The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-12-26 00:00:00

PROPHECY OF NIXON.—A prophecy of this famed
Cheshire prophet, from the papers at Vale Royal, is now
exciting considerable attention. It is " When a ,fox
without cubs shall sit in the pulpit of the White Chapel of
England, then men shall travel to Paris without horses,
and kings shall run away and leave their crowns." It is a
singular fact that the present incumbent of Daresbury
(the White Chapel of England) is the Rev. Mr. Fawkes,
who is unmarried. The striking accomplishment—railway
travelling and the revolutions of the present year—must
be obvious to every one. (So says our friend of the
Stockport Advertiser; but we must confess that the no-
tion of supposing an unmarried clergyman of the name of
Fawkes to be the antitype of " a fox without cubs," is
rather forcing the interpretation ; and will not be so
" obvious to every one" as some persons imagine.)

THE DANDY AND HIS TAILOR AT MARRAST'S
SOIREE.—An aristocratic young dandy, one of the most
exclusive of our most fashionable lions, who, as he de-
clares, was present at Marrast's reception merely from
curiosity, was invited by the mistress of the house to take
his place at an ecarte table, where was already seated a
gentleman waiting for a partner. The lion obeyed with
scornful complaisance, and took the chair opposite to the
stranger, who was already beginning to shuffle and sort
the cards with agreeable anticipation of amusement, after
long expectation. No sooner, however, was the dandy
seated than he started with amazement on beholding in
his partner the visage which will sometimes strike terror
into the bosom of the bravest of mankind, the tailor to
whom a long bill is owing. The latter, however, as will-
ing as the dandy to avoid recognition, merely bowed in
answer to the stare of surprise of which he was the ob-
ject; and said quietly, as he drew his purse from his
pocket, " What are our stakes ?" " The coat on my back,"
replied the impu lent dandy, without moving a muscle.
The tailor is a man of humour, and rather enjoyed the
joke than otherwise. He played for the coat, and lost,
and the dandy walked away rather embarrassed at the
novel position in which he stood as wearer of a coat which
was really paid for.—Paris correspondent of Atlas.
A MORMON MIRACLE.—The, body of the Mormons
called upon their prophet. Joe Smith. to perform a miracle
in public before all corners, which was to prove to these
of their own people who still doubted the doctrine, the
truth of what it advanced—(the power of performing
miracles was steadfastly declared to be in their hands by
the prophets)—and to enlist those who wavered in the
Mormon cause. The prophet instantly agreed, and
declared, that upon a certain day, be would walk across the
broad waters of the Missouri without wetting the soles of
his feet. On the appointed day, the river banks were
.tbronged—hy expectant crowd. The Mormons sang
hymns of praise in honour of their prophet, and were
proud of the forthcoming miracle, which was to set finally
at rest all doubt as to his power and sanctity. The power
of performing miracles, and effecting miraculous cures of
the sick, was so generally believed by the Mormons, that
physic was never used amongst them. The prophets
visited the beds of the sick, and laid hands upon them,
and if, as of course, was almost invariably the case, the
patient died, it was attributed to his or her want of faith ;
hut if, on the contrary, the patient recovered, there was
universal glorification on the miraculous cure. ' Joe Smith
was a tall fine-looking man, of most plausible address,
and possessed the gift of the gab in great perfection. At
the time appointed for the performance of the walking-
water miracle, he duly attended on the river banks, and
descended barefoot to the edge of the water. "My bre-
thren," he exclaimed in a loud voice, " this day is a happy
one to me, to us all, who venerate the great and only

faith. The truth of our great and blessed doctrine will
now be proved before the thousands I see around me.
You have asked me to prove by a miracle that the power
of the prophets of old has been given to me. I say unto
you, not only to me. but to all who have faith. I have
faith, and can perform miracles—that faith empowers me
to walk across the broad surface of that mighty river
without wetting the soles of my unworthy feet ; but if ye
are to see this miracle performed, it. is necessary that ye
have faith also not only in yourselves but in me. Have
ye this faith in yourselves ?" "We have, we have !"
roared the crowd. " Then," said Joe Smith, coolly walk-
ing away, " with such faith do ye know well that 1 could,
hut it hoots not that I should do it ; therefore, my bre-
thren, doubt no more"—and Joe put on his boots and
disappeared.—Blackutood.
THE COCKNEY AND THE SQUlRE.—Gregarious habits
had no small share in forming the character of the Lon-
doner a century since. He was indeed a different being
from the rustic Englishman. There was not then the in-
tercourse which now exists between the two classes. Only
very great men were in the habit of dividing the year be-
tween town and country. Few esquires came to the capital
thrice in their lives. Nor was it yet the practice of all ci-
tizens, in easy circumstances, to breathe the fresh air of
the fields and woods during some weeks of every summer.
A Cockney in a rural village was stared at as much as if
he had intruded into a kraal of Hottentots. On the other
hand, when the lord of a Lincolnshire or Shropshire manor
appeared in Fleet-street, he was as easily distinguished from
the resident population as a Turk or a Lascar. His dress,
his gait, his accent, the manner in which he stared at the
shops, stumbled into the gutters, ran against the porters,
and stood under the water-spouts, marked him out as an
excellent subject for the operation of swindlers and ban-
terers. Bullies jostled him into the kennel. Hackney
coachmen splashed him from head to foot. Thieves ex-
plored with perfect security the huge pockets of his horse-
man's coat, while lie stood entranced by the splendour of
the Lord Mayor's show. Money-droppers, sore from the
cart's tail, introduced themselves to him, and appeared to
him the most honest friendly gentlemen that he had ever
seen. Painted women, the refuse of Lewkner Lane and
Whetstone Park, passed themselves on him for countesses
and maids of honour. If he asked his way to St. James's.
-his informants sent him to Mile-end. If he went into a
shop, he was instantly discerned to be a fit purchaser of
everything that nobody else would buy of second-hand
embroidery, copper rings, and watches that would not go.
If he rambled into any fashionable coffee-house, he be-

came a mark for the insolent derision of fops, and the
grave waggery of Templars. Enraged and mortified, he
soon returned to his mansion ; and there, in the homage
of his tenants and the converlation of his boon compa-
nions, found consolation for the vexations and humi-
liations which he had undergone. There he once more
felt himself a-great man ; and he saw nothing above him,
except when at the assizes he took his seat on the bench
near the judge, or when at the muster of the militia he sa-
luted the lord-lieutenant.—Macaulay's England.
'NEEDLESS OATHS IN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.—A HINT
TO THE LEGISLATURE.--Desiring to speak with the
greatest possible diffidence, I nevertheless cannot help ex-
pressing a fear, that an oath is required far too frequently,
and on utterly inadequate occasions, in the conduct of le-
gal business ; to an extent which is calculated to impair
the sense of its awful character and incidents. Surely it
is an act of tremendous significance. deliberately to invoke
the Deity to witness that what is said on a given occasion
is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
I have sometimes shuddered at witnessing the unconcern.
and even levity, with which oaths are given and taken, so
as to degenerate into mere irreverent form. In Scotland
the oath to a witness is administered with a grand solem-
nity. The judge rises from his seat, and raising his hand,
requires the witness to do the same ; and then, their
hands remaining elevated, he repeats after the judge the fol-

lowing words I swear by Almighty God, and as I
shall answer to God at the great Day of Judgment, that I
will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth !" What could be more calculated to solemnise the
mind, to search and quicken the conscience, than such an
oath, so administered ? It might be as well, perhaps, if
such were to be the practice in our own court. However
this may be, I appeal to every one present whether oaths
are not at present taken on a vast number of the most tri-
vial occasions that can occur in the course of ordinary bu-
siness ; administered hurriedly—taken without adequate
reflection on the nature of the act—given and taken, in
fact, almost mechanically—the dread words " So help me
God !" pronounced trippingly on the tongue, IA hile the
lips touch the sacred volume with hasty and impatient ac-
tion, the soul taking no part whatever in the matter! *
* * * God forbid that on occasions of adequate im-
portance, a person should not be required to pledge his
oath deliberately to the truth of his statement—to the
sincerity of his belief and intention ; but in the name of
all that is decorous and reverential, why should the same
solemn ceremony be adopted in order to obtain a dig-
tringas—to set aside petty proceedings for petty irregu-
larities—to satisfy the court or a judge of the due service
of rules and notices—that there is a good defence to an
action on the indictment—or, in an affidavit of increase,
to satisfy the master of the truth of a paltry detail of
pounds, shillings, and pence, paid to witnesses, in tavern
expenses, and so forth ! You know that I could occupy
hours in enumerating the trifling occasions in which we
audaciously venture thus to appeal to the Deity.—War-
ren's Duties of Attorneys.

SOMNAMBITLISM.—AItogether, the most interesting
case of somnambulism on record is that of a young eccle-
siastic, the narrative of which, from the immediate com-
munication of an Archbishop of Bordeaux, is given under
the head of Somnambulism in the French Encyclopedia.
This young ecclesiastic, when the archbishop was at the
same seminary, used to rise every night, and write out
either sermons or pieces of music. To study his condi-
tion, the archbishop betook himself several nights to the
chamber of the young man, where he made the following
observations :—The young man used to rise, to take
paper, and to write. Before he wrote music he would
take a stick and rule the lines with it. He wrote the
notes, together with the words corresponding with them,
with perfect correctness. Or, when he bad written the
words too wide, he altered them. The notes that were
to be black he filled in after he had completed the whole.
After completing a sermon, he read it aloud from begin-
ning to end. If any passage displeased-him, he erased it,
and wrote the amended passage correctly over the other;
on one occasion he had to substitute the word " adorable"
for " divin," but he did not omit to alter the preceding
" ce" into " cet," by adding the letter " t" with exact
precision, to the word first written. To ascertain whe.
ther he used his eyes, the archbishop interposed a sheet
of pasteboard between the writing and his face. He took
not the least notice, but went on writing as before. The
limitation of his perceptions to what he was thinking
about was very curious. A bit of •anniseed cake that he
had sought for, he eat approvingly ; but when, on ano-
ther occasion, a piece of the same cake was put in his
mouth, he spit it out vvithout observation. The following
instance of the dependence of his perceptions upon, or
rather their subordination to, his preconceived ideas, is
truly wonderful. It is to be observed that he always
knew when his pen had ink in it. Likewise, if they
adroitly changed his papers, when he was writing, he
knew if the sheet substituted was of different size from
the former, and he appeared embarrassed in that case;
but if the fresh sheet of paper, which was substituted for
that written on, was exactly of the same size with the
former, he appeared not to be aware of the change. And
he could continue to read off his composition from the
blank sheet of paper as fluently as when the manuscript
itself lay before him; nay, more, he would continue his
corrections and introduce the amended passage, writing
it upon exactly the place on the blank sheet which it
would have occupied on the written page.—Blackwood.