A Corporal's Love

 The following article is one of my favourites. I can't claim that it's a mysterious or shocking story, but somehow it clings to me in the same way. I think there are two reasons for this. The first is that the article was posted on Friday, November 28, 1828 but tells of a letter belonging to a deceased magistrate, written over thirty years prior. I can picture a person sorting through papers the magistrate had filed away over the years. I picture him flipping through official paperwork, documents, and then finding this old letter. He reads it and decides it is curious enough to share with others. After sharing it with a few, the few become many, and eventually the letter is posted in the Edinburgh Observer and, later, in the London Times. I think I'm a bit envious of that person who had an opportunity to read through another's papers and find this gem. The second reason I enjoy this article so much is because of the content. Within the letter, the writer, Hugh Galley, a corporal, makes an unusual request:

  The Times Friday, Nov 28, 1828; pg. 2; Issue 13762; col F

The article reads:

A CORPORAL'S LOVE. - The following curious letter was lately found amongst the papers of a deceased magistrate:-"Glasgow-barracks, 26th May, 1797.-Honoured Sir, - This is to let you know that I, Hugh Galley, corporal in his Grace the Duke of Gordon's Regiment, humbly begs of your honour, that he, through your help, might marry Jean M'Donald, prisoner in the cells of Glasgow, who was put in through bad company that she misfortunately happened to be in, and brought her to a disgrace by folly - it being her first crime since she was born. Honoured Sir, I, your humble servant, will be happy to marry her before your face, if you think that I am in a scheme. Honoured Sir, I beg of you, if it will not take place any other way, be so kind as to send for her to your house, and let me marry her there, and then confine her back again, and I will be happy to have the pleasure of that same. Honoured Sir, be not angry for being so positively, because I am afraid that the regiment will move from the barracks, and that is the reason of it. I can give you a sight of certificates from the parish that I was brought up. Honoured Sir, I trust in my God that you will have pity on me, and the Lord will pay your kindness. Honoured Sir, all that I have said to you I hope that your good sense will conceal it from my officers and brother soldiers; not that I see any shame in it, but they would look down on me for ever for marrying any out of the confinement. My good character you may hear in the regiment; thank God that they have nothing to say to me as yet. Honoured Sir, I am your humbled and most obedient sorrowful servant, till death.-Hugh Galley, corporal, North F. Highlanders.-To Mr. -, magistrate in the city of Glasgow." - Edinburgh Observer.

What makes this letter so unusual to the point that the writer describes it as "curious" and deems it curious enough to publicize it in the paper? Is it because of the boldness of Hugh Galley and his request to marry Jean M'Donald, despite her imprisonment? It is clear that Hugh is determined to keep this relationship as quiet as possible, for reasons that are obvious considering the social implications. So then, what is the purpose of the marriage? Is it love, money, a guilty conscience?

I suppose this story could have unfolded in many different ways. The magistrate could have agreed to the marriage. Jean M'Donald may have been released after a period of time and the union might have been a happy one. Or, perhaps, this crime that was described as "being her first crime since she was born" was only the first crime of many. The life that followed may have been a hard one. Maybe Hugh was actually "in a scheme" and took advantage of Jean M'Donald. Could they have been in the scheme together? 

But here are the questions I wonder about the most: When this letter was found and posted, thirty years after it was written, was Jean alive and growing old? Was she a free woman, married with children? Did she open the paper one day and see this letter that had been written about her, penned by a man that had been pleading for her? Did she even know it had been written?