lately returned, from America"-spoke in my place; thus throwing into my very tracks, the man who of all others in Britain I had the worst opinion of, and with whom I was destined so soon to have a prolonged controversy-on a subject of such vast interest to America, and of such importance to all the Christians of it.

I suppose there were some subsequent explanations, perhaps difficulties, amongst the officers of the society; for I got besides several private notes from friends---a letter from the Bishop of Chester and one from Mr. Copper, joint secretary, and one officially from the committee, all explaining in part and apologising in part.-I replied to the first one only-simply to state the true facts of the case-and to express my sentiments regarding them; and refused afterwards to say or hear any thing on the subject.-I trust all future delegates from the United States, will have more reason to record acts of personal and official kindness from some of these institutions, and especially from the active agents of them, than most of their predecessors have been permitted to find.

THE ABDUCTION OF ELIZA BURNS-AN ORPHAN CHILD-BY PAPISTS

IN BALTIMORE.

We have just been made acquainted with a story of great, and to us, painful interest in some of its parts, which we take the responsibility of laying before our readers, in the hope and with the design that an enlightened and informed public sentiment may come to the aid of the laws, in restraining the outrageous proceedings of some of the papal functionaries-institutions, and people in this city. We freely give names and facts-and hold ourselves responsible, for the general accuracy of the following

statements.

Some years ago, an Irishman by the name of Burns, who was perhaps originally a papist, married in this city, or at least in this section of the United States, a protestant Irish girl from Dublin, whose maiden name was Walker. About three years ago, the female died in Baltimore, leaving three infant children-all girls. In her last illness, she was repeatedly visited and greatly harassed by one or more of the Priests of this city; but she rejected all their attempts to proselyte her—and died in the faith of her fathers. Her dying injunctions-like her living precepts, were that her little girls should on no account be allowed to come under the influence of the popish religion, or its wily ministers.-In the house in which she died, lived an Irish protestant of advanced age, named Eliza Gifford, to whose care the children were left by their dying mother -and in whose care they remained till her own death-which occurred on the 21st day of June 1837.

The Burnses were poor; and Eliza Gifford had little else than a small annual stipend, of which more anon. After the death of Mrs. Burns, her husband who had before been a gardener, in the employment of various persons in and about Baltimore-removed near to Harpers' Ferry-where he took sick, and died about the latter part of the summer of 1836. He had allowed his little girls

to remain with Eliza Gifford constantly, since their mother's death; and had as he was able, discharged his duty as a father, kindly to them-contributing more or less towards their support. The little property of which he died possessed-came into the hands of Mrs. Gifford, and it and the children remained without question with her, till her death.

Mrs. Gifford, was a woman of good family in Ireland-had received a superior education-and been raised a lady. In conse. quence of the troubles in Ireland during the rebellion at the close of the last century, she was reduced to want and deprived of all her relatives. She was compelled to stand by, and witness the death of her whole family-who were burned to death in their own house; a fate which they suffered in common, with multitudes of other protestants, at the hands of the priest ridden and fanatical mob of Irish papists, in that day of blood. Her state of mind, in regard to the papacy may be easily conceived; nor did she at any time conceal it. Her chief, if not only means of support of late years, has been an annuity of about $75-which she regularly got from abroad through the house of Alexander Brown and Sonsand which there is some reason to suppose, was allowed her as a pension by the British government. This pittance she nobly shared, for above three years, with the little orphans, whom God had so strangely committed to her care; and was to them, as we know from the best source, all that a mother could be. During all this period, not a single papist in Baltimore, or elsewhere offered to render the least aid in supporting the children-nor did any of them manifest the slightest interest in their welfare-either before or after the death of their father.

Some short time ago, Mrs. Gifford took sick-and after an illness somewhat protracted, died. During her last sickness, she was visited by the Rev. Dr. Henshaw, and by various other benevolent individuals-and amongst the rest by Mrs. Keyworth. This lady, had already received into her family the eldest of the three orphans, who had been regularly bound to her husband, at the request of Mrs. Gifford; and it was the dying request of the latter, that she should take the charge of the other two little girls-obtain a suitable place for the second one-and place the youngest in the orphan school in Mulberry street (which is not papal as yet) until it was old enough to go to service, and then take it herself. Mrs. Keyworth and her husband are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. These facts are proven by the lady herself -by all who had access to Mrs. Gifford in the last months of her life and by the eldest child, with whom we have freely conversed, and who is an intelligent girl of ten or twelve years of age. They are also abundantly confirmed by the following written statement of Dr. Henshaw, copied by us, from the original in the hands of the person to whom he gave it-for a purpose which will be stated presently.

Baltimore June 22, 1837.

Mrs. Eliza Gifford, who died yesterday, and has had charge of three orphan children by the name of Burns, stated to me on her death bed that she wished the eldest child to remain with Mrs. Keyworth, and desired that a good place might be secured for Fanny, the second child, and that

Elizabeth the youngest should be placed at the Baltimore Female Orphan Asylum in Mulberry street; and furthermore that they should be educated in the principles of the Protestant Episcopal church.

Signed. J. P. K. HENSHAW

Eliza Gifford paid the great debt of nature on the 21st of JuneAnd about sunrise, on the next morning, a papist woman of the name of Hammond-who resides on Fell's Point-secretly stole away the two youngest children from the house in which the dead body, of their last earthly protector still lay unburied!--Through the persuasions of a papist woman living in the house, these two children had been permitted to remain during the night—with her; and when next morning they were called for, Dr. Henshaw, Mrs. Keyworth, and others-were informed, that this Mrs. Hammond, had come from the opposite end of the city, and claiming to be "god-mother"-as they called it-to the second child-took them both off. The second one she carried to her own house. The youngest one she so disposed of, that it was early that mor ning safely lodged in the papal orphan asylum, near the Cathedralcalled we believe, St. Mary's orphan asylum,-into which it was thus privately introduced, as we have every reason to believe with the connivance, if not by the aid of Bishop Eccleston, a certain Miss Spaulding, and Mrs. Luke Tiernan.

Mr. and Mrs. Keyworth, accompanied by other friends, and in execution of the duty laid upon them by the oft expressed wishes, and dying injunction of Mrs. Gifford-set about ascertaining the fate of the two children-and if possible, recovering their persons. The eldest one, as before stated, was already in their charge. After some enquiry-the facts stated above, were ascertained,and the papists whose names are given were each repeatedly visited during the course of the day on Saturday and Monday succeeding the death of Mrs. Gifford-by Mr. and Mrs. Keyworth, Mr. and Mrs. Thorps, Mr. Paul, and perhaps others. On Monday several of them went to the papist Mrs. Hammond-who after much difficulty,-partly by persuasion, partly by the openly expressed wishes of the child, but chiefly perhaps, by threats of a legal prosecution for carrying it off, or seducing it away from its rightful protectors-was reluctantly induced to give up the second child-which remains with its proper friends. Blessed be the God of the helpless orphan-who has raised up active and efficient friends-for those little ones, in a land of strangers, amongst whom there dwells not one individual, having a drop of their blood-and where, they find themselves suddenly environed by so great snares, dangers, and troubles.

Mr. Eccleston, Mrs. Tiernan, and Miss Spaulding-were made of other materials-than Mrs. Hammond. Again and again, were they each waited on, by the anxious friends of the little innocent, of six or seven years, whom sister Bridget, or perhaps sister Clotilda, had already safely deposited in the secret places of the asylum-and from which, a word from either of these persons named above, would have at once set her free. We cannot forget the dreadful story of Mary Elizabeth Little-which the name of sister Clotilda recalls-and which we beg the reader to examine-in the

No. of this Magazine for December 1835. The abduction of children is not a new business, with some of the papists of our city; but any regular attempt to reclaim them, when once carried off we believe is somewhat novel. Indecd we have the Bishop's word for this. For on being pressed for an order to the Asylum for the delivery of the child, he not only declared he had no power to give it (which nobody credited) - but most solemnly, and in the deep wonderment of ignorant innocence-declared he had never had such a request made of him before! Alack-adasey! to think that wicked protestants, should be so silly, as to suppose that nuns and priests, arc not the "sovereignest remedy in the world" for all the evils of life: and that the secret recesses of their unexplored, and unexplorable man-traps, and woman-traps, the very seats of all the virtues! Alack-a-day! The silly wicked protestants!

Through the greater part of two whole days, the friends of these abducted children, went backwards and forwards-to Mr. Eccleston, Mrs. Tiernan, Miss Spaulding-and the orphan schoolover which those individuals are understood to exercise control. We forbear to comment, on the evasions, the twistings, the petty meannesses of Mr. Eccleston, reported to us, by these worthy persons. We had hoped, that he had not utterly forgotten, in becoming a Jesuit, and a sworn vassal of the Pope-that he was once a gentleman, and a free American. Such also seems to have been the feelings of Dr. Henshaw in giving Mrs. Keyworth the note copied above; and upon the mere presentation of which to Mr. Eccleston, the Doctor believed, and thought doubtless he had reason to believe that the child Eliza Burns, would be immediately delivered to her friends.-But after all other shifts had been used in vain-all the heads of the school and the church-slipped their necks as far as possible adroitly out of the case, as responsible actors-and referred the applicants for justice-to a new and mighty power "behind the throne-greater than the throne itself."

In our No. for May 1836, is an account of a Baltimore lawyer, who entered into a conspiracy with the famous Prince Hohenloe, to work a notable miracle-which unhappily failed. In our January, March, and November Nos. for 1835-are accounts of incidents in the lives of Priests De Barth and Deluol-in which are references, to the same remarkable personage-as the especial friend of the first named priest, in trying to extricate him from charges brought by a girl who had the night mare, and whom he persuaded to believe was ridden by her mother's ghost. The same March No. of 1835, contains another allusion to this illustrious person-as the lawyer on a certain occasion for one Priest Smith, of very famous memory in these parts as a burner of bibles and forger of wills, in his day. Now we have in this unhappy storythe same everlasting referee of all troubled priests, figuring as the grand master of ceremonies in the finale of the matter.

And who may this renowned advocate be? Ah! reader it would indeed argue yourself unknown-not to know Mr. John Scott. A gentleman who having been born and raised a protestant, was so fortunate as to discover, that the right of private judgment, was a burden and vexation, as well as a sinful figment-and so happy

as to find other persons, modest and competent enough to take this whole matter off his hands in all his intercourse with God. A gentleman so sagacious, that while the world was disputing whether the moon is made of green cheese or not-discovered by intuition that the Godhead abides, as an object of worship, under the aspect of a flour wafer! A gentleman so ripe in faith, that he risked his system of religion, on prince Hohenloe's power to work a miracle on his own body, at the distance of four thousand miles; and then when the prince failed, only remained the more thoroughly convinced of the truth of that which required no miracle to confirm it! A gentleman so consistent in his fidelity, that having espoused doctrines, which are incapable of belief, and which no man can believe-since they contradict reason, consciousness, common sense, and physical sense, to boot,-has yet the goodness to act as if he did really believe them-and thus voluntarily surrendering all the honours and advantages of a double apostacy, countenances by his great example, every thing that ordinary men might be ashamed to propound, backward to avow, or disposed to recant under the scorn of an incredulous world! Illustrious gentleman!-we treasure the honour which protestantism has won by giving birth to such a prodigy! Rara avis in terris!-which for the unlearned we render, "noble friend of Smith and De Barth!" Nigroque similima signo!-well translated, "immortalized in the case of the abduction of the child, Eliza Burns!"

As soon as the name of this great lawyer was announced, the whole case took a new turn! "You must go to Mr. John Scott;" said Mr. Eccleston, "you must go to Mr. John Scott"-repeated in succession, Miss Spaulding, Mrs. Tiernan, and the ladies at the. orphan school. And doubtless-every utterance of that name,clarum-venerabile-caused a tremor in the nerves, and a palpitation at the hearts, of Mr. and Mrs. Thorps, Mr. and Mrs. Keyworth-Mr. Paul, and all the rest who heard it. And to Mr. John Scott they did go. But before doing so, they went to obtain counsel, if any could be found bold enough to risk themselves against the Jupiter tonans of Baltimore. They went also, to ask redress of the legal tribunals of the commonwealth-who thank God, have not yet learned the lesson of "mother church"-that the temporal sword, is subject to the spiritual one, and that it is wielded only in subordination to it, they were successful in both applications. Messrs R. Moale, E. L. Finley and H. D. Evans, readily agreed to advocate their righteous cause; and on the Monday following the death of Mrs. Gifford, the orphan's court, having heard the whole case, promptly, and to their great honour decided it. The second child which had been secretly carried to Fell's Point, by Mrs. Hammond, and recovered as already stated, was allowed to remain in the possession of her friends, and bound to Mr. Paul. The youngest one, which Mrs. Hammond declared she had carried to St. Mary's Asylum, and which Mr. Eccleston, Mrs. Tiernan, Miss Spaulding, and the sisters at that asylum admitted to be there, and which the orphan's court was duly informed, was then retained by force, after having been abducted by fraud; this child, the court placed under the care of Mr. Paul, by appointing him its guardian.