*1 s .,_ ~ IL.; 14k . ., , • c......1...5b f • --\'' - (..- r lAn \ Otgbon ...,.,,,.,4, .4,.....-- - -„„. *- '''' 4 ~- .......,,,_ .-,. ........ . - , - ,II -,' ',.• i i __„..,..„.4.....„ qb.--. ourttipit„, I ,BY JAS. CLARK. A STonw OF THE PRESS GANG. 1 ausly interpreted. A knock came to I the door, and• that person entered to Tile wrongs of a Wife and Revenge : know at what time Mrs.- , she had of a Husband. i forgotten the young woman's name, ex- Henry Mason had married Esther pected the dinner, she, the landlady had , •Woodford, the widow of Jabez IVood- , undertaken to cook. fa !d, who was killed by an necidental I Esther thi.idly replied that her hus , 'MI ii. the Plymouth dockyard, of which , bated had promised to return in two or he was foreman. Henry had loved Es- three hours at latest ; and that she did then when a girl, but she had in a jealous not comprehend his continued absence pive, married Woodford. After the —was indeed quite alarMed about it— cfenth of her husband, she went to live " Your Husband !" said the woman, try;th her brother-in-law, taking with her glancing insolently at Esther's figure. in wily child, Willy, a sweet boy, but of "Are you sure lie it your husband I" weak intellect. Her old love was re. 1 The hot blood suffused the temples of vived, nod Henry Mason, who had be- the iudignaut wife as she said; " This come a mate of a first class Merchant- apartment, madam, I believe is.inine 1" man, belonging to the respectable hou se " Oh, certainly; as long as you Can of Messrei , linberts of London, married ' pay for it ;" and rudely slumming the ._... the widow Esther. The evesitsiail their dour, the landlady departed. subsequent iite are (tins related in t lie , The wietched night at last over, Es 4,f!titites of a distinguished Barrister." titer rose with the light ; and after giv ,ai It was about eight months after his lug her son his bi eakfust from the re , marriage—though he had been profits- mains of that of the day before, set off enough employed in the interim— : with him to the place of business of the $ at Henry !Vinson, in consequenee of the . Messrs. Roberts. it teas early, and one welcome announcement tiatt the new clerk only had as yet arrived nt the of brig was at last ready for her captain fice. use informed her that Mr. Henry and cargo, arrived in London to enter ' Mason had not been seen, and that the upon his new appointment. ! partners were greatly annoyed about it, "These lodgings, Esther," said he as as his immediate presence was absolute he was preparing to go out, soon after ly necessary. brcitkfitet, on the morning after his ar. Stunned, terrified, bewildered by thb ' rival, " are scarcely the thug; and Its I, frightful calamity which she believed Bice you, am a stranger in the Cockney. : had befallen her, she felt convinced that lend, 1 had better consult some of the her husband had been entrapped and iitin upon the subject before we decide murdered for Om sake of the money he upon permanent ones. In the mean- had about hint; the wretched woman time, you and W illy must mind and tottered back .to her lodgings, ntid threw keep in doors when I um not with you, herself on the bed in wild despair.— of I shall have one or the other of you . What was to be done for food even for l est i n this great wildernes of a city. 1 lice boy I Her husband had not only shall return in twoor three hours. I will his pocket book with him containing his qrder something for dinner as Igo along; la rger money, but had taken her purse! I have your purse. Good-by : God bless , She was alone and penniless in a strange itoti both."l city ! The hungry wailings of her wit . Inquiring his way every two or three; less child towards evening at length minutes, Mason presently found himself: aroused her from the stupor of despair to the vicinity of Toner Stairs. A ! into which sh: had fallen. The miser seuffie in front of a public house attract.' able resource of pawning recurred to ' ed his ciention ; and his ready sympa. her; she could at least, by pledging tides were in an Instant enlisted in be- part of her wardrobe, procure suste half of a young sailor, vainly struggling nance for her child till she could hear in the grasp of several athelic men, and from her sister ; and with trembling crying lustily on the gaping bystanders hands she began arranging a bundle of fur help. Mason sprang forward, caught such things as she could best spar; one of the assailants by the collar, nnd when the landlady abruptly entered the hurled him with some violence against room, with a peremptory demand—as the wall. A fierce outcry greeted this her husband had not returned, and did anu aei.ais interference with gentlemen not appear likely to do so— for a month's who, in these good old times, were but rent in advance, that being the term the executing the law in a remarkably good apartments were engaged for. Thetears, old manner. Lieut. Dunnaghtte, a some• entreaties expostulations, of the miser what celebrated snapper up of loose mar- I able wife were of no avail. Not one ar riners, emerged upon the scene; and in 1 title, the woman declared, should heave a few minutes was enabled to exult in the', her house till the claim was settled. She secure posses: ion of an additional prize affected to doubt, perhaps realy did so, • in the unfortunate Henry Mason, who, . thit Esther was married j and hinted too late, discovered that lie had embroil- coarsely at an enforcement of the laws ed himself with a pee-s gang 1 Deeper- . against persons who had no , visable ate. frenzied were the courts he made , ineans of subsistence, In a paroxysm to extricate himself from the peril in of despair, the unhappy woman rushed winch lie had rashly involved himself. out of the house; and accompanied by In vain ! His protestations that he was her hungry child ‘ again sought the coun t) titat-s, e c , .piaiii in the merchant sac- . tine. hoitee of the Messrs. Roberts. She vice, v..c, e I:lilleeded or mocked at.was now as much too late as she had To all his remonstrances he only got I been tomaitarly in the morning; the part the professional answer—" His majesty aces pod clerks had gone, and she ap wants yea and that is enough :.so come. pears to Retie been treated with some along, and no more about it." rudeness by the porter, who was closing Bruised, exhausted and almost mad, the premises when she arrived. Possi. he was borne off in triumph to a boat, bly the wildness of her looks, and the into which he was thrust with several incoherence of her speech arid manner, others, and swiftly rowed off to a recei- , produced an impression unfavorable to sing ship in the river.--Even there hislier.—Retracing tier steps—penniless, assertions and protestations were of no I hungry, sick at heart—she thought, as avail. Nothing but an admiralty order 1 she afterwards declared, that she recog , the officer tuld him should effect his I nixed my wife in one of the numerous libetation. His majesty was in need i ladies seated before the counters of a of seamen; and he was evidently tool fashionable shop in one of the busiest smart a one to be deprived of the glory' thoroughfares. Site entered, and not of serving his country. " You must' till she approached close to the lady dis therefore," concluded the officer, as lie pottered her mistake. She turned de , turned laughingly on his heel, "do as spairing,ly away,.; when . a piece of rich thousands of other fine fellows have lace, lying apparently unheeded on the b, 7n) compelled to.do—" grin and bear counter, : met her eye, and a dreadful it." lii about three weeks from the date i suggestion crossed her fevered brain; of this imprisonment, Maio. found him- j here at least was the means of procu.. self serving in the Alediterailean on I ring food for her wailing child. She board the "Active" irigate, Capt. Alex- I glanced hastily and fearfully round. No adder Gordon, without inn' inf.*. been per- , eye, she thought, observed her; and, mated one opportunity of cianentioca- 1 horror of horrors ! a moment after. tiqg with the shore. This was certain- , wards. she had concealed the lace 'he ly very 'sharp, but it was i:ot the less 1 neath her shawl, and with tottering feet very common practice in ilia, I reat days l ' was hastily leaving the shop. She haul ortriumphant battles icy land and sea. I not taken half a 'dozen steps when a Vsety drearily pas,,sl the time with ! heavy hand was laid spun lice shoulder. the bereaved wife. Her husband prom. : nod a voice, as of a serpent hissing in iced to send home something for dinner, I her ear, commanded her to restore the and various groceries; yet hour Mier ' lace she had stolen.—Transfixed With hour Went past, and nothing arrived. I shame and terror, slie.atotul rooted to Morning flushed into noon, day faded i the spot, and the lace fell on the floor. into twilight. and. still the. well known I "Tett:liven , officer," said the harsh and always eager step sounded not upon' voice. addressing one of the shopirien. • the stair,. What could have detained 1. ," No—no—me screamed the wtetch hini from his wife,' shut tip, inapri:tined, , ed woman falling op her knees in wild as it were, iii that hot, burryitig,, stifling l'stspplication. ...For iny, child's, sake— eity.l. She feared to listen to the stia , l irc mercy of the innocent babe as yet gestions of her forboding heart; and I unborn=-have, pity .and.forgive too!" with feverish restlessness t oo out .upon 1 The harsh order .was reiterated ; and the landing, and peered over the stairs Esther Masun, fainting.with shame and every dine alttioelt or a ring was heard . agony, was eoiiveyesl.. to the prison in at the street door. 'rids strange belie- Giltspur street. The next day she was.' vior was, it seems, noticed by the land. fully committed to Newgate on the cap lady of the lodging house, and injuri- ital charge of privately stealing in a HUNTINGDON, PA,, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1849. shop to the value of five pounds. A few hours after her incarceration within those terrible walls, she was premature ly delivered of a female child. I have no moral doubt whatever, I never had, that at the time of the commit tal of the felonious act, the intellect of Esther Mason was disordered. Any other supposition is inconsistent with the whole tenor of her previous life and character. " Lead us not into temptation" is indeed the holiest be cause the humblest prayer. Three weeks had elapsed before the first intimation reached me, in a note from the chaplain of Newgate, an ex cellent, kind hearted man, to whom Mrs. 'Alason had confided tier sad story. I - immediately- hastened to the prison ; and i in a long interview with her, elicited the foregoing statement. I readily assured her that all which legal skill could do to extricate her from the awful posi tion in which she stood, the gravity of Which I did not affect to conceal, should 'be done. The °fleece with which she was charged had supplied the scafibld with numberless victims; and trades men were more than ever clamorous for the stern execution of a law which, spite of experience they still regarded as the only safeguard •of their property. My wife was overwhelmed with grief; and in her anxiety to save her unhappy fos ter-sister, sought without my knowledge an interview with the prosecuter, in the hope of inducing him not to press the charge, Her efforts were unavailing. He had suffered much, he said, from such practices, and was, " upon princi ple" determined to make an example of every offender he could catch. As to the plea that her husband had been for -1 cibly carried off by a pressgang, it was absurd ; for what would become of the the property of tradesmen if the wife of every sailor so entrapped were al lowed to plunder shops with impunity 1 This magnificent reasoning wasof course unanswerable ; and the rebuked petition er abandoned her bootless errand in de ep/dr.—Messrs. Roberts, I should have mentioned, had by some accident dis , covered the nature of the misfortune which had befallen their officer, and had already made urgent application to the Admiralty for his release. The Old Bailey sessions did not come on for some time ; 1, however, took care to secure at once, us I did not myself practice in that court, t h e highest talent ' which its bar afforded. 11 illy, who had been placed in a workhouse by the authorities; we had properly taken care of till he could be restored to his moth ! er ; or in the event of her conviction, to his relatives in Devonshire. The sessions were nt last on: a " true bill" against Esther Mason for shoplift ing, as itilitas popularly termed, was un hesitatingly found, and with a heavy heart 1 wended my way to the court to watch the proceedings. A few minutes after I entered, Mr. Justice Le Blanc and Mr. Baron Wood, who had assisted at an important case of stockjobbing I conspiracy, just over, left the bench ; the learned recorder being doubtless con sidered quite equal to the trial of a mere capital charge of theft. The prisoner was placed in the dock ; but try as I might, I could not look at her. It happened to be a calm, brig . it Summer day ; the air, as if in mockery of those death sessions, humming with busy, lusty life ; so that, sitting with my back to the prisoner, I could, us it were, read her demeanor in the shadow thrown by her figure on the opposite , sunlig,hted wall. There she stood, du ring the brief moments which sealed her earthly demo, with downcast eyes and utterly dejected posture; her thin fin ! gers playing mechanically with the 1 flowers and sweet scented herbs spread scantily before her. The trial was very brief ; the evidence, emphatically given and vainly cross-examined. Nothing remained but un elaherote ad misericoi• demise excusative defence, which had been prepared by me, and which the prisoner begged' her counsel mi ! rlit be allowed to read. This was of coarse re fused ; the recorder reniarki.ig, they might well allow coansel for felons to address juries, as read defences; and that, as every practical man knew, would be subversive of the dire administration of justice. The clerk of the court would read the paper if the prisoner felt too agitated to do so, 'ibis was done ; and very vilely done: ' The clerk, I dare say, read as well as he was able; but old, near-sighted, ind possessed of any thing but a clear enunciation, what could be expectedl he defense, so read, produced not the slightest effect either on the court or jot y. The recur: e: briefly commented on the conclusiveness of the evidence for the prosecution ; and the jury, in the same brief, business-like .manner, returned a verdict of guilty ' "What have you to say," demanded the clerk, "why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon you, according to law V' The shadow started convulsively as the terrible words fell from the man's lips; and 1 saw that the upraised eyes of the prisoner were fastened on the foie of the fearful questioner. The lips too, appeared to move ; but no sound reach ed my ears. "Speak, woman," said the recorder, "if you have anything to urge before sentence is pronounced." I started tip, and turning to the pHs= oner, besought her in accents to speak. "Remind them of the infant at your breast—your husband''— "Who is that conferring with the prisoner 1" demanded the judge in an angry voice. iturned and confronted him with a look as cold and haughty as his own.-- He did not think proper to pursue the inquiry further; and nfter muttering something about the necessity of not in terrupting the proceedings of the court, again asked the prisoner if she had any thing to urge. "Not for - myself—not for my sake," at last faintly murmured the trembling woman ; "but for that of my poor dear infant—my poor witless boy ! Ido not think I was in my right mind. I was starving. I was friendless. My hus band, too, whom you have heard"— She stopped abruptly ; and a choking sob struggled in her throat ' • and but for the supporting arm of one of the turn , keys, . she would have fallen to the ground. "Unhappy, guilty woman," said the recorder, with the coolness of a demon, "the plea of insanity you would set up is utterly untenable. Your husband it seems, is serving his majesty in the roy al navy, defending his country, whilst his wife was breaking its laws, by the commission of a crime, which, but for the stern repression of the law, would sap the foundations of the security of property, and"— . . I could endure no more. The atmos phere of the court seemed to stifle me ; and 1 rushed for relief into the open air. Before, however, I had reached the street, a long, piercing scream informed me that the learned judge had done his duty. No effort was spared during the inter val which !elapsed previous to the re corder presenting his report to the privy council—a peculiar privilege at that time attached to the office—to procure a mitigation of the sentence. A petition, setting forth the peculiar circumstances of the case, was carefully prepared ; and by the indefatigable exertions elan excellent Quaker gentleman, r whom, as he is still alive, and might not choose to have his name blazoned to the world, ' I will call William Friend—was soon very numerously signed. The prose cutor, however, obstinately refused to ' attach his name to the document; and ! the absence of his signature—aa strange ly did men reason on such twitters in those days—would, it was feared, weigh heavily against the success of the peti tion. T d amiable and enlightened Sir Samuel Romilly not only attached his ' name, but aided us zealously by his ad vice and influence. In short, nothing was omitted that appeared likely to at= tain the desired object. i Two days before the petition was to be forwarded to the proper quarter, Hen ry Mason arrived in England, the exer tions ol his employers having procured his discharge. "The Active" was one of Captain Hoste's squadron, which ob tained the celebrated victory oft Lissa, ! over the Franco Venitian fleet comman ded by Admiral Dobourdieu. Henry Mason, it appeared by the testimonials of the Captain and officers of his ship, had greatly distinguished himself in the action. We enclosed these papers with the petition ; and then awaited with anxious impatience the result of the re corder's report. It was announced to me as I was sitting somewhat later than usual at my chaaibers, by Mr. William Friend. The judgment to die was con firmed ! All our representations had nut sufficed to . coanterbalance the sup posed necessity of exhibiting terrible examples of the fate awaiting the perpe trators of an offence said to to be in. creasing. Excellent William Friend wept like a child .at the announcement. There are many persons alive who recollect this horrible tragedy—this na tional disgraCe—this act of horrid bar. barity on the part of the great person ege who, first having carried off the poor woman's husband, left her to die for an act the very consequence of that• robbery. Who among the spectators can ever forget that heart rending scene —the hangman taking the baby from the breast of the wretched .creature just before he put her to death ! But let us not rake up these terrible reminiscences. Let us hope that the truly guilty are for-. given. And let us take consolation from reflecting that this event led the great Romily to enter on his celebrated career as a reformer of the criminaLlaw. The remains of Esther Mason were obtained from the Newgate officials, and quietly interred in St. Sepulchre's churchyard. A plain slab with her name only plainly chiseled upon it, was sortie time afterwards placed upon the grave. A few years ago I attended n funeral in the same churchyard ; and after a slight search, discovered the spot. The in scription, though of course much worn, Was still quite legible. I had not seen Henry Mason since his return; but I was glad to hear from Mr. William .Friend that, after the first passionate burst of rage and grief had subsided, he had, apparently at least, thanks to the tender and pious expostmi latious of his wife—with whow, by the kind intervention of the sheriffs, he was permitted long and frequent interviews —settled down into czerriness and res ignation. One thing. only he would not bear to hear, even from her, and that was any admission that she had been guilty of even the slightest offence. A hint of the kind, however unintentional, would throw him into a parcxysm of fury ; and the subject was conse , quently in his presence studiously avoided. A few days after the exedUtion, Mr. William Friend culled on me just after breakfast ; accompanied by the bereaved husband. I never saw so changed a man. All the warm kindliness of his nature had vanished, and was replaced by a gloomy, fierce austerity, altogether painful to contemplate. "Well, sir," said he, as he barely. touched my proffered hand, "they have killed her, you see, spite of all you could say or do. It much availed me, too, that I had helped to wln their boasted victo ries ; and he laughed with savage bit terness. "Henry—Henry !" exclaimed WU liam Friend in a reproving accent. " 0 ell, well, sir rejoined Mason impa tiently, you are a good man, and have of course your own notions on those matters : 1 also have mine. Or perhaps you think it is only the blood of the rich and great which, shed unjustly, brings forth the iron harvest 1 Forgive me" he added, checking himself, 6 1 respect you both; but my heart is turned to stone. You do not know—none ever knew but I—how kind, how loving; how gentle was that poor long suffering Ho turned from us to hide the terrible agony which convulsed him. "Henry," said Mr. Friend, taking him kindly by the hand, we pity thee sin cerely, as thou k newest, but thy bitter revengeful expressions are unchristian: sinful. The authorities whom thou, not the first time, railest on so wildly, acted be sure of it, from a sense of duty ; a mistaken one, in my opinion, doubtless, still"— "Say no more, sir," interrupted Ma• son. "We differ in opinidn upon the subject. And now gentlemen, farewell. I wished to see you, sir, before I left this country forever, to thank you for your kind, though fruitlesi exertions. Mr. Friend has promised to be steWurd for poor Willy for all I can remit for his use. Farewell. God bless you both." lie was gone: War soon afterwards broke out with the United States of America, and Mr. Friend discovered that one of the most active and daring officers in the Repub lican navy was Henry Mason, who had entered the American service in the mai• den name of his wife ; and that the large sums he had remitted from time to time for the use of illy, were the produce of his successful depredations on British commerce. The instant Mr. Friend made the discovery, he declined all fur ther agency in the matter. Mason, how ever contrived to remit through some other channel to the Davie's, u ith whom the boy had been placed, and a rapid im provement in their circumstances was soon visible. These remittances ceas ed about the middle of the year 1814 ; and a twelvemonth after the peace with America, we ascertained that Henri• Mason had been killed in the battle of Lake Champlain, where he had distin guished himself, as everywhere else, by the reckless during and furious hate with which he fought against the country whi c h he accused of the murder of his wife. He was recognized by one of his former inessinates in the "active ;" who, conveyed a prisoner on board the Amer ican commander Mcdonwigh's ship, re cognized him as he lily stret i ched o n t h e deck, in the uniform of an American na val officer ; his countenance, even in death, wearing the same scornful, defi ant expression which it assumed on the day that his beloved Esther perished on the scaffold. 11 , 1ATents.--.Do you keep thatches here asked a wag of a retailer. 'Oh, yes all kinds.' 'Then I'll take a trotting match.' VOL, XIV, NO. 40 TUE OLD CONTiNENTAA. A FRAGMENT. A number of the Columbia Sentinel, (Benjamin Russel's paper,) for January 8, 1800, says a late Boston paper, is be fore us. It was the time that funeral honors Were being paid to the memory of George Watihington. The follow ing little waif we copy from the Centi nel. It is replete with meaning, though very simple, and conveys an idea of the effect produced when it was announced that 'George Washington was no more.' be,!-----said the grey•haired corporal—his eyes were filled with a watery humor, and he was obliged to take out his handkerchief. He forgot the mug of beer which he called for— shouldered his walkingstirk, then rever sing it, marched home at a slow march. The General is dead, Phcebe,' said he, as he made a halt and sat down. • Is he sir V—Plicebc was emptying her milk-pall, and the pail fell as she put her checked apron tip to her eyes. —A little girl, at this instant, came running in from school—'What is the matter Phcehe V said she—General Washington's dead !' sobbed out Phoebe. Is he V the girl sat down to cry. Moses had just put up the Cows, and come in to dry his feet before he went to singing school. What s the matter Mina V said ho to his little sister: General Washington is dead !' she could hardly lisp. Moses forgot his feet were wet, and sat down in one corner whilst he whiped his eyes with the sleeve of his frock. Ph - cebe was still standing with her apron to her fadb. Jemima had retired to her little blalk in the chimny corner. Moses had wet his frock sleeve through and through: When the old Corporal raised his head from the top of his walkingstick.— Thmbe,' said he, 'you need not make any hasty pudding to-tught . No, sir!' , Jeminia nt length said tier prayers to her sister and went to bed. The whole family shortly followed her example, and even Moses raked up the fire and retired to his garret ; entirely forgetting that he was to have learned St. Martin's that evening. By day break next morning, the old than had got on his regimentals, which had remained in his oak chest et•er since his return from West Point. He knock ed up a neighboring shop-keeper to get a yard of black ribbon, and his grief seemed to be somewhat more calm when tie lied tied a piece of this around his left arm, and Phirbe had made a bow- , knot en the top of his walking stick. Jf mima seeing her father thus trim ming himself with black ribbon, held up her little hands—'l too,' said she. The old Corporal smiled upon her, and made a shift to tie a knot upon her arm himself. .1 hoped Once, Moses, that you would fight the enemies of nor country with him; but god's will be done, as our Minister told me when your mother died. The old General is done fight ing now. I heard the chaplain of the army say once when he was burying the Colonel; that he supposed the ghost of the good man Saw all that was done here among us—and could take out of harm's way all they used to love in the world. 1 suppose, Moses, the General is look ing at us now! For lam sure he was a good man—and if our soldiers should have to fight the French why, he would be among 'em, and give orders, too, only we shouldn't see him POTATOES.—From year to year we have carefully chronicled the appear ance of the potato crop us it approached the season of maturity. We have this year made many inquiries of our far mers, and they uniformly state that the tubers of this crop are more numerous and agreeable than at an time since the peculiar decay, which has of late years proved so destructive, first began ; and do more signs of unsoundness are ex• hibited than were known in the `pa!mi• est' and mealiest days of this valuable esculent. For many years we have had extremely wet weather when the potato was in the most critical period of its growth. 'This has undoubtedly contrib uted very greatly to their decay, if it has not been the cause. This year . the weather has been peculiarly favorable —the roots having never been more than sufficiently moistened. e appre hend this is the true reason of the change, although from the universality of the former loss it may be fully infer• red that the disease had its origin in sue enknown atmospheric phenomenon. Hereafter the year of the cholera will probably be remembered as the year when the crop recovered its ancient vig or and excellepce.--.-Buffato •Rdvcrtfaer. i C T I .~