DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70302#0439
LIFE AND CRUELTIES OF JOSEPH WALL, ESQ. 395
returned to Ireland, in consequence, it is said, of the re-
fusal of his brother officers to associate with him on ac-
count of an unfair duel.
Possessing a comely and rather an elegant person, the
advantages of travel, and that polish which the manners of
young men generally receive from a military life, Lieute-
nant Wall now directed his thoughts towards the acquisi-
tion of a rich heiress. Having occasionally seen a wealthy
spinster, named Miss Gregory, at the inn of the village
where his father’s property was situated, on her way to and
from the metropolis, he took occasion to introduce him-
self to the lady in such a gallant way, and to press his suit
in a manner so coercive, that the lady, to vindicate her
character, and mark her indignation at the freedoms of
such a determined suitor, instituted a prosecution against
him for an assault and defamation at the county assizes,
and succeeded in his conviction and penal chastisement.
Seeing no possibility of obtaining his ends in Ireland,
and having an affair with an eminent counsellor there,
Lieutenant Wall fled to England, where he for some years
divided his time between the metropolis and the watering
places, alternately engaged in the pursuits of fortune-
hunting, intrigue, and the gaming-table. At length he
married, and through the interest of his wife’s friends
obtained a lieutenancy in the African corps, with which he
proceeded to Senegal. Not long afterwards he was sent
with the rank of captain to superintend the settlement
of Gambia, where his peculations and his cruelties began.
Complaints being made of his conduct to Mr. MfNamara
governor of Senegal, the latter threatened to bring him to
trial, on which Wall left Gambia without leave, and re-
paired to the seat of the government. M'Namara sent
him back, and ordered him into confinement for quitting
his post without permission. This subject, on the return
of Captain Wall to England, in 1779, was submitted to the
3 e 2 consideration
returned to Ireland, in consequence, it is said, of the re-
fusal of his brother officers to associate with him on ac-
count of an unfair duel.
Possessing a comely and rather an elegant person, the
advantages of travel, and that polish which the manners of
young men generally receive from a military life, Lieute-
nant Wall now directed his thoughts towards the acquisi-
tion of a rich heiress. Having occasionally seen a wealthy
spinster, named Miss Gregory, at the inn of the village
where his father’s property was situated, on her way to and
from the metropolis, he took occasion to introduce him-
self to the lady in such a gallant way, and to press his suit
in a manner so coercive, that the lady, to vindicate her
character, and mark her indignation at the freedoms of
such a determined suitor, instituted a prosecution against
him for an assault and defamation at the county assizes,
and succeeded in his conviction and penal chastisement.
Seeing no possibility of obtaining his ends in Ireland,
and having an affair with an eminent counsellor there,
Lieutenant Wall fled to England, where he for some years
divided his time between the metropolis and the watering
places, alternately engaged in the pursuits of fortune-
hunting, intrigue, and the gaming-table. At length he
married, and through the interest of his wife’s friends
obtained a lieutenancy in the African corps, with which he
proceeded to Senegal. Not long afterwards he was sent
with the rank of captain to superintend the settlement
of Gambia, where his peculations and his cruelties began.
Complaints being made of his conduct to Mr. MfNamara
governor of Senegal, the latter threatened to bring him to
trial, on which Wall left Gambia without leave, and re-
paired to the seat of the government. M'Namara sent
him back, and ordered him into confinement for quitting
his post without permission. This subject, on the return
of Captain Wall to England, in 1779, was submitted to the
3 e 2 consideration