The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-04-02 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STAND throe

A widow named Nanny Mole died last week at Bewd-
ley, where she had for many years received relief from the
parish ; but after her death the family were agreeably sur-
prised to find that she had amassed a sum of £l7O, part
of which was found in an old stocking, and £lOO in the
Bewdley bank.
There is at present residing in Southampton an old
man named Wade, the last survivor of Captain Cook's
companions in his voyages round the world. He is
ninety-nine years of age, and is in possession of all his
faculties. He was present at Captain Cook's death, and
himself received a spear wound from one of the islanders.
Hundreds of acres of the fine meadows along the banks
of the Trent Valley are now covered with the beautiful
purple crocus. The crocuses are each year succeeded by
buttercups, those by cowslips ; so that for seven months
in the year these meadows are a continual bed of wild
flowers.

In answer to some inquiries, through the medium of
the Builder, Mr. Scott, the editor of the Morning Adver-
tiser, says that about £5O has been sent to him as sub-
scriptions to a free-trade testimonial to Sir Robert Peel.
Mr. Scott wishes to be satisfactorily rid of the money.
There appears little or no prospect of its being increased.
THE IRON TRADE.—At the usual meeting, on Thurs-
day, of the ironmasters of South Staffordshire and East
Worcestershire, preliminary to the general quarterly
meetings of that body, the trade of the district was
described as flat and inactive; but, notwithstanding this
depression, an adherence to the prices of the present
quarter was recommended and adopted.
A slip dropped from the experimental balloons lately
sent up from the Admiralty, has been returned, with the
following communication from M. Cceurdoux, the Mayor
of St. Denis, bearing his official seal :—" The enclosed
was picked up a little to the west of St. Denis, on the 2d
inst., but T am unable to state at what hour it reached the
earth, no one having seen it fall."
The Carlisle Journal says that at Lathes, in the parish
of Aikton, near Wigton, there is an estate which has been
tenanted by a family of Taylors for 403 years, during the
whole of which time each successive tenant's name has
been " William Taylor." The estate has descended from
father to son without a single interruption, and there is
now another young " William Taylor," who is presumed
to be able and willing to hold it at his father's death.
An attempt was made, on Wednesday, to burn down
the Surrey Theatre, in London. A basket filled with
pieces of canvas, saturated with oil and turpentine. had
been placed in one corner of the ward-room, and its con-
tents fired, through a hole in the wall of the building,
from the outside. Fortunately the fire was discovered
before it had made great progress, and was promptly ex-
tinguished.
THE MORNING CHRONICLE AND THE EXHIBITION
OF 1851.—" The exhibition of 1851," says the organ of
Sir Robert Peel, " will be in a manner the inaugural of
free trade." If the statement be true, we warn the Royal
Commissioners in time of the danger of perpetrating their
rash experiment. If the announcement be false, let us
clearly understand that it is so, and that we have done
wisely in regarding the proceeding up to the present mo-
ment in the light in which it was originally placed before
the people.
FRENCH MANUFACTURES.---A tea urn of a very hand-
some description, being elaborately wrought in solid sil-
ver, and believed to be one of the value of £l,OOO, has
been imported into this country by a steamer from France.
It is understood that this superb specimen of French
workmanship is destined for public exhibition, in a col-
lection at present accessible in the metropolis, for the
purpose of especially exhibiting specimens of French
manufacture. This is one of the first importations of the
kind as a specimen.
The Glasgow Courier records an anecdote of a gay and
widowed serving man, worn by the flight of fifty sum-
mers, who was dislodged one night, by force of burning
straw, from a neighbour's chimney, whither he had been
drawn by the attractions of a maiden of seventeen. Un-
dismayed, the gallant servitor, doffing his shoes, the same
night crept silently into the house, and finally into the
chamber of his dulcinea; but again a sad reception
awaited him and he was ejected. Next morning his shoes
were found and despatched to him with a label. " There's
nae fool like an auld fool, and nae wooer like an auld
widower."

FAIR UNDER THE THAMES.—Monday being the anni-
versary of the opening of that great undertaking, the
Thames Tunnel, the directors, in celebration of the event,
gave a grand fancy fair beneath the waters of Old Father
Thames. The entire length of the tunnel and either
shaft were decorated with myriads of variegated lamps,
the panels being filled in with a variety of paintings, re-
presenting the most interesting vie vs along the banks.
Rows of stalls, covered with ornamental articles, shows,
refreshment booths, the Wizard of the North, Ethiopian
Minstrels, and bands of music, were the amusements
offered.
GROG IN THE NAVY.—The committee, of which the
admiral of the fleet was chairman, to inquire into the
effects of the present issue of spirits to the seamen of the
navy, and to suggest what alterations they might deem it
requisite to propose, in order to diminish the numerous
cases of drunkenness in the navy, have delivered their
report, and have separated. Their recommendation is,
that the present allowance of spirits be reduced to one-
half, and that, as a compensation, an addition be made to
the pay of able seamen and petty officers of 3s. 6d. per
calendar month, and to ordinary seamen and landsmen
an addition of 2s. 6d. a calendar month.
WRECK OF A MAIL-BOAT AND Loss OF LIFE.—The
cutter Experiment, trading and carrying the mail between
Guernsey and Alderney, was wrecked on some rocks about
two miles from the eastern coast of Guernsey. She had
a full cargo, consisting of flour, drapery, salt, and clothing.
Besides the crew, were twenty-seven passengers. The
darkness of the night, the violence of the wind, and the
cries of distress from the passengers, were dreadful. The
first boat that was launched was swamped, and the captain
and five men were drowned. The tide ebbing, all on
board got on a rock, which is covered at high water. They
there burnt their clothes to make signals, but no assist-
ance could get near them. As the tide rose, they were
obliged to leave the rock and get on to the rigging of the
wreck. Four of them, while clinging to the rigging, were
paralyzed by the cold, and relaxing their hold, perished.
The survivors were rescued at six o'clock on Sunday
morning, nearly dead.
CHICORY.—The estimated quantity of chicory now in
use in the way of adulteration is stated, on good autho-
rity, to be 11,500 tons, which all goes to the public as so
much coffee, thus deceiving the consumers, and depriving
the revenue of a sum of £460,000, which otherwise would
he paid into the exchequer. At the same time, it is
bringing the coffee trade into disrepute, by causing the
completest trash to be sold to the public in lieu of coffee.
Hence the best coffee the world produces is brought to
the British market, and at the same time worse coffee is
sold in England than any other country in Europe. This
is operating with a most injurious effect on the consump-
tion of coffee. Last year, it fell off to the extent of
300,000 lbs., involving a direct loss to the revenue of
£60,000 ; and this year, from January Ist to March 16th,
the decrease has reached the enormous quantity of
1,500,000 lbs., entailing a further loss to the revenue of
£13,000.

SINGULAR FACT.—A somewhat novel fact occurred at
the terminus to the South-western Railway, at Vauxhall.
A carrier-pigeon was seen in an exhausted state : it was
caught by the hand, and died shortly afterwards. A label
was appended to one of his legs, addressed to his Grace
the Duke of Wellington, which stated thai. three pigeons
were thrown up at the island of Ichaboe. The distance is
computed to be between 2,500 and 3,000 miles from the
place where the pigeon appears to have been liberated to
its destination in London. The bird, with its appendage,
was immediately forwardel to Apsley-house, and the
Duke of Wellington, by an autograph note, the next day
courteously acknowledged receipt from the party who
sent the bird. It has been stuffed, and in the process it
has been discovered that the bird was shot ; otherwise
there can be no doubt that it would have reacbad home.
It is supposed not to have had strength left to cross the
Thames.

A LITERARY NOVELTY.—We read in this morning's
Literary Gazette, that its editor for thirty-three years,
and connected with the public press for ten years before,
is preparing for publication his "Auto-Biography, and
Literary Times for more than Forty Years ;" which, from
his intercourse with almost every distinguished individual
during that period, and his political and social, as well as
literary, acquaintance with their transactions, especially
with authors and publishers, he hopes to make as instruc-
tive and interesting a publication as any of its kind which
has yet been published. There can be no doubt of the
interest which would attach to such memoirs, from the
unrivalled opportunities enjoyed by the writer, who wit-
nessed and critically appreciated the first appearances of
Byron, Scott, Wordsworth, Coleridge, and a host of cele-
brities in the literary world. We believe that when the
prime minister, Perceval, was shot in the lobby of the
Commons, Mr. Jerdan alone had presence of mind enough
to seize on the assassin (1812).—Globe.
EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF BIGAMY.—ROMANCE
IN
REAL LIFE.—The magistrates at Upton-on-Severn petty
sessions have been engaged in adjudicating on a case of
bigamy, committed under very peculiar circumstances.
The accused bigamist is one John Curtis, a labourer, of
the village of Strensham, and he stands iijlarged with hav-
ing married a second wife during the life-lime of his first,
whose maiden name was Anna Maria Wilkins, and whom
he married Lt Strensham in 1835. Curtis and his wife
lived together until the year 1840, when they came to a
mutual agreement to separate. Upon this separation
taking place, the wife, who was of a masculine character,
determined to " change her condition" otherwise, and
forthwith she assumed male attire, and proceeded into an
adjoining county, (Staffordshire,) where she engaged with
a farmer as day labourer. She subsequently paid her ad-
dresses to a housemaid employed in her master's esta-
blishment, and they were actually married, and lived to-
gether for several tears, the secret of the supposed hus-
band's sex being undivulged. At length, however, the
housemaid, tired of her female husband, removed to a
distant part of the country, while the heroine of our story
remained in Staffordshire. In the meantime her real
husband, Curtis, married again, and the fact was very
shortly afterwards conveyed to the ears of his real wife in
Staffordshire, upon which she assumed her proper female
attire, had Curtis taken into custody, and appeared to
prosecute him for bigamy. The magistrates having heard
the evidence, committed Curtis for trial.
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