LESSON ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY- THE YOUNG HEROINE. During the invasion of Prevost, while the British army kept possession of the seaboard, a Hessian battalion occupied the house and plantation of Mr Robert Gibbes, on the banks of the Stono. To excite general alarm, and more particularly to annoy the post, two galleys from Charleston, ascending the river in the night-time, unexpectedly opened a heavy fire of grape and round shot on the house and neighbouring encampment. The family, who had been allowed to remain in some of the upper apartments, were now ordered to quit the premises, and Mr Gibbes, a martyr to infirmity, and his numerous family, set out at midnight for an adjoining plantation. When beyond the reach of the shot, which had incessantly passed over the heads of the party, an inquiry being made respecting the safety of the children, it was found, that, in the hurry and terror of the moment, a distant relation, a boy as yet in early infancy, had been left behind. The servants were entreated to return for him, but refused; and he must have been left to his fate, had not the heroism and affection of Miss Mary Anna Gibbes, then but thirteen years old, inspired her with courage to fly to his rescue. The darkness of the night was profound; yet she returned alone, the distance being fully a mile; and, after a long refusal, having, by tears and entreaties, obtained admission from the sentinel, ascended to the third storey. There she found the child, and carried him off in safety, though frequently covered with the dirt thrown up by the shot, and greatly terrified by their constant approach to her person. The gallant Lieutenant-Colonel Fenwick, so much distinguished by his services in the last American war, was the person saved. LESSON ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY EIGHTH. ADDRESS TO SCIENCE. Sun of the soul! thy beams unveil ! Hail, queen of manners! light of truth! In business thou, exact, polite! Of wealth, power, freedom, thou the cause! Of arts inventress thou! Without thee, what were human kind! LESSON ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY- MRS THOMAS HEYWARD. An order having been issued for a general illumination, to celebrate the supposed victory at Guilford, the front of the house occupied by Mrs Heyward and her sister, Mrs George Abbot Hall, remained in darkness. Indignant at so decided a mark of disrespect, an officer (I hope, for the sake of humanity, and the honour of the military character, unauthorised) forced his way into her presence, and sternly demanded of Mrs Heyward, "How dare you disobey the order which has been issued? why, madam, is not your house illuminated ?" "Is it possible for me, sir," replied the lady, with per fect calmness, "to feel a spark of joy? Can I celebrate the victory of your army, while my husband remains a prisoner at St Augustine ?"-"That," rejoined the officer, "is a matter of little consequence; the last hopes of rebellion are crushed by the defeat of Greene: you shall illuminate."—"Not a single light,” replied the lady, "shall be placed with my consent, on such an occasion, in any window in the house." 66 Then, madam, I will return with a party, and, before midnight, level it to the ground."—"You have power to destroy, sir, and seem well disposed to use it; but over my opinions you possess no control. I disregard your menaces, and resolutely declare, I will not illuminate." Would that we could name the man capable of thus insulting a helpless female, that we might hold him up to the scorn of the world! Mrs Heyward was graceful and majestic in person, beautiful in countenance, angelic in disposition: none but a ruffian could have treated her with indignity. On the anniversary of the surrender of Charleston, May 12, 1781, an illumination was again demanded, in testimony of joy for an event so propitious to the cause of Britain. Mrs G. A. Hall, a lady who resided at this time with Mrs Heyward, and who laboured under a wasting disease, lay at the point of death. Again Mrs Heyward refused to obey. Violent anger was excited, and the house was assailed by a mob with brickbats, and every species of missile that could offend or annoy. Her resolution, however, remained unshaken; and, while the tumult continued, and shouts and clamour were sounding in their ears, Mrs Hall expired. It should be mentioned, to the honour of Town-Major Fraser, that he afterwards waited on Mrs Heyward, and, strongly expressing his regret for the indignities that had been offered her, requested permission to repair the damage done to the house; but she resolutely refused, assuring him that, though sensible of his attention, and thankful for it, the efforts of the ruling authorities to obliterate the recollection of insults which they ought to have prevented, could not now avail: she could forgive, but never forget them. LESSON ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH. MENTAL RICHES. 'Tis a region half unknown, LESSON ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIRST. MRS RICHARD SHUBRICK. Here was, indeed, a heroine to be proud of. Her eyes sparkled with feeling and vivacity, while her countenance so plainly bespoke her kindness and benevolence, that sorrow and misfortune instinctively sought shelter under her protection. There was an appearance of personal debility about her, that rendered her peculiarly interesting; it seemed to solicit the interest of every heart. Yet, when firmness of character was requisite, when fortitude was called for, to repel the encroachments of aggression, there was not a more intrepid being in existence. The following is a noble instance of it : An American soldier, flying from a party of the enemy, sought her protection, and was promised it. The party of British who pursued him insisted that he should be delivered up, threatening Mrs Shubrick with immediate destruction, in case of refusal. The ladies, her friends and companions, who were in the house with her, shrunk from the contest, and were silent; but, undaunted by their threats, this intrepid lady placed herself before the chamber into which the unfortunate fugitive had been conducted, and resolutely said, "To men of honour, the chamber of a lady should be as sacred as the sanctuary! I will defend the passage to it, though I perish. You may succeed, and enter it, but it shall be over my corpse."—"If muskets were placed in the hands of only a few such women," said the officer, "our only safety would be found in retreat. Your intrepidity, madam, gives you security; from me you shall meet no further annoyance." Nor is this the only instance of her unconquerable fortitude. At Brabant, the seat of the respectable and patriotic Bishop Smith, a serjeant of Tarleton's dragoons, eager for the acquisition of plunder, followed the overseer, a man advanced in years, into the apartment where the ladies of the family were assembled, and, on his refusal to discover the spot in which the plate was concealed, struck him with violence, inflicting a severe sabre wound across the shoulders. Aroused at the sight of such a cruel act, Mrs Shubrick, starting from her seat, and placing herself between the ruffian and his victim, resolutely said, "Place yourself behind me, Murdoch, the interposition of my body shall give you protection, or I will d'" then addressing herself to the serjeant, exclaimed, "O what a degradation of manhood! what departure from that gallantry which was once the characteristic of British soldiers! Human nature is degraded by your barbarity; but should you persist, then strike at me, for, till I die, no further injury shall be done to him." The serjeant, unable to resist such commanding eloquence, retired. The hope, however, of attaining the object in view, very speedily subjected the unfortunate Murdoch to new persecution. He was tied up under the very tree where the plate was buried, and threatened with immediate execution, unless he would make the discovery required. But, although well acquainted with the unrelenting severity of his enemy, and earnestly solicited by his wife to save his life by a speedy confession of the place of deposit, he persisted, resolutely, that a sacred trust was not to be betrayed, and actually succeeded in preserving it. When complimented, at an after period, on his heroic firmness, he asserted, that he was strengthened in his resolution by the recollection that a part of the plate belonged |