Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1851-06-04

the QaY was OFcT, Ile iutCloCu W loiSh ouo-
den recovery. He was laid out as dead,
and wrapt in sheet; candle was placed
at his head, in accordance with the popish
custom of the age. His apprentices were
informed of their masters death; but instead
of manifesting grief, they gave vent to the
most unbounded joy; hoping at last, to be
released from their hard and penurious SER
vitude. They hastened to satisfy themselves
of the truth of this joyful news, and seeing
him laid out as dead, could not restrain their
feelings in The presence of death, but actu-
ally danced and skipped around the corpse
tears of lamentation they had rone; and as
to fasting an empty belly admits of no de-
lay. In the ebulhtion Of their Joy, one ran
into the kitchen, and breaking open the cup
board brought out the bread another ran
for the cheese, ard brought it forth in tri-
umph and the third drew fagon of ale.
They all sat down in high glee, congratula-
ting andrejoicing among themselves, at hay
ing been so unexpectedly released from their
bonds of servitude. Hard as it was, the
bread rapidly disappeared they INDUCED in
! huge slices of cheese, and even ventured to
cast aside the parings, and to take copious
draughts of the miser's ale. The old man
Law all this time struck with horror at this
awful prodigality. and enraged at their mu-
tinous disrespect: flesh and blood-at least,
the flesh and blood Of miser--could endure e
it no longer; and starting up he caught hold
of the funeral taper, determined to chastise
them for their waste. One of them seeing
the old man struggling in the sheet and
| thinking it was the devil or ghost, and be-
coming alarmed, caught hold of the butt end
of broken oar, and at one blow struck out
his brains 'Thus," says the tradition, she
who thought only to counterfeit DEATH oc--
casioned it in earnest; and the law acquitted
the fellow of the act, as he was the prime
cause of his own DEATH" The daughters
lover hearing Of the death of old Overs, has
tened up to London with all possible speed;
but riding fast, his horse unfortunately threw
him, lust as he was entering the city, and
broke his neck. This, with her fathers
death, had such an effect on the spirits of
Mary Overs, that she was almost frantic,
and being troubled with numerous train
of suitors, she resolved 10 retire into nun
nerv. and to devote thewhole of her wealth,
which was enormous, to purposes of charity
and religion. She laid the foundation Of ga
famous church, which at her own charge
was finished, and by her dedicated to the
Virgin Mary" This, tradition says, was
the origin of St. Mary Overs, Southwark,
name which it received in memory Of its
beautiful, but unfortunate foundress.
On an old sepulchre, in St. Saviour's
church. may be seen to this day, reclining
in no very easy posture, the figure ofa poor
ematiated-looklng being which rumor has
declared to be the figure of John Overs, the
ferryman. There is not much to warrant
the conclusion, except, perhaps, the similar
j ity which the mind might discover in the
stone effigy and the aspect with which, in
idea, we instinctively endow all such objects
of penury The figure looks thin enough
for man who lived on the pickings of stale
bones, and musty bread, it must be allowed;
and the countenance certainly looks miser-
w enough for any miser; but then the mar
bic tablet above merely tells the passer by
that the body of one William Emerson lyeth
there "who departed out of this life," one
day in June in the year 1878.
The curious little tract from which we
have cleaned many the above particulars,
oiyes very different account Of the miser' S
burying place. On account, it is said, OF
his usury, extortion, and the general sordi-
ness of his life, he had been excommunica-
ted and refused Christian burial but the
daughter, by large sums of money, endeav-
ored to brbe the friars Of Bermondsey Alb
bey to get him buried. AS my lord abbot
happened to be away from home, the holy
brothers took the money, and buried him
within the cloister The abbot on his return
seeing new grave inquired who, in his
absence, had been buried there; and being
informed, he ordered that it be Immediately
disinterred, and be laid on the back of an
ass; then muttering some benedictlon, OF,
perhaps, an anathema, he turned the beast
from the abbey gates. "The ass went with
a solemn pace, unguided by any, through
Kent Street, till he came to ST. Thomas-a-
Watering, which was then the common ex-
ecution place and then shook him ott, just
under the galows, where grave was in
stantly made, and, without any ceremony,
he was tumbled in, and covered with earth ;
While we abhor the abuse and think 1t
well to guard others by hideous examples OF
its folly and vice, we can appreciate and
participated in its general use. We look
upon ii as a solemn duty in men, whether
regarded as citizens or fathers of families,
to practice prudent economy; and the
maj, who is frugal without being avaricious
who is parsinionious without being sordid
I'VE regard as fulfilling one of his greatest
social duties IF economy is virtue, waste
fulness is a sin; and yet how many weekly
glory in being thought extravagant Ruin
ed spendthrifts will boast of meanless prod
prodigality and their wasteful dissipation, as
fin their past liberal selfshness they could
claim some forbearance for their present
disrepute, or some compassion for the mis-
fortunes into which their own heedlessness
has thrown them. The learned, too, will
disdain all knowledge of the dull routine of
economy, and proclaim their ignorance OF
the affairs of life, as if the confession endow-
ed them with virtue but perfection is not
the privilege of any order of men, and ma
ny who ought 10 have been the monitors of
mankind whose talents have made their
names immortal, embitttered their lives, and
impaired the vigor oftheir intellects by their
thoughtess and wanton extravaganza.
/ BLAcKGuARDs.-In all the great houses,
but particularly i'll royal residences, there
were number of mean and dirty depen-
dants, whose office it was to attend the
n r