1

Hoax

upon

Sir Hudson Lowe.-(From the Gal

way Advertiser.)

-Some wag in this town lately played off a hoax upon the present Governor of

St. Helena, General Sir Hudson Lowe. In the month of November last a letter was addressed to him, stating, that a widow lady, of the name of Drury, had died here, and by her will bequeathed to Sir Hudson £1,000 in cash, and houses and plots in this town to the value of £2,000 more, and of her having appointed Lawrence Comyn, Esq. (in whose name the letter was written to Sir Hudson) executor, and requesting Sir Hudson's directions as to the manner in which the bequests were to be disposed of; and recommending Sir Hudson to send some person over to Galway to take possession of the premises, as there was a gentleman of encroaching celebrity, who might otherwise throw down the buildings, under pretence of improving his town. The letter was sent to London, and from thence, by some of the Secretaries of State, forwarded to that little paradise, St. Helena.

Sir Hudson was sitting in council upon some complaint made by a ci-devant Emperor, upon the scantiness of his yesterday's meal, when this letter arrived. In a moment the solemnity of the occasion which assembled them was forgotten, and enraptured at the grateful remembrance in which he was held by the inhabitants of a town, where the Low family had its origin, he announced the happy tidings to his gaping auditory. Sir Hudson could not, however, permit the diminu

tion of his trusty band by immediately sending off a person to take possession of his Galway estate; he, however, addressed the executor in terms of heartfelt satisfaction, thanked Mr. Comyn for his attention to his (Sir Hudson's) interest, and apprising him that he had drawn on him in favour of Messrs. Coutts and Co. bankers, in London, at ninety-one days' sight for £1,000 sterling; requesting also to have an immediate survey and maps made of the premises, and a copy of that part of the will sent to him, in which the dear departed had so kindly recollected him; and that notices in legal form should be served upon the gentleman who had imagined the property might be his, and who wished to encroach on his (Sir Hudson's) estate; acknowledged with pride that Galway had seen the first sun of its prosperity shine upon him; and leaves it entirely to his executor to distribute amongst his townsmen some token of his recollection of the place that gave him birth.

It only now remains for us to state the disappointment occasioned by receiving this letter, freed by some of the high authorities of the state, with a seal upon it of the size of a tolerable cream cheese, which, upon its first reaching the executor's hands, made his heart beat with high hope. But, alas! this palpitation soon subsided, upon · finding it contained Sir H. Lowe's letter, with one from Messrs. Coutts and Co., requesting to know, should they negociate the draft for £1,000 in British or Irish currency, as Sir Hudson had

in the hurry of the moment, occasioned, no doubt, by his joyous ecstacy, forgot to state in which it should be paid.

Execution of Charles Hibbert, of the city of Bath, engraver, for having in his possession a copper-plate, for the purpose of printing notes of the Bank of England; communicated by a person who attended the unhappy man in his last -(From the Hampshire Telegraph.)

Hibbert slept the night previous to his execution very sound, and awoke about four o'clock on Wednesday morning, apparently quite tranquil. He was taken to the chapel, and at nine o'clock he partook of the Holy Sacrament. At half past ten the Under Sheriff attended, and the knell tolled the signal for the execution. Hibbert ascended the platform, and continued half an hour in earnest prayer with the reverend Chaplain. The executioner then proceeded in his sad office, and every thing being prepared, on Hibbert being left to himself, he called to Mr. Bridle (the humane governor of the county gaol) in a hurry, saying, he should fall, as his head became giddy, and having only one leg, he begged to sit down awhile here his firmness forsook him for the first time; he was in great alarm and agony of mind; hassocks were brought from the chapel, on which he sat down, from whence, at about twenty minutes before twelve, he rose, and fell, never in

this life to rise again! The executioner having proceeded in his sad office, so far that nothing but the falling of the drop remained to complete the career of this unhappy man, he died without a struggle.

He declined addressing the people assembled to witness his execution, saying, if his awful death had no effect, he was sure all he could say would be of no avail, to warn them against committing such crimes as had brought his life to so disgraceful a period. He declared that he had done no injury to the Bank of Englank, or to any other bank, except that of Messrs. Tylee, Salmon, and Co., of Devizes, and that the whole notes he prepared for issuing of that bank were under the value of £100.

Among the fragments of paper found in his cell, is the following:-" I am thankful for the existence and intellect the Almighty has given me, have no reason at present to doubt his mercy, and hope to resign with submission my immortal part into the hands of my Creator, to be disposed of as his infinite wisdom and mercy may direct."

In a recent letter to his wife, he sent her the following lines, the production of his muse:

In the cell for condemn'd I remain;

But these walls show no terrors to me;

On my pillow of straw I exclaim,

"O God! take my spirit to thee "

The birds as they wanton in air,
While I am confined with disgrace,
But am seeking a pardon from pray'r.

If Mercy should dart me a ray,

And I'm destin'd to see you once more,
I will walk in the strait narrow way,
And try to keep sin from my door.

But ah! I reflect with dismay,

I think on the law with a sigh ;
It seems in harsh accents to say,
Thy warrant is issued to die."

Then fit me, O Lord, for the stroke,
On thy mercy and love I depend,
Make easy thy burden and yoke,

To thy will with submission I bend.

The Quotidienne contains the following amusing paragraph:

“The Archdukes John and Lewis have given permission to a German journalist to publish some extracts from a journal which they kept during their stay in England. These Princes examined with care the English manufactures and agriculture: they give also some details as to the style of living in the upper classes, which are not within the reach of all travellers. The magnificent interior of the country seats, the taste of the furniture, the amiable and decorous freedom of their