The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-05-02 00:00:00

scbool-boy, reading Caesar's Commentaries, came to the
Caesar transitAlpes, summa diligentia ;" which, to
-iated—" Caesar

words,

One of ti

of the B

New York from t

tion—became

father of
to her M

I This

its of K

e air as well as a little gnat
it thin- '' -.lan bad leis,

g (if a

the means Of constructing it

I:ger Ron_

as Llrobabi,

coeva

or of t

I when t

cation

er-loom was
t abject no-

fter plundering him
1 of

DUB oppropr
ight surely

)Id, not even annt

In acknowledg

:quittance, of the

ntions, fru

fivel in blood,

3 afforded

len the I

and so poor Mr. Radcliffe d;
ay, it is said, but if not wit

dhye or sour cur

i for bread—they gave
inventor, and of

s n •-- --
Wonderful as was the sagacit

THE AFFGIIANS.—The celerity with which troops are
raised is quite astonishing to us, who are accustomed to see
recruits drilled for a length of time. Here every man is born
a soldier; every child has his knife,—that weapon which has
proved so destructive in the hands of a hostile peasantry, in-
cited against us by the moollahs, who threaten eternal per-
dition to all who do not join in the cause of the Ghazeeas ;
whilst heaven, filled with houris, is the recompence for every
man who falls in a religious war. With them, the only ex-
pense attending the soldier consists in his pay, which is
scanty ; his horse, if he -have one, is his own ; and every
Afghan is armed completely with some three or four of these
knives, of different sizes—from that as long as a sword to a
small dagger—pistols, and a juzail ; which latter predomi-
nates over the matchlock : they carry much farther than our
muskets ; so that when our men are beyond range to hit them
they pour a destroying tire on us. Regardine these

Came
muskets being better than matchlocks; those who had only
the latter may have taken them of late in exchange; but,
generally speaking, the only useful part to the Affghans are
the locks, which they tear off and leave the rest. * * L*
I kept the anniversary of my marriage by dining with the

ladies of Mahommed Shah Khan's family •' who told us that
Petteh Jung was king, Mahommed Akbar Khan wuzeer, and
Mahotnined Shah Khan the sirdar-i-sirdoren. It was an
extremely stupid
.visit.. 'ye had two female servants to in-

terpret for us. Three of Mahommed Shah Khan's wives and
some of Dost Moliumened's, with the mother of the chiefs,
and two of their unmarried sisters, were present. They were,
generally speaking, inclined to embonpoint, largely formed,
and coarsely featured ; their dress inelegant, and of the
coarsest materials. The favourite wife, and the best dressed,
was attired in a common Cabul silk, with a coarse piece of
chintz inserted behind, evidently for economy's sake. The
dress, which covers the whole person, nearly resembles a
common night-dress; and has tacked on to it co,

ns, or other
pieces of silver or gold, such as crescents, &c. all over the
sleeves, the front and sides from the shoulders to the feet. A
breast-plate is worn, cummencinr, at the throat, of coins
struni, together : this descends far below the waist ; and

iey sit down, it hnngs on festoons on the lap. Only
the favourite wore gold coins ; those of the other ladies being
of silver. They had nothing in the way of jewels, properly

yen common-sized pearls surioutidink
ws, the whose set asanose ornament,

.
_.......... ..,,,ig a saw in the trinket way. Some
.it them had very inferior ear-rings of gold and silver. They
-- their hair in innumerable small plaits hanging down :
are arranged once a week after taking the bath ; and
resses are then well stiffened with gum. The unmar-
ried women bend their hair in a flat braid across the forehead
touching the eyebrows ; which gives them a very heavy look.
1
These said eyebrows, whilst they are maidens, remain as
nature formed them : but when they marry, the hair of the
centre is carefully picked out; and the arch, thus most un-
naturally raised, is painted, the Cabul women are much
addicted to the use of both white and red paint ; and they co-
'l3a
atinr lour not only the nails, as in Hindostan, but the whole hand
,ecutiv - I the wrist, .which looks as though it had been plunged
' l in blood, and lo our ideas is very disgusting. A particular
up to
3 scores, plant is often used for this purpese. The upper part of the
leaf sparkles, and resembles the ice-plant ; but the lower side
is red, and on being pressed gives a fine dye. A chuddah is
thrown over the bead and shoulders in the house, as in Hin-
vas broken to dostan ; and when they go out they wear the bourka, ru-i
it was bund, and legwraps : high-heeled iron-shod slippers complete
- •
_ the costume. After a time an extremely dirty cloth was
-read over the nuindas in front of us, and dishes of pallau,
—4- and fernez or sweet curd, were placed be-

i
1 the scandal of a parish
biavestone
pauper wth their fingers, Affghan fashion—an accomplishment in
71. a stone." which I am by no means au fait. • We drank water out of a
gmal mechanical teapot. A dinner was given to the gentlemen by Abdoolah
and enterprise of Sir Khan, at his tents about two miles off, nearer the snow.
Lady Sale's Journal.

ut nis master, he tau
crossed the Alps on the top of a diligence!r I
..._
1"
THE VERY LATEST.—There is a lawyer in Down-East so
ssively honest that he puts all his flower-pots out over
night—so determined is he that everything shall have " its
dew."

The " Arches Court" is an Ecclesiastical Court, and also
very ancient, having existed prior to the reign of Henry the
Second. The namu is derived from " Curia de Arcubus,"
the court being held formerly in Bow Church. It is novr
held in Doctors'-Commons.
- -

In a provincial Useful Knowledge Institution one of the
members reading "methinks" in Shakspeare, (Much Ado
about Nothing,) remarked to a companion, " this must be
wrong and ungrammatical." " Yes,' said the other, "it is
evidently a misprint for I thinks."
LONGEVITY OF WOMEN..-According to recent statistical
investigations it has been ascertained that there died through-
out England and Wales, between Ist July, 1840, and 30th
June, 1841, 5247 females, aged 85 and upwards ; whereas, of
the same age, there died only 3,954 males, leaving a balance
in favour of the old ladies of 1283. • Among the females who
died, 71 had passed the age of 100, but only 40 males.
NOSES.—The last number of the Vermont Asylum (Insane)
Journal, contains some numerous remarks on noses. The
mad writer says, " that the nose has been placed by Provi-
dence directly over the mouth, to pass judgment on the food
—a sort of sanitory sentinel—a kind of quarantine officer, to
prevent the entrance into port of all things that are unsafe,
or unfitting." Very true.—New York paper.
LORD AUCKLAND'S SUPINENESS.—The state of supine-
ness and fancied security of these in power in cantonments is
the result of deference to the opinions of Lord Auckland,
whose sovereign will and pleasure it is that tranquillity do
reign in Affghanistan ; in fact, it is reported at Government-
house, Calcutta, that the lawless Affghans are as peaceable as
London citizens ; and this being decided by the powers that
be, why should we be on the alert ?"--Lady Sale's Journal.

A gentleman outside the bar was once citing some cases in
support of an argument in the Court of Exchequer, before
the late Chief Baron O'Grady, (Lord Guillamore,) and per-
•

d smite upon his countenance—his irony was perfec-
"me very indignant, and exclaimed, with some
"My Lord, this is not my law—it is the law of
the great Lord Mansfie " " Oh, Misther —," replied
the Chief—" Oh, Mist , I'm not objecting to your
law at all. It's all migh ood law, only it makes entirely
against your client, Molly Mullowny."
A CAUTIOUS JUDGE.—The late Chief Baron O'Grady,
the gallant officer (Lord Guillimore) aide-de-camp
ajesty, tried two most notorious fellows, at the Car-
ssizes, for highway robbery. To the astonishment of
't, as well as of the prisoners themselves, they were
„a not guilty ! As they were being removed from the
oar, the judge, in that manner so peculiarly his own, address-
ing the gaoler, said, "Mr. Murphy, you would greatly ease
my mind, if you keep those two respectable gentlemen until
seven or half-past seven o'clock; for I mean to set out for
Dublin at five, and I should like to have at least two hours'
start of them."

The following curious anecdote is recorded by Aubrey, in
his " Ostenta" 'or " Portents," printed in 1698 :—" Sir
Walter Long's widow, of Draycot, Wilts, did make a solemn
promise to him, on his deathbed, that she would not marry
after his decease : but not long after, one Sir William Fox,
a very beautiful young gentleman, did win her love ; so that
notwithstanding her promise aforesaid, she married him at
South Wraxall, where the picture of Sir Walter Long hung
over the parlour. door as it does now. As Sir William Fox
led his bride by the hand from the church, which is near to
the house, into the parlour, the string of the_ picture brake,

. ,
and picture fell on her shoulder, and Cracked in the fall. It
was painted on wood, as the fashion was in those days.
This made her ladyship reflect on her promise, and drew
tears from her eyes !"

AERIAL TRAVELLING.—The following passage will be
found in the " Mathematical and Philosophical Works of the
Right Rev. John Wilkins, late Lord Bishop of Chester,"
printed in Loudon, by J. Nicholson, in 1708. Wilkins
flourished during the Commonwealth and reign of Charles
11., p. 132 :—" 1 do seriously and upon good grounds affirm
it is possible to make a flying chariot, in which a man may
sit, and give such motion unto it as shall convey him through
the air, If to

And this perhaps might be.made large enot.„
convey divers men at the same time, together with food fo
their viaticum, and commodities for tEaffic. It is not tha
biggest of anything in this kind that can hinder its motion,
if the motive faculty be answerable thereunto. We see a
11 as a small cork, and an eagle flies in
I conceive it were no diffi-
re) to show more particularly
Was.

SATURDAY NIGHT AT A BOARDING HOUSE.—Todgers's
was in a great bustle that evening, partly owing to some ad-
ditional domestic preparations for the morrow, and partly to
the excitement always inseparable in that house from Satur-
day night, when every gentleman's linen arrived at a different
hour in its own little bundle, with his private account pinned
the outside. There was also a great clinking of pattens
wn stairs, too, until midnight or so, on Saturdays ; toga-
er with a frequent gleaming of mysterious lights in the
area; much working at the pump; and a constant jangling-
of the iron handle of the pail. Shrill altercations from time
to time arose between Mrs, Todgers and unknown females

in remote back kitchens ; and sounds were occasionally heard
indicative of small articles of ironmongery and hardware
being thrown at the boy. It was the custom of that youth
on Saturdays to roll up his shirt-sleeves to his shoulders,
and pervade all parts of the house in an apron of coarse
green baize; moreover, he was more strongly tempted on
Saturdays than on other days (it being a busy time) to make
excursive bolts into the neighbouring alleys when he answered
the door, and there to play at leapfrog and other sports with
vagrant lads, until pursued and brought back by the hair of
the head, or the lobe of his ear ' • so that he was quite a con-
spicuous feature among the peculiar incidents of the last day
in the week at Todgers's.—Martin Cliuzzlewit.
RETREAT ON JELLALABAD.—SINGULAR RIVER.—It was
the general's original intention to halt at Begramee, close to
the Loghur river, and about five miles from Cabool (reite-
rated was the advice of our Afkhan friends—alas, how little
heeded—to push on at all risks through the Khoord Cabool
the first day) ; but the whole country being a swamp en-
crusted
with ice, we went on about a mile further, and halted
at about four p.m. There were no tents save two or three
small palls that arrived. All scraped away the snow as best
they might, to make a place to lie down on. The evening
and night were intensely cold ; no food for man or beast pro-
curable, except a few handfuls of bhoosa, for which we paid
from five to ten rupees. Captain Johnson, in our great dis-
tress, kindly pitched a small pall over us, but it was dark and
we had few pegs; the wind blew in under the sides, and I
felt myself gradually stiffening. I left the bedding, which
was occupied by Mrs. Sturt and her husband, and doubled
up my legs in a straw chair of Johnson's, hovering myself
with my poshteen. Mr. Mien and the ayali fully occupied
the remainder of the space. We only went in all six miles,
and had to abandon two H.A. guns on the road ; we were
also much delayed by the bullocks that dragged the planks in
case the Loghur bridge should have been destroyed. We
had, however, positive information that it was all right, and
so it proved.. Previous to leaving cantonments, as we must
abandon most of our property, Start was anxious to save a
few of his most valuable hooks, and to try the experiment of
sending them to a friend in the city. Whilst he selected'
these, I found, amongst the ones thrown aside, Campbell's
poems, which opened at Hohenlinden, and, strange to say,
one verse actually haunted me day and night :
" Few, few shall part wher many meet,
The snow shall be their winding sheet ;
And every turf beneath their feet
Shall be a soldier's sepulchre."
lam far from being a believer in presentiments, but this
verse is never absent from my thoughts. Heaven forbid that
our fears should be realised ; but we have commenced our
retreat so badly, that we may reasonably have our doubts re-
garding the finale."—Lady Sale's Journal.