The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1835-11-11
COBBET'S COURTSHIP.

"When first saw my wife, she thirteen
years old, and was within about month of t,oen-
~ one. She was the daughter of Sergeant of Ar
tillery. and | was Sergeant Nor of regiment of
foot, both stationed in forts the city of ST. John
in the Province of New Brunswick. | sat in the
same with others and / made up my mind
that she was the very girl for me. That thought
her beautiful is very certain for that l always said
should be indispensable qualification but | saw
in her what / deemed marks of that sobrety of
duct of which have said so much and which has
been by far the greatest blessing of my life. 1t was
now dead of winter and of course the snow several
feet doep the ground and the weather piercing
cold. 1t was the habit when had done my morn
ing's writing, to go Mt break of day to take n
walk on hill at the foot of which our barracks lay.
In about three mornings after had first seen her,
had by an invitation to breakfast with me, got up
two young men to join in my walk and our
road lay by the house of her father and mother it
was hardly light, but she the snow scrub
bing at a washng.tub that's the girl for me, said l.
when we had got out of her hearing Some of the
young men came to England soon afterwards and
one, who keeps an Inn in Yorkshire, came to Pres
ton, at the time of the election, TO verify whether
were the same man. When he found that | was,
he appeared surprised; but what was his sur
prise, when told him that those tall young men,
whom he saw around me, the of that pret-
ty little girl that he and | saw scrubbing out the
break in the morning
From the day | first spoke to her, | never had n
thought of her ever being the wife of any other
more than had thought of her being transformed
into chest of drawers; and formed my rcsolu-
ton at once, To marry her could get
PERMISSION and to get out of the army as soon as
could. So that this matter was at once settled rs
firmly as ifwrttcn the book of fate. AT the end
of about six months my regiment, and along with
=, of
hundred miles up the river of st. John and, what
was worse, the artillery expected to go off to
England year or two before our regiment! The
artillery went, and she along with them and now
it was that acted part becoming real and sem
sible lover. was aware, that when she got TO that
cav place Woolwlch, the house of her father and
mother, necessarily visited by numerous persons not
the most select, night become unpleasant to her,
and also did not like besides that she should con-
tiuuc to hard work. | had saved hundred and
fifty guineas the earnings of my early hours in wri-
ting for the paymastcr and quartermaster and 9th
crs, in addition to the savings of my own pay.
sent her all mv money before she sailed. wrote to
her to beg of her if she found her home uncomfort-
able, to hire lodging with respectable people: anC
at any rate, not to spare the money. bv any means
but to buy herself good clothes and to live withou
/ hard work, until arrived in England and |, il
order to induce her to lay out the money! told he
that should get plenty more before ] came home
AS the maignity of the devil would have it, W,
: were kept abroad two years longer than our time
Mr. Pitt, England, not being so tame then she i:
now, having knocked up dust with Spain about
Nootka Sound. oh, how l cursed Nootka, anc
poor bawling Pitt too | am afraid AT the end o.
four pc 1rs, however, home came landed at Ports
4 mouth and got my discharge from the army by the
great kindness poor Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who
was then the Major OF my regiment. l found my
little girl serrdnt Of all cork (and, work it was
ut five pounds year in the house of Captain
irisac and, without hardly saying word abou
the matter, she put into my hands the whole of ~,
hundred and fifty guiaeds mbroken ~