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No. 436, July 31, 1858.] T B. E X E A ID...
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MISCELLANEA. " "Tis a mad world, my mast...
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Piety alfresco is on the increase-, and ...
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If I was an army contractor, E should be...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Novelettes Of Law And Theiu Moral. The M...
riety with every -woman in the-house . In her aroxysms of jealous rage she several times eriously assaulted her husband , once to the exteut f fracturing his skull ; and , on another occasion , lie threw Taerself out of a window and broke her jg . In consequence of these occurrences a sepaition took place ; but , separated from her husand , she became impressed with the notion tiat he desired to poison her , and the upshot
f this part of the miserable story is that she ras placed in a private lunatic asvlam , called ' Acomb House , " kept by a surgeon named Metalfe . Here , according to her account , she was xbjected to ill-treatment of the grossest kind . She ppears to have been violent , and he admitted lat he had called her by the most opprobrious ame "that can be applied to a woman . He never lade her strip naked before him , he said , but she ad " undressed before him . " He would not swear
lat he had nofc said to her , " Come , you have ; ripped before many men , you shall do it before ie . " Mrs . Turner's whole treatment , indeed , was Nearly barbarous . But justice was ready to be Lvoked to her aid . Thirteen out of twenty of the Lry who tried her case hare declared that she is of > und mind , competent to take care of herself , and lat the conduct of Metealfe has been disgraceful , he attention of the Commissioners is drawn to his stablishment , and the prospect is that he will not enture to enact such scenes with other u nfortuates who may come under his charge . JJut lookjg at the case fn its broader bearings , it is to
DCiety that we must look for a rectification of the loral aberration of which poor Mrs . Turner was he victim : in a higher state of morals such , jea-> usy as that which has possessed her will be bararous if not impossible . Meanwhile the readiness nd efficacy of our law for the defence even of those rho may appear beyond its pale are manifest . Take , as another example , the case of Shaw v . tedpatli , tried at Durham on Tuesday last . Mrs . > haw is a widow , aged forty-two , who has agrownp daughter . Mr . Redpath is a widower , aged orty-four , and he has several children . He paid hi ourt to Mrs . Sbaw , and won her consent to marry
im ; but his mother-in-law , witli whom he is living , nd from whom he has " expectations , " objected to he match , and he broke it off . Ait action for reach of promise of marriage was commenced , and > n the trial Mr . Redpath ' s counsel said many smart kings about the sharpness of widows ; but Baron Martin set the pure equity of the case before the ury . What business , he said , lad a man of fortybur years of age to engage himself to a woman , aud hen say he could not marry her because of his nother-in-law ? The jury gave a verdict for the vidow , with twenty-five pounds damages ; and igain the readiness of law to do justice even to
> utraged feelings—and that iu a case where , pcrlaps , no strong sympathy with the aggrieved party ; ould be looked for—is manifest . A man must not cnowingly incur and throw off at his pleasure obligations which affect the interests , or even the feelags , of another . _ The third case is in many respects move instructive than either of these ; it is almost like a fairy ; ale in the " happy ending" and the " reward of nrtue . " It exhibits , on the one hand , a family livided against itself , but agreeing to some extent in the oppression of a woman ; and on the other iiand , that woman pursuing her own steady path
ngainst her persistent antagonists , and triumphing at last . Of the heroine wo only know that her Christian name is Patience , her origin is so little remarkable that her family name has not been mentioned . Early in life her attractions and her merits engaged the affection of Henry Swinfen , of a family well known in Staffordshire , and notwithstanding the opposition of his family , he married her . It was the crowning proof ol liis wildncss , and his father , who had already frowned upon his excesses , discarded him . Patience , therefore , wedded that unprofitable encumbrance—a discarded son—probably with the habits of higher lifo , but M'ithout the
resourcca . Her affection and her clear sense , however , appear very soon to have effected one excellent reform . The wild young man hecaine steady . How often is this experience to bo repeated P * " A virtuous wife is a crown to her husband , " will bo repeated by the same well-educated men who consider the virtuous wife valueless unless she have so many thousands a year , and will , indeed , pay much more attention to ascertain the thousands than the virtues . Henry ' s father , Samuel , however , was not a man familiar with domestic concord , perhaps ne inherited some eccentricities from his own . father .
John , who had married two wives , and whose two families were disunited , Samuel himself living ; in a state of chronic quarrel with his half-brothers and sisters . Eventually , however , he permitted his discarded son to return , home , then consented to receive his "wife . . And now the moral power of Patience began to be exercised upon the wayward Samuel . By degrees he succumbed to it , and it appears always to have been exerted for good . It made the son steady , it made the father humane ; and if it did wot succeed in bringing back to the family mansion , Swinfen Hall , the repudiated second family , it did persuade the
master of the house to receive some of the members of that section . Henry died before his father ; but Mrs . Henry had by this time become so essentially a part of the family that Samuel looked up to her , and , besides appointing her as executrix , he left to her the family estates . The devise was not unattended by troubles . It aroused tie hostility of the family whom Samuel had repudiated , and whom Patience had benefited . The heir-at-law , Trederic Hay Swinfen , claimed the estates , of which , however , Mrs . Swinfen still retained possession . The modes of attack became
far more formidable than is customary in such cases . Captain Swinfen found men able to assist hirn a aud not always very scrupulous . In this respect lie had every advantage over Mrs . Swiufen . His attorney , Mr . Bartle Frere , was clever and not very fastidious ; various plans of annoyance were resorted to . Captain Swinfea gave people permission , to shoot over the estates , and when Mrs . Swinfen ' s keepers turned them off and took away their guns , Mr . Frere wrote her a note , threatening that Tier deviation from rectitude would expose her to a cessation of courtesy arid forbearance , that his client would claim rent for the
mansion and damages for trespassing in pursuit of game ; and that he would indemnify himself for bis expenses out of her own money , her jointure . Her own counsel practically assisted the other side ; Vhen the trial came before the court of law he consented to compromise the case , agreeing to surrender the estates on . condition that , in addition , to Mrs . Swinfen s jointure of 300 / . a year , she should be allowed an annuity of 700 / . a year : a thousand a year—a thing not worth a quarter of estates yielding 1700 Z . per annum nnd held in fee simple . " When . Mrs Swinfen protested and disclaimed the act of her
counsel ^ lie insisted upon his right of exercising his own discretion ; but ' although ' the man that did this was Sir [ Frederick Thesiger , now Lord Chancellor Chelmsford , tie Court of Common Pleas refused the authority for specific performance of the contract , and so did the Court of Chancery . Patience persevered ; her sound common sense and rectitude enabled her to perceive her riglits more distinctly than some of the lawyers had . done ; she procured the aid of men willing , perhaps , to bestoy more labour and pains in scrutinising every detail of the case ; she succeeded in
procuring a second trial . Mr . Justice Byles and . a Staffordshire jury heard all that could be said on both sides , examined every witness , listened to . the stories of Samuel Swinfcn ' s imbecility at the time that he was making his -will , scrutinised every word that foil from doctors , lawyers , and nurses on both sides , discarded servants , and servants not discarded , and listened to Patience- herself while she told her own unvarnished tale . The Judge recapitulated the evidence with a scrupulous precision
and impartiality ; and the result-was , that after a brief consideration , the jury came to the conclusion that Samuel Swinfen perfectly knew what he was about when he made Patience the executrix of his will , and at the same time made her a gift of his estates ; and they therefore proclaimed licr to he the owner of the properly . The cheers in conrt showed , how completely this appeal to the precision and equity of English , law found a response in public sympathy .
No. 436, July 31, 1858.] T B. E X E A Id...
No . 436 , July 31 , 1858 . ] T B . E X E A ID E R . 743
Miscellanea. " "Tis A Mad World, My Mast...
MISCELLANEA . " "Tis a mad world , my masters . " Consequent upon a decrease of crime—at least of detected crime—in the metropolis , tho police aro bcguuiing to find their time bang lioavily upon their hands , and they aro going in to earn tho character of social reformers . They hn \ o long exorcised an undisputed authority in tho regulation of the number nn < 1 position of street fruit-stalls , and by their judgment nnd knowledge ) of tho fmit-consuuiptive powers of tho public , have raised tho price of God ' s gifts in the market about fifty nor
cent . Turning their attention from , trade to occupations , they have discovered the exact number of shoe-blacks necessary to keep the boots of the public clean , the exact shade of theological opinion required to make a . competent shoe-black , and the exact price at -which , a pair of boots can be properly polished . The result is that you must go either to a scarlet ^ youth of sound low church principles , or a blue-youtt of Roman Catholic parents , and pay one penny for the execution of a task ,
that cannot of course be done by the hungry , ragged boy , "who stands looking on , -willing , it may be , to try his hand at something like half the price . And so , my masters , the hungry , ragged boy , not wearing a scarlet uniform , or a blue uniform , not being sound upon baptismal regeneration , or the infallibility of the Pope , turns into the populous thoroughfare , and tries his band at pocket-picking . Elated by their success in the regulation of that class whose function it is to make the
muddy boot a spotless boot , they Iiave turned their spare time and attention to the regulation of another class , whose function it is to keep the spotless boot a spotless boot . I mean the cro 3 sing-sweepers . This extension of police authority has not at presemt spread very far ; it is only the thin end of the wedge of interference we are watching ; but any lounger in the neighbourhood of Regent-street may , if he -will take a little trouble before he leaves town , see a young man standing upright by the side of a broom , supported by a painted board declaring him to be the only regular authorised crossingsweeper , by virtue of this diploma from Scotland-yard , the grace of God , and Sir Richard Mayne . " What next —and next ?"
Piety Alfresco Is On The Increase-, And ...
Piety alfresco is on the increase-, and the influence of the rush-bottomed chair at the Blackfriars-road obelisk has extended to the steps of tlie Royal Exchange . Sermons have been preached on Sunday evenings " by the permission of the incumbent , the sanction of the bishop , and with the approval of the Lord Mayor of London . " " Whether the text has been appropriate to the place , the report" does not inform , us , but there is a splendid opportunity afforded in these eccentric clerical outbursts for throwing off the old common-places that have been hallowed by the usage of a century , and bursting forth into sermons that stall be illustrated by the background of the preaching-place , as an entertainment
is illustrated by the moving panorama that glides slowly onward at the back of the entertainer . There is-no rule to guide the converters as to the peculiar tastes of the persons to be converted . A man who may be deaf to a call that comes to him from the familiar pulpit inside a corner of St . Paul ' s Cathedral , may be much more readily influenced by the same words shouted to him . through a speaking-trumpet from the outside of the portico gallery . There are men scattered about uncared for in the wilderness of London infidelity , who ^ vould be moved by a discourse coming from a preacher standing upon his head , and , more especially , if his head -was upon a pole in the midst of a shower of fireworks . " Where is Mr . Spurgeon ? My masters , where is Mr . Spurgeon ?
If I Was An Army Contractor, E Should Be...
If I was an army contractor , E should be sadly afraid of those warlike preparations at Cherbourg . ' If I was a general contractor , I should b « in the same lamentable state of mind . If I was a Government shipbuilder , I should think this Cherbourg business a very serious affair . If I was a shareholder in the Leviathan , I should have my suspicions about this great activity at Cherbourg . Yes , my masters , if I was in any way connected with that great masterpiece of Mr . Brunei ' s skill as a practical engineer , working with a view to a reliable commercial profit , I should willingly give up , for the benefit of my country , all those great schemes for uniting continent with continent , for cementing the bonds of union between England and her worthy
descendant America , for the abolition of sea-sickness , for the cultivation of village emigration , for a hundred projects as to the advancement of peace and plenty , nnd see , without a pang , my great , unfinished hulk of progress towed off by the proper authorities to bo turned into an engine of destruction for restoring the balance of warlike power through tho whole warlike world . For every French vessel collected at Cherbourg , every piece of rriasonry added to its fortifications , every piece of artillery added to tlio stock of tho French army , and the expenses of tho French nation , I would put into the hold of tho Leviathan ^—onco my Leviathan , but now the country ' s
Loviathnn—half a ton of stink-potH nnd half a ton of broken glass , sharp iron cuttings , powder , and -whatever ia proper to form an effective , troublesome , nnd deadly compound , and Bentl forth tho noble vessel , duly advertised as to lier destructive capabilities , a siyht to make nil nations tremble—pcrhnps tho one that made her amongst tho number . How pleasant it would be to see her plunging about in the ocwin—a force in European politics never dreamed of before !—to so « her very approach townvris ' thu seaboard of « turbulent state productive of instant tranquillity , instant reasonableness , instant brotherly love ! How pleasant to llnd that what seemed , at first sight , an engine most calculated
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 31, 1858, page 743, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_31071858/page/15/
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