The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-05-21 00:00:00

RAILWAY COMMUNICATION', &c.—lt is now about 50
years since an act of parliament was passed in this coun-
try against the use of forest timber for the purpose of
smelting iron. The reason for such legislation was, of
course, to protect the forests of the island, necessarily
limited as compared with those of the wide continent,
from total destruction. The result is, that England is in-
debted for all her steel to foreign countries, the smelting
of iron by means of coal effectually disqualifying it from
being made into steel of superior quality. For the supply
of iron for this purpose, Sweden now enjoys almost an en-
tire monopoly, and is likely long to possess it, although in
one of the most recently settled British colonies it appears
that extensive iron sands abound, of equal capability with
the produce of the finest mines of Sweden. But it Eng-
land cannot compete with other countries in the produc-
tion of the basis of steel, she not only excels all countries
in the steel she manufactures, but in the production of
iron itself for ordinary purposes ; and therefore, in the
production of perhaps the most useful of all the elements
of commerce and civilization, she defies all competition.
English manufacturing greatness is built on an iron foun-
dation, and now, with iron steamers and iron railways,
England is foremost among the civilized nations in the
means of foreign and internal intercommunication. Bel-
gium, however, and Austria and France tread closely in
her footsteps, and national and individual speculation will
soon connect all points of Europe by a network of rail-
roads.—London Polytechnic Magazine.
THE PRINCE REGENT AND BEAU BRUMMELL.--BTUM-
meI had a collection chosen with his singular sagacity and
good taste ; and one of them had been seen and admired
by the prince, who said, "Brummell, this box must be
mine ; go to Grey's and order any box you like in lieu of
it." Brummell begged that it might be one of his royal
highness s miniatures ; and the prince pleased and flattered
at the suggestion, gave his assent to the request. Accord-
ingly the box was ordered, and Brummell took great pains
as to the pattern and form, as well as with the miniature
and the diamonds round it. When some progress had
been made, the portrait was shown to the prince ; who
was charmed with it, and suggested slight improvements
and alterations, and took the liveliest interest in the work
as it proceeded. All in fact was on the point of being
concluded when the scene of Claremont took place.
[Where this writer describes the quarrell as originating
through the prince preventing Brummell from joining a
party, on the plea of Mrs. Fitzherbert disliking him.]
A day or two after this, Brummell thought be might as
well go to Grey's and enquire about the box ; he did so,
and was told that special directions had been sent by the
Prince of Wales that the box was not to he delivered :
it never was, nor was the one returned for which it was to
have been an equivalent. It was this, I believe, more
than any thing besides, which induced Brummell to bear
himself with such unbendinc, hostility towards the Prince
of Wales. He felt that he had treated him unworthily,
and from this moment he indulged himself by saying the
bitterest things. When pressed by poverty, however, and
as I suppose, somewhat broken in spirit, he at the latter
period recalled the prince's attention to the subject of the
snuff-box. Colonel Cooke (who was at Elton called
" Cricketer Cooke, " afterwards known as Kangaroo
Cooke,") when passing through Calais, saw Brummel,
and told him the story, and requested that he would in-
form the Prince Regent that the promised snuff-box had
never been given, and that he was restrained to recall the
circumstance to his recollection. The regent's reply was,
—" well Master Kang, as for the box, it is all nonsense ;
but I suppose the poor devil wants a hundred guineas,
and he shall have them ;" and it was in this ungracious
manner that the money was sent, received, and acknow-
ledged.—Memoir of Beau Brummell.

MARIA CHISTIANA AND HER HUSBAND.—The man-
ner in which her connection with Munoz commenced, has
been thus related to me :—A retailer of tobacco and snuff
in the insignificant town of Torrejon, about ten miles
from Madrid, having some money and a great deal of
vanity, and being able to show, by sufficient documents,
his descent from certain hidalgos of Castile, nothing would
content him until he had procured the enrolment of his
son among the royal guard of nobles. His neighbours
laughed at him at the time, but in the sequel the tables
were turned, and the laugh changed sides. It happened
some short time after the death of Ferdinand VII. in the
winter, I believe, of 1834, that news was brought to Ma-
drid that the queen's favorite summer retreat at La Granja
was on fire. The news reached in the evening, and
Christiana insisted on setting out immediately for the
scene of destruction, to ascertain with her own eyes the
injury inflicted on a spot she loved so much. La Granja
is seventeen Spanish leagues from Madrid, crosses the
Sierra de Guadarrama, which, it was explained to her
majesty, would at that time be impassable for the royal
equipage, owing to the snow ; but no obstacle or argu-
ment could induce her to change her mind, and the royal
cortege was soon on the mountain road. As was ex-
pected, the queen's carriage broke down, and her ma-
jesty was in some danger until she was pulled by a strong
arm through the carriage window, and found herself re-
posing on the bosom of young Munoz, the tobacconist's
son, for it was be who had been lucky enough in being the
first to extricate his royal mistress. Having neither for-
tune nor education, Munoz had hitherto remained un-
noticed among the guards ; but, dating from this fortunate
incident, his career from rank to rank was wonderful, and
soon began to excite suspicion. He had a handsome per-
son, and it soon became obvious to all that he had won
the affections of Maria Christiana. A country curate,
without learning or abilities, but, who belonged to the
same lucky village of Torrejon, now made his appearance
in Madrid ; and people stared with astonishment when
they saw him, in a few days, raised to be priest of the
privileged church of Buen Sucesso, canon of Toledo, dean,
if I remember rightly. of Ovideo, and elevated to other
church dignities which I do'nt recollect. Peorle now
said that Christiana was married to Munoz, and that the
curate from Torrejon had been sent for, as a confidential
person, to perform the ceremony. The queen-regent was so
blinded by her affection as to take the handsome guardsman
out with her in her carriage, and madly expose herself, with-
out any restraint, to public obloquy and indignation.
When the intrigue thus got publicity the exasperation of
the people was the greater, on account of the disastrous
consequences of the amours of the Queen of Charles IV.
with the infamous Godoi ; and, for four years, Munoz
was obliged to remain in the closest confinement in the
Palace of La Granja, making use, as it is supposed, of a
subterranean passage to go from the palace to a kind of
froory al
hecfheaaur
emdi etrhe w
e,
fa
chee roef he
everyspent p
ahisn daysarda seens
that by n
of
ano one,
an
se
sassin. Such was the feeling that existed against him
among the people at large, that it would have been deemed
a most meritorious act, and the wiping out of a stain of
national infamy, to take away his life.—fiarverty's Wan-
derings in Spain.