The Sun.
London, England, 1818-11-06 00:00:00

INSOLVENT DEBTORS' ACT.

FOR THE SUN.
Mu. EDITOR,--The zeal and activity with
which " SCRUTATOR'' appears to- have pursued
his inquiries into the abuses of THE INSOLVENT
ACT, induce me to renew a task, to do justice to
which 1 feel myself greatly incompetent ; and
;ball proceed, in the first place, to ;;ive the further
particulars requited by " ScturAT,oa" of the two
cases subniiittu by we to the Public, and which
his clear and cowprehensive explanatit'n so justly
deserves.

I am not sufficiently acquainted with the de.
•cription of property possessed by the first of those
Insolvent Debtors to speak positively of the means
possessed by his creditors, to compel the delivery
of it up for their benefit, but, from the style in
which he lives, the length:of time he has con-
tinued to reside in his present situation, and other
concurring circumstances, a pretty correct con.
elusion may be formed, that his property is not
attachable by virtue of the Bankrupt Laws. lii
the other casie I can speak with certainty and
ac-
curacy. After the debtor, had withdrawn his
feciird, judgment, as in the case of a nonsuit, was
ntered up, and in that state the proceedings have
ever since remained, without the feast notice either
on the part of the debtor or his attorney : and
these proceedings,. I regret to state, were carried.
on by one of those who belong to and disgrace tbe
legal profession ; his practice, however, is wholly
confined to the Insolvent Court, with the excep7
Lion, as in the present instance, of actions which
may be produced by the malice or credulity of The.
debtors, and (to wipe off the stain from the pro. 7
fession) be:sprang, I believe, ab antiqui Arpe of
Insolvent Debtors' Agents.
From the'explanation of " SCRUTATOR" then
it plainly appears that theie are two really exist-
ing evils-that a debtor, to any amount, who is
arrested for 3001., and whose property is not at-
,
wettable by the Bankrupt Laws, .may.live at hilt
ease in the rules of one of the prisons,' and hid de-
fiance to his creditors, and may also harass his
Creditors with vexatious proceedings, while their
only remedy is, to make a fort her debt of the costs
which they may sustain, and thereby prolong his
present mode of enjoyment, or else to prove the
connivance of the Attorney, (or which he might
receive censure from the Court. 'But, because
these, or even much greater evils exist, is it of•
consequence thatwt hey are irremediable ? and is a
beneficial measure, which has proved itself in many
instances capable of answering the ends for tit chi
it. was designeet, to be wholly abandoned, because
its provisions were not sufficiently rigid to pre-
vent the springing up of abuses ? If the corruptions
he.not considered{ as satisfactorily manifest, let a
Committee be appointed to inquire into its abuses,
and I will venture to predict that every hand will
be ready to point them out.

IVith respect to the knowledge of the Constitu-
tion of the Insolvent Act, I will not certainly
pretend to vie with " SCRUTATOR," but so far as
my judgment is able to calculate upon consequen.
ces, the omission of a Court of Appeal appears to
have been highly judicious ; for the complaint
against the expences incurred by the suitors iu
the Insolvent Court-, where the costs are regulated
according to the circumstances, is' already very
great, and how much greater would it he it :.he
parties were allowed to create further proceedings
in a higher Court, after their cases had been de-
termined ? And as the execution of the Act is sup.
posed to be entrusted to a man of the strictest
honour and ability, whose duty is almost confined
to the expounding or one particular law, the
danger to he apprehended front erroneous deci-
sions is hardly perceptible ; especially if that firm
controller of wrongs, a Jury of twelve honest
men, %yene to adorn the Court and assist his
judgment.

INDOCT US.

*** The 'subject of this Letter is so important,
and the various communications from our Corres-
pondents have attracted so much notice in td►e le-
gal profession, that we hope it will reach the at-
tention of the Legislature. In the mean time
our Paper shall be always open for impartial dis-
cussion, on this and every other subject interesting
to the community.

LITERARY R.EVIEW.

THE FAST O!'ST. MAGDALEN, a Itomance. By Miss
ANNA MARTA PORTIM, in Three Volumes, Mom

'• Thou shah leave
'Each thing beloved most dearly-s 'tis the last-shaft
Shot frourthe bow of exile." 4.:,tazi's DANT&

Among the literalymo-velties, of this early sea-
son, we have to notice a Romance from the 'inte-
resting pen of Miss.Martia irtrETEA. Of the CIO.
'amities incident to Authors, there is pet haps none
,store aillictive than the rtinhiguoits uncertainty
Which invoives the fate of their best and fairest

productions. WI It
To those Who are .conversant
the works ref 'imagination, it is well known that
merit affords no criterion for :success, and even
to have ()lice obtained the public suffrage is no
guarantee for future acceptance. To predict the
destiny of a work just issued from the Press, is
in general a task that far exceeds the measure
of
critical sagacity; without the aid of Vaticinating
Illumination. • Yet often as we have had occasion
to witness the failure of critical predictions, tve
ventore'to prooonce, that. The Fast of St. Mug-
Wate.n must not poly sustain, bot exalt the repo-
tation which her Don Sebastian and Ece of NI.

John have already conferred on the ingenious Au-
thor. The scenes are often dramatic, the chit -
4actel s are pouttrayed with much delicacy and
feeling, and like its predeces,ors, The Fast of St.
Magdalen breathes all those high, noble, and
magnanimous SelitirnelltS, SO congenial to this

15! yle of compobition.
The scene is laid in Italy, at that eventful mo-
ment, in the 16th century, ►when Florence and
I'isa, mutually irritated and indignant, exhibited
within their comparatively narrow walls a series
of revolutionary Mirrors and crimes, almost pa-
rallel with these which, during the proscriptions
of Sylla and Marius, had once half-depopulated
republican Rome. For the subject of romance,
roiling could be in,,re happily chosen than this
brilliant, turbulent period, when warriors and
poets, scholars and sages, all mingled in the
scene, and the spirit of chivalry, not yet extinct,
reflected a kind of romantic grandeur on the re-
suscitate:l arts and letters, which rose as precur-
sors of a better age ; the virtues, the vices, the
climes, the calamities, of this sera, bad all an
expreSsion of super-human energy, whether ex-
hibited in stupendous effort, or magnanimous
endurance. Amidst the lofty inspirations Of
poetry and painting, the soul kindled at the clas-
sical name of liberty, and the imagination re-
ceived imptessions not unworthy of Rome or
Greece, and destinted to produce, wotks. ripe for
immortality.
The Fast of St. Magdalen opens with such spirit,
that we cannot refuse ourselves the satisfaction of
offering an extract from the First Chapter :
" At the closz of the year 1508, a small Pisan town in the
Appenines was stormed and taken by the Florentines.
" The assault had teen made at midnight; and the confu-
td,,n of darkness was thus added to the customary horrors of

war.
" To the continued roar of artillery (reverberated by moun-
tain echoes) succeeded the less deafening, but more dreadful
sounds of the rush of troops, the clamour of pursuit, and the
cry of quarter!
" Along streets, slippery with blood, were heard the fre-
quent imprecations of ferocious soldiers, as they stumbled
over the dead, or received musquet wounds, from the few des-
ptrate inhabitants, who yet maintained a straggling fire from
their windows.
", At intervals, sudden flames were seen to blaze up frsom
the fall of combustible materials in the burning houses, mak-
ing visible the awful contrast of the tranquil surrounding
ppenines, and lighting the armed rufliart to his prey, as
he followed in haste and uncertainty, to plunder or violence.
" Prayers, curses,.shouts ; the strife of tutu and the strug-
gles of women; the thrust of (lavers and the report of pis-
tils; were heard at the entrance of every place, where affec-
tion or avarice had hoarded its treasures.
" In rain were the images of a dying Saviour held up be-
fore the lawless multitude, by,the monks of Spit it° Santo :
their worshipped emblems were tradipled under foot ; their
Monastery itself forced and entered.
",While the Florentine commander beheld-these outrages
with indifference, one of his coadjutors, whose helmet had
fallen in the combat, and whose blanched cheek betrayed his
loss of blood, was running from street to street, calling loud-
ly on the troops to•spare the town and its inhabitants.
" A rumour reached him, that. some of the soldiers hail
broken down the gates of the Spirito Santo, and that a wo-
man of desperate courage was opposing herself to their en-
trance. Certain that nut even Amazonian habits could lung
resist, or heroic spirit awe an unbridled crowd, be flew to the
monastery, and sending his voice before hits as he flew,'
wade the. human tide pause for a moment.
" Valoinbrosal' was repeated by several voices at the
same instant, with different expression. Some exclaimed it
with vexation, others with insolent disregard ; a few with ser-
vile fear; but the greatest number echoed it with enthusiasm.
The young leader to whom that name belonged, pressed on-
wards with his Whole excited soul in his looks. Having,caught
a glimpse of a woman's white garments beyond the throng
of plunderers, hr called on them again to give way ; but his
words were uttered to worse than roaring elements, and he
suddenly stopped. Unloosing his jewelled baldric he threw
it amongst them; and the costly ornament instantly occa-
sioning a struggle for its possession, left the object Valom-
brosa soeght,to sueconr, free to fly. But 'instead of flying,
she cast herself on her knees, in an attitude of supplication ;
extending her arms as if she would fain bar all entrance
through the open gates.
" UncimscionS that his own figure appeared -like that of
some Archangel, beaming war anti mercy from the same
brow, Valombrosa gazed astonished on that of the sup-
pliant.
" It was not an armed and fierce Amazon he beheld; it
was a trembling woman of exquisite beauty, in whose looks
and actimi nothing was visible but tenderness and terror.
" Pale as 'moonlight, her unpraised face was distinctly
warkvd by the wild brightness of dark imploring eyes, and by
a quantity of yet darker hair, which fell dishevelled over her
n.;clt anti shoulders. Her lips moved in agony, but they
could runt articulate a sound. As Valombrosa, recovering
from his surprise, was advancing towards her, an old mail,
in a military habit, suddenly appeared front the inner court,
and called out, ' Ippolita The lady turned eagerly round,
and Valombrosa observed an instantaneous change in the
expression of her eyes, as this person made the sign of the
ermia, twice upon his breast ; the next mouteut she raised
those eloquent eyes to Ileaven, then closing them, fell back
insensible.
"The veteran soldier rather flung his.sword towardsValom-
brosa tbao delivered it up; but the assurance that she was
his daughter, might have excused this informality to a less
compassionate heart.'
" Valombrosa assisted the old man in raising her front the
ground ; then addee,Ssing a few words of intreaty and coins
wend to the soldiees, 'he succeeded in prevailing upon them
to respect thu sanctuary of their religion.
" When the outer gates were 'closed, he entered the monas-
tery : Valombrosa soon perceived, from the unsteady steps of
his companion, and the appearance of blood oozing through
Lis doublet, that lie was ill able to bear eeen'the light weight
of a fainting woman ; with a courteous action, therefore, Ile
transferred her to his own arms; soothing the alarmed monks
*limn la. met as they went along, with assurances of his abi-
Itty to protect them.
" Atter reaching the parlour of the monastery, Valombrosa
laid the lady upon some rushes which one of the lay breithers
bad gathered into a heap from the floor ; and recommending
every inhabitant of the house. to remain within the walls,
till Inc could return and say the troops were gone to their
iparters, he quitted the apartment.
" lie turned back ore the threshold, with a cheering look of
graciousness, and returned the conquered sword to its owner;
the old warrior kissed the hand which extended it, whispering,
am still your prisoner, generous Sir, lint I have bled in
many battles; 1 know, therefore, the death-wound when it

comes-•orgy genferee isiaerer laying his-band tiptin itis
' as for my poor Ippolita, she will remain your priso►ier 1
and I shall die in peace ; others will live in peace, when they
hear that she is fallen into such noble hands. Fur the sake
of Jesu, then, return and succour her r "
Tbe fortunes of the Medici form the basis of
this story, to which the Author has contrived to,
%.npart very intense interest, without that roan-
don and complication of incident which destroys
the superior effect -that human characters must
always produce. We mean not, by analysing the
the fable, to defraud the Reader of the gratifica-
tion derived from the alternation of hope and
fear in a well•constructed story ; but we may be
allowed to offer the following•sketch of Ippolita,
not only as a model of female virtue, but as a
most pleasing example of chaste and elegant.
'composition :
" tier modest, though beautiful exterior, could excite no ex-
pectation of the extraordinary soul by which it was informed :
for the usual tran►tuillity of her complexion did not even
brighten her dark an►l deeply-shaded eyes into mote than a
gentle lustre ; and as she had the habit of listening and
speaking with those eyes cast down; the most momentous
changes might be passing in her mind, without becoming vi-
' Bible to the persons she conversed with.
" Conscious that her character Was beyond the general scale
of her sex, she had the instinctive discretion of seeking to
keep its superiority concealed; and as she could clothe the
noblest thoughts in the simplest phrase, the peculiar lofti-
ness of her sentiments often passed unnoticed while they
were uttered Thus, when she was called into action upon
great occasions, even the persons who fancied they knew her
best, were astonished to see her act with an energy and abi-
lity rarely equalled by women.
" Ippolita disdained art, yet did she sway every one with
whom she lived; those only. excepted, whose worldly interests
clashed with her's,---so much harder is it to subdue sordidness,
than to pacify humour. She actinired this power simply by a
' talent for conciliating, which having its source in real bene-
%%deuce, won its way to its object unperceived and nosus-
pected. She maintained her power, by never seeking to
display it.
" 'hying established for herself a standard of excellence,
which it was the aim of her life to reach ; and having fixed
her eve upon the sublimest objects, she could not stoop it to
the low gratifications of vanity.
" Her own approbation (after that of Heaven) was what she
sought : and while her fortune smiled, she sought it, not by
superstitions and useless restraints, but-by fete enjoyment of
all the pleasures of society, and cheerful devotedness to ail
its duties. Wheuthat fortune frowned, then she laboured to
walk confidingly through storms' and darkness, and to trust
on the very verge of destruction.
"In truth, the perfection of her character was in danger qnly
from an excess of self-discipline; since in resolving to ettir-
rate selfishness, Ippolita sometimes removed herself to such
an unattainable height from her less heroically practised
friends, that affection and sympathy sighed ovur"their dis-
union."
On comparing this Work with the former pro-
ductions of the same pen, it is impossible not to
discover that the active fancy is now submitted to
the discipline of judgment and experience, and
that, with the same aptitudes for combination,
the Author has acquired rich and copious mate-
rials for her invention, and, without losing the
vividness of I;er feeling, has obtained by observa-
tion and refiexion, that keen insight into human
nature, that comprehensive knowledge of real
character, which gives an almost unlimited com-
mand over our sympathies and affections, and
enables a truly moral writer to hecome the most
impressive teacher of virtue.

LONDON JOURNALS.

[FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.]

[Morning Chronicle.]

The 'following is an Extract of a Letter dated
Cadiz, October 13 :
" The late frequency of failures in this place has greatly
destroyed mercantile credit, but that of the Government is
still lower. Whatever the Government wants here most' be
paid for in money, or else taken nut of the merchants' ware-
houses by a guard of soldiers. The late occurrences at Ma-
drid hate tended to weaken the credit of the Government
still more, as it is evident there is no plan, no concert, and
no cordiality among those who stand at the helm dpower.
" Two vessels belonging to a convoy of four, which left
Lima at the end of last June, hare arrived here safe, with •
valuable cargoes and about a million of dollars on board, for •
the account of private individuals, anxious to withdraw their
funds from Peru, now threatened with an invasion. Great
care was taken to prevent the passengers and efeW from
giving out any news. It has, however, been ascertained,
that the loss of the haitle of Maipo, and the expected re-.
sults, had created the greatest anxiety in Lima, which had
been stripped of every thing-to further the, expedition un-
der Ossorio. For this operation, large contributions had
been made on the monied interest, whose patriotism
by the Spanish Chiefs is always calculated according to the
sum subscribed Ott behalf of Government; hut they did this
under a curtain expectation that this was the last time they
would be called upon. Ott these people, therefm e, the loss
of the expedition operated as a thunderbolt.
Several J ntas
were held by the old Spaniards at the Viceroy's Palace, wherie
the guards and persons assembled were sworn to silence, but
their object did not reach the public. It was, however, un-
derstood that dispatches. explaining the situation of the
country, were sent to the Government at home; and, in the
mean time, the threadbare stratagem of keeping up the spirits
of the people by
_promised arrivals of expeditious fruits Cadiz,
was resorted to."

[Morning Herald.]
Til E QUEEN.
" Kew, Eight o'Cloek, Nor. 5.

" The QUEEN appeared so composed, yester-
day morning, that Sir Henry Haliond ventured to
visit the King and the Princess Sophia, at Wind-
sor Castle, and he left the Palace for that purpose
soon after seven o'clock ; Sir Francis Manton
and Mr. Brande remaining in attendance on the
Queen. Tw'vardi seven o'clock, however, her
Majesty became extremely feverish, and lot -Sever
rat hours her cough was very troublesome. In
consequence, Sir Francis did not retire front the
ante-chamber the whole night, and duritt4 the
course of it, he several times visited his August
Patient The Prince Regent arrived a little be-
fore six o'clock, and Sir Henry Halford having
previously returned from Windsor, he, and Sir
Francis Milman,l waited upon his. Royal High-
ness with their evening report ; •at which time her
Majesty remained in a great measure free from
any of, the more painful symptoms of her disease,
but her strength was not at all recruited.---The
Prince is expected to remain late."