CHRONICLE. 



93 



Methodist persuasion. The judge 

 (sir Allan Chambre) commented 

 with much feeUng on the danger- 

 ous eft'ecii of vulgar and literal 

 ^conceptions of scriptural passages. 



10. Mahon The following in- 

 teresting and affecting little story is 

 related by one of the officers of the 

 Swallow : 



In the gallant and sanguinary 

 action which that ship maintain- 

 ed against so superior a force, 

 close in with Frejus, a short 

 time since ; there was a seaman 

 named Phelan,who had his wife on 

 board; she was stationed (as is 

 usual when women are on board 

 in time of battle) to assist the 

 surgeon in the care of the wounded. 

 From the close manner in which 

 the Swallow engaged the enemy, 

 yard-arm and yard-arm, the wound- 

 ed, as may be expected, were 

 brought below very fast ; amongst 

 the rest a messmate of her hus- 

 band's (consequently her own), 

 who had received a musket ball 

 through the side. Her exertions 

 were used to console the poor 

 fellow, who was in great agonies, 

 and nearly breathing his last ; 

 when, by some chance, she heard 

 her husband was wounded on 

 deck ; her anxiety and already 

 overpowered feelings could not one 

 moment be restrained ; she rushed 

 instantly on deck, and received the 

 wounded tar in her arms ; he faint- 

 ly raised his head to kiss her — she 

 burst into a flood of tears, and told 

 him to take courage, " all would 

 yet be well, " but had scarcely 

 pronounced the last syllable, when 

 an ill-directed shot took her head 

 off. The poor tar, who was closely 

 wrapt in her arms, opened his eyes 

 once more — then shut them for 

 ever. What renders the circum- 



stance the more affecting was, the 

 poor creature had been only three 

 weeks delivered of a fine boy, who 

 was thus in a moment deprived of 

 a father and a mother. As soon as 

 the action subsided, " and nature 

 began again to take its course, '* 

 the feelings of the tars, who want- 

 ed no unnecessary incitement to 

 stimulate them, were all interested 

 for poor Tommy (for so he was 

 called) : many said, and all fear- 

 ed, he must die ; they all agreed 

 he should have a hundred fathers ; 

 but what could be the substitute of 

 a nurse and a mother ! however, 

 the mind of humanity soon dis- 

 covered there was a Maltese goat 

 on board, belonging to the officers, 

 which gave an abundance of milk ; 

 and as there was no better expedi- 

 ent, she was resorted to, for the 

 purpose of suckling the child, who, 

 singular to say, is thriving and get- 

 ting one of the finest little fellows 

 in the world ; and so tractable is 

 his nurse, that even now she lies 

 down when poor little Tommy 

 is brought to be suckled by her. 

 Phelan and his wife were sowed up 

 in one hammock, and it is need- 

 less to say, buried in one grave. 



20. At the assizes for Hert- 

 ford, an action was tried, in 

 which Yarrow, a hair-dresser at 

 Ware, was plaintiff", and colonel 

 Calvert, M. P. and captain Elvin 

 were defendants. The plaintiff 

 was a Serjeant of the 3rd com- 

 pany of the eastern division of 

 Hertford local militia, of which the 

 defendants were colonel and ad- 

 jutant. The plaintiff", after the 

 regiment had been disbanded, had 

 been taken from his shop at Ware, 

 and tried for a trifling military 

 offence by a court-martial, who 

 sentenced him to solitary confine- 

 ment 



