbers of small wrinkles, invisible at a distance,
and, when seen close, looking like the fine network of
of lace. Steadily does she bear her burden, swinging her
body to and fro to keep it in even balance ; for, when
once placed on the roll on her bead, she has no need to
hold it with her hands. Habit has given her a safe mo-
tion, and her resting-places are the tallest gate-posts
where she can place the weighty billet and mount it again
on her head without the pain 'of stooping. It would re-
quire the arms of a strong man to lift that bundle of-wood
from the ground, and place it on the round, stuffed roll,
that, like a coronet, sits on, the summit of her old mob-
cap. Beautifully.marked are some of the heavy branches
she brings home; covered with various coloured mosses
and lichens of every hue, from the frosty-looking white to
tha deep orange and richly-hued red, which clings to the
bark like icicles. ' Then the aroma she brings with her!
that smell of wood and bark; the genuine old forest per-
fume, retained even while the faggots are burning, and
throwing out that delicious fragrance which, on a cold
morning, comes so refreshing from the chimneys of a
clean, English village; for, next to a hay-field, is the
healthy smell of a real forest wood-fire. And oh ! the
brown bread, baked upon the hearth by the red embers of
wood—sweetest and purest of all. home-made things—to
see the dead, white-looking ashes cleared from the round
tin or earthen vessel which covers the loaf; and to behold
the crisp, umbered crust, and, above all, to have a good
appetite and a basin of milk just warm from the cow, and
a " hunch " of that warm loaf, is a meal never to be for.
gotten. You 'feel as if you were devouring health at
every mouthful ; as if you were' swallowing the substance
from all sweet country smells and tastes—a mixture of
dews from every sweet wild-flower—perfumes from
neighbouring hay-fields—hawthorn blossoms gathered,
kneaded, and baked—honey with another flavour—cream
before it had grown cold or thickened—and the smell of
the cows breath floating over all ; - rind, when you have
breakfasted, you feel as if you should never again need a
doctor, not even if you lived to reach your hundredth
year. Happy is that old woman when, seated by her own
hearth, she watches the blazes of the' branches she has
gathered; the red embers that fall,below, the splutter and
crackle of the burning boughs, as the sap comes frothing
out ; the fire Seems to talk to her ; it burns not in silence
like coals ; it becomes a companion ; and the' old woman
half fancies that the faggots are glad that they have made
her so warm and comfortable ; they seem to expire cheer-
fully, as if they preferred such a glowing consumption to
lying cold, and frozen, and damp, and covered with
snow, and be left to rot in the cheerless, wintry woods.
For years has that old woman been a " Faggot Gatherer.''

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.