The National Register. — London, England, 1809-05-21 00:00:00

534 Oisterihr, the %rail, has an excellent eirert, but would be •: danzer prmedent fiiir the pencil of au inf talon It is onl y perfectly acquired skill that can venture to play these ad libitum% %jilt strong brilliancies. The •Rnit-1)"Y by WIT-gill displays the steward's hall, in 'men the tenants are assembled to pay their rents, and partake' of a bountiful repast provided Itr their refresh went. To de scribe the many natural traits with which this picture abounds - would far exceed our limits. The group at the pay table tirta claims our attention. A very old farmer and his son are ex plaining- at disputed point with the steward, yr/lose assistant tie-. countant is referring to the rent-book : the hottest open counte nance of the son, who seems to sav, , " Sir, you will certain!: find my statement correct," is t-uthtsed with a blush, not of shame, nor of indignation, but of that gentle, yet hectic nature, hich a man feels w hen he cannot make himself clearly under stood in a delicate matter. The earnest feebleness of the old wan, the cool scrutinizing, • yet good natured, aspect of the steward, and the busy, yet profound attention of the arcono. tattl, which seems divided betviVen the !tent-book and the ex planation of the younger man, are all accuratelN, andjudici ously depicted. The middle group consists of those who are -waiting to pay their rent. These have all the excellence of Owe delineated character. Two standing in earnest conversa tiou, atse well &timed : one of them appears to have some pecuniary claims on the outer, • and seems nrgent in hiS demand, the other is labouring. between a similiing apology, and the tuvauS• 4)f eluding the-demand. , The wives and children of some of the tenants snake up this group, and two old men•irt country cloaks, one of whom is in the agony of a violent cough. Thos,- vita . have transacted their business ht the steward's hoard of green cloth, are seated at a board which is covered much more ta their satisfaction. They are snot idly employed amid the p t :enty which their hands have laboured to produce. Every 31!outh is in motion, the knives and forks, and hands and teeth Are honourably ;exerted : himortrobll 1 sly, for What feast can he mom So, than wheres, all tietenniary obligations discharged— the 11shooter-tastes of luxuries without envying their possesq,r, an& sits!, .w4ll.isatistied at a hoard which his honest exertion,. have assisted to enrich. Far be it from u; to attribute any of those extravagant sentiments of content and happiness, which romantic people fancy must belong. to the hard-labouring coun tryman Ciddhhe's.poems have wiped • away every notion of that deseri pftioni xahidt in irnr•yohth ‘t•e • might have imbibed. Still a coarse.hearty shnliment of •lionourable pride, is found in the English farmer on the Rent Dai ; and we wish that the sentiment of benevolence whirl, on that day glimmers a little on one aide of the landlord's hill, would beam more generally and *awe -constantly over the winds estaie, throughout the year, ,t its it is, for the mnst part, found to do. • In light and shadow, keeping,letrett, tirii-drin"; nod ehatliter, we have not seep a *WC superior to that before Us. It is cne of those Recce • wbich art. seents.to oll'er at the shrine of natu; . :- ; human perception amlitaste red4efr it vWuable even tfe and nature feelsillowt-wortlty Vthe Hnota mit,.l its -lee—plate hey hidden labours, and to . Weiitoie acquainted' with her most secret emotions. .Good News, fig 1:: ..11,1 nn. —The principal figure in this.pieec i a Veteran Soldier,w hose ardour is excited by the intolligenee which 114 just arrived, and Which has been read alotuthy an honest. old colder in the .common room of a viliage inn. The old warrior is so highly ex hilerated with goad liquor and good news together,thu he seems unable to expre.s his joy with suf ficient energy. lie brandishes his walking stick, cocks his hat, and partleipates'in the victory w hieh has been gained. in the praises of the cominander, and the int repid i of the cr«nhatNlVs. This figure is coyeckyed, but not boldly executed. It Atauts strength of outline, and, general shadow. The . old Ilan who is listening; to the soldier. and cheering his claim sint:na with all the sympathy• of honest hilarite„ is much better dAidetVed, and more carefully finis:lied. The best figure, how iver, is thr colder. lle is turniog his head to reprimand t‘‘ dbongloobies wbo are ridiculing him and the old soldier. His air is v t qasitely natural. : the expression of contemptuous irri tat ioviis adntirably imagined and well (leaned : thc attitude is it self eloquent, and while it utters just in.lignation through all its lineioneott, puts us most ludicrously in mind of the shill and the last. A boy, and a young woman :t it h a ehll,l, nssist In directing our attention to the veteran : their wonder thin;led with pleasure is well described, and powerfully assiits the general and reigning idea. The post-boy covered with heat and dust, and the bar-maid who. is pouring Out a refresh in glass fur him, and div (din her attention between the good r r.sr.: M.% V 21. news and his tale of fatigue, ar, writ !ley:civil. IT fume the whole, we think. Mr. Bird is in the road to arr ki• ilkie's excellencies: he is, how ever. •111 . 1 very for lichen:: Own., !'here is a sloveuli'te. in iii foikiting : all the fornitore of the ronvii badly dra‘kii, aril gcnerally deficient in penipei•the : titt has nn rep the first effect of the picture of spotty conlisiti: 6 ' 1 . % r . Bird pos.es-e, geoin.-; Lut ~;etiius is lost out 'Hat iikill acquired I plirat A*. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. L'ORI ENT ;,(11:_liiitON. Intelligence has at length been received respecting the "reach from L'Orient. It was bron:,,ht hy the Fr:nicht :'reeling packet, which is arrive(' at i.alim.uth, with Mails from the Leeward Islands. Acco: n s receiv rd by Goyernmeat io the 9th last, on which day ow packet sailed from To-. lola, state, that the French squadron innOe its appear?.nue in the West ladies, On the 2504 . 7 .llarch, consisting of the Courageux, De le P;ioulle, at d Palameire, of the line, and the I talienne and Forieuse frigates. l'he reader tit ill recol 'ect, that this squadron took an p or( unity to slip out on the arrival of the Brest fleet otf L'Or4int, in the first week in February last—and that its destiaa:ton has been ever since the subject of much covjocture and anxiety, as no 3 mount whatever had been.received of its course. On its iassage to the West Indies it captured two merchantmen, vhich, it is supposed, niformed it of the fall of Martini que, as, instead of proceeding to that islard, lOr which it now appears to have been bound, i: bore away for the Saintes Island between , Guadaloupe and Dominica. Go vernment have received dispatches frill] Admiral Cochrane to the same ellect as the above, anti w further state, that the gallant Admiral, being- apprised of Cie arrival of tlw French, proceeded on the 7th instant, with four the line, to the Salutes, with a iew to four]: the enemy, but fromthe great advantageof the situation ofihe French ships, ho found the attempt impracticable ; he was there fore undikr the necessity olmerely blockading them for-the .present, and in the mean time made an application to Ge neral Beckwith at Martinioue for troops. Ile expected that.by the 10th last, a sufficient force wools! arrive, ail& am H. landing' could be easily effected, not a doubt remained that the whole of the enemy's squadron, Nall the Islands of the Sale:es, would fall into our hands. Some troops. were also expected from Dominica, to join in the ex pedition. . .... • ACCT DENTS. SHOCKING OuctranuNcE.—On Saturdny se g nulght (eorge Clover and William Proudlove, coavicted at the late Chester Assizes of breaking tutu the salt-works at Oddrode„ in cow patty with several others, and shooting at and wounding the offl..er tit. excise while on duty, were executed at the back of the New , City flaol, on a drop erected for that purpose. They acktio.W.. 'edged the commission of the felony, but declared their ittin),-; cence of shooting at the ollieer. At the place of e ecution one" of the most distressing and heart-rending circumstances occurred, that perhaps ever vas seen on a similar occasion ; they embrat 4 l4; anti took leave of each other in the most affectionate manner. mut on being tied up anti the fatal .sigual given, the platform fell, shocking to relate, 1)0(11 the ropes I.reke, and the poor meos were precipitated to the bottom of the sratfold !—The reader may here paiut in his own mind the feelings of the spectators, but no language can describe it. Theyw were taken into the chapel, !neither of them materially hurt) till other topes could he pro cored, each exclaiming " what a sad business is this !" They then requested the Rev. 'Mr. Fish to be :1-ain,;ent for, and after' taking a little refreshment, joined him most fervently in praying wady two hours, when ropes being prepared, they met their unhappy fate with the most manly fortitude and resign ttion, :mit-t the cotnmiserations of the surrounding crowd • On the Vith tilt. n white and liver colour pointer dog With a short tail, and a collar round his neck, sopposed to he mad, eaered the house of Mr. Watson, at Wallington., and passed a servaat who stotx4at a door leading into the passage both as he e tiered and quitted the house, without taking any notice of her, aid then attacked and ht a large mastiff chained in the garden.. tie afterwards proceeded towards Newcastle, and in about ItY9