The Sun.
London, England, 1820-04-05 00:00:00

DIET).

At his house, in Stnith-street, Chtlsra, on the 30th March
last, in the 43,1 year of age, Mt. Thomas Crosley, of
Gi•aq's Nu, solicitor. - _

On Monday, the 3d instant, in the ettth year of his age,
Mr. Thomas Matteson, of Chelsea, formerly goldsmith and
jeweller, of Cornhill.
On Friday, the 31st of March, at his house, in L'pper
Gresrenor-street, Patrick Cranford I.3tuee, Esq. of Glenely.
On Monday last, at her bowie in Pertt-Street, after an
illness of only four days, Med. Jaw) Mayaffte of lufiAmoAatiott
4f the lungs.

LITERARY R Etri Ew..

POEMS, Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery.--By Jour:
CLARE, a Northamptonshire Peasant. Second Edition.

" These Poems have already attracted consi-
derable noiice by their intrinsic merit ; but they
ate also emitted to attention from the circum-
stances under which the were wiitten. They
are the genuine productions of a young Peasatit,
a day.labourer its husbandry, who has had no ad-
vantages of education beyond others of his class;
and though Poets in this collo:1.y
.have seldom.
been tortahate 0.19 i, yet he is, perhaps, the least
favoured by circumstances, and the most destitute
Of Itierids, or any that ever existed.
" 301 m Clare, the author of this Volume, was
born as ifelpstotie, near Peterborough, Northamp-
tonshire, on the 13th of July. 1793. He is the
Wiry son of Paikerand Ann Clare, who are also
natives, of the same village, where they have al-
ways .resided in extreme poverty ; nor are they
aware that any of their imeestois have been in
het ;et- Circumstances. Pailt.t. Clare is a farmer's
antl lAtedy he was employed in thresh-
ing ; but violent colds broujt on the rhertma•
such a degree that lie was at length un-
able to work, or even to move w:; bout assist-

ACICC

By the kind liberality of Lord Milton he
Was then sent to the .See-bathing infirmary at
carturrringli„ K here Are found great relief ; but
returning home part of the w,ay on foot, from a
desire to save exl'ences, his exertions and ex-
posure to the weather brought on the pain again,
and reduced him to a more deplorable state than
ever. (le is now a helpless cripple. and a pauper,
receiving an allowance of tie shillings a Week
from the richii.
John (Aire has alevls lived with his parents
at Helpstotre, except for those i.hort periods
when the distance to which he was obliged to go
for .fork prevented his retirin every evening. At
his o;tn home,
,therefore, he saw Poverty in all
its most affecting shapes, and when he speaks of
it, as 'in the Address to Plenty, p. 48,

" Oh, sad sons of Poverty!
Vicznus doozu'd to misery;,
Who can paint what pain prevails
O'er that heart which• Want assails ?
• Modest Shame the pain conceals;
No one knows, but he who feels"—r—
" And again
Toilinz in the naked fields, •
Where no bush a shelter yields,
Needy Labour ditherinz ,
Brats and-blows his numbing. hands;
And upon the crumpiiia snows
Stamps, in vain, to warm his toes"—

he:utters." uo poetic pains :" it is a
picture of what he has constantly witnessed and
felt. ONe of our poets has gained great credit by
his exterior delinedtions of ,k hat the boor man suf-
fers; but in the reality of wretchedness, when " the
iron enters into the soul," there is a tone which
cannot be imitated. Clare has here an unhappy

adv,otage over (niter poets. Tl.e most misersbire

of Alein were not always Nwretched. Penury and
diseat,e were .not constantly at their heels, nor
.w,44 pauperism their only prospect. But he has
no•oi her, foe-the lot which has befallen his father,

too,attich reason, be looked forward to
as his own porticm, In the "simple annals of
the poor" want occupies a part .of every page,
excepto perhaps, the last, where the scene changes
tri the workhouse ; and then the bnrthen which
is taken from the body is laid npon the spirit : at

least it would be so with Clare; for though the

contemplalion of parochial relief may administer
to some minds a thankless, hopelvss sort of con-
solation, under the pressure of extreme distress,
yet to the writer of the following lines it must be
the highest aggravati,n of affliction
" Oh, may I die, before I'm doetu'll to seek
That last resource of hope, but ill supplied;
To claim the humble pittance once a week,
Which justice forces from disdainful pride!" (p. 78.)
" While such was the destitute condition of his
parents, it may secin extraordinary that Clare
should beve found the means to acquire any learn-
ing whatever ; but by extra work as a ploughboy,
and by helping his father morning and evening at
thrething, he earned the %T:trey which paid for his
educruion. From the labour of eight weeks he
generally acquired as many pence as would pay
for a month's schooling ; and thus in the course
of three years he received, at different times, so
much instruction that he could read very well in
the Bible. He considers himself to have derived

mucitbenefit fromthejtsdicious encogragemeot of

his schoolmaster, \lr. Seaton, of Glinton, an ad-
joitling parish, from whom he sometimes obtained

threepence a week in rewards, and who once gave
bins sixpence for repeating, from memory, the
third chaptcr of Job. %Vitt) these little sums he
bought a.tew books.

When he had learned to read tolerably well,
be borrowed front one of his companions that uni-
versal favourite, Robinson Crusoe, and in the pe-
rusal of this he greatly increased his stock of
knowledge and his desire for reading. He was
thirteen years of age when another boy slimed
him Thornson's Seasons. They were out in the
&dos together, and during the day Clare had a
good oppurtunity of looking et the book. It call-
ed forth all the passion of his soul for poetry.
Ile was determined to possess the work himself;
and as soon as he had saved a shilling to buy it
with, lie set off for Stamford at so early an hour,
that none of the shops were open when he got
there. It was a floe Spring morning, and when he
had made his purchase, and was returning through
the beautiful scenery of Burghley Park, he com-
posed his first piece of poetry, which he called
" The Morning Walk." This was soon follow-
ed by the " Evening Walk," arid some other
little pieces.
"ills love of Poetry, however, would soon
live spent itself in compositioos as little to be re-
rnembered..as that which has just beet) mentioned,
bad it inkbeen for the kindness of Mr. John 'Fur-
-
null, late of Helpstone, now in the Excise, who
was indeed a benefactor to him. From his in-
strucAion Clare, ihough he knew a little of the
rudi't•entsbefots,; learnt ititig and Arithmetic :
and to this Mind he Must, therefore, consider
himself indehted for whatever good may accrue to
him from rue-`exercise of :hose powers of mind
with which,he is naturally endowed.
" It is tkiiiv thcqeen years since Clare compos-
ed his first Poem that time he has gone on
secretly cultivating his taste and talent for Prietry,
without one word of encouragement-; or the most

distant prospect of reward. Jl-flat passion must
have been originally very ssiong and pure, which
coul,l sustain itself, for so many years, through
want, and toil, and hopeless m;sery.
Most of his Poems were composed under the
immediate impression of this feeling, in the fields
or on the road-sides. He could not trust his me-
smory, and therefore lie wrote them down .with
pencil on the spot, his hat serving him for a desk ;
and if it happened that he had no opportunity
:soon after of tritii'Veribitig these imperfect memo-
;Hal:, he CouldelifoTti decypher them, or recover
ibis first thoogkti. From this circumstance seve-
!(al of his poems are quite lust, vad others exist
only it, fragments. Of those which he bad commit-
ted to writing, especially his earlier pieces, many
weie destroyed from another circumstance, which
sheer's how_ little' he expected to please others
with them : from a hole in the wall' of his room,
where be siutfed bil.'nianuscripts, a-piece of paper
was often taken togstrht the- kettle, • or light the
fire."

It is impossible to read 'the, aboye account,
which we have extracted from the Introduction to
the Volume, without feeling a very lively interest
for the extraordinary ynuog map who is the sub-
ject of it; And that interest will, we think, be
considerably increased by a perns'al of his Poems,
of, which our limits will only allow us to give a few
specimens, taken at random from the Volume :

FALLING LEAVES
Hail, falling leaves! that. patter round,
Admonishers and frienus ;
Reflection wakens at the sound—
So, Life, thy pleasure ends.
How frail the bloom, how, short the stay,
That terminates us all?
To day we florirish greiii and gay,
Like leaves tomorrow fall.
Alas' how short is fourscore years,
Life's utmost stretch,—a span ; •
And shorter still,. when past; appears
Th►e vain, vain hie of •eau.
These falling leaves once flaunted high,
s 0 pride' how vain to trust :
Now wit her'd on the ground they lie,
And mingled with the dust.
So death serves all—and wealth and pride
Must all t pomp resign;
E'en kings shall lay their crowns aside, ,
To mix their dust with mine.
The leaves, how once they tloth'd the trees,
None's left behind to tell; ,
The branch is naked to the breeze;
We know not whence they fell.
A few.:More years-, :and-111re same
As they are now,
_shall he,
With nothing left, to tell my native,
•Or answer, " Who was•he ?

Greernurt's alloWd forgotten heap
Is all that I shall have,
Save that the little daisies creep
To deck tuy humble grave.

WHAT IS-LIFE?
And what is Life ?—An hour-gla.s on the run,
Al mist retreating from the morning sun,
A busy, bristling, still .repeated dream;
Its length ?--A minute's pante, a moment's thought;
And Happiness ?A bubble on tie stream,
That in the act of seizing shrinks to nought.
What are vain Hopes?—The.puiting gale cf morn,
That of its charms divests the dewy lawn,
And robs each tiow'ret of its gem, and dies;
A cobweb hiding disappointment's thorn,'
Which stings more keenly.through the thin disguise.
And thou, 0 Trouble 1--nothing ran suppose,
(And sure the,power of wisdom only knows,)
What need rcquireth thee:
So fret and liberal as thy bounty flows,
Swim necessary cause must surely he :
But disappointments, p:tins, and every woos
Devoted wretches feel,
The universal plagues of life below,
Are mysteries Still 'neath Fate's unbroken seal.
And what is Death ? is still the cause unfound ?
That dark, mysterious name of horrid sound ?
A long and lingering sleep, the weary crave.
And Peace? where can its happiness abound ?
No where at all, save Heaven, and the grave.
Then what is Life ?—When stripp'd of its disguise,
A thing to be &sled it cannot he;
Since every thing that useets our foolish eyes
Gives proof sufficient of its vanity.
'Tis but a trial all must undergo;
To teach unthankful mortals how to prize
That happiness vain man's denied to know,
Until he's call'd to claim it in the skies.

These specimens we doubt not will convince our
Readers that Clare possesses poetical talents of
no mean order. The. following remarks, which
relate to his character as a man, will shew bim in
a still more interesting point of view. They are
taken from the same modest, sensible Introduc-
tion, from which we have already made large ex-
tracts :

" The Author and his Poems are now before
the Public, and its decision will speedily fix the
Lite of one, and ultimately that of the other ; but
whatever be the result to either, this-will at least
be granted, that no poet of our country has shown
greater ability under circumstances so hostile to
its development. And all this is found here with-
out any of those distreising and revolting alloys,
which too often debase the native worth of ge-
nius, and make him who swap gifted with powers
to command admiration, live to be the object of
contempt or pity. The lower the condition of its
possessor, the more unfavourable, generally, has
been the effect of eenins on his life. That this has
not been the case ulith Clare may, perhaps, be
imputed to the absolute depression of his fortune.
It is certain that he has not had the opportunity,
hitherto, of being injured by prosperity ; and that
he may escape in future, it is hoped that those
persons who intend to diew hint kindness will not
do it suddenly or partiAlly, but so as it will yield
him permanent benefii. Yet when we hear the
consciousness of possessing talents, and the natu-
ral irritability of the poetic temperament, pleaded
in extenuation of the follies and vices of metl in
high life, let it be accounted.Rome;in praise to
such a manes Clare, that with all the excitements
of their sensibility in his station, he has preserved
a fair character, amid dangers which presumption
did not create, and difficulties which discretion
could not avoid.

" In one of his letters he says, ' If my hopes
don't succeed, the hazard is not of much
(pence ; it I fall, I am advanced at no great dis-
tance from my low condition ; if 1 'ink for want
of friends, my old friend Necessity is ready to
help me, as before, It was never my fortune as
yet to meet advancement Henn friendship: my tate
has ever been hard labour, atnung the 112..5t %Align
and lower conditions of men ; anti very small i 3
the pittance hard labour allows me,Ahough I al-
ways toiled even beyond my strength to (gain
it.' To see a man of talents stinggliog wider great
adversity, with such a spirit, must svrely excite in
every gCIIerOUS heart the wish to befriend

LANCASTER ASSIZES, APRIL 1.

BURNLEY MEETING.

THE KING V. KNIGHT, DEWHURST, AND SIX OTHERS.

The Court met this morning at nine o'clock,
soon after which John Knight, George Dewhurst,
Nathan Broadhurst, John Adamson, William
Fletcher, John Bury, John Astin, and James
. Wade, were put to the bar, and the indictment
being read to them, they severally pleaded—Not
Mr. LITTLEDALE stated the nature of the in-
dictment to the Jury, which contained 21 counts;
the substance of which was, that the prisoners
had conspired to go, and cause others of the liege
subjects of the late King to go, armed to a meet-
ing for the purpose of hindering and obstructing
-the`Nrag,istrates and peace-Officers in the execu-
tion of their duties. It also charged them with
assembling an unlawful meeting, armed with
swords, pikes, staves, fire-arms, &c., and of at-
tending at the same, to the terror of the liege sub-
jects of the late King, on the 15th November last,
at Habergan Eaves, in the county of Lancaster.
Mr. SCARLET: stated the case to the Jury. He
said, he should not enter into any extraneous
matter to. Show that the objects of those who con-
vened the meeting were unlawful, or that they
intended to adopt proceedings different from what
they professed. It would be quite sufficient for
his purpose to rely on the circumstance, that the
people weikt to this meeting' armed. That cir-
cumstance alone was quite sufficient to constitute
it an unlawful meeting, wbatevet might be its
avowed or intended object. He then proceeded
to state the evidence he should adduce to fix the
several defendants' with thr conspiracy charged in
the indictment.—The.first witness called was

W. Chaffer, eximined by Mr. RAINE—He stat-
ed that he was a constable of Burnley ; that a
notice of meeting bad beet placarded for the Bth
No,ember, but it was r iterwards advertised for
the 15th ; that itt the. forem on of that day large
patties artived at Burnley, preceded by music with
banners, and proceeded through the town, to the
place of meeting, where h:,stings were erected for
the speakers!. !oat' as they were passing through
the tour, Colonel ilargreaves4 who was on horse-
back, dash,d among the crowd, and seized a staff
which apr&tred to have been prepared for a pike-
handle, and brought it away without opposition..
He supposed the numbets assembled to amount
to 3,000 or 4,000. Ttsere were 18 flags and three
caps: of liberty.
Cross-examined by Mr. WILLIAMS—He noticed
several of the in-scriptions on the flags ; on one
was .4 Keep, within compass;" another was
" Order, order !" Some of them appeared to be
religious mottos, such as," A false balance is'au
abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his
delight.l!

Rickard Fletcher stared, that he was in company
with a man named Wilson ; he saw several of
the people with staves, and on their arriving at
the ground they picked out the dirt from the boles
which were made to receive the pike-heads. He
saw several persons with pike-heads secreted tin-
der their coat-sleeves, and under their breasts.
He immediately left the field to inform the Ma-
gistrates. He.returned soan after, and heard .a
cry,. " 'the soldiers are corning," whereupon a
number of people pulled out their pike-heads, and
many of them fixed them in the poles. He saw
60 persons pull out their pikes, but only eight or
ten fix them. He also.Saw43 other persons draw
out their pistols ; those persons who so con-
ducted themselves were near to the hustings.
Wirer: the alarm had subsided, they replaced their
weapons in their former concealment. The alarm
turned out to be false. Knight was not at this
time'arrived. In about half an hour after this alarm
Knight arrived, and was voted to the chair, when
a cap of liberty was placed on his bead, and he
addressed the assembly. He dwelt a good deal
on the corn-laws, and lamented that so many per-
sons were banged for forgery ; after which he read
the resolutions, and they were approved by the
meeting. Witness could not recollect the sub-
stance of them. While this was going an, there
was a second alarm that " the soldiers were corn-
ing," when several of the-people again pulled out
their pikes and. pistols, but this also turned out to
be a false alarm, when they again concealed them.
This alarm caused many. people to run, when
Knight and the other people on the hustings call-
ed -to them to be firm, and not to run. After
Knight lett the chair, llewburst took it, and pro-
posed a resolution, " that if Parliament should
pass any gagging bills, the Reformers should rise
and meet on one day." He said, if they did not,
" he should call them the greatest slaves upon
earth."

Cross-examined by Mr. COLTMAN—He stated
that he had applied to different people to pur-
chase pikes tor the Burnley Meeting. He ad-
mitted.that he had a pistol, whit(' he had shown
to different persons, and had boasted that he was
well armed ; and would not swear that he had
not d—d the Government,, and wished the Re-
formers we're all as well armed as lie was.

William Wilson said that he was'a reed-maker,
and lived at *Burnley ; and after stating the cir..
cumstances detailed by the last witness, he went
on to give a mbre detailed 11CCOUtit of Knight's
speech, and represented him to have -said, that
it the Manchester Magistrates were not brought
to justice, there was art end of all good govern-
ment, and the people bad a right to destroy such a
govrrnmeut, or make a new. one, or to return to
a state of nature, and live without one ; and he
proposed a resolution. to oppose the measures of
Alinisters, if they brought into Parliament any
i3dls to curtail the liberty of meeting to discuss
political subjects.

Cross-examined—The witness stated he bad
been in the habit of attending many meetings,
and had given information to the Magistrates re-
specting the Blanket Meeting. That he had ne-
ver received any money for his services, but had
expt ctEd a good deal at money in employing other
persons to go round the couniry to obtain infor-
mation. There was now due to him 341. for ac-
I nal ~dvantes. That he himself had been tried at
that Court for a Capital offence in the sear 1808
ISIO. He -had v rote an account of the pro-
ceedinp, and on the ne\t day a more lengthened
drlail. but neither of which were produced.
Mr. Samuel Howarth, a sutgeort, residing' at
liutnlq, stated, that he i.veut to the meeting, and

;was there when an aiarna was given abort tbd
soldiers, and then saw one pistol, but rio
He did not observe any thing particular in we
speech of Knight; and all that he could say is
respect to Dewhurst was, that he recommended*
subscription to be entered into to purchase Yew",
papers, and 'that the -proceedings in ..Parliatieob
should •be closely watched. He had some r.ec°ll
lotion that it was proposed, that if ParliameTt
did not redress their wrongs, there should
general rising throughout - the kingdom, but (10
he could • not state with :certainty. That nil
of them had sticks, such as...they might have pieke
up on their way. There was nothing in the 51/_;
pearanCe isf the people, or in the'prdeeedin U'
the day, that struck him with any appretrensis°
of immediate danger, although he considered it
might afterwards lead to serious consequences.
Henry Bury and John Walton corroborated
evidence of Fletcher and Wilson as to the
and pike-staves ; and Bury added, that.a party a'"
Reformers, on their return home, discharged ss
many as 100 pistols; he could not say 'what .nuis"
her of pistols, but he heard that number of shotg
in different directions.' . • •

Christopher .Edmondson
.stated, that be for
Colonel Hargreaves seize a stick before-mention'
ed; and at that momem saw one of the returner*
with a pistol in leis hand, looking at the Culatielt
and asked one of his companions, ".Shali
shoot ?" His companion answered ‘4 No, re_
must not ;" when returned' the pistol itito 1

pocket.
Several other witnesses were then examid"49
corroborating the testimony of the former ‘411.:
nesses as to ine character of the weetiiig, Liao
which,

11ary Hoyle was called, who positively swot
that Wade was the wan who pointed die pistol
Col. Hargreaves, as described by the witted
Edmondson.

On cross-examination, she stated tbat she vvB6
dicta .sly related to \Vatic% wife, and that 13:20V ade).
was not living With ter as lie ought to do ;
without waiting for the question to be put to ha,
she added, " I have had no foul or angry 'lay'
guage with him."
John Carter proved that be saw the man dreff,
the pistol and look at the Colonel, bat neither ,
the prisoners was the man ; that be knew Wal•
before the 15th November, and if he had been tb
man he must have known him.
A woman, named Hanson, proved that she
the reformers after the meeting was over, severs'
of them bearing pike-staffs like umbrellas; sIW'
also stated that she saw in a public-house a pike''
staff, half a yard long, which a man carried in •
leather sheath ; it was sharp on both sides like •
razor ; the screw was 4 inches long.
The- prosecutors now produced the phcert
which announced the meeting, and also the stab
seized by Colonel Hargreaves.
Here the case for the prosecution clost4.

Shortly after four o'clock Mr. WILLIAMS TO
and addressed the Jury for the defendants, in.sl
admirable and impressive speech, which octiopie°
. , upwards of two 'hours in the •delivery. 'llles
Learned Counsel observed; that by the custosx
and laws of this realm, delivered. tee us by our aie
cestors, it was the undoubted right and privilege
lof Englishmen to assemble together for the par",
pose of petitioning Parliament- for a redress 61.
grievances. The law had imposed no limit in re•
sped. of numbers, and no assembly of the peopite
however numerous, could be •pronounced illtlgil
on that account. The ostensible. object for 10304
the meeting in question was. convened was eked,'
a legal one; and if the Jury should be convinced'
,from the eridence,that some individuals might have
come to the meeting secretly armed, yet, uolcss
that circumstance could be brought home to the
knowledge of the defendants, they could not be
affected by such a circumstance. It formed 17
part of the original design of the persons who a9'
sembled on this occasion that any part of the
,should come armed ; and therefore the isolated
fact, that a number of persons coming to the meet°
ing with arms, to be used, as appeared, solely foe
their own defence, could not render the meetiog
illegal. Mr. Williams dwelt with great force 011,
the circumstance that not one of the defendants 110.
been brought into force with any of the persons wiii
were armed, nor was theta any evidence to pro'
that any one of the defendants was acquainted 0/.0
the circumstance of there being any arms where've(
at the meeting. IVith respect to the charge alibi/
conspirlacy, the Learned Counsel observed, there
hail not appeared a single iota of evidence to prof°
its existence. The prosecutor had not even show°
that any two of the defendants had ever seen coot
other before the hrith November, when they tog'
on' the hustings. Great stress had been laid 10
tie fact that some persons had gone to the mei'
ing with arms ; admitting that to be the fact, ifl
maintained that it was the undoubted right
Englishmen to carry arms in self-defence. It'w°
so laid down by Mr. Justice Blackstone (a pas'
sage from whose Commentaries the Learned Como t;
read). It was evident, from the whole cowls°
of the persons so armed, that their only objeit go°
self-defence, which was exemplified by their fog'
bearaoce when the staff was seized byCol.Williasisi°
and alio by, the fact that they only attempted pre,
paration at those moments when the alarm (4";
given that the soldiers were coming to attar"'
them ; and could it be wondered that these Fee
sons should have prepared themselves with wee
pons of self-defence, recollecting the trausaCti°l3l
of the 16th of August, and the forcible diapersi°,
of the meeting on that melancholy occasion--",e
circumstance which resounded from one end all:
kingdom to the other? He animadverted strogg,
":,
ou the cruelty and ininstice which the defendsod
had sustained on being committed on a charged.
high treason, for which the prosecutors, by x 13,1
conduct, confessed there was no foundation ; °do
concluded in a solemn appeal to the Jury,
og
which he conjured them to lay aside all feelioi
of prejudice imbibed against the defendantso
to be governed in their verdict solely by ego
evidence. The defendants were praceediog
ild
call witnesses, when the Judge interposed• t° jo
the Court then adjourned till. onday niorteios,
nine o'clOck.
__...,

LONDON: Printed i,v 3. 11. CAIISTAIRS, of No.
Orniond-street,, Oaten-square; an:l published hV
h(T I PPS, of No. 7, Soot!, Nlotton-street, at 'll,:tfrit
Ortce, No. 112, Strand ; where Advertisements
"a--
1.04 n, 6,c. (poet-pail) mast ht ad/it-cunt.