have heard or read, is contained in a Petition addressed to Warren Hastings, by an Indian Princess, in favour of her husband, who had been condemned to die

by that ruthless governor. It is signed Almassa Ali Cawn; but as I recollect merely the tenor of it, I cannot attempt to do justice to the language, which, though adorned in all the grandeur of oriental sublimity, is pathetic in the most affecting degree; and might have melted a heart of stone. It had no effect, however,

with Hastings."*

We here insert the beautiful morceau of oriental eloquence referred to by Mr. Fox: it is a literal translation from the beautiful idiom of the Hindostanee language, but was not published on Warren Hastings's trial:-The murder of Nuncaucar was more relied on in the impeachment.

"To the most high Servant of the most powerful Prince George, King of England: The lonely and humble slave of misery comes praying for mercy to the father of her children.

"MOST MIGHTY SIR,

"May the blessings of God ever shine upon thee; may the Sun of Glory shine round thy head; may the gates of pleasure, plenty, and happiness, be ever open to thee and thine; may no sorrow distress thy days; may no grief disturb thy nights; may the pillow of peace kiss thy cheeks, and the pleasures of imagination attend thy dreams; and, when length of years shall make thee entirely disengaged from all earthly joys, and the curtain of death shall gently close round thy last sleep of human existence, may the angels of thy God attend thy bed, and take care that the expiring lamp of thy life shall not receive one single blast to hasten its ex.. tinction.

"O hearken to the voice of distress, and grant the prayer of thy humble vassal; spare, O spare the father of my children; save the husband of my bed, my partner, my all that is dear! Consider, O mighty Sir! that he did not become rich by iniquity; that what he possessed was the inheritance of the most noble and illustrious ancestors; who, when the thunder of Britain was not heard on the

"Do you not think, Sir," said a gentleman present, "that Paul's exculpatory speech before King Agrippa, is a fine piece of oratory :-particularly that part of it, where he says, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds?" " "I do, Sir," replied Mr. Fox, "and it strongly

plains of Hindostan, reaped their harvest in quiet, and enjoyed their patrimony unmolested.

"Remember thine own commandment-the commandment of Englishmen-thou shalt not kill; and obey the orders of Heaven; give me back my husband-my Almas Ali Cawn: take all our wealth; strip us of our jewels and precious stones, of our gold and silver; but take not away the life of my husband. Innocence is seated on his brow; the milk of human kindness flows around his heart.

"Let us, then, go wander through the deserts; let us become tillers and labourers in those delightful spots of which he was once lord and master: but spare, O mighty Sir, spare his life! let not the instrument of death be lifted up against him, for he has committed no crime except having vast treasures: by gratitude we had them, though at present thou hast taken them by force.

"We will remember thee in our prayers, and forget we were ever rich and powerful. My children, the children of Almas Ali Cawn, and thy petitioner for the life of him who gave them life,— we beseech thee from the author of our existence, loveliness; by the tender mercies of the most enlightened souls of Englishmen; by the honour, the virtue, and the maternal feelings of thy most gracious queen, whose numerous offspring must be so dear to her. When the miserable wife, thy petitioner, beseeches thee to spare her husband's life, and restore him to her arms, thy God will reward thee, thy country will thank thee; and she who now petitions will ever pray for thee, if thou grantest the prayer of thy humble vassal,

"ALMASSA ALI CAWN."

This petition was presented by the wife of Almas to Governor Hastings; but, alas! it had no effect. Almas was strangled!

reminds me of the intrepid address of a man named Naville Gallatin, formerly a magistrate of Geneva, to the President of a branch of the Revolutionary Tribunal, in that city, which, at the commencement of the Revolution, rivalled those of Paris, Lyons and other towns of France, in the multitude and barbarity of its executions. I shall quote the passage from D'Ivernois' Letters, during the perusal of which, it struck me forcibly as being the finest piece of declamation I had ever read :-so much so, indeed, that the very words are impressed on my memory, and I think I shall never forget them. The undaunted prisoner thus addressed his judges, when sentence of death had been passed upon him :- And now, mark the fate which awaits you and your accomplices, for, you must not hope that guilt like your's can go unpunished. You will find that all the ties of social order, which you have broken to attain your ends, will again be broken by those who succeed you in your crimes and in your power: new factions will be formed against you out of your own; and as you have united, like wild beasts, in pursuing your prey, so, like wild beasts, you will tear each other to pieces in devouring it. Thus, will you avenge the cause of those who are fallen, and who are yet to fall, sacrifices to your avarice and ambition. To them, as well as to me, the prospect of approaching immortality robs death of all its terrors; but, to you, the last moments of life will be imbittered by reflections more poignant than any tortures you can suffer. The innocent blood you have shed will be heard against you, and you will die without daring. to implore the mercy of heaven! Such," continued

Mr. Fox, "was the impression made by this speech, and such the high character of Gallatin, that his fellowcitizens earnestly demanded to be allowed to revise his sentence; but, before the necessary steps could be taken, the tribunal contrived that he and another magistrate should be shot on a remote part of the ramparts, in the middle of the night!"

STAGE FRIGHT.

DELPINI THE CLOWN OF COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

MANY anecdotes are told of this celebrated master of posture and grimace, but none exhibit his eccentricity and selfishness (a combination, by the by, generally found in the character of too many foreign artistes of the Theatre and Opera) in a more ludicrous point of view than the following, which was one evening related at Brookes's by Mr. Sheridan, when the Prince and Duke of York, who knew Delpini well, were present.

It should be premised, that several members of the Royal Family, and particularly the Prince of Wales, had pressed Sheridan to procure the insertion of Delpini's name in the books of the Theatrical Fund, in order to secure a provision for his old age. Mr. Sheridan did all in his power to promote the object in question; but one grand difficulty was started in the course of the negotiation, which even his influence could not well remove :-this was, that as Mr. Delpini was merely a clown, he could not be admitted; for, the laws of the society forbade relief to any but such as were accustomed to speak on the stage. A remedy, however, was at length suggested, viz: that a few words should be written in the forthcoming pantomime, for Delpini