Chapter 9

“Hiswasted taper nowBegins to lose its light,His sparkling flames doth plainly show’Tis growing towards night.”

From 60 to 70 Years old.

“Perplex’dwith slavish fearAnd unavailing woe,He travels on life’s rugged wayWith locks as white as snow.”

From 70 to 80 Years old.

“Infirmityis great,At this advanced age,And ceaseless grief and weakness leagued,Now vent their bitter rage.”

From 80 to 90 Years old.

“Life’s‘Vital Spark’—the soul,Is hovering on the vergeOf an eternal world above,And waiting to emerge.”

From 90 to 100 Years old.

“Thesun is sinking fastBehind the clouds of earth,Oh may it shine with brighter beams,Where light receiv’d her birth.”

Printed by J. CATNACH, ***2,*** Monmouth-Court, 7 Dials, LONDON.

Catnach was now at the height of his fame as a printer of ballads, Christmas-pieces, carols, lotteries, execution papers, dying speeches, catchpennies, primers and battledores, and his stock of type and woodcuts had very considerably increased to meet his business demands. And it may be said that he was the very Napoleon of buyers at sales by auction of “printers’ stock.” On one occasion, when lot after lot was being knocked down to him, one of the “Littlejohn crew” of “knock-out-men” of the period, observed to the auctioneer, “Why, sir, Mr. Catnach is buying up all the lots.” “Yes,” replied the auctioneer, “And what’s more, Mr. Catnach will pay for them and clear away all his lots in the morning;” then adding somewhat pointedly, “which is a thing I can’t say of all parties who attend my sales.”

But although we are informed,vivâ voceof a contemporary, that Jemmy Catnach was so large a buyer at sales by auction of “printers’ stock,” we may, with some degree of safety, come to the conclusion that he could have only bought such lots that would be considered by other master printers as worthless, and that it was the apparent cheapness that would be the incentive for his buying up all the worn-out and battered letter, for Jemmy was a man who hated “innowations” as he used to call improvements, and he, therefore, had a great horror in laying out his money in new and improved manufactured type, because, as he observed, he kept so many standing forms, and when certain sorts ran short he was not particular, and would tell the boys to use anything which would make a good shift. For instance, he never considered a compositor could be aground for a lowercase “l” while he had a figure “1” or a cap “I” to fall back upon; by the same rule, the cap. “O” and figure “0”were synonymous with “Jemmy;” the lowercase “p,” “b,” “d,” and “q,” would all do duty for each other inturn, and if they could not always find Roman letters to finish a word with, why the compositor knew very well that the “reader” would not mark out Italic, nor wrong founts.

From a small beginner in the world, Catnach was soon able to see his way clear to amass a fortune. He had now established his reputation as a man of enterprise, and he was very sensitive to maintain a sort of shabby-genteel appearance. It was amusing, especially when over his glass, to hear him describe the effect the “awfuls” had on the public. The proprietor of any of our leading journals could not have felt prouder than did Catnach, as he saw drafted from his press the many thousands of varied productions.

We will now briefly allude to the wood-blocks which Catnach had in his possession, and which served for the purpose of illustrating during the time that he had been in business. He had a large collection, such as they were; but as works of art they had little or no pretension, being, upon the whole, of the oddest and most ludicrous character. Those that were intended for the small books were very quaint—as we have shown by the fac-similed specimens we have given—whilst the larger portion, which were chiefly intended for the “awfuls,” were grotesque and hideous in their design and execution. No more ghastly sight could be imagined than one of Jemmy’s embellishments of an execution. It would appear that for the last discharge of the law he had a large collection of blocks which would suit any number of victims who were about to undergo the dread penalty. It mattered little how many Jack Ketch was going to operate upon, wood-blocks to the exact number were always adopted, inthis particular the great “Dying Speech Merchant” would seem to have thought that his honour and reputation were at stake, for he had his network so formed as to be able to secure every information of news that was passing between the friends of the culprits and the prerogative of the Crown. But we are informed that upon one occasion he was nearly entrapped. Three victims were upon the eve of being executed, and in those days—and in later times—it was not an uncommon thing to see the confession and dying speech printed one or two days previous to the event. This we are told by those in the trade was almost necessary, in order that the sheets might be ready for the provinces almost as soon as the sentence of the law had been carried out. It so happened that on the night previous to an execution, one of the culprits was reprieved. It was solely by a piece of good luck that Catnach heard of it. Several sheets had been struck off; and Jemmy was often chaffed about hanging three men instead of two; but our informant assures us that the error was corrected before any of the impressions were dispatched from the office. Had they gone before the public in their original state, thelocus standiof the great publisher in Monmouth Court would have been greatly imperilled. To those who are fond of the fine arts,in usum vulgi, Catnach’s embellishments will afford a fund of amusement. Amongst the lot were several well known places, the scenes of horrible and awful crimes, engravings of debauchery and ill-fame, together with an endless number of different kinds, suitable at the shortest possible notice, to illustrate every conceivable and inconceivable subject.

The Seven Dials in general, and “The Catnach Press” in particular, had no dread of copyright law—the principal Librarian of the British Museum, Stationers’, or any other Hall in thosedays—and as wood engravings were not to be had then so quickly or cheaply as now-a-days, Jemmy used at times to be his own engraver, and while the compositors were setting up the types, he would carve out the illustration on the back of an old pewter music plate, and by nailing it on to a piece of wood make it into an improvised stereo-plate off-hand, for he was very handy at this sort of work, at which also his sister, with his instruction, could assist; so they soon managed to rough out a figure or two, and when things were dull and slack they generally got one or two subjects ready in stock, such as a highwayman with crape over his face, shooting a traveller, who is falling from his horse near a wide-spreading old elm tree, through which the moon was to be seen peeping; not forgetting to put the highwayman in top boots and making him a regular dandy. This was something after the plan of the artists of the cheap illustrated papers of the present day, who generally anticipate events sometime beforehand to be ready with their blocks. As a proof of this, the editor of the “London, Provincial, and Colonial Press News,” says “I happened to call one day on an artist for the ‘Illustrated Press,’ and found him busily engaged in sketching a funeral procession with some twenty coffins borne on the shoulders of men who were winding their way through an immense crowd. Upon inquiry, I was told that it was intended for the next week’s issue, and was to represent the funeral of the victims of the late dreadful colliery explosion, for although the inquest was only then sitting, and all the bodies had not yet been found, there was sure to be a funeral of that kind when it was all over, and as they did not know how many bodies were to be buried at one time, it was very cleverly arranged to commence the procession from thecorner of the block, and soleave it to the imagination as to how many more coffins were coming in the rear; something after the plan of a small country theatre, when representing Richard the Third, and in the battle scene, after the first two or three of the army had made their appearance, to cry ‘halt!’ very loudly to all those behind who were not seen, and leave the spectators to guess how many hundreds their were to come.”

For the illustrating of catchpennies, broadsides, and street-literature in general, particular kinds of wood-cuts were required. In most cases one block was called upon to perform many parts; and the majority of metropolitan printers, who went in for this work, had only a very limited number of them. Very often the same cuts were repeated over and over again, and made to change sides as one another, and that simply to make a little variation from a ballad or broadside that had been printed at the same office on the day, week, or month previous. It mattered little what the subject was, it required some adornment, in the shape of illustration, to give effect to it. The catchpennies, especially those connected with the awful, were in general very rough productions. A lover strangling his sweetheart with a long piece of rope. A heartless woman murdering an innocent man. Vice punished and virtue rewarded, and similar subjects, were always handled in such a manner as to create a degree of excitement, sympathy, and alarm. The broadsides, generally adorned with some rough outline of the royal arms of England, a crowned king or queen, as the subject might be, received their full share of consideration at the hands of the artist. Scions of royal blood, and those connected with the court, were often painted in colours glaring and attractive, whilst the matter set forth in the letterpress was not always the most flattering or encouraging.

CATCH-PENNY:—Any temporary contrivance to obtain money from the public; penny shows, or cheap exhibitions. Also descriptions of murders, fires, and terrible accidents, &c., which have never taken place.Hotton’s:Slang Dictionary.

Hotton’s:Slang Dictionary.

An AccountOF THEDREADFUL APPARITION

That appeared last night to Henry —— in this street, of Mary ——, the shopkeeper’s daughter round the corner, in a shroud, all covered in white.

The castle clock struck one—the night was dark, drear, and tempestuous.—Henry sat in an antique chamber of it, over a wood fire, which in the stupor of contemplation, he had suffered to decrease into a few lifeless embers; on the table by him lay the portrait of Mary—the features of which were not very perfectly disclosed by a taper, that just glimmered in the socket. He took up the portrait, however, and gazing intensely upon it, till the taper, suddenly burning brighter, discovered to him a phenomenon he was not less terrified than surprised at.—The eyes of the portrait moved;—the features from an angelic smile, changed to a look of solemn sadness; a tear stole down each cheek, and the bosom palpitated as with sighing.

Again the clock struckone!—it had struck the same hour but ten minutes before.—Henry heard the castle gate grate on its hinges—it slammed too—the clock struck one again—and a deadly groan echoed through the castle. Henry was not subject to superstitious fears—neither was he a coward;—yet a hero of romance might have been justified in a case like this, should hehave betrayed fear.—Henry’s heart sunk within him—his knees smote together, and upon the chamber door being opened, andhis name uttered in a hollow voice, he dropped the portrait to the floor; and sat, as if rivetted to the chair, without daring to lift up his eyes. At length, however, as silence again prevailed, he ventured for a moment to raise his eyes, when—my blood freezes as I relate it—before him stood the figure of Mary in a shroud—her beamless eyes fixed upon him with a vacant stare; and her bared bosom exposing a most deadly gash. “Henry!—Henry!!—Henry!!!” she repeated in a hollow tone—“Henry! I come for thee! thou hast often said that death with me was preferable to life without me; come then, and enjoy with me all the ecstacies of love these ghastly features, added to the contemplation of a charnel-house, can inspire;” then grasping his hand with her icy fingers, he swooned; and instantly found himself—stretched on the hearth of his master’s kitchen; a romance in his hand, and the house dog by his side, whose cold nose touching his hand, had awaked him.

———

FRIENDS

It is with feelings of the deepest regret that we are at present compelled, for the support of our friends and families, to offer this simple, but true tale to your notice, trusting, at the same time, that you will be pleased to purchase this paper, it being the only means at present to support the tender thread of our existence, and keep us and our families from utter starvation which at present surrounds us.

Price One Penny.Printed for Author and Vendor.

Murder of Captain Lawson.

Cruel and Inhuman Murder, Last Night.

THE SCARBOROUGH TRAGEDY.

Giving an Account how Susan Forster, a Farmer’s Daughter, near Scarborough, was seduced by Mr. Robert Sanders, a Naval Officer, under promise of Marriage.—How she became Pregnant, and the wicked hardened and cruel Wretch appointed her to meet him at a well-known, retired spot, which she unhappily did, and was basely Murdered by him, and buried under a Tree—and of the wonderful manner in which this base Murder was brought to light, and he committed to Gaol.

Young virgins fair of beauty bright,And you that are of Cupid’s fold,Unto my tragedy give ear,For it’s as true as e’er was told.In Yorkshire, liv’d a virgin fair,A farmer’s only daughter dear,And a young sea-captain did her ensnare,Whose station was her father near.Susannah was this maiden’s name,The flower of all that country,This officer a courting came,Begging that she his love would be.Her youthful heart to love inclin’dYoung Cupid bent his golden bow,And left his fatal dart behind,Which prov’d Susannah’s overthrow.Ofttimes at evening she would repair,Close to the borders of the sea,Her treach’rous love would meet her there,The time it passed most pleasantly.And while they walked the sea-banks over,To mark the flowing of the tide,He said he’d be her constant lover,And vow’d that she should be his bride.*****

He did confess—they dug the ground while hundreds came to view,And here the murder’d corpse they found, of her who lov’d so true;In irons now in Prison strong lamenting he does lie;And, by the laws condemn’d ere long, most justly he will die.

J. CATNACH, Printer, 2, Monmouth-court, 7 Dials.

HORRID MURDER,Committed by a Young Man on a Young Woman.

George Caddell became acquainted with Miss Price and a degree of intimacy subsisted between them, and Miss Price, degraded as she was by the unfortunate step she had taken, still thought herself an equal match for one of Mr. Caddell’s rank of life. As pregnancy was shortly the result of their intimacy, she repeatedly urged him to marry her, but he resisted her importunities for a considerable time. At length she heard of his paying addresses to Miss Dean, and threatened in caseof his non-compliance, to put an end to all his prospects with that young lady, by discovering everything that had passed between them. Hereupon he formed a horrid resolution of murdering her, for he could neither bear the thought of forfeiting the esteem of a woman whom he loved, nor of marrying one who had been as condescending to another as to himself. So he called on Miss Price on a Saturday and requested her to walk with him in the fields on the following day, in order to arrange a plan for their intended marriage. Miss Price met him at the time appointed, on the road leading to Burton, at a house known by the name of the “Nag’s Head.” Having accompanied her supposed lover into the fields, and walked about till towards evening, they sat down under a hedge, where after a little conversation, Caddell suddenly pulled out a knife and cut her throat, and made his escape, but not before he had waited till she was dead. In the distraction of his mind he left behind him the knife with which he perpetrated the deed, and his Case of Instruments. On the following morning, Miss Price being found murdered in the field, great numbers went to take a view of her body, among whom was the woman of the house where she lodged, who recollected that she said she was going to walk with Mr. Caddell, on which the instruments were examined and sworn to have belonged to him. He was accordingly taken into custody.

J. CATNACH, Printer, Monmouth Court.

The Secrets Revealed,or theFashionable Life of Lord & Lady ******.

Dreadful Murder by a Soldier,Yesterday Morning.

The LIVERPOOL TRAGEDY.

Showing how a Father and Motherbarbarously Murdered their own Son.

A few days ago a sea-faring man, who had just returned to England after an absence of thirty years in the East Indies, called at a lodging-house, in Liverpool, for sailors, and asked for supper and a bed; the landlord and landlady were elderly people, and apparently poor. The young man entered into conversation with them, invited them to partake of his cheer, asked them many questions about themselves and their family, and particularly of a son who had gone to sea when a boy, andwhom they had long given over as dead. At night the landlady shewed him to his room, and when she was leaving him he put a large purse of gold into her hand, and desired her to take care of it till the morning, pressed her affectionately by the hand, and bade her good night. She returned to her husband and shewed the accursed gold: for its sake they mutually agreed to murder the traveller in his sleep.

In the dead of the night, when all was still, the old couple silently creeped into the bed room of their sleeping guest, all was quiet: the landlady approached the bedside, and then cut his throat, severed his head from his body; the old man, upwards of seventy years of age, holding the candle. They put a washing-tub under the bed to catch his blood, and then ransacking the boxes of the murdered man they found more gold, and many handsome and costly articles, the produce of the East Indies, together, with what proved afterwards, to be a marriage certificate.

In the morning early, came a handsome and elegantly dressed lady, and asked, in a joyous tone, for the traveller who arrived the night before. The old people seemed greatly confused, but said he had risen early and gone away. “Impossible!” said the lady, and bid them go to his bed-room and seek him, adding, “you will be sure to know him as he has a mole on his left arm in the shape of a strawberry. Besides, ’tis your long lost son who has just returned from the East Indies, and I am his wife, and the daughter of a rich planter long settled and very wealthy. Your son has come to make you both happy in the evening of your days, and he resolved to lodge with you one night as a stranger, that he might see you unknown, and judge of your conduct to wayfaring mariners.”

The old couple went up stairs to examine the corpse, and they found the strawberry mark on its arm, and they then knew that they had murdered their own son, they were seized with horror, and each taking a loaded pistol blew out each other’s brains.

Printed by J. Catnach.—Sold by Marshall, Bristol.

Just Published.—A Variety of Children’s Books, Battledores, Lotteries, and a quantity of Popular Songs set to Music. Cards, &c., Printed cheap.

Text of Image

The Arrest of the Prisoner.

“For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous organ.”

The prisoner was arrested while drinking with his companions in a public-house, and after two Magistrates had heard the evidence he was fully committed to the Assizes to be tried before my Lord Judge and a British Jury, at the County Hall.

THE TRIAL!

———“Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein.”———

At an early hour on the morning of the trial, the Court was crowded to excess, the Judge taking his seat at nine o’clock. The Prisoner on being placed at the bar, pleaded “Not Guilty,” in a firm tone of voice. The Trial lasted many hours, when, having been found ‘GUILTY.’ the learned Judge addressed the prisoner as follows:—

“Prisoner, you have been found guilty of a most cold-blooded Murder, a more deliberate murder I never heard of. You and your wife had been to a neighbouring town, and were returning home, when you did it. She was found in a ditch. I cannot hold out the slightest hope of mercy towards you in this case.” During this address the whole court was melted into tears. His Lordship then put on the black cap and passed the sentence as usual, holding out no hope of mercy to the prisoner.

The County Gaol.

The Home of the Good Man.

“Sundry blessings hang about his Throne, that speak him full of Grace.”

Letter Written by the Prisoner after his Condemnation.

Condemned Cell.

Dear Sister,

When you receive this you will see that I am condemned to die; my Father and Mother are coming to take their last farewell, and I should very much liked to have seen you, but knowing that you are on the eve of bringing into the world another to your family, I beg that you will refrain from coming; if that you do serious may be the consequences, therefore, dear Sister, do not attempt to come. I hope that no one will upbraid you for what I have done; So God bless you and yours; farewell! dear Sister, for ever.

J. WARD.

THE EXECUTION.

“A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

The Execution of the above prisoner took place early this morning at eight o’clock, the people flocking to the scene at an early hour. As the period of the wretched man’s departure drew near, the chaplain became anxious to obtain from him a confession of the justice of his sentence. He acknowledged the justice of his sentence, and said he was not fit to live, and that he was afraid to die, but he prayed to the Lord for forgiveness, and hoped through the merits of his Saviour that his prayer would be heard. Having received the sacrament, the executioner was not long in performing his office. The solemn procession moved towards the place of Execution, the chaplain repeating the confession words, “In the midst of life we are in death.” Upon ascending the platform he appeared to tremble very much. The cap being drawn over his eyes and the signal given, the wretched man was launched into eternity. He died almost without a struggle. After the body had hanged the usual time it was cut down and buried according to the sentence in the gaol.

The Home of the Bad Man.

“One Sin doth another provoke.”

Copy of Verses.

Come all you feeling hearted christians, wherever you may be,Attention give to these few lines, and listen unto me;Its of this cruel murder, to you I will unfold,The bare recital of the same will make your blood run cold.Confined within a lonely cell, with sorrow I am opprest,The very thought of what I’ve done, deprives me of rest;Within this dark and gloomy cell in the County Gaol I lie,For murder of my dear wife I am condemned to die.For four long years I’d married been, I always lov’d her well,Till at length I was overlooked, oh shame for me to tell;By Satan sure I was beguiled, he led me quite astray,Unto another I gave way on that sad unlucky day.I well deserve my wretched fate, no one can pity me,To think that I in cold blood could take the life away;I took a stake out of the hedge and hit on the head,My cruel blows I did repeat until she were dead.I dragged the body from the stile to a ditch running by,I quite forgot there’s one above with an all-seeing eye,Who always brings such deeds to light, as you so plainly see,I questioned was about it and took immediately.The body’s found, the inquest held, to prison I was sent,With shame I do confess my sin, with grief I do repent;And when my trial did come on, I was condemned to die,An awful death in public scorn, upon the gallows high.While in my lonely cell I lie, the time draws on apace,The dreadful deeds that I have done appear before my face;While lying on my dreadful couch, those horrid visions rise,The ghastly form of my dear wife appears before my eyes.Oh may my end a warning be now unto all mankind,And think of my unhappy fate and bear me in your mind;Whether you are rich or poor, young wives and children love,So God will fill your fleeting days with blessings from above.

THE BURNING SHAME. OR MORALITY ALARMED IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD. Just Published PRICE ONE PENNY.

A short time since, some of the moral-mending crew of Parsons, Magistrates, Quakers, Shakers, Puritans, Old Maids, and highly respectable, and, now retired from active business “Young Ladies,” who now assume a virtue, though they have it not, and a variety of other goodly persons ever ready to compound for sins they are inclined to, by exposing those they have no mind to, living not 50 miles hence, determined on reforming doings, manners, and customs:—

IN THIS TOWN!

and a meeting in consequence took place at “Rosebud Cottage” the residence of Miss Mary Ann Lovitt, when, as a first step, it was determined to remove the facilities andaccommodationafforded a certain—You-know-what!crime very generalin this neighbourhoodby hunting out of the town:—

A CERTAIN LADY ABBESS!!

who keeps a very genteel house for theaccommodationof “single young men and their wives” and one who never offends, or bores her patrons by asking for a sight of their ‘Marriage Certificates.’

At the meeting, the armchair was taken by the Rev. John —— —— —— B.A., of this parish, Mr. Churchwarden Smith, and Mr. J. Brown, the draper, supporting him on either side; when a variety of methods were suggested for the removal of the alledged social evil, one thoughtentreatymight best answer, another was forforce, a third recommended the Religious Tract Society, while a fourth was for the aid of the Very Rev. Rowland H———l, Miss A. and Miss B. were both loud in their praise of the Rev. Jabez B———g, mention was made of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, at length the Reverend Divine Chairman was called on for his opinion, when he—conscious of the integrity and purity of his own life andexperience!at once pronounced:—

A BURNING SHAME!!!

as the only effectual remedy for the ever increasing evil. This was indeed a harsh measure, and some of the worthies looked a variety of colours on the occasion, but as none had the moral courage for personal character sake to oppose the parson’s proposition, it was carried unanamously. A board bearing on it in legible characters:—

BEWARE OF A BAD HOUSE!!!!

was soon prepared, and with a lanthorn attached, was paradedbefore the house of the fair—but frail duenna’s mansion. It did not remain long in this position as the following letter from the lady abbess of theAgapemone!soon had its deserved effect:—

Gentlemen:—“If the board and lanthorne is not removed from the front of my house in one hour from this time, I will publish thename,profession, andaddress, of everygentleman—together with that of theladyaccompaning him who has visited my “Establishment for Young Ladies” during the last six months. Some of your worships know on whom this would fall heaviest.”Yours with thanks for past favours,Aunt.

Yours with thanks for past favours,Aunt.

It is almost needless to say that theboard and lanthornewere very soon removed, and, that, the old, andaccommodatinglady is doing a good business again:—

THUS CONSCIOUS DOES MAKE COWARDS OF US ALL.

THE FULL, TRUE AND PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE EXTRAORDINARY MARRIAGE That took place in THIS TOWN on Thursday last. London: PRINTED FOR THE VENDORS. PRICE ONE PENNY.

“Who would have thought he had been a—He was such—a nice young man.”

About a week since, a dashing young blade, dressed in the very height of the prevailing fashion, having long black and curly hair, together with a pair of out-and-out slap-up whiskers and moustaches, and calling himself Count de Coburgh Aingarpatzziwutchz, and professing to be a foreigner and a man of enormous fortune, and one of thehaut ton!took up his lodging at the principal inn, The —— Arms, in this town, where the swell foreigner looking blade soon made a great stir among the ladies of the place; the old, the young, the tall, the short, the fair, and the dark, were all alike smitten over head and ears in love with the distinguished visitor, but none seemed to make so much impression upon his heart as Mary Jane Jemima S——w, the youngest of the landlord’s daughters ofThe —— Arms Inn, of this town. She is well known in this neighbourhood to be very handsome, with light brown hair all in ringlets, light blue eyes, a fine aquiline nose, and of a tall and commanding figure, aged about sweet 17 years of age, and very tender.

The foreign Count! soon won the affections of the young lady, and while she was all cock-a-hoop at the thought of having such a fine handsome young blade for a husband, all the other women of the town, old and young, were ready to tear out her eyes and boil them in their own blood with womanly vexation and revenge, and spoke of the intended bridegroom as the CountDon’t-know-who!

On Thursday the bells of the old parish church rang merrily ding!-dong!!-ding!!! and the happy couple were married, our old and respected Rector officiating; assisted by his Curate, Rev. Mr. ——, and all the parish was gay from one end to the other.

A few hours after the ceremony had taken place, whilst the happy couple were feasting on all of the very best with their friends and relations, a stranger, fat and greasy, and looking like a master or journeyman butcher in his Sunday clothes, and about forty years of age, and black whiskers, made his appearance, and not being acquainted with the occasion that brought the party together, without hesitation exclaimed, loud enough to be heard by all in the room, “Well, brother-blade, you are a lucky fellow! the business about Sal Saunders is all settled to our satisfaction, the lawyer made a good job of it for you, poleaxed the lot on the other side in prime style, and skinned ’em alive, so you may now return home to Whitechapel and put on your blue apron and steel.”—The company stood aghast, the bride fainted, and all was confusion. At length it came out that the newly-married man had a wife and four children at home, and that his visit to the above town was in consequence of a woman swearing a child to him. In the midst of the confusion which this discovery occasioned, the bridegroom and his brother slaughterman from Whitechapel—which is in London—made a sudden retreat, and—have not since been heard of.

THE EFFECTS OF LOVE.

SAD SHOCKING NEWS!

CRUEL SEDUCTION:Dreadful Warning to all YoungWomen in this Neighbourhood to Beware ofYoung Men’s Deluding and FlatteringTongues.

The following melancholy account of her cruel seduction and desertion by her base lover was forwarded to that very worthy man Mr. —— a churchwarden, well-known and respected by all in this neighbourhood by Miss S——h W——r, the night before she committed suicide.

Young lovers all I pray draw near,Sad shocking news you soon shall hear,And when that you the same are told,It will make your very blood run cold.Miss S——h W—— Is my name,I brought myself to grief and shame,By loving one that ne’er loved me,My sorrow now I plainly see.Mark well the words that will be said,By W—— E—— I was betray’d,By his false tongue I was beguil’dAt length to him I proved with child.At rest with him I ne’er could be,Until he had his will of me,To his fond tales I did give way,And did from paths of virtue stray.My grief is more than I can bear,I am disregarded every where,Like a blooming flower I am cut down,And on me now my love does frown.Oh! the false oathes he has sworn to me,That I his lawful bride should be,May I never prosper night, or day,If I deceive you, he would say.But now the day is past and gone,That he fix’d to be married on,He scarcely speaks when we do meet,And strives to shun me in the street.I did propose on Sunday night,To walk once more with my heart’s delight,On the Umber’s banks where billows roar,We parted there to meet no more.His word was pledged unto me,He never shall prosper nor happy be,The ghost of me and my infant dear,They both shall haunt him every where.William dear when this you see,Remember how you slighted me,Farewell vain world; false man adieu,I drown myself for love of you.As a token that I died for love,There will be seen a milk-white dove,Which over my watery tomb shall fly,And there you’ll find my body lie.These cheeks of mine once blooming red,Must now be mingled with the dead,From the deep waves to a bed of clay,Where I must sleep till the Judgement Day.A Joyful rising then I hope to have,When Angels call me from the graveReceive my soul, O Lord most high,For broken hearted I must die.Grant me one favour that’s all I crave,Eight pretty maidens let me have,Dress’d all in white a comely show,To carry me to the grave below.Now all young girls I hope on earth,Will be warned by my untimely death,Take care sweet maidens when you are young,Of men’s deluding—flattering tongue.

Printed in London for the Venders.

SHOCKING RAPEANDDREADFUL MURDER OF TWO LOVERS.

Showing how John Hodges, a Farmer’s Son,Committed a Rape upon Jane Williams,and afterwards murdered her andher lover, William Edwards,in a field near Paxton.

This is a most revolting murder. It appears Jane Williams was keeping company, and was shortly to be married to William Edwards, who was in the employment of Farmer Hodges. Forsome time a jealousy existed in John Hodges, who made vile proposals to the young girl, who although of poor parents was strictly virtuous. The girl’s father also worked on Farmer Hodges’ estate. On Thursday last she was sent to the farm to obtain some things for her mother, who was ill; it was 9 o’clock in the evening when she set out, a mile from the farm. Going across the fields she was met by the farmer’s son, who made vile proposals to her, which she not consenting to, he threw her down, and accomplished his vile purpose. In the meantime her lover had been to her house, and finding she was gone to the farm, went to meet her. He found her in the field crying, and John Hodges standing over her with a bill-hook, saying he would kill her if she ever told. No one can tell the feelings of the lover, William Edwards. He rushed forward, when Hodges, with the hook, cut the legs clean from his body, and with it killed the poor girl, and then run off. Her father finding she did not return, went to look for her, when the awful deeds were discovered. Edwards was still alive, but died shortly afterwards from loss of blood, after giving his testimony to the magistrates. The farmer’s son was apprehended, and has been examined and committed to take his trial at the next assizes.

Thousands of persons followed the unfortunate lovers to the grave, where they were both buried together.

COPY OF VERSES.

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