Paper critique 700 words

%t± ' Notorious fraud of a fugitive friefl. Vol.1, from appearing wneti they -were held up to the light.

zdly. When the Bishop had separated the note written over his name from the paper on which it was pasted, there appeared two thin places, one where the v/oxifree Riust have been written, sup- posing the paper to have been a frank, the other where the hook used to be, which on a frank the fiishop always used to put after his name.

3 dry. There appeared a larger erasure towards the fop of the aqtq, where the direction of a frank would have reached too low fqr a aol£ to be written underneath it. And,,

4thly. The mate had a fold te the iek foaisi, which must have been, supposing it to be writtea over the name ob a frank, and which would scarce be supposed to happen otherwise, as by this fold the writing weald be Jest on the outside of die paper, .

After having wade these observations, the Bi- Ijhop returned the notes to Mrs. Fournier, by Mr, TyrreL as he had promised to do.

It is not improbable, that at this very time Fournier himself was concealed jn London, un- der some fictjitioiis nanje j for,- in the month of June following, he .went down to Ipswich in Suf- folk, under a total disguise of name, habit, and profession, and advertised himself, in the Ipswich Journal, as a teacher of French, under the name and character of John Becquei-, a man of feijers, from Paris.

It might reasonably have b,een thought, that $f there had been any person at Ipswich, who re- membered tp haye seen the fame man officiating as a minister in Jersey, by the name of Fournier, who had now assumed the character of a layman, called himself Becquer, and pretended to be front Paris, such person would have considered him as a man of suspicious character, and have been ex- tremely cautious in admitting him to his acquain- tance, and listening to any stories he should tell to the prejudice of others; yet it happened just contrary : Mr. Chevaliier, a gentleman of for- tune, to whom this letter is addressed, though he had known Fournier in Jersey, and saw him un- der this treble disguise at Ipswich, yet immediate? ly renewed his acquaintance with Mm, and impli- citly believed all the stories of the notes which he was pleased to relate, however absurd, vari- ous, and inconsistent. That the accounts given to this very Mr. Chevaliier were various and in- consistent, the Bishop has proved beyond contro- versy ; and that they were believed, or at least, that Mr. Chevaliier acted as if he believed them, is manifest; for he not only gave him the encou- ragement of his countenance, but bestowed upon him the perpetual curacy of a chapel, and pro- cured him a vicarage to be held for a minor till he should come of age. He had indeed the pre- caution to bind Fournier to the resignation oi it by a bond, under a sufficient penalty, diough he afterwards, supposing die ch'cumstance of the

bond not to be known, mentions this very resig- nation as a proof of Fournier's honesty.

[To be continued.] A genuine account of the deplorable

deaths of the English gentlemen and ushers, who were suffocated in the Black-hole at Calcutta, on the night of the zoth June 1756, inn letter front J. Z. Holwell, Esq.

BY accounts lately made public, -it isknown, that of one hundred and for- ty-fix prisoners, one hundred and twenty- three were smothered in the Black-hole pri- son, in the night of the 20th of June, 1756, when Calcutta was seized, 'she narra- tive before us is a simple detail of this moll melancholy event, delivered in the ge- nuine language of sincere concern. The reader may judge of jt from the follow- ing specimen.

*' The Suba^ or Viceroy of Bengal, a«>d his troops, were in possession of the fort before six in the evening. At 3 third interview with him, before seven, he repeated his assurance to me, on the word of a soldier, that no harm should come to qs; and, indeed, I believe his orders were only general, that we should for that night be secured ; and that what follow- ed was the result os revenge and relent- menf i>i the breasts of the lower Jemmaut. daars, or serjeants (to whole custody we were delivered), for the number of their order killed during the siege. Be this as it may, as soon as it was dark, we were all, without distinction, directed, by the guard set over us, to collect ourselves in- to one body, and sit down quietly under the arched Veranda, or PiazEa, to the west of the Black-hole prison, and the Ijarracks to the left of the court of guard. Just as it was dark, about 4 or 500 men, who were drawn up upori the parade, advanced, and ordered us all to rife and go into the barracks, We were no soon- er all within them, than the guard ad- vanced to the inner arches and parapet- wall ; and with their muskets presented, ordered us to go into the room at the southermost end of the barracks, com- monly called the Black-hole prison. Few amongst us, the soldiers excepted, had the least idea of the dimensions or nature of

/

Sap. 1757 Deplorable deaths of the Englijh at Calcutta. 385-" aptace we bad never seen : for if we bad, we should, at all events, have rushed up- on the guard, and been, as the lesser e- vil, by our own choice cut to pieces.

" Amongst the first that entered, were myself, Meffi-s. Baillie, Jenks, Cooke, T. Coles, Eniign Scot, Revely, Law, Bu- chanan,^-, l.got possession of" the window nearest the door, and took Meffi-s. Coles and Scot into the window with me, they being both wounded (the first I believe mortally). The rest of the above-men- tioned gentlemen were close round about me.: It was now about eight o'clock.

- " Figure to yourself, my friend, if pos- sible, the situation of a hundred and tor- ty-six wretches, exhausted by continual fatigue and action, crammed together in a eube of about eighteen feet, in a close sul- try night, in Bengal, shut.up to the east- ward and southward (the only quarters from whence air could reach us) by dead walls, and by a wall and door to the north, open only to the westward by

. two windows, strongly barred with iron, from which we could receive scarce any she least circulation of fresh air.

" What must ensue, appeared to me in lively and dreadful colours, the instant I cast my eyes round and saw the size and situation of the room. Many unsuccessful attempts were made to force the door ; for having nothing but our hands to work with, and the door opening-inward, all endeavours were vain and fruitless

" Amongst the guards posted at the windows, I observed an old Jemmautdaar Bear me, who seemed to carry some com- passion for us in his countenance. I call- ed him to me, and pressed him to endea- vour to get us separated, half in one place, and half in another; and that he should in the morning receive a thousand rupees for this act of tenderness. He withdrew ; but in a sew minutes returned, and told me it was impossible. I then thought I had been deficient in my offer, and pro- jriised him two thousand : he withdrew a second time, but returned soon", and (with, I believe, much real pity and concern) told me, that it could not be done but hy the Suba's order, and that no one dared a- wake him.- . - • .

" We had been but few minutes con-

fined before every one fell into a perspi- ration lo profuse, you can form no idea of it. This brought on a raging thirst, which increased in proportion as the body was drained of its moisture.

" Various expedients were thought of to give more room and air. To obtain the former, it was moved to put off their cloaths : this was approved as a happy motion; and in a few minutes, I believe, every man was stripped: (myself, Mr. Court, and the two young gentlemen by me excepted) For a little time they flat- tered themselves with having gained a mighty advantage; every hat was put in. motion to produce a circulation of air; and Mr. Baillie proposed that every man- should sit down on his hams. This ex- pedient was several times put in practice, and at each time many of the poor crea- tures, whose natural strength was sol's than that of others, or who had been more exhausted and could not immediate- ly recover their legs, as others did when the word was given to rife, fell to rife no more : for they were instantly trod to death, or suffocated. When the whole body sat down, they were so- closely wedged together, that they were obliged to ule many efforts, before they could put themselves in motion to get up again.

Before nine o'clock every man's thirst grew intolerable, and respiration difficult. Efforts were again made to, force the door, but in vain. Many insults were' used to the guard to provoke them to fire in upon us. For my own part-, I hitherto, felt little pain, or uneasiness, but what re- suited from my anxiety for the sufferings of those within. By keeping my face between two of the bars, I obtained air enough to give my lungs easy play, tho* my perspiration was excessive, and thirst commencing. At this period, so strong a urinous volatile effluvia came from the prison, that I was not able to turn my head that way, for more than a tew se- conds at a time.

' - Now.every body,excepting thosositu-

ated in and near the windows, began to grow outrageous,and many delirious: IVat- er,water, becamethe general cry.' And the old Jemmautdaar, before-mentioned, ta- king pity onus,ordered the people to bring

C c c some

386 Deplorable deaths of the Englif) at Calcutta. Vol. i. some skins of water. This was what I dreaded. 1 foresaw it would prove the ruin of the small chance left us, and es- sayed many times to speak to him private- ly to forbid its being brought; but the clamour was so loud, it became impos- sible. The water appeared. Words cannot paint to you the universal agita- tion and raving the sight of it threw us into. 1 had flattered myself that some, by preserving an equal temper of mind, might out-live the night; but now the reflection which gave me the greatest pain was, that I saw no possibility of one escaping to tell the dismal tale.

" Until the water came, I had myself hot suffered much from thirst, which in- stantly grew excessive. We had no means of conveying it into the prison, but by hats forced through the bars; and thus myself and Messrs. Coles and Scot (notwithstanding the pains they suffered from their wounds) supplied them as fast as possible. But those who have expe- rienced intense thirst, or are acquainted with the cause and nature of this appetite, will be sufficiently sensible it could receive no more than a momentary alleviation ; the cause still subsisted. ' Though we brought full hats within the bars, there ensued such violent struggles, and frequent contests to get at it, that, before it reach- ed the lips of any one, there would be scarcely a small tea-cup-full left in diem. These supplies, like sprinkling water on fire, only served to feed and raise the flame.

'< Oh ! my dear Sir, how sliall I give you a conception of what I felt at the cries and ravings of those in the remoter parts of the prison, who could not enter- tain a probable hope of obtaining a drop, yet could not divest themselves of expecta- tion, however unavailing !' And others calling on me by the tender considerati- ons of friendship and affection, and who knew they were really dear to me. Think, if possible, what my heart must have suf- fered at seeing and he'afiiig their distress, without having it in my power to relieve them r for the confusion' now became ge- neral add horrid. Several quitted the o- ther-window (the only chance they'bad for life) to force their way £0 the'water';

and the throng and press upon the win, dow was beyond bearing ; many, forcing their passage from the further part of the room, pressed down those in their. Way," who had less strength, and trampled,them to death.

" From about nine to near eleven, I sustained this cruel scene and painful situ- ation, still supplying them with water, though my legs were almost broke with the wpight against them. By this time, I mylelf was very pear pressed to death, and my two companions, with Mr. William Parker (who had for- ced himself into the window) were real- ly so.

" For a great while they preserved a respect and regard for me, more than in- deed I could well expect, our circumstan- ces considered ; but now all distinction was lost. My friend Baillie, Meffi-s. Jenks, Revely, Law, Buchanan, Simson, and se- veral others, for whom I had a real e- steem and affection, had for some time been dead at my feet; and were now trampled upon by every corporal or com- mon soldier, who, by the help of more robust constitutions, had forced their way to the window, and held fast by the bars over me, till at last I became so pressed and wedged up, 1 was deprived pf all motion.

" Determined now to give every tiling up, 1 called to them, and begged, as the last instance of their regard, they would remove the pressure upon me, and per- mit me to retire out of the window, to die in quiet. They gave way; and with much difficulty I forced a passage into the, center of the prison, where the throng was less by the many dead, (then I be- lieve amounting to one-third) and thq numbers who flocked to the windows: for by this time they had water also at the other window.

" In the Black-hole there is a plat- form * corresponding with that in the'bar- racks : I travelled over the dead, and re. paired to the further end of it, just oppo- site the other window. Here my poor

menu

Sup. 1757. Deplorable deaths of the EnpHlh at Calcutta. 287 '

friend Mr. Edward Eyre came staggering over the dead to me, and, with his usual coolness and good nature, asked me how I did I but fell and expired before I had time to make him a reply. 1 laid myself down on some of the dead behind me, on the platform ; and recommending myself to Heaven, had the comfort of thinking my sufferings could haveno longduration.

*.' My thirst grew now insupportable, and difficulty of breathing much increa- sed ; and had not remained in this situati- on, I believe, ten minutes, when I was seized with a pain in my breast, and pal- pitation of my heart, both to the most ex- quisite degree. These roused and oblig- ed me to get up again ; but still the pain, palpitation, thirst, and difficulty of breath- iug increased. I retained my senses not- withstanding ; and had the grief to see death not so near me as I hoped; but could no longer bear the pains I suffered with- out attempting a reliefj which I knew fresh air would and could only give me. I instantly determined to push for the win- dow opposite to me; and, by an effort of double the strength 1 ever before possessed, gained the third rank at it, with one hand seized a bar, and by that means gained the second; though I think there were at least six or seven ranks between rhe and the window.

" In a few momenb my pain, palpita- tion, and difficulty of breathing ceased ; but my thirst continued intolerable. I called aloud for water for God's fake; had been concluded dead ; but, as loon as they heard meamongstthem, they had still ifclie respect, and tendernels for me to cry out, Give h'nn water, Give him water-! nor would' one of them at the window at- tempt to touch it until I had drank, But from the water I found no relief; my thirst was rather increased by it ; sol de- termined to drink no more, but patient- ly wait the event s and kept my mouth

1 moist from time to time by sucking the perspiration out of my shirt-sleeves, and catching the drops as they fell, like hea- vy rain from my head and face : you can hardly imagine how unhappy I was if any of them escaped my mouth. " 1 came into the prison without coat or waist-coat; the season was too hot to

bear the former, and the latter tempted the avarice of one of the guards, who rob- bed me of it when we were under the Veranda. Whilst I was,at this second window, I vvas observed by one of my miserable companions, on the right of me, in the expedient of allaying my thirst by fucking my Hurt-sleeve. He took the hint, and robbed me from time to time ot a considerable part of my store ; tho? after I. detected him, I had even the ad- dress to begin on that sleeve first; when I thought my reservoirs were sufficiently replenished-; and our mouths and noses often met in the contest. This, plunder- er I found afterwards was a worthy young gentleman in the service, Mr. Luffiington, one of the sew who eseaped from death, and since paid me the com- pliment of assuring me, fie believed he owed his life to the many comfortable draughts he had from my sleeves. Before I hit upon this happy expedient, I had, in an ungovernable fit of thirst, attempt- ed drinking my urine ; but it was so in- tensely bitter there was no enduring a second taste, whereas no Bristol water could be more soft or pleasant than, what arose from perspiration.

*"' By half an hour past eleven the much greater number of those living were in an outrageous delirium, and the others quite ungovernable ; few retaining any calmness, but the ranks next the windows. They all now found, that water, instead of relieving, rather heightened their un- easinesses ; aud, Air, An', was the gene- ral cry. Every insult that cquld be de- visedagainst the guardrail the opprobrious names and abuse that the Suba, Monick- ebund, ire. could be loaded .with, were repeated to provoke the gaard to sire up- on us, every man that could,, rushing tu- multuoussy towards the windows with eager hopes of meeting the first, soot. Then a general prayer to Heaven, to ha- sten the approach pi the flames to the right and left of us, and to put a period to our misery.. But these failing, thev whose strength and spirits were quite exhausted, laid themselves down and expired quietly upon their fellows : others, who, had vet some strength and vigour left, made a last effort for the windows, and several sirc-

C c c 2 ceeded

'0'86* Deplorable'deaths of the-EnilifB'dt Calcutta. Vol. i. ceeded, by leaping and scrambling over the backs and heads of those in the first ranks; and got hold of the bars, from which there was no removing them. Ma- ny to the right and left- funk with -the violent pressure, and were soon suffocat- ed ; for now a steam arose from the liv- ing and the dead, -which affected us, in all its circumstances, as if we were forcibly held with our heads over a bowl full of

.strong volatile spirit of hartshorn, until suffocated ; nor could the effluvia of the one.be distinguished from the other; and frequently, when T was forced, by the load upon my head and sooulders, to hold my face down, I was obliged, near as I was to the window, instantly to raise it again to escape suffocation. "I need not, my dear friend, ask

your .commiseration, when I tell you, that in this plight, from half an hour palt eleven till near two in the morning, I sustained the weight of a heavy man, with his knees in my back, and the pres- sure of his whole body on my head; a Dutch serjeant, who had taken his seat upon my left slioulder, and a Topaz* bearing on my right ; all which nothing could have enabled me long to support; but the props and pressure equally sustain- ed me all around. The two latter I frequently dislodged, by -shifting my hold on the bars, and driving my knuckles in- to their ribs; but my friend above stuck fast, and as he held by two bars, was inmiovaable.

" The repeated trials and efforts I made to dislodge this insufferable incum- brarice upon me at last quite exhausted me; andtowards two o'clock, finding I must quit the window, or sink where I was, 1 resolved cm the former, having bore, truly for the fake of others, infi- nitely srfore for life than- the best of it is worth.

W In the rank close behind me was an officer of one of the lhips> whose name was Carey, and who had behaved with much bravery during the siege: (his wife, a fine wouiiii; though country born, would not quit him, but accompanied

him into the prison, and was one who survived.) This poor wretch had been long raving for water and air ; I told him I was determined to give up life, and re- commended his gaining my station. On my quitting,' he made an attempt to get my place-; but- was supplanted. '" Poor Carey expressed his thankfulness,

and laid, he would give up life too ; but it was with the utmost labour we forced our way from the window, (several in the inner ranks appearing to me dead standing ^.) He laid himself down to die : and his death, I believe, was very sudden ; for he was a soort, full, sanguine man: his strength was great, and, 1 ima- gine, had he not retired with me, I should never have been able to have forced my way-.'

" I was at this time sensible of no pain, and little uneasinels. I found a stupor coming on apace, and laid myself down by that gallant old man, the reverend Mr. Jerves Bellamy, who lay dead with his son the lieutenant, hand in hand, near the southermost wall of the prison.

" When I had lien there some little time, I still had reflection enough to suf- fer some uneasiness in the thought, that I ffiould be trampled upon, when dead, as I myself had done to others. With some difficulty I raised myself, and gained the platform a second time, where I present- ly lost all sensation : the last trace ef sensibility that I have been able to recol- lect after my lying down, was my fasti being uneasy about mv waste, which I un- tied and threw from me. Of what pas- sed in this interval to the time of my re- surrection from this hole of horrors, I can give you no account; and indeed, the particulars mentioned by some of the gentlemen who survived (solely by the number of thbsc dead, by which they gained a freer accession of air, aiid ap- proach to the windows) were so excel- lively absurd and contradictory, as to corivince me, very few retained their 'seri- fes; or, at least, lost them soon after they came into the open air, by the sever they carried out with them.

, - * A black Chrifhan foldier; ufually termed . f Unable to fall by the throng and equal pref-

fabjv'cTs'of .Portugal. I . ."i: , ...- [j ifurcround, " When

Sup."1757. Letter from the Piirfer of the Coventry, 280 " Whenthe day broke, and the, gentle-

men found that no intreaties could pre- vail to get the door opened, it occurred to one of them (I think to Mr. Secretary Cooke) to make a search for me, in hopes I might have influence enough to gain a release from this scene of misery. Ac- cordingly Melsis. Lufhington and Walcot undertook the search, and by my shirt discovered me under the dead upon the platform. They took me from thence; and imagining 1 had some signs of life, brought me towards the window I had first possession of.

" But as life was equally dear to eve- ry man (and the stench arising from the dead bodies was grown intolerable) no one would give up his station in or near the window : so they were obliged to carry me back again. But soon after Capt. Mills (now captain of the compa- ny's yacht) who was in possession of a seat in the window, had the humanity to offer to resign it. I was again brought by the fame gentleman, and placed in the window.

"At this juncture the Suba, who had .received an account of die havock death -had made amongst us, sent one of'his Jem- mautdaars to enquire if the chief survived. They shewed me to him ; told him I had .appearance of life remaining; and belie- ved I might recover, if the door was o- ,pened very soon. This answer being re- turned to the Suba, an order came im- mediately for our release, it being then .near six in the morning,", • .. - .

For what followed, we refer to the pamphlet itself.

A letter from the purser of the Coven- try to his brother' in Scotland.

I Dear Brother,

BEfbre-we left Plymouth last, I wroteyou of our in tendedcruize to the west- ward, with the America of 64 guns.and

„ the Brilliant frigate of 36 ; and, as there seems to be some variety therein, I ima- gine the following journal of the fame may not be disagreeable.

On the 2 5th November, our two con- sorts sailed from the Sound for their sta- tion, 200,leagues W. of Scilly, between lat. 48 and lat. $0; we, being then not

quiteready, failed (only on the 30th, in or- der tojointhem. On the :4th December we fell in with the Kenniogtqn 20 gun ship, 27 days from America, who law the French fleet, off Louisourg making fail home, which necessitated us to. car- ry, the news to Admiral Hawke,, who was then in the Bay or about Cape Fini- sterre, waiting their motion. On the loth, in lat. 46, we met with the Leostaff fri- gate going an expresif to the, fleet; we delivered our message to him, and,, with a great deal of iatistaction, proceeded for ourstation. On the nth, inthe evening, we met the Brilliant and Americay who had run to the southward in chase of an English snow, who had been taken by the Samson French privateer, and which they retook and sent into Plymouth; we now intended to keep company together, and bore away for our station ; but that night blowing a mere hurricane of wind and rain, we parted) company, and did not meet again till the 17 th, when we found ourselves much about our statiom On the loth, observed a - Hiip to wind- ward, steering S. E. by S. and the Ame- rica our Commodore made the signals for chace, made fail, but falling easy wea- ther and night coming on, got within a league of her: soe ffiewed French colours, which the Chace answered,' and fired a gun to leeward, as a signal of friendship.': the Commodore repeated the same, and .after that fired some guns to make her bear down, but (he would not, and kept her wind j the night being calm, saw her next morning, and at night came up with her: she is a Ihip about 250 ton, from Louisourg; has a letter of marque, load- ed with fish for Bourdeaux; had 40 men, and mounted 12 guns; we mann'd her) and sent her home to Plymouth by her- self. . On. the 2 r It in Che morning, spied two sails plying to the S. E. whom the Brilliant, and us were ordered to chace ; ours happened to be,a Dutchman bound for Amsterdam ; and about three o'clock the Brilliant came up with hers, and fired herbow-chaces to bring her to,; theChace

. lioistedFreuch col ours, and fired her stern- chaces on the Brilliant, on which her magazine blew up ;' and in two minutes, 1.think, instead of a sliip we could only

observe

1

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"A genuine account of the deplorable deaths of the English gentlemen and others, who were suffocated in the Black-hole at Calcutta, on the night of the 20th June 1756, in a letter from J. Z. Holwell, Esq.", Edinburgh Magazine. December 2, 1757. 384-3846. http://login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru e&db=h9h&AN=34864516&site=eds-live&scope=site&ppid=divp32&lpid=divl7