News Letter 12 Final - The Binns Family

Poetry Cornerby Wilkinson BinnsJuly 1854LOVEOh gentlest feeling what art thou hast thou a form a faceTo smile so winningly on man and charm him by thygraceWhich brighter every moment grows in sorrowsdark’ning nightThat fills the troubled soul with peace a holy serene quietThat mingles with the dreams of man a gleam a taste ofheavenA never failing balm it is by natures framer givenRefreshing more the human heart than April’s verdantshowersExciting Timesfrom The Rotterdam MercuryMr. E. Binns, late mate of thebrig Louisa Anne belonging toBoston, has arrived in town fromHolland. The brig was bound toGottenburgh; but being driven intoLe Havre by the late gales was detainedthere under the pretence ofher being Swedish property and ofthere being some informality inher papers: both hull and cargohave been condemned; and theMaster with difficulty obtainedpermission to go to Paris, to remonstrateon the occasion. MrBinns was to go to Rouen, wherehe has connections, and fromthence he proceeded along thecoast to Catwyck. During his residencein France he collected variousmatters of information, whichform a striking contrast with thestatements of Mr Champagny[Minister of the Interior for Napoleon1804-1807] in his recent expose.Mr Binns states that thepeople are almost unanimous intheir personal hostility to their Tyrant.A considerable degree of discontentpervades the Armies on thecoast, chiefly on their arrears ofpay, and partly in consequence of aprevalent opinion that the favourableperiod for invasion had beensuffered to elapse and that the maturedstate of our defence deprivedthem of every legitimate hope ofsuccess, in the event of the enterprisebeing undertaken. Bonapartehas lost much of his popularitysince his coronation.The troops constituting what iscalled the Army of England wereat Christmas 14 weeks in arrears;the soldiers were in consequencereduced to the necessity of levyingcontributions on the countrypeople for their support; and inone of the many contests whichthis expedient gave occasion to,several lives were lost. Thetroops in general are very badlyclothed and appear to be in everyrespect more neglected than weshould have expected under amilitary despotism which wasraised and is maintained by theiragency. [Rotterdam Mercury of12 Jan 1805 as published in Gentleman’sMagazine 75, 166]3DJH%,116&211(&7,216