The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-30 00:00:00

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SEAMEN'S
READING ROOM AND SCHOOL SOCIETY.

Last evening, a numerous awl respectable meeting was
held, at the Music-hall, Bold-street, in support of this
highly-valuable society, -and to receive the report of the
proceedings of the past year. Amongst the gentlemen
upon the platform, we noticed the Mayor, Thos. Sands,
and the following clergymen and gentlemen, viz :
Reis. Hugh M'Neile T. Nolan, W. Falloon, IL
Hampton, John Irwin, INlessrs. A. I-lode:son, C. Cotes-
worth, J. R yoden, Middleton, Howard, Payne,
Chadwick, and
The Rev. Mr. MAYNARD, officiating minister of the
Mariner's Church, having opened the meeting with prayer,
it was proposed, and carried unanimously, that the chair
be taken by the Mayor, who proceeded briefly to open the
business of the meeting. He (the Mayor) had been re-
quested to take the chair chiefly on account of the high
office which he had the honour to hold in the town. He
was proud that he had the privilege of so doing ; and he
should endeavour, to the utmost of his ability, to wield
the powers of that high office to advance the cause which
they were met together to advocate. There was no class
of men to whom they were more indebted—he might say,
so much indebted—as to that class. (Cheers ; amidst
which Mr. M`Neile entered the meeting.) He was glad
of that cheer. It she wed that they appreciated the efforts
making' to repay their obligations to the sailors. No class
of men had hitherto received so little attention as that
class; but within the last few years the sympathies of the
public had been roused in their behalf. They had been
provided with a church, with a school, and a reading-room,
and the same energies which had accomplished this amount
of good were still at work fur their benefit. He would
leave it to those gentlemen who would have to follow him
to explain the objects of the present meeting, and con-
cluded by calling upon the Rev. Mr. Maynard to read the
society's report.
Mr. MAYNARD then read the report, which stated that
the leading o kiPct of the society was, to provide a read-
ing-room. with fire, light, and books, which shall be open
to the se awn from six o'clock p.m., till half-past nine:
to supply libraries for the use of the crews at sea: to es-
tablish a day and Sunday school: and to afford instruc-
tion in navigation to boys and apprentices training up to
a seafaring life. In carrying out these objects, they had
been blessed with great success, and rewarded by the gra-
titude of those for whose benefit they had wrought. The
number of seamen constantly frequenting their reading-
room when on shore had increased, during the past year,
by more than 300. As soon as their funds would permit,
it was their purpose to establish a similar room, in con-
nexion with the present, at the north or south end of the
town, as might be thought most desirable. They had also
been able, though to a limited extent, to supply libraries
to the crews of vessels at sea. They desired to call the
attention of merchants and shipowners to their navigation
school, which is open every evening from six to half-past
nine, to which subscribers of one guinea are privileged to
send apprentices free of charge, and at which a considera-
ble number had, last year, received instruction. At the
daily school, established for the daughters of seamen,
there were now fifty-eight on the books, and forty-eight
to fifty was the average attendance. (Mr. Maynard then
read a paragraph from the Liverpool Standard, describing,
in highly flattering terms, the proficiency of the scholars,
as evinced at their last half-yearly examination) and
proceeded to state from the report, that several ladies
had kindly volunteered to visit the school in rotation,
and added that it was open on the sabbath as a Sunday
school—that the attendance of the girls was good, but
that the boys had fallen off owing to the want of teachers.
Upon the subject of the pecuniary condition of the
society the report stated that their income for 1812, in-
clnditig a balance of £7 13s. 3d. from the preceding year,
was £lO5 Os. 4d., and the expenses £23 19s. 50., leaving
a balance of £lB 18s. Gid, in arrear. This year the in- I
come has increased to £164 4s. 3d., whilst the expenses
are nearly the same as last year, viz., £123 7s. Bd.
thus leaving a baiance in the hands of the treasurer of
£lO 17s. 11d. The report concluded with an urgent ap-
peal to the shipowners and the merchants of the port to
come forward in aid of the society's efforts " to discharge
the debt of gratitude which is due from all parties to that
long-neglected, but valuable class of men—our sailors."
After a few brief but feeling remarks, and a description
of the origin and growth of the society, the Chairman
called upon the Rev. Mr. Nolan to read the first resolution.
The Rev. Mr. NOLAN, in a long and eloquent speech,
moved the adoption of the report. .A.DAM HODGSON, Esq.
seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.
The Rev. W. HAMPDEN moved the second resolution,
to the effect that the meeting heard with satisfaction, and
gratitude to God, the progress which had been made
hitherto by this institution, and desired to express their
opinion, that it had special claims on the merchants, the
shipowners, and public generally, for increased support.
JOHN HOWARD, Esq. seconded the resolution proposed
by Mr. Hampden.
The Rev. H. M'ivErcu on rising was received with
deafening cheers. lie said :—Mr. Mayor, my Reverend
friend, Mr. Maynard, invited me to come and address you,
sir, and this meeting, and with great pleasure I accepted
the invitation, and I came not into this room, not deter-
mined, as other gentlemen said, to speak, but determined
to speak. (Cheers and laughter.) And the resolution I
have been requested to propose is this :—that this meet-
ing pitying the condition of the seamen while on shore,
exposed as they are to innumerable evils and temptations,
desires to express a hope that this institution will be the
means of promoting the establishment of a sailors' Home,
which has been long wanted in this port." If I mistake
not, this is beginning at the tight end • for I very cordi-
ally enter into the argument which has' been already ad-
duced and well argued with reference to the spiritual be-
nefit and religious instruction of our seamen. All these
argunients, intrinsically excellent in themselves, relatively
important in the bearings they had on missions abroad,
have my very cordial consent and co-operation in every-
thing that can be done to carry them out practically.
(Hear, hear.) But lam sorry to feel compelled to say
that I think, although there are individtfals, a few, and, I
hope, an increasing number amongst the seamen who are
in such temporal circumstances as to leave them at liberty
quietly to avail themselves of the literary and religious
provision made for them by my rev. brother, Mr. May-
nard, I think their number is very few. I think the tem-
poral condition of the seamen of this port demands our
attention in the first instance. (Hear and cheers.) My
resolution aims at it; and I have ventured to say that I think it demands attention in the first instance, because,
although no temporal circumstances, however unfavour-
able, can be pleaded in the sight of God as any just ex-
cuse for the intentional neglect of religion, yet it is our
part, as men feeling for men, and desiring to do good to
men as we find them—(hear, hear)—not to men such as
we would have them to be, but to men such as we find
they are. (Hear, hear.) It is our duty to proceed upon
principles of plain, practical common sense; and I
would ask how, on such principles can we expect
attendance on the means, or attention to the words
of grace from—(hear, hear)---men who are exposed to a
system of cunningly devised frauds, which not only rob
them of a part of their property, but also, as a natural
consequence, irritate them into angry passions while they
are sober, and therefore make them willing to throw away
both their angel and their sobriety, and to cast themselves
with rollicking heedlessness into the lap of debauchery,
—another branch of wickedness prepared by their perse-
cutors in this town. (Hear, hear.) Shall Ibe told that
such persons do, above all other persons, require religion ?
I deny it. (Hear, hear.) The fairest moralist, the most
upright, well. fed, well-clothed Pharisee in the town re-
quires religion quite as much as the most dissolute sailor
in the town. (Cheers.) But I shall not discuss that
question now; but this I would say, that whatever super-
human virtue, or whatever super-angelic tempers other
religionists may profess to enjoy, I candidly confess that
if I were called to endure cold and hunger up to the point
of pain, and a man came before me and said, "pray to
God," and another said, " here is a loaf and eat that,"
I would turn away from the first man, and if I were rob-
bed and plundered as many of the sailors in this port are,
shipped on paying an exorbitant price, and unshipped
again because others were fools enough to pay a larger
price, and a man met me and irritated me to religious
discussion and offered me a tract, and another said, " come
here, I value your soul as your chief part, but here is the
way to the registry where you may get shipped on paying
a shilling, and don't go near them alligators or sharks,"
why whether I had an ear or not for the first man, I guess
I would have two open ears for the second man. (Hear,
and laughter.) I think that the evils to which I have
now alluded are not sufficiently understood in this town ;
and if you will allow me I shall let the sailors speak for
themselves. The rev. gentleman here read a memorial
which had been sent by the sailors to the council in the
autumn of last year, complaining of the impositions prac-
tised upon them by the shipping masters. He also read
a memorial, to a similar effect, which was more recently
presented by the sailors to the merchants and then con-
tinued :—There may be some persons here who are
curious to know what are these shipping-offices against
which the sailors memorialized the council and the mer-
chants, I hold in my hand a paper setting forth the rules
and regulations, and charges they make on shipping a man.
They have entered into a combination, that no man shall
ship a sailor except themselves. (" Hear," and a laugh.)
Here is one of their rules :—" That if we can find out
that any tailor, shopkeeper, or boarding-house keeper,
shall cash any note from the Bethel Union,
he or she must
not expect any of our future custom." (" Hear," and
laughter.) This is something like the exclusive dealing of
some of my fellow-countrymen. (Hear, hear.) Is that
meant to intimidate others from cashing the notes,w o
get them anywhere else except at their own offices who
get
(Cries of " Yes.") Then this is a system of
tyranny
justly complained against in the memorials,
If we wisha to get a
and against
which it is our bounden duty
to move,
willing ear from the seamen for our religions instruction.
(Cheers.) Perhaps it may be asked, how does it happen
that the captains sanction such proceedings ; and how can
they proceed unless the captains sanction them ? It
should be remembered, in answer to this, that all the
captains who command vessels out of this port are not of
that class that are altogether themselves above temptation.
(Hear.) Some of them are employed, of comparatively a
low class, to whom it is an object to get a present—some-
thing like what the French call a douceur—that is, a
sweetener. (Laughter.) A plain Englishman would call
it a bribe ; but is it possible I am insinuating that any of
those shipping masters can bribe the captains ? Oh !
there's a way of doing things. (Great laughter.) The
might have a worn-out hat, and a
captain, for example,
nice new hat would be very handy before sailing. (Con-
tinued laughter.) And some of those shipping masters,
knowing people, might come quietly, and in a very gentle
and insinuating manner say, " 'you get a ship ?"
Yes,".—" You want hands ?" " I do."—" Take none
but what I send you, and I'll get one of them to drop a
nice new hat in the cabin for you, but say nothing about
it, or a topcoat, or a jar or two of pickles for the voyage."
(Roars of laughter, and cheers.) Oh ! it's no strange
thing lam speaking. The understanding is entered into,
and the men are sent. They are sent from the office, and
they pass the captain ; but, in the meantime, the shipping

masters have cribbed from Poor Jack three, four, or ten
times the price of the hat. (Hear, hear.) Arid now,
what a curious thing : the crew have paid for the captain's
hat ! (Roars of laughter, and cheers.) It reminds me of
what Sydney Smith said of the Pennsylvania men the
other day. He said, that if one of those men were to
come over to England, he ought to give his coat to one,
and his hat to another, and so on ; and upon the same
principle, every Jack should have something, and leave
the masters to go bareheaded. (" Hear," and continued
laughter.) Now this is not to be borne. I have put it in
this plain shape, that yo;; olay understand ; and I think
we ought to make a geneise move, and show them that we
understand it. I believe it is a fact, that until the tem-
poral circumstances are looked into, until a registry
office is established, and until a Sailors' Home is got
up, we are labouring in vain to get them in num-
bers to hear us. Our chaplain is at work, but how
many of the real Jacks ao to hear him ? Why,
few. Some do—the more the better ; and where are the
rest? These gentlemen, the slipping-masters, could tell
a tale of where they are. (Hear, hear.) They have their
houses for them, and houses of all sorts, except good, all
bad ones, for ack all day long, to keep him away from
the Mariner's Church ; and until he sees that we a"e feel-
ing for him, for his body as well as his soul, he will turn
away from the canting hypocrisy that tells him to go and
pray while he is left to be robbed, and plundered, and se-
duced by wicked men. (Loud cheers.) And what can be
done in the way of remedy for this ? A registry office is
alluded to. A registry office might do much good; and
there is a registry office now in operation. It is, I sup-
pose, doing good. It is taking the right ccurse. The
rev. gentlemen having here read the circular from the re-
gistry office, proceeded :—Here is a movement in a right
direction. Some one says, " it is managed by dissenters ;"
and what if it is ? (Cheers.) My answer is—the dissen-
ters have shown churchmen a good example, and let
churchmen follow that example and get another office.
(Cheers.) There is plenty of work for two : there is more
than plenty for two. (Renewed cheers.) Do I ask these
gentlemen to give up their good work because they are
dissenters? Far from it. (Great applause.) I wish them
God speed ; and then I turn on churchmen and say—do
you like good work ? if so, establish another orrice. I
say again there is room for two : I don't like mixing
colours ; I wish every man to show his own. (Cheers.) I
myself go under the colours of the good old trusty ship
the church of England, which V, 3 a Christian church
years before there was either distort or popery in Eng-
land. (Great cheesF > I stand el her old weather bea-
ten timbers, soon' ' he last. (V.,aernent cheering.) I
stand, I say, to ao: tackle or my gun—ready, all
ready : I wont compromise a rope in the rigging,
nor lower one square inch of her canvas before mortal
men. (Tremendous cheering.) Let us have a Church
of England registry ; and now we come to ask, what
has become of the Church of England a; merchants
and shipowners of this great town? Why e they not
thronged here upon the platform? (Hear.) I will tell
you what I think is part of the reason of it, though it
should make you laugh. I believe that many of them if
they had thought that the object of this meeting was to
get a registry oflica—that it was to attend to the tempo-
ral wants of the sailors,—that it was to lead on in a direc-
tion towards laying the foundation for a Church of Eng-
land registry and Sailors' Home—l have a strong suspicion
some of them would have come; but they thought that
this was merely got up for the purpose of learning the
methodistical evangelicalism of Mr. Maynard and Mr.
M'Neile. (Hear, and laughter.) They consider that they
have too much aood sense to listen to our enthusiasm ; but
I hope they will be told that we want them to establish a
Church of England registry, a Church of England home,
and a Church of England Chaplain, that the sailor may
have a place to go to where he may meet friends, that
there should be a savings bank in the house, where his
money Would be increasing like a snowball rolling on a
green, where he would have a comfortable bed, and where
he would get leave to chew his tobacco when and as
he pleased. (Roars of laughter and great cheers.) Now,
this is not only what we want, but this is what we must
have; and I hope we shall never let the merchants have
peace till we get it. (Renewed cheers.) I never under-
stood the matter, as I understand it now, till very lately.
Everything works in a circle. When some of the sailor-
men saw my name to the bills for this meeting, one of
them came up to my house, rung the bell and said—" I
want to speak to you, Mr. M`Neile," and he sat down
and told me the whole about the ships' masters, and how
they charged him two shillings in the pound on cashing
his note in a slop-shop. Was not that a shame? (Hear,
hear.) He got half of it in goods; and for getting money
for the other half, he had to pay two shillings in the
pound. I dont think I have got thoroughly at the:right
bones of the case yet. (A laugh); but I wish for informa-
tion on the whole subject. (Several voices—" You shall
have it sir") And, now, I am happy to be able
further to say, that application has been made to the
council on behalf of the Sailors' Home. There was a
building which it was thought might be got. However,
there were good reasons why that could not be given.
But there is a piece of land belonging to the corporation
near the Custom-house, where a Sailor's Home might be
built, and the application is still before the council ; and
now the chairman of the council is our chairman to night,
and we shall send him with thrs,e cheers for that land.
(Applause.) This is what must be done, I hope there
are gentlemen here to bear a report of this to influential
parties who will put down their names on each side,
thus ---- and Co., £SOO ;
£400; --- and Co., £lOO, until we get a sufficient
sum to build a Sailors' Home; and it must be a substan-
tial building. There must be beds, such as I saw in the
Sailors' Home in London, where they have built one on
the site of a playhouse, and where every man has a bed to
himself, about as broad as the Duke of Wellington's bed.
The duke has a bed that he had with him on the field of
warfare. "Why your grace," said a person to him on
one occasion, " its not broad enough to turn in." " Turn
in," he replied, " when its time to turn in your bed, its
time to turn out." (Great laughter and cheers.) Do
Englishmen require to be stimulated to give money for
such a work as this ?—for sailors? Surely, surely, the
very name of sailor should act like magic on the name of
Englishman. (Hear.) Are not England and sailors iden-
tified throughout the world ? (Hear, hear.) Who are they
who have carried the name, and the arm, and the influence
of the Government of England to the four quarters
of the globe? Who are they that, when Europe lay pros-
trate at the feet of the Corsican tyrant, and when Bona-
parte collected his hundreds and thousands of soldiers on
the heights of Boulogne, waiting to pounce upon England
—who manned the ramparts and laughed him to scorn?—
who made his legions good for nothing? Why, British
seamen. (Great cheers.) And talk of commerce, of
manufactures, of leagues and corn laws—why, sir, what
were mills and machinery without seamen ? Why, you
are men of skill—men who know whether they refer up-
wards or not to Him who has placed the constellations in
the heavens, and set boundaries to the mighty deep—men
who know how to wend their way through the trackless
ocean and make the land after a week, or a fortnight, or
a month, full as true as if they had seen the head land all
the time—men of enterprise—men of hardihood—men of
endurance—men who will stand to their post in drifting
snow and burning sun, and finish their work with cheer-
fulness. (Great cheers.) They have emptied the riches
of the Indus on the tables of our merchants; they have
heaped them so, that they revel in the enjoyments
furnished by distant lands. (Hear, hear, and cheers.)
These are the men on whom you are luxuriating twice a-
day. Your crop of tea ! Where did it come from? Why
the British seaman brought it all the way from China.
(Cheers.) And shall Englishmen neglect the sailors ?
Will English women neglect the sailors ? Will shop-
keepers,—tradesmen, merchants, neglect the sailors?
(Hear, hear.) I cannot imagine a higher climax of in-
gratitude 'than neglect of sailors. I have heard of in-
stances of indignation, roused up by feelings of in-
gratitude, but none have greater cause to complain of
ingratitude than the sailors. I have heard of the indigna-
tion of the Athenian orator ; I have heard of the indigna-
tion of the Roman senator; I have heard of the
indignation of the Peruvian hero ; I have heard of the
indignation of one of our statesmen, who asked, " shall
man have property in his fellow man ?—shall man be the
sole and degraded possesSor of the horse-whipped flesh
of his brother ?" but for indignation, exceeding the
thunder of Demosthenes, exceeding the indignation of
Junius Brutus, exceeding the warmth and fervour of
Rolla, exceeding the touching tenderness of our owu
Wilberforce,—l say, I would rise higher to see ingratitude
to the sailors of England, now seeking a home—a home
from plunder, a home from drunkenness, a home from
debauchery, a home from fraud : " Give us a home and
we will listen to your instruction—send us a chaplain
—send us your Bible and your Prayer-book, and we shall
thank you and bless God ; but give us a home." The
rev. gentleman here resumed his seat amidst loud and
enthusiastic demonstrations of applause.
After Mr. M'Neile had sat down, and while the col-
lection was going on, Mr. MAYNARD detailed to the
meeting a number of interesting anecdotes of circum-
stances connected with seamen, which had come under
his notice during the course of his ministry amongst them,
which we should have been glad indeed to have given to
our readers had not our space been so largely drawn upon. '
Mr. W. J. TOMLINSON seconded the resolution, which
he prefaced with a brief explanation.
Mr. M`NEILE rose to supply an omission which be had
made in the course of his speech. He had intended to
caution his friends, the sailors present, to avoid any quar-
rel with the seamen's unions ; not to go near them, and
if they met them in the streets, to get out of their com-
pany as soon as possible. There might be present some
of those shipping masters, and if he had touched them in
the course of his remarks, he would ask them to go hoine
and repent of their past sins.
The Rev. W. FALLOON proposed the next resolution,
which called for the thanks of the meeting to the com-
mittee and officers of this association. Mr. Falloon had
been struck, upon coming to this meeting, that the time
was peculiarly appropriate for originating a sailor's borne.
It was blowing hard, and his feelings carried him at once
to the poor seamen tossing upon the deep, and to the
desirableness of an attempt to provide for his comforts on
shore, and to prepare his mind for the perils and possible
fate of a mariner's life. The reverend speaker :.ppealed
to the meeting in a most feeling speech, (of which our limits
will not even allow us to furnish an outline) to give their
thanks to the committee, and to aid them in their noble
exertions.
Mr. ROI-I)EN briefly seconded the motion, which was
carried nem. con.
Mr. CHARLES COTESWORTII, moved the thanks of
the meeting to the Mayor, which was seconded by Mr.
Jonx Epos, and carried with acclamation.
The Mayor, briefly returned thanks; and after the
Doxology was sung the meeting dissolved.
We may remark, that on no occasion have we ever seen
the Music-hall so crowded as on this occasion, or a meet-
ing anywhere so enthusiastic. The collection made in the
room amounted to £l7. 14s. 61, which, we venture to
say, will he swelled by the contributions of merchants and
others out of doors to a much more satisfactory sum.
This, in fact, we trust we may consider as principally the
gift of the poor seamen themselves, a great number of
whom attended the meeting.

iLittrature

JANUARY.

(For the Liverpool Standard.)

By the author of " Rural Sonnets," " Spartacus, the Roman
Gladiator," and other tragedies,
Hardy as yon fresh bays upon his brow,
With full-blown lain ustirms interweav'd,
Ere yet the husbandmen resume the plough,
Or festive days by labour are retriev'd—
Lo, JANUARY leads the young new year,
}sappy in welcomes, and with hope elate,
Though round it • form cold winds and clouds career,
And barren would appear its first est te.
Now—if the weather freeze, or hind the ground—
Manures are carted, and the routes repair'd :
In forest haunts the woodmen's strokes resound :
For earliest produce gard,ns are prepar'd
And, here and there, just peep above the soil,
Signs of the life wherewith vast nature's womb cloth toil.
J. JONN3.
Inner Temple, Jan. 20, 184-1.

SCENA,

SUNG BY MISS WRITNALL AT MISS C. WELLER'S FIRST

CONCERT.
(The words and music by Miss Christiana Weller.)

Orma.—Bright visions of the past all fled !
Gay dreams of youth all swept away;
Hopes once so cherished now are dead,
And steep unheeded in my lay.

The heart is chilled that warmly beat,
That glow'd with life's delusive joys
Fond memory only holds her seat,
Unharmed 'mid all proud time destroys.

My mind is one unvaried blank;
My life is one unbroken sigh ;
I n.ourn my weary stay on earth,
And gladly would, this moment, tile.

None soothe with balmy words my pain;
None dry the tears that ceaseless flow,
Nor with sweet tones bid me restrain
Their gushings from the founts of woe,

When o'er my soul sleep gently steals,
And thought, unshackled, wanders free,
A fleeting bliss my spirit feels,
But wakes to mourn reality.

Those hours are happy, hut how few I
Delusion is my only stay;
Kind heaven give my despair her due,
And angels waft my soul away.

CARDINAL DE RETZ,
OR
THE COURTIER'S PLO

BY PETER POPJOY, Esq•

(For the Liverpool Standard.)

CHAP 1 ER Xl.—(Continued.)
(We left Fabien about to reply to the Queen.)
The most profound silence reigned at that moment in
the lofty chamber.
" Madame," said Fabien, in a respectful but firm
tone, " I must supplicate your pardon if I take more
than common precaution against any mistake on this
occasion; and that your grace will permit me to inquire
if it is really the great Conde, the first prince of the
blood, who is thus designated as " an enemy to the
state ?"

A low murmur ran through the assembly. The Queen
blushed deeply.
" And why not, Sir," said she, with vehemence, if
he, whom you, on your part, term the Great Conde,' is
insolent and factious, a man whose ambition would lead
him to betray France and the King. Why put such a
question—can I have been deceived ? Will you refuse to
obey your sovereign ?
The Regent stamped her foot with passion. The con-
spirators appeared confounded. Fabien alone stood un-
moved.

‘: Most gracious liege"—replied Fabien, with an ani-
mated voice and manner—" Do I really see your grace
—do I hear the grand-daughter of Charles the Fifth ?
Where are we ? Ought we to enter the palace of the
Queen of France, furtively, stealthily, in the dead of
night, gliding in obscurity like bad men, intent upon
some wicked purpose ? Where is the majesty of the
throne ? where the Queen P I see no one here but a mere
woman, who hiding herself amongst midnight conspira-
tors, is about to employ an assassin." . _

The boldness of these words struck the courtiers dumb
—they appeared in a complete stupor : not one dared to
open his mouth to check the imprudent enthusiast.
" Audacious !" exclaimed Anne of Austria, instantly
rising from her seat, every had passion now aroused. " Is
there not o e present to silence this daring knave." The
courtiers stood aloof like statues. Fabien fell on his knee,
catching the hem of the Regent's robe --
" Hear me ! oh, hear me, noble mistress, but for one
moment," continued the youth, with enthusiasm ; " listen
to me—but an instant : I know that I am a lost man ;
know that the dungeons of the Chatelet or the Bastille
are ready to receive me ; I know that I have sacrificed
myself that you mitzlit hear the truth that otherwise would
be hidc'en from you ! The frightful step that you, ma-
dame, have been advised by bad men to take, will not
save the state. No, gracious lady, though they may tell
you so—the blood of the bravest defender must not be
thus ignobly and traitorously shed by an obscure hand, in
ambuscade. Let the scales fall from your eyes, noble
lady ; think of your illustrious ancestors, think of the sa-
credness of the power you hold from God !"
Anne of Austria laughed convulsively.
" And who has brought before us this contemptible
preacher," said she, in a tone of bitter irony. " Who
has dared to introduce to us this presumptuous moralist ?
Is this a new insult devised by my enemies ? Sirs,” said
she, apparently suffocated with passion, " he who has
prepared this for us shall bitterly repent it." At the
next moment a nobler impulse suddenly arising in her
mind, with that buoyancy so prevalent in capricious
tempers, she quickly added, turning to Fabien—
" So, then, you believe yourself to be here amongst an
assembly of conspirators, who meditate a bad action. Be
it so ; hut do you know where this convocation of con-
spirators is held ? Do you know in what place you are
at this moment ? You are in my oratory in the Cardi-
nal's palace. You know me not ? Look at me well : I
am the Queen Regent. Look at these aentlemen, also :
this is Monsieur de Tellier, this 1)e Servien, and De
Lionne—ministers and sub-secretaries of state ; this is
M. de ( 'hateauneuf, the keeper of the seals ; this the Ma-
rechale d'Hocquincourt, generaboin-chief of the King's
armies : the whole of the council of the Regency
you see before you—these are the most strenuous de-
fenders, the most zealous supporters of my son Louis.
Look at us all, sir. Little does it matter to us whether
you believe or not that the royal power is fallen so low,
that the Regent and her ministers are reduced to conspire
in the dark, like discontented citizens, and that they are
reduced to supplicate a poor country gentleman like
yourself to save the state by a blow of a poignard."

The Queen, unable any longer to moderate the vio-
lence of her feelings, sunk on the seat nearest to her, and
covered her face with her hands, to hide the scalding
tears that fell abundantly down her cheeks. These
emotions were not unfelt by those stood around : the
courtiers were not rendered so completely callous by po-
litical intrigue, as to be altogether devoid of generous
thoughts, and they could not but experience some touches
of pity for all the evils with which France was over-
Whelmed. The Baron profited by the moment of confu-
sion to draw near his brother, and whisper to him—

" Unhappy boy—retract or, " but Fabien, com-
pletely pre-occupied by his generous design, heard him
not ; he remained prostrated at the feet of the Queen,
and exclaimed, in an agony of heart, clasping his hands
together, " Oh, Madame, in the name of God, do not
overwhelm me with your anger and contempt. I have
not yielded to a vain and ridiculous temerity in thus
telling you a cruel truth. I have fulfilled my duty at the
peril of drawing upon myself your anger—a duty,
Madame, that I regarded as sacred. I am but one of
the most obscure, the humblest of your subjects—like
others, I owe you profound respect, devoted duty, and
ardent love. I will do your bidding without a murmur,
at the very cost of my life, but God forbid, Madame,
that I should sacrifice my honour and my conscience in
any cause."
Anne of Austria appeared at length to have conquered
the tenderness that had awakened in her breast the most
painful recollections. She raised her head, and replied
with a haughty air,
" What think you, Sirs, of the insolence of this young
preacher P If he has done nought but wound the heart
of a queen and mother in recalling to her in what a state
of abasement she had allowed the power of her son to
fall, she cannot forget that he has also expressed himself
in a manner that ought not to be permitted in an august
presence—but he possesses your secret and mine—
nothing remains for me but to dispose of him."
Fabien rose, and waited his doom with calmness and
dignity. Those around regarded him in silence, as if to
communicate to him their defiance; but no one offered
any advice, when the Countess de Montglat, who, du-
ring the scene, had suffered the utmost agony of mind,
advanced into the midst of the circle formed around the
Queen, and exclaimed with despair,
" Oh, Madame, did I not tell your majesty that he
could not accept this office. But have pity on him—
pardon him my liege—he is faithful, loyal, and generous
—he will not betray your secret."
" Are you about to resume your weepings and wail-
logs, De Montglat," interrupted the Queen, somewhat
softened. " But lam tired of all this intriguing, and it
was only at your earnest supplication that I consented to
your coming with me. You musthe aware, added the Re-
gent coldly, to yield to your entreaty—this folly—for folly
it is—that it is necessary these gentlemen and myst if must
consent to forego measures that concern our safety, as
well as that of the state. You will see also if they will
permit your gallant Norman to boast in all the taverns
in Paris of the fine things he has just told me to my face
—in the face of the Queen of France."
This ungracious reply did not however restrain the
generous ardour of the maiden.
" May Heaven save the state, and grant your majesty
a long and happy life, but humbly do I supplicate per-
mission to prove to you that it is not necessary to drag
this unhappy gentleman to a state prison to be satisfied
of his discretion. He is a man of honour, and his word
may be trusted ; I know him to be noble, discreet, and