of this order, which could
only add their contempt for his understanding to their contempt for his
conduct. Lord Sandwich's answer was in the most cutting spirit of scorn:--

"Sir,--Your letter is now before me, and in a few minutes will be _behind
me_."

An unhappy circumstance brought Lord Sandwich with painful prominence
before the world. A Miss Ray, a person of some attraction, had
unfortunately lived under his protection for several years. It happened,
however, that a young officer on the recruiting service, who had dined
once or twice at Lord Sandwich's house in the country, thought proper to
pay her some marked attentions, which, after allowing them, as it appears,
to proceed to some extent, she suddenly declined. On this the officer,
whose name was Hackman, and who was evidently of a fantastic and violent
temperament, rushed from England in a state of desperation, flew over to
Ireland, threw up his commission, and took orders in the church. But
instead of adopting the quietude which would have been suitable for his
new profession, the clerical robes seem to have made him more intractable
than the military uniform. After some months of rambling and romance in
Ireland, he rushed over to England again, resolving to conquer or die at
her feet; but the lady still rejected him, and, being alarmed at his
violence, threatened to appeal to Lord Sandwich. There are many
circumstances in the conduct of this unfortunate man, amounting to that
perversion of common sense which, in our times, is fashionably and
foolishly almost sanctioned as monomania. But nothing can be clearer than
the fact, that the most unjustifiable, dangerous, and criminal passion,
may be pampered, until it obtains possession of the whole mind, and leads
to the perpetration of the most atrocious offences against society. The
modern absurdity is, to look, in the violence of the passion for the
excuse of the crime; instead of punishing the crime for the violence of
the passion. We might as well say, that the violences of a drunkard were
more innocent the more furiously he was intoxicated; the whole being a
direct encouragement to excessive guilt. The popular feeling of justice in
the last century, however, was different; robbers and murderers were put
to death as they deserved, and society was relieved without burlesquing
the common understandings of man. Mr Hackman was a murderer, however he
might be a monomaniac, and he was eventually hanged as he deser