The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-12-26 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

CHANGE OF MANNERS IN IRELAND, AND THE CAUSE.
—There is no need to be an old man to remember the

was considerea a matter of
ger, even of boast and exultation to the enterprising tra-
veller who accomplished it. Now, intercourse across the
sea, between the two countries, is as free and frequent as

ys, ant

between two neighbouring towns in our own. As we
mingle together, the rough prominences which marked us
are rubbing off. Fights in the streets, robbing in dark
entries, gambling over felons' coffins, bucks, bull-baiting,
duelling, abduction, drunkenness, and a thousand other
degrading peculiarities, which marked the higher as well
as the lower classes, have disappeared, and the order, de-
cency, and decorum which have long been the boast of
our English neighbours, have begun to mark our national
character. It is, therefore, with deep concern, that every
lover of Ireland must see th pains which have been taken
to arrest the progress of improvement, and excite the bit-
terest prejudices and animosities against those, to our
friendly intercourse with whom we owe so much, and
have reason to look for so much more.—Dublin Univer-
sity Magazine.

GENTLEMAN PALMER.—In the summer of this year
(1797), the awfully sudden death of John Palmer, the
circumstanes of which are too well known to be recapitu-
lated, took place during the performance of The Stran-
ger, on the Liverpool stage. The subject of this memoir
always stated that John Palmer was the best general ac-
tor he had ever seen. Palmer played everything, and
everything well. He possessed the advantages of a tall
and well-proportioned figure, and expressive countenance,
melodious voice, and most persuasive manner. Mrs.
Siddons once observed, so naturally insinuating was he in
Stukely she felt at times off her guard, and, fora moment,
could hardly help fancying that his propositions were
real. He carried this with him into private life ; which
obtained for him the name of " Plausible Jack." It is
said that on one occasion, having an invitation to dinner,
he knocked by mistake at the next door, where he found
a large party assembled in the drawing-room. Not per-
ceiving his host and hostess. he concluded they were in
some other part of the dwelling, and commenced conver-
sing familiarly with the company. The master and mis-
tress of the house plainly perceived there was a mistake,
but were so fascinated by his powers of conversation that
they suffered him to proceed until dinner was announced,
when they pressed him earnestly to let it be no mistake,
but to remain and be their guest. Jack Palmer was im-
provident and always in difficulties; he, however, con-
trived to keep the bailiffs in good humonr by orders for
the theatre.—Memoirs of Munden, by his Son.

EVE OF THE BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT.—It
Is believed that Sir John Jervis (afterwards Earl St.
Vincent) did not go to bed that night, but sat up writing;
. .
In the course of

it is certain

e executed

I)is wil

Irst and middle watch the enemy's signal guns were
distinctly heard; and, as he noticed them sounding more
audibly, Sir John made more earnest and par icular in-
quiries as to the compact order and situation of his own
ships, as well as they could be made out in the darkness.
Long before the break of day he walked the deck-in more
than even his usual stern silence. When the gray of the
morning of the 14th enabled him to discern his fleet, his
first observations were high approbation of the captains
for " their admirably close order, and that he wished they
were now well up with the enemy, for," added his confi-
dence in his force, and his thoughtfulness for his despond-
ing country, "a victory is very essential to England at
this moment." The morning was very foggy ; as the
mist cleared in the distance, the Lively, and then the
Niger, signalled " a strange fleet." The Bonne Citoy-
enne was ordered to reconnoitre, but very soon afterwards
the Culloden's signal guns announced the enemy. At 20

minutes after nine o'clock the signal was made to the
Culloden, Blenheim, Prince George, and shortly after to
the Irresistible, Orion, and Colossus, to chase. The
Commander-in-Chief still walked the quarter-deck, and
as the hostile numbers were counted they were duly re-
ported to him by the captain of the fleet. "There are 8
sail of the line, Sir John." " Very well, sir." " There
are 20 sail of the line, Sir John." " Very well, sir."
" There are 25 sail of the line, Sir John." " Very well,
sir." "There are 27 sail of the line. Sir John," and this
was accompanied by some remark on the great disparity
of the forces. (The English fleet consisted of fifteen sail
in all.) " Enough, sir, no more of that, the die is cast,
and if there are fifty sail I will go through them," was to
this, in sharp tones, the silencing answer, which so de
tpri • _ 1_1„1, " • the Com

lighten ...ptain Hallowell, walking oeside th, omman-
der-in-chief, that, in the ecstacy of the moment he
could not help patting his Admiral's back, exclaiming,
"That's right, Sir John, that's right; by G—d, we shall
give them a d—d good licking."—Memoirs of Earl St.
Vincent. What " a licking" the Spaniards endured on
that occasion, we need not pause to recapitulate, nor de-
scant upon the glorious participation of Nelson and Col-
lingwood in the action.

IMPEDIMENTS OF SFEECH.—These, says Mr. Years-
ley, generally commence between the third and fourth
year. Many patients date the first manifestations of them
from the fifth and sixth year; some few as late as the
eighth year; and in one case, wnich I have recently seen,
it was said not to have commenced until the fourteenth
year. It gradually increases in severity as age advances.
From eighteen to twenty-five is the period in which it is
seen in the most severe and distressing forms. After this
age the stammerer begins to acquire a cunning which
serves him in evading the infirmity to a surprising extent
This is done in a -f ways. 0- ,f lc'

variety o o. ,ne principal
means is the use of synonyms, or the employment of
another word for the one which he knows before hand he
shall bungle at. Another mode is dropping the conso-
nant. Two or three examples will serve as illustrations,
On asking a patient his name and residence, he replies
with ease *awes *illiams, *anchester,—Jarnes Williams.
Manchester. A certain officer could never give the word
of command, fire. He got over it by suppressing the f.
But it is said that on one occasion he felt confidence in
his ability to master the difficulty, or, at all events, he
resolved to try. " Make ready, present,—f-f-f."--no it
could not be uttered. At last, boiling with vexation at
his failure, he shouted, with the utmost vehemence, pre-
facing it with an oath, " your eyes, you know what I
mean—shoot." A patient of the institution never, on
any occasion, could ask for "a pint of porter." He over-
came the difficulty by asking for "two half-pints of por-
ter."—The period of maturity, which has the credit of
chasing away or setsibly ameliorating most cbronicdiseases
and bodily infirmi'ies, appears to exercise no influt nee on
stammering. As stammerers advance in years, they grad-
ually lose all traces of the affection. I have been min-
ute in my inquiries, and though I once heard of a case in
a patient between sixty and seventy years of age, I nevi r
saw an elderly person who suffered from stammering, and
I much question if the case alluded to was not one of
paralysis of the vocal nerves, rather than of true stam-
mering.—lt is of rare occurrence in the female sem, the
proportion of female cases being not more than 7 per
cent- The statistics of my own practice agree, as nearly
as possible, with those of M. Colornbat in this respect.
A PEEP AT THE FAIUIES.—Most of the supernatural
beings of Oriental fiction have been reproduced in. the
fairy literature of other lands. Its genies, however, stand
alone in their vastness—peculiar to the bold fancy of the
Persian fiction-weaver. In the magi of eastern taie,.how-
ever, are to be found the prototypes of the enchanters of
other lands. The ogre of ours is nothing else than the
ghoul of Oriental story while it is equally clear from. the
per; of India sprung the fairy of Europe. And, in this
particular, we cannot but think that we have improved
upon the original. Beautitul was the per;—pure in mind,
high in aspiration, rich in affection. Yet is there some-
thing still more delicate in Oberon and Titania.. They
are what Campbell called humming birds—

" Atoms of the rainbow fluttering round."
How glorious was their moonlight revelry beneath the
broad-leaved oaks !. How deftly they tripped it, and yet
hurt no blade of the dewy grass, which grew the greener
from their touch k Mortal eye might not view them,
except the eye of genius, which once beheld and recorded
the vision of a " Midsummer Night's Dream.." But
although Titania was bewitched by the love-plant, ere dawn
the spell was broken, and the delicate pageant faded with
the starlight ! The fairies of the more northern countries
of Europe were less exquisitely delicate beings than their
compeers of the sunny south. They were capricious—
spiteful; they envied men their condition, and often
wrought them evil ; their state was splendid, yet it was
deceptive? and when the court rode forth. with "bit and
bridle ringing,." no mortal whose dazzled eyes beheld the
scene could guess that its glory was delusion—that the
green-robed throng were anxious and unhappy, spite their
pretended gaiety, for every seventh year a tribute was to
be paid to hell—that their shining palaceswere grim caves
—their prancing steeds, ragweed switches--their broad
pieces, clipped leaves. The fairies of the Ariel and Tita-
nia mould dwelt " under the blossom that hangs from the
bough," and warbled low melodies to the nightingale ;
but the king of the northern fairy—the Danish ballad in-
forms us—

" —Wonned within in the hill,
And like wind in the porch of a ruin'd church
__.

His voice was ghastly shrill."
—The northern elves were woodland in their predilections ;
they loved the forest and the deer, but though they pro-
tected wild, they persecuted tame animals, and no farmer's
cow was safe from their flint-hearted arrows, unless
shielded by the magic influence of a branch of the rowan
tree. Thus we see in the more peevish, deceitful, and
gross northern fairy, the influence of the less sunny
and the sterner and more gloomy cast of, thought of the
Teutonic nations. Let us go farther north still, and
amid the snows, and stormy firths of Norway and Lap-
land, we shall find that the fairy entirely disappears, or
degenerates into a mis-shapen and malignant elf, haunting
sepulchral caverns, or the dreary galleries of deserted
mines. The imagination of the bards of Scandinavia were
as vigorous as they were gloomy ; they sang—
" Round the shores where loud Lofoden
Whirls to death the roaring whale;
In the halls where Runic Oden,
Howls his war-song to the gale ; "
and they attuned their lays and legends to the stern sce-
nery which surrounded them. Continually engaged in the
war or the chase, they well knew the value of iron, and it
is a characteristic attribute of their supernatural creations,
that the elves were all cunning workmen in metals—that
they laboured by the lurid glare of unearthly fires in forg-
ing swords and battle-axes, before whose dints weapons
and armour framed by human hands cracked and splintered
like glass. The domestic tendencies of our own land bred
up a peculiar species of household goblin,__ occasionally
useful, but more frequently troublesome. He was a sort
of supernatural servant of all work, and had no objec-
tion to dirty work; such were the brownies of Scotland.
We are not aware whether their English brethren rejoiced
in any distinctive generic appellation, but Miltoa has
drawn their portraiture, and—

" Tell us how the drudgin goblen sweat,
To earn the cre im-howl duly set,
When in one night, ere glimpse of morn,
his shadowy flail bath thrashed the corn
That ten day-labourers could not end
Then lays him down the huh' er fiend,
And stretched out all the chimney's length,
Easks at the fire his hairy strength ;
And crop full out of doors he flings,
Ere the first cock his matin Tipp."
—llluminated Magazine.