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' HYlDf TO LIBERTY . gjreet liberty , wake tkee 2 too long hasttbou slumbered—Csd thy dreams l > e so-dear that they tempt to sleep cm I Cast XW ibj Pit chains , and Hie voices unnumbered Of a j 3 afl world shall tell that thy thraldom is done 1 ¦ Qh J «^ aTl not , erelong , that so 3 e 3 mirrorT » shivered , - "WJM-his firm ~ mih the sigbs of pale glory for theeisdi&ei'riskt Sabbath . < 3 awn , in "which nnDioBs delivered Shall lift their first hymn to the God of the Free ? Take the -wings of thejmonung , fly over the world—There is many a land ¦ where the tyrant Is lord ;—" Jet , oh * h * n not in all thy prond flag be unfurled , Au 3 ^ tbe tree of life girt 1 ); thy cherriblin-sword ? Xbe PerQan , nrho dared frith the scotrrjre and the fetter Insnlt the free -wafes of the Hellespont-sea , Di d he do , sacred Freedom I aught wiser or better
Tian those trho lay sconrpes and fetter * on thu ? ~ So . tiy tides "will yet r ise in their strength and their seem , To "wash every vestige of slavery airay : Asd the thrones will gr&v , pale in the light of thy morn , As the i £ ght-SZ 3 TS are drowned in tie ct > 3 d itaTe ? of Hay , /) 2 V flt-c-J :- ? r ^ 3 = nipti < - ' 3 wiB = T ^ -e « rp i . Vr the e 2 rti . Tiiat ihy o- -n vLri-rr-art on tbr driuge iu ? . y Tide ; i ^ i ihi- T- * . iee-ii ^ ± lo « ed olit i will be th- 7 ir > T urrth (» fthr vorld . when 2 * lrnsrth thtrproTid waters sutfc-iu-.-: TLes- "t ditn , = 2 iall ari ^ t . in i : r ~ jdrud-. > ar iiiiUeuiiiu 3 X > . c *~ i-f fr ^ r - " Truilj ¦> -jr thr xt' ! Bi ! aiii > « f tiiist- ; Az . 3 Eanh ^ 3 iali aistlu *\ enr : br it-rdurv j > rr < nuii ' . A '; 3 ti = r cauuviiiiL -hf «' .-rt : t ; brr iiara . d ; st-yriir . t . 7 fe-fi ; c : ; cL 4 rih in thf ^¦ • il'irmr = « . « T > --h -urict-s -cmS
liiUilllSir . dhui -it - eBSTti is thr oes ^ rt straact- rose * -iiiui c-jwili While ti » -h yVir . a ? it liaises , ¦«~ il- rivet jrl firnirT IE very bond of tLe Tights -which the iianon > resume Ssy Dot , think not . the age , -which the potts eail golden . Bx ^ s passed -from this bleak world for * Ter away—Jhat no sunburst of promise tvJU ever embolden The eagle tojmount to the throne of the day : Aireadj—already—the irons are starting Trom "the hands of the myriads they pinioned so long ; Already the beams of young Freedom are darting On the statue they warm till it halU them in song 2 3 d iae "VT oxid of the "West the bright ensign of Fnion Is f eating o ' er nations enlightened and free : Ana * oon vriD all join in the splendid communion ? r « m the heart of the 2 and to the isle of the sea . ' Torbid it , that anr unhallowed Alliance
Sbonldhold the crushed nations for ever in thrall—Thsx ike fete shottldlong "bid their imperial defiance To the reason , the faitb , and fhe-glory of cTt - ' 3 fo , minMnd "wiUjet "wake to a loftier duty , Than that irhieh enjoins them to sink into slaves : And their * yes inll"be opened , tbongh late , to the beauty Of Truth that ennobles , of Freedom that saves I Thy first steps , lovely Liberty ' sometimes may fidter—But thy march -will not cease , nor thy banner be furled , TIO thj congnering hand « hi > TI have Teared a prond altar To the God of the Tree , o'er the thrones of a world 1
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CONIKGSBT ; or , THE Z ? EW GENERATION ' . By B . iyisBVETJ , M . P . London : Coltrarn , Great Mar 3 borongD-street . 'We'haxe somewhere read xhat the meaning of the Trerds * ' patronising an atrtnor / ' is lie borrowing of ids last new ^ ork , leading n , and lending it to one ' s « rtrre cirak of friends , ft mns have been the acting Ijj somebody , on some such principle that caused B 3 to recerre our copy of Coningsby some months after tie date of publication . UnfortunateJv too , ¦ vhen receiTed , tre irere too busily occupied * "with other and indispensable duties , to allow of u ? payin ? iminediate mention to Mr . D"Israeli ' s work . Thb L- * eur apolci £ T to the author and our reader ? for ha vine
seemingly nedected till dc >^ " by far lie DK' ~ t t > ot > ular >' . —«! of V ^ . Pre-sio-n * to the appearance of diiirri&y , though *• Tcinig England" -svas not untnowD to fame , still the Tjarty -wss anvthing but popular . Scareelv tolerated in Parliament : > neered at by the press-, and HEtrasted by the masses ; the position of this- section * F 2 S not at aB an enviable one . Tlie party is : > till smy . Tt—but its position now is "widely different to "what it -was only ? is months past . The part taken by some ef the Toung Enslanders , particularly bv the autlior ci Conutgsbv , in the discussions on the JFactory Bill and the ' Sngar Duties Bill , proved that this section , thtmgh aenng generally with the Conservative party , "wereBv "no means the trammelled slaves of Peel ; and
the independent tone and bearing assumed and maintained by 2 St . D * Israeli and his oompatriotSj wMle it jsronsed -the iosrUny of some , "won lie respect of a greater mnnber of the men of all parties ; and Toung -fijglfsnd"WTB assxeredly enter upon its legislative duties inlSiOjUmehinorefevouiably situated to advance its jnisaoathan It met the opening senate of the preceding year . The conductors of the press , exceptinethe aere ministerial hacks of the Peel Government , have topped &ar sneers , and , on the contrary , have assnmed a tone at once eoneiliatory and approbatory tOTrarda Touug England , "while the masses are at any late so fer favourably predisposed by the . Manchester and Binglev demonstrations as to oifer
a Tolling ear to "what the apostles of the " New Genejaaon" have to advance . Trne , they are ^ by no jnearts satisfied "with the declaration that it i 3 to " manners , not laws , " that they must look for their jedempfion from slavery and misery ; still they are -willing to believe that Young England means weD , and 1 b onk , perhaps , too young—{ f green ) —to rightly iaihoni t&p causes of existing social evils , . and the inpAng by whieh "they may be remedied , With toL * ieeScg the masses , therefore , now regard rather iopouUy than hostSely the movements of their declared friends . The future "will tell whether thi « hopeful feeling is destined to be rewarded or disap-Donrted .
Ii most not be supposed thafwe ascribe the altered position of Toang England to ibe publication of Comnosini . Its appearaiK-e has doubtless tended 10 popularize the parrv "whose views it has been siipjxeed to represem : but other cirana ^ tanees . somf oi wiiea we have named , have been the principal causes cf lie altered position © f that party . We have dwelt upon xhat favourable position , because , although Ocmnatbu has by this time lost its early freshne *? , lie present standing of 3 Ir . I ) 'Israeli and his friend * will undoubtedly , in the eyes of our readers , invest ¦ f ith increased interest , the -work now before us .
We must not deceive our readers . II they anticipaietB find id Coninafly any "full , true , and parti eolsr account" of " the principles and plans of "i oang r . ngl ? . T > d , they "will be disappointed . We -were so Bbx we reserve any farther general comment to another opportunity . The tale opens vritb the hero , young Coningsby , a tey of fourteen years of age , loitering in the w-aiting Twm of a house in the vicinity of St . James ' s-square , waiting the arrival of a certain personage , to .-whom " » e shall presently introdnce the reader . We must las sjve some account of
COSTXGSBT . 2 e ires the orphan child of the youngest of the two * CB 3 of the Dsiarqness of Monmonth . It was a iamDy feaaoas for its hatreds . The eldest son hated his father- . Sad , it -was said , xa spite lisd married a lady to "Whom l&atiaiher was attached , and -sritii -whom I ^> r < l Monmoath ¦ iiiEa meditated a second alliance . This eldest son lived "K Xaples , and had several children , but maintained no Wiinexion eithtr "with his parents ot his native country . On the other hand , Lord Monmonth hated his younger * to , wbohadjnzrriedagainsthisconseiitaTroman to whom that son was devoted . A system of domestic persecution , aistained by the Tiand of a master , had eventually broken so the health of it * victim , -who died of a fever in a foreign eoantry , where he had sought = <> ine refuge from Vj ^ ttsditort .
His widow rtrarned to Enplana -with her child : and . -0 ! hating a rehidon , and seart-elv an acquaintance in Cifr Trojld , Hiadc aa apj > eal to her hn « baud ' 5 lather , tht * € iiii = itit naible in England , and a -aho was ufien prodigal , and oeeasionally geiirrous . After ^ uuie time £ 2-3 zsnre mjuble . after urgent and repeated , and what * Ki ! d * ii . re seemed hezrz-rtndhig *« . 'Ecitation > , the aftor-Ify ' if Lord Monmoath called uj » jn tie Ridow of ii- ^ ¦ ^^* " - v-n , andir . fonned lier uf Ms lordship ! , ' dwdaou . - rcT ^ -:- ^ i fh « gavt isp iitr tMId , ai ^ i wrmflneutSv resided 2 CL- oi rbr remotest couunes , he was authorised to His * her . in i " .. ur quarterly pavmeais , the yearly allow-« ic- ! : « f lhr » -f huudred pouij'ls , that being the income that ^ trd 3 ionnif » uth , "nho "sras the shrewdest accountant hi ~ s CiTnarrj , had calculated a lone woman might very feceniij , f-xiit upon in a small lcaritt to-R-p in the cotn- »
£ y Lord ilonmocxh , the Teader "will tindeTStand , is ffieact the late notorious and profligate Marquess of setford . The unhappy mother of our hero was not -ag the recipient of hjs " lorddiip ' s bonnty (/ . ) . Srs . Coning-sby died the same day that her iather-in-^ * was made a ^ Marquess . He deserved Ms honours . Jhtiov ? votes be had inherited in the House of Com" ^ ons had been increased , by his intense volition and tm-£ P £ ring means , to ten ; and the very day he was raised to iis ilnrquisa ^ ie commemsed sapping&esh corporations , « Bd Was worfdng ior ihe ETrzvrberrj leaf . His ionOUTS "fere wt ^ bdmed in the X&ndon Gazette , andber decease * £ * boi even noticed in the Comity ChrmMt ; but the *^ trs of Nemesis are beneath every outraged roof , and fce death of this nnhappy lady , apparently -nithont an ** nfcJy friend or an earthly hope , desolate and deserted , xad dying in obscore poverty , -sras not forgotten . The ^ person for Trhom Coningsby -was impatiently ^^ ag % ures largely through the -work , ire may * 3 srefore as veil at once introduce the reader to
JK . IGBT . ^ He Tjlio uttered these words m « a man of middle size Sad age , originally , in all probability , of a spare halnt . fc ^ cow a little inclined to corpulency . Baldnes . -, perhaps . c ° Etribiried to the spiritual expression of a . trow -which " ** $ ! aDTFever , essentially intellectual , and ga \ t some ti ^ s . cttT of openne ss to a countenance which , though , 31-faToarti iras mihappDy stamped by a sinister t £ * ' ^ which was no : to be mistaken . Bis mam-tr ¦*** eajr , but rather andaciotis fh » Ti ^ velM > red . Jndeti ?^ Tisane which might otherwise be desrriWd as ^^ OSt -ffss gpoQt fty a . Jjjfcouesj gisnee , SO 2 dr-^ sosrihat wasbj no means deficient in self-possession « M ^ eJhtj Tvas tainted by an innate vulgarity , which in ¦* i oB £ rnB . though seldom , yet surely deveJopetl I : ^ :-.
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rMr .-jB % hyisa stili living parsonage , -said to be a once noterious Secretarv of the Admiralty . The following is bitter as gall , but -we think the sketch by no means overthsrwn ; it is true to the life : — Hr . Rigbywas a aemter for one of £ ord Monmonth ' s boroughs . He was the manager of Lord Moamtmth ' s Parliamentary influence , and the auditor of his vast estates . He was more-, he "was Lord jlonmouth ' s companion "when in England , his correspondent when abroad —hardly his counsellor , for Lord Konmouth never required advice ; but 3 Ir . Rigby could instruct him in matters of detail , which Mr . Rigby made amusing . , Bigbv was not a professional man ; inded his origin , education , early pursuits , and studies were equally obscure ; but he had contrived in good time to sqneere himself into
Parliament , by means which no one could ever comprehend , arid then set up to be a perfect man of business . The world tooi him at his word , for he was bold , acute , and voluble ; with no thought , but a good deal of desultory information ; and though destitute of all imaginatioii and noble sentiment , was blessed with a vigorous , mendacious fancy , fruitful in small expedients , and never happier than when devising shifts for great ' men ' s Scrapes . TWj sav tbat all of 11 s have one chance iu this life , and SO il was with 3 Ugbv . After a struggle f many \ tars . after r . series 01 the usual alteraawves of JOuaU suri-t-sst-5 z . nd small failures , after ; i f- * -- ' clt-virish * rmrrl ;« -s : ind a good many cleverish j-amjihli-t * . with a nni > iderable reputation indeed fi . r ^^ f-li ^ lliILtlVS , T \^*»> T > t ~ \\ ?* 1 I"li Ylt' Tl ?! , T « T"O ? r- : Mlil : 4 T-ri .-lti ^ j . a ^ jiiiE ^ vlv ~ . n ;>¦»"• - ¦ : "^ inrh hf nenTnroti-. ami ; ur : i .-les
! l > rt-view ^ ! . v . i ,,, h : : ., ;•> ¦ nhis ; -.-red hi had conlribun < 1 , Kis ' m . wht > hiil a . r . a . iv ; :. triL r ued hims > 'lf into a * ulx > r \ l \ - ¦ li-. ir . iifr . m- : v . i-h Lord ilunmumh . Uc- was ju ^ t < : na . r . irani lha : l ... r . ! Mumuouth wantt-d , : " or Li » ni Moninor . tli aJw . i _ i * iiuilit-i : .: ¦< . : ! ) utjui : iiatur ; - » iiii tf ] t > r .-tiJuiia i >» - •¦' jjiickrj ! '• ^ a r- . c > t-o K ^ lii . am ! hv di'ti-nnined I < - ~ v- * i \ iiizn . lit- bought him . nith hi * clear head . hi . < indefotis : al >! e indu > tr \ . hir audaciou-s tongue , aud his rcadj -xwA unnrapulou .- j > en : "nith al ] his lampoons : all his prhan mrrnsoir ^ ai )> i all his rx'lmeal intrigues . It was a jro » u purchii > e . Ki ^ by bei-auiv a great personage , and Lord ilonmouth ' - . man . * * Mr . Rigby had a classical f etreot , not distarii in-ra Ha * establishment , which he esteemed a Tusi .-ulum . There , snrrouuded by "his busts and books , hi "wrote his lampoons and articles ; massacred a she-libi-ral ( it 'was thoucht that no one could lash a woman like
Rigbj ) , cut up a rising genius , whose politics were different from his nra , or sacrificed some nji&appy wretch w \ io had brought his claims before Parliament , proving , by garbled extracts from official correspondence that no one conld refer to , that the malcontent , instead of bein ^ a victim , -was , on the contrary , a defaulter . Tadpole ami Taper would back Rigby for a " slashing reply" agaiits : the field . Here , too , at the end of a busy week , he found it occasionally convenient to entertain a clever friend ur rn-o of equivocal reputation , with whom he had bec <«! Hacquainted in former days of equal brotherhood . Su < oh-• was more faithful to his early friends than Mr . lUgln ; panicnlariy if they could write a squib . The opening of the story is laid in the interregnum week ol 1 S 32 , when Lord Grey resigned , and the Duke was summoned to form a cabinet . Rigby has joined Conimrsbv , "when
Tie door was suddenly thrown open , and two individuals , in a state of very great excitement , rushed into the apartment . ** Rigby , Rigby ' . " thej both exclaimed at the same moment . " Bj G— , they ' re out . " " Who told yon f " The best authority ; oae of themselves . " - VTbo , who ?" . "' Paul Evtlyn . I met him as 1 passed Brookes ' , anil lit told me thai Lord Grey had resigned , and the king had accepted his rc-sipmaiion . ^
This piece of news Mr . Rigby refuses to give credence tu , that gentleman being extremely jealous of any one giving him information , seeing that it lowered his reputation iis the oracle of the party for vchom he played the not unprofitable part of understrapper . The "news i > however continued , di-spitv all . Mr . Jiiirby ' - calruiati «» n > to the contrary . This settled on . (' oniuiTsby . ait-ompanied by lJigby , departs itum the house in M . -1 ames ' s-square for that of h ' u crandfatiier ihe M . \ rquis , to "whom he is about ti > 1 * introduced r " or the first time .
t To {>> con titmoi . ) FRANCES BROWN , THE BLIND POETK ^ . We are tiiiedy indebted to the Athetueum for v .. v folio-wing most interestiui ; sketch : — Sundry beautiful little pieces of poetry , havinc , impended to them the signature of " Frances Brown , Stranurlar , " have appeared in our columns , from time ro rime , during ihe last eighteen months . Oce of the most exquisite of these , entitled " The First , " originally appeared in the Ktepsai : ? , for 1844 , edited by the Countess of Blessington ; and from a note added to the po « n , by the lair editress , we learnt , for the first time , that the authoress of the verses which we , in eommon with thousands more , had so greatly admired , were written bv a blind girl !
The announcement of a volume of poems by the same Frances Brown excited our curiosity about the authi > - ress . We felt interested about her history , and longed to Vnow bow , id a remote village in the north of Ireland , a young woman , deprived of most of the ordinary helps to knowledge—having no intercourse with nature , except through books , and doomed to live in solitary darkness , in the midst of all the beauties of the external worldshould nevertheless have reared a temple of beauty in her own mind , and found therein not only joy and rejoicing herself , but to all others whom the press has brought within reach of her influence . The editor of Miss Bruwn " i > poems well observe * . —
" The story of Miss Brown ' s meiital education is v . 11 ) ¦ worth telling , both for its own interest and for its <\ - ample . Jt is at once curious and instructive to wall h a strong min < 3 developing itself under conditions ol" » i riiU and physical advantage , so great—groping , by the ; n > J of its poetic instinct , tirroufrh the darkness of wliicii it was cousrious—appropriating to itself everything «! :. ;«¦ ¦ it could draw nourishment , in the barren eleun-ut ^ "> .-. winch-it was surroundtd—fastening upon all that v . > i :. i help it ouviajtl . t \ iu ' e . bv it- ? vvm undirected energie-. 1 : ikw struc ^ 'Jiiijr ui'rtards !»> thr iiirhi . " '
Tbe pot ; t- ?> j- > . i buniL-ir birth , and tjrs-i saw the h } : ) : J ; . i > trauurlar , ^ mi ; j J viiia ^ rc iii tb-: countr l > onegal iv . i . ut bcrutlicr Ur-u r « , a : nl tUli is , postmaster ) . riglit-ui iitwciity ytar > u ^' o—ilJii ] 0 f Uu hut Xiuxc ouly eigl ;! - :. moatlis lat ^ r . A : that tender age the small-uox , \ isii . jii : herinit * sevrrc = i : \ , 'rm , r ^ usigaed he r to the blindness ii " . in > i which ihe lui- ~ had tu work her way to ail her intellectual treasurer—adding the luv > of tlit most important vl ilie seuscs in jouth tu the diaicultiei- * , i a remote and vmivnniahed posiiioa . Bow by devices of her own—the pron . ptings of a dear nataral inteiieel by what process < jf selftraining she learned tu see iiito the world of tbuupht . TVllEll the visible world was closed against her , and made the unpromising soil about her yield intellectual fruit , it is pleasant to learn in the words of her own simple narration .
Her early calamity Miss Brown does not remember ;—so , the forms of the outer scene have not foEowed into her world of meditation , to vei her with their dim sba ^ pws . The hues and shapes of actual things , as they present themselves to the sense which she has lost are , happily for her , an otter blank—even to memory , and she has thus been saved that ( in her case life-long ) perplexity of the mind , born of the vain attempt to renew fading impressions and restore the image ofa far and doubtful pastsomething of which they hai e f elt who have striven in vain to summon hack into the field of memory the refractory spirits of a dream . Her mind has thus been left more dear to act ia ihe conditions ro which it was limited , and nex fancy undisturbed by an irritating effort and a vain regret .
" Indeed , ^ said Miss Brown , " I recollect very little of my infant years at all . I never received any regular education—but very early felt the want of it ; and the nrst time I remember to have experienced this feeling strongly , was about the beginning of my seventh year , when 1 heard our pastor ( my parent * being members of the Presbyterian church ) preaeh for the nr&t time . On the occasion alluded tu , 1 was particularly struck by many words in the sermon , which , though in common use , 1 did not then understand ; acd from that lime ad"pteU a plan for acquiring Information on this subject . When a word unintelligible to me happtnrdto reach m-s ear , 1 was careful to ask its meaning
m . 'in am per > on 1 thuugut likely iu inform me—a Lain which vs as , pii'babh , iroubltsoaie eiiou-rh to the friends and acquaintance <> f niv childhood : but by this method 1 soi-m acquired a eo ^ -ijrr . ; i « -ctt-k of « tirds : and . wlj-n further advanced in iile , eni ^ o-yed it still tooth by listening ancntiifclj to iny joung brothers and sisters reading f » t-r the tasks required at the \ : ilage school . They were gentmllv obliged to couiniit to ncmon a certain portion of th > - Dictionary and Engh = h tiraminar each day ; and by hearinj : them read it alyud frequently lor that purpose , as mv memory was better than theirs ( perhaps rendered « o bv necessity ) , 1 learned the task much sooner than they , and freqnentlv lieai-a tiero repeat it .
• ' ilv Bret acquaintance with books was necessaniy formed amoygs ; those which are most common in country villages . Susan Gray—Theliegro Servant—The Gentle Shepherd—Mungv Park ' s Travels—and , of course , Robinson Crusoe , were aiming the first of my literary friends , for 1 have often heard them read by my relatives , and remember to have taken a strange delight in them , when 1 am . sure they were not half understood . Books have been always scarce in our remote neighbourhood , and were much more so in nvv etuldhood - bat the craving for knowledge which theu commenced grew with my growth ; and as I had no books of my own in those days , my only resource -was borrowing from the few acquaintances 1 had , to some of whom 1 owe obligations of the kind that will never be forgotten . In this way 1 obtained the reading oi many valuable works , though generally old ones ; but it was a great day for me when the first of Sir Walter Scon ' s works fell into my hands . It was ' The Heart of Mid Lothian , ' and was lent me by a friend , whose family were rather better provided with books than most in our neighbourhood . My delight in the work was very great , £ ven then ; aDd I contrived , by means of borrowing , to get acquainted , in a very short time , with the greater part of the works of its illustrions author—for works of fiction , about this time , occupied all my thoughts . 1 had a curious mode of impressing on my memory what had been read—namely lying awake , in the silence of night , and repeating it all ever to myself . To that habi : I probably owe the extreme tenacity of memory which I new possess ; but , like all tether good things , i : had its attendant evil , — for I haw often thought it curious that , whilst I never forgi-t ain * en . p i >{ knowledge colle-cted , however small , yet the common events of dailj life slip from my memory so quickly that I can scarcely nsd anything again which 1 have once laid aside . But this misfortune has been useful - nTeacbing me habits \ , f order . '
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rr ^ -Abotrt the-begmnmg of my thirteenth year - ( continues Miss Brown ) , I happened to hear a friend read a part of Barnes ' s History of the French War . —It made a singular impression on ' my mind ; and works of fiction from that time began ; to lose tljeir value , compared with the fer more wonderful Romance of History . But boohs of the kind were so scarce in our neighbourhood , that Hume ' s History of England , and two or three other works on the same subject ,-were all I could reach , till a kind friend , who was then the teacher of our village school , obliged me with- that voluminous work , the Universal riistory . There I heard , for the first time , the histories of Greece and Rome , and those of many other ancient nations . My friend had only the ancient part of the work ; but it gave me a fund of information , which has been subsequently increased from many sources ; and at present 1 have a tolerable knowledge of history .
• ' In the pursuit of knowledge , my path was always impeded by difficulties too minute and numerous to mention -, but the want of sight was . of course , the principal one , which , by depriving me ot the power of reading , obliged me to depend on the services of others ; and as the condition of my family Mas such as did not admit of much leisure , my invention was early taxed to gain time for those who coula read . 1 sometimes did the work assigned to them , or rendered them other little services ; for , like mo 5 t persons similarly placed , necessity and habi : have made me umre active in this respect than pi-ople in ordinary circunisUnife * would suppose . The lighter kinds uf reading were thus easily mai'agi-d : 1 'iit m \ vouiij , ' relatives wire oiU-H injv . iilin ^ - to ii aste their lin-ath -Aiidtimo with ill ¦ ilrii-r . but im > r » - insiructi \< - works which 1 lattt-rl > pr « 'tVm--l . l" li-mpt them to this , I us < ' < L l > v way <> f rernnipeiiFr to relate to them long -ton-. " -. : md ¦ ¦> vn : it > rels , ivhifii perhaps th <\\ ~ ii . id formerly rea < l bill Hir ^ otteii : and thus . 111 v Hii-murj uiav b « said tu ha \ f i-arnvd suv . pUr ^ for itself .
" About the end of uij titie ^ nth yi-av , Uaviujj Iwsinl much of the Rind , I obtained the loan of Pope ' s translation . That was a great event to jne : but the effect it produced on me requires some words of explanation . From my earliest years 1 had a great and strange love of poetry ; and could commit verses to memory with greater rapidity than most children . But at the close of my seventh year , when a few Psalms of the Scotch version , Watt ' s Divine songs , and some old country songs ( which certainly were not divine ) , formed the whole of my poetical knowledge , \ made my earliest attempt in versification—upon that first and tnost sublime lesson of childhood , the Lord's Prayer . As years increased , my love of . poetry and taste for it increased also , with increasing knowledge . The provincial
newspapers , at times , supplied me with specimens from the works of the best living authors . Though then unconscious of the cause , I . still remember the extraordinary delight which those pieces gave me , and have been astonished to find that riper V'ears have only confirmed the judgments of childhood . When such pieces reached me , I never rested till they were committed to memory ; and afterwards repeated them for my own amusement , when alone , or during , those sleepless nights to which 1 have been all my life subject . But a source of still greater amusement was found in attempts at original composition ; which , for the first few years , were but feeble imitations of everything 1 knew—from the Psalms to Gray ' s Elegy . When the poems of Burns fell in my wav , they todk the place of all others in my fancy ; and
this brings me up to the time when I made my first acquaintance with the Iliad . It was like the discovery of a new world , and effected a total change in my ideas on the -subject of poetry . There was at the time a considerable manuscript of my own production in existence ^—which of course I regarded with some partiality ; but Homer had awakened me , and , in a fit of sovereign contempt , I committed the whole to Die flames . Soon after I had found the Iliad , 1 borrowed a prose trauslation of Virgil , there being no poetical one to be found in the neighbourhood : and in a similar manner made acquaiutance with maiiv of the classic authors . But after
Homer ' s , the work that produced the greatest impression ou my mind wa- Bvr < -n "> Chilth' H ' . irohl- The one had induced m < - to burn my f \ r « t "manuscript , and tiie other made n «> resolFe apain ^ r ven ? e-inaking 111 luture . tor 1 » as theu far enough advanced to know n , v own deticiencv—but without anj ippai ' UIlt means for the requisite improvement . In this resolution I persevered for several years , anil occupied my mind solelj in the pursuit of knowledge -, but owing to adverse circumstances , my progress was necessarily slow . Having , however , in the summer of the year 1840 , heard a friend read the story of La Perouse , it struck me that there was a rpmarkable similnritv between it and the
one related m an old country song called the ' Lost Ship , which 1 had heard in nij childhood . The song in question was of very low composition ; but there was one line at the termination of each verse which haunted my imagination , and I fancied might deserve a better poem . This Jine , and the story of ta PeroUBe , together with an irresistible inclination to poetry , at length induced me to break the resolution I had so long kept ; and the result was the little poem called La Perouse , which will be found at page 207 of this volume . Soon after , when Messrs . Gunn and Cameron commenced the publication of their Irish Penny Journal , I was seized with a strange desire to
contribute something to its pages . My first contribution was favourably received , and I still feel grateful for the kindness and encouragement bestowed upon me by both the editor and tile publishers . The three small pieces which 1 -contributed to that work were the first of mine that ever appeared in print , with the exception of one of my early productions which a friend had sent to a provincial paper . The Irish Penny Journal was abandoned on the completion of the first volume ; but the publishers , with great kindness , sent me one of the copies , and this was the first book of any value th 3 t I could call my own ! But the gift was still more esteemed as an encouragement , and the first of the kind . "
About this time , Miss Brown heard of the jith entBum , and addressed a number of her small poems to the Editor . After considerable delaj , and when she had given up all lor lust , " the arrival ( she says ) of many numbers of the journal , and a letter from the Editor , astonished me , and gratified a wl « h which had haunted my very dream 9 . From that period my name and pretensions have been more before tlie public , many poems of mine having appeared in the pages « if that publication , in Mv . Hood's . Magazine , and in the hcepsatf , edited by the Countess of Hlessington . " 1 We subjoin a specimen of Mi ^ -j Brown ' s poetry ;—
LET US RETURN . " Let us return ! " said the broken heart Of the mountain hermit ' s tale , When he saw the morning mists depart From the summits grey and pale : Fot he knew that the fan-palm cast the 'hade Of its ever-glorious green . Where thB love of his Wasted youth was laid , And the light of her steps had been . Ah ! thus , for ever , the heart looks back To its young hope ' s funeral urn—To the tender green of that early track , To its light let us return !
The lines of our life may be smooth and strong , And our pleasant path may He Where the stream of affection flows along In the light of a summer sky : — But woe for the lights that early wane , And the shades that early fall , And the prayer that speaks of the secret pain , Though iu voice be still and small ! To the sweeter flowers , to the brighter streams , To the hotzsehold hearths that burn , Still bright in our holy land of dreams—To their love let us return !
Tis well we have leam'd the truths of time—But they came with the winter ' s snow—For we saw them not through tlie flowery prime Of our summers long ago : Tet the spring is green and the summer bright As they were in the years of yore . But on our souls the love and light Of their gladness come no more ' . Back—back to tlie wisdom of the years That had yet no lo . ' -s to mourn—To their faith , that found no place for tears , To iheir 3 o \ , ltt usrtuirn :
We h : \ ve paused , perchance , by the quiet grave Of our young who early slept—And since they left us many a wave o ' er our weary hark hath swept ; Birt . far in th < - iRoroinfr light enshrined , They gladden otzr bai-kwnrd gaze , Or wiuke . like the breath of the summer ' s wind , The soul of our b ( tter days . Back—back ! to the living wave we drew , With than , from a purer urn—To the path of the promise lost to \ iew , And its peacf—let us return" ! . . « . --- —
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a bowl op -puxcm , ' msa . Soss of Gloet ' . — Reckciting at Birmingham . — Half-a-croivn obtained under false pretences commonly consigns the impostor to dreary limbo . Men , on the other hand , may be tricked from their families and themj tfre ? , and the sharper be rewarded for the juggle . To be sure , there is property in the half-crown piece : look rt the royal countenance in its sweet complacency—listen to the -metallic nrusic < jf the ring : it beams and vibrates , vroperiw ; but where is the property in human bodies
moved by human breath ? The cheater in goods and chattels is abominated , punished . . Now the recruiting sergeant is an allowed man-stcaler , a permitted swindler , with streamers in his cap . "Within these few day . " -. Glory has hung out her promissory wreaths at the King ' s Arms , Stcelhouse-lane , Birmingham . Glory has . " : ng the walls with invitations to enlist . Yes ; the old 1 . ridan has put her trumpet to her lying mouth , and om more played the familiar air of ' Dncky , ducky , ducky , i-ume and be kUled . " Listen to the strain ;—
" Wasted , 500 unii . arrit .-d , handsome , and gay young fellows , from 18 to 25 jears of age , for her Majesty ' s 55 th Regiment of Foot . " ' In these days of peace . Glory has become squeamish in her tastes . Or . perhaps , the bullets are particular , and , like the fair , prefer above all , handsome and gay yo ung fellows . ' Those who are ofa raving mind , and unsh to S €£ ihe world , a better opportunity cannot offer . The bounty is risen to all such as are willing to enter this gallant corps , whose honourable services in every quarter of the globe have often been so higlily tpokm of , and laurels gained , TOO xemtbods to jfEJJTion : therefore , all who have a good and honest heart , follow the example of those you now
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see enrolled in the ranks of the royal corps , wit * flowing streamers in their caps , the true emblems of valour , courage , an * fidelity ! " ( ' ^ And thus is man , the paragon of animals , led to be Shot at , by flowing streamers—by valour , courage , and fidelity , at sixpence per yard ! "Any gallant yodng-fellow so disposed , will apply to Serjeant O'Naill ( ominous name ]! Kinf 8 Arras , Steelhouse 4 ane , who on entering the service of her Majesty will be taken care of , and invited to drink her health in a flowing bumper , and no mistake !"
Hospitable O'Naill—invitation most delightful ! The bumpkin dr inks—feels , or hardly feels , the homicidal shilling slipped into his hand , and he is enlisted—Nailed ! From such ecstatic moment he is at her Majesty ' s service to cut , stab , burn and destroy , as though all human ' will and human conscience were suddenly stricken dead within him , and he was left no other than a machine of bone and muscle—a marching , counter-marclung , cutting , stabbing , piperclaying instrument ! ( Jreat are the miracles worked by the O ' N aills ! We once read aistory of a hugu ogre , who , playing upon a drum-head wrought by the devil out of witches ' Skill , entered a town , and drumming and drumming , led all the mun away by their ears to his bone-strewed cavern . And then And there he threw aside his music , and gnashing his tw-th and blaspheming , the while , ho took his victims and ate them u « by ymv , as . a hedjn-r wouUl eal spring onions . We forget the ogre ' s name , hut we ' . huik it was >> oiiietiiitig like O'Naill .
Ob . liirmiiighiUit yuuih—ivhorn r ¦ vou may be—Umk with stony eves upon ihe jovial , i-ovfiterii . g courto . siiy * n ; tlie ; nv . it sedutey Naill ! Thoiiprli smi nsaj be an Admits —that is , a liruimnugi-rn Adonis —< U < not believe jour ^ -H cither "handsome ' or " gay" —but ugly , irredeemably stupid : so ugly , that your plainness would do no credit to a battle-tie-ld : so obtuse , that cwn tht > awakening cane ol thv dvill-fitrgeiuH would be lost upon you . Again , you have not a roving mind—you do not wish to see the world . Besides , a mind may not rove at " its own sweut will" according to amij regulations—and the world is a poor thing to see , with musket in hand and rounds of ball Cartridge at your back . Oil , youth , Stay at home , and seu Birmingham .
And then the " thu laurels of the 55 th foot I" What , in truth , arc laurels ? Dissect , analyse them . You maywith a touch of fancy—trace in them the veins of withered hearts . ¦ Test them by the moral chemistry , and what are they ? Blood and tears , tears and blood ! A homicidal wreath i gilded by the world's great lie ! And so , Birmingham lads , cultivate coleworts , chiekweed it you will , but avoid laurels . They are a plant of death , manured by human hearts . And next , the " flowing streamers "—the " true emblems of valour , courage , and fidelity . " Emblems , indeed , are they ; but view them aright , young men between eighteen and twenty-five , and you will see in them the flesh-tearing , torturing cat ; in reality , the " nine hard cords about twenty-one inches long , each cord having nine knots ; " although appearing to your dazzled gaze—cheated ; as it is by the father of war—as so much Hatterine riband .
In the UtdUd Service Magazine { Ho . 183 ) , there is an article devoted to the doings of the cat—the weapon with which Madame Glory rebukes her naughty children : — " Men have declared to me , " says an officer , " that the sensation experienced at each lash , was as though the talons ofa nAWK were tearing their flesh off their bones . " Hear General Sir Charles Napier on the cat—the real streamers of the recruiting sergeant : — " I havti seen many hundreds of men flogged , and have always observedthat when the skin is thoroughly cut up or
flayed off , the great pain subsides ; and they bear the remainder without a groan . They will often lie as without life , and the drummers appear to be flogging a lump oj dead raw flesh . The faces of the spectators ( soldiers ) assumed a look of disgust ; there was a low whispering sound , scarcely audible , issuing from the apparently stern and silent ranks—a isound arising from lips that spoke not , but that sound wan produced by heart * that felt deeply . . . . ' The low sound sometimes resembled what may be called i / . i / Swy , and ma } b « < . e <* iMoueil by : m i : i-L'rpastil flow uf ti'iir * . into the nostriln . "
The heart Sickens at this , and nn unutterable t ' eelin ^ of disgust and indignation must possess the reader . We might have pauccd ere we committed the horror to our page , but that we utterly denounce that eaxy humanity which shrinks from the contemplation ol * wrong because of its hideoushP 8 R . There are abominations—however demoniacal—that must bo placed before the startled eyes ofa too easy world , and this flogging—this blasphemy against the divine nature of man—is of them . Young men of Birmingham—nay ,, of all Englandtake these things to your hearts , and consider well the streamers ofa Sergeant O'Naill . They Jook fine and gay ; but thtjy will tear the flush like " the talons of a hawk . " They are silky and soft ; jes , soft as the paw of a sleeping Cat : but Oh , yOUng ' men " from eighteen to twenty-five , " be sure of it—that cat has claws ! Q .
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Fatai Accident . —Clerkeswell . —Monday morning , whilst Mr . G . Littlewood , lamp contractor , Upper King-street , Bloomsbury , was driving a horse in a chaise cart along Aykujbury-atreet , Clerkenwell , towards the green , the horse , a vicious animal , suddenly took fright and dashed forward with fearful rapidity . On descending the hill on the west side of the sessions-house the horse fell and rolled over . The sudden jerk threw the driver out of the cart , and his heaa came with great force against the kerb-stone . Constable G 102 , ran to his iisswtance , and found that Mr . Littl <» wood ' s skull was knocked in . He was conveyed in a state of insensibility to a surgeon ' s near the spot , who , seeing : his hopeless state , directed his removal to St . Bartholomew ' s , where he was conveyed in a cab , and after receiving every attention from the house surgeon , expired at hali ' -past eleven . Mr . Littlewood has left a wife and family . He was about foitv .
Conviction fob Poaching . —Benjamin Shakcshaft , labourer , has been convicted before W . L . Childe , Esq ., and the Rev . T . Woodward , for being found 011 lands at Oleobury Mortimer , armed with a gun , in pursuit of game , and has been sentenced to three months' hard labour , and at the expiration of that Cr iod" to find sureties not to oflemi against the liaine LW 8 for the tenn of one year , or in default to be further imprisoned for the spa' -e of six months . — "Salisbury i hronirte . Melanxhoi-Y Sjju'wheck . —On Monday morning intelligence was received of the total wreck of the smack Jane and Leany , Captain James Quayle , belonging to Port St . Mary , Isle of Man , with tiu » loss of the master and three female passengers . She had sailed on Sunday week from Ardglass , Ireland , for Port St . Mary , in ballast , having on board , besides the captain and crew , eleven passengers , seven men and four women , most of them going out to service in Douglas . 'Hie Jane and Leany had got within a
mile and a half of the Isle of Man , when , on Monady night , shortly ibefore 12 o ' clock , she was overtaken by a severe storm of wind and rain . The fury of the gale split her . sails into pieces , and she was driven at the mercy of the waves for nearly 24 hours , irhen she went ashore at high-water-mark at Bisphamwith-Norbreck , near PouJton-le-Fylde , about 10 yards from the shore . Some of the passengers leaped into the . water , and escaped to the shore ; the others , in the roll of the vessel , were -washed overboard , and amongst the number four ill-fated individuals , Capt . Quayfe and ihree of the female passengers , were unfortunately drowned . Another woman had a narrow escape ; the swell was carrying her away when her husband seized hold of her and saved her from a watery grave . All the bodies were subsequently found—two on the beach at Norbreck , and the other two at RossaLL They were interred at Bispham on Wednesday last .
Fatal Accident . —An inquest was held on Tuesday evening before . Mr . Higgs , at the Barley Mow , Dukestreet , Gixisvenor-square , on the body of Mr . Henry Seabrook , aged fifty , the landlord of the above house . It appeared that on Monday night week deceased went down into the cellar to do something to the barrels , and was at the top of the first flight of stairs upon his return , when he missed his hold of the banisters and fell over and over to the bottom . He was , much hurt . On Saturday inflammation of the brain commenced , and he died that day . He was a very heavy man , and that perhaps accounted for the severity of the injuries . Vcrdwt , "Accidental death . "
Death fhom Age and Want . —A poor man , apparently between sixty and seventy' years of age , on the evening of Wednesday in last week , asked charity at Doxford New-houses , in the county of Northumberland , and his ' reqtiestwas granted . His feeble and foriorn condition mada an impression on his benefactors , and shortly after his departure it occurred to them to go in search of him with a light , fearing that some mischief might overtake him in the dark . Their friendly search proved ineffectual . Early on the following morning the shepherd of Rockmoor House found him in a field adjoining Sheldrake quarry , quite dead . Nothing could be traced about the dress to lea * d to the discovery of his name or connections ; three-halfpence and a small quantity of
tobacco and snuff were found in his pockets . II 18 clothes , hat , and stick remain at Rockmoor House . DEiiEs of Children from Suffocation . —On Tuesday Mr . Wakley , M-P-, held an inquest at the Southampton Arms , ¦ High-street , Oamden-town , on the body of James Lavell Lindfield , a remarkably fine child , aged four months , tlie son of Mr . Alfred Lindfield , of 74 , Arlington-street . It appeared from the evidence that the child had been accidentally suffocated in bed . Mr . Wakley also held an inquest the same day at the Bricklayers' Arms , Little Clarendonstreet , Somers-town , on the body of a child which had been found dead in bed by the side of its mother , under nearly similar circumstances . In both cases verdict * of "Natural death" were recorded .
Pubuc ; Whipping .--Aaron Walker , who was sentenced at the Folkestone quarter sessions , on the 16 th of July last ., to six months' imprisonment in Dover gaol , and to be twice publicly whipped , for picking the pocket of William Till , at Folkestone fair , underwent one portion of his corporeal punishmout , at the hands of the gaoler , in the ) market-place here on Saturday forenoon , at half-past eleven o ' clock . A considerable number of persons had assembled to witness the degrading exhibition , which seemed , however , to induce only a feeling of dipgust and indignation at its savage barbarity .
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Boat Accident—Six Lives Lost . —We learn with extreme regret that six jnen , inhabitants of Port-Glasgow , are supposed to 'have been Crowded rathe Clyde , between Gourocfc Bayaridihst plaee , hnFab bath evening . About ten 'o ' clock on Sabbath'forenoon / Mr . John Miller ,, along with five othe ^ men , left Port-Glasgow m a small boat , for the purpose of sailing to Gourock Bay , on J a visit to -the master of the brig Lochinvar . The boat reached its destination before twelve o ' clock , andi the party remained on board the Lochinvar till about four , when thev again took to the boat and rowed off for Port-Glasgow . The master of the Lochm-rar watched the boat till it doubled M'Fatton ' s Point , q . n& since then none of the individuals on board have either been seen or heard of . ;
Dreadful Occurrence at a Brick Kiln . — On Tuesday evening Mr . Baker held an inquest at the London Hospital , on the body of Jeremiah Cray , aged thirty-five years , a ' man of | Herculean frame , but at the same time attenuated , and his muscular form reduced bv want and privation . From the evidence it appeared that the deceased was employed at a brickfield , ami having bought some potatoes , lie had proceeded to the kiln for the purpose of roasting them , \ v ! ici > , overpowered by the vapour , he had fallen asleep , and ! iis clothes hud become ignited . When di . srovercd , he wi . s in a roijjplete blaze from head to foot . He was t )»!\ en to the huspital , V > ut all assistance was in vain . The juvy returned a verdii't of ' Ac-id . i . ' laI lirath . "
Mki . am-itdi . Y Si icroE . — On Tufsday evening an iiiijiilry w ; is . " one into betWc'Mr . 11 iirirs . . *< tfJ ) e Union , . { erinyn-. stii'i't , to investigate th < ' eiivumstaii' -es attending the death oi' K . dward Arthur . Vbiy , Esq ., aged 24 , of 17 , Puke-stveet , St . ! James " s , the son of Sir Stephen May , Bart ., who put a period to his existence . The first witness examined was Charles Belzoni , the landlord of the house , 17 , Duke-street , who stated that deceased's aunt had taJfen a furnished bed-room at his house , and tlie deceased arrived on Friday last , having just come from Madras . Tlie last time witness saw him alive was when he came home at eleven o ' clock on Sundav night : he asked for , and was supplied with , some bread , butter , and porter . On the following morning deceased's cousin , Mr . Drinsley de Courcy Nixon , came about : | half-past ten o ' clock to call him up , when he found the door of his room fastened on the- inside . He had not done so before . An entrance was effected by ; a door which
communicated with another room , and on merely looking into the room and seeing some stains of blood on the bed , witness immediately ran and fetched Mr . Miller , a surgeon , who , on examination , said he had been dead several hours . Tlie manner of the deceased gentleman was very strange , and witness was of opinion he was not right in his mind . ] He was found undressed in the bed , with his throat cut , and he had evidently inflicted the wound with the table-knife , which had been sent to him with bread and butter ( the knife was produced , covered with blood ) . His clothes were much the worse for wear . ] Suicide in a Police Station . —On Tuesday Mr . Higgs held an inquest at the Chequers , Tothill-street , Westminster , on the body | of Sarah Edinsor , aged thirty-seven , a woman of notorious bad character , who committed suicide in tlie New-way police station on Saturday last . The jury , after hearing the evidence , returned a verdict , " { That deceased destroyed herself whilst in a state of intoxication . "
Melancholy Instance of Destitution . —^ On Saturday evening last , an inquest ! was held at Oakley , Oxfordshire , ' before J . W . Cowley , Esq ., on view of the body of William Ilawes , aged forty-four , a labouring man of that place , who expired on the previous Thursday evening from injuries received by falling from an oak on Wood Finin , Warminghall , on the 4 tli inst . From tlie evidence of the wife and daughter of the deceased , it appeared that the family , consisting of deceased , his wife . ! and three children , wore in great distress , the parish authorities having r <> - t ' uscd to find the Inwivand Lvbouv . On the 4 tl > , deceased , with his wife iS'id daughter , aot having any food in the house , or nioneV to purchase food with , went out for tlie purpose or getting acorns for sale
It appeared that they sold the acorns at from Is . to la . tfd . per bushel , and thatlthey had obtained from three to six pecks per day . j On the day iu question , while deceased was up in a | tree beating the acorns down , and his wife and daughter were engaged in picking them up , he fell from a distance of about twenty-five feet on to the ground . For a time he appeared to be dead , and did not speak for about an hour . The daughter went back to Oakley , about a mile and a half , to try and get a cart ano horse to convey him home , and did j not succeed , but seeing some men at work on the road , she took two of them with her to the spot . While the daughter was gone to Oakley , Mr . Chillingvrofth , the occupier of the farm , was attracted to the spot , and he kindly caused
the poor fellow to be conveyed home , and sent on to Brill for a surgeon , who met Hawes on tlie way to his cottage . The wife said the parish had not found her husband any work for | five years ; that he had recently applied for labcjur , and was refused , being told that he must i look out for himself ; that they at times had not had a bit of bread for two days together ; that on the < Iay of the accident they were entirely without food or money , which was the cause of their going to get the acorns to sell . The coroner reminded the jury that their inquiries were as to the cause of death ; that they had not to inquire as to the cause that induced the deceased to go in quest of the acorns . | He thought it a case in which there could be no doubt . It was clear that
deceased came by his death'accidentally . A verdict to that effect was returned . The scene that presented itself at the habitation of Hawes , on our accompanying the jury to yiew the body , we shall ever remember . It was wretched in the extreme , and bespoke the utmost privation and poverty . The abode appears , with three others , to have been formed out of a barn ; the drainage around them bad ; no chambers . in them , save 011 ; the ground floor , where the poor imn / ttes have t <» -live , cook , < tc , with a thatched roof . The habitation is only about twelve feet by nine , an earth floor with a few stones lakl in , and from tlie floor to the roof entirely open . On an old bedstead ky deceased , iuul by the side of it was
another for his three children to rest on , tlie bedsteads fully occupying full one halfbf the place , and but fewar ticles for domestic use . Kor tive years he had kept from the parish funds , not having received a sixpence . He had risen from his pillow long before the break of day , and trudged off to Buckingham , Bicester , Oxford , Thame , Aylesbury , and other markets and fairs , in hopes of getting a job of droving to enable him honourably and honestly to support his wife and children . We have it on oa ^ h that at times he went to four fairs without earning anything , and yet when he , about a month before his death , went to the Oakley vestry begging for labour , it was refused him , and he was told to do as he could .
Love and Suicide in the Metropolis . —One of those melancholy events , fortunately of rare occurrence in this country , took place at an early hour on Monday morning , at the east end of the metropolis . About a quarter past one o ' clock , a . m ., police constable M'Kenzie , 371 K , was called to the house of Mr . William Duckett , 2 io . Oj , Raven ' s-row , Mile-end , where he m ' et Mr . Davis , the surgeon , of Constablerow , Mile-end , who had also ; been hastily summoned , entering at the same time . ( They were ushered into a back parlour , fitted up as a sleeping apartment , where , lying across the bed , they saw the bodies of a young man and a young woinan , the former that of Charles William Duckett , soil to the proprietor of the house , who was absent at tlie time , and the latter ,
that ofa pretty young woman , named Eluabeth Williams , about 20 years of age , ) to whom the unfortunate young man had for some time past paid his addresses . Lying beside each body were ] two teacups , which had recently contained some sort ! of liquid , leading to the conclusion that both must have drunk off the fatal draught at one and the same moment . On looking about the apartments the constable perceived two phials , which he handed to Mr . Davis , who , from the odour which they emitted , atjonce perceived that they had contained hydrocyanic acid ; and , having examined the bodies , he pronounced it as his opinion that the deceased parties had been dead several llOXll-s , vo doubt trom the ctfects of the ; poison . The constable also found a sealed letter , addressed in a female haml ,
on mourning note paper , to Miss Chapman , Lucasstreet , Commercial-road , with a request on the envelope , signed with the initials of both the deceased , that it should be forwarded to the address immediately . Duckett and Miss Williams had been long attached , but adverse circumstances having intruded to prevent their ; union , it would seem as if despair of their ever coining together prompted them to this rash and tragical conclusion . The father is an accountant ; I his son was 21 years of age , and Miss Williams 32 . For upwards of nine years the unfortunate young persons were attached to each other , and were neverknowfl to have quarrelled On Sunday afternoon they bad . tea at Mr . Duckett ' s house , and took their departure about half-past five , at the eame time stating that they were going to
church , at which period they seemed in excellent good spirits . The evening wore { on , and eleven o ' clock having arrived , the usual time they returned , the family became somewhat alarmed . Soon afterwards two brothers of the ill-fated girl visited Mr . Dnckett , and inquired if his son or their sister had been seen , she not having made her appearance , and the lateness of the hour induced them to think that they had met with some accident . Unpleasant feelings of-alarm were then entertained by all ;! Messengers were dispatched all round the vicinity ] in search of them ; but of no avail . At last , between one and two o'clock , whilst Mr . Duckett was searching about the house , in the hope of finding some letter which would
mention where they had gone , he discovered that his son ' s bed-room was fastened on the inside , the key being in the door . It being surmised that he had returned unknown to the family , and had retired to bed , the door was broken open , and there the bodies of the young couple were stretched bn the bed , life having been extinct apparently for some time , with their amis vound each other ' s neck ! As the bodies lay , it appeal ^ that they must have | sat on the end of the bed -when they committed the act , and fell backwards . The girl was respectably connected , her father being a surgeon in the Cannon-street-road . The young man had been a clerk in the Tower Hamlets Court of Requests , Whitechapel , but h . M been for some weeks i »'
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past out oi employment . -The corpse" ; of the young woman , who was attired in a black satuutaaM , Jf ?^ jewellery cfa her fingers , ' ana her hair dotfG TipriB ringlets , lay < m the face , while the left ^ atmTcgtecMn the chest of her betrothed , his right aritfbenag tinder her head ; and he lay on Ms backi' He ; vras dressed jNeither of their * eountehancies we ? e distinct : / : Mosthose . —Ingbotous Frjito . —Some time ago we observed a paragraph in the Glasgow CmuHer , under the above head , regarding anew systew of'thieving in that city . But for novelty , we tmnkthe following case of fraud and imposition , by Ann Burnett ; of Breehin , will fully stand a comparison . ' Some weeks ago this young lady gave out a report that she was
about to be married to a Captain , J ^ 'Lean ,, of Aber deen , whom she represented as a mi ^ n of considerable property . To enable her to carry out the , fraud , letters were written to her , dated we fielieye from Aber deen , purporting % o be from the said captain , and aHthorising ner to purchase her " proyijlding "—in other words , dresses ot every description jfor her own wear , a suit also for the captain , bed and table linen , < fec ,, for which he was to pay on coming up here to consummate the happy event , and make her his loving wife . Amongst the furnishings , Miss Burnett did
not torget the good things oi this life , in the shape of eatables and "drinkables ^ but ordered a conside rable quantity ot * whiskey , rum ' . ! wine ! !! to ;; , su ^ ar , cheese , and last , but not least , a noble turkey ! !' . all which , on the faith of the captain ' s letter , she re ceived . These , however , l > eing perishable articles , soon disappeared , and no doubt she and her quondam friends had , at least , for one" night got glorious , " o ' er a' the ills 0 ' life victorious . " To keep up the deceit , however , another step was still "Anting , viz ., the proclamation of banns . This , too . was p" !<* about in the same business-like manner , and " booked" she was
on Saturday week , and proclaimed in the parish church three times on the following Sabbath . Thig was no doubt looked upon as a finishing stroke , which , would lull all suspicion or doubt on the subject . On the Monday , however , some suspicious circumstances occurred which led to inquiries , but the bird having flown ,, and the whole affair turning out a gross fabrication [ the letters being forgeries ) our active officer , Siyewnght , went in pursuit , and caught the " bonny bride , " we understand , at Broughty Ferry , and she is now safely lodged in gaol . One of her accomplices , suspected of being the writer of . the letters , James Adam , weaver , is also in custody . Part of the goods have been recovered in a pawnshop in town . — - Monvrose Standard .
Opening op the Letters . —The doubts that prevailed in the vicinity of this melancholy occurrene * as to the actual poison with which the young couple had destroyed themselves , were finally set at rest of the post mortem examination which the bodies underwent in the course of Monday afternoon b y Dr . Lethby . The scent of prussic acid was immediately detected on their being opened , and on the contents of the stomach being carefully analysed on Tuesday at the above institution , upwards of half an ounce of the pure acid was extracted . From inquiries instituted , it appears that Duckett purchased It at Batley ^ s , in Fore-street , Cripplegate , having procured it by representing himself to have been sent by
a druggist who deals with the firm . The . bottles , which were found on the mantel-piece , and ¦ which contained it , were labelled "SheDd's Prussic Acid . " According to the request of the deceased , incribed on the letter found in the apartment , and directed to Miss Chapman , in Lucas-street , it -was delivered in the course of Monday afternoon at her residence , and opened in the presence of Mr . Porter , the constable of Stepney > On the envelope being broken open it was found to contain two epistles , both of which were addressed to that young lady
and written in the handwriting of Duckett . One was a piece of poetry in 24 verses , and is a beautiful piece of penmanship . The title is , "The Last Lay of Two Broken Hearts , written and composed by C . A . D ., " executed in the illustrated ftyro in old English ; with a variety of inks . It bears the date cf . Nov . s , but it has evidently been written as far back as September , which tlate was erased , but which is still par tially discernible . The theme shows a wild paroxysm of love on his part , manifesting the most fervent attachment to the ill-fated girl . He bids adieu to his parents and all other relations , . and prays forgiveness . Poverty had blasted his prospects , and
" Since Fate had marr'd their earthly bliss , they would seek an early grave . ' The same wild strain is displayed throughout the whole piece" His Lizzy begging that his graTe might be her { jrare also . " The language of it snows the unfortunate writer to have been a most intellectual _ young man , but the extravagant outbursts of his passion whitshit display * proves , almost beyond a doubt , that his , mind was in some way affected . The second is written in the same superior style , and bears the date of the day .
last Sunday , on which he effected his fatal purposes . The tenor of the letter fully confirms tb * supposition that has been entertained amongst the friends and , relatives , that he had prevailed upon the miserable girl to forfeit her existence with his . It states "that ere she ( Miss Chapman ) had received that epistle they would be in tne sweet sleep of death . " Fate had marred his bliss in this world—he was prepared to leave it , and she for whom he had lived , had told him '' If you die without me you will be my murderer ! " and to use the words of Lady Jane Grey , "Death had oo terrors : " Both £ productions had deep black border * round them .
The Suicide at Mile-End . —The Inquest . —On Wednesday at noon , Mr . Baker , coroner for the eastern division of Middlesex , and a jury of the inhabitants of Stepney , assembled at the Fox Tavern , Russell-street , Mile-end , to inquire into the deaths of Charles William Duekett , aged 21 , and Elizabeth Williams , aged 27 , the two young persons who da . stroyed themselves by taking prussic acid , under the very extraordinary ch-cumstances before detailed .. In the course of the proceedings the Cpronei- had handed to him a letter , which was contained in aa envelope with a black border , found lying on the table' in- the room where the bodies were discovered , addressed ' * To xMiss Margaret Chapman , 21 , Lucasstreet , Commercial-road , " cousin to Miss Williams .
The enclosures were read : one consisted of poetry addressed to Miss Chapman , beautifully written and illuminated in various coloured inks , entitled " The Last Lay of the Broken Hearts . " The verses were 24 in number , but the following extracts will afforda fair sample of the composition : — " Change thou the scene ; look here , and thou shalt find The spirit wounded with sternest sorrow ' s dart—The tnadden'd brain , the wild , the wandering mind' The cheek that ' s blighted , and the broken . ' heart . " We ' ve loved each other , joined in hand and heart , Firm bound together in one holy tie . Forsake we cannot , and we ne ' er will part ; Together live , and then together die . " At the conclusion of the poetry was written the following : —
" This is the holy vow freely given from both oar hearts . We have lived fop each other . We solemnly , and without reluctance , mutually consent to die together j testifying to the truth thereof we . have subscribed our names , thus proving our perfect will to share the grave in the arms of one another . " Elizabeth Wiiiiams and Charles Wh . TJtrcKT . rr . " Signed at No . 9 , Raven-row , Mile-end Gate , " London , Nov . 8 , 1844 . " The other letter bore date the 24 th inst . ( the day of the occurrence ) , and was signed by Duekett only . It exhibited great despondency , and informed Miss Chapman when she received tnat , he and Elizabeth " would be sleeping the sleep of death , for she had
told him ' If you die without me you will be my murderer . '" Among the evidence received was that of Mr . William Henry Duckett , the father of the male deceased , who deposed , Charles William Duckett was my son . He resided with me . 1 waa aware , of his attachment to Elizabeth Williams , and approved of it . 1 have observed lately that at times he has been very depressed , and at other times much excited . I never heard my son speak of getting married , but it is my opinion that he feared Jus circumstances would never enable him to do so , and preyed on his mind , a candidate for a lucrative situation above twelve months since , and being ^ unsuccessful he had ever since been desponding . He was 21 vears of asre . and
had-known Elizabeth Williams nine years . The witness here produced a large packet of letters he had found in his son ' s box , addressed to him from Elizabeth Williams ; they reciprocated his affection , and in one of them of recent date she expressed herself very unhappy , and stated that she . cared * H 6 tfioir soon the time came to die with him . I Iast . saw ' mjr son alive at half-past five on Sunday evening , ' when he went out to go to Church . I went to church wjtB his / toother , ana returned about half-past eight ' ^ 1 heard nothing until shortly before twelve , whe » tne brotHers of'Elizabethcame and asked for . theirliste r * I went with" 'them homeand on my ' retain I j&jj *
, servedthat the key was not in the door V ' we frost Earl our , my Son ' s bed-room . I trieii ' - th / door , ' ^ i ndnig it locked , procured another key Jtrfh "whicn I succeeded in opening it . On entering saw my son and- Elizabeth lying on the bed , locke / ia each xithefa arms , arid quite dead . ( Witness hefe became mu < h affected ) . Other evidence was heard and the judy consulted , and ultimately returne / a verdict thati \ $ deceased persons , CharleB Williaj * Duckett and EBz * . beth Williams died from Imbit » uga certain quantity of prussic acid , but by whom / or how administerea there was not sufficient evide «« before the jury . ' -
Coal Pit Explosion . —A ^ otheb Death . — -Thoroaa Topping , one of the men Seriously injured at the r&j cent -colliery explosion at'Pemberton , died on : Friday morning , thus plaiting five who have forfeited their / lives by this accident . j ^** taT * ^ 5 ^ n . / Ouhum . —Afflicting AFF # & (^ fta ^^^ Siafe 42 » noon last , the oody of a youj ^' ro ^ ii ^^ w ^^ toe O of Sarah PartingtonrdaugJitep ? r ^^ jft ^ ¥ JBnro > BW J 3 & a power-loom weaver , resitlenlwi ^ S ^^ iS ^^^ S ^ ^ 3 ton , was found in a small p it £ < J : ^ mW ^^^^^ iSi about two yards . in depth . ft ^ fe ^ P «^^ SP * i ^ iS h ^ the morning Bh . e . was roisscd , ^ if ^ w ^?^^!^^ ^* with a rope , but not ; ^ verej ^ in # | i ses ^ g ^^ T ^ C ports which .. had reached him 1 a ^ tff ^ er ^ o ^ ilaHR ^ i ^ . * - deceased was eighteen yearto ^^ j ^? *^^^^^ . Eptoe persoaa ] attractiong , X ^ i ^ w ^^ f : i ; ¦¦ -: ¦¦ ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ~ " ¦'¦ 'K 0 : ^^ t " " ' : -: ' t- -- ' -- ' - . - ¦ ¦ ; - - ¦ ¦ - -
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THE NORTHER ^ STAR .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 30, 1844, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct973/page/3/
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