The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-10-25
DAILY CREsCEN T.
A STORY OF REAL LIFE.
THE LIFE 1NsURER....A SINGULAR NARRATIVE


Final Memorial of Charles Lamb, recently pub
lished in England:
Among the contributors who partook of their pro-
fessiuna festivities was a gentleman whose subse-
quent career has invested the recollection of his APP
pearances in the familiarity of social life with fear
lul inlerest-Mr. Thomas GrfIiths Wainwright.
He was then young man ON the bright side of
thirty; with sort of undress military air, and the
conversation of a smart, lively, clever, heartless,
voluptuOus cOxcomb. Ii was whispered that he
had been all officer in the dragons; had spent ore
than one fortune and he now COndescended to take
a part in periodical literature, with the careless
grace Of an amateur who felt himself above it.
lie was artist also; sketched boldly and graph
icy; exhibited portfolio of his own drawings OF
female beauty, in which the vOtuptuOus trembled
ON he borders of the indelicate and seized the
critical department Of the fine arts, both in and out
Of the magazine, undslurbed by the presence or
preensOns of the finest critic on art who ever
wrute-William IIazlitt. On this subject he COM
posed. for the magazine, under the signature OF
81 Janus WealherCUck," articles of lashy assump-
tioI-in which disdainu notices Of living artists
were off by fascinating references to the person
al appearance, accomplishments and luxurious APP
pances of the writer, ever the first hero OF his
essay. He created new sensation IN the sedae
circle, not only by his braided surtous, jewelled
fingers, and various neCkkerChieis, but by osenta-
tiOus contempt for everything in the world but ele
giant enjoyment.
Lamb, who delighted to find sympathy in dis
similitude lancied that lie really liked him took,
as he ever did the genial side Of his character, and
instead of dislking the rake in the critic, thought
it pleasant TO detect so much taste and good nature
in a fashionable TOUe, and regarded all his vapid
gaety, which TO severer observers looked like i'm
pertinence as the playful effusion Of remarkably
gueless nature. Thus, when eXpaGatng on his
list of choicest friends in EiZs letter to Southey,
he reckons w. the light and warm as light hearted
Janus, of the London;'" and two years after
ward. advertng to the decline Of the magazine, in
a letter to Mr.. Barton, he persists in his belief of
Wanwrights llght-heartedness as pertlnacIOusly
as all the haEconscious dupes in Othello do IN the
assertion Of lagos honesty " They have pulled
down Hazlitt. P, and their best stay, kind,
Iight-hearted W, their Janus" In elucida-
tion of this apparent ghtness Of heart, 1t will not
be unstructive TO trace the remainder Of this ex-
uaUrdinary PERSONS history; tOrsurely no contrast
presented by the widest romance between a gay
cavalier, fascinating Naples or Palermo, and the
same hero detected as the bandit or demon of the
forest equals that which time has unveiled between
what Mr.. Wainwright seemed and what he was.
Mr.. Wainwright, having ceased TO contribute to
the London about the year 1925, when Lamb be-
slowed on him his parting eulogium, was scarcely
seen in our literary circle though he retained the
acquaintance and regard of some of Its members.
In the year 1880, he was residing at Linden House,
Turnham Green, in the possession of which he had
succeeded his uncle, DIR. Grlffiths who for many
wears edited a monthly publication, and whose
death had occurred about year before, after
short illness, while Mr.. Wainwright and his wife
were visiting at his house on the occasion OF her
confinement with her only child He acquired
some property at the death of his uncle, by whose
bounty, being early left orphan, he Ind been
educated but his expensive tastes soon brought
him to severe pecuniary embarrassments and the
verge of ruin. His wiie's mother, who had died IN
Linden House. after short illness, left two daugh-
ters by Mr. Abercrombie, her second husband
named Helen Frances Phoebe, and Madeline !;
IUai bau the d9uUbtpr Of a former
husband named Ward. These young ladies, being
left without provision, except pension of ElO
year, which had been granted TO them as the des-
titute daughters of a meTItOrlous officer, by the
Board of Ordnance, were invited by MIR. Vain
wright TO visit him at Linden House, and at the
beginning of $780, with his wife and child formed
| his family.
About this time he formed the remarkable scheme
of procuring the eldest of the young ladies to effect
insurance Of her life, to the amound OF many thou
| sands of pounds, for the period of two or three
years Miss Helen Frances Phoebe AbercrOmbIe
| was then a lovely woman nearly of the age Of
| twenty-one which she attained 18th March, 1880 ;
without expectations, except OF some tring posi-
bility under settlement, and, except the proceeds
| of the pension without a shilling in the world
while Mr.. Wainwright, who supplied the funds for
this strange speculation in reality still poorer
| being stepped in debt, impatient of prlvatOn, with
| ruin daily contracting its circle around him.
| The first proposal was made by Mr.. Wainwright.
| on behalf of Miss Abercrombie, to the Palladium
| Insurance Office on the 2Sth of March, for G30OO
| for three years. On this occasion, Mr. and Mrs
| Wainwright and Miss AbercrOmbie called together
at the office where the object of the insurance was
stated to be to enable them to recover some property
| to which the young lady was entitled. This pro-
| posal was accepted, and on the both of April com
pleted by payment of the premium for one year by
the hand of Miss AbercrOmbie, then attended only
by Mrs Wainwright, and the delivery of the policy
On or about the same day a similar insurance was
effected with the Eagle Insurance Office for $4,000
for the term of two years, and the premium for one
year and stamp duty were paid by Miss Abercrom
bic i'm her sisters presence. In the following De
tober, four more policies were effected with the
| Provident for $1,000; with the Hope for t2OOO
| with the Imperial for $4,000 and with the Pelican
| for E50OO-each on the life of NJ ss Abercromble
| and each for the period Of two years SO that, a
the close of this month OF October, the lie OF th
| poor girl, described by the actuary OF the PFovl
dent as n remarkably healthy cheerful, beautiful
| Young woman, whose life of thousand,
| was insured to the amount of ElS,0OO; as Il
$4,000 for three years. and for the residue tor tW'
wears only. Premiums, for one year, amounting
with the stamps, to something more i4a1 I%|o' ha'
been paid the premiums which would be required
TO keep the policies on foot for second year amount
inc to E2O0. and in the event of her surviving tn
brief terms of insurance, the whole money WOult
be lost.
was accompanied ny W dilANliBub3 VIZ
appearance of these two ladies together on such al
errand sometimes awakened scruples, which tn
apparent desirableness of the life for insurance
an office did not always silence. At the Imperial
| it was suggested to Miss Abercrombie, by Mr.. In
gall. the actuary, that, "as she only proposed t
make the insurance for two years, he presumed
was to secure some property she would come int
| at the expiration of that time, to which Mrs
Wainwright replied Not exactly so: it is to sc
cure a sum of money to her sister, which she Wi
be enabled to do By other means if she outlive
that time butIdont know much of her affairs
YOU had better speak to her about it" On whlc
| Miss Abercrombie said, "That is the case" b
what means the ladies were induced to make the'
statements can scarcely even be guessed 1t Is &c
tain they were ilusory. No reason existed for Il
moor penniless girl securing $4,000 for her sister
case Of her own death within two years, nor wa
there the least chance Of her receiving such SUI
\ | if living at the end of that period
The sum of G19,OOO did not bound the limi
t of the speculation; for, in the same month Of o
tober, proposal to the Eagle to increase the ms