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

GLAND AND FREEDOM.—In 1772 a negro, named

Somerset, was arrested

Ile Sharp brought

the case before the 1

the Lord Mayor
Poultry Compte

lers Som

men it

r, however,

in defiance of the

'd the slave end tor

him away

was brought

against the ma
was finally referred to t

being tried, it

e Judges, who, after
s soon as a slave sets

erun argument

foot on Er

es free

Slaves c

Receive our
They touch o
CHEAPNESS OE

;-Travelling

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—

sides a splendid

one halfpenny per mile

as the voyage occ

6s. 6d. per day i

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.
llere is a Sabbath, good Christian people ! Heaven pre-
serve us from the like !

Tug AGE WE LIVE IN.—We live in an atmosphere of

matter of fact, the glt
dom allow to be. disl

and dreariness of which we sel-
-1 by the genial warmth of the

imaeinatiob. Everything is grounded upon calculation,
and that of tt e lowest kind. Every step in our progress,

every move in the journey of life, is made with utilitarian

ns of a

views alone—with the prospect only of temporal gain or
loss. We plod our weary way along, not lit
and sojourners in a world of trial, but like der

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
gain—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 Revieu
A LEGEND OF TH
and manifold are the 1

SFIANNON.-01 course mystic
.nds of this part of the river, nor
is this old ruin without its share of such tradaionari lore.
We were told one, not a little romantic. One of its he-
reditary chieftains had 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 1 This arrangement, it may be conceived, dis-
couraged more than one aspirant, and cooled down pretty
considerably the ardour of our youthtul 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, " 1 shall place you in custody
of the Marshal." The spirit of the man of rank died
within him before the stern voce of the judicial dictator,
'nd he shortly stole away from the side cushions of the
The instant submission paid by all ranks to the
authority of a chief who ruled the court and its precincts

with despo
to have been once exhibited in a very ludicrous manne
A storm of wind and rain had driven a regiment of West-
minster Volunteers to seek for shelter in the hall, when

;ic sway,

" Whs

t is the cause of that interruption ?" vehemently
demanded Lord Ellenborough. "My Lad, 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 Sonhein Inset : there

little island has really a magical appearance on a fine au-
tumn evening, when, at the cool hours, numbers of well.
dressed, cheerful people sit in the open air, under the lit-
tle grove of pollard chestnuts, and regale themselves and
their friends with ices
subs

ntial suppers may also be bad. 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

,
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 thee 3 dipping into the water,
brightly gleams the Moldau, quivering in the sun's de-
clining rays, and the eye then, finding

tch the changing hues and softening
td water in the distance, while the heart

an opening, may

look Out afar, and we
blue of land

muEee on futurity

_ leanwhde are heard, 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 thesoil, cow.
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 ❑ever 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 and again, and one could sit and

r.—Fraser's
1-1 ERON.•

hABITS OF TN

sir with outstretched wings

heron is a noble and

sails quietly through the
slow flight ; but nothing

gnified than her appearance a

ly 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 find then every heron raises

head and looks on the al

as the peregiine falcon, with

pid and direct flight, passes their crowded dominio

built on the rock

but intent on his own nest, 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

igeon r

Irds of the wood-pige
her seasons such del

; and you see these birds (at all
y enemies) passing each other in

their way to and fru from their respective nests in perfect
peace and amity It has seemed to me that the sparrow-

quently enter into amutual compact against the crows and
jackdaws, who are constantly on the look-out for the eggs
of all other birds. The hawk appears to de.pend on the
vigilance of the wood-pigeon to warn him of the approach
nd then the brave little warrior sal-

of these marauders

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-
al,lc ally. At least in TIO 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
—JVild Sports and Nat. Hist. of the Highland••.
Rl9.

other.—

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 be 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 Queens-
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 but kind-hearted
j peasants from the south of Ireland, with sturdy honest
i 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 rtgulcr 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

rues be

overlooked

one measure whose ado

A PROOF THAT A MAN CAN BE HIS OWN GRAND-
FATHEB..—There was a widow anti her daughter-in-law,
and a man and his son. The widow married the son, and
the daughter the old gentleman. The widow was there-
fore mother to her husband's father, and, consequently,
arandmother to her own husband. They bad a son, to
whom she was great grandmother ; now, as the son of a
great grandmother must be either a grandfather or great
uncle, this boy was one or the other. He was his own
grandfather! This was the case with a boy at school at
Norwich.—Hood's Magazine.

TEA.—The chemical constituents of tea are—volatile
oil, tannic acid, and theine ; the other constituents are
those commonly found in the leaves of vegetables. '1 he
tea owes its smell, and part of its effects to its volatile oh.
The tannic acid blackens the salts of iron, as the tannic
acid of oak. The theine is the most remarkable constituent.
Peligot has lately discovered in tea a larger quantity of
theine, besides some caseine, both of which are azotised
substances. The use of cat bonate of soda is advantageous
in the preparation of tea, as it is in that of coffee ; it in-
creases the power of drawing the extract out of the leaves,
makes the infusion stronger, and gives it a better taste.
In the ashes of tea the author found oxide of iron and ar-
gilla, and draws from this circumstance the conclusion,
that the shrub grows and thrives on ferruginous and ar-
gillaceous soils, which are also in other respects favourable
to the formation of ammonia, and of the azotised caseine
and theine. In using tea, most persons only consume
those parts which are to be extracted by water, particu-
larly the etherial_oil, the tanuate of theine, gum, and
most of the soluble salts. But the tea is not exhausted by
a single infusion in boiling water; at least one-third of
the soluble constituents remain in the leaves, with the
greatest part of the caseine. Carbonate of soda dissolves
the caseine, and therefore materially increases the strength
of the beverage. The theine is composed of eight atoms
of carbon, four atoms of nitrogen, ten atoms of hydrogen,
and two atoms of oxygen. In those countries where tea
is generally takeu (as Fngland and Holland), diseases of
relaxation and emmoltition prevail, particularly among the
female sex. Tea considerably increases the sensibility of
the whole nervous system, and relaxes the digestive canal;
but it certainly possesses some nutritive power, in conse-
quence of containing two azotised substances—theine and
caseine. The increased secretion of urea and bile, subse-
quent to its use, shows its medicinal effect. The Chinese
use the tea leaves as an emetic. Fresh tea acts, according
to Percival, like opium and henbane on the nerves, and
like foxglove on the function of the heart and arteries:
Those men who ate engaged in unpacking tea are very
liable to become paralytic; the exhalations of tea produce
headache, giddiness, &c. Vessels of porcelain are the
best for extracting the constituents of tea; and tin boxes
should always be used for 'reserving it.—Chanabers's
Journal.

HONG KONG AS A PLACE OF TRADE.—We have
taken some pains to make ourselves acquainted with the
capabilities of Bong Kong, and with the circumstances
connected with its being chosen as a British settlement.
It is situated in the neighbourhood of an immense trade,
and has a magnificent harbour. These two facts are in-
disputable, and every body can appreciate their impor-
tance. Mr. Davison, in a work of much interest, lately
published, entitled " Trade and Travel in the. Far East,
and who was for twelve months at Hong-Kong. says
that " as a depot for goods intended for the Chinese mar-
ket, I conceive the situation of Hong Kong to be unri-
valled." As a decisive proof of the eligibility of Hong
Kong as a place of trade in the eyes of the Chinese them-
selves, he mentions that some of them have paid immense
sums for ground on which to build stores there. In re-
gard to climate, there can be no doubt that it has proved
unfavourable, but this disadvantage is shared by Chusan,
the only other place named as suitable for our settlement,
and probably by any locality along the coast which could
be thought of for such a purpcse. Much of the unhealthi-
ness of all these places seems referable to temporary and
superficial causes—to paludal miasma, exhalations from
deserted rice grounds, as well as from naturally swampy
spots in the ravin s, and from the brushwoods growing
and rotting there. This we gather from the important
work of Dr. Wilson, inspector of our naval hospitals and
fleets in China, lately published, and entitled " Medical
Notes on CLina." The writer holds (p. 164) that acci.
rental circumstances have helped to fix on the climate of
Hong Kong, at the commencement of its colonial history,
a much worse character than it will be found to deserve.
One main ground arises from his remark, that there ap
pear to be in China great periodic physical movements—
times of exacerbation of disease, with long intervals of
remission ; and that the accumulation of the causes of
endemic being now discharged, a period of comparative
immunity will follow. It may thus be that our first ap.
pearance in China synchronized with a cycle of disease,
and that attention being directed to the removal of excit-
ing causes, the climate will not be found permanently un-
favourable to Europeans. There appears to be no reason
to blame the government for selecting Hong Kong as the
site of our English colony, and none, certainly,for reflect-
ing on our envoy in regard to that transactiop. The
choice rested between this place and Lhusan. It will be
remembered what an outcry there then was against the
latter place, on the ground of its unhealthiness. It ought
also to be known that Hong Kong was selected by Mr.
Eliot, the predecessor of Sir Henry Pottinger, and that
the latter found many costly public works erected and in
progress there, and large sums of money expended both
publicly and privately on the island. In this state of af-
fairs, Sir Henry Pottinger referred the choice of the place
for our

settlement to the ministers at home, stating the
comparative advantages of the two places under conside-
ration, Chusan and [long Kong, and on what was, we
believe, a just estimate of their merits, the government
decided for Hong Kong.—Dublin University Magazine.

TDB BADGER.—Notwithstanding the persecutions arld
indignities that he is unjustly doomed to suffer.,lJuAintmo
that he Is far more respectable in his habits than wegene,
rally consider him to be. " Dirty as a badger," " stink-
ing as-a badger," are two sayings often repeated, but
quite inapplicable to him. As far as we can learn of the
domestic economy of this animal when in a state of na-
ture, he is remarkable for his cleanliness—his extensive
burrows are always kept perfectly clean, and free from all
offensive smell; no filth is ever found about his abode;
every thing likely to offend bis olfactory nerves is carefully
removed. I, once, in the north or Scotland, fell in with a
perfect col. ny of badger's ; they had taken up their abode
in an unfrequented range of wooded rocks, and appeared
to have been little interrupted in their possession of them.
The footpaths to and from their numerous boles were bea-
ten quite hard ; and what is remarkable and worthy of
note, they had different small pits dug at a certain distance
from their abodes, which were evidently used as recepta-
cles for all offensive filth ; every other part of their colony
was perfectly clean. A solitary badger's hole, which 1
once had dug out, during the winter season, presented a
curious picture of his domestic and military arrangements ;
a hard and long job it was for two men to achieve, the pas-
sage here and there turned in a sharp angle round some
projecting corners of rock, which he evidently makes use
of when attacked, as points of defence, making a stand at
,ny of these angles, where a dog could not scratch to en-
- perture, and fighting from behini his stone but-

tress. After tracing out a long winding passage, the
workmen came to two branches in the hole, each leading
to good-sized chambers ; in one of these was stored a con-
siderable quantity of dried grass, rolled up into balls as
large as a man's fist, and evidently intended as food ; in
the other chamber there was a bed of soft grass and leaves
—the sole inhabitant was a peculiarly large old dog-bad-
ger. Besides coarse grasses, their food consists of various
roots ; amongst others, I have frequently found about
their hole the bulb of the common wild blue hyacinth.
Fruit of all kinds and esculent vegetables form his repast,
and I fear that he must plead guilty to devouring any
small animal that may come in his way, alive or dead ;
though, not being adapted for the chase, or even for any
very skilful strategy of war, I do not suppose that he can
do much in catching an unwounded bird or beast. Eggs
are his delight, and a partridge's nest with seventeen or
eighteen eggs must affurd him a fine meal, particularly if
he can surprise and kill the hen-bird also; snails and worms
which he finds above ground during his nocturnal rambles,
are likewise included in his bill of fare. I was one summer
evening walking home from fi,hing in Loch Ness, and
having occasion to fasten up some part of my tackle, and
also expecting to meet my keeper, I sat down on the shore
of the loch. I remained some time, enjoying the lovely
prospect : the perfectly clear and unruffled loch lay before
me, reflecting the northern shore in its quiet water. The
opposite banks consisted, in some parts, of bright green-
sward, sloping to the water's edge, and studded with some
of the most beautiful birch-trees in Scotland ; several of
the trees spreading out like the oak, and with their rag-
ged and ancient looking bark resembling the cork-tree of
Spain—others drooping and weeping over the edge of 'the
water in the most lady-like and elegant manner. Parts of
the loch were edged in by old lichen covered rocks ; while

farther on a magnificent scar of red stone rose perpendi-
cularly from ►he water's edge to a very great height. So
clearly was every object on the opposite shore reflected in
the lake below, that it was difficult, nay impossible, to

distinguish where the water ended and the land commenced
—the shadow from the reality. The sun was already set,
but its rays still illuminated the sky. It is said that from
the sublime to the ridiculous there is but one step ;—and
I was just then startled from my reverie by a kind of grunt
c!ose to me, and the apparition of a small waddling grey
animal, who was busily employed in hunting about the
grass and stones at the edge of the loch ; presently ano-
ther, and another, appeared in a little grassy glade which
ran down to the water's edge, till at last I saw seven of
them busily at work within a few yards of me, all coming
from one direction. It at first struck me that they were
some farmer's pigs taking a distant ramble, but I shortly
saw that they were badgers, come from their fastnesses ra-
ther earlier than usual, tempted by the quiet evening, and
by a heavy summer shower that was just over, and which
had brought out an infinity of large black snails and
worms, on which the badgers were feeding with good ap-
petite. As I was dressed in grey and sitting on a grey
rock, they did not see me, but waddled about, sometimes
close to me : only now and then as they crossed my track
they showed a slight uneasiness, smelling the ground, and
grunting gently. Presently a very large one, which I took
to be the mother of the rest, stood motionless for a mo-
ment listening with great attention, and then giving aloud
grunt, which seemed perfectly understood by the others,
she scuttled away, followed by the whole lot. I was soon
joined by my attendant. whose approach they had beard
long before my less acute ears gave me warning of hie
coming. In trapping other vermin in these woods, we
constantly caught badgers—sometimes several were found
in the traps ; I always regretted this, as my keeper was
most unwilling to spare their lives, and I fancy seldom did
so. His arguments were tolerably cogent, I must confess.
When I tried to persuade him that they were quite harm-
less, he answered me by asking, " Then why, sir, have
they got such teeth, if they don't live, like a dog or fox,
on flesh ?—and why do they get caught so often in traps
baited by rabbits ?" I could not but admit that they had
most carnivorous-looking teeth, and well adapted to act
on the offensive as well as defensive, or to crunch the
bones of any young bare, rabbit, or pheasant that came in
their way."—Wild Sports and Natural History of the
Highlands.