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She could hear no more of William; he was buried in an impenetrable multitude of sailors of all descriptions; ard Betsy was constrained to keep herself away from the places where the might have a chance of learning something of her husband, in order to avoid the brutal addres ses pad to beauty by the sensual unthinking tars.

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Three weeks pas d over. and Betsy had now very little money to support herself and child, as her gainings from the slopseller were s 'all; and William` had left but little from his savings; as he had not foreseen the disaster that was to befal him a second time. She was delivered of another child. After paying all her necefsary expences, her money was exhausted; and the slopseller re used to a ance any ig on her future work. To gain a temporary support, till she should be able again to work, she was obliged to paw almost all the little superfluous articles of drefs that she had,-and these were but few; for Betsy was not fond of external show. The burdens of anxiety and grief, hung so heavily on her mind, that the recerea very slo y; and the landlord began to grow importunate for the payment of his bill. She begged an audience of him; and represented, with a woman's eloquenc, the hardships she had undergone, and prayed that he would indulge her with a little time, that she might either earn a little money by her work, or receive a supply from her friends in Scotland. The cruel monster was steeled against such remonstrances. He swore it was all a damn'd fetch; that she was no better than she fhould be; that the devil a turn fhe would work, while she could steal; and that he had no more friends in Scotland than he had in Rome. In short, he concluded by saying, that his house was no place for such game as she was; and that the must either pay him his money, or be gone that night. This was more than humanity could

bear! he was perfectly distracted! the ran with her infant in her arms to the slopseller, begging afsistance. He very fhortly told her to leave his fhop; or he would desire his servants to turn her out by the ears. It is thus that men forsake us when we stand in need of their friendfhip, and heap favours on us when we not!

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Betsy sobbed, and looking on her child, cried," Would I were dead, were it not for thee!" At this moment a messenger came in from the church wardens, in consequence of the landlord's interference, who was one of their number, intimating that the parish could not support her bastards; and that unless she took away the child fhe had left behind her, she would be immediately taken to the correction house as a vagrant. A piece of linen had been left on a chair, without the counter; and no one seemed to know that it was there. The distracted mother thought within herself, "What can be a crime that is necessary to save two innocent babes from destruction, when no one can feel a lofs by it?" With a trembling hand fhe lifted the roll of linen, and left the fhop. This ill relished relief, with dismal thoughts fhe carried to a pawn broker, and got upon it a guinea, with which the paid the brutal landlord his due, and had a few fhillings, over, destined to support for a fhort time her miserable exis

tence.

The active administrators of justice were soon sent in pursuit of the unhappy Betsy. She was, with her two infants in her arms, dragged to Newgate, under the sad doom of standing trial as a felon. Sad indeed! especially to her, whose uncorrupted heart fhrunk back, impressed with the deepest horror at the thought of having transgrefsed the sacred rules of virtue, and of ju tic. But nothing could relieve her; and the innocent looks of her helpless babes heightened the sorrow of her deprefsed mind.

The sefsions came on; and the trembling victim must appear at the bar of the Old Bailey, indicted for theft. It happened then, that captain Young of Leith, was in the court. He was a man of a charitable, and upright disposition, and knew Betsy and her husband well. William had on one occasion saved his fhip, the Industry, by carrying out an anchor at the risk of his own life, to Leith roads, in a violent storm; and ever since then he had entertained a very high sense of gratitude for that signal service. Astonished at the appearance of Betsy at the bar, he ran to her; and fhortly learned the melancholy circumstances that had contributed to her ruin. He encouraged her drooping spirits, by afsurances of his utmost endeavours to save her, by feeing the ablest counsel, and coming forward himself as evidence of her unblemished character. But all was in vain; the proof was clear; nothing could with-hold the horrible sentence of transportation; and the innocent culprit was again thrown into her dungeon. Captain Young, however, still afforded. her some relief, by the assurances of her dear little ones being properly taken care of, and carried back to their relations in Scotland; and that by his interference in making proper explanations, her character, which the sa much valued, fhould as much as pofsible be preserved from stain.

Half mad with despair, the fair sacrifice to justice lay deploring her fate, fhuddering at the idea of her William's sorrow on hearing of her misfortune, and weeping with grief for being torn from her tender infants. When some days had thus passed away, captain Young appeared, and with a joyous smile on his countenance that astonished Betsy, threw a piece of parchment on the board, and said, "Read that, and be thankful for your deliverance." was her pardon. Captain Young was acquainted with the great and humane Mr Goodall, member of parliament for

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Fife, through whose means the case had been represented to his majesty's ministers, and the pardon procured. Good actions seldom remain for ever unrewarded! the bravery and magnanimity of William once rendered an important service to the man through whose means his dear wife was afterwards saved from perpetual perdition.

Accommodated with money, Betsy now got comfortable lodgings; and nothing but the return of William was wanting to re-establish peace and comfort, the value of which is felt tenfold by those whom misfortune has once scourged.

Ere long a treaty was concluded with Rufsia; and the paying off of the seamen restored William to his again happy wife. They determined to return immediately to their own part of the country; and on their arrival found, that, by the death of an uncle, William had acquired a fortune of L. 3oo. With this sum, determined never again to be subjected to the cruelty of the prefs, he formed the design of commanding a vessel himself; and with that view purchased a passage boat, with which he now plies betwixt Leith and Kinghorn, loved as formerly by all that know him. And Betsy, graced with her beautiful rising offspring, keeps a ribbon fhop on the shore. Health and plenty crown their happiness.-Long may they enjoy it!

Last week William called together a meeting of his acquaintances, for the purpose of drinking to the health of Mr Pitt, and those who have so generously stepped forward on this occasion, and by liberal rewards have contrived to forward the armament now going on, without adopting the miserable expedient of prefsing seamen; but treating them like other free Britons. On the thoughts of which their honest hearts swell with loyalty to their king and country. A. A. L. Lz

Leith, March 10. 1793.

INSTANCES OF REMARKABLE BODILY STREngth.

PETER OF PORTUGAL lifted with his right hand a sack of wheat, and put it upon his left shoulder; then he put upon his right fhoulder another sack full of wheat with his left hand. One day a lad of twenty-five years of age presented himself at court, saying he could show the king something extraordinary with respect to strength. He obtained permission to appear before the king. That youth having ordered three sacks of wheat to be brought, did with the two first what the king had done; he then took a third sack into his teeth, and threw it above that which he had on his left fhoulder. This surprised all the spectators, and astonished the prince, who could not enough admire the force and addrefs of this youth. They say the prince in vain attempted to imitate him. This youth exceeded the other Portuguese of his time in stature ; he was hard and thin, and was a great eater. What was still more extraordinary, this youth could hold fast a chariot drawn by six horses or cattle, in spite of their utmost efforts to go on. The name of this youth is not preserved upon record ; it is only known that he was a native of the village of Freixo; which made him be called Menino de Freixo *.

The readers of the Bee will not suspect that the last instance of strength is given as an article of undoubted veracity; but merely as a proof of the credulity of the times in which the event is said to have happened. Before the days of lord Bacon, men were so little in the train of investigating facts, that nature was unknown almost entirely; and the powers of man, and other animals, so seldom appreciated, that impofibilities were never thought of. By magical charms, it was believed, that the most wonderful things could be performed; so that if Breslaw had then existed. it would have been seriously believed that all the wonderful feats he performed, instead of being feats of great dexterity, and slight of hand deceptions, were things actually done and completed. By keeping these things in view, we will be able to account for the prevalence of many notions in former times, that are now justly exploded as fabulous. And without impeaching the veracity of witnesses, who have attested wonderful events, which they said they saw happen, we may still doubt the facts; because although the witnesses believed what they attest, they still might be mistaken,

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