The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-07-02 00:00:00

religious,—it is the ditty of the legislature and executive to take
measures r the supply of such decadency :
"That a mere learning to read is not edueation ; but is only Con-
ferring a power more likely to be used for evil purposes than for
good:

•• That a bare passage through certain Scripture lessons, or
through the Church Catechism, is not a religious education; nor
can such teachin, be expected to exert any beneficial influence on
the bulk of the children submitted to it
•` That it StiOilld be the ende.wour of the government, by calling
in the counsel of the best teachers of youth that the kingdom can
furnish, to de% ise some system, thoroughly Christian, by which the
children of the poor may he efficiently educated, in the true sense of
the word; and thus fitted t i I), come useful members of society.
" And, lastly, that such a system, when devised, should be made,
as soon and as extensively as possible, an institution of the state;
in such sort, as that all parishes, willing to avail themselves of it,
might do so, by a vote of public vestry, with all the efficiency de •
rived from an authorized local assessment."

Blacktrood's Magazine for July.
We have not yet h id leisure to peruse the whole of the
present number, but may venture, from what we have
read of it, to pronounce it to be one of the best that has
yet appeared, whether as regards articles of national im.
port and sound political disqu7sition, or the variety ani
talent of the literary productions interswn-sed throughout
its pages. In the first article, on " The Causes of the
Increase of Crime," the writer gives on data that scarcely
admit of a quesVon, a comprehensive view of the greater
demoralization of our manufacturing and mining po-
pulation as compared with the working classes in the rural
districts, and points out whit he conceives would be
found remedial. " The Memorandums of a Month's
Tour in Sicily" are written in a clever sketching style,
and convey interesting pictures of that island, its scenery,
principal towns, (especially Palermo and Messina,) the
manners of the inhabitants, &c. " The Last of the
Knights" is a pleasing cornhiriation of history and ro-
mance. " Sketch in New York, or My First Love" is a
tale illustrative of female character in that city. The Tradi-
tions of Upper Lusatia" are continued with unahating
interest, and contain some curious legends of the King-
dom of Elves. There is an able and highly interesting
paper entitled " Portugal." being a review of Memoirs
of the Marquis of Pombal, by J. Smith, Esq.," an intel-
ligent historical work, in which the character of that cele-
brated minister who immortalized himself by the expul-
sion of the Jesuits, is placed in its true light. The account
of the plot against the life of the king, Don Joseph, and
the execution of the titled ringleaders, will be read with
painful interest. " Marston, or the Memoirs of a States-
man" is continued with undiminished vigour and mass of
incident. "The Week of an Emperor" describes the re-
cent movements of the great autocrat of all the Russians,
when he visited the court of Victoria. The number also
contains some good poetics! pieces. including a series of
translations of the most select " Poems and Ballads of
Goethe." We shall give some extracts in our next pub-
lication.

The Bowler's Pocket Companion. James and Wood-
burn, South Gistle-street, Liverpool.

This is a handsome little book, containing " Rules for
the Game of Bowls," by our townsman Mr. James Mar-
shall. The writer truly says in his introduction, "it has
been admitted in all ages, that, for the preservation of
health, man requires recreation. lo those, then, who are
closely confined or engaged in sedentary employments,
the noble and manly game of bowls claims pre-eminence
over all amusements, having been justly ranked, by gen-
tlemen high in professional reputation, superior to every
other—bringing into action the physical powers of the
players, without the distressing effects produced by more
energetic games." After some remarks on the necessity
of abiding by rules, in order fully to enjoy this animating
and scientific diversion, he proceeds to explain all the
technical terms employed, and under thirty-two distinct
heads furnishes a complete manual of the laws as adhered
to by the best players. We are not ourselves versed or
practised in the game, though we can enjoy as much as
any one, on a summer evening, a view of the green when
enlivened by anxious and (always) good-humoured play-
ers; but we have shown the neat production to several
crack bowlers, and they concur in pronouncing it to be an
accurate and concise digest of the law-,—so simple, too,
that they may be readily comprehended and acted upon
for all practical puroses, to the avoidance of the slightest
dispute. No young bowler, or keeper of a green, should
be without this neat little book, which may be kept even
in a corner of the pocket, and the price of which is a
comparative trifle.

Knight's Weekly Volume for all Readers. London :

Charles Knight and Co.
We have perused with great pleasure—and we may add
no little profit—the first volume of this new library of
cheap entertaining and instructive literature, and have no
hesitation in stating that if those that succeed it be got up
with equal care and talent, the work will become highly
and deservedly popular. It is a small, but thick, and
well-printed duodecimo, illustrated with wood-cuts, and
containing no fewer than 240 pages of well digested mat-
ter—all for the small price of one shilling ! This volume
is entirely occupied by a Biography, written by Mr. C.
Knight, of William Caxton, a translator of many curious
and esteemed works of foreign authors, and finally the
Father of the Art of Printing in England—the first book
printed in the English language having been his own
translation of the " Histories of Troy," of which be was
also the typographist, after attaining the invaluable science
on the continent, at the request of his patroness Mar-
garet, the " dreadful" Ducbess of Burgundy. The vo-
lume opens with a prefatory article from the Penny Ma-
gazine of May last. on the advantages of cheap literature
and lending libraries, in which the writer, after noticing
the several weekly and other miscellanies of the day—the
Family Library, the Library of Entertaining Know-
ledge, the Penny Cyclopcedia, &c., &c., remarks :—" We
have as many modern reprints of standard works, as we
could desire; but they are mostly close-printed pamphlets,
which are easily destroyed ; their form unfits them for
circulation from hand to hand. There is a general desire
to form libraries for all readers—not only libraries of
reference, but extensive libraries of circulation. In every
case there is a difficulty in the choice of fitting books,
whether we regard the subject matter, or the form and
price. It is hoped that the difficulty may be obviated
by the publication of Knight's Weekly Volume,"—and so
we trust it will. The publishers propose "to place within;.
the reach of all readers a series of books which shall com-
prehend that range of literature which well educated
persons desire to have at their command," and to offer
" the recreation of genial and amusing reading in connec-
tion with what is solid and serious." For this purpose
they will avail themselves of many valuable copyrights
in their possession, make "judicious compilations of
translations from foreign works, and of original produc-
tions by authors of ability ;" and as they are also offered
the assistance of writers of established reputation, they
will have no want of materials to conduct the under-
taking steadily and extensively. Each volume," they
add, " will be essentially a book—not a tract—a book
for the pocket and the library : many of the volumes will
be complete in themselves, and some subjects will extend
to two or more volumes. They subjoin a few useful
rules for the regulation of book clubs for all readers.
Mr- Knight has accomplished his task in a manner that
evinces his perfect ability to write or compile for, as well
as to edit such a work. The " Biography" is exceed-
ingly interesting, and curious,—supplying the most promi-
nent passages in the life of Caxton, from his birth in the
Weald of Kent to the time of his death—his being a mer-
cer's apprentice; afterwards a mercer; his sojourn at the
court of Burgundy, Cologne, &c. ; his acquirement of
the trade ; and his press at Westminster. and his
" work': in printing to the end. The concluding chap-
, ter, entitled " The Chapel," is a supposed conversation
between Wynkyn de Worde, the successor of Caxton in
the printing office, and his " companions," in which the
advancement of the art is predicted, and is well and hu-
monrously conceived. There is a " Postscript" showing
the progress of the press in England from Caxton's first
work, in 1471, to the year 1843. The titles of the works
printed by the father of English printing—in all s'xty-
four in number—are here given—together with a variety
of other information. We give a few extracts elsewhere.

The Library of Travel. Chapman and Hall ; Strand,

London.
The third part of this well-edited and " popular de-
scription of foreign countries " is just received ; and from
what we have yet been enabled to peruse of it, we may
safely state that it continues to increase in interest, and,
we may add, in the solidity and importance of the in-
formation it contains. The present number is a further
continuation of " Syria and the Holy Land," including
vivid descriptions of Damascus, its scenery, buildings,
customs and manners of the inhabitants, &c. ; also, of
Palmyra, Baalbec, the route from Latakiah to Antackiab,
&c., the whole interspersed with the most lively personal
adventure and anecdote, together with graphic delineations
of scenery and sights. The woodcut illustrations are also
numerous throughout, and well executed. Many of them
are splendid views of the most picturesque scenery in
these interesting countries. We shall give some extracts
in our next publication.

How to dance the Polka, 8,-c. London : Hugh Cun-

ningham, Strand.
We have received a small, elegantly-got-up, little
work, entitled " How to dance the Polka, and all the
Quadrilles, German Waltzes, Highland Reels, &c., &c.
' Der Polka,' after the method of M. Coulon ; the music
by M. M. Jullien," &c. It appears to us to be a complete
mullum in parvo, explaining with brevity and precision
the steps and figures of these most fashionable dances of
the day, so that the reader who has but a slight previous
knowledge of the art may, by adopting the method en-
joined for self-tuition, readily become adept in their se-
veral graceful movements. We have, first, the origin and
history of the Hungarian " Polka," with rules how to
accomplish it; next, instructions for each figure in the
quadrilles—the " Lancers," " Caledonians," " Galo-
pade," " Renaiseance," and " Finales ;" << Prince Al-
bert's favourite Contre Danse," the " Waltz," the
" Scotch Reel," and the " Cosaque Polonaise," with the
terms peculiar to the Polka, quadrilles, waltzes, &c. Some
agreeable anecdotes of the extraordinary effect of the
Polka on the public mind, on the Continent, and latterly
in England, are also given ; and the book, though in good
large type, is so neat and portable that it may be carried
in a card case, or in the waistcoat pocket.