The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-12-25 00:00:00

ILLUST_RATIONS OF ENGLISH

PROVERBS.

"A merry Christmas and a happy new year!"

A PROVERB this in general use just now—a greeting to be
found in every body's mouth. Well, if the lips truly had as
close a connection with the heart as they ought to have, the
wish would be sincere, and being sincere, whether realized or
not, would bring home to the object of our professed regard
a feeling of trust and thankfulness. There is, however, in
these our days such a hypocritical assumption of the garb of
friendship, that renders it a very difficult matter to ascertain
the real meaning and expression of seemingly kind words and
offices; there exists a hollowness, a rottenness in what looks
to be the soundest heart : in a word, those about us in the
dealings of life, are not in a great measure what they appear
to be. In this respect they may be said to resemble a mirage
in the desert, which seems in the distance to be a lake of
water; but, instead of relieving the thirst of the perishing
caravan, allures with false hope, and serves only to provoke
the dying curse of those whom it deceives. Just as a cypress
tree, so is mere profession of e3teem: it is tall and command-
ing, but where is the fruit ? Let us, then, and especially at
this festive season, seek to cultivate true sincerity of heart,
for without it all our good wishes, or even acts of so-called
kindness, are but as " sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal."
If from the world without, however, we are led to suspect
so much deceitfulness and empty show, we may, at least, look
upon the family hearth and social circle, and there indulge in
a real and genuine reciprocity of good will. Christmas,
therefore, is a time especially calculated to teach us the com-
forts of one's own fireside,—to draw and knit together the
more sacred relationships of life in closer bonds of peace and
love. In this respect, "there is no place like home." Here,
at least, is a sanctuary amid all the losses and troubles of
life. If there be kindness anywhere, it must be found at
home ;—if obedience to every wish,—if the thousand delicate
attentions which, like the tree cast into the bitter waters of
Marah, render life sweet,—if true sympathy, if a feeling of
security and independence, if liberty without restraint,—
where can these be found except they be found at home !
Home is the citadel in which we are to select our weapons
and gird on our armour, which shall fortify us amid thehard-
ships and struggles of this mortal life. A happy, united
home may be well compared to a perfect lightning conductor,
down which the fire of heaven will run innocuously, without
endangering the edifice. Home is as a beehive : there may he
much toil, much change, but there will always be a honeyed
sweetness. Without a home, we may be compared to the
cuckoo, which has no nest ; or the butterfly, which has no
hive. The one, is it not proverbial for selfishness and folly
and the other for levity and worldly-mindedness ? But the
domestic hearth, on the contrary, may be likened to the
parent hen or insect bee : here is affection and frugal industry
Again, home is home, be it never so "lowly ;"—it is not the
noblest mansion or the greatest luxuries of food and clothing
which constitute a happy home ! Listen to Bobby Burns :
" At length his lowly cot appears in view,
Beneath the shelter of an aged tree.
The expectant ' wee things' toddling, stagger through
To meet their dad, with fluttering noise and glee.
His clean hearth-stone, his thrifty wife's smile,
The lisping infant prattling on his knee,
Does all his weary, carking cares beguile,
And makes him quite forget his labour and his toil."

Join we, then, with hearty chorus, and around the Christmas
fireside—
"'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which, wherever we rove, is not met with elsewhere.
Home! home I sweet home:
There's no place like home, there's no place like home !
Liverpool, December, 1855. G. D.

A CHESTER TRADESMAN DUPED BY
A WELSH HEIRESS!

Ix is not often that such an instance of egregious simplicity
on one part, and of barefaced impudence on the other, is ex-
hibited, as appears in the narrative we are about to relate of a
circumstance which occurred in Chester, within the last few
days. In fiction, there is nothing in " Gil Blas" that can equal
it; and it transcends, in real life, the impudence and successful
stratagems of Alice Grey. We will mercifully suppress the
name of the unfortunate hero of the tale, and call him Mr.
Green ; as the dread laugh of the community would be too
great an infliction, in addition to the disappointment and dis-
grace which have fallen upon the victim of his own credulity
and cunning, while thinking he was stealing a march upon
others. About a fortnight ago, a person engaged in business
in this city, a widower with four children, while employed at
Rhyl in superintending some works of construction, obtained
information that there was a young lady there with plenty of
money, -and who was very anxious to form an eligible matri-
monial connexion. On that hint our townsman spoke, he
being equally on the look-out. When flint and steel come into
collision, ignition speedily takes place ; and, accordingly, the
preliminaries of introduction were soon got through, and it
was agreed that he should accompany her lo St. As:111 where
she wished to prove the will of her brother, who fell in
the Crimea, under which she became possessed of consi-
derable property—say £12,000, in land and mortgages. With
great dexterity, and with more knowledge of matters and
things in general than an innocent Welsh girl is presumed to
be endowed, she so timed the trip to the registrar's, at St.
Asaph, that she arrived there on a Saturday, just after the
Will-office had dosed. As nothing could be done until
Monday, and she was eager to get out of the clutches of
her guardian, who had destined her to be the bride of an elder
suitor whom she detested, she intimated that so great a catch
as herself might be under espionage, and she dared not go
home for her luggage; so our cit induced her to accompany
him to Chester, where he prudently lodged her at the house
of a reputable householder of much experience in nautical
matters. Mr. Green then asked the advice of his late gover-
nor, who, on a pensive review of the circumstances, advised
him not to let the prize out of his sight until the knot was
firmly tied. On Monday morning, the enamoured swain, in-
toxicated with hope and joy, proceeded to obtain a license, but
the surrogate to whom he applied mistook the cause and
symptoms of his excitement, and suggested that he should
come again when he was more collected. As time pressed he
repaired incontinently to his solicitor in Newgate-street, who
was in London ; but the head-man, with whom he communi-
cated, considering that such windfalls are of rare occurrence,
and seeing the inconvenience of delay, recommended that the
lady should get the ticket, as it was no matter whether " M.
or N." took the oath. Thereupon, be went in search of the
fair one, who was agreeably employed in spending some score
or two of pounds which he had drawn from the Bank for that
'purpose. Silk dresses, shawls,&c., had been bought at a mercer's
in Foregate-street, and he traced her to a shoemaker's in East-
gate-street, where she had just equipped herself with a pair of
boots. It appears that when the fit was adjusted, she had
taken a new pair of stockings from her bag, and, to the
amazement of Crispin, took off the pair on her feet, and pulled
on the new ones. The shoemaker, who is a very modest man,
turned aside during ths toilette
opriieeduss,
aospn
telhip; principle
we suppose of the poet's mnutim
greatly relieved when the bridegroom in
then s lilicense,
ea
arrivedn d
to interrupt the colloquy. She soon obtained
very readily answered the question of her age, by stating that
" she was 21 last Sunday at 2 &clock." Our reverend friend
Mr. Marsden spliced the twain the following day, and they
proceeded on their wedding tour to Birmingham. En route,
the happy husband introduced his bride to his friends at Os-
westry, among whom was a relative, a draper. In his shop
some conversation passed about the neighbouring families, and
Mrs. Green asked about a Rev. Mr. —, not that she knew
him personally, but she remembered that "poor dear papa
had a mortgage of £lOOO on his land." The Oswestry trades-
man, anticipating business, did his best to conciliate goodwill,
and made her a present of a waterproof tweed cloak for tra-
velling. Up to that time, all had been couleur de rose in the
eyes of Mr. Green ; but now he began to think it time to
realize the flattering dream, and to replace the sums drawn
from his account at the bank. For this purpose it was neces •
sary that the trustees of the will should be seen, so, accompa-
panied by a Boniface friend, they proceeded to Mold by train,
and had a car from there to Ruthin. The husband inquiring
from the driver for the residence of the trustees at Llanbedr
Gate,was informed that the turn to the right would lead to their
house. The lady, 'however, preferred going on to Ruthin, as
she wished to see her solicitor before the trustees. They came
on to the Cross Foxes Inn, and, on alighting, she left her hus-
band, as she said, for a few moments, under the pretence of
calling ou a friend, but did not return, nor has he seen, her
since. It has been ascertained that the heroine's name is
Elizabeth Williams, and that, two years ago, she lived as ser-
vant about two miles from Ruthin. She stopped the night
after leaving her husband with an old acquaintance, and left
early next morning for—no one knows whither. What makes
the matter more unpleasant to Mr. Green is, the fact that he
had pledged himself to a very amiable person to marry her on
New Year's-day, and the match would have been suitable in
every respect. Under existing circumstances, his only pros-
pect is, that he will one day have an application from some
clerk of a board of guardians as will, at all events, apprize
him of his wife's whereabouts, accompanied with an intimation
of chargeability, and the consequences resulting therefrom.—
Chester Chronicle. _

1 he strategic belle is from Velin•y-wig, near Ruthin, where
her parents, very humble persons, reside. As might have
been expected, when her purse,, which the bridegroom had
filled in anticipation of the £12,000, became light, she re-
turned to her liege lord on Monday evening last, who refused
to see her. The excitement which this Alice Grey has ex-
cited was well supported. A telegraphic message was re-
ceived in the course of Monday, by a friend of the duped
husband, announcing the unwelcome intelligence that Mrs.
Green, or more properly Mrs. Lewis, was en route to
Chester for the purpose of demanding the support and pro-
tection of her lawful husband. The lady duly arrived in the
course of the evening at the Swan, in Foregate-street, the
hostlery of the friend of Mr. Green, who went with him to
Rnthin to take possession of her supposed wealth,' where her
reception, as is usual with persons of distinction, created an
immense excitement. Mr. Green, we were informed, was
at an inn in the same locality, but indignantly refused an
interview with the Welsh heiress, and legally and physically
his better half. The lady remained at the Swan during
Monday evening, and as she was decked in all the bridal
finery purchased at the expense of Mr. Green, sat as if " at
home," surrounded by numerous friends and visitors, who
arrived in rapid succession, not particularly to pay their re-
spects to the wedded lady on her return, but to obtain a view
of one who, by her successful duplicity, has surpassed ,the
heroine in the Bristol hoax, or even the artful ability dis-
played by Alice Grey. Such was the excitement to get a
peep at the wily lady, that the Swan was crowded during the
night, and the patronage which has been bestowed on that
establishment by the Welsh heiress is, we have no doubt,
duly appreciated by the landlord—the friend of Mr. Green.
The bride, we hear, intends to take forcible possession of the
house of her husband and protector, who in return threatens
illegal and revengeful steps on the person of his bride. Such
is the honeymoon !—Chester Courant.