The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-06-17 00:00:00

PASSAGES FROM AN EDITOR'S NOTE-BOOK.

(For the Liverpool Standard.)

The reading world, before whose eye these pages will
shortly be placed, have but a meagre idea of the strange
medley of occurrences and communications which daily oc-
cupy, and often distract, the attention of the conductor of a
public journal. The occasional puppyism and pretension of
would-be contributors; the stupidity of would-be censors;
the eternal pestering, upon every variety of subjects, by every
variety of anonymous impertinents, constitute a stock of an-
noyances which is sufficient to overwhelm the patience of
any ordinary man. But these are not the whole. In addi-
tion to the ordinary pains of editorship,—for most of which
the column in a journal headed " Notices to Correspondents"
offers itself as a kind of " escapement " or safety valve,—the
mind is oftentimes harrowed by occurrences more saddening
and intensely painful, from the contemplation of which no
prompt escape offers itself, even to the most selfish, and
which are the more trying because, in too many cases, the
hand which would relieve is hopelessly and utterly power-
less.

How often has the journalist to check unwittingly and
unwillingly the enthusiasm, or perhaps to blight the hopes,
of talent, which seeks through his columns to develope itself
to the world ! Genius even—that worshipper at the shrine
of all that is beautiful in earth and heaven—how often does
the hard, utilitarian spirit of this unimaginative world com-
pel him to deny, to the passionate outpourings of its fervid
soul, that access to the public ear which is readily accorded
to the matter-of-fact communications of matter-of-fact men!
Many is the wayward and sensitive spirit which cruel neces-
sity compels him to chill, and which, once chilled—once
eclipsed—is dark and cold for ever. It is painful to be com-
pelled to inflict even a slight upon such; and Heaven knows
how soon a slight is imagined ! But even more painful than
this it is, to see that very talent—that very genius—which
has wooed him in vain, in its primitive excellence and beauty,
driven by circumstances, or by its own waywardness, to de+
aceud to the level of the occupation which has thus met with
denial its pleadings. Such sights, unfortunately, are not rare
—nay, they are rife—;n the world of journalism. The highly
gifted, the profoundly learned, the imaginative, the philoso-
phical, in too many instances, may be found, at the present
moment, bowed down to the actual drudgery of the press;
toiling, in very bitterness of spirit, in merely subordinate or
casual employments, from which their feelings and their
tastes alike recoil ;—their life alternately a wild, self-mocking
revel, and the struggle of a conscious slave for the means of
existence.

With such men the avocations of the conductor of a pub-
lic journalist of the first class bring him into frequent con-
tact ; and, if not devoid of all the better feelings of the
heart, how frequently must his very soul be wrung, as he
contemplates misery, which he cannot relieve, and which,
too often, all the efforts of man, if exerted for the purpose,
would fail in relieving,! The shattered frame may be re-
paired ; but the wrecked intellect—never ! The ravages
which dissipation, anguish, or disease have made in the
body may be effaced ; but who shall light up again, in all its
purity and beauty, the spirit which dwelt within ? The
broken casket may be hound together ; but who shall re-
store its lost water and brilliancy to the trampled gem? As
well might man hope to give back their odour and freshness
to the faded flowers, which autumn strews upon his path, and
winter sweeps away to rot amid his desolation, as to restore
the freshness and beauty of the youthful spirit to the mental
wrecks which bestrew the field of our periodical literature ;
and it is this bitter consciousness, induced by the contem-
plation of beings born to illumine, to thrill, to delight man-
kind, reduced by disappointment, and too often, by folly and
misconduct, to grope in the common sidepaths of intellec-
tual labour—the noble stimulus of literary ambition lost,
and the mere animal necessities alone impelling them—
which constitutes the most painful of the feelings with which
a journalist has to contend in his every day career.

A case of this description, more affecting to myself be-
cause I knew-the unfortunate being in question in his days
of boyhood, came recently under my observation ; and I
propose, in future publications, bringing its leading features
before the notice of the readers of these " passages," in
the order, and occasionally in the language in which I find
them entered, at the time, in my journal. The name, I may
premise, is, for reasons which I need not detail, not that
properly belonging to the individual.

ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHURCH SCHOOLS.—We beg to
call attention to these schools, and to recommend the object
to our readers. They are situated in the most thickly popu-
lated part of the town (in which poverty and ignorance pre-
vail), and for which on Sunday morning next, an appeal
wilt be made by the reverend incumbent to the Christian
inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and we hope a liberal
contribution will be the result.
Mr. CRONIN'S LECTURE ON CONSUMPTION.—On Wed-
nesday evening Mr. Cronin delivered a lecture at the Por-
tico-room, on the subject of consumption. #le traced this
dreadful disease from its commencement, mentioning the
various supposed causes whence it arises, and quoted many
authorities on the subject. Mr. Cronin, in differing from
other medical men, asserts that consumption does not arise
from a tuberculous deposit in the lungs •, but that the mus-
cular system, losing its healthy action from debility, occa-
sions the ribs to fall in upon the lungs, whence cotmgestion
arises,—next inflammation, and the consequence ulcera-
tion. The lecturer instanced, that if any part of the body
were to be pressed upon by any substance for a continuance,
the results would be similar. Mr. Cronin then introduced
several of his patients, who, one and all, bore testimony to
the efficacy of his mode of treatment, and spoke warmly as
to the benefits they bad received. The mode of operation
was next exhibited, and the effect that would be produced
shown on the human frame illustrated by diagrams. The
lecturer was frequently applauded by a numerous and respec-

table auditory. - -
THE ACCIDENT ON THE RIVER.—We gave, in our second
edition of Tuesday, and repeat to-day, a statement of the
fact that the Acadia, in going up the river on her arrival from
America, ran foul of the Cleveland, Woodside ferry-boat.
It appears that the Cleveland, which is an iron steamer,
built by Messrs. Page and Grantham, about seven years ago,
was lying at anchor near the Woodside slip, with her bead to
the northward, and being much lower than the Acadia, the
paddle-wheel of the latter passed over her stem and deck,
in an oblique direction, from the larboard bow to a point
near the starboard paddle-box, tearing away bulwarks, wind-
lass, and deck ; breaking them into small pieces, and mak-
ing sad havoc all around, in its powerful revolutionary
transit over the little vessel. As might be expected,
the huge wheel of the Acadia did not escape without
breakage, for large pieces of its iron arms and rim were
left in the Cleveland, which was thus " clawed " down as
a little fish by the " flipper " of a Leviathan. The
concussion, and subsequent pressure of the wheel, forced the
fore part of the Cleveland entirely under water ; for a person
who went on board of her, shortly after the accident, states
that it appeared as if the water had covered the deck as far
as the foremast! Three men were sleeping on board at the
time, and they state that the Cleveland immediately reco.
vered herself by springing up with the greatest buoyancy.
Had this not been the case, she would instantly have filled
with water through the large hole broken in the deck. On
a careful examination of the Cleveland's hull, it was found
that the damage was confined to the wood-work, as before
mentioned, and that not a rivet or a seam was disturbed, or
the slightest injury sustained in the iron-work, of which
the whole shell of the vessel is constructed. This well-

known vessel has met with several severe concussions from
other vessels, but we are informed that her iron hull is now
in as good order, to all appearance, as on the day she was
launched. We mention this without any reference to the
relative merits of iron and wood.
HENLEY REGATTA.—The regatta at Henley-on-Thames
commenced on Tuesday, and finished on Wednesday ; and
notwithstanding that it was attended with some disputes of
too trivial a nature to trouble the general reader with, it was
productive of a high degree of interest. The first race was
for the Challenge Cup, to be decided in three heats. The
first heat was between the Cambridge University Boat Club
and King's College, which was easily won by the Cantabs.
The second was between the Etonian Boat Club and the
Oxford London Aquatic Club. This was a sharp and spi-
rited contest, and was won by half a length by the Etonians.
Then came the grand heat between Cambridge University
Boat Club and Oxford London Aquatic Club. It was a
sharp, splendid, beautiful race, and brought down shouts
from a vast assemblage. They started level, and in about
half a minute Oxford had slightly the lead ; in another mi-
nute they were scull and scull, and in this way at an almost
incredible speed to the winning-post. It was generally con-
sidered a dead heat at first sight, and then a report was in
circulation that Oxford had been beat. The umpire, D.
Bishop, Esq., being referred to, he pronounced the Cam-
bridge crew to have won by a " foot." The Stewards' Chal-
lenge Cep was next rowed for, between the London St.
George a Boat Club and the Henley Dreadnought, which
was won by the latter. The contest was renewed on Wed.
nesday, when the Stewards' Challenge Cup, value 75 gs.,
was to be rowed for. The Dreadnought (Henley) and the
Midge (London) were the opposing parties. The Midge
took the lead, kept it, and won easily. The next prize was
the District Challenge Cup, for four-oared boats, for which
there contended the Windsor and Eton Boat Club, the Dol-
phin Boat Club (Oxford), and the Isis Boat Club (Oxford).
This was a good race, and was won, after a hard scruzgle,
by the Windsor and Eton Club. The grand race—" the
Derby" of the day was the last. It was between the London
Subscription Room's Boat Club and the Cambridge Univer-
sity Boat Club, for the Grand Challenge Cup, value 200 gs.
Both crews bent forward on the signal being given, and
started away together. The University' boat appeared, after
a few pulls, to be heading, but a trifling spirt, and they were
as at the moment of going off. The Rooms' boat then made
a dashing effort for the pride of place," and gained it by
a foot ; heavy and long pulls succeeded each other in rapid
succession, but the Rooms boat still headed by about a foot
and a half, and the acclamations of the multitude were not
lost upon the competitors. The Rooms' boat's crew tried
to increase their lead, but without effect it was difficult
work to retain the advantage the had gained, nor could the
opposing party overhaul them. The London Subscription
Rooms' Boat Club won hy a third of a length only, amidst
loud and deafening plaudits.
DEATH OF DE• ARNOLD, 01, RUGBY.—We have to an-
nounce the death of the Rev, Thomas Arnold, D.D., head
master of Rugby school, which took place at Rugby, on Sun-
day morning last, after a few hours' illness, of a disease of
the heart. He bad been master of Rugby school fifteen
y devoted the whole of his time
years. Dr. Arnold had latterly
unoccupied by scholastic duties to his Lectures on Modern
History and to bis History of Rome, and was contemplating
a retirement, in the course of a few years, to his favourite
residence at Fox-how, in Westmoreland. Dr. Arnold had,
we believe, attained the age of 52. He was born at Cowes,
Isle of Wight, and was the son of the late William Arnold,
Esq., collector of her Majesty's customs of that port. He
was educated at Winchester School, and from thence went
to Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was afterwards fel-
low of Oriel. Dr. Arnold married a daughter of the late
Rev. John Penrose, and has left behind him a numerous
family.
gracious, and nods and bobs her head
The Princess Royal has already;; commenced her education
in the art of being
'‘
about at the carriage window, most condescendingly to the
multitude.—Cheltenham Looker-on.
gazing and admiring'
London now measures 73 miles in length from east to west,
by a breadth of 9 miles from north to south. Its circum-
ference, allowing for various inequalities, is estimated at 30
miles, while the area of the ground it covers is considered to
measure no less than 1S miles square.
It is about to be proposed that the episcopal clergy of Scot-
land should re-assume a "becoming clerical dress," in the
form of •' single-breasted coats, short cassocks, and shovel
hats."—Edinburyh Witness.