Martin's in the Fields, Weftminster, were married in this church, by banns, on this 25th day of November, 17—, by me, JAMES JENKINS, Curate. This marriage was folemnized be tween us, JOHN GRATTON, and In prefence of { CATRAN WINDERSLAKE, [ED.FOWLER,Sexton. GO.HASKER Taylor.' Now, Sir, when my husband and I came together, our joint fortunes amounted to about four hundred and fifty pounds; on the strength of which we took an house in the parish of St. Clements Danes, and opened a ftockingfhop; and what between the money we made of our lodgings, and our fuccefs in trade, our stock is increafed to upwards of seven hundred pounds clear. About fix weeks ago, I had the misfortune to lofe my husband, who died inteftate, and has left me with two children, a boy and a girl, and I am now far gone with another. When I went to the Commons to take administration, I found a caveat entered by my husband's brother, who, by our marriage, thinking himself difappointed of his expectations, has, for that reason, borne a grudge to me, and my children, ever fince. The caveat, Sir, was warned, and he has thought proper to deny my interest as his brother's widow; I then gave an allegation, as it is called, propound. ing my intereft as the widow, and fetting forth my marriage, together with the feveral circumftances, and exhibits, of which I have before acquainted you. He has likewife given in his answers thereto; wherein he has confeffed the courtship; the identity of parties; the church; the parfon, the witnesses, the fubfcriptions; the reputable cohabitation; the birth of my children; and the continual owning, and acknowledgement between us: but still infists, that, by the very words and intent of the Act of Parliament, the marriage was null and void to all intents and purposes whatever, as being had without a due publication of banns. Now, Sir, what is to be done; I can prove the banns no otherwise than as above; hitherto, I am sure, I thought myfelf as truely, and honeftly married, as any woman in England, and so, I believe, have all my friends, and acquaintance; for, though I fay it, nobody in the parish has lived with a hufband in more credit, and reputation, nor, till I was put upon this fearch, had I ever the leaft fufpicion, that any doubt could poffibly arife hereon: for God's fake, therefore, what am I to do? muft I be turned adrift in the world to ftarve? be stripped of my own little fortune, as well as the other acquifitions by mine and my husband's industry? be rendered infamous to all my friends and acquaintance; and my poor infants, at this time of day, branded with Baftardy? Couns. But pray, madam, after all, what was your true maiden name? Mrs. G. My real name, it is certain, Sir, was as I fubfcribed it, Catran Winderflake The name of Catran was my mother's family name; and an aunt of mine, my mother's fifter, who was also my godmother, promised to leave me an hundred pounds if I was christened by that name; and, about nine years ago, fhe dying, made her promise good; as to my furname, we certainly do spell it Winderflake; but, for brevity fake, my family, in the parish of Farley, in Wiltshire, where I was born, and have now a mother and brother living there, have been always fo conftantly called, and known by the name of Windsley; that, where to you to enquire for them by their real names, few people, I believe, in the parish would readily apprehend who you meant. I was usually called, by my miflress, Katharine, as if my name had really been fo, and fometimes Kitty, and by the fervants in the family, Mrs. Windfley; and, to fay the truth, it never entered once into my head to fet my husband right in this matter, before he wrote the notice for our banns; and tho' he read over both the notices to me before he carried them, yet had my ears been fo long accustom ed ed to the names of Kitty and Katharine Windfley, that unless I had been to have wrote my name myself, the difference of spelling was a matter that eafily flipped my obfervation. When we went into bufinefs, as I told you, Sir, I found it necessary to improve myself in my writing, and then always figned my name to receipts, and other things, Cat. Gratton; and, I believe it was near three months after we had been married, and fettled in trade, before my husband obferved, or I acquainted him, that my real name was Catran, and not Katharine, for he usually called me Kitty, or Kate, and I as conftantly answered thereto. I had frequently talked to my husband of my family, but ftill by the name of Windfley, nor did he know we fpelt our name otherwise, till after the birth of my eldest child, when he received a letter from my brother Tom, who is my boy's godfather, fubfcribed Winderflake. But of fo little confequence did these trifling mistakes, as we both thought them, appear to either my husband or me, that it was ever confidered by us both as matter of joke and merriment, rather than of any ferious reflection. Couns. When you figned your name to the register of your marriage, did nobody then obferve the difference? Mrs. G. I believe not; for after my husband had wrote his name, and had given me the pen to write mine, all the while I was fo writing mine, and the Sexton and Mr. Hafker were attesting by their fubfcriptions likewife, the Curate, who was an intimate friend and acquaintance of my husband's Mafter and Mistress, was taking off his surplice, and holding my husband in difcourfe about the family; and then asking us if we had all fubfcribed, he just caft his eye upon the book, locked it up in the cheft in the Veftry, and went out of church along with us, and I imagine knows nothing of any miftake to this hour; for in about a fortnight after wards, he was prefented to a good liv. ing in Norfolk, where, I am informed, he is married, and has refided there ever fince. He is ready enough, no doubt, to give his evidence to our marriage, but that is confeffed already, and there is no neceffity of giving him any farther trouble about it: I have myself been with the Doctors of both the parishes of St. Martin's and St. Dunstan's, to know if the registers, as the transactions was every way fair and honest, might not be altered to the truth, in conformity with each other; but they tell me, they dare not for their lives venture the doing, or fuffering any fuch thing to be done; for that it is death by the law to. touch the fame, after an entry once made, either to render a bad marriage good, or a good one bad. Couns. Therein, Madam, they cer. tainly told you the truth: And to give you my real sentiments of this matter, I fear me much, your cafe is without redress. Before this Act of Parliament, the fact of your folemnization of marriage; your mutual acknowledgments, and continual owning; your reputable cohabitation, and birth of children, without the evidence of either banns or licence, would have doubtless been fufficient to have established your marriage beyond contradiction : but now the cafe feems widely different; for notwithftanding thefe, and the mere fact of your marriage, tho' ever fo regularly folemnized, yet may the fame be ftill a nullity, for want of evidence of banns. And truly, as you now have stated it to me, there does not any where appear, nor is there the leaft proof at all to be produced, that you on your part, was ever duly published. Was the Court, therefore, as the law now ftands, to pronounce your marriage good, as on the fact alone, it would be leaving the very effentials of its validity out of the quertion: befides, Madam, the whole intent and meaning of this fame Act, by* thus piously and judiciously inverting the order of things, that is to fay, by thus making thofe that were formerly the effentials of marriage, now only the circumstantials; and thofe that were heretofore only the circumftantials, now the effentials, feems to me neceffarily to make strongly against you; for other- no farther, you are of opinion, it seems, Mrs. G. Is not marriage, Sir, think you, of divine inftitution? Counf. Why, Madam, I take it to be-a-partly divine, and-a-partly human. Mrs. G. And, which, Sir, I befeech you, feems to be the divine part; the prefence and authority of the priest, the facredness of the place, the folemnity of the contract, the awefulness of the ratification, That whom God hath so jained, no man fhould prefume to put afunder; or, on the other hand, the exact, literal, and correct entries in the registers of the due publication of the banns, which, after all, is no more than a mere proclamation, to acquaint the people that two fuch perfons do intend, with the bleffing of God, to enter into this folemn contract hereafter, if no one, in the mean time, thall think fit to object any lawful, and, which I perceive you understand to be, lucrative impediment thereto? But pray, Sir, would it not be full as decent, think you to declare the Eucharift of none effect, unless it were to ftand in proof the wine we there receive was unadulterate, and had been duly entered at the Cuftom-houfe, and paid the duty to the Crown, before we can be justly said to have received the fame? M. G. If fo it be, ye widows mourn, For I may truly say, Thechild fhall rue that is unborn, No lefs than you thus left forlorn, The ftatute of that day. And now let any one, with the least degree of common juice, common fenfe, or perfpicuity, fhew in what manner, and by what rules of diftinction and interpretation, the marriage of Capt. Mac R, heretofore stated, can be pronounced null and void, and this of Catran Winderflake good and valid; or that they are not both equally good or equally bad, within the true and obvious meaning and intention of this fame act. - Et erit mihi magnus. MISODOLUS. From the COURT MAGAZINE. Voyages of Columbus continued. T was therefore feemingly in compliance with the cacique's request, that the admiral ordered a tower to be built of the timber of the wrecked veffel, and this being furnished with provifion, ammunition, arms and cannon, he manned it with a garrifon of fix and thirty men, under the joint command of James d'Arana, Peter Gutierres and Roderick d'Eskovedo, whom he earn. eftly recommended to the favour and good officers of the king and his people. Having provided this fort with all neceffaries, including the boat belonging to the ship that was loit, he refolved to return directly to Caftile, left some other misfortune happening to the only fhip that now remained, might difable him for ever from giving their Catholic majefties information of the important difcoveries he had already made, and the countries he had annexed to their dominions. Having therefore made all the requifite preparations for the voyage, he fet fail from the port of Nativity, where where he had fettled this first chriftian colony, on Friday the 4th day of January at fun-rifing, and standing to the north-west, to get clear of the fhoal water, took such marks of the land as would enable him to know the mouth of the harbour in any future expedition. The wind being contrary, he had made but little way to the eastward, when on Sunday morning he fell in with the caraval Pinta, commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon, who going on board, endeavoured to excufe his defertion, by faying he had loft fight of the admiral in the night, and alledging other frivolous reafons, the fallacy of which tho' Columbus plainly faw, he disguised his fentiments, rather than run any rifque of prejudicing the common caufe, by giving rife to a dangerous diffenfion; for, almost all the people engaged in this expedition were either relations or townsmen of Pinzon. He had failed to a river fifteen leagues to the eastward of the Nativity, where he spent fixteen days in bartering with the natives for gold, of which he had obtained a large quantity, and diftributed one half among the crew, in order to acquire popularity, as well as their confent to keep what remained for his own ufe; fo that he carefully concealed his fuccefs from the knowledge of the admiral. After this tranfaction, he anchored at Monte Chrifto, a round hill like a pavilion, about eighteen leagues east of Cape Santo; but, the weather not permitting him to proceed, he went in his boat up a river to the fouth-west of the mount, and lifcovering feme figns of gold duft in the fand, called it the river of gold, bing seventeen leagues to the eastward of the Nativity. n Sunday, January 13th, being near Cap Enamorado, the admiral fent his boa afhore, where there ftood fome Indian, with fierce countenances, armed with ows and arrows, making a fhew of oppfition, tho' they feemed to be in great enfternation. However, by the mediatin of the Salvador linguilt, they were brught to a kind of conference, and one of them venturing to go on board of the admiral, appeared fo ferocious, both in his fpeech and afbect, which was fmutted with charcoal, that the Spaniards concluded he was one of the Carribbe canibals, and that the bay parted this place from Hifpaniola: but, when the admiral inquired about the country of the Carribees, he pointed with his finger to an island farther east, and gave him to understand that there was another near it, wholly inhabited by women with whom the Carribees converfed at a certain feason of the year, and carried off all the male children that fprung from their embraces. Having anfwered all these interrogations, partly by signs and partly by means of the Indian interpreter, he was entertained with victuals, and set afhore, with prefents of glass-beads and bits of red and green cloth, that he might perfuade his countrymen to bring down gold to barter. At the place where he was landed, there was a fort of ambuscade of fifty men with long hair, adorned with plumes of parrots feathers; who being armed with bows and arrows, and great cudgels in lieu of swords, refufed to carry on any trade with the Spaniards, notwithstanding the exhortations of their friends, but, on the contrary treated them with fcorn, and even began to commit hoftilities. The Chriftians, who were but feven in all, feeing them advance with fury in their looks, met them half way, and charging them with great intrepidity, cut one with a fword on the buttock, and shot another with an arrow in the breast, to the terror and difcomfiture of the whole party, who forthwith turned their backs and fled, leaving their bows and arrows on the fpot; and many of them would certainly have been killed, had not the pilot of the caraval interpofed in their behalf. The admiral was not difpleafed at this fkirmith, which he thought would inspire the Indians with fuch high notions of the valour of the chriftians, as would hinder them from making any attempts to the prejudice of the fettlement at the Nativity: for, he did not doubt doubt that all the inhabitants of the if land would foon hear, how feven Spaniards had attacked, and routed above fifty of their most warlike natives. pany of each caraval concluded that the other had perished, and betaking themselves to acts of devotion, it fell to the admiral's lot to go a pilgrimage for the whole crew to our lady of Guadaloupe: one of the feamen was destined to go to Loretto, and another to watch a whole night at St. Olave of Moguer: in a word, the fury of the wind and fea ftill increafing, the whole company joined in a vow to walk barefoot and in their shirts to fome church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, upon the first land that should receive them. Their fituation was rendered still more deplorable by the scarcity of provision, and the want of ballaft, by which the ship was in danger of being overset. To remedy this inconvenience, the admiral ordered his casks to be filled with feawater, and that his discovery might have fome chance of being known, whatever might be the fate of him and his people, he wrote a brief account of it upon two skins of parchment, which he wrapped in oil-cloths, covered with wax, and put into separate casks, which he threw into the fea after their bungs were well fecured, hoping that one or other might be taken up by fome European veffel. Their bows were of yew, and very near as large as thofe ufed in France and England, and the arrows made of fmall strait folid twigs, about a yard in length, armed with fifh-bone fmeared with poison; fo that the admiral gave to this gulph, which the Indians called Samana, the name of Golfo de Flechas, that is, the gulph of Arrows. Here they faw abundance of fine cotton, and axi, which is a very pungent kind of pepper, much in request among the natives; and on the fhore grew a vast quantity of those weeds they had feen floating in the fea, during their paffage from the Canaries. On Wednesday, January 16th, both caravals being in a leaky condition, the admiral fet fail for Spain from the gulph of Samana, and Cape St. Elmo was the laft land they faw. When they had run about forty leagues to the north-east, the sea seemed to be covered with small tunny fishes, abundance of which they faw for two or three days fucceffively, together with great numbers of fea fowl. Continuing their course with a fair wind, they made fo much way, that on the 9th day of February, in the opinion of the pilots, they were fouth of the iflands Azores; but by the admiral's account they were fhort of them about 150 leagues; and he was in the right: for, they still saw abundance of thofe weeds which they had not discovered in their paffage to the westward of Ferro. After having hitherto enjoyed a favourable gale, the wind began to rife, and the fea to run mountains high; and they were overtaken by such a tempeft on the 14th of February, that they could not work their veffels, which were toffed about at the mercy of the storm. The caraval Pinta being incapable of failing upon a wind, ran away due north before it, and in the night loft fight of the admiral, who fteered north east, in order to fetch the coaft of Spain. In consequence of this feparation, the com Before this ftorm had in the least abated, on Friday the 15th of Febrary, at break of day, one of the failors from the round top difcovered land to the east-north-eaft, which the pilot judged to be the rocks of Lisbon, tho' the admiral fappofed it to be one of the Azores; but the weather being unruly and the wind blowing off fhore, they dif covered another, which proved to b St. Mary, where they made shift to a chor on Monday, tho' not without grat labour and difficulty, the admiral bang lame of both legs, in confequence of the fatigue he had undergone. The hhabitants of this island who came on joard with fome fresh provifions, and many compliments from the governe, who lived at the town which was at a great distance, were amazed at the access of the expedition, and feemed to ejoice at the difcovery of Columbus. They were |