The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-12-27 00:00:00

GUILDHALL-TUESDAY.

On Tuesday a respectable-looking old gentleman, whose name
and address did not transpire, presented himself, and, after
making a most courteous obeisance to Mr. Alderman Smith,
said his heart was breaking, and he had come to ask his wor-
ship's advice.
The alderman said he should be happy to assist him if it were
in his power.
The old gentleman proceeded to relate that, some weeks ago,
the wife of his brother-in-law (a high-feeding. old man, who had
.been pensioned off from the Excise,) was seized with a danger-
ous illness, and sent her daughter to beg applicant's wife to
come and attend her. In such an emergency he thoughtit his
duty to permit her to go, and she remained with her dying sister
till she expired, a period of nearly two months. After this e:tent
had occurred he expected his wife to return to her home, but
she had chosen to remain with the widower; and, although he
ought not -to speak of such things, he must be pardoned for
saying she was a wicked woman, and his heart was almost
broken.

" Pray, what is her age ?" inquired Mr. Alderman Smith.
" Turned of sixty, sir," replied the old gentleman ; " but in
spite of her age, I assure you, she is wickedly inclined."
" I am truly sorry to hear it," said the magistrate;- "but if
she stays at your brother-in-law's of her own accord, how can
I help you ?" •
" I am almost distracted," said the gentleman. "She has
had a family by me, and brought the children up. I have two
of my daughters, now forty years of age, hanging upon me still;
and, I would ask, should I not be justified in advertising in the
newspapers the misconduct of my wife ? I expect her here
every moment."
" Indeed," said the alderman, " then we had better wait till
she arrives. I presume you are the elder of the two."
"By ten years," answered the old gentleman.
"And what sort of man is your brother-in-law?"
"About her own age," replied the.unhappy husband. " But
he lives luxuriously; and she tells me that most men in London'
manage to payattentions to some married woman or other."
" Surely you7are not so silly," observed the magistrate, "as
to believe there is the least truth in that tale ?"
" Indeed I de," said the old gentleman.
"I never heard such nonsense in my life," said the Alder-
man ' • "you had better say no more till your wife comes in."
Shortly afterwards the expected lady made her appearance.
She was ordinary in her features, her body bending with age,
and her voice at tremulous as the tones of Paganini's "Witches
of Benevento." Any man would have been more ready to have
betted she was nearer 70 than 60.

"Good woman," said Mr. Alderman Smith, "your husband
has been making a strange charge of incontinence against you."
"I know what his charge is," said the afflicted lady, "and I
am ready to take my oath this moment that I am quite innocent.
I attended my dying sister, and I thought it would only be kind
to staytwo or three days after death to set things in order; but,
in consequence of some foolish dreams of my husband, he turned
jealous, and sent for me home. I returned to him immediately."
"But why did not you stop with your husband ?"
"So I did," said she. "I've been home with him these six
years. Why should I stray from my home? We have been
married six-and-forty years, and my husband has never had a
day's illness."
What the deuce does the man want? He has his wife at
home, and she has accounted for her absence," said the Alder-
man.

The old gentlethan said he was not satisfied. There was no
believing his wife, even when she spoke the truth, in the first
place. Then-his wife had published to the neighbours that he
sleptin ase rate bed. The intention of that was easily seen
through. Thirdly, her sister had always been suspected by her
husband; and, lastly, his wife had confessed that married ladies
in general were not very particular in some matters.
"Was her sister something like your wife here ?" asked the
Alderman. _ •- •

"Just such another," said the old gentleman.
"Oh! go home, sir," replied the magistrate. "Don't let the
world see bow foolish you are."
"Don't, for Heaven's sake,'expose yourself any more in this
room," said the chief clerk. "I remember you, sir; pray go
home and be quiet. Believe me your mind is affected.'
Thi old gentleman stared fora moment on hearing this as if
he h.ad some misgivings about his intellects, and then bowing to
the chair, he and his old dame toddled out of the room again.

*pipping Intelligente.

TUESDAY. December 24th.—Noon, . Wind S.—Fair.

ARRIVED—Forster, Forster, from St. Petersburgh—Thomas flail-
burton, —, Africa—Ceres, —, Berbice—North Americi,-Macey,
New York.

StaLEn—Oriental, Fidler; and Hillas, Scanlion, for Bombay—Sact-
vine, Mathews, Sierra Leone—Sir Geo. Murray, Beverley, Charleston
—Moro Castle, Wylie, Africa—Standard, Piele, Batavia—l rton, Little ;
Barton, Armstrong ; and Arethusa, Hutchinson, Barbados—Nord-
stern, Sartorius, Dantzle—Splendid, Proal ; Britannia, Sketchley ;
and Napoleon, Smith, New York—Eliza Scotland, Scotland, St Do-
mingo—Frederick, Wescott. Charleston—Corinthian, Dowall ; Chris-
tina, Hogarth ; and Elizabeth, Taggart, Demerara—Commodore Pre-
ble, Haskell, Boston—Byker, Bruce ; and Winwick, Priestman, Rio
de Janeiro—Watt, Dobbins, Africa—Elizabeth, Ogilvie, Malta—Ma-
ria, Kemp, Sierra Leone—Blueher, Smallwood, Jamaica—Hankin-
kinson, Rea, Odessa—Dart, Diteham, Leghorn—John and Edward,
Melhuish, Oporto—Hope, Black, Mobile—Fisherman, Gihaut, Jersey
—Janet, Laidley, Charleston—Mariote, Granby, Charente—Bengal,
Tenlon, Mobile—Arab, Lowe, Valparaiso, &c—Morea, Girdler, Bos-
ton—Margaret Johnstone, Longford, Mobile—Jessie, New
South Wales—Hercules, —, St. Übes Princess Victoria, Paul,
New Orleans—Julia, Taylor, Newfoundland—Gesina, Roluna, Rotter-
dam—Egidius, Duyts, Ostend—Royal Adelaide, Yates, Savannah
Snowdrop, Nichols, Messina,--Irton, Little. Barbadoes—La Rufina,-
Echevaria, Cadiz—Ann, Porter, Cherbourg—Ferdinand, Lemeke, Bre-
men—Forth, Winn ; and Scipio, Grindlay, Savannah—Sir William
Wallace, Hannah, Mobile—Margaret Blucher, —, St. Michael's—
Julia, Barker, Sierra Leone—Azores Packet, Gibson, St. Michael's—
Petrus, Ludovicus, Dordt—Lark, Cooper, New Orleans—John.
Ormerod, Chapman, Oporto—Elizabeth, Pothaff, Dordt—Thalia, Wol-
verton, Trieste—Zwillinge, Boye, Tonsberg—Grecian, Young, Bue-
nos Ayres—Fanny, Irvin, Jamaica—Royal. George, Hamon ; and'
Helen, Robertson, Lisbon—Maria, Plummer, St. Mary's—Jacoba,
De Groot, Rotterdam—Lavinia, Bolton, Jamaica—Cessnock, Thomp-
son, Africa—Lowther, Suitor, Monte Video—Falmer, Armstrong,
New Orleans—Devon, Curtis, Gibraltar—Cintra, C. oft, Lisbon.

Elizabeth, Tucker, hence, at Port-au-Prince, the 3d November.
Tynwald, Porteus, hence, at Vera Cruz, 16th October.
William Fawcett and City of Londonderry steamers, from London-
derry for Dublin, for whose safety great apprehensions were enter•
tained, arrived at Kingstown harbour on Saturday, all well.
Corsair, Williams, hence for Halifax, was spoken 10th instant, in
lat. 48 59, long. 32.
A large brig, from Quebec for this port, with stauncheons and bul-
warks washed away, was passed on the 19th instant.
The Lancashire Witch, James, from this port, sunk at Vera Cruz,
in deep water. Crew saved.
The Trafalgar, -, in proceeding down the river from Miltown fur
this port, grounded on a bank, and will have to discharge.
George Canning, (lately Burstall,) from Para, at Milford, with da-
mage, having been struck by a heavy sea.
Intrinsic, Bolton, hence for Demerara, was off Tuskar, 21st instant.