Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1827-06-20
THE BRIGANrINE CRAWFORD.
"The tyrannous and bloody act is done;
z The most arch deed Of piteous massacre
That ever yet the world was guilty Of"

That ever yet the world guilty Of"
EIcHARD III. 81
| The horrid transa ctions, which occurred on
board of this briganlne whilst on her passage
from the Island of Cuba, 10 New-Yor are al
most too appalling to be recited, and have
naturally produced an excitement, rarely
witnessed in this community. Among the hap
less victims 10 the rapacity OF band OF fero-
cious fiends, and devils mcarnate, was young
gentleman who was well known to us, aud
whose friendship we had reciprocated, whose
society We often enjoyed, and whose many vir-
I tues will never be erased from our memory
He was young, had Just commenced the busy
scenes OF life; and urged on by spirit of man
ly enterprise, for two or three Of the last win
ter seasons, visited the Island of Cuba, and set
tied himself at Matanzas as merchant, where
success attended his steps, and fortune smiled
upon his merit0rioas efforts; hope told Hat
tering tale;" and whilst he counted on Ultimate
success, and the speedy accumulation of good
ly store Of this worlds goods, villains and MUIR
dcrers were plotting his destruction, and sharp
ening the poniard for his bosom.
The young gentleman to whom we allude,
was MIR. NORMAN ROBINSON, "a native of
Preston, Connecticut, where his aged parents
reside; together with young and lovely wife,
who thus early in life, is left 10 weep over the
untimely fall of her bosom's lord and master,
who now, "full many score fathoms down
deep in the MAN," slumbers in his brny bed,
to the mournful sounds of the waves, as they
lash tho bark, or beat TIE rocky strand
He, who little time since, was the pride Of
his parents, and The joy of his family, will
be no more heard of; and whilst the fond,
doating,and distracted wife, "wails 10 the mid
night wolf" and sighs 10 the unheeding wind,
she reflects that lie who was every thing to
her, and without whom the world were moth
ing, fell at the hands Of the assassin, and too
soon found an untimely grave in the bosom of
the deep, her anguish is augmented in a ten
fold degree, hope flies, and she yields herself
up to all the agonies of despair. But, in the
midst of her Affections, she is consoled with the
fond assurance, and blessed hope, that there is
just and mercifnl God, who regards e'en lhe
sparrow's fall,a land that he will extend his boun-
ties and his grace, to the sorrowful and the af-
hicted. But alas! ill-fated Robinson, thou vert
destined for botter fate, for a long life of fuse
fulness and happiness, but the world closed
upon thee too early; the assassin drove thee to
other worlds, and in the midst of the brightest
hopes and fairest prospects, thou vert doomed
TO die. But thou art happy in thy ocean bed
thou hast escaped the troubles and Affections
of subunary life, and repose in peace among
the coral, and the oceans sands; and as the
tempest roars above thee, and the ycsty wa
tiers roll on from age to age, thou shalt never
witness trouble more! Sleep on departed child
of worth and genius; and as thy young COM
panions recount thy hard fate, and tell the sto-
ry of thine untmely fall they will recite the
catalogue of thy many virtues, and weep over
the memory of him they loved. Hard was
thy fate, too early was thy fall, and too soon,
all thy prospects were cut OF
The fate of the brigantine Crawford will long
be remembered and depored, and the friends
OF the hapless companions of her voyage, long
will weep for those they loved, but who fell,
too soon, at the hands Of the assassin.
Her skilfn commander, Captain Henry
Brightman, was a man Of great worth, and
dearly beloved by all who knew him. From
his early youth. he had followed the profess
ion ofthose "who 60 down to the seas in ships,
and do business on the mighty deep" and by
the correctness of all his actions, his manly
department, and enterprise, had won the con-
6dence of men, and gained high reputation
as distinguished nautical commander. He
had buffeted the blows and the raging tempest
for years, and fear of danger was unknown to
him; and whilst in pursuit of his laudable vo-
cation, be fell a victim to the ruthless murder
er, and at the dead hour Of midnight, when he
slumbered on his ocean-rocked hammock, and