The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-05-25 00:00:00

COURT AND- FASHION.

The ordinary routine of Court life in town has been lit-
tle varied within the last few days. The Queen and the
Prince have been taking their usual out-door exercise ;
and on Thursday evening, the Queen, the Prince, and
suite, honoured her Majasty's Theatre with their presence.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert left Buckingham Palace
for Claremont, on Friday, where they will remain until
to-day. Yesterday, the anniversary of our Sovereign's
birth-day, will be publicly kept on Thursday, when the
Queen will hold a drawing room for its celebration. On
Monday, the 31st, it is understood that the Court will
remove to Windsor for the purpose of spending the Ascot
race week there, during which a succession of visitors will
be received by her Majesty at the castle.
The Hon. H. T. Stanley has been gazetted Colonel,
vice the Earl of Derby, of the second regiment of the.
Duke of Lancaster's Own Militia.

The Duke of Wellington and the Rev. Dr. Wellesley
now only remain of the five sons of the late Earl of Mor-
nington.

EARNING A FORTUNE.
The Birmingham Advertiser gives the following skefc
of the personal history of an eminent iron-master:—

of well-known iron-works in the
parish of Tipton, was formerly a working collier, and to
use his own simple narrative, went to work, when only
seven years of age, under Mr. Richmond Aston, with
whom he continued some years. When he was 16 years
of age his father was killed in a coal-pit. He was the
eldest of 11 children, for whom and an aged mother he
continued to toil. He succeeded, by care and industry,
in bringing up this large family, and he supports his aged
mother to this day. When I married,' said he, ' I gave
my mother all the money I had, viz., 4s. 6d.' He mar-
ried when very young, and was exceedingly persevering,
so much so, that he earned one shilling an hour ; but,
unlike, many in similar circumstances, he never entered a
public-house, but cared only for his family. Early in life
he joined the Wesleyans, for whom he entertains the
strongest affection, believing, as he does, that he attained
to his present position through the aid, instruction, and
comfort he derived from them. As a proof of the sin-
cerity of his affection, the munificent sum given by him
at the centenary fund is already on record. At the present
time he has given upwards of £2OO towards building
schools for the Wesleyans : nor is his liberality confined
to them, for he gave £5O towards the erection of St.
Paul's Church at Tipton, with £7 for incidental expenses ;
and he states that he has found that the more money he
has given away in the holy cause of charity, the snore
his wealth has increased. He reared in his own house
21 fatherless children, all poor relations. Here was a
mind not refined by education, yet always sensible of the
sufferings of the poor, and always ready to alleviate dis-
tress. You see that man on the bank,' he said to Veri-
tas, pointing from his drawing-room window—' he was a
poor basket-maker, living with his fanily in a cellar. I
discovered, on inquiry, that his conduct was good—l took
him into my service, and found him useful.' Mr. M—
went through all the gradations,—first, the collier-boy;
secondly, the batty; thirdly, the royalty man. ; and,
fourthly, the sole proprietor of -- iron-works, and is
now universally acknowledged to be the largest freeholder
in the parish of Tipton. Notwithstanding the pressure
of a large family, he earned enough by the labour of his
hands to purchase a piece of land of Mr. Isaac Aston, of
Tipton, on which he erected six houses. These were his
first fruits. He next bought, on Tipton-green, a piece of
freehold land, which he presented to the Wesleyans, and
on which their school now stands. At this time he began
to prosper in the world. He took royalty under the Rev.
W. B. Collis, then under Mr. Elliott, and then under
Sir H. St. Paul. He finally bought, at the request and
solicitation of his late employers, Messrs. Hateley and
Jesson, Tipton Colliery, for which he paid down £7OOO,
and the rest by instalments. This large purchase, the
amount of which from prudential motives we refrain to

mention, excited • the attention of his neighbours, who
said that he would never be able to pay for it, and that he
must have taken leave of•his senses. .What could be be
thinking of? Did he want to injure his children, 4rul
lose his previous hard earnings? Time rolled on. and in

a rew years he completed his purchase. Having id for
it, he gave an entertainment to 2,000, including the wives
and children of his guests ; the next day 400 of his la-
bouring men ate up the fragments, so that nothing was
lost. There were 400 charity children, too, who partook
of his bounty. He feeds the hungry and clothes the
naked, even to this day; his weekly contributions are
large indeed to the necessitous. He got money so fast
that he bought the estate adjoining his own, then an
estate of Mr. Fletcher, then Burnt Tree estate, and
Richard Fryer's estate and Dudley Port, then a. ---
Banv— W

xes Brothers, at ednesburv, as also other property;
in addition he has 70 houses, all his own freehold; and
at this time he employs between 400 and 500 pair- of
TI • .• • . - _

nanas. His property at this time is upwards of £200,000,
besides the increased value given to it by three lines of
railway that will go through his estates. Some years ago
he was met by an old acquaintance, named George Bailey,
who accosted him in these words, ' Well, Tom, there is a
blessing reserved in heaven for you, for the good that you
have done here upon earth in relieving all who are in a
state of destitution, and particularly the fatherless child-
ren and widows !' He never has Lad any money left or
given to him ; his whole life seems as though the sun
never ceased to shine upon him. He took the property
of Coseley-moor Colliery, under Sir Horace St. Paul; it
was the only one that turned out badly, and was inspected
by Sir Horace's confidential aget.t, Mr. Bradley, who rep-
resented it to Sir Horace. He atterwards made an ap-
pointment to meet Sir Horace at. the Hotel, Dudley, for
. • •

the purpose of obtaining a decrease of royalty. 'it so
happened that Sir Horace was about to dine with Lord
Dudley, but on hearing of the arrival of Mr. M—, he
said, Mr. Bradley, take off 3d. per ton from Mr. M—'9
royalty.' Are you aware,' rejoined Alr. BradleY, ' 110 W
large a difference this will make ?' Sir __orare replied,
' Never mind, M— is a worthy man—let him have the
benefit.' The advantage he derived from this reduction