The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-11-29 00:00:00

THE BRITISH PRESS.

since his arrival at Newgste, has had a most distressing f
aid painful duty to undergo, in witnessing these scenes of
distress, and although nearly exhausted by the shocks
which her own feelings have endured, she has endeavoured
to administer to the comfort of others, and most kindly and
effectually assisted in 'Harming the poignancy of the pri-
SC:MCC% female relations who hail visited him.

The prisoner continues to evince as resigned a state of
mind cs his most anxious friends ccald wish, and says he
is now only desirous that his scene in this world should
chose.

Ile avoids interviews with those who call to see him,
whenever he can do 60 with any propriety to the feelings of
the parties themst•litta and his own.
While these scenes were passing, the Italian teacher
of languages, Aug..Rini. who on Friday applied to the
Lord Mayor for permission to die for Mr. Fauntlerny,
knocked at the door of Newizate, and intrcduct d himself to
the Ordinary, who was just going to administer the Sacra-
meta. Ile said he had come to tale the place of the con-
vict, as he was very anxious that that person's life should
he saved, in consideration of his wife and family. The
Ordinary r. monstrated with him upon the absurdity of the
application ; but finding that the more objections were
made, the more noisy the Italian became he desired one
of the officers to talk to him upon the subject. Angellinl,
after seme expressions of regret at not being allowed to die
on the scaffold, suddenly quitted the prison into which be
had gained admission upon the strength of the Lord
Mayor's name.

Situnlzyq morning Mr. F. expressed greatconcern athaving
to attend the Chapel on Sunday, according to the usual cus-
tom, to beer the Sermon to the condemned. He shrunk
from being again exposed to the public gaze ; be said he
was fully alive to the consolations to be derived from atten-
tion to religini;3 duties ; indeed, the promises of the &rip-
turn alone sustained him now ; but he declared that the
thought of having to appear in the Chapel, where there
would be so many eyes fixed on him, quite unfitted his
initial for such solemn proceedings. He ma& it a request
to the Sheriffs, that if it were not inconsistent with their
duties, they would dispense with his attendance in the
Chapel on Sunday morning. To be relieved from such •
duty would free him from many pangs. He wu in-
formed, in answer, that such attendance could not be dis-
pensed with ; that it was a part of the proceedings which
the Sheriffs felt theinszlves hound to see performed ;
but that every further attention should be paid to the com-
munication, with the view of affording all possible relief to
the prisoner's mind. . . _

li has been already stated, that the ft rna'e (she seems to
be scarcely twenty years old) who lived with Mr. Fauntle-
rev, had been induced to abstain from continuing to visit
him in New:rate, in consequence of his having, by the ad-
vice of his friends, written to her, pointing out the inex-
pediency of her coming, since his repeated interviews with
Mrs. Fattntleroy. She has, thctefore, seen him once only
during the last three weeks: it was naturally expected that
he should be anxious, before he left the world, to bid a
long adieu to her and his children, and Saturday was ap.
pointed for carrying into effect this painful purpose.
About eleven o'clock Mrs. Forbes arrived at Newpte,
dressed in the deepest mourning, bringing with her two
lovely hahes, both girls, of the ages of lti months apd three
months, both of them also in mourning. Passing through
the long and dreary passages of the prison, she entered the
apartment where Mr. Fauntleroy is confined, who, on see-
ing her, appeared afflicted with the deepest anguish. lie
embraced her and his children with most affectionate ar-
dour: his feelings were evidently wrought up to the high-
est pitch of intense agony.
After remaining with him about an hour, the distressing
moment of separation arrived, which it is impossible to de-
scribe. After Mrs. Forbes had quitesl him, as she supposed
for ever, and had reached an adjoining room, Mr.F.eame out
firee diffo rent times again to bid her farewell ; and at last,
addressing her in a most solemn and impassioned manner,
said, " Maria, you mast mpg* that the eiremationeor iri
which jneite praiied will afpale you to the observation
, and scoffs of the world—regard them not ; but place your
confidence in Almighty God : and I charge you to bring
up these clear children in his fear. Recollect that these are
the words of a dying man. Oh ! do not neglect them." He
then sunk on a seat which was near, evidently overpowered
by the even anglesh. Mrs: Fseberfelteren 1 vtotent
hysterical paroxysm, in which she continued a long time.

(From the Weekly hispaidr.)
At length tl:e fate of this unfortunate gentlemen la de-
termined. On Tuesday neat he is doomed to suffer the
extreme pnnishment of the law—a premature and ignomi-
nious dea' ! Callous and unfeeling indeed must be that
heart, which is unmoved by sympathy and compassion at
his unhappy destiny. At the age of IS, a time when other
youths are playing their gambols at school, he was intro-
duced to the drudgery of a clerk in a banking establish-
ment, and it is evident he must have devoted great seal
and attention to the duties of his station ; because, on the
death of his father, when he was only 21, he was permitted
to succeed him as a partner in the firm. liis, however,
appears to have been no enviable situation : the capital of
the concern was small ; heavy loon brought on embarrass-
ments ; bankruptcy stared him in the face ; and he ven-
tured on the only expedient that presented itself of averting
the ruin of the establishmeni--by obtaining, through the
medium of forgery, those resources which could alone sup-
port the credit of the house, and prevent its failure. The
unhappy man says, that when he first deviated from rec-
titude, he merely intended to obtain temporary assistance,
and never for a moment contemplated fraud and no one
who dispassionately reviews his conduct, can doubt the
sincerity of this declaration. One disastee, however, fol-
lowed another in quick succession ; the same means f re-
lief were resorted to on each occasion, and the forgeries at
last accumulated to such an enormous extent that no-
thing less than a miracle could relieve him. Every
year increased the burdens and the difficulties ; sums which
had been sold out when the funds were extremely low,
were occasionally obliged to be repurchased when the price
of stock was enhanced ; anti as the dividends became pay-
able, he was under the necessity of providing money to
place to the credit of those individuals whose stock fish
been surreptitiously disposed of. Some opinion trey be
formed of the extent of the sums obtaiued from the Bank,
when it is known that latterly the amount required every
quarter to supply the place of dividentla, amounted to up-
wards of .$,000(. Not only haul Mr. Fanutleroy to manage
the regular concerns of the house, but he bad to keep
correct accounts of all the sums drawn under the forged
letters of attorney, and every quarter to place to the cus-
tomer the exact amount to which he would have bear en-
titled if the stock hail remained untouched. Busides
this, when any death, marriage,. ibe. other occurrence
took place, which welt likely to occasion a reference
to the Banks, in those cases where the stock had been with-
drawn, Mr. Faunticroy was under the necessity of imme-
diately replacing it, to prevent a discovery taking place.
What, therefore, must have been this unhappy gentle-
man's feeiings during the list sixteen years of his lire, know-
ing, as he must, that the. Sword of Justice was suspended
over his head, as it were, by a single hair! His own
words, when brought up to receive judgment, forcibly
illustrate the torture he had ctidured. After pathetically
describing the muse of his misfortunes, anti supplicating,
for the sake of his relations, that he might not unifier an
i..;tiontiniotte death, he says, " Por me, my Lord, fallen
and deg,raileil es I am, life has no allurements, and a mo-
mentary pang will at once put an end to my mental agonies,
and my earthly existence ;• and he then went on to state--
" If crime can be *weed for by solfering. my offences.
heavy es they are, have long since been expiated, not only
by the overwhelming embarrassment; of the concern in
which I was engaged, but by years of anxious terror, and
agonizing apprehetvion ; arid it, my Lord, the anguish of
teind I have endured fur the la.d sixteen years of my life,
and the p:enlr.r circurnstanevs it: w Inch I have been plec.vd
ever since I arrived at man's estate, eolith he matte known
to my Most Gracioua Sovereipi," &e.
This appeal, however, and all the a xertions made on he-
halt' of the distressyd individual. have proved tunivai:;ng,.
The law has seized its victim with its unreleneng, iron
gra p; stern justice predominates, and the unfortunate
4 ;ctitleinan has only to hope for mercy " in another and a
better wield."