Daily American telegraph., 1852-02-27

| greatest fault was attachment to one whom,
they viewed as their lawful prince, were most
brutally insulted at their trials which were but
a mockery of justice, and condemned to death
with every indignity which the icndish mind
of their inhuman judge could suggest.
Neither age nor sex escaped; and upon
such as he could not by any possible means
condemn to death for high treason, he imposed
punishments worse than death. Women, for
few idle words were condemned to be whip
ped through every market-town in the county
and one young lad, for a few seditious words
was sentenced to prison for seven years, and to
be whipped through every markettown in the
county, once year, during the whole term OF
his imprisonment This, it is said, amounted
to whipping once a fortnight, and the poor
boy begged to be hung rather than suffer all
this; but even this request was refused. Eight
hundred and forty prisoners were sent to the
! West Indies, and sold as slaves for q term OF
ten years and even the little school girls of
Taunton, who, headed by their teacher, had
presented banner to Monmouth, were seized
and thrown into prison, from whence their
broken-hearted parents were obliged to ransom
| them by paying large sums to the Queens
maids Of honor, who claimed this part of the
the spoil as theirs. Maids of dishonor we think
u far more appropriate title for women who
could be guilty of such baseness
The property of all these people was confs-
Gated to the Crown, and hundreds of families
were turned out into the world to starve. 1t is
impossible for us to conceive of the suffering
occasioned by these barbarous proceedings,
and the fear and hatred in which even the
name of Jeffries was held. The historian has
related one incident which goes to show the
depth and strength of these feelings Years
81
and title extinct, his grand daughter, while on
a journey through the scenes OF his atrocities,
found that she could not travel in safety even
among the descendants of those who had wit
messed the Bloody Assizes.
But to return to Jack Hazeldean. He and
his dame were now aged, white-haired people.
They had lived in troublous times, and seen
three Kings beside the Lord Protector Crom-
well laid down in the grave; their humble
cabin had once echoed to the merry voices OF
children, and their simple hearts had swelled
with gratitude and parental pride, as they
looked on the ruddy faces and agile forms Of
their boys. But Death had entered the cabin
as well as the palace, and they were all gone
some in infancy, some from the battlefield
and some from the dark, gloomy prison, to
which their adherence to the religious tanets OF
their fathers had consigned them and the old
people stood alone, bowed and broken like the
aged trees of their native forest
One night during the autumn of 1855 they
sat by the dying embers in their little hut,
with hearts very sorrowful and heavy-not
that the storm ragged so wildly without, irving
and twisting the tall trees around them in its
fury, and threatening destruction to their poor
shelter-that could only happen by the Prov
dense # God; and they were too sincerely
pous to sorrow over affections or chastsemcnt
, that they could trace to His hand-neither wa
it because the minions of the Chief Justice ha,
been there day or two before and completed,
: stripped them of everything they though
worth taking away, leaving them out of thei
large flock Of poultry only two d lcks-two Lit
tie halfgrown things, which the old dame haC
hatched out in a basket covered with hannc
iu the corner, from eggs which the mother
duck had left in the nest. Their goat and the
poultry were their chief dependence and there
was long winter ahead-stil they trusted
that He who took care of the comics and the
hares and the little birds in the wood about
them would not leave them to starve, if He had
yet farther work for them on earth. No; it
was not this that made them sad, but old Jack
had hobbled as far as Turner's-stile that morn
ing, and had heard from the farmers family
there the details of many bloody deeds commit
ted under the name Of justice, and their hearts
were filed with pity for the helpless women
and children that were wandering houselcss
and homeless on night like that.
i The rush-light which cast its feeble gleam
over the apartment had we'll nigh burned out
when they were startled by noise as of some
thing falling against the door, followed by q
deep groan. They sprang up, and stood for a
second gazing in each others faces in silent
surprise
at must be the limb of the big oak has beer
blown down." sad the old man. I've cx
pected it every great storm we have had fo
this many year,
"But there was groan gafer, as true Il,
I'm living woman" exclaimed dame Joan
her little blue eyes dlating with terror as she
thought of certain tales of witchcraft which
were prevalent in those regions.
"'Twas the wind dame it makes all sorts
of noises among the trees, and it seems, some
times, as if the trees themselves talked in such
a storm and -
Again the noise was asrepeatcd and gaffer Jack
without finishing his sentence, limped to the
door, saying, "You are right. If my ears sarve
me, that is the voice of some human being in
Distress"
He withdrew the bar flung open the door
and there fell over the threshold woman, clasp
ing in her arms child, which might have been
two or three years old, but whose hollow eyes
sunken cheeks loose, fabby skin, made it look
almost as old as dame Joan herself
They dragged the poor sufferers to the fire
Jack heaped on fresh fagots while the old
dame removed their dripping garments. They
were too poor to have in their house any re-
storatives save such as were culled from the
fields and garden patch but dame Joan wa,
well skilled in the virtues of these and soon Il
cup of hot hyssop tea was prepared, and she
| lal t.Nt