Star. — London, England, 1821-01-04 00:00:00

THE BEAUTY OF THE CREATION. BY THE REV. F. HODGSON. Had the rich earth been only made ler creature's various wants to aid ; Had Hume so framed the whole, That one wide, Sat. unshaded plain. Self-warnid, and self-bedewed with rain, Had fed each living soul! Due still OUT grateful praise would be, Auswsrts► Ascents:vs ! to thee. Por Nature's bounteous plan, But oh ! what raptures of delight. Creation's fair embellish'd sight Calls forth from wond'ring man ! What superfluity of love Descends in beauty from above! What harmony around Attmes the breathing earth and sky, 'Aaid swells in asurm'ring majesty, Through all the blue profound! How Colour pours upon the scene, Her altering shades of sunny greet ! I low the grey rocks on high, Streak'd by the cataract's wintry course, Or shaster'd by the thunder's force, In gath'ring darkness lie ! Yon softer hill, beneath the rock, Half-cover'd by the whitening eJck, That roams its verdant sule ; With seeming exultation sees The natural diadem of trees, Run round it, deep and wide ! And oh ! that sweet uprising shower, Balm hreath'd from herb, and fruit, and flower! When. bright with April dew, The landscape gleamy and arcb'd above, The pietur'd pledge of heav'itly love Spans the whole vernal view ! Who here can lose, with blinded setae, The beam of pure benevolence, To raise the human heart To Ileit who framed this balane'd globe, 'Tins girded with so fair a robe, 'Twas grac'd with matchless art ! That hand of heav'nly art is here, Where, down the winding vale, appear The roofs of rustic straw ; And spiral wreaths of airy blue Mount from the peaceful cottage, true To Beauty's native law! The hand of heav`nly art bestows The mingled light. the life that flows, Where Nature's fountains play ; When ti►e merit wakes their misty stream. Or evening's yellow lustres gleam Along their fading way! That hand of heao'nly art is seen Brightest in Virtue's eye serene, Where truth and fondness dwell — What angel mind can piatuns thee, Thou •ision of tranquillity? What tongue presume to tell? STATE OF FEMALES IN INDIA. LETTER FROM THE REV. W. WARD, MISSIONARY IN INDIA, TO THIS LADIES OT LIVIRTOOL, AND 117 fit imams inactiow. " There are in Hindoestan 75,000,000 of your sex who can neither read nor write; and 30,000,000 of these are British subjects. In every country not ameliorated by Christianity. the state of woman has always been most deplorable; but the Hindoo le gislators have absolutely made their acquisition of the knowledge of letters a curse, and they are by a positive prohibition denied all access to their Scrip tures. Being thus degraded. even by their sacred writings, women in India are in a state of ignorance and superstition, which has no parallel in the history of tribes the most savage and barbarous. " A female is despised as soon as she is born : she comes into the world amidst the frowns of her pa rents and friends, disappointed that the child is not a boy. Every mother among the tribe of Rajpoots puts her female child to death as soon as born-While I was in Bengal,- I was informed of the case of a ltajpoot who had spared one of his daughters, and she lived till she attained the age when Indian girls are marriageable. A girl in the house of a Rajpoot was, however, so extraordinary a circumstance that no parent chose to permit his son to marry her.— The father then became alarmed for her chastity and the honour of his family, and he, therefore, took her aside one day, and with a hatchet cut her to pieces 1 These are the circumstances into which your sea enter into life in British India. " In childhood and youth they have no edema don, no cultivation of any kind whatever, There is not a single girls school in all India ; and the mother being herself entirely unlettered, and being the de voted victim of a dark and cruel superstition, is ut terly incapable of improving her child. The first days of the girl are, therefore, spent in an inanity which prepares her for a life -doomed to be went in superstition and vice. " In the age of comparative childhood she is united in marriage, without any knowledge of or having ever seen her husband; when they meet to gether for the first time, they are bound together for life. Thousands who are thus married in a state of childhood, lose their husbands without lasi% ever lived with them ' and are doomed to a life of widow hood ; for the law forbids them to re-marry. Parents in some eases marry 50 or 60 daughters to 'one Brambun,that the family may be raised to hor . iour by a marriage relation to this man. These females rever live with the husband, but in the houses of their own ppents,-or they leave the houses in which they huvebeen thus sacrificed fur the supposed honour of the•family, =denier the abodes of infamy.and ruin. "-Supposing the female, however, to have been Misted to a person who really becomes attached to her; .what a nigher, without the knowledge of the alphabet t--wholly unacquainted with mankind, and with all the employments of females in a civilised country; unable either to make, to mend, or to wash the clothes of her household! -She never sits to eat pith her 'husband, but prepares his-food, waits upon aim, and partakes of what he leaves. If a friend of the. outer sex calls upon her husband, she retires. She is veiled, or goes in a covered palanquin if she leaves the house. She never mixes -in public companies.. She derives no knowledge from the other sax, except from the stories to which she may listen from the mouth of a religious mendicant. She is, in fact, a mere animal kept for burden or for slaughter in the house of her husband. A case lately occurred in, Calcutta of a girl being burnt alive on the funer al pile with the dead body of the youth with whom she! Wins that day to have been married. You will bed prepared now, Ladies, to expect that such a system o( mental darkness will have 'rendered the sex in - India the devoted victims of idolatry ; and stich victims ito • • other country, however dear, bbvtver beligitteck can boast. What must be the state of the female mind when millions are foued'throwing the children of their vows into the sea, when a guard of Hindoo soldiers is necessary to prevent mothers throwing their living children into the jaws of the alligators these mothers standing and watching the animal while it crushes the bones, tears the fie h, and drinks the blood of their own offspring! How deplorable the condition of your sec, when superstition thus ex tinguishes every sensibility of the female, and errs feeling of the mother, and makes her more savage than the tiger which howls in the forest, which al ways spares and cherishes its own offspring ! " At the calls of superstition, many females immo late themselves by a voluntary death in the sacred rivers of India. A friend of mine, at the junction of the Jumna and the Ganges, at Allahabad, in one morning, saw, from his own window, sixteen females with pans of water fastened to their sides, sink them selves in the river, a few bubbles of air arising only to the surface of the water after they were gone down. The drowning of so many kittens in England would excite more horror thaii . the drowning of sixteen of your own sex in India! " But horrors still deeper are connected with the state of female society in India. The English Ma gistrates in the Presidency of Bengal, in their annual official returns to the Calcutta Government, state, that in the year 1817 (three years ago)-706 women, widows, were either burnt alive or buried alive with the dead bodies of their husbands, in that part of British India. Is there anything like this in the whole records of time? Have fires like these, and so numerous, ever been kindled anywhere else on earth—or graves like these ever been opened? Two females roasted alive every day in one part of Bri tish India alone! At noon-day, and in the presence of numerous spectators, the poor widow, ensnared and drawn to the funeral pile, is tied to the dead body, pressed down on the faggots by strong levers, and burnt alive, her screams amidst the flames being drowned by shouts and music. Amidst the spec tators is her own son, her first-born, who, tremendous idea! has set fire to the pile, and watches the pro gress of the flames which are to consume the living mother to ashes, the mother who fed him from her breast, and dandled him on her knees, and who once looked up to him as the support of the declining days of herself and his father. " I have seen three widows thus burnt alive, and could have witnessed many more such spectacles, had they not been too much for my feelings. Other widows are buried alive ; here the female takes the dead body upon her knees, as she sits in the centre of 3 deep grave, and her children and relations, who have prepared the grave, throw in the earth around her: two of these descend into the grave and trample the earth with their feet around the body of the wi dow. She sits an sturemonstrating spectator of the : the earth rises higher and higher around her; at length it reaches the head, when the remain ing earth is thrown with haste upon her, and these children and relations mount the grave, and trample upon the head of the expiring victim! le Ole British mothers, ye British widows! to whom shall these desolate beings look? In whose ears shall these thousands of orphans cry—losing father and mother in one day—if not to you? Where shall we go? In what comer of this miserable world, full of the habitations of crnehy. shall we find female so ciety like this?..-widows and orphans like these?— Seventy-five millions in this state of ignorance! Say how long, ye who never saw a tear but ye wiped it away—a wound, but ye attempted to heal it—a human sufferer, bet ye poured consolation into his heart—how long shall these fires burn?—these graves be opened? The appea l , my fair countrywomen, is to you—to every emle in Britain. Government may do much to put an end to these immolations; but, without the communication of knowledge, these fires can never be wholly quenched, nor can your sex in India ever rise to that state to which Dlthli Paonnxecs has destined them. " Don't despair. The victims are numerous: but on that account shall the..life-boat not leave the shore? There can hardly be a misery, connected with human existence, which the pity and the rid of British females, under the blessing of Peovnemici, is not able to remove; end if this dreadful ems be properly felt in every town of the United Kingdom, these immolations must shortly cease for ever. "Schools must be commenced; knowledge mu* be communicated; and then the Hindoo female will be behind .none of her sex in the charms which adorn site female character; in no mental devationto which die highest rank cifßritishremales have attained. Other triumphs of humanity may have been gained by our Howards, our Clarkson, our Wilberforces ; but this emancipation of the females and widows of British India, must be the work of the British fair. (Signed) " W. W." Yesterday, ahoy, sarcely.fiffteen years old, driver 4 a hackney chariot, appeared before the sitting Magistrate, at the Public Office, Bow -street, at the suit of the Rev. Dr. VALPY, charged with misbe haviour, and 'demanding more than his legal fare. it appeared by the evidence, that this young Jeke,laving driven twoyotmg Ladiesfroth Bedford square to Brunswick-square, demanded/tee shillings for his fare, just double the•amount he was entitled to. Payment was, - ef course, refused, and'he wartold he might summons for his fare; but this, it seems, did not'suit his.purpose, and be knocked at the door and rang the bells upwards of %seventeen times, de chring to the crowd which his -violence had col lected, 'that he wooldlkneelythe door down if they did not come nut !—Before the , Magistrate, however, be was geutleneis itself, and could scarcely utter a word for weeping. On account of his youth, he was fined ten shillings,and in default of payment, he was sent to the Honse'of Correction for fourteen days. Since the f.tshion of 'Curling the 'Hair has become so general both to Ladies and Gentlemen, it may not be antis* to point out its timer in destroyieg that - ornament .a fine Had of Hair. The-me-of the irons makes the hair dry and harsh, an it loses Akita native instre and elasticity. 'To coenteract this, " Arassisuit's Coanms nolo," has long stood pre-eat/inn; .and its general adoption by the Nubi. lity raisesit above any imputation of quackery. By using it after curlier the heir, it makes it 49 softami glossy as nth. and `imps the curl firm daring exercise in the damn, or promenade, or in damp weather. It also preserves it from changing cokenr, or falling off, to extreme old age ; and in order to protect the 'Public against the numerous imitations, the Proprietor intends immediately to take out a Pant for tbc. Invesitioc. munDzi ~. ... Tuesday evening a Corouir's Inquest was held at the Buffalo's head tavern, New-road, Maty-la-130one, betore THOMAS STIRLING, Esq. on the body of John Whiting, a bricklayer, who was killed by hi; la bourer throwing a large stone at him on the morning of last Tuesday sennight. The Jury took a view of the body, and afterwards the following evidence was given: Thomas Dyer sworn.---I am an apprentice to Mr. Clements, carpenter, of Northumberland-street, New road. I was at work, on the morning of Tuesday sea night, at some buildings in St. John's Wood, where the deceased and his - labourer, Richard Foy, were ids° at work. They were in the employ of Mr. Austin, the builder, in Northumberland-street, who, being out of town, gave the deceased orders to see that the labourers attended to their work. Richard Foy did not attend to his business ache ought, and the deceased reprimanded him for his conduct, and threatened to tell his master. Foy replied very in solently, and a great many unpleasant words passed between them. Foy said he was as good a man as the deceased, and, after a good deal of altercation, Foy told him he would fight him, if he would tura into the field. The deceased said he would accept the challenge., but he knew that he should beat Foy, and advised him not to fight. Foy insisted, and they went into the field. They struck each other the first round, and fell. In the second round they struck each other several times, and Foy fell. In the third round the blood ran down Foy's face; and, as soon as he felt it trickling down, he refused to fight any more. They then went to their work again : they shook hands and were reconciled, Foy stating that he would attend to his work, and the deceased pro mised to overlook Foy's misconduct. At twelve o'clock the deceased, Foy, and another bricklayer named Dowder, his labourer, and myself, left the building to go to our dinners : we all went together, till Dowder and his man turned off to go so his house, at the bottom of James-street, near the Nightingale. When they left, I and Foy walked to gether, and the deceased walked before us; and when we arrived near the Yorkshire Stingo gate, in the New-road, I saw Foy pick up a large stone out of the horse-road, and put it into a bag which he Car.. tied in his hand. In a few minutes afterwards, when we were on the London side of the Stingo gate, Foy took the stone out of his bag, and ran up to the de ceased : when he was within a few yards of him, he threw it at him with all the violence and force that he was capable of, and it struck the deceased on the back of his head. The deceased, the moment he re ceived the wound, sprung up into the air nearly a yard high, then turned round several times, and fell on the ground apparently lifeless. I assisted in con veying him to Mr. Norton, the surgeon, in Glon. tester-place. The blood issued from both ears and the nose, and from the wound spurted across the road. Mr. Norton examined the wound, and recom- . mended him to be taken home, and to have the wound washed with warm water and vinegar. John Holton, servant at the Baralo's Head, New road, sworn.—According to the directions of Mr. Norton, I conveyed the deceased to his lodgings, and his head was washed with warm water and vinegar. Mr. Goodyear, the Surgeon of the Mary-la-Bonne Infirmary, came and examined the deceased's wound, and recommended him to be conveyed to the Mid dlesex Hospital, which was done. The deceased re mained these till the Wednesday following, and grew better; but, owing to the number of accidents that occurred, be was compelled, from want of room in the wards, to leave, and go home to his lodgings, to which place he was conveyed. He got better for a day or two, and then became worse ; and he was taken into the Mary-la-Bonne Infirmary, where he wined on Friday night last. John Dowder, a bricklayer, who was present at the fight, confirmed the evidence of the boy Dyer in every respect : he saw the parties shake hands after the fight, and agree to be friends in future. - Mr. Goodyear, Surgeon at the Mary-la-Bonne In firmary, being sworn, stated, that he attended the deceased before he went to the Middlesex Hospital, and after he came into the Infirmary. He examined the injury' the deceased had sustained, and found the skull fractured externally and internally—(The stone which inflicted the wound was now produced. From its sire, it must have been thrown with great vio knee, or it could not have effected so de s pe ra te a wound).—The brain was injured ; and the blow given by Foy was undoubtedly the cause of the death of the deceased. Several other witnesses were examined. Their de positions only tended to corroborate the former evi dence—to chew that the deceased was a most re spectable man, arid valuable servant ; and that Foy was instigated by a spirit of revenge when he com mitted the diabolical act. The Jury, at one o'clock in the morning, returned an unanimous verdict of—Wilful Mu rde r against Richard Fry—who has absconded. A dreadful murder took place a few days ago, in the Bois de Boulogne near Paris. A young man from Nismes arrived in that capital last week, and made some purchases of jewellery, as presents for a Lady to whom he was about to be married. On the evening of his arrival at Paris he went to the play, where he drew out a snuff-box, which appeared to fix the attention of two persons near him, who sought a pretext for a quarrel, and challenged him to fight on the following day. A third, who pretended to be a stranger to the others, offered his services as a se cond- The young man, in the heat of the moment, accepted the challenge and the offer of a second. He save his card, and left the Theatre. On the follow ing day, the second called upon him in a hackney coach, and they proceeded to the Bois de Boulogne, where they found the challenger and his second. They drew lots for the first fire, which it was contrived should fall upon, the challenger, who instantly dis charged his pistol. Having missed his aim, the murderer rushed immediately upon the youth, and shot him with another pistol in the side. The three ♦illains then began the work of plunder, and had al ready robbed the youth of 300 francs in gold and his coat, when they were alarmed by the appearance of the Bens-d'arrnes, and fled. The poor youth lived only forty-eight hours, during which he had barely . strength enough to relate the adventure. POLICE, Bow-sr ftzeT. , A confidential servant of the Freriel• Ambassador, whose name is Grenier, and who is ens: played by his Excellency to carry dispatches to en d from London and Harrow, was, on Sunday evening, about seven o'clock, most violently attacked, ab out seven miles from town. His horse appeared suddenly to be stopped by two foot passengers, who stood is his way, and said something to. him in a low tone of voice. which, from his very imperfect knowled ge o f the English language, he could not understand. A s he was endeavouring to clear his way, three men g 4 horseback, suddenly rushed up to him and surrounded him, at the same time commencing an attack up on 1 him. They were armed with sabres, or catlastes, and the foremost of them was very expert in the use . of his weapon. Mr. Grenier, to escape the brusi . , fury of his assailants, put spurs to his horse and gal— loped away ; they followed him with all their spee(:, and continued to cat him whenever they were near enough to reach him, and inflicted several severe. wounds. Seeing no means of escape, as his assail. ants were nearly as well mounted as himself, M r , Grenier took the precaution of suddenly darting a s i s k • into a by-road; he thus got a-head of his outrageo us assailants, who however still pursued, .but luckily did not overtake him till he arrived at an inhabited house and called for succour; his pursuers then made off. The inhabitants of the house, seeing the alarm. ing condition of Mr. Grenier, his clothes being cut iq several places, and blood flowing from different parts of his person, immediately gave him shelter, a n d dressed his wounds. He has since been removed to Portland-place, and though he has been most severely injured, there is hope that he will recover. His Ex cellency the French Ambassador sent an account of the outrage to Lord SIDMOVTII, as the head of the Home Department, and his Lordship immediately ordered the amplest and speediest means of inquiry to be resorted to. Mr. Blast; the,Magistrate, after an interview with his Lordship, repaired to Pqrtland place, and took Mr. Grenier's deposition. Owing to the darkness of the night when he was attacked, he could give no description of the persons who attacked him, any further than that the two men on foot seemed to be labouring men, and the three on horse. back had cutlasses and cloaks. A proclamation has been issued, offering a reward of £2OO for the detec tion and apprehension of the offenders. " Such is the case as detailed to us in the Police Report. It is strange and incomprehensible : a glimpse of light, however, broke in upon us in reading it ; and our conjecture, such air is, we offer to our Readers :—lt appears that Mr. Grenierhas scarcely any knowledge of the English language. When the two men on foot, who seemed to be standing at the head of his horse, spoke to him, be did not know what they said. Is it not possible that these men were sauntering along, and that Mr. Grenier 's horse, the night being dark, came suddenly upon them, and produced some remonstrance on their part? His inane:). don to the remonstrance would alarm them, and they mot take him for a highwayman, and cal for assistance. This call would very probably be attended to by the borse.patrol, why like the assailants, are well mounted, wear cloaks. and carry sabres. They would naturally surround )dr. Grenier. and his • gaUoping away without explanation, would, in their minds, ape: rate a conviction that be was a thief, and the subsequent attacks on his person would all spring from that supposition. The cooly circumstance that militates against this idea is, that they rode away whet Mr. Grader turned aside to the farm : but, as the night was very dark, they might have lost sight of him when Ls left the horse-road to take sheiter in the house."—Thaes. Lamarrar-srater.—Yesterday R. Bennet, the pad fro!, attached to this Office, was brought up, charged with wantonly shooting at Mr. Squires, on Sunday Lot—(Seat the Szett sf yesterday J.—The prisoner of fered to put in bail, but was told by the Magistrate that his offence came under Lord Ellenborough . s Act, and that he would remand him till a future day.— He was remanded accordingly. Tows HALL, BOROUGILYeSterday Hannah Baker; a miserable old woman, was charged with stealing an egg from a stall, and an apple, orange, turnip, or potatoe, from others, in the Borough-market. Whal searched, there were found, in a bundle of rags is I her bosom, notes to the amount of C 173, and in her pocket silver, making in all £204 18s.!—She refused to tell where she lived, but, from documents found on her, the Officer discovered that she lived in Gar- Iden-row, Shadwell, with her son, an industrious but poor young man, who never suspected his mother of being possessed of so much wealth, though he had always believed that his father, who was a sailor, had died leaving some money. She was discharged, as no one appeared to prosecute, and the money W 4 given up to the son. Tuesday night, Mr. H9NTKR, of Hatton-Garden, was attacked, near the Small Pox Hospital, St. Pan cras, by a single footpad, who presented a pistol at him, and robbed him of four £1 notes and some sil ver. A man in a loose great coat corning up shortly afterwards, Mr. IFIUNTSR told him of the robbery, and that he had fortunately saved his watch; upon which the man presented a pistol at him, and made him deliver it! 01 A ILI LILL?. Dee. VI, at breenwich, Anthony Errington, .o of the late Captain Autiony Hunt, R.N. to Sophia, third daughter of the late Captain Widam White, R.N. Dec. itS, the Hon. Miles John Stapleton, son of Lord Lt Despeneer, to Ann Blain, 4aughter of the Hoe. T. Norbert , Kerby, deceased, late of the Island of Antigua. Ships at Market. 40 Newcastle Sunderbtsd • Price. 41a od to 45. Si --a 6J to 46s 04 HIGH-W ATER at LONDON If TO-NORKOW• iskrning • • - 1 minutes after 3 Afternoon ' 21 --••• 3 LONDON Planed and ptshbabed by Lam. Katy, Odic*. Place. Tempe-bar • - DIED. Monday evening. Mrs. Pearson, of George-street, Hanover,- square, wife of Dr. Pearson, aged 65, after many years of very infirm health. Thursday, deeply regretted, Frances Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Charter, Esq. of Lynchileld, in the Comity of Somerset. Jan. 2, at Itatcliff.highway, Mr. R. Stonehenge, upwards of 17 years an Inspector for the City of London. Dec.l4, at Sidmontb, aged 22, James Buchanan, Esq. of Bra smogs College, Oxford, and Student of Lincoln's Inn. Wednesday se'nnight, in the Workhouse at Durham, William Wharton, formerly well known amongst sportsmen in that neigh bourhood, fur the facility with which he found hares in grey hound conning. Dec. 21, at Beckenham, Kent, Mary Ann, daughter of Cap• rain Godby, R.N. • _ 'MAI LA THIS DAY.—A DUt. AWL Due. 4 0 Lisbon 0 1 Waterford s I France o Guernsey and Jersey 0 0 Uamburgb 0 5 Holland o 1 Gottenburgh 1 0 Flanders 0 0 Leeward Islands 0 a -Malta 0 0 • COAL MARKRT, — Jist.S. Ships at Market. Ships Sold. Price. 40 Newcastle If 45. ed 1. 455 .4 51.Sundertaisd —s 64 to 46s Od, 'Nu LM hi