The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-10-06 00:00:00

VARIETIES.

An American has taken out a patent for a bee-hive,
with doors. This bee-hive is to be combined with a hen-
roost in such a manner that the weight of the fowls when
settling to roost will close the doors at night, and the
removal of that weight when leaving in the morning will
open them.

.Music.—ln opposition to all who denounce music as
the pastime and the profession of the frivolous and sen-
sual, I must declare that its influences will never be
rightly felt, nor its practice, whether executive or creative,
be carried out to the perfection of which it is capable, so
Jong as it is treated as a mere aimless amusement, discon-
nected from every other utterance of poetical imagination.
—.Henry F. Choi ley.
IN'VESTIGATION.—A. drunken sailor, in riding through
the streets recently, found himself seized with an irre-
sistible propensity to pitch forward, much to his annoy-
ance and to the complete sacrifice of all horsemanship.
Not being able to recover his centre of gravity, and far
from suspecting that the cause was in any way connected
with himself, be swore that the fore-lees of his steed
must be shorter than the hind, and actually stopped and
measured them.—lllontreal Herald.
Ma. DOMBEY'S ONE IlY2A.—The earth was made for
Dombey and Son to trade in, and the sun and moon were
made to giva them light. Rivers and seas were formed
to float their ships ; rainbows gave them promise of fair
weather ; winds blew for or against their enterprises ;
stars and planets circled in their orbits, to preserve invio-
late a system of which they were the centre. Common
abbreviations took new meanings in their eyes, and had
sole reference to them. A. D. had no concern with anno
Domini, but stood for anno Dombei—and Son.—Dombey
and Son.

On the death of Washington, Napoleon issued the fol-
lowing order of the day to his soldiers :—" Washington
is dead I This great man fought against tyranny: he
established the liberty of his country. His memory will
always be dear to the French people, as it will be to all
free men of the two worlds ; and especially to French
soldiers, who, like him and the American soldiers, have
combated for liberty and equality." Washington died
possessed of many slaves, and soon after he became Presi-
dent, he entered into a long correspondence with Sir
Isaac Head, Garter-King•cf-Arms, in this country, on
the subject of his ancestry. So much for " liberty and
equality."
ENGLAND AND FREEDOM.—In 1772 a negro, named
Somerset, was arrested in London by a man who claimed
him as a runaway slave. Mr. Granville Sharp brought
the case before the Lord Mayor; and by the Lord Mayor's
orders Somerset was discharged from the Poultry Compter,
where he had been imprisoned. The master, however,
in defiance of the Lord Mayor, seized the slave and tore
him away from Mr. Sharp. An action was brought
against the master for assault, and the case being tried, it
was finally referred to the Twelve Judges, who, after
solemn argument, decided that as soon as a slave sets
foot on English territory, he becomes free
" Slaves cannot breathe in England ; if their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free.
They touch our country, and their fetters fall."
CHEAPNESS OF AMERICAN TRAVELLING.—TraveIIing
in America is just as cheap as stopping at home, As the
people are all more or less anti-renters, they live in board-
ing-houses; and as soon as they leave the expense ceases,
and they begin boarding in a steamboat instead of on the
shore. For instance, the steamers at Buffalo, the best of
them go twice a-day to Chigago, 1,050 miles up the lakes,
for £1 125.; and three meals—good substantial meals—
and an excllent roomy cabin to yourself to sleep in, be-
sides a splendid saloon and promenade. This is less than
one halfpenny per mile board and lodging included. And
as the voyage occupies five days, the total expense is about
6s. 6d. per day in a steamer—more like a ship 'of the line
than our steamers. The railroad fare is one penny per
mile, first class.—Rubio's Rambles.
THE Moos.—The following is the appearance of the
moon as seen in the great telescope of Lord Rosse, and
described by the Rev. Dr. Scoresby, of Bradford :—" It
appeared like a globe of molten silver, and every object of
the extent of a hundred yards was quite visible. Edi-
fices, therefore, of the size of York Minster, or even of
the ruins of Whitby Abbey, might be easily perceived if
they bad existed. But there was no appearance of any-
thing of that nature; neither was there any indication of
the existence of water or of an atmosphere. There was a
vast number of extinct volcanoes, several miles in breadth ;
through one of them there was a line in continuance of
one, about one hundred and fifty miles in length, which
ran in a straight direction like a railway. The general ap-
pearance, however, was like one vast ruin of nature ; and
many of the pieces of the rock, driven out of the volca-
noes, appeared to be laid at various distances." The
doctor says he expects it will soon be possible to daguer-
reotype the image of the moon upon the speculum—
which cannot be done at present, as the moon is not sta-
tionary ; but the earl contemplates a piece of mechanism
to move the telescope to a certain distance, with a motion
corresponding to the motion of the moon.—Athenceum.

SUNDAY IN PARlS.—English people generally think
that in Paris the people attend church in the morning,
and amuse themselves in the afternoon. No such thing.
Almost every place of business is open from morning till
night, and workmen pass along the streets to their various
occupations. Mechanics are employed as on any other
day. Every place of amusement is thrown open—thea-
tres, ball-rooms, gaming-houses. No Englishman can
discern the signs of the Sabbath, unless it is that the
signs of amusement are more visible than on other days.
Here is a Sabbath, good Christian people ! Heaven pre-
serve us from the like !

THE AGE WE LIVE IN.—We live in an atmosphere of
matter of fact, the gloom and dreariness of which we sel-
dom allow to be dispelled by the genial warmth of the
imagination. Everything is grounded upon calculation,
and that of ti.e lowest kind. Every step in our progress,
every move in the journey of life, is made with utilitarian
views alone—with the prospect only of temporal gain or
loss. We plod our weary way along, not like pilgrims
and sojourners in a world of trial, but like denizens of a
country which is to be ours for ever, beyond which there
is no hope. We rise up betimes in the morning, and late
at night do we take our rest; and upon what are our
waking thoughts and our last reflections employed but
grin—mean and selfish gain ? The " age of chivalry is
gone," and the " poetry of life has fled." Everything
around us is hard, and dry, and calculating ; thus even
our works of imagination partake of this strongly marked
character of the present period, and exhibits its results in
striking colours. Intellectual triumphs rather than appeals
to the feelings or the imagination are sought after, and
their pages more frequently display sparkling wit, pointed
irony, and clever sarcasm, the feats of intellectual skill,
than attempts to lay bare the recesses of the human heart,
and to analyse those mighty secrets which it contains.—
New Quarterly Review.
A LEGEND OF THE SHANNON.—Of course mystic
and manifold are the legends of this part of the river, nor
is this old ruin without its share of such traditional.; lore.
We were told one, not a little romantic. One of its he-
reditary chieftains bad an only daughter, beautiful, as all
such young ladies generally are. Many a doughty knight
and prince came to the castle, bent on martial exploits—
rather, perhaps, on errands of love and courtesy. Papa,
at length, began to suspect something, and being very
fond of his daughter, made one of the conditions for se-
curing her hand, that the inheritor of her castle should,
fully caparisoned and mounted on a charger, precipitate
himself from the top of the rock on which the castle is
situated I This arrangement, it may be conceived, dis-
couraged more than one aspirant, and cooled down pretty
considerably the ardour of our youthful lovers. There
lay the beautiful and winding Shannon, and on each side
those rich messuages and lands for him who should first
attempt the deed. Love, which has many traits in com-
mon with other things in the world, is also blind and in-
constant ! the little imp laughed and giggled, and was on
the point of seizing the extinguisher to place it on his
flickering flame, when one intrepid and passionate lover,
of not very noble blood, armed to the teeth, dashed down
the perilous descent, coming safely to the ground, and
winning his lovely prize.—Dublin University Magazine.
LORD ELLENBOROUGH AND THE BENCH.—The same
honest inflexibility of purpose, which would not brook
suspicion, marked the conduct of the Chief Justice, in the
trial of a horse cause, to which a certain privy councillor
was party. The right honourable baronet took his seat
as of right on the bench, and ventured in the course of
the trial to whisper a remark to his lordship. "If you
again address me, Sir William," was the grave rebuke,
not delivered in a whisper, " I shall place you in custody
of the Marshal." The spirit of the man of rank died
within him before the stern voice of the judicial dictator,
and he shortly stole away from the side cushions of the
bench. The instant submission paid by all ranks to the
authority of a chief who ruled the court and its precincts
with despotic sway, " cuncta superczlio nigventis, ' is said
to have been once exhibited in a very ludicrous manner.
A storm of wind and rain had driven a regiment of West-
minster Volunteers to seek for shelter in the hall, when
his attention was attracted by the clatter of musketry.
" What is the cause of that interruption ?" vehemently
demanded Lord Ellenborough. "My Laid, it is a volun-
teer regiment exorcising, your Ludship." " Exor-
cising ! we will see who is best at that. Go, sir, and
inform the regiment, that if it depart not instantly I shall
commit it to the custody of the tipstaff." The battalion
filed off, we are assured, at the first report, with unmili-
tary speed.—Lives of the Judges.
AN EVENING IN BOHEMIA.—Reader, should you ever
visit Prague, forget not to go to the Sophein Intel ; there
twice or thrice in a week plays the Palombini band. This
little island has really a magical appearance on a fine au-
tumn evening, when, at the cool hours, numbers of wells
dressed, cheerful people sit in the open air, under the lit-
tle grove of pollard chestnuts, and regale themselves and
their friends with ices, coffee, chocolate, &c. ; the most
substantial suppers may also be had. As the evening
draws in, lamps and chandeliers, suspended from the trees,
add a beauty to the scene, and it assumes the most
friendly and social aspect. Should you prefer it, you can
saunter round the little island, adorned with well-kept
paths and beds of flowers; or on the edge of it, close to
the water, guarded by a row of trees, growing on the
brink, you may choose a resting-place. Through the stems
and branches, some of them dipping into the water,
brightly gleams the Moldau, quivering in the sun's de-
clining rays, end the eye then, finding an opening, may
look out afar, and watch the changing hues and softening
blue of land and water in the distance, while the heart
muses on futurity. Meanwhile are hoard, played with the
greatest precision and beauty, the finest overtures and
sparkling polkas—these last not the dull imitation fashion
has lately produced, but the true children of the soil, com-
bining so strangely sadness and mirth—Sehnsucht and
Heiterkeit—that one knows not which predominates. I
should be inclined to say the former, for I never listened
to these tunes without feeling triste. They are singular
productions; there is so much expression of feeling in
them, they wind into the recesses of the heart as the chang-
ing passages return again avid again, and one could sit ar7d
' listen for ever.—Fracer's Magazine.

HABITS OF THE llErtoN.—The heron is a noble and
picturesque-looking bird, as she sails quietly through the
air with outstretched wings and slow flight ; but nothing
is more ridiculous and undignified than her appearance as
she vainly chases the jackdaw or hooded crow who is car-
rying off her egg, and darting rapidly round the angles and
corners of the rocks. Now and then every heron raises
head and looks on the alert as the peregrine falcon, with
rapid and direct flight, passes their crowded dominion ;
but intent on his own nest, built on the rock, some little
way further on, the hawk takes no notice of his long-
legged neighbours, who soon settle down again in their at-
titudes of rest. The kestrel-hawk frequents the same part
of the river, and lives in amity with the wood-pigeons that
breed in every cluster of ivy which clings to the rocks.
Even that bold and fearless enemy of all the pigeon race,
the sparrowhawk, frequently has her nest within a few
yards of the wood-pigeon ; and you see these birds (at all
other seasons such deadly enemies) passing each other in
their way to and fro from their respective nests in perfect
peace and amity. It has seemed to me that the sparrow-
hawk and wood-pigeon during the breeding season fre-
quently enter into a mutual compact against the crows and
jackdaws, who are constantly on the look-out for the eggs
of all other birds. Tile hawk appears to depend on the
vigilance of the wood-pigeo❑ to warn him of the approach
of these marauders; and then the brave little warrior sal-
lies out, and is not satisfied till he has driven the crow to a
safe distance from the nests of himself and his more peace-
dole ally. At least in no other way can I account for
these two birds so very frequently breeding not only in the
same range of rock, but within two or three yards of each
other.—Wild Sports and Nat. Hist. of the Highland?.
DEFENSIVE POSITION OF CANADA.—When, in 1812,
we came to loggerheads with our Yankee cousins, and they
walked into Canada, expecting, as they now would, to
walk over it, they soon found that they were to take very
little by their motion. The whole number of British
troops then in the colony was under two thousand four
hundred men. Upper Canada was comparatively a wil-
derness, occupied by a few scattered labourers, difficult to
organise into militia, and including no class out of which
officers could he made. Yet, even with this slender oppo-
sition, how did the invaders fare ? Where were the glo-
rious results so confidently anticipated ? Let the defeat
at Christler's farm, the rout and heavy loss at Qileens-
town, the surrender of General hall with his whole army
and the territory o Michigan, reply to the question. And
to-day how do matters stand ? " Within the last twenty
years, several entire Scottish clans, under their chiefs—
M'Nabs, Glengarys, and others, worthy of their warlike
ancestors—have migrated hither. Hardy and faithful men
from the stern hills of Ulster, and fiery hut kind-hearted
peasants from the south of Ireland, with sturdy honest
yeomen from Yorkshire and Cumberland, have fixed their
homes in the Canadian forests. These immigrants, with-
out losing their love and reverence for the crown and laws
of their native country, have become attached to their
adopted land, where their stake is now fixed,and are ready
to defend their properties and their government against
foreign invasion or domestic treason.' The militia, com-
posed in a great part of the excellent materials just enu-
merated, is the nominal strength of 140,000 men. Of these
a fourth might take the field, without their absence se-

riously impeding the commerce and industry of the coun-
try. The Canadian arsenals are well supplied, and nearly
eight thousand regular troops occupy the various garri-
sons. Quebec, with its strong fortifications and imposing
citadel, may bid defiance to any force that could be brought
against it from the States; important works have been
erected upon the island of Montreal; Kingston and its
adjacent forts would require a large army and correspond-
ing naval force to subdue it ; Toronto would give the in-
vaders some trouble. Defensive works exist along the
frontier of Lower Canada. In no way has the security of
the colonies been neglected, or the possibility of a war
overlooked. But there is yet one measure whose adoption
the author of " Hochelaga" strongly urges, whose utility
is obvious, and we trust in due time to see carried out.
This is the construction of a railroad, connecting the whole
of British America; commencing at Halifax, and extend-
ing, by Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, and Toronto, to
Amherstburg and the far west. The essential portion of
the line is that from Halifax to Quebec, by which, when
the St. Lawrence is closed by ice, troops might be for-
warded in a couple of days to the latter city. In the
spring of 1847, we are told, the canals will be completed
which are to open the great lakes to our fleets. For sum-
mer time that may suffice. But the five months' winter
must not be overlooked. And apart from the military
view of the case, the benefit of such a railway would be
enormous. It will strengthen the intimacy between this
splendid colony and the seat of government : the emigrant
from home, and the produce from the west, will then pass
through British waters and over British territories only,
without enriching the coffers of a foreign state. The Ame-
ricans, with their great mercantile astuteness, are making
every effort to divert the trade of Canada into their chan-
nels, and to make us in every way dependent on them for
our communications. The drawback-bill, by which the
custom-duties on foreign goods are refunded on their pass-
ing into our provinces, has already been attended with
great success in obtaining for them a portion of our carry-
ing trade, especially during the winter, when our great
highway of the St. Lawrence is closed.—Blackwood.