The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-23 00:00:00

Kittraturr. CARDINAL DE RETZ, ott THE COURTIER'S PLOT. By PETER POPJOY, Esq. (For the Liverpool Standard.) CHAPTER XI Will prove very Interesting a partial glimpse is caught of the interior of the lintel Croissi. a strange affair in a dark cham ber is described, and the reader will at length find himself in the very midst of the conspirators, besides other good com pany. TOWARDS midnight of the same day that the circum stances detailed in our last chapter took place, several per sons enveloped in large mantles, which were contrived so as to conceal the face as well as the figure, were seen to glide mysteriously one after the other into the cloisters of St. Honore, which at that epoch were contiguous to the Pa leis-Royal. On that side there were no guards, and the most profound silence reigned throughout the vast court where the kitchens of the Palace were situated. The noc turnal visitors seem to be perfectly acquainted with all the turnings and windings of these dark and deserted build ings. They directed their steps towards a low door hid in an angle of the court, which they struck with a slight tap : it was immebiately opened. A password being exchanged between the foremost figure ssf the group and some unseen person within, the hand of the leading figure was taken by a guide, who whisperingly directed the rest of the party to follow close and without noise. The little band were then led amidst the most in tense darkness up and down staircases, and along a labyrinth of lobbies and corridors, until at length they stopped in a doorway, through the chink of which a light was scarcely visible. The door, after some premonitory sign, was carefully opened, and an anti-room to some larger apartment presented itself to view, wherein several persons were already assembled. They were grouped round the spacious fiie-place, and conversing in low voices. This was the rendezvous of the conspirators engaged in the Courtier's Plot. In the meantime, Fabien de Croissi, after quitting the hostelrie of the " Three Pigeons," was conducted to the handsome hotel which his brother inhabited ; but every precaution had been taken that he should not be seen. In the costly apartment an elegant collation was set out imme diately after Fabien's arrival. The attendant, on quitting the chamber, locked the door, leaving Fabien in solitude. He tried the door, but in vain. There was no other out let perceptible. The windows overlooked a court-yard, where. from the measured tread heard below, young de Croissi concluded a sentinel was placed. Escape was im possible ; he therefore resigned himself to his fate. Hour after hour passed wearily away, till at length twilight dark ened the objects around, and night quickly shrouded all things in gloom. Some hours after daylight bad departed, a slight noise was heard without, the lock turned, the door opened, and Albert de Croissi entered the apartment. Fabien was about to remonstree with his brother upon the treat ment he had received, when De Croissi abruptly inter rupted him, saying— " Peace ! remember your promise." He then desired him to change a part of his travelling garments for a more costly suit, which an attendant who waited without the door had brought. Fabien silently obeyed. The next minute Albert led the way to the portal, where a carriage being in waiting, they entered it, and were quickly driven off. " Whither do you lead me ?" asked Fabien, breaking silence. " Where you shall be satisfied—let that suffice." " Whither, brother ?" " Peace : time will shevv ?" Not another word was spoken until the coach stopped at the Cloister of Saint Honor 6. De Croissi led his bro ther by the same route as that taken by the other nobles, and with similar precautions. The ante-chamber was now empty. Bidding Fabie❑ seat himself, the Baron passed out by a large doorway at the furthest corner of the room, to announce the arrival of his brother to his friends. This antechamber was spacious, but so dimly lighted by a single taper, that the eye in vain endeavoured to pene trate its remote recesses. Fabien had cast himself thoughtfully upon a seat, when he thought he heard near him a slight noise such as that made by the lifting of a sash window. He turned his head quickly to the point whence he fancied the noise proceeded, but could perceive nothing but tire heavy drapery suspended from the wall, and upon which the flickering light seemed to cast strange and fan tastic shadows. He thought he must have been deceived, and relapsed into his former position, when the drapery suddenly trembled, and a head, the features of which could not be distinguished in the dimness of the room, presented itself to view from the midst of the ample folds. The in truder examined Fabien for a moment, as if to be assured that he was not mistaken, when in a low, but cheerful voice, said— " Fear not, if you want assistance you can find it at hand." The head was quickly withdrawn, and a fresh noise heard, which seemed like the closing of a panel. When Fabien recovered from his surprise, he ran towards the place whence the sound proceeded, and drew aside the hangings, but saw nothing save the bare walls. Nevertheless, he felt certain that there must be a secret outlet, and that a friend was near him. But who was that friend ? His thoughts at once turned upon the Countess ! But how could she know of his arrival and presence ? He was lost in conjecture. Scarcely had he recovered himself after this strange and unaccountable proceeding, when the Baron reentered the room. Albert took him somewhat kindly by the band, to lead him into the saloon adjoining. He whispered in Lis brother's ear, as they paused at the porch for a mo ment— " Fabien, the solemn moment is arrived. Think of my words : no foolery—no nonsense ; a great fortune is yours, or captivity while you have life I Now choose." Fabien's only reply was, " Lead on." They entered the chamber in silence. That instant the eyes of all the conspirators were fixed upon the youth. The examination did not last long, for experienced courtiers can judge of a man at first sight. They nearly all expressed their surprise in finding Fabien so different to what they bad pictured him in their imaginations. Fabien's dress became him. It was composed of green velvet, made after the fashion of the time, and set off his fine figure admirably. His well-shaped head, good sta ture, and the collectedness as well as grace of his deport ment, were totally at variance with their anticipations. There was an entire absence of all that rusticity which they supposed he possessed. He held his hat, surmounted by a plume of feathers, in his hand, and thus his long waving hair, so much cherished by the youths of his time, was seen to advantage. His manly and regular features, with out aught of coarseness, gave no idea of the rustic simpli city which the Baron had described to his fellow-conspira tors. A slight colour mounted to Fabien's face at the mo ment, on finding himself so marked an object of attention, heightened perhaps on reflecting by what title he was re cognised on entering that apartment, and standing amongst that assembly. Fabien saluted the party with a dignified gesture, but few of the conspirators returned it, perhaps from feeling contempt for a man whom they believed was destined to become an assassin. The Byron did not intend officially to present his brother to his friends; he directed him to a vacant seat, and immediately joined the courtiers, who closed, where they stood, around him. " Truly, De Croissi," said one, in a low tone of voice, " you have selected a fine handsome fellow, and I fancy the hero of many fights will have some little trouble to upset him in a bodily combat." " True, Monsieur de Servien," replied Albert, with evident satisfaction, " and I can tell you the youth is brave as handsome; and I assure you that if we decide upon matching him against the conqueror of many battles, as you call our enemy, we"— An exclamation from the Mar6chal D' Hocquincourt at tracted at this moment the attention of the party, and in terrupted the various conversations that were taking place. The Manlchal bad cast at first a look of indifference upon Fabien • but at length, examining his features more seriously, he exclaimed— "l do not deceive myself ! No ! Is not this the gen tleman who yesterday rendered me, on Pont Neuf, so great a service, in disengaging me from the hands of the mob? Speak, sir, was it not you that charged so admira bly, and with so much courage, into the very heart of the people, although armed only with a whip, and mounted on a sorry post horse? In vain have I sought for the hero of that affray. Tell me quickly, I beg of you, if you are not the man ?" " I am, indeed, sir," replied Fabien, modestly ; " but I was too greatly interested in one of those within that coach to heed the howlings of the mob." " I have then found you," said the Marechal, delight edly ; " I am glad to see you. Give me your hand—l swear"— The Baron took the hand of the young cavalier, and grasped it cordially ; but a sudden thought came across his mind, which induced him to draw it back. " It is a pity," said he, with an air of reflection, " that a fine fellow such as you are should be engaged in a bad action. Not but that the enterprise of which you have been made acquainted is necessary for the safety of the state, but I could wish that the villainous part of the bu siness was confided to some other than yourself." " Marechal !" murmured De Croissi in his ear, in a tone of entreaty, " pray reflect upon what you are saying." " Go to the devil," suddenly exclaimed the angry vete ran, " I am as much devoted to her Majesty the Regent as any other of her subjects ; but to tell the bare fact, and plain truth, I do not like to see this gallant and high.spi rited youth, who possesses all the requisites to make the King a brave and faithful soldier, drawn into evil doings by doubtless bad advice. This is one of your tricks, De Croissi ; and it is a burning shame thus to serve a younger brother as you are now doing with him." De Croissi placed his hand angrily on his sword-hilt ; but those present immediately interfered between the Ba ron and the Marechal, who in his generous indignation forgot that he was one of the first to suggest the enterprise which it was proposed to entrust to Fabien. The cour tiers endeavoured to calm the gallant Marechal ; but he was one of those men whom in attempting t o pac if y was only to make more angry. " We shall find time to settle this matter, De Croissi," replied he, passionately; " but if a deception has been employed to entrap him to do any thing that is repugnant to his inclinations, I will engage—l, D'Hocqumcourt— to stand by him and be his friend, even if the plot should fail altogether. This I swear" — At this moment the door of the saloon opened. and the attendant without announced, in an under voice, " The Queen !" D'Hocquincourt was silent in an instant, and those that were seated rose. Anne of Austria entered the room the next moment, at. tended only by the Countess de Montglat." The Queen had but just left the state apartments, and still wore the rich robes in which she had presided over the brilliant court circle. Fabien did not need the announcement of the usher to be informed of the presence of the Queen-Regent, in the imposing person before him. In seeing her majestic and stately figure, adorned with costly gems, amongst wh i c h price less diamonds shone conspicuously, and with all the eclat of royal pomp, the poor youth was seized with a re spect that bordered upon terror, a n d h e f e l t hi s courage fail him to accomplish his secret intentions. He sought with anxiety a look from Elizabeth, hut he beheld no sign of emotion upon the feat ures o f t h e maid of honour t h at might kindle hope in his soul, or support hi m i n his de term!nation. Elizabeth de Montglat was pale as the opening day ; her countenance displayed a sad and deep dejection ; her eyes met those of Fabien, but he read in their tearful glances nothing but despair. It was not then from her that help was to arrive. Who could be the mys terious friend who had power to protect him even in the royal palace ? The courtiers bowed respectfully before the Regent. " God preserve you, gentlemen," said she, making a graceful acknowledgement of their obeisance. " I beg your pardon fo r b e i ng t h us l ate, b ut t h e game sters and tri flersin the grand gallery did not suspect, I fancy, that the most faithful of my adherents were elsewhere waiting for me. Etiquette, you may readily believe, has been more than commonly irksome to me throughout the whole of this evening. The Queen having thus spoken, seated herself in the chair that had been reserved for her, and exchanged a few words, in a suppressed tone of voice, with each of those assembled. Baron de Croissi a pproached her the last, but the Regent appeared to listen to him with a feeling of disgust, and soon interrupted him, saying aloud— " Well, well, Monsieur de Croissi, I leave to you all that concerns the execution of this project. But where is this handsome spark who has tendered us the offer of his assistance ? I was told that I should meet him here to night." Permit me, madame, to present him to your notice," said Albert de Croissi," taking his brother's hand, to con duct him to the Regent. Anne of Austria cast upon Fabien her eagle eye, and seemed intent upon reading his inmost thoughts. The Regent turned to the maid of honour, who stood with drooping head, trembling with agitation behind her chai r . "Truly, you little rogue," she whispered, . " you possess good taste. I must admit that he is a handsome fellow." Turning to Fabien, she said, " Come hither, young sir, I am very glad to see so near at hand a gentlemen who, they tell me, is so devoted to my cause." The first impression upon Fabien's mind having passed away, it was now his task to surmount the difficulty and danger that encompassed him. He advanced a few paces, and respectfully dropped on one knee before the Queen. Anne appeared to take no little gratification in noticing the handsome and well-proportioned figure of the youth at her feet. " Rise, sir," she said at length ; " we have heard you spoken of as a frank and gallant gentleman." " And I can assure your majesty that those who have said so have not deceived your grace in that respect," in terrupted D'Hocquincourt, with his accust mixed bluntness. " His conduct on Pont Neuf but yesterday would have convinced anybody of the fact who doubted it." " You cannot fail to he a good judge of courage, mare. chall," said the Queen, with a gracious smile, and a win ' ning compliment; " so brave a soldier as yourself can happily estimate the good qualities of another. This young cavalier ought to be proud of your good opinion. But at this period we do not require resolution alone—that mere vulgar courage that would prompt a man to dare dan ger in the face of a wretched and angry mob, or in the greater peril of the battle-field. The safety of the state requires something beside this, and it is that which we an ticipate will be shown by our young champion. I trust that he will not deceive us in our expectations." Fabien had during these observations risen and remained standing before Anne of Austria. The courtiers formed a circle around him, while their glances now rested on the Queen, and now on the young adventurer. With him em barrassment had ceased, and calmness succeeded. " The duty of a subject, madame," said Fabien, re spectfully, but firmly, " is it not to obey in all things, that his sovereign has a right to command him to do ?" " Oh ! my subjects," said the Queen, bitterly, " know right well how to dispense with this duty. Ask these gen tlemen, who know them well, what outrages and insults they shower day by day on the mother of their King. But," continued Anne, quickly, " let us come to the point. You have desired, young sir, I understand, in consequence of scruples that I cannot but admire, to hear the Regent of France give you the order to deliver the state from its most dangerous enemy. This command I now give you; with this you ought to be satisfied. Swear, therefore, to me to fulfil the objects of your mission even at the peril of your life, and leave to us—but you, Baron de Croissi, will state more exactly what you wish should be done." All attention was now turned to Fabien, whose reply was breathlessly awaited by all present; Elizabeth fixed upon her lover a look of deep anxiety ; while Albert de Croissi, his face pale and replete with emotion, leant for ward to hear his brother's reply, on which so much de pended. The group was a deeply interesting one. Fabien fixed upon the Regent a look as keen as her own, and thus addressed her— [Enter PRINTER'fi DEVlL—Please, sir, we have enough copy for to day. POPJOY—Oh I very well READER—Bother.] SELECTIONS. Tits DOG BILL.—The following capital jeu d'eaprit is from the playbill of the Flayrnarket pantomime :—" The public is respectfully informed that the little dog men tioned in the original story has been omitted, for fear the animal's attraction might render the manager liable to the penalties of the 2d and 3d Victoria, cap. 47, sec. 56, by which it is enacted, `that no person within the district of the Metropolitan Police shall use any dog for the purpose of drawing or helping to draw,' " &c. CONVIVIAL. HABITS OF THE IRISH IN THE LAST CENTURY.—The habit of intemperate drinking had grown to such an excess in Ireland, that it was gravely asserted there was something in the people's constitution congenial to the excitement of ardent spirits. The pro pensity for intoxication among the people had been re marked from the earliest times. Sir W. Petty, who wrote in the year 1682, when Dublin contained but 6,025 houses, states, that 1,200 of them were public-houses, and sold intoxicating liquors. In 1798, in Thomas street, nearly every third house was a public-house. The street contained 190 houses, and of these fifty-two were licensed to sell spirits. Among the upper classes, the great consumption was claret, and so extensive was its importation, that, in the year 1763, it amounted to 8,000 totis ; and the bottles alone were estimated at the value of £67,000. The fact is detailed by honest Rutty, the Quaker historian of the county of Dublin. Such were the convivial habits of the day, and so absorbed wert the people in the indulgence, that the doctor recommended that port should be substituted in its place, " because," said he, with quaint simplicity, "it would not admit so long a sitting; a great advantage to wise men in saving a great deal of their precious time." In fact, the great end and aim of life in the upper classes seemed to be con vivial indulgence to excess. The rule of drinking was, that no man was allowed to leave the company till he was unable to stand, and then he might depart, if he could walk. If on any occasion a guest left the room, bits of paper were dropped into his glass, intimating the number of rounds the bottle had gone, an d on his return he was obliged to swallow a glass for each, under a penalty of so many glasses of salt and water. It was the practice of some to have decanters with round bottoms, like a modern soda water bottle, the only contrivance in which they could stand being at the head of the t a bl e , b e f ore th e host; stopping the bottle was thus rendered impossible, and everyone was obliged to fill his glass at once, and pass the bottle to his neighbour, on peril of upsetting the con tents on the table. A still more common practice was, to knock the stems off the glasses with a knife, so that they must be emptied as fast as they were filled, as they could not stand. Such orgies Isere not occasional, but often continued every night, and all night long. A usual ex hortation from a father to his son was, " make your head boy, while you're young."—Dublin University Maga zine, E MASSACRE OF ST. BARTTIOLOMENV,--In the first instance, the intendants were commanded to summon the Protestant inhabitants of cities and commonalties, who were informed that it was the king's pleasure that they should become Catholics ; and that if they (lid not do so freely, they should be compelled by force. In vain did the defenceless Protestants reply that they were ready to sacrifice their estates and lives to the king, hut that, their consciences being God's, they could not thus dispose of them. The gates and avenues of the cities were immedi ately seized by the dragoons, who often came, sword in hand, exclaiming " Kill! kill ! or else be Catholics." They were quartered upon the reformed, with a strict charge to allow none to depart out of their houses, or to conceal any portion of their effects, under the severest penalties. The first days were spent in consuming all the provisions which the house afforded, and in plundering the Protestants of every article of value; selling to the Papists of the place and neighbourhood whatever goods could be turned into money. Next they assailed the per sons of their victims, upon whom they inflicted every re finement of cruelty, in order to compel them to abjure their religion. Men and women were hung by the feet to the roofs or ceilings of chambers, or to chimney-hooks, and were smoked with wisps of wet hay, until they were no longer able to endure . the torture; and when th ey were taken down, they were immediately suspended aga i n , un less they w ould sign their abjuration. Others were thrown upon great fires, from which they were not removed until they were half roasted. Others again had ropes tied tin der their arms, and were repeatedly, plunged into wells, from which they were not drawn up until they promised to change th e i r re l ig i on . Others were hound like crimi nals, previou s ly t o b e i ng put to the question on the rack ; and in this posture wine was poured down their throats with a funnel, until, being d ep rived of their reason, they consented to be come Papists. naked, and, afte r en d ur i ng various iticl ,Othe .rsg.ni were stripped ties, pins were stuck into them f rom t h head to the rect. They were cut with penknives ; so me ti m es they w ere di agged by the nose with hot pince rs aroun d t h e room, until they pro mised to abjure, or until their piercing cries constrained their torment.irs to l e t t h em go. Th e y were beaten with staves ; and, brui,ed as they ' were, they w ere dragged 1-.1 the churches, where their forced - presence was deemed to be an a'ojur.it'on. Others wer e f orc ibly kept ae.overfed ake for seven or eight days together, and kett!es were ' over their heads, on which th ey ma d e cont inual noise un til their victims i became d e li r i ous. D ru ms were kept besting without intermission for weeks together around the beds of those who were confined to them by fevers or other diseases, till they lost th e i r senses. I n so me pine", fathers and husbands were tied to bed-posts, while * * Of scree, the feet were burnt, an d t h e na il s were plue,:ed off the feet arid hands of others ; men and women were inflated with bellows till they were ready to berst.— Church of England Qoarterly Review. THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. THE FORGED WILLS. An examination into a wholesale forgery of wills has lately occupied the Lord Mayor at the Mansion-house, ' and the accused were re-examined on Tuesday. They are Mr. Barber, of the firm of Barber and Bircham, ' solicitors, in New Bridge -street—the other partner being L in no way implicated—and a Mr. Fletcher ; and on Mon , day Mrs. Georgina Dorey, the vvite of a respectable shopkeeper in Oxford-street, was added to the list of prisoners. The first case was that of a Miss Ann Slack, who had property left her by her father, amounting to more than £6,000. She seems not to have been very astute in business. Her guardian, Mr. Hulme, had the management of her affairs ; and he transferred stock to her name in two separate sums ; furnishing her with money as she required it. The guardian died in 1832 ; and the lady, who up to that time had lived in Smith street, Chelsea, went to reside with a married sister and her husband, Captain Foskett. Miss Slack continued to receive dividends at the bank, ou one part of the stock, while the rest remained forgotten ; and having been un claimed for ten years, was, on the 6th of June, 1842, transferred to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt ; and Mr. Barber became aware of the transfer. On the pretext that he was empowered to convey some funded property bequeathed to a " Miss Ann Slack " by a lady who had died six weeks before at Bath, he applied to Captain Foskett, apparently to settle some doubts as to the identity of his sister-in-law; and thus obtained information respecting the owner of the unclaimed dividend, and also Miss Slack's signature. A will in her name was now produced in Doctors' Com mons, purporting to bequeath the unclaimed stock to her niece, " Emma Slack ;" a note purperting to be from " Emma Slack " was addressed to the governor of the bank, requesting that the stock might be transferred to her ; and a person answering to that name attended at the bank, an d rece i ve d the dividends due on the stock. Mr. Fletcher first appears in the business as introducing " Nliss Emma Slack " to Mr. Barber. In the next case, the forged will of a Mrs. Mary Hunt, of Queen's-square, Bristol, was proved at Doctors' Commons by Barber, who afterwards received the amount mentioned in the will, with the interest for ten years. Barber was accompanied on the occasion by a person who called himself Thomas Hunt, and who pretended to be the executor. That the document was forged there I could be no doubt, as Mary Hunt died in 1806, while the will proved by Barber made it appear that she did not die before 1829. A book belonging to Fletcher con tained an entry of the name of Mary Hunt, the amount of unclaimed money due, and the name of the solicitor ; and Fletcher is suspected of having personated Thomas Hunt ; but the evidence was not clear on that point. The third case, which was just like those describ e d, related to the will of Elizabeth Burchard, in which the property bequeathed amounted to £2,000. Mr. Barber and his client were again remanded until the 22d instant. On Friday Mrs. Dorey was produced as the personator of Emma Slack, in which name she had taken lodgings in Francis-street, Tottenham-court-road; and at her own house were found some articles of dress which she had worn as Emma Slack, and a seal like that on the false will of Elizabeth Burchard. The prisoner was remanded till Monday (yesterday), to be examined with the others. MANX WITCHCRAFT. The popular belief of the Manx peasantry in witch craft is proverbial ; and the reader of the following ex _ tract, copied from a paper published on the island, w ill agree with us that the superstition of the Manx people in that respect is not more proverbial than it ought to be : " Within the last three weeks proceedings have taken place in the parish of Marown, in this island, which m a y humble those who boast of the march of intellect in the nineteenth century. The following particulars, gleaned from the testimony of eye-witnesses of unimpeachable credit, may be relied on. A farmer named John Quine' residing at Ballaharry, in the above parish, recently lost, by death, several beasts : a heifer died from the effects of injuries received from a man of ungovernable temper • a cow, having received a double allowance o f raw pota toes, became what is termed blown,' and a person un acquainted with the proper method of treatment, in at tempting to administer relief, stabbed her in the wrong place, and as a matter of course the cow died ; the third case was that of a horse, which, it is said, became griped' by eating too many potatoes, was neglected, and also died ;—all of which cases were attributed by the infatuated man to the influence of witchcraft! Ac cordingly, a trespass warrant was obtained from his Honour Deemster Heywood, on the Tuesday before Christmas, on which day nearly half the people of the parish were summoned to attend at the Half-way House on the following Thursday. On that day, at an early hour, the following persons were sworn jurymen : Cmsar Christian, Joseph Cretney, W. Callister, and W. M'Clure, the two latter being local preachers, but in what connection we have not learned. M'Clure was foreman, and he and Collister were particularly active • but the other two jurymen appeared to be ashamed oF the whole proceedings, and took little or no part in the affair. The greater part of those examined, confessed to having, on one or two occasions, passed through Quine's fields ; but this was not the fact wished to be elicited. The principal questions (put in Manx) were, " Did you witch Quine's cattle ? " " Have you done injury to the goods of this man ? "Do you wish evil to his goods ? " " Have you coveted his wife ? " " Did you wish him to prosper or fail in his business ? " "Do you bear him any malice ? " " Did you hear anybody talking of Quine, or seeming to grudge him what he had ? " These and such like questions, utterly ir! ele vant to matters of trespass, were asked the first day. On St. Stephen's day several others were brought up to be sworn ; but on this occasion Mr. Christian interfered, and refused to allow such questions to be put. On the labours of the jury being concluded for this day, the people assembled were so disgusted with the superstitious mummery, that before separating they gave three loud cheers in utter derision of the proceedings. " It appears, further, that Quine is a sort of preacher himself, and on a late occasion was holding forth with much fervour, at a publ c prayer meeting at a place called the Rock, in the same parish, that God would forgive all who wished to injure him ;' but, nevertheless, recent events proclaim that his own tender mercies ' were anything but forgiving' ; for—can the reader be lieve it ?—Quine's sister-in-law, who, it appears, acts as a midwife in the parish, was sworn, and confessing that, having been sent for in great haste to a neighbour's house, she had once crossed Quine's fields, and on ano ther occasion, her husband being intoxicated, in order to get out of his way she went over a hedge of Quine's, her field and Quine's adjoining each other,—she was then asked if she had any malice against Quine, or whe ther she had ever come in any shape or ferns to do him or his goods any injury !! ! The jury was then charged to bring in damages against the poor woman for trespass. " The closing scene in Mr. Burrow's, the Half-way House, where this enlightened jury had assembled, and were about to award their righteous verdict, and where Mr. Fleetwood was busily engaged in writing the evi denc-, was quite in character with the other proceedings. A few boys in the neighbourhood having caught a wild rabbit, resolved to have some ' fine fun ' at the jury's expense, and managed, unseen, to let it loose in the room. On this formidable apparition making its ap pearance, the scene may be better conceived than de scribed. From those assembled, with open mouths, distended lungs, and hair standing on end, shouts re sounded that the witch was caught ! '---‘ the witch was caught ! ' and one of the party, of more than ordinary unceremoniously courage a nd daring, finishedseize d i t,,th existence, iculprit,steneatde declaring ring hazards, that her witchship's pranks should then and there terminate, and that poor Quine should not be witched in his person, his effects, or the wife of his bosom any longer." POLYGAMY.—George Nicholls, of Pottery•fleld, was charred on Monday week, before D. Lupton and A. Tit ley, Esqrs., sitting magistrates, at the Leeds Court-house, with having married three wives. The whole of the three women were present in court. The prisoner made no de fence of his conduct. Lie was committed for trial at York Assizes.—Leeds Mercury. THE COUNTRYMAN AND HIS CONV.—A worthy coun tryman, who resides at Tarleton, catile, last Saturday, to Preston fair with a cow to sell. Having disposed of the animal for the sum of £6 10s., he was trudging down Church-street with the cash snug in his pocket, •when he was accosted by a 'cute chap, and asked if he knew the parson of Tar:eton. " Know him I why, I's like." " Maybe, then," rejoined the inquirer, "You can take a letter to him, and a guinea, which I wish to send ?" "Aye, as weel as any mon i' England." " Will you step in here, and take a glass with me," beckoning his new friend into the Dog Inn, " and I'll scribble a few lines to his reverence?" They entered and glasses were called for : the letter, too was penned, with the despatch of a ready writer, signed, sealed, and addressed to the " R ev , Mr. Vickers, Tarleton." They then talked of this, and then of that, and, among other topics, of light sovereigns. " And do you think," said Mr. Vicker's correspondent, " all your s are we i g ht ?" " Why, aye ; I reckon th e y are." " But you had better be sure,—show them me, I can have some idea." Honest Hodge forked out his " gowd tins," and they were pronounced capital weight, and hone s tl y returned to t h e unsuspecting countryman. " But I tell y ou w h at, " sa id t h e ' cu t e gen tleman, while h e was folding, i n b rown paper, the guinea he pretended was for the Re v . M r. Vi ckers " had I not b etter f o ld up y our so rn sovereigns also, fo r i t is dangerous to carry them loose at fair ie, when ;.ielcporkets are ready at every turn." Our Tarleton rust i c thought it would per h aps b e as we ll, and the sovereigns, to all appearance, wer e carefully en veloped in the br own cover. They narte d— t h e one plung ing i nto the busy th rong, the other wending his way hornewar sto Tarleton. On his arrival there, the latter called at the Ram's [lead, and informed the host that he had a letter for the parsan, which he exhibited. The land lord immediately saw all was not right, and assured him the letter . , wes not for th e parson. The countrym an th en thought it was time to look for the guinea. For the first time, he ento!ded the brown paper, and found therein en closed, threepence halfpenny! instead of the six pounds, and the golden guinea for the minister. The poor fellow turned ghastly pale, and was almost paralysed on behold. ing the " browns" in the place of the " gowd tins." DESTRUCTION OF KING WILLIAM'S COLLEGE ISLE OF MAN, BY FIRE. (Abridged from the 2.llona's Herald.) The whole of this beautiful and extensive educational establishment was destroyed on the morning of Sunday week. The fire broke out in the western wing, either in the class rooms of the English department,or in the boys' dining-room immediately below. Shortly after two o'clock the first alarm was given ; but for many hours after this there was no fire engine, ladder, or supply of water, that could be used with any effect ; and the flames, having thus unchecked progress, rapidly spread through the corridors and the entire of the vast building, including the class rooms, the dwelling-house of the Rev. Mr. Dixon, the Principal, the beautiful chapel, and the great tower, which, with the exception of the apartments of the Rev. Mr. Cumming, the Vice-Principal, situated in the eastern wing, were totally destroyed. His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, and nearly all the respectable inhabitants of Castletown and the neighbourhood, were shortly on the spot, and every thing that could be done was adopted; but through the absence of an engine for several hours, the devouring element spread with uncontrolled fury, and every effort was made to se cure as much of the furniture, books, and other property as possible ; but even here the want of ladders, whereby an entrance might have been effected into the upper sto ries, was severely felt. The greater part of the private library of the Principal, a portion of the wines, and some articles of furniture in the front rooms, were saved by great exertions ; but the very valuable library of the Col lege, containing many works of great value, and a curious collection of Bibles, from the time of Coverdale, in up wards of fifty different languages, many unique MSS. relating to Manx ecclesiastical affairs, and the very va luable military models and plans, maps, mathematical and other instruments, belonging to Mr. Browne, the professor of English and modern literature, were entirely destroyed. The first alarm was given by two boys who were sick of the measles, separated from the other boys, and aleeping immediately over the English class-rooms. The engines did not reach the spot till half-past eight, and the firemen followed in half an hour, but the work of destruction had been nearly completed, and the engines, in consequence of their inefficiency, were of little use. The building was insured in the Sun Office for £2OOO, and Mr. Dixon's property for £2200 ; but the loss to the building alone cannot be under £lOOO. Mr. Cumming was uninsured. A meeting of the trustees, together with the Principal of the College, was held on Monday, when it was resolved that rooms should be procured to carry on the usual studies; that an investigation should be entered into to endeavour to discover the cause of the fire ; and that instant measures should be pursued towards the restora tion of the College, on a more secure plan. The first stone of the building was laid on the 23d April, 1830, and it was opened in the summer of 1833. It was partly in the early English and partly in the Elizabethan style, forming a spacious and cruciform structure, 210 feet in length from east to west, and 135 feet from north to south ; from the intersection rose the embattled tower. 115 feet high. The edifice cost about £6OOO, of which £2OOO was from the accumulated fund from property granted by Bishop Barrow in 1668, for the education of young men for the ministry in the Manx Church. From subscriptions raised chiefly in the island £2OOO was ob tained, and the remaining £2OOO was supplied by mort tgraugsitnegest,h e w f h u n o d e. are The th the property Lieutenant-Gs i e s o t v e d e r i n n o r t e hands o r o d f C B h i s r i h s or i a , n t e o n C e l e v r o a r f - t G h e e n R e r o a l a t n h d e A therc h A d t e t a o c r o n n e y , G e n m e s r t a e l r . The present number of boarders with the Principal is 30, with the Vice-Principal 11, and the entire number attending the seminary, besides day pupils, 110. BRITISH Mvszuse.—By a parliamentary return the annual estimated charge for the British Museum to Lady day next is stated to be £34,975. The return embraces nine divisions, including the number of persons who have visited the institution for the last six years. From Christmas 1836, to Christmas, 1837, th e num b er was 321,151; from Christmas, 1837, to Christmas, 1838, the number was 266,008 ; to 1839, 280,850 ; to 1840, 247,929 ; to 1841, 19,374 ; and to Christmas, 1842, 547,718. No fewer than 5,687 visits by artists were made in the year 1842 to the galleries of sculpture, and 8,781 to the print room. It is stated in respect to the reading-room, that " the number of books returned to the shelves of the ge neral library from the reading-room is 142,179; to the royal library, 22,408 ; to the closets where they are kept for the use of readers from day to day, 78,470 ; to the shelves of the reading-rooms, about 116,400; altogether, 3 9,457 volumes,—on an average 1,230 a day. The num ber of readers is 71.494. DEATH FROM HYDROPHOBIA. —On Monday a lad, 17 years old, was admitted into St. Thomas's Hospital, suf fering from hydrophobia. He was brought to the above institution from Carshalton in a fly, and while being as sisted to alight he was seized with a paroxysm of the disease, barking loudly like a dog, and attempting to bite the persons near him ; so exceedingly violent were his struggles, that it required the exertions of four strong men to carry him up into George's ward, and he was obliged to be held down in bed by main force. During the intervals of the succession of attacks he was assailed with, he was perfectly rational, and frequently remarked that the attendants need not be afraid, as he would not hurt any of them ; he also said he had no doubt he should be better by the morrow, and seemed to be totally uncon scious of the fatal nature of the malady he was afflicted wan. Every Lz-, . . pired about eleven o'clock the same night. He had, it appears, been bitten about six weeks ago by a dog that had strayed into the stable-yard ; the wound was very slight, and, healing quickly, no further notice was taken of it. AMERICAN PROVISIONS.—On Wednesday last a pri vate show of foreign provisions took place in the sale room of Messrs. Kneeling and Hunt, Monument-yard, London, previous to the public sale, on the succeeding day. The following members of parliament and official gentlemen attended ; namely, Joseph flume, Esq., M.P. ; Dr. Bowring, M.P. ; Benjamin Hawes, jun., Esq., M-P; James Pattison, E-q., M.P. ; Hon. Charles Pelham Vil hers. M.P. ; Mr. M`Gregor, Secretary Board of Trade; Sir John Hill, Superintendent Deptford Dockyard ; A. Barclay, Esq.. secretary Hudson's Bay Company ; Thos. Young, Esq. ; Messrs. Hankeys, bankers ; J. W. Dover, Esq. ; and a number of influential merchants connected with the United States, Australia, and the Cape of Good Hope. The opinions expressed were highly favourable as to the quality of the various supplies submitted for ewin spectionoenrdeiitni o high t.o h iandgr English tasting. favour.ngiish use.TTh Thee American Labradori s sale le ksta ol c m h o e n e s i e s s a lasnod in hamsgood place on Thurs day aft ernoon . Th e L a b ra d or sa l mon sold freely at 655. a tierce of 3 cwts. ; cured trout at 40s. The American cheese of this importation is stated to be the finest ever yet imported, and is the first offered containing colouring. Thin sold at 535. and 545. per cwt. ; a thinner cheese without colouring, but v er y little i n f er i or i n qua lit y , so ld at prices varying from 48s. to 535.; and one parcel as low as 455. Some very nice tongues sold at 20s. and 21s. per keg of twelve each, in bond : th e d uty i s ss. a keg. Mr. Keeling, in his prefato r y o b servat i ons, stated, that the provisions would be sold without any reserve, as the ob ject was to bring them freely before the public at reason able prices, in order to invite consumption. INTENSE LIGHT.—In the Chester Chronicle, of Friday last, is a letter from the Rev. Henry Raikes, Chancellor of the Diocese, to Dr. Robinson. The Rev. Chancellor communicates the result of an experiment which he made, on the night of Christmas-day, with Dr. Robinson's com position for producing intense light. The night, the Chan cellor says, was profoundly dark. The Chancellor and into the Dod, of the Enniskillen Dragoons, rowed out the lake near Mr. Dod's house, at Cloverly. The skiff was soon near a small island in the middle of the sheet of water. About an ounce and a half of the composition was placed on a plate of iron, which was put on a buoyant float. The Chancellor says:—" As soon as I had ignited the substance, we cast off the float and blazing composi tion to some distance from us. The effect was magical. The intense white light, blazing up in a brilliant cone, rivalled the brightness of the sun. Not only were our own figures, our boat, and the wild and gloomy spot we occupied, lighted up with dazzling clearness, but the sur roun ling prospect of lake and forest was bathed in start ling light, and birds of every wing arose from the pre serves and sedgy islands of the pool, frighted from their sleep by the sudden incursion of artificial day on the ample domain of wintry darkness. I was able to read the City article of Friday, 22d instant, and could have even ascertained the value of Pennsylvanian bonds had they been enumerated ; while the numerous Christmas party assembled in the distant house were witnesses of the temporary success of our experiment." The Rev. Chan cellor deplores that the light is too evanescent, and ad -1115C9 that means shall be taken to render it more endu ring. After showing the use to which the invention may be turned in cases of shipwrecks, night conflicts, storm ings, and signal fires, the Chancellor concludes by order ing a pound of the composition, as he wishes to give it another trial on the wider basin of Bala, in North Wales. MDR DER, OF Two CHILDREN.—On Wednesday even ing the parish of St. Paul, Deptford, was thrown into an extraordinary state of excitement by the discovery of a horrid murder in Griffen-street, Deptford. It appears that the father of the hapless children, whose name is John Fawley Dickenson, returned home from London soon after five o'clock, having been in town all day on private business, when, on going into the back parlour to meet his wife and children, he found her with ther throat dreadfully cut, lying with her head towards the foot of the bed, weltering in her blood, but still alive, and on get ting a light he discovered his two children (aged eighteen months and three years) lying at their mother's feet next the head of the bed, with their throats so dreadfully cut that life must have become almost immediately after wards extinct. The parish surgeon, and another gentle man, who came at once to the scene of horror, sewed up the wound in the unhappy woman's throat, and bandaged it. The following part of a letter was found in a box by the bedside :—" Dear Sir : I now write to you for the last time. You said last night it was my fault, it was °wing to my own misconduct that I was now in my pre sent distress, but that I deny. I say now, and always shall say, that you were the cause of my downfall at the Peterborough Arms. lam compelled to write to you, as I could not express myself to you last night. I now wish to know if you will he so kind as to pay my rent. for me." The reporter beard Dickenson's wife say to the surgeon, Police, and churchwarden, shat she did the deed herself. Some brandy and water, and also some tea, were poured into her mouth, which revived her a little, and enabled her to speak in a low tone. Mr. Dickenson, in a most distracted state, was removed to the Union for personal safety. Two policemen are left to sit up with the unhappy woman. An inquest was held on Thursday on the !oodles of the two children, and a verdict of " Wilful mu r d e r" was returned aga i ns t Sarah Dickenson. The accused will remain at her residence for the present in the custody of the police, her removal being interdicted by the sur geon. THE REV. J. R. WELSH, OF THE SCOTCH CHURCH, OLDHAM-STREET. (From the Greenock Advertiser.) On Wenesday, a meeting of the Greenock Presbytery was held in the Sheriff Court Hall,—the Rev. Mr. Brown, of Innerkip, Moderator. Dr. Brown read a memorial from certain trustees and managers of Oldham -street Scottish Church, Liverpool, complaining that Mr. James Rodger Welsh, the pastor of that church, and a licentiate of the Presbytery of Greenock, has, since the late disruption in the Church of Scotland, frequently allowed ministers who had seceded from the Scottish Establishment, and who had in consequence been declared to be no longer in connection with that Church, to officiate in his pulpit, and had recommended collec tions in their behalf. He had also preached to certain persons who had left Rodney -street Chapel on the avowed ground that that place of worship was inalienably con nected with the Church of Scotland. The memorial con cluded by praying them to exercise discipline upon such of their licentiates as might be found guilty of following divisive courses. Dr. M'Culloch did not think a mere exchange of pul pits with those of another persuasion, to be following di visive courses. Dr. Brown felt bound to declare, at the outset, that, from every thing he had heard of him, Mr. Welsh was a most exemplary young mam. He had lately been in Liverpool, and from what he had heard some of those who had subscribed the memorial say in regard to Mr. Welsh, he was sure it had been with great reluctance, and from a strong sense of duty, that they had been induced to take the step they had taken, or any other which might seem to be hostile to Mr. Welsh. He (Dr. Brown) understood some of the members of Presbytery had doubts as to whe ther they had now any jurisdiction over Mr. Welsh, who was within the bounds of another Presbytery ; but he (Dr. Brown) had no doubt upon the subject, and would quote two cases in point ; and they were all the more per tinent to the present case, as they respected ministers in England. The first case to which he would refer was that of Edward Irving, of the National Scottish Church, Regent-square, London, and which, from the attention it excited at the time, must be still fresh in the recollection of many. When that gentleman persisted in preachin doctrines at variance with th e s t an d ar d s o f t h e Church,g some of the members of session who did not adopt his new views complained to the Presbytery of London against him, and wished that body to take up the case. That court, however, applied to the Presbytery of Annan, from whom Mr. Irving had received his license. That Presbytery took the matter up, and cited Mr. Irving to appear before them. He obeyed that citation, and was by them deprived of his license. The other case related to a most respectable and excellent man, well known in this locality. He meant Mr. Scott, son of the late Dr. Scott, and minister of the Scottish Church, Woolwich. In this case, too, the Presbytery of London applied to the Presbytery which had licensed the person charged— that of Paisley—and he was deprived of his license like wise. Both of these decisions were afterwards confirmed by the General Assembly; and, such bein g th e case , he (Dr. Brown) could not doubt that they had jurisdiction in the case of Mr. Welsh. Dr. M'Culloch wished to know if the Presbytery to which Mr. Welsh belonged had taken up the matter? Dr. Brown said, the Presbytery referred to could not settle the question of license; which was the one before them. Besides, that Presbytery had for some time been in a very distracted state. Dr. M'Culloch did not see his way clearly in the mat ter. The persons whose names were appended to the memorial might be all highly respectable men, but they had no status in the Presbytery, and they could not pro ceed on such a document. He thought a letter ought to be written to the memorialists, enquiring whether they had taken any steps in their own Presbytery in reference to Mr. Welsh. That Presbytery was recognised by them as Church Court. _ _ Mr. Kinross ■aid, they would require to know exactly the nature of the constitution of the Chapel in Oldham street. Perhaps it contained nothing inconsistent with ministers of the Free Church occupying the pulpit. In regard to Mr. Welsh, who had formerly laboured for some time in the parish of which he (Mr. Kinross) was now pastor, he knew that his labours had been very ac ceptable to the people there, and that he was highly beloved and respected. He was convinced that Mr. Welsh's character for integrity was such, that, if applied to, he would state his views frankly and honestly. A CURIOUS SNUFF-DOX.—Our readers will see, by an advertisement in another column, that a box of great value is to be disposed of by lottery at the house of Mr. Berry, Victoria Hotel. Drury-lane. The box is of gold, richly ornamented with pearls and enamel, and was once the property of Napoleon. In addition to the usual proper ties of a musical box, it contains a curious automaton bird, which, at intervals, starts from an aperture. displays its beautiful plumage, and warbles a song, its miniature beak moving with all the gracefulness of nature. The box is valued at 100 guineas. In front of the box is a small watch, which, it is stated, keeps excellent time. KIRKDALE EPIPHANY SESSIONS.—The County Ses sions for the hundred of West Derby commenced at Kirkdale, on Tuesday last, before the hey. Jon. Brooks, chairman, Peter Bourne, Thomas Rawson, Thomas Ro dick, William Hall, John Fletcher, and H. C. Lacy, Esqrs. The following were the grand jury, viz., Mr. Jas. Corley, of Winwick, foreman • g Messrs. H. G. Harrison, L fl • J • m• • • • - Henry ViErniiratir,";.%7,7 457'..181.V Singleton Cooper, Charles Crompton, and J. Gilbert, of North Meols ; John Jones and John Wilson, of Newton cum-Mackerfield ; Richard Allen, Joseph Crosfield, Jas. Bolton, Peter Davis, jun. and Thomas Hadfield, of War rington; Wm. Barker, Josiah Leyland, and Thomas Corley, of Huyton ; Alfred S. Carr; Thomas Tasker, of Billinge ; William Mercer, and Edward Broom. George Watson, of Parr, did not appear, and was fiuied £5. The chairman's ch ., rge was short, principally indicating to the grand jury the nature of their duties, as on former occa sions they did not seem to have been properly undergaod, James Bourne, Esq., of Heathfield-house, near Waver tree, qualified, and took his seat on the bench as a justice of the peace for this county. The trials possessed little or no interest. tp hr B e t o e o T r AC horticultural w r c a s G h A e R d n e Ex yesterday N h i . b — t T i o h n e s annual b e m eDn e r et in . u Dp o g i tei o k f ti nh t se h o e nw ,ph theroole secretary, read the report , w hi c h stase d i n su b stance t h a t successful, the sale of tickets having met the amount distributed in premiums, an d covere d t h e incidental t I ex penses. There are to b e d ur i ng t h e present year three y of these interesting exhibiti ons; an d as the annual . sub scription is only 10s. Gd., and the c h arge f or each of the horticultural shows is 2s. 6d., a lady or gentleman may be said to have access to the Gardens for 2s. Gd. per annum. The report notices as follows the new system adopted in labelling the plants Each label is of large size, and indicates, by its colour, the peculiar properties of the plant to which it is affixed, whether poisonous, me dicinal, or useful in the arts for food. It states the na tural order and family to which the plant belongs, the botanical and English names,, and, if foreign, the year of its introduction into this country. This system, there fore, answers walking amount oue throughauurns l et y s o e uf y u e i tn r t y information." i u ung r l aay p tr purpose of , enol may be permanent h acquire (eixupi catalogue , , reennd and stuuo cre t in considerablevihnlass xlpte9arrcst from exceeded the income by ab ou t £lO 5. This has ar i sen apsritnhteincgoastnd a of t d he ve n r e ti w sin l g ab , elsc,.a;naenxdtratohred annualinary a me expenses e o s f will also, in future, be somewhat redu ce d b y the exemp tion it is of the garden from all local taxes, u n d er a recent act of parliament. The committee have to lament, asin former years, the number of proprietors who, from arious causes, have ceased to pay their subscriptions ; b satisfactory to know that this defalcation is somewhat more than made good by the receipts from annual sub. scriptions ; and the committee are confident the number of the latter would be greatly augmented, were the attrac tion of the gardens, and the extremely moderate terms on which they may be enjoyed., more generally known. The attendance on band nights was so extremely small, that the committee recommend their discontinuance. STATE OF THE Wonamouse.—On Wednesday after noon, a pauper lad of the name of Jones was brought up at the Police-court, on a charge of having returned to Liverpool. and become once more burdensome to the parish, after having been sent to a place in Scotl an d t o which he belonged. The circumstance cave rise to a col loquytal, ‘ p ir a ti:eli ris ..i.dri ituul daily overseers, inclbtoooemwrnsit:nnoglowtip o hne f which atrotceeti ov teweincreasingnnt that . ai?rtbi the uaaiN Iftogdtlrrelhe.osaetwGrti destitute riu n lawlt g lyeme i :r s ebeoT a eair r ) i do o i ft u i o tl n i n; personea: — r es between Mr. Rushton and Mr. G ra y, one o f th e manysir ; hey greatar are, of them in the yard to-day : one woman brought her Live children and her husband. Mr. Rushton The parish should remove them to the places to which they severally belong : you know there is a legal mode of proceeding in matters of the kind : how many have you in the Work house at present? Mr. Gray: Two thousand. Mr. Rushton : It 's not calculated to accommodate more than 1400 ; you should remove those people according to law. Mr. Gray : But the Poor-law Commissioners, sir, have to be consulted, and we cannot get the people's settle ments. Mr. Rushton : But when you can, you ought to remove them ; surely the Poor-law Commissioners do not find fault with such a mode of procedure as that ? Mr. Gray : What can we do with them when we cannot get their settlements ? Mr. Rushton : You have no business to remove any of them out of the town of Liverpool, un less legally ; you know you are liable to an . indictment under certain circumstances? Mr. G ra y : Certainly, sir; but we cannot get settlements for them. Mr. 7 Rushton : Then you must keep them; if you try the Workhouse test for the town of Liverpoo l, y ou will require a Work house capable of accommodating 6,000 people. Mr. Gray a. niftyAy.rA grown-up r. Rushtonßushton l able-bodied men . are now in the Waiting for relief? Mr. Gray : : Where do they come from ? Cye ni do they come from sea? Mr. Gray : They come from many places; they are all looking for work. Mr. Rush ton : Are they what we generally call " tramps " ? Mr. Gray : They are ; the y won't admit them into the work houses elsewhere. We have removed no f. wer than six families, at a considerable expense, and yet they have all come back to us again. Mr. Rushton :There is only one course to take ; the expenses must fail on the inhabitants ; I am extremely sorry for it, but it cannot be helped ; you must give them relief, you cannot let them starve. Mr. Gray : In the present case, I gave the prisoner money to go to Oldham ; he said his mother was there ; but he was scarcely gone when be was back again : he is a Scotcht , d, and has given us a vast deal of trouale. Mr. Rushton . I s hall punish him ; he has no right to be here again after having been removed ; hut you (Mr. Grey) must la), all this before the local efficers, for you are in a situation of great responsibility. Arc the new buildings of the Work house proceeding? Are they begin, yet? Mr. Gray: Not yet, sir. The prisoner was thou pat back for the present, and the conversation ended, Jan. 23, 1844. EXECUTION OF J. ROBERTS. another Kirk dale dal e execution. Gaol was, The on h e mob was Saturday l not s a o s last, great, t he scenethe roads o leading to the fatal spot were less crowded, and there was by no means so great a proportion of female gazers as 0 have seen. The unhappy man, John Roberts, who suffered the treme penalty of the law for the murder of Lord Derby gamekeeper, under circumstances with which our readers are familiar, gave, in his personal appearance, no indio" tion of that ferocity of disposition which the world poPti: larly associates with a deliberate murderer. His face, fa' and chubby, with a heavy cast of features, was rather, pleasing in its expressio n th an ot h erw i se. H e was d re w in an old black body coat, dark waistcoat, barragon sera, and shoes. His hair was dark, his height about five feet six inches, and he was a young man—only twenty-0 years of age. The culprit, since his condemnation, and more espe cially since the reprieve of his companions in guilt, has been imbued with strong religious feeling. At the coo' demned sermon, preached on Sunday week by the Rev. Mr. Appleton in the gaol chapel, he was most attentive to the worthy clergyman's exhortations to prepare for another world. On Friday night he prayed, read the Bible and tell' gious tracts, and sung detached pieces of hymns incessant'''. He did not sleep at all. About five on Saturday morning be partook of some refreshment—a cup of tea and bread and butter. He told the officer who sat up with him that the approver Shaw, on whose evidence the prisoners were convicted , had told the truth—that he attributed his present position to his " good nature"—that when he went out on the fatal morning with his gun, he had no intention of shooting any one—and that had he not been in liquor at the time , the criminal act would not have occurred. He made fre quent mention of Richard Kenyon (the murdered game', keeper) in his solicitation s t o t h e t h rone of grace, and wished it to be known that he prayed frequently for the happiness of his widow and children. In short, his con duct has been in every respect becoming a repentant gin ner. About half-past eleven, the prisoner, accompanied bi the Rev. Mr. Appleton, Mr. Amos, the late, and Mr. Gibbs, the present governor of the gaol, entered the chapel, where he partook of the sacrament. On leaving it he embraced, in the moat affectionate terms, his con?' panion Jim Hunt. to whom, it will be seen, he alluded In, his speech at th e sca ff o ld. H e placed his arms round Hunt's neck, and pressed him most warmly. At this leave-taking, his firmness, which was so marked during his subsequent movements, appeared for a moment to de sert him—but it was only for a moment, for when the chaplain on the one side, and one of the officers of the prison on the other, moved forward, he took his place be tween them, and walked with as much apparent ntrye as those about him. During the procession Mr. Appleton read the burial service. Arrived at the press-room, the prisoner was seated in a chair, when his hands were pi nioned, the handkerchief removed from his neck, and the other preliminaries for the execution gone through. Mt. Appleton still continued reading, and the prisoner's lips moved in prayer. He ejaculated at intervals, " Lord h a ve mercy on me! Christ have mercy on me? &c." The exe cutioner, who appeared au fail at his duties, (he arrived from London on Friday night, the scene of his labour:if being the Old Bailey,) then led the culprit forward to the scaffold. When the crowd caught a view of the unhappl man, a buzz ran through it, during which he bowed verf respectfully three times—to the southern, the centre, and the northern parts of the vast assemblage opposite the scaffold. This concluded, he prepared to speak, and in very firm and audible voice gave expression to the follow ing address, which, from the cool, deliberate, and empha tic manner in which it was uttered, must have been heard by every one —even the most remote in the crowd : " Good people all !" (Great uproar in front of the scaffold, mingled with hisses, during which the culprit waited patiently. When it had subsided he continued)- - " Good people all ! I have made my peace with the Al mighty, and I hope that some of you will tell my poor old father that I die happy. Good people, I have prayed verl hard for my sins to be forgiven night and day, and ml poor companion, Jim Hunt, has been praying for me. I hope, good people, you will all turn from your sins a nd wickedness. I owe no man any animosity. and I expect that no man owes me any. (Cries of " No, no !" from the crowd.) Good people, take this as a warning from me, and never let yourselves be entangled with the devil sod bad company. May God bless you all ! May the Lord have mercy on your souls ! for the Lord Jesus Christ S sake, who suffered on the cross for our sins, and who shed his blood for us—Amen. Farewell! Farewell !" The bolt was then withdrawn, and the prisoner fell, the crowd setting up a hideous yell, the expression, appa rently, of their feelings of horror at the shock, rather than of bad feeling towards the dying man. He struggled vio lently for a few seconds, and then ceased to move. The crowd then dispersed, and after the body had been sus pended the usual time it was cut down, and buried within the precincts of the gaol. MESMERISM.—Dr. Collyer, on Tuesday and Wednes day evenings last, delivered lectures on this subject, at the Town-hall, Birkenhead, to very respectable audiences. The doctor was not successful in his experiments, but in Chester was exceedingly fortunate in this respect. SERIOUS ROBBERY BY A SHOP BOY.—On Tuesday last, William Woods, shop boy to Mr. Pearson, Times office, Lord-street, who was left in charge of the shop during the absence of Mr. Broadfoot, the manager, abstracted £lO 10s. in gold, a watch-guard, and other articles, Trani a pox wawa was locked up in a cupboard. He was apprehended on Wednesday morning at Ormskirk, brought down to Liverpool, and committed for trial. PUBLICANS' CASES. —O n F r id ay there were eight publicans and beer -sellers summoned before Mr. Rushton, at the Police-court, f or i n f ractions of the new act. We subjoin a summary :—John Chambers, beer-seller, was acquitted ; Thomas Glascoe, beer-seller, was fined 60s. and costs ; John Williams, beer-seller, was fined 20s. and costs ; ThomasWoi mald. publican, was acquitted ; Williaul Moss, publican, was fined 40s. and costs; John Griffiths, beer-seller, was fined 50s. and costs ; Richard Jones, beer seller, was fined 20s. and costs ; and John Ryan, publican, was fined —s. and costs. FORGERY IN GLASGOW.—We have been requested to state that the party apprehended in Liverpool was Robert Potter, late builder in Glasgow, and a partner of the firth of Potter and Houston, some time builders there ; that the charge is not that of forgery, but of theft, or reset of theft, in having taken a sum of about £lOOO too much from a teller in the Glasgow Union Banking Company, Glasgow, in July, 1839, on getting discount for a bill. We are further requested to state that Mr. James Potter, Seel- street, Liverpool, was never in the remotest degree Implicated in, or connected with, the offence with which Robert Potter now stands charged.—Glasgow paper. ROBBERY BY A SERVANT. —A respectably-dressed fe male, named Amelia Rowlands, was brought before Mr. Rushton, on Saturday, on a charge of having robbed her mistress, a widow lady, of 17, Hotham-street, of a variety of articles of wearing apparel. It appeared that the pri soner lived as servant with the complainant, in Paradise street, for about six weeks, and that she left the service, on the 18th of November last, without notice. Soon after she had been missed it was ascertained that she had taken with her a silk cloak and a number of dresses, veils, shawls, scarfs, aprons, towels, table-cloths, tuscan bon nets, and blankets, of the value of about £l5. She suc ceeded in eluding the hands of justice until Friday last. She was committed for trial. THE WALLASEY DOCKS.—It is rumou re d th a t t w o o f the most eminent contractors for the ex ecu ti on o f p u blic works in the kingdom, have offered to execute the whole of the works requisite for the conversion of Wallasey Pool into a dock, for the sum specified in Mr. Rendel's esti mates ; and that such is their confidence in the success of the scheme, that they have also offered to accept Wal lasey Dock bonds in payment. With the view of showing how greatly land on the Cheshire side has risen in volt?e since the Wallasey Dock project was started, it is said that, on Saturday week, a Liverpool gentleman sold, for the sum of £75,000, a piece of land on the Seacombe side of Wallasey Pool, which he bought two years ago for £B,OOO. The land has a good and extensive frontage ; and, when the pool shall have been converted into a dock , it will be one of the moat valuable estates on its banks. DOCK COMMITTEE, THURSDAY. —Letters were read from Messrs. Ashbridge, Reay, Purnell, and Guinise, masters of the Victoria, Waterloo, King's, and Queen'! Docks, denying the allegation, contained in an anonl' mous letter to the Chairman, that the dock-masters were in the habit of taking bribes. Some conversation took place as to the propriety of having export and impor t docks, but it was con s id ere d b e tt er t o d e f er t h e ma tter until the Albert Dock was ready for use. Mr. Bo ld . men' said he expected the special sub-committee on the doe. ti . plans would be able to report on Wednesday next, and tio f tL .4 ed t d h ir e ty n e s r ta b t o e ur o . f in t a h s e te d r o s Fk e s o , and the su m bj: . c isT t W ic a o ; was agreed that a reporter should be engaged to take fel notes of the discussion, in order that they might be printed and distributed amongst the members, the members of the c ounc il. anti also amongst THE AMERICAN TRADE. --The American packet° which have recently left this port afford evidence of the improving state of business with the United States. The Hottinguer, on Monday week, took out freight amount . ing to upwards of £l5OO, and eleven cabin passenger s ; the Montezuma, whi c h sa i led the same day, upwar ds of £l2OO, and ten cabin passengers. By the way, these tW O fine vessels, both remarkably fast sailers, are pitted against each other, and bets to some amount are depen dent upon which gets home first. The fine transient shit ) Cohota, also sailed in company ; she is known to be a veil fast ship, and is pitted, as regards speed, against the ves sels we have named. In future, there will be a p a cket every five days. The Europe is the first ship under the new regulation. The Roccius, which is about to sail, takes out freight amounting to £l4OO. Indeed the Ameri can packets have received better freights lately than for 0 length of time previously. RESCUE AT BURY'S FOUNDRY.—On Tuesday, an able bodied fellow, named James Askew, was brought before Mr. Rushton, at the Police -court, on a charge of having rescued a person of the name of Isaac Edwards, fro% Greaves, one of the Bridewell keepers, and soother office' It appeared that on Friday week a warrant had been re ceived here from Ni ales for the apprehension of Edwards: on a charge of having destroyed property and threatened further violence in that country. The warrant, after having been backed by Mr. Rushton, was delivered into the hands of Greaves and Mr. Christopher Carnes, the officer from Mold, for the purpose of putting it into exe' cution. They accordingly went to Bury's foundry, w here Edwards had been working, and took him into costal; which they had no sooner done than they were attacked. by upward s o f one h un d re d o f t h e wor k men employe d a t the foundry, one of the most active a their assailant°, being the pri soner , an d th e resu l t was that - Edwards w e e rescued, rod effected his escape through the yard. Mr. Rushton ordered the prisoner to pay the sum of £5, or be imprisoned one month. 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