SECTION III.

ADELAIDE CELESTIN RETURNS TO KENSINGTONIMPRUDENT SECOND MARRIAGE-CONSE

HER

QUENT LOSSES-RESIDES

IN WESTMINSTER

ATTENDS BROADWAY CHURCH-BECOMES A RELIGIOUS WOMAN-EXHIBITS THE FRUITS OF TRUE RELIGION.

AFTER the affecting occurrence of Hippolite Celestin's death, Adelaide, his widow, on her arrival in England, resumed her duties as laundress at Kensington Palace, which she did not quit till the year 1816. Her imprudent wish to marry a man in whom she weakly confided, but whom others deemed totally unworthy of confidence, was the cause of her leaving; as the following document among her papers, signed by the Duke of Kent, will explain :

THESE are to certify, that ZAIRE CELESTIN, a woman of colour, has acted as my laundress for many years, between 1795 and the present

time, and that I have always found her extremely honest and attentive, and considered her particularly clever in her line, and that she has only now quitted my service in consequence of marrying a man whom I did not approve of having as an inmate in my house. Given under my hand and seal, at Kensington Palace, this 17th August 1816. EDWARD.

In this affair of her second marriage, Adelaide must have been inconsiderate, self-willed, and obstinate. She gave up real and solid comforts, as a servant in a palace, in the groundless expectation of other advantages. As soon as the marriage took place, at St. George's, Hanover Square, she immediately reaped the fruits of her imprudence. Very few words need be added upon a subject, which is itself, without any comment, a lesson of instruction. It may suffice to say, that the man to whom she gave her hand became the destroyer of the little property she had acquired. For a short time he visited her by day in James Street, Westminster, where she then lived.

He first took the money she possessed; and afterwards her furniture; which he put up to sale at Robins's Rooms, Piazza, Covent Garden. Thus comparatively destitute, she was left to regret her indiscretion, for she heard no more of the man who was so entirely undeserving of regard.

Adelaide (whose name of Celestin must be henceforward omitted) was now compelled to depend upon her own industry; and for about eighteen years, namely, from 1816 to 1834, she maintained herself chiefly by her own exertions as a laundress. It appears, however, that she found some difficulty in doing so; for His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent having died in 1821, leaving a widow, and the illustrious infant who has since ascended the throne of this Realm, Adelaide, as I find by letters received from Kensington Palace, made application to the Duchess of Kent in 1821, 1823, 1826, and 1828. The intervals between these several years seem to imply that she was not importunate in soliciting favours, but that she found herself

occasionally in great need of assistance, partly in consequence of severe illness. From the year 1828, Her Royal Highness was pleased to order that £1. should be paid to her every quarter in aid of her

rent.

In the midst of the trials and afflictions with which Adelaide was surrounded, about the year 1821, a desire came into her mind to attend at Broadway church, Westminster, near which she lived. The discourse she heard from the clergyman, the Reverend Mr. Mutter, was so suitable to the state of her mind, and was so deeply impressed upon her heart, that she was induced to attend Divine worship at that church constantly from that time, advancing in christian knowledge and piety. Adelaide often referred with gratitude to the period when she thus found comfort in God's holy Word, and in his house of prayer, in her desolate condition. The grace of God's holy Spirit alone could have given this new bias to her mind, when she became a spiritual worshipper,

an attentive hearer, a devout reader, and in all respects an obedient christian. Though in a very humble sphere of life, there were many virtues conspicuous, from that time forward, in this poor black woman, which gained her the friendship of a few persons, and the confidence and regard of her neighbours, for several successive years. It may be well to mention in this place some of those fruits of true religion which appeared in her conduct. They were prominent and permanent: remarked by many persons who knew her from the year 1821; and my own observation during the last three years and a half of her life fully confirmed the statements of others.

She lived in a city and in a parish where thousands habitually neglect Divine worship; and where numerous shops are open, and frequented on the Sunday morning. With very compassionate feelings towards her fellow-creatures, she mourned on account of the abounding impiety, and mentioned sometimes to a friend