76 
the smith—who from that position beholds 
the flames consume his property, and hears 
the shrieks of a female, and sees the unhap- 
py man run up the sign-post—his own wife 
and son—and swears to take a bloody re- 
venge—an oath which he fearfully keeps. 
The next morning—the wedding day— 
‘the miserable and enraged villagers and 
neighbourhood assemble, and proceed to Sir 
Thomas’s, and insist upon his being their 
leader—in execution of their revenge; and 
not without extreme difficulty, after distri- 
buting refreshments among them in honour 
of his daughter’s wedding, does he persuade 
‘them to desist. From him, however, they 
march forthwith to Captain Whaley’s, and 
‘set fire to his house ; and, in consequence, 
within an hour or two, arrives a troop of 
yeomanry, commanded by Mr. Henry Tal- 
bot, to arrest Sir Thomas and his new son- 
in-law, on a charge of high treason, and, in 
Spite of Miss Hartley’s interposal and agon- 
izing entreaties, he carries them both off to 
Enniscorthy. That very afternoon sits a 
court-martial, presided by one to whom Sir 
Thomas had given offence; and circum- 
stances telling decisively against him, he is 
ordered for immediate execution ; and exe- 
euted he appears to be that very night, and 
under the Captain Talbot's special superin- 
tendence. 
As speedily as possible Miss Hartley, or 
rather Lady Judkin, for the marriage ser- 
vice had passed, pursues her father and 
husband to Enniscorthy, and is refused ad- 
mittance to the gaol by Talbot himself, the 
commanding officer. In a few hours, how- 
ever, at an inn, she is visited by a woman, 
with great mystery, and receives from her 
a letter in her father’s hand-writing, bid- 
ding her confide in the bearer, and accom- 
pany her that night to meet himself some 
miles from the town. To this she consents, 
joins her supposed father—who seems to be 
Captain Talbot himself—and with him ar- 
rives at a country house, which proves to be 
Captain Talbot’s—where her companion 
leaves her. From this place, as soon as she 
discovers its owner, she escapes, and takes 
refuge in the town of Ross. 
In the meanwhile, Sir William Judkin 
‘escapes from prison, by the same agency as 
Sir Thomas; and being led to believe that 
his bride must be at Wexford, he hurries 
thither, and arrives just in time to take part 
with the rebels, and forces Wexford to sur- 
render to the insurgents. Here, however, 
he finds her not; and Talbot is his next 
object. He had been captured, and carried 
to the rebel encampment on Vinegar Hill. 
Thither, also, flies Sir William, and, on his 
arrival, finds the old smith in the act of 
passing sentence on the prisoners, and among 
the first is Talbot himself. Sir W., as a 
rebel commander, demands Talbot to be 
given up to his own revenge, and, after 
some demur on the part of the smith, who 
has “stomach for them all,” he is given up 
Monthly Review of Literature, 
[JuLy 
—his hands bound with a rope, and the end 
of it put into Sir William’s. - A scene of 
passion and sternness follows ; but just as 
Sir William is about to inflict the final 
stroke on his defenceless victim, comes a 
resene, and he is himself bound in his turn. 
Escaping again, after some interval, he 
rushes down to Ross, and in the street, and 
under the very eye of his bride, who is leok- 
ing from a window, is he encountered by 
the fiery Talbot, and in the encounter is left 
for dead, trampled upon by horses, and con- 
founded with the dead. 
From these heaps of dead he is however 
extracted, still breathing, by,the mysterious 
woman, who had appeared to Miss Hartley, 
as her father’s messenger, and she directs 
him to be conveyed to the dripping vaults 
of the neighbouring abbey. From thence 
—the town being on fire—she flies to Tal- 
bot, and bids him rescue Miss Hartley from 
the flames. With the ardour and devotion 
of love he plunges in, and, at the extreme 
of peril, saves her from destruction. Mat- 
ters now draw to a conclusion—the strange 
woman re-appears, and presents herself to 
Miss Hartley, as her old school acquaint- 
ance—as the victim ef Sir William’s seduc- 
tion and desertion, who had been the death 
of her child and her mother, and had thrown 
herself, senseless, by a blow on the head 
from him, into the water. Miss Hartley 
discredits the story, and, in consequence, 
is by her friend forced to the church-yard, 
where a scene of horrible conception is ex- 
hibited—but which finally convinces her of 
the depravity of Sir William, whose last 
breath is drawn in her presence. While 
still in the church-yard comes Miss Hart- 
ley’s father, as large as life, who assures her 
that Falbot has been their common pre- 
server—his from death, and her’s from con- 
tamination and misery. In due time Tal- 
bot is re-introduced, &c. 
India; or Facts to Itlustrate the Cha- 
racter and Condition of the Natives, by 
R. Rickards, Esq. ; 1828.—Mr. Rickards 
is an advocate for the extension of free-trade 
to India, and of course opposed to the prin- 
ciples, if not to the existence, of the Com- 
pany’s government. The Company aver 
that all is best as it is—that, such are the 
immovable prejudices, and immutable ha- 
bits of the country, no government but their 
own—so steady—so parental—so conciliat- 
ing and considerate—could produce so many 
advantages to the natives—and that, in pro- 
portion as their own monopoly has been in- 
vaded, have the happiness and the pros- 
perity of India deteriorated. ‘‘ This,”’ says 
Mr. Rickards, “is all idle and interested 
talk—the Company encourage misrepresen- 
tations for the especial object of maintaining 
their own usurpings ;’’ and these misrepre- 
sentations he accordingly resolves, one by 
-one, and piece-meal, and thus most effec- 
tually, to expose. 
