party, in both Houses, and some chief officers of the army, which growing every day wider and wider, one Cornet Joice, with a considerable party of horse, was sent to seize on his Majesty's person, and bring him safe to their head-quarters. There, at the first, he was received with all possible demonstrations of love and duty; some of his chaplains licensed to repair unto him, and the way open to all those of his party who desired to see him. This made the animosities between those of the two Houses and the army to be far greater than before (the city closing with that party of the Houses which desired the King's coming to the Parliament), and going down in a tumultuous manner required the voting of a personal treaty. This made the Speaker and such of both Houses, as either held for the army, or had no mind to see the King return to London, to quit the Parliament, and to betake themselves to their protection; encouraged wherewith, they resolved upon their march towards London, to restore those members to their Houses, and those Houses to the power and freedom of Parliament. Upon the noise of their approach, the citizens who before spake big, and had begun to raise an army, under the command of Lord Willowby, of Parham, sent their petitions for a peace, and gladly opened all their works between Hyde-Park corner and the Thames, to make an entrance for the army; who having placed their Speakers in their several chaires, and suppressed those of the opposite party, made a triumphant passage through the chief streets of the city, with trumpets sounding, drums beating, and colours flying.

The King, removed from one place to another, was brought, in the course of those removals, to Casam-lodge, an house of Lord Craven, not far from Reading, where he obtained the favour of giving a meeting to his children at Maydenhith, and there they dined together, the General willingly consenting, and the Houses then not daring to make any denyal. From thence, he was, at last, brought to his own palace, at Hampton-Court, where, being terrified with the apprehension of some dangers, which were given out to be designed against his person by the Agitators, who for a time much governed the lower part of the army, he left that place, accompanied by only two or three of his servants, and put himself, unfortunately, into the power of Colonel Hammond, in the Isle of Wight, where no relief could come unto him.

Being secured in Carisbrook Castle, propositions are sent to him from the Houses of Parliament, as had been done before, at Newcastle, and Holdenby-House, to which he returned the same answer now as he did before. Provoked wherewith, the Houses passed their votes of non-addresses to his Majesty, and took the government upon themselves, wherein they were confirmed by a declaration from the army, binding themselves to stand by them in defence of those votes.

VOL. II.

(To be continued.)

THE DUTCH ROBBER.

(Concluded from page 64.)

Some American captains, whose vessels were then lying in Amsterdam, and who had heard of her uncommon beauty and probable innocence, raised a subscription, amounting to a considerable sum, with a view to effect her release, and convey her to America. A young merchant contributed five hundred dollars and as he understood the Dutch tongue, the management of the enterprise was left to him.

;

The fair culprit was imprisoned in a building called "the workhouse," in the Plantagje. A gragt, or canal, passed through the prison yard. On certain days a barge was admitted, to take away dust, ashes, &c. and one of the under keepers was bribed to allow her escape by means of that barge, on condition of his being also conveyed to the United States.

The Dutch are slow to convict; but when once sentence is pronounced, punishment is sure to follow. They never convict on circumstantial evidence alone, not even in cases of petty theft; still less in cases of felony and murder, as with us. But if there appears such very strong circumstantial evidence as leaves no possibility of the accused being innocent, they are confined for a certain time, to wait the course of events confirming their guilt or innocence; and where the offence is murder, the accused may in this manner be confined during life. Their laws are very sparing of human life; but terrible are their punishments, and most admirably calculated to prevent crime, by the terror they inspire.

Margaretta was condemned to be severely scourged on the scaffold; to be branded between the shoulders with a red-hot iron ; and confined twelve years to hard labour!

The party, who had determined if possible to rescue the wretched creature from this dreadful fate, resolved not to acquaint her with their intention, lest the hope of escape should operate on her demeanor, so as to excite suspicion, and frustrate their plan; another motive for keeping their design secret was, lest it should fail, and render her fate still more terrible, if such an event had been possible.

Just as every thing was prepared, and on the very day when the attempt was to have been made, two of the dienaars* belonging to the Stadt-house arrived, with an order to take Margaretta from the workhouse, and deposit her in the cells of the Stadthouse.

*Police Officers.

The municipal officers of Amsterdam, either by secret information, or from knowing the desperate character of M-t-n, were apprehensive he might attempt her rescue, either by force or artifice; to prevent which contingency, this sudden removal was determined upon, that totally defeated the project which had been formed to effect the liberation of the interesting prisoner.

From the period of her imprisonment, her conduct had been marked by penitence and resignation; but she firmly and consistently denied all knowledge of the real character of M-t-n, and of any privity to his design of robbing the house of her mistress. When she was removed to the Stadt-house, she became delirious; and it was anticipated that the hand of death would relieve her, prior to the hour of punishment.

When the day arrived, an immense crowd assembled before the Stadt-house, among whom were many very respectable persons, and also the Americans who had interested themselves so much in the fate of this unhappy girl.

The slightest offenders were the first punished. After the whole of the convicts, who were only condemned to be flogged, had received their sentence, the portable furnace was brought out, in which the irons were heated, the horrid precursor of those miserable beings who were condemned to be burnt on the back with a red-hot instrument.

The instant Margaretta appeared, trembling like an aspen leaf, led between the executioner and his attendant, an exclamation of wonder and pity was heard on every side. No lily was ever paler than her cheeks. She seemed already more than half annihilated, and never once lifted up her head. A leathern apron concealed a bosom as fair as alabaster. Her hands were bound. Her back, whiter than polished ivory, was exposed. Her feet were fixed in iron stocks on the scaffold; and a massive ring of iron encompassed her below the waist. As the executioner turned the windlass to which the cord that bound her hands together was attached, her dishevelled tresses flowed in ample folds down her neck; seizing these with his left hand, the executioner cut them off with the other, and cast them on the scaffold. When her frame was stretched out to its utmost extension, with all his force he applied the scourge; and before half a dozen blows had been given, her back was discoloured and stained with blood. For a time she uttered the most piercing shrieks; then, overcome by the torture, she fainted; but still the remorseless executioner proceeded: and when he ceased, her condition was too terrible to be described. This was, however, but a small portion of her sufferings. Soon came the other executioner, with a red-hot iron as large as a crown-piece, which he firmly inserted between her bleeding, lacerated shoulders. A volume of smoke ascended. The miserable victim made one

convulsive struggle: she was then taken down, and borne insensible back by those who had thus ferociously fulfilled the letter of the law.

When the scourging commenced, and also when the glowing brand-mark was applied, a deep groan of sympathy was heard, and scarcely a tearless eye was seen; so general was the compassion excited by her youth, her extraordinary beauty, and a belief that she was the victim of M-t-n's treachery, and not a partner of his crimes. Yet, not a murmur was heard against the justice of her sentence: her judges were not censured; and M. Fadama, the presiding judge, afterwards declared, that he was never so much grieved by the infliction of any sentence he had pronounced. Dreadful as was the torture she had endured by the lash and the red-hot iron, the remedies applied to prevent mortification ensuing were still more terrible to sustain.

On the seventh day after her appearance upon the scaffold, the miserable lacerated creature breathed her last, in the hospital ward of the Rasp-house; and thus ignominiously and prematurely was terminated the life of this unhappy girl. If she had survived, and if her conduct had continued as exemplary as it had been during her confinement in the workhouse, a considerable part of the remainder of her punishment would certainly have been remitted; as it is a principle of Dutch jurisprudence to make punishment instrumental in reforming the culprit, and never to continue it beyond the limits prescribed by utility.

There had not occurred, for many years, in Amsterdam, a punishment that excited so deep and general a feeling of sympathy. Innumerable were the execrations bestowed upon the callous miscreant, who had tempted Margaretta from the paths of virtue, and betrayed her to infamy, to punishment, and to death.

The generous strangers who had raised a sum of money to procure her liberation, made no secrct of their subscription, after the possibility of effecting its object was over. They placed the balance in the hands of the officers of justice, to be applied to the pursuit of the monster who had caused her destruction. The sequel will prove, that his wicked course soon terminated in a death as terrible, as his career had been marked by immeasurable depravity.

The previous history of Margaretta may be conveyed in a few sentences. Her parents were natives of French Flanders, and stood on a level, in point of circumstances, with the race of little farmers so common in the north of Ireland, who unite agricultural with manufacturing pursuits. They resided in a village about a league south of Valenciennes; and when the tide of war set upon that part of France-their home was destroyed-their lands rendered desolate-and their heretofore happy family reduced to beggary and want.

Margaretta was about ten years old when those heavy calamities visited her parents; three of her brothers fell in the field of battle, fighting against the invaders of their country; and her mother died of a broken heart. Her father survived this sad havoc made by war and by poverty; and, after the defeat of the allied invaders, and their retreat, he went to reside in Valenciennes; where, on account of his services and sufferings, some trifling municipal situation was bestowed upon him; and he also applied himself to his trade, as a cambric weaver, to earn a subsistence for the remaining part of his family.

Amongst the merchants of Amsterdam, who bought largely of the cambric manufacturers of Valenciennes, was Mr. De H-n. ́This gentleman, in 1798, saw the fair Margaretta pass along the street. Struck by her uncommon beauty of form and feature, admiring her innocent looks, her flaxen locks, and fine blue eyes, he asked a gentleman living in that city, if they could boast another girl as lovely. This person gave Mr. De H-n her melancholy history; and added, that if she remained in Valenciennes, it was to be feared her beauty would lead to her ruin, as more than one of the officers of the garrison had already made overtures to seduce her from her home.

Mr. De H-n made the requisite enquiries, and found her character exemplary and good: he wrote to his wife, who had a very young, and rather a numerous family, describing the fair Margaretta, and proposing to take her, partly as an attendant on their children, and equally as an object worthy of protection. Till the answer arrived, Mr. De H-n remained silent as to his wishes ; but when the returning post brought the fullest acquiescence of his spouse, he communicated his intentions to her father. The character of Mr. De H-n was too well known and respected in Valenciennes, as one of the most truly respectable of Dutch merchants, to admit of his intentions being misconstrued. The parent gladly consented; and Margaretta as readily agreed to go. The parting scene was truly affecting: for Margaretta had found, in the love of her father, the best indemnity that the loss of an affectionate mother admitted.

On young minds, melancholy impressions are seldom of long duration. The various objects she beheld upon her journey to Holland, absorbed in the present, all painful recollections of the past, or anticipations as to the future.

Madame De H-n met her husband at Rotterdam, and received from his hand this fair creature; whose beauty eclipsed that of her own children, who were noticed for possessing that quality in a very high degree; and, what was still more extraordinary, without exciting any feeling of envy.

The embarrassment so common upon the entrance of a young girl into her first servitude, owing to the benevolence and amenity of Mrs. De H―n, and the kind disposition of her children,