The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-09 00:00:00

VARIETIES.

A ZUMMERZET&KIRE ONE.—" X. L." sends us the
following ludicrous con, which he designates " A Znm-
merzetshire One."—Why are consonants like hen roosts?
Because they are no good without " Vowls."
The zoological collection, in the British Museum has
been rapidly increased, both in extent and value, during
the last year. As shown by a return prepared for the
House of Commons, 22,000 specimens were added to that
part of the museum alone, including upwards of ;50 mam-
malia, 3,000 birds, nearly 1,000 fishes and reptiles. 11,000
insects and crustacea, and upwards of 6,000 molluscous
and radiated animals.—Atheneum.

DUELS.—From the commencement of the reign of
George 111. to the reign of her Majesty upwards of 200
duels have been fought. In three both combatants were
killed in each, and in all 120 were wounded. Upwards of
20 trials for duels have occurred, in which four duellists
were found guilty of murder, and two were hanged. In
the list of duellists occur the names of fork, Norfolk,
Castlereagh, Pitt, Fox, Sheridan, Burdett, Canning,
Peel, Wellington, &c.
PICKLING WITH PYROLIGNEOUS ACID.—The advan-
tages which this acid has over malt vinegar ought not to
overlooked : it possesses a very desirable property—that
of hardening or rendering crisp whatever is pickled in it,
and that in a very short space of time compared with
vinegar; it is also suitable where distilled vinegar is re-'
quired, and moreover not more than one-fourth the price
of the latter. There is no doubt of this acid he ng exten-
sively used in the wholesale way, although the pickles
would not appear of so good a colour.—Polytechnic Re-
view.

THE SHERIFF AND aV, OPERA-BOx.—This anecdote
may just now not be unseasonable. In Catalini's second
season in London, one of the sheriffs for the time being con-
sidered it as a necessary appendage to his dignity that he
should have a box at the opera. He was too late, however,
in his appli, ation ; every box was let. Nevertheless—
though rieither kiiowing nor caring anything about music
—a box he would have : so, accordingly,*a small portion
of the slips, at the top of the house, was partitioned off to
serve as a box for him. But when payment lor it was
demanded, he demurred: " Upon what ground ?" he was
asked : " the box is high certainly ; but you ca,, see ever% -
thins. and everybody." " Well. I don't deny," said the
gold-chained functionary, " that I con see everything and
everybody ; but, hang it, Sir, nobody con see me!"
THE LITERATURE OF DESPAIR.—In the whirlpool
of the literature of the day, I have been °ragged into the bot-
tomless abyss of horrors of the recent French rout,nce:
literature. I will say, in one word, it is a literature of
despair. In order to produce a momentary effect, the
very contrary of all that should be held up to man for
his comfort or his safety, is brought before the reader, who
at last knows not whither to fly or how to save himself.
To push the hideous, the revolting, the cruel, the base—
in
short, the whole brood of the vile and abardoned, to
impossibility, is their Satanic tast. One may, and must,
say task ; for there is at the bottom a profound study of
old times, bygone events and circumstances, remarkable
and intricate plots, and incredible facts ; so that it is im-
possible to call such a work either empty or bad. And
this task even men of remarkable talents have undertaken
—clever, eminent men, men of middle age,
who feel
themselvea condemned henceforward to occupy them-
selves with these abominations.— Goethe .
NIGHT THE BEST TIME FOR STUDY.—AII persons of
a highly-wrought and imaginative disposition, wust have
found I ow much clearer they are able to think in the night
season than during the garish hours of day. Some say,
the passions are more awake then; it may be so. but I am
sure the intellect is more awake also. Jean Paul has a
pretty conceit, to explain to us why our thoughts are more
vivid, more marked, more copious, while the material
world is wrapped in gloom. He says something like this,
if I do not wrung him :—"The earth is every day over-
spread with the veil of night, for the same reason that the
cages of birds are darkened, so that we may tire more
readily apprehend the higher harmonies of thought in the
hush and stillness of darkness. Ideas,
which the day con-
verts into smoke arid mist, during the night stand about
us. lights and flames; like the column which fluctuates
above the crater of Vesu‘ius,and which st ems in ihe
day
time a pillar of cloud, but is by night a column of fire.
The superior claims of the ebon go Ideas are so well put
forth here, that I need make no audition.—. Dublin Uni-
versity Magazine.

IMPUTED GLUTTONEY.—At a table el' hole at Cologne,
a manufacturer from Sheffield, aI o spoke mtbitig but
Engli•h. was seared next to a German lady, who did Tic t
speak it ar all. Handing to her a plate of peaches," Have
a peach, n.arm ?" said he. ''Nrin" (co,) tell ed the
lady. " Nine ."' exclaimed he. staling wit) ;strin'sh-
[neut. first at her, and then at the other got ws at table:
" a I y, n there's only six in the dish, but tt.ere
they are tur you," et the same time rolling them upon
her plate.