The National Register. — London, England, 1822-06-09 00:00:00

scanty maintenance by her needle, but i Limn% it prove itisiillic.eut, she deiertni.ted to try whether the labour m toe pen would not be more profitabla. However, lietore she could succeed in disposing of her work she was ooliged to go in arrears with her landlady: the sum st as small, but as the woman was destitute of principle, site availed hersiif of the circumstance to plead the cause at a libertine of fashion, who was struck with Mrs. Clayton's person. In vain did the unfortunate widow spurn hi' dishonourable proposals, he continued to insult lier with his licentious oilers. The thought that she now hail it in her power to escape Isis importunities,added to the relight winch the success of her work gave her— si:e resolved to seek for another lodging in the morning; ai alter she had put her little girt to bed, she sat down to form plans for the future, with an alacrity of spirit to which site had long been a stranger, when the door opened, and Sir Harry entered. Site saw at a glance that he was hall intoxicated, and Moulds terrified at a freedom winch lie had never before presumed to take, she had presence of mind enougn to conceal her alarm. She ruse with apparent composure, and desired he would leave her apartmetit. " Pray," cried he, with a scorn ful laugh, " What is the penalty, my pretty inflexible, i. I don't chose to comply t You are about to rid your 3elf of the' detestable man,' you know,' but at least you shall first hear what he has to say." Grasping her hand, Ise obliged her to sit down, and placing himself at her side, he began to offer her what he called better terms, intermingled with threats of vengeance if they were not accepted. Irritated by her struggles to disengage herself the brute threw his arms round her. She screamed in terror, and the next moment an old man, very plainly dressed, entered the room. Sir Harry quitted his des tilted prey, and advancing with a fierce air to the stran6er, tend him to retire. " Not unless the lady wishes it," visited he coolly. " Ott, no nor exclaimed my mis tress," for Heaven's sake, sir, do not go!' The baronet then changed his ground ; he declared that the lady was his wife, but it:ducally for bin:, the maid servant who admitted him ins the lady's absence, entered at that mo ment, and began clamorously to reproach hint with breaking his promise to her, by insulting my mistress.— Tws unexpected attack front his accomplice totally dis concerted him, and with a dreadful ex_cration upon her and himself, he quitted the room. My mistress, whose terror had by this time a little subsided, warmly thanked the stranger. " You owe use 110 ack nowledgmen Ls, madam," replied he, drily : I found the s.reet door ajar; my entrance was therefore easy; but even if it had been otherwise, I could not disregard the voice of a wotuan in distress. It I can be of any further use to you command me; if not, I will take my leads." Alter what has passed, sir," said Mrs.Claytuti, " I do not dare to remain here ; could you but stay till 1 pay this woman and remove my things, it would be indeed a favour." Tne servant, on being sintinumed, declared that her utistress was absent, but finding that Mrs. Clayton persisted in goifig immediately, she offered to fetch the landlady. When she quitted the room par that purpose, the stranger asked LI mistress rather abruptly, to what family of the Claytous she belonged. Perceiving that she blushed and hesit.eed, lie added in a sohet tone, " I did not IlWall to distress you, madam, by an inquiry that you may not wish to answer, but mine is nut an idle curiosity. Clayton, the merchant, of whose mournful catastrophe sou must have heard. was my nephew: I have been long absent Irons England, and did toot return till after his death, but I find that he has left a widow and a child—"—" Alt 1 yes," cried Mrs. Clayton. bursting into tears, " 1 am that unfortu nate widow." The stranger seemed affected. " Had I returned to England wooer," said he, " I might have averted poor George's unhappy fate, as well as prevented my own nun: but what, my dear child, is your actual situation!" She answered him without reserve. He shook his head at the sanguine hope she seemed to enter tain of her success as an author. " You have heard your husband speak of me, too doubt," cried he: " I quitted England before his birth, but for many years afterwards I keit tup a correspondence with my family. It was my :mention to return to Eng:and at a much earlier period, but vatious circumstar ces occurred to prevent me : by ocgrees I ceased to hear front my relations, but I did not foreet them, and it was always my intention to return at last, std share my fortune with them; but alas! an ill-placed confidence has deprived me of that fur which I have toiled so many years! I returned possessed as I thought of immense property, but the viliain in whose !sands I placed it has absconded, and I am literally a beggar." " No," cried my mistress with vivacity, " Heaven forbid that the only surviving relation of my dear lost husband should be reduced to that abject state while I can earn bread I Cheer up, uty dear uncle, let us think that our meeting is not the effect of chance, but the interposition of Providence for our mutual comfort : he to me as a father, and receive me as your child."— hut how, my dear generous girl, can 1 insixise the bur then of soy necessities—" " Talk not of that : fiont this moment our fortunes are united. Sec" co:Hunted she, spewing hem the money which the bookseller had gmeto her," the greatest part of this is mine: are we not tutu at present rich ehough, and shall we doubt that ere this is exhausted, Provideuce will send us more r The poor old man burst into tears of gratitude, but he checked his emotions at the sight of the landlady, who now entered with a most obsequious air. She declared that she was totally ignorant of the vile attempt of Sir Harry, and vowed that • he would neser again way a word in his favour : however, when she found that my mistress per sisted in quitting the house, all her civility vanished, and she was as insolent as she had been before fawning.— A few minutes sufficed to settle her demand, and Mrs. Clayton, making her little girl rise and dress, packed up her slender wardrobe, and quitted the house in company with her new-found uncle. Site took refuge for the night at the lodging of a poor woman who had been one of her under servants, and who attended her with exemplary fidelity in all her mis fortunes. Mr. Clayton then quitted her with a promise of coining earl, next day to go with her in search of an appartmeut. fhe morniug, however, stole on without THE NATIONAL REGISTER his appearing, and my mistress began to apprehend something had happened to him when he entered. " 1Vell." cried he, in a hurried tone," you have been waiting, and I'll warrant you have mien enough accused the out man of laziness; but now, bcore we set out. tell tile my dear niece, where shall we ao tot What do you think of the squares r Mrs. Clayton looked at him with mingled pity and apprehension. " I am afraid you are already fatigued," said she in a soothing voice, let us deter our search for to day." , But suppose I have seen something that I think will suit, will yuu go with me to look at it." She would have evaded the answering, for she now really began to think his head was disordered, but he would aim be denied, and hurryiug her into a hackney coach, they stopped in a few mitautes at the door of an elegant house in -- square. " Sir—any dear uncle—stop, I beg of your cried my now seriously alarmed mistress ; but without heeding her, he got out, and giving her his hand with all the vivacity of five and twenty, he led her into a handsome apartment, when he told the servant who opened the door, that they would rest for a few moments before they looked at the house. " I am not mail, any dear, any noble child," cried he, catching any mistress s hand as soon as the servant retired, " though a change of ior. tune little less than miraculous might almost make me so. I told you a villain had absconded with any property; so artfully had he managed, that not a hope of tracing him remained; but the hand of Heaven arrested hit Hight. His carriage was overturned, and himself so severely bruised, that his recovery was pronounced im possiOle. Finding himself dying, he hastened to place the securities for my property winch he had with him it, safe !lauds; he has restored nearly the whole of what he robbed me of. The news reached me this morning; And now remember your own words: our fortunes are united ; this is your house if you like it, and think it good enough for the heiress of half a million; if not, we will soot, find another." _ -------------- When a gush of grateful tears had given my mistress the power of speech, she was be4inning to thank him.— " Now, tie upon you r cried he; " thank me for what? Fur sharing my superfluities with you—you who would have,divided with toe your hard-earned morsel of bread? without suffering her to reply, he rang for the servant, who conducted them over use house; my mistress ex pressed herself highly satisfied with it, and returned to prepare for her retain:ll. I did not accompany her as she gave use with some snore of my brethren to her old servant. LAIG INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF KING'S BENCH. THLHSDAY, JUINE G. DOE, ON THE DENnst OF J. PALMER, Ir. ROOT. LOVELL OWATKIN AND THEOPHILA GWATICIN. This WAS an at tioa of ejectment brought by the heir at law of the late Marchioness of 'Flromund to recover pos session of a house situate in Cieuige-stiect, Westminster, which the defendants claimed lei' the will of the Mat chioness. It was proved that the papers produced in court as the will of the late Marchioness of Thonsoud lead been i , eut by her to her attorney, Mr. Mortimer, and had been kept by him until opened atter her death, in mesence of her re latives. They weie paged throughout apparently in the w ' gof hei ladyship, but were not fixed together until atter her decease. firs. Tomiine, the lady of the Bishop of Winchester, who wile the Bishop sat on the bench st the tii;lit hand of die Lord Chief Justice, was theu sworn. She remem bered seeing Lady Thomund at her own house in 1616 or 11417, in a state of some agitation, when she said that she had a favour to ask of the Bishop. Mrs. Tonsline, think ing that she was N4ollt to request him to become her exe cuttn, replied that she was afield lie would not accept that Once, as lie had refused to do to for other friends. She inquired, atter a pause, whether he would object to witness her will, to which Mrs. Ton:!in replied, that she had no doubt lie would witness it, and that lie would wait on her on the next dny or the day slier. She said she wished to go to the Bishop's house to execute the will, and accordingly came thither a day or two afterwards, and brought the will in her muff. There were several papers, but Mrs. Towline could not recollect the exact number. After she had signed the will, the Bishop recol lected, that in case fieeltuld property were devised, it would be necessary that the execution should be attested by three witnesses ; he suggested this to the Alarcltioness, who expressed her gratitude ter the imoritiatiomand said that the house in Geroge-street (toot in quesinni) WAS freehold. Mr. Smith was sent fur; and she either wrote her name or retraced the signature, mid said it was her will, on which it was attested by the three witnesses in her presence. On her cioss-examination, Mrs. Tomline said that the blareltioness only signed one of the sheets, not could she Ideality those others produced as the same which accom panied the papers attested. The Bishop of Winclie,ter, being sworn, expressed his distinct recollection of all the en cmustanees stated by his lady, as attending the execution of the will. Mr. Smith, the other witness to the execution, gave the same account of all those cut cumstances which touk place after his tiniest. The papas indorsed " Last Will and Testament of Mary, Maieltioness of Thoniomi," were put it, and partly . read. The passages at the beginning and conclusion of the sheets wile evidently connected in sense, and there was no peciontaiy bequest in the last paper to which the 8,0001., alluded to in the last paragraph, could be applied. The Lind l.llie f Jit-tice said, that, in his judgment, it was entirely a question of fact for the July, whither the Marchioness re-published all the papers produced as her will, or only the last of them. Mr. Itlarryal contended, that the evidence did not suffi ciently prove the identity of the impels. The Lot it Chief Justice telt no hesitation in leaving the whole ease to the Jury. Lnyiestionably a person might si rite his will on different Nliects of paper, without attest ing every sheet. Unquestionably. also, it was Cf• Milly that these papers should be united by was or stringy it sow as enough if they were all p u bli s h e d as one entire will. Whether the papers in question were so published, the Jut y would decide, from the purport and connection of 163 the documents themselves, and the highly respectable evidence which they had heard ; and if they were of opi nion iu the affirmative, they would tied a verdict for uitt defendants. The Jury immediately found a verdict for the tiefen dauts. FRIDAY, .11:N6 7. This being the first day.. of Trinity Term, the Lord Chancellor came to the Great Hall, in Liticoln't Inn, at an early hoar ; at half past ten the twelve Judges, the Vice Chancellor, the Master of the Rolls, the Attorney and Solicitor General, together with the pi incipalCuunsel of the several Courts, waited on his Lordship, and has iii 4 taken breakfast, proceeded to the Courts at Westminster, which were opened with the accustomed sulenioities. CounT or KING's BENCH.—Jaulge Best having taken his seat soon after 14, Samuel Waddington was called on to plead to all indictment charging Mos with vending a blasphemous libel, entitled, Palmer's Principles of N.i. tore." This work Is prosecuted by the Society for time Suppression of Vice, and Waddington pleaded Nut Guilty. He was then taken away iu the Keeper of Newgate's custody. CRIMINAL INFORMATION —Mr. Campbell moved to file a criminal information against a magistrate of the county of Glamorgan. He did not wish to mention time name of the gentleman until an opportunity was given t.) be heard in his defence. The application was made in behalf a Mr. Win. Perkins,an extensive timber merchant residing in Glamorgan. (hi the 7th of July Mr entere.l into an agreement with two persons, named Terry mid Rice, to buy v. 83 feet of oak timber, which Terry had re covered by the verdict of a Jury. The 18th of the months was appointed for cutting down the timber, and 3501. was to be paid as the price. On the 7th of September the First instalment WAS to be paid. On the 29th of April, %elitist lie was cutting down 112 trees, he was slopped by a sum mons front the magistrate to answer a complaint made against I • . He attended next gay, and found that au information bad been laid upon the nth of George 111. which gives a power to commit persons cutting down and damaging young trees, as rogues and vagabonds. He offered to produce the agreement fur the purchase of Cie trees, and a bill of exclisuge which had been paid as pail of th e purchase money. The magistrate refused to re ceive such evidence, or take notice of the agreement, saying, 1 take no notice of agreements. This is an .s. parts Court, and I shall convict _on the evidence of Rota. Thomas and D. Williams, the informers." Mr. Perkins being advised that the conviction was illegal, refused to pay the penalty. He was then committi dto the comity gaol for one month, and is order to avoid the disgrace, I.e paid the penalty, with costa. The Limit granted a rule to shew cause. vita VINO V. RICHARD CARLILB. Mr. Cooper moved fur a rule to skew caner why the late Sheriff's of London, on notice given to their Secretary, should not sell the hooks and property of the defendant, distrained melee the writ frusurifacios. He applied to the Court in consequence of the rei torn made by the Sheriff , . which stated that they had seized the goods of It. Cal Id-, and sold the same for :141.75. It then went on to stat , .„ that they had levied other goods and chattels of It. Csi lile, value unknown, to be disposed of us the Court shad direct. 'flee learned Counsel said he considered this extraordinary return, and lie was at a loss to know !v the Sties iti hod made it. The property lie refused to sea con►isted of books, many of whirls were moral and god e tree from objections. One of the works was llis:wf Watson's Apology for the Cliiistion Religion; wink was the Speeches of Mr. C. Phillips, the bari The uncertain state in which this property was placed could not fail to be injurious to the defendant. Chief Justice.—lou may move to quash it for a take return. Mr. Cooper.—Then we shall not be able to sell any of the books. [lie detendent is in prison, 10 remain nu a he pays a line of 1,0001. Now the only llledllh lie has ill paying this fine is the sale of his property, and it the keep three goods, it i 6 impossible lie ceu have the benctit of his property. Chief Justice.—We may pay this return is hail, and or der another. Take a rule to thew cause why tins retuits should nut be qua.,iu•d. Mr. Cooper took his rule in that form. COURT OF COMMON PLRAS. WEDNESDAY, JLNE 5. A TAILOR'S BILL.....NIGIITISC %LE V. HIRST. The plaintiff is a first rate tailor, in the west end of the town, and brought this action against a first rate heal, to recover 1101. for goods sold and delivered. bill had been run up, in two mouths, ter 1611. Sergeant Pell disputed the fairness of the price. The foremast proved the delivery. Amongst the esti. des was a pelisse for a lady, for which the charge wits 01. lA. There was also an item of 121. for a morning gown. Those aitieles which witness did not deliver 1,0 saw on the per son ot defendant. Cross-examined.—Conld tell breeches of his own 'mike upon a gentleman, in the street, by toe hasty uf them be. tole ur I.OIIIIJ. " Were there not tw • of the coats that did not fit'"— " They did not tit the Head P " The head ! I thought coats were usually made to tit the body." it'iniess begged lie might not be compelled to disclose secrets of trade.—The question was guessed. Witness—" We often make coats which tit exceedingly well, but some fault is found, and they are sent back to 4e altered. In such a case, we say they do not fit the head. We keep them a proper time, and then send them bust untouched. when they are found to be just the thing, sod to lit delightully. Part tit the bull bad been paid.—Two wito e wore illt . 'diet . * were most moderate. Sc. grant Pell called three tailors, who swore that the charges were midi too high; 01. tie. should have beets chat ged for 81. Is., and Si. 56. instead of 121. 12 . would have been fair tor the pelisse, without the saLde tr • g. The sinn songht for was 11 it. The witnesses for the defence thought 741. a propel charge.—Verdict, 951. William Gosling, Esq. of the house of Gosling and Sharpe, nominated by the Lord Mayor at Court of Aldermen, on Tuesday last, tier the nth, of Sheriff, has paid Lis fine to be excused er v n the said office.