Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange EventsBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange Events
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Legends -- England -- Yorkshire; Yorkshire (England) -- Miscellanea
"I was immediately conveyed back to my cell, and a few days afterwards I
was forwarded to the hulks. In this miserable banishment I passed six
years, embittered by the most dreadful account of my family, every
member of it, even in the remotest degree, having transgressed the laws
of his country, and was then undergoing for his offences the punishment
awarded to him. Could hope under any form have presented herself to me,
I felt that I might yet be a reclaimed man, but I could not catch the
most distant glimpse of her. My years passed on in the midst of misery
the most distressing, till they at last came to an end. I obtained my
discharge or pardon a short time before the expiration of my full term,
for I had been guilty of no violence, or insolence, or excess, since my
arrival.
"I left this abode of vice and misery without a friend on the face of
the earth, and unconscious where to find even a momentary place of
refuge. There are many unfortunate individuals who, had they a house or
employment to fly to after having undergone their periods of punishment,
would be glad to betake themselves to habits of honesty and industry.
But, unluckily for them, they are turned out without a refuge to resort
to, and necessity, and not inclination, drives them to the commission of
fresh crimes.
"As to myself, I returned to Spaldington, but the change which my
worldly prospects and circumstances had undergone was in the extreme
overwhelming. Some of these misfortunes I well knew, but to others I was
an entire stranger, and I cannot at this day lay blame to anyone but
myself for them. My evil example pointed out the way of lawless
depredation to my children, in characters so legible that they could not
fail to read and study them.
"The farmers of the village had thought it right to clear my cottage of
every one connected with me in name, relationship, or blood.
"I felt at a great loss where to fix, or to what object to turn myself
for a livelihood and bare subsistence. As to my children and
connections, they were scattered in every direction, and for the most
part undergoing the punishment due to their crimes.
"My daughter, my favourite daughter, Rose, had been committed, and
sentenced to confinement in York Castle. During her imprisonment she
was delivered of a bastard-child; what its fate may be, heaven alone can
tell! She was visited in the Castle by a gentleman from Howden, for the
purpose of proffering her some assistance in her necessitous situation.
This I have understood she indignantly refused. Holding up her new-born
babe to his gaze, she said, 'See! he has hands to help himself, and if
ever there was a true-born rogue, here he is!' Thus, like Hannibal
towards Rome, was this poor child devoted from its earliest infancy to
war against all the settled institutions of society.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account