Chambers's pocket miscellany - 1852 Author:Chambers W. and R. ltd Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: years survived the adventures in which the captain had been engaged :— ' Deceased, on the 20th inst. at Ostend, in her eighty- fourth year, Madame Derikre, wh... more »o during the war assisted at different times fifteen British officers in their escape from France; for which service she was incarcerated four years, and eventually liberated from the prison of Ghent by the Cossacks in 1814. During her latter years, she was comfortably provided for by one of the above party.1 TARDY, THE POISONER. According to the annals of courts of justice, it appears that two classes of offenders are brought to trial for their misdeeds—namely, those who commit crime from necessity, or some unfortunate combination of circumstances; and those who are naturally or habitually so depraved in disposition, that no moral restraint has the power of preventing their commission of the most dreadful atrocities. To this latter class belonged Alexander Tardy, one of tho most consummate villains whom the world ever produced, and whose career in crime may be read as a warning by those who have the power of suppressing vicious propensities in youth, while they are susceptible of modification. Tardy was a native of the island of St Domingo, and accompanied his father, who was of French extraction, to the United States, where he sought refuge after the revolution of that island. It does not appear that he received anything like a good education, and it is mentioned that in youth he displayed an untamed, restless disposition. He was put to a mercantile business in Philadelphia, but in this he ultimately failed, and went to serve as steward on board a vessel. From this employment he was discharged in 1813, under the dark suspicion of having poisoned the captain. He now went to Boston,and got a knowledge of the busin...« less