The National Register. — London, England, 1818-11-15 00:00:00

POLICE. ROW sTitEr.T. SHOCKING OCCURRENCE. Wednesday Mr. Horsley. of Canontenry.lane, lalington, who, on Sunday lost his son, who together with his Infant sister,had been taken out by a female servant in a child's chaise, attended before Mr. Hicks and Mr. Bernie, the sitting Magistrates, accompanied ley a friend, and stated, that they had found a witness who had seen a man take the infant, which is only a year and ahelf old, out of the chaise, which was left near the Asylum, and walk away with it. It ap peared to the man a singular circumstance, and he was in duced to follow the thief, who, in the Boroughs, went into a Signor shop, where he hail • glass of gin I the witness also went into the liquor shop, and had a full view of the man and the child ; and from his description there is no doubt of the infant being Mr. Horsley's. The thief left the liquor shop, and proceeded towards London.bridge, where the witness lust sight of him. Mr. Horsley was so much affected, he was not able to state his ease; and Mrs. Horsley being in a pregnant Mate, he was fearful of the consequences. The eirctme stances, however, were clearly related by his friend, who mated that they considered the seduction of the ut girl away, as an underplot to getting the child ; there was no doubt, however, but that she had been induced to take the children in that direction ; for she was restricted from tak ing them out of Canontenry.lane, or very near it ; whereas she had been seen going away, on Sunday, crossing the Shen herd and Shepherdess-field, and polling the chaise with both her hands, apparently as fast as site could. She had not taken any precaution for herself to stay out, as she had no other clothes but those she had on. It was strongly stispeeted .that she went to a house of ill fame in blead's•row, near the Asylum, kept by a woman of the name of Patch. Her pa. rents, nor any of her relations or friends, had not heard any thing of her. They suspected that she had been dered or had destroyed herself, but they did not state their reason fnr thinking so. They stated that they hail been to the Po. lice-office, in Union-street, to give similar information, and they intended to go to the Secretary of State's Office for the Home Department, to apply to the Secretary and Under Secretary of State. The Magistrates appointed two constables to go and search the house of ill-fsinse in Mead's.row, tear the Asylum, and to bring the parties who keep the house before them, if ne. cc's., y. In a short time after, Mr. Horsley's friend announced in the public office, that the servant was found, and taken from off a stage coach iii Holborn. and that she had been bnsaglit to the office: a considerable degree of exaltation was manifest ed by all present. The Magistrates determined on giving a preference to the examination of the t, to any other business which was then waiting, except what was immediate ly before them ; but after waiting some time, noon inquiry, it turned nut that Mr. Horsley and his friend had been misinformed ; for it was ascertaiued, upon inquiry, that the servant was not in custody; they then left the office to make further inquiries as to the report which they had beard of the servant having been found. After a considerable search, it was ascertained that she . had been taken to the office of the Vestry clerk, of Islington, where the guard of the Birmingham roach stated, that the girl had gone by that coach from the Saracen's-head Inn, on Snow-hill, on Sunday evening, to Birmingham , ender pecu liar circumstances. She presented herself to go by the coach as ass outside passenger, just before they were ready to start, and said her place was taken ; he looked at the way-hill, and (mind that there was no •place taken for a female that was ant filled; but' told her that there was a place taken by a Mr. Atkins. who was nut yet come, when she replied that her same was Atkins, whereas it is Elizabeth Holbrook ; but no Mr. Atkins appearing, and the coach being ready to start, he asked her where her cloths or luggage were; she replied she had none: the clothes which she had on were not calcu lated to travel in, being very light ; bat she mounted the coach and went to Birmingham. where on her arrival at the Saracen's-head I 't was seen that sloe did not know any person there. She is sixteen years of age, bnt small of her age, and has a very y o ung appearance : she therefore excited the attention of the people at the inn, to ascertain her motive for going to Birmingham; and they at length learnt from her that she was come to be married, but that her intended husband nits not in Birmingham, she having left him in London, and he was to follow her to Birmingham to marry her. This statement was sufficient to convince any reflect ing person that she had been the dupe of some designing Villain, and they used their exertions in endeavesering to persuade her to the same belief; and her supposed lover wit arriving at Itirmingliani by Tuesday afternoon, she was convinced that she had been deceived, and agreed to return to London by the coach that afternoon. Some money was collected by several lininaoe persons for her there, as well by some ladies who came in the coach with her ; and it so happened, that the same guard came with that coach from Ilirmileghans as attended the coach she went by from London. lie, therefore undertook the rare of her, and the circtonstatices of Mr. Horsley's children being carried off by a servant girl, having become a subject of great no toriety, 1w ascertained that she was the girl who had ab sconded with them. He therefore, determined on not let• ting her go out of his sight, cm his arrival in London, till he had delivered her safe into custody; and he delivered her to the parish officers of Islington, where she was kept in an extraordinary way, instead of being sent to Mr. Hues ley's house, or taken before a Police Magistrate for investi gation. She was even taken to Lambeth, in co:eminence of the reports of a roan being seen there with the missing child. This circumstance being known at Mr. Horsley's house, Godfrey, the constable, went off with all speed to follow her from Islington to Lambeth. On his arrival in Lower Lansbeth.marsh, he met Godwin, belonging to this office, who had also been employed upon this distressing business, and learnt firms him, that the persons who had brought the girl from Islington had taken her to Billingsgate, to en. dcavour to noel wit a mail who had been seen there with a child answering the description of Mr. Horsley's; he pointed out a public-house in Lambetle.marsh, where several men employed in the Coburg Theatre were brought before her, to ascertain if any of them was the limn who had seduced her to leave Mr. liorsley's children in the chaise; but site knew nothing_ of any of them. It did not appear upon what ground any of these men vice e suspected, except from general report. Godfrey proceeded to the public-house in Lambeth • marsh as elesei died, where he found Elizabeth Holbrook in the custody of Mr. Brown, the be title of Lambeth parish ; he claimed leer as his pri.uner ; having produced his warrans, . the beadle resigned his charge of leer, and in a short time after Godfrey. tq the desire of the persons who had brought her from Islington, oi l s prevailed tin to take her to the Her- culeb public tiuust, °pin) . site the Asylnati the lautUady of THE . WATIONAL REGISTEft which very humanely took the infant girl oat of the chaise. which had been left tinder the garden-wall of the Asylum, on Sunda evening, and probably saved the innocent's. life.— Here Mr. Carter, who is employed at Astley's theatre, was sent for, and on his arrival at the Hercules public-house he fully described to the servant the mats whom be had seen take the child out of the chaise. .vc ; but she declared she did not know such a man, or any thing of the child being taken out of the chaise. She was interrogated by several persons there, as to her knowledge of the children being left in the chaise near the Asylum. in that creel manner, late on Sunday even ing, but no satisfactory information could be obtained from her, she denying all knowledge of leaving tke children in that deplorable state. Among the persons present was a female elegantly dressed, who interfered, and interested her self very much respecting the servant; she endeavoured to get her away from the officer privately to herself; bet God frey refused to consent to let her go out of his sight ; she tried various stratagems, such as to give the girl tea, assigning , private reasons; but Godfrey was not to be removed from his resolution, saying, wherever the servant went be would be present ; and the girl also declared she bad no occasion to nista to be absent from him. It did not appear who this mysterious female was, or what her object was in interfering with the servant; and the girl declared that she did not know any thingol the lady. • They left the Hercules public-house, and proceeded to Bow-street office, where they arrived about a quarter before 9 o'clock. Mr. Hicks was then sitting, and the investigation commenced, which lasted about two hours. Among the gentlemen who addressed the Magistrate was one who stated himself to be a neighbour of Mr. Henley's, and that he was one among, a number of others, who bad taken a lively and active interest in his loss, and that he and several friends had been out night and day making inquiries for the still undiseovered child at the watch-houses, mid at every placewhere large assemblages of people were collected. On the previous night (Tuesday) they had barn to Wapping, and about two o'clock on Wednesday morning, they met with acmel sailors, some of whom recollected being at a public house on Sunday evening, in a lane in Lower Thames street, near Billingsgate, where the passengers by the Gravesend boats assembled previous to the sailing of the boats, and they teeolleeted seeing a tnan with a child exactly answering the description of Mr. Horsley's, is person as well as dress. The man also answered the description, except as to his dress ; and Mr. Carter suspected him to be in a disguised die-s, and it is supposed he changed his dress strain to avoid being traced or discovered. lie laid his head on a table in the room in the public home where be was waiting, and went to sleep, keeping the child close to him, and at ten o'clock that eight he went ow board the Gravesend boat, taking the child with him. The account Elisabeth Holbrook gave of herself is, that she bad lived as a tonne girl to Mr. Horsley for two years and several months. There were three young children, and when the weather was fine she was in thedaily practice of taking them out in a child', chaise, two ■t a time. About two months since, when she was out with the children in their chaise, she met with a young man, with wham she became intimately acqmtiated ; in fact, she aeknowlegeil that impro per familiarities bad taken place between thrm. He very frequently met her when she was out with the children; he made love to her, called her his sweetheart, and promised to marry her ; but she acknowledged that she neither knew wh, he was nor what be was; all that she professed to know t him was, that his name was George Faulkner, and she con sidered him to be a young gentleman, by his diets, &c. H, told her that hi■ relations and friends lived at Birmingham, and they would be married there ; and desired her to leave her place on Sunday for that purpose, and that he would make arrangements for her journey, and therefore site need not make any arrangements herself. He enjoined her to Strict secrecy; that she was not to tell a single person what she was going to de, and that she was to meet him in Smith field on Smidtry afternoon, and he made her promise to brine, the children with her. According to arrangements with him she left her master. house about two o'clock, taking the chit. dren in the chaise, as her mistress supposed, to give them an airing. She proceeded with all possible epee's to Smithfield, and drew the chaise about there, between au boor and an hour and a halt; waiting for Mr. Faulkner; anti ou his coming to her, he gave her a 21. bunk note, and told her he had taken her place,shewed her the inn where thecoaeli went from, and told her lie would follow her to Eirtuinatham by the next coach. The inn she went from was the Saracen's Head, on Snow Hill. Mr. Faulkner took possession of the child's chaise, promising to deliver the children back to their parents, whom he would inform that she was going to be married, and would explain every tiring to them. Site gave him the key of her master's street door,which she bad brought ont io her pocket, which he also promised to deliver safely. The adventure of her journey to Birmingham, and her re turn to London, is already described in the guard of the coach's account. She was sot sworn to her statement, the Magistrate de clining to do that, lest it might tarn out hereafter, that she was concerned in a eonspiracy to carry off the children. She was interrogated very closely by the Magistrate, and by several gentlemen, as to her more particular knowledge of the supposed Mr. Faulkner and the mean who carried off the boy from the chaise, and went by the Gravesend boat with it ; but no information could be obtained from her respecting them, she denying that she knew any more than what she bad told. Godfrey said, before he brought her to the office, she toldjiim she knew where Mr. Faulkner lived, and that he did net live far from her master's house. She explained this by saying, that about a fortnight since, when she was out with the children in the chaise, she met with Mr. Faulkner, and the weather having the appearance of rain, he said lie would rim and fetch an umbrella. which he areosolisigly did, and was not gone above five 1111 . 111111 M and he appeased to her to go to a house in a row of houses called Severn's Buildings, but she did noiknow which house lie went into. A number of gentlemen interrogated her, but nothing more of importance could be obtained from her, and the Magistrate considered her to have been an ignorant dupe pismire design ing villain or villains. Her father eras present, who appeared extremely affected and grieved at the conduct of his daugh ter. The gentlemen present, the friends of Mr. and Mrs. Horsley, spokr in the highest terms of his autl his wife's con. duct. 'the Magistrate in consequence arranged that her father should cake her home with him, and keep her in close confinement, not sisfieriug her to go out, or to have intercourse with any person ; and that he should be answerable for her forthcoming when the villain who stole the child was appre bender! Soon after they arrangement had bren made, Mr. 'Londe!, and his friend, who lias so strennuni4y exerted himself, enter. ed the office, from Islington, whet, the investigation wa• re sumed, for the satisfaction of Mr. Horsley, who, as well as his NOV 15 friend, very closely interrogated the girl; and upon her ceosa. examination by th em, she acknowledged that she had talked with Mr. Faulkner, as to what a fine child the boy was, sad what a great fortune he would have. the also ackaowledged that Mr. Fanlkntr, when he arranged with her to .go to Hie. minghans on•Sundey, and told her , to bring the children with her, said the boy was to be one of them, and her mistress hay kis: scut her out a little before one o'clock with two girls, also, in consequence if Mr.faislkner's direction, returned house et awe o'clock, 'ensue of the girls, and brought out the boy, and put him into the chaise. Mr. Smith here addressed the Magistrate, and submitted, that the girl ought not to be allowed to go to her fatlisor's,.bnt should be sent into corifinement ; and Mr. Horsley alsteurged this, but at the same dine allowed that be could Dot but con sider her the slope of some designing villain. The Magistrate accordingly agreed to send her to' the House of as Correction, with a direction that her father should have free to Reg, bat no other person; and the clerk accordingly p repared lhe %suet information , but Mr. Horsley refused to gip it. He said he could charge her indirectly, but not directly. The Magistrate. w th a temper and discrimination which did him infinite honour in this digressing situation, intonned hint, that he then could not send the girl to prison, as there was Mo way .8f making out a commi:ment to prison but on a charge upon oath. Mr. Horsley's friend offered to make the charge upon oath, as he had no doubt but that she was concerned in carryiug off the child ; but a charge from him was not deemed sufficient. Mr. Horsley mortised that she should be kept in confinement at the Brown Bear public house; but this was also refused, and the Magistrate ordered that the girl should be taken under the care of her father, as he had originally arranged. He feelingly regretted the callous manner of the girl, who appeared, during the whole of the late investigation, to be totally insensible of her improper conduct a and when giving an account of herself and her conduct, spoke as unconcerned as if she had been about some ordinary business ; and when on the eve of being sent to prison did not •appear at all affected. The elegantly dressed female who endeavoured to get the girl privately to herself from Godfrey. the constable. at the Hercules public house, followed her to the office, and remained at the back of the crowd during the whole of the investigation, hut did nocattimapt to interfere. Mr. Rirnie on Thursday sent again for Elisabeth Holbrook., the servant, and examined her apart, and very minutely, as to the whole of ber transactions with the man, who said his name was George Faulkner. -Upon a full investigation, it turns out not to be true that animproper or minium! connec tion had taken place between her and the snppoaed George Faulkner, which is a very go eat satisfaction to her father and ,nother,as well as to Mr. and Mrs. Horsley,who have the came dour to feel that she has been the dupe of a malignant villain. She promises to reader every possible assistance to recover the child, and to urine the robber to roitmlige onnishmeut ; but still to judge by her countenance, she is unmoved by any thing that takes place or any Miter that is said to her. The poor thing is evid-ntly stupified by the overwhelming mar nitude of the distress of which she finds her self to hay.. been tinclesignedly the instrument; and t!u:s stn. carrion, %ankh is nothing more than the natural roar/hence of sudden and great calamity, operating upon an i cuora ei-xperienced mind. is must uncharitably eonstrumeel mn'o callow' insensibility. Fite first thing Air. Be air employed her about was to send her to endeavour to find out Severn's Row, Islington, whence Fanikner fetched the umbrella. She was accompanied by Godfrey and Goodwin, the constables : they proceeded to et-sem', Row, Islington ; and after tusking inquiries at a dozen houses, they entered one. when after examining the !misuse, Dumbed' Holbrook observed aim umbrella hanging up„ which she recognised as the same which the man who bad dumped her fetched, about two or three weeks since, when • he was going out to walk with her and Mr. Horsley's children : it was red silk of French manufacture, and there fore sufficiently remarkable to have attracted her notice ; and she positively asserted it to be the same to the constables. 'Firey coimiemenently proceeded to make very strict inquiries resp•eting every persan in the house, and learned that the umbra* belonged to a female lodger, whose husband had left tbe house to go into the country last Sunday. Op hie 'Jerson being described, Elizabeth Holbrook had uo doubt but that he was the man who passed himself to her as a single man, by the name of George Faulkner, who had duped her by promising ber marriage, and seeding her to Dietningbam. The constables proceeded to interrogate the woman, amid from her answers and general conduct, they inspected her tube an accessary with her husband ; they took her into cue. tody, and beoright her to the office, together with the um. brelia. Sims underwent a long examination, when it appeared that her husband's name is not Faulkner, but Rennett; that be was of no direct or regular profession, hat that be frequently went to France and other foreign parts, it is supposed, for the purpose of smuggling; he was frequently away from her for monde, at a time. He had lately returned from Aix-la. Chapelle, and had been in England about two months, and on Iris return had taken the lodging in Severn's-building, for Site purpose of being in the neighbourhood of Mr. Horsley', residence, and being thus enabled to carry into execution his scheme of carrying off Mr. Horsley's son. She acknowledged that they lived very micomfortably together; but that on Sunday, when lie went off, they parted fi iends, and he took leave of her between I and 2 o'clock, taking with him two portmanteaus and a sum of money; he said he was going to France, and she would not see him again for two months.— She denied all knowledge of his going to carry off Mr. Hors , ley's elsild, or that he had any scheme for teat purpose. Mr. Horsley was sent for to the office on her being broughtthere ; 011 his arrival and seeing her he appeared extremely shocked, she being the wife of one of his relations, (we understand b e COlOOll :) he confessed, however, that it did not altogetin r surprise him that her husband, Charles Hewlett, was the wretch who had committed the horrid deed ; in fact, he said, that lie thought he was the man who had carried otitis child, from the rancorous malignity of his chat actor, and from the dreadful threats that he had made use of towards him and his family ; he assigned as his reason for suspecting him, that some time since lie had a law-suit with Charles Rennet' ic specting the heirship of an estate, amid cast hire; and his son, who was now, by a deep laid stratagem, carried oil, was heir to the estate. About four years since, at the time Mi.. Horsley was pregnant with the said buy, she received a letter stating that Mr. Horsley hail met with a most dreadful archivist near London-bridge: that in consequence lie could 11111 sues ice, and if she wished to see hint Alive,slie must hasten to the spot Matantly, which she accordingly slid, in the great est distress and anguish of d, when she learnt that no accident had befallen Mr. Horde", and that the letter was wholly a fabrication. The said Chau les Itennett nits suspects J to be the Author of it, fur the diabolical purpose of emitting • 'Marini 'mire, lest the child might loose a buy. This base design, however, has been provieleinialiy frustrated. Under all these circumstances Charles Iteminet was charged with the crime of Stealing the Chilli, and Mr. /Inuit issued nail Audi