Miscellaneous.

Anglo-Maori Warder, Volume 1, Issue 24, 5 October 1848, Page 1

Miscellaneous.

THE GOTOSED LETTERS. (From Punch) Really it is henceforth a matter of military history —quite as much so as the investment of Paris—that on the 10th of April, 1848, a division of the—th regiment took up their quarters i i the house of Mr. Peter Gotobed, stockbroker, Cousol Place. That house commanded one of the bridges, by which it was ex pected—especially by the Gotobed family—that the rebellious mob would return into Middles-ex and Westminster, to proclaim the republic. The hopes and fears and final delights of the Gotobed* may, perhaps, by a lively imagination, be conceived; but sure we ore they can never be wholly expressed, as the writers of the subjoined letters (to th=ir relatives and intimates *• in the country) occasionally tea tiff, MO.. PETER GOTOBED to MR. LA.UBBXCE POULTN'EY. i *'My dear friend, —Jt*a all over; and our glorious Queen aits firmer on the throne than ever. 1 knew you'd have the gout yesterday. I was sure of it, when you would drink the Constitution in th/t manner with niue times nine bumpers in the Hall; l.kneiv yuu 'd be in bed with the gout ou the glorious^!Oth, and so

constable's staff m your hand (as my wife insists upon my being painted, as she says, for the children). However, as you were wrapt in flannel, and missed the glory, 1 'll give you all the particulars. «* The morning broke dull and hazy, and I said to myself* * Peter, you 'll have a hot day of it' Never did I eat myesgs, and ham, and herring, with so much alarm for the British Constitution. My wife saw my feelings, J>nt said nothing, and made ihe tea, calmly as a Roman heroine. The mother of Gracchus couldn't have been more herself. The girls, too—l must say it —seemed in the best spirits. More than that, I remarked that they had dressed themselves like new pioa. It was quite plain that the principles I had brought 'em up in were beating the noblest of fruits, and they had put on their best bibs ?nd tuckers to stand resolutely by the British Constitution. ** With not so much as a tear iu her eye, did my wife bring me my staff; so much did that heroic woman (although 1 was going to leave home for many hours) control her feelings Just as I was goiog, the bell rang at the back gate, and Sarah ran in, all of a flutter, saying, * if you please, sir, the sojers !' '• You see, F. M. the Duke of Wellington had writ* ten to me overnight (that letter is, for ever and ever, an heir-tf oj\ to the Gotobeda !) requesting me to give the back rooms to a. division of the gallant —lb. To ask was to command. The children's beds were immediacy removed, and, as I said to my wife—' For the sake ef the country, and for one night, the boys must bivouack in the drawing room/ 'I immediately went to the back-gate, and showed the division up stairs to their quarters. You will think thai a whole troop of soldiers, coming suddenly into a private house, would a little alarm a private family. Nut the Go'obeds, depend upon it. The girls saw every soldier, bayonets and ail, dr6le up stairs, and never shrank a muscle. I felt proud of 'ein j I own it ■. I was a hippy father. " 'From this angle, Sir,' said Captain Rations, taking me to a corner of my own window, 'from this angle, Sir, my brave lellows would hit any one waistcoat button of any one Chartist -, if, indeed, such vagabond l * can afford waistcoat butions.' ' Dear Captain/ said 1, * my house and family *re diubly insured with you in it. I leave it, Igo upon my duty with perfect confidence.' * Mr. Gotobed,' said the Captain to me, taking my hand with that ease and gcd breed, ing that makes the sold'erat home everywhere; ' Mr. Gotobed, ii the worst comes to the worst, deytndupon it, all my troops, with your amiable family, shall bs Luried in the ruins at this house, before a Chartist shall cross the threshold. Bu-ied, Sir—.n the ruin* ]' What could I do ? I squeezed the Captain by the hand. Words! 1 hid none to thank him with.— Luckily, however, J recollected myself; and, draniug ihe key of tbe wiDe-cellar from my pocket, I gave it to the Ca t tain's keeping. With a whisper—and I saw he felt tbe delicacy of the attention—l merely Baid, ' the left hand bin,* and left hiui for my dut}-. * I went upon my beat, Having nothing to do—for there wasn't so much as a dog stirring—l caught myself humming the Marseillaise. And then—how it happened, I can't say—l did nothing but think of all the Six Points of the Charter. They would keep tumbling about in my head whether or not. And upon my life—never having thought of 'em so much before—some of 'em I can 't think so fu'l of rebellion as I did. In the first pUc<—but no ; when we meet I shall be ready to defend an extension of the suffrage, triennial farliaments, and, certainly, vote by ballot! It *s very odd ; but this you may depend upon. There were so many Special Constables on the 10th, with uothing else to do, that they never thought so much of the Charier before. *' Well, this day went off splendidly. I got home at nine at night; just in time to see the Captain and his men—(l assure you they had n't forgot the lefthand bio) —defile again out a* the back gate. Once outside the fife and drum struck up The girts we leave behind us; and didn't we have a jolly supper ! and did n't we drink the Queen and the Constitution ! and at twelve o'clock didn't my wife say, in her own clever manner, *My dear Peter, as that's the fourth glass of toddy, and as you *re a special constable, I think yon could u't do better than to take yonrseif up —to bed.' "After the excitement of yesterday, and after feeling that the Throne is right as a trivet, I cannot settle myself down to business, bo make holiday till tomonow. Vive Ihe Whigs .' '' Yours, ever truly, " Peter Gotobed. "P. S.—Just received a letter.from Lieut. Sniegs to dine at the Mess ; who tells me that F. M the Duke Ukes a quiet chop with 'em on Tuesday, and I must

MRS. GOTOBED to MRS DEFL'UBSLOW. "Dear Mrs. Dtffurbelow,—-All your fears, kind as yoa were toevpres* em, have been m vain. Our house, as my daughter Julia says, was invested by the raili tary ; but never, never, were there such dears of mea. Your account oi the siege of Brussels, where you lived three days in a henroost, supporting yourself upon nothing but the eg?s, did. 1 own it, terrify me wi<h notions of the military character* garrisoned in the bosom of a family. But your soldiers were filthy foreigaers. You had not to deal with the gallant —th. *' I assure you the regiment had possession of our house for a wbole day, and nut one speck was left upon the carpet; nut a rumple on the chair covers. But for a few dozsn brrken passes, , 7lt i 1 a Em aii cigar a*h, nobody could tell that a soldier had been near ua. "Mr. Gotobed was about with his Staff. Therefore, upon me devolved theduy of all Hie honours ; though* I must say it, Julia acquitted beiself most heroiculy After our military luncheon, {I must n't call it dinner) the darling pirl sang— iVi may le hapjy yet, the brave Lieut. Sniftgs turning the leaves w ( tu u feeling that showed the true musician. *' Julia is a httlo deprei"u\l thi-» morning—and I do n't wonder at it- One can 't be cilm fur a wholiday ou ihejere of a Revolution, without paying for it i he nevt* •'Yours, otwa>s. _ ■ ' "Ex.iza uuVuPfiO.

"P. S.—l don't know why I should ask ; but ynu know these things better than I do. What is the fullest pay of an army lieutenant ?"

MISS JDTIA GOTOBED tO MtSS ARABELLA ROSENGARTEN. "Yes, Arabella; the die is cast. He has come—he has seen—and I have conquered. I always had a dim, mysterious notion that my (ate was somehow bound up with the fate of my country. And so it has turned out. The Revolution that has broken against tbe Throne of England, harmless as a ripple upon Heme Bay beach, has enthroned in this bosom the tyrant love. I ennnot express to you the imeute of my feelings ! Nor can I think that an envious destiny will throw up a barricade between me and happiness ! «* We have passed through a most magnificent day. There was no fighting $ hut tbe bayonets m our house had an awful glitter. What I should have done had all the mob attacked us, nobor'y can tell; but tbe gallant Lieut. Soiggs, with an oath so pretty, you might work in crewel, —the gallant creature said, he would mow them down like turnip tops 1 It would have been dreadful, would it not?—but still interesting. «' Arabella, I am now about to entrust yon with a secret that—if your >chool-girl feelings are still the same—you wj:l not let a team of wild horses lear from you. Handing me down to lunch, Lieutenant Sniggs proposed ! Did I not say the die was cast ? « The dear fellow has invited Pa to the Mess ; and, though I b'lieve he has nothing but his sword at the present, his expectations are immense. Pa dines on Tuesday ; on Wednesday expect to hear that the happiest woman upon earth is your devoted and affectionate schoolfellow, "Julia Gotobed." •* P. S.—l know the dear Duke of Wellington a'tends weddings. If Pa gives his consent to bnig^o—the dear ftUon's name, I should sell you, is my favourite —Edgar—do you think the Duke would, out of com pliment to a fellow-so'dter, give me away r" SUSAN MTLEV to SARA.H QRITTS. " Dear Sarah,—l 've g«ven warning, have drawn from the savings bank, and leave here in a month. I know you *li ask me why ? when I was so comfortible, Well, Sarah, for this special reason ; I 'm more comfortable still. I'm sure 1 should like a Revolution every day in the year, for we never had such a happy house as last Monday. We 'd a division of the Coldcream Guards, to protect the Crown of England, from the second-floor windows. Our house was like a garrison, and smelt of powder like a magazine. They talkei of throwing sky-rockets from the garrets, end more, of throwing shells to the mob» which I thought foolish wa=te, string how nice they look on mantelpiece*. ** 1 suppose you think I was in a pretty pucker. Indeed, I warn't. I couldn't ha* thought it till I'd t.ied, uhit a d.-al of crofort there is in seeing so many guns about one, with noble fettars not afeard to fire 'em off. And then the soldiers—'specially Corparal Fubb——was iu such good humour, it was impossible to fear nothing. Ido believe I could have looked upon a battle of Waterloo, with never so much as a single twitter. •' Well, to make a long story short, Corporal Fubbs asked me to be his wife—though he said he could, if he liked, ma-ry a governess iu a duke's family, that knew French and the use of the globes, the nest day The dear cretur was so straightforward, I couldn't have the heart to worrit him ; so I promised at once, end showed my savings bank book, which he said was beauiful. *' He talks of going to I»dy, when we marry; as he says it's easier to get made a Captain there. I'm rayfher afraid of the sun, as you know I freckle with so little—still, a soldier's wife (and 1 almost feel one already) must be afeard of nothing. I shall ask you to the wedding, which will be m a month at least; and so seeing what's cume of the Revolution, and how happy I 've been made by it, shouldn't I be an ungratelul cretur not to cry—Hoorah for the Charter ! 14 Your constant friend till death. *' Susan Mopley. " I sit and count the clock ; for at seven i'm going to take four iiew shirts, a pigeon pie, aud a bottle of ale to fubbs."