The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-08-05 00:00:00

A BIRTHDAY POEM.

Lady, accept on this thy natal day
The warmest wishes-of an anxiocs friend,
- Who in thy path the choicest gifts would lay
That can to earth d happy prospect lend,
And bid us taste, e'en. whilst we here remain,
A portion of thatbliss which will above,
In lands where angels dwell, for ever reign,
Springing from God and universal love.
I would not wisliThatin thy lap might flow
Abundant stores of earth's unreal wealth;
For, lady, they could never yet bestow
Gne joy of virtue; innocence, or health :
Nor would I wish that thou might'st'never feel
What 'tis to have-one hope or wish denied,
Or suffer naught that might a tear reveal;
For such things are, alas! to earth allied.
But I would wish that thou might'st live to see
Full many a birthday sun upon thee shine,
With friend, around, and each one loving thee
With au affection as sincere as mine ;
And casting round thy life the richest charm
That friendship's pow'r, o'er scenes of earth, can throw;
An.► by their soothing bidding thee be calm,
When from thine eyes the tears of grief may flow.

I would that thy young mind should early soar
To dwell on themes that vulgar souls pass by,
That teach man to enjoy life's journey more.
And. having wisely lived, not fear to die ;
I would that ►ife should yet, for many years,
Its fairest scenes before thy footsteps spread ;
And that but lightly e'er might fall the tears
That must, for human sufferings, be shed.

Yet, still, I would not that these scenes should cause
All deep reflections from thy soul to fly;
But that amidst them thou shouldst often pause,
To think how soon earth's fairest scenes pass by.
Yes, lady, yes ! however joys prevail,
Life, at the best, is bz:t a troubled sea,
On which our tiny bark-s in danger sail
Unto their destined shore—Eternity

Oh ! then, in youth's gay time thy soul prepare
To meet the trials after years will bring;
And whether joy thy lot may be or care,
In all things, lady, to thy Saviour cling :
Then will thy joys in richer tints appear,
Thy griefs be robbed of more than ball their gloom ;
The first will teach thee to be happy here—
The last, to look for rcst,beyond the tomb.

For him, who thus, in simple words but true,
His wishes for thy welfare (loth unfold,
One wish remains, an anxious one, that you
For him thy warm atTection e'er may hold ;
And when to boast of those true ones ye've known,
Thy voice with those around the hearth shall blend,
That thou wouldst cast thy thoughts o'er years then flown,
And say,—l have a fond and long-tried friend.
Tintwistle Parsonage. ,GEORGE CANNING PAGE.

LITERATURE AND:TILL' FINE ARTS.

The Church of England Quarterly Review. July, 1851.
London : Painter, Strand.
The opening article in this talented periodical is a re-
view of the Bishop of Exeter's Pastoral Letter to the
Clergy of his Diocese, on the present state of the Church.
The notices of Professor Blakey's-" Historical Sketch of
Logic," and on " Primitive Alphabets," by the Rev. C.
Forster, are highly interesting. The notorious " Letters
on the Laws of Man's Nature and Development," by
_Miss Martineau and Mr. Atkinson, have come in for a
good share of criticism, in which the doctrines of mate-
rialism are combated with irresistible argumentative force.
Among the remaining notices are those on " The Moral
Principles of the Jesuits," by the Rev. M. A. Tierney.;
" Milton and his Opinions," by Robert Fletcher ; and on
the " Report of the National Society and the Education
Question," which are handled with considerable ability.

The Irish Land Question, with Practical Plans for an
Improved Land Tenure and a New Laud Systenz.
By Vincent Scully, Esq., Q.C. Dublin : Hodges and
Smith.

We have seen the desolating effects which that unfor-
tunate system of commercial policy, known as " free
trade," has wrought upon the sister isle; and we eagerly
peruse a work professing to alleviate those effects. The
book now before us proposes an entire alteration in the
present tenures of landed property in Ireland. After
discussing what the author terms the evils of the existing
system, and the modus operandi necessary for re-
forming them, he thus enumerates the direct advantages
of the change :—The security of the payment of the rent
to the landlord ; a permanent interest by the tenant in
I.` his holding, and a power of disposition of his interest,
and of purchasing that of the landlord ; mutual powers
to sell and mortgage by the landlord and tenant ; and the
establishment of land companies, for the purpose of ac-
complishing " a more perfect free trade in land, by faci-
litating its free transfer, and by supplying means for its
beneficial use." We do not altogether concur with Mr.
Scully in his projected alterations, but he has certainly
opened up a field for investigation of the matter.

Popery not Catholicism : a Course of Six Lectures on
Infallibility, and the right of the Laity to the unre-
stricted perusal of the Scriptures vindicated. By the
late Rev. B. W. Mathias, M.A. London: J. C.Bishop.
Powerful as Popery is over those in its own communion,
and vast and crushing as is its influence, only one
thing is required to overthrow it,—namely, the unre-
stricted dissemination and light understanding of the
Scriptures. The unbiassed perusal of their pages
will refute and expose the errors of Popery more than the
flowery rhetoric of a Cumming. We have therefore no-
ticed this pamphlet with gratification, and we are not
without proof of some of the good effects which it has
produced. The lectures are written in moderato and
unvarnished language; and as antidotes to the subtle-
ties of the doctrines of the Church of Rome, we cordially
recommend them.

Fraser's Travelling Map of Ireland. Dublin: M`Glashan.
This is the most unique and accurate map of Ireland
we have yet seen. As we hope to see the restoration of
that ill-fated but beautiful country to prosperity by the
efforts of Englishmen and their capital, we take the op-
portunity of commending the exertions of the compiler,
and congratulating him upon the superior manner in
which be has performed his work. The real distances
between all the towns, villages, &c., have been inserted,
and every possible guide necessary for the traveller is laid
before him.

The Dublin University Magazine. August, 1851. Dub-

lin : M`Glashan.

The present number of this well-known magazine
abounds with interesting and valuable matter. It opens
with " Fruits and Flowers—a Symposium in Summer,"
which contains some poetical matter of a high order. The
article, " The British Officer," is highly entertaining,
containing, as it does, some rich anecdotes. The re-
♦iewer says, speaking of