The Express.
London, England, 1857-01-02 00:00:00

THE LITE MR. JOHN BRITT 021; P. 5.4.

Mr. Britton was born on the 7th of Jule, 1771, at )(fatten
Bt. Michael, in Wiltshire, where his fatLer once enjoyed a
fair share of patroness as biker, maltoter, shopkeeper, and
small farmer. A change however came o'er the scene; the
business failed, and the family was involved in eircamitanose
of difficulty, under which the parent(' of the late Join
Britton were unable to afford him much of a school ahead=
In his autobiography Mr. Britton time, speaks of his birth-
place: —"Without a regular clergyman to advise MI
admonish, or a magistrate, or4vate gentleman residing in
the principal home of the vi , the inhabitants were an.
dionjolin4 illiterate, enddeprived of all good
ample ; " and again he observes : " I do not think
there was a newspaper or magazine parcheaed by one oldie
inhabitants before the year 1780 when the riots
were talked about, and wondered at." He was tint co&
ivied to the care of a schoolmistrem, and was subsequestly
placed under four sacceesive masters, not one of whom seem
to have been able to administer a large amount of bow
ledge. On the 26th of October, 1787, be quilted the bee
of his childhood, and accompanied an uncle to seek his for-
tune in the great t etrapoW. He was then apprenticed as
ealiamea to Kr. d the Jerarlem Tavern, Clerks
eininn-peen, where he was initiated into the mptnies of
" or wines, bottling, corking, and tanning the
ease." He vas wont to steel as much time se he
could le visit old book Malls, and make moll
purchases ~ bat, we ere told, All the reading I
could indulge in, during my term of legal slavery, wee by
candle light in the cellar, and st eeonal intervals aely,
not of lens,bat d time abstracted from systematic duds."
The vicissitudes, privations, and hardship. which he (tapes
rienord artesian next seven years could not be related
without wither sympathy. In obscure lodgings at eighteen-
rUce per week, he still indulged in ready, and often read In
bed during the winter ertelege, being tmable to afford a fire.
When in his 22nd year, end with a puree containing about
siz pounds, he walked home to Wiltshire, and found hie
satire village much altered—his mother bad died broker
hearted, his father had become idiotic and was no Mager
in the land of the living, and hie brothers and miners
were scattered abroad. His old home being than
destroyed, after having endeavoured in vain to pros
cure maple_ meet in the West of England, be rem
turned to London almost penniless, shoeleso, and &helms
Soon afterwards he was engaged as cellar-awn at the London
Tavern, and neat es "clerk to a widow in Smithfield." We
then find him in the service of an attorney in Gray'*.inn.
In 1789 he was engaged by a Mr. Chapman to "write, re-
cite, and zing" at a theatre in Pantos-stmt, Haymarket, at
three guineas per week. From that date his literary career
may be said to have commenced. His first production of any
importance was a volume on "The Life end Adventures of
Pizarro," suggested by the then popularity of Kotzebue's
favourite German drama. In his week on the " Beauties of
Wiltshire" be was eminently successful; and hie " Ant&
tectural Antiquities of Great Britain," and "Cathedral An-
tiquitles of England," gained him a considerable reputation.

Dzsrirecnolt OF A VESSEL BY FIB-E.—Me
Myra, of thenderiami, ham beta destroyed by firm while
her way to Alessodria with a cargo of coals. The fbe app.
.
p.m to have beta the ghee of spontaneous comboetiori, assl
ate mishap for hold of the vessel was the discovered cat
the 4th east, shwa she wee in longitude 24 dig. seat, sod
about deity min from the coast of Egypt. Water was
pound dews mass the ergo, bat without effect, and Capt.
HEM era food YAW aenpsnod to have the hatches re.
chid. All sag ass lupt an, Tom the hope of reaching Ala-
mo* b4iklignsegly, little progress could be made,
Mug to winds. Manveldle, lame quAntines of gel
wpm * haws boa posonsd, and on tho lith ult. an mi.
Mu leek ]bane by the leeks of the vessel were con.
pistil, Ism op. The as** mad crew took to the boats,
and heM an hod digs they bad left the vessel she wee en-
veloped lame Meet ef tams. Theo made for the nearest
part of the cent, but in imdng the boats were stove in. At
Arabs' Tower the mew were furnished with provisions, as
also with mods ad horses, by which they were conveyed
to Memoir., Mire they arrived co the 10th M.
DEFALCATION" OF AN INCOME-TAX COLLECTOIL—•
On Theo:lay see a crowded reseff•A retspayers was
held be the Tomsball, North QM; Xi. Ablhesesa Pew is .
the ark to edsM masons to protect themmoghes from •
ressassmat et bemman sob by the cognainigass• to
cons the isidatiar enterlisip, who W----l-di
=A aissppmpAshod 1,7*1., emend by bin to the 'has.
am& Wild* 77r ens nab est by the gpsess st its
gswilbe ee a hod err Ittigp, mlbe was •
is as Ws, hod bra appantol a elideelassitrkit
Plilpasa, • ages; ha
bs MK. Ph= MI .
Ash Otis embalm la basis had
allathil a earlindis am et bosmslikarmult.
saetwo skis. Is he psedil to Graft yealz.e.ssam•
mi deb
la do isms, sod in • heabir et
tam collsgh& to the mangst missaly amiss& No as.
aunty bad beau oaken trots' Ihimm by the cogagaismingiq
smogriiiMai cgs be bad sl ; ga& to now
dame be Appoisisodi of PM} •
soy bur Me I ehorhod aft Issa smadeddiss had
thignews ado isszEga be niqudasods this Wi-
rt* bridge ask laggsas its
buns • nes spit Is wog tambil by Was. A
assmilles was le Ids may liqd mangs an.
ea at Am regansingst. The moths Tr
ly ono et as Whig smirehints art Aipswagga
et fin tews, sad gnaw shin wen Mr. Abliguma Mash
nos at Classigad, Dr. Dahl, Mr.
Dead= 11161.tem Mr. Proctor, sad Mr. la m&
DTA= Mad DVAiwariON.—An inquest vas
as Tani, st Dab% baba Mr. Robins.. otramor hs
Strora, Is the lab at en aid man, sous voloovs.
who Ins bud big* the tad Aro to the to as San-
dq Wt. He wog is a bhp state, ad was eel.
vend by as plies k • vladherrow to the wanks's', but
did Wan garlsol that nig" It sagosologoi
that assay was a severely cold day. A pest mans ear .
roggim the bsdp was nab by hie. Pother, who
had • sassed need at is* en inchmdahal fa
rider ells, but Ads *odd not bon Wed to
E
agth. blush • posibel of Wood hod TV orft ...ply god calimpsmiL
ash vas had is the Insokb g they bed whiney WI
Sere the a emeeilephie pod* sad hod sat ben As care
daub lb. Misr pay his added *don Ad death
ha bon sr gsil by dandies, cambia with digs* eel
Mulabe the edit. The arms alas &Bosomed were mittl
re ; ear right sous was a amide, adst>k
hit a smstonlA ad a "roil to " A robe A
pills hod Ailed the
,b:l444b,bet not her
The Jury retread a • "That the demand= r.
Ann scarvatigs, endiamil clinago"
PAPER PlOsahr—Tits isms el packets of matins/
tickets at • nainths sltdythiesat. on every
worth ham, ememeet y. In the ceelTardoll_
air vowoo• Ivo were .1.1 at me plus Mgt .
the mad sake aAs =Et Charing-erode. The lr
coavarkst• al goglying will by this gimp* wad
be *doily Mond te mum matieugers. banal bind
impeey froaltave declared an intention of waling that
salves d ergs tickets, as the pleaeantest small change met
thir Ink otrikoste.