Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-02-09
ENGLISH DEBTORS.
John Ruskin 90 the Rescue of Poor
TsaDkruDt--A Romantic story.


.. for debt they nsed to aflix placard on the
| outside of some of the prisons, with the
inscription, "Pity thepoor debtorsp There
| ia no good reason nowadays TO say 'Pity
| the poor debtors % So long as nothing
fraudulent is proved against the unlor-
tunate the process Of whitewashing il easy
and gentle, and the distanced horse gets
another fair start in the race Of life. But
debtor appeared in the Chelmsford Coun-
ty Court on Saturday last, on whose behalf
the old placard might well be displayed
again, and the melancholy little bell might
tlnkle for pity. The bankrupt was no other
than Miss Matilda Grigga, who was pricked
SO full OF holes with dagger by her affec-
tionate lover, Frederic Watkins, at Bnek
hurst Hill.
The public is we'll acquainted siih the
iscis Of this exiraorfinRrs ease The lov-
slsu.
bat ties t,f anti. p-ied ,As duties and
rights of The welded state. Walking to-
gether, they quarrelled upon some trivial
matter, and in sudden tit of canseless
jealousy the Young man plunged the weapon
no fewer than thirteen times into the body
OF the poor g;H. The sheath was left
sticking in the worst and most serious
wound, and bnt for this circumstance she
wonld have died at once from loss of blood.
She would have died, az il was, from cold
and syncope, bat for a most curious occur
renee. The wounded giBl staggering over
the path, in the attempt TO get ont of the
field, was followed by two calves, grazing
there, and when she fell upon the grass in
swoon, these amiable young cattle dis
posed themselves on each side Of her; and
lying down close to the bleeding body,
they kept il warm and partly sheltered il
from the biting cold and from the driving
rain. The cold staunched the hemorrhage,
and the calves kept the poor creature from
dying outright. She was found, carried
home, and pronounced to be moribund, and
her "dying dispositions" were taken.
But she did not die. Thanks TO the Es-
sex calves, TO the dagger sheath, and to a
physique which must be as vigorous as the
British constitution itself, she recovered
completely; and with her strength came
back all the force of her first love. The
prisoners friends found it easy to keep her
ont of the way at the trial. In the hope
that her non-appearance would stop the
case against the savage sweetheart she for.
feited her recogniZance and was sent abroad.
This available evidence was, however, suE
ficient, and Watkins was sentenced to
twenty years penal seryitude. Thereupon,
Miss Griggs returned TO England; but
''recogniZances" are awful things and
knowing nothing about tender passions or
the divine commiseratiOn of the feminine
heart, the Exchequer clapped the soft
hearted victim into the county Jail for the
sum of Gao, under which she had bound
herself to prosecute.
Had she been rich instead Of poor, we
feel certain that we should have seen ere
now one of those mysterious little financial
paragraphs in which Mr.. Disraei would
have acknowledged the receipt Of forty
ponds sterling for unpaid recognizances
from M. e.; and NJ. q. wonld have gone
free 10 heal the thrice thirteen wounds in
her poor heart, II possible. But her par
ehis a.~ quite they conld not help
her, anu she appeared on Saturday, there
fore, as a bankrupt, praying her discharge
II was refused, and she must accordingly
lie in Chelmsford iail ill next March, the
prisoner Of the Sheriff, at the sut Of the
Chancellor Of the Exchequer
" Ii Is clear that the hearts,
and brains of our great lawyer never pro
vided for the contingency of Matilda
Griggs. Turning the other cheek was,
they probably felt, all very well for the
Lord Bishops assize sermon on Sundays;
but the statutes were compiled for work
ing days, and Littleton, and Coke upon
Littleton, and all the rest of them, never
took the idea nnder their wigs, that girl
couid be almost murdered by her sweet
or l., e.
swain. What would become of courts, ca
ses, and lawyers fees, if there were many
plaintiffs and prosecutors of Matilda's
stamp2 No wonder the Exchequer is
stern, the County Court rigorous, and the
Sheriff hard as the neither miIlstone for
this kind of passionate Christianity would
undo us all Yes we must keep the
false Matilda-false to recognizanees,'
that is to say. not to anything else-under
bolt and bar There is not more danger
ons bankrupt in custody; she lets her
debtors of without penny, and pays her
creditors nothing but a tear in the pound.
Only we should like TO ask a question be-
fore we once more hide away the old
placard, Pity the poor bankrupt
The day this story was published, the
editor of The Telegraph received from John
Rusking check for forty pounds sterling;
accompanied by the following letter:
To the Editor ofthe DAILY Yeiegraph-SIR
Except in "Gil Bias" | never read of
anything AHtrean on the earth 30 perfect
as the story in YOUR fourth article to-day.
| send yon a check for the Chancellor.
II forty, in legal terms, means four hun
dred, YOU must explain the further require
naputo IN vor1r lai va nt1lIta
| am, sir, your faithful servant,
j. RUsKIN.
Denmark Hill, s., January Il, 1868.
Mr.. Ruskin's check is for e40l
Still another check for e40 was also re-
ceived on the same day from shopkeeper
named w. C. Brown, of Nos. l3 and IA
Broad stree, London, who wrote thus:
" am one Of the nation of shopkeep-
ers only, yet proud OF my position, il being
conjOintly with the exertions of good and
clever wife, a self earned one. My first
impulse was to go down and personally re-
lease the poor debtor but upon reflection
| considered that your mission for it was
your kind interference that awoke my
sympathy. Moreover send the means of
release in the spirit of a happy father, and
when | receive = parting kiss, and good
Eight, dad from my pets, shall fee J have
been enabled TO beStow similar Messing
tomorrow upon the parent Of the poor
Matilda"
The Telegraph prints these letters and
adds,
The sums sent 10 our office exceeded
the amount required for the immediate
purpose Of setting the unfortunate prisoner
free, and, consequently, before proceeding
10 dispose Of the balance, we must await
the further instructions of our correspond
ents."
a DAYTON correspondent writes The
fr;ar1s of Mr Nrallond;abap, e,, ttot La =;