The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-03-07 00:00:00

4RNI.V4

... .
The town has lately been in danger of losing one of the
most valuable relics of auttptity, namely the " Armaila
chest.- 60 long preserved at Weyntiinth Custom
It appears that an application W 4.1 made front Plymouth
for our chest. the Mryor olering ti re;ilase it with a
wooden one ! Of course.. every one who knows anything
of the history of Weymouth and its doings at the time
the Armada would have vslle•I our iron-hound and
curiously wrought .hest with its asssriations fat more
than anything the Mayor !if P 411.01401 sould have sent.
Even if he hal offered 105,..wn liwi.l. we should have
preferred to retain the relic 1 the glori ~,, s time when the
strength of the Armala W3l lireken ill Peals:pl. out two
ships were, brought in triumph into Weytnosth Ii irleir.
Mr. T. 11. I hore,, sr.,: the Catenate townionan to ii ire us
from the irrep trable loss. II" wrote to our member. (need
we say Mr. 11. Elwarils I) with whom to hear of • way to
oblige Weymouth is to lay himself instantly out on the
labour of love.

Mr. Elwards's letter bpenks for
now,- et c.movem,2th nib. 1170.

.......
"My thAr Mr Mayor,— I was at a little surpris.4l
morning on receiving infonnati,n (non Weymouth that a most
extraordinary and audacious proposal hat been made 1, Her
Ma), sty's Custom. I.r the removal fro: th, Custom lb or‘c of Wee-
mouth to that of Ply ..... uth 4d or highly and moat di..servedly
prized 11,41 Chant, known as the Arma•Lt Chest, ant the Mayor
of Plymouth offering to replace at by a wm. len chest I ne..d
hardly tell you how indignant I felt at Knit a pnuswition. I
lost no time in going to the Custom Mouse ; I an interview
with the oMcials, and after stating the circunuitances, they,
without imitation, saki that as long as the Weymouthians
desire to retain the chest, it would never he removed. I hops
you will aend a reply to thu Mayor of Plymouth worthy the
occasion, and believe we, _

" Your. truly,

" H. EiIifARDS."
John Coker 64311—" Mt this place in the year 1588 the
Spanyards with their supposed invincible army strived to
land, but, hoeing prevented by the English, between them
there begun, in sight of all the coast, such a fight that
they were forced to acknowledge their army vincible and
to shifts for themselves, though many hondreils of them
came short home, and two of their greate shippes with a
Don brought into Weymouth."
Ellis explains—" The inhabitants of Melcombe were not
deficient in promoting the public safety, for they provided
two ships, the John, of ninety tons, and the Reprisal, of
fifty guns, to serve under the Lord High Admiral, who
was about to sail against the armada. The whole extent
of the bay was covered with vessebi; the English when
they arrived off Portkuid Race gave over the purouit. Two
of the armada were captured coil brought into Weyimmth
harbour. At this time the whole fleet of Eto,dand con-
sisted of only tweuty-eight vessels, none larger than
frigates"
Hutchins says six ships were fitted out by Weymouth
Sc coasters under the Lord A.lniiral's charge.—The Gallion
1110 tons, 50 Lien: the Catherine hal tons. 30 men : the
Heathhoon,ol tons: the Golden Lion, BM tone: the Bark
Sutton, 70 tons ; the Expedition, 50 mariners. One of the
ships seems to hal.° been La San Salvador, which George
Trenchard and Francis Hawley call the great Spanish
Carrack. In their letter they say: "This verie night an
inkling came to no that a chest of verie great weight
should be found in the forepike of this ehipp, the fridaie
before our dealing with it.
" The thankt of the town are justly due to Mr. Groves,
and Mr. Edwards, M.P.

IMPUDENT ATTEMPT AT ItOBBERT.
Perhaps • more studiously planned, cunningly contrived,
and audaciously concocted attempt at roguery has not
been met with since the case of the Amencans who all
but succeeded in robbing the Bank of England, than that
of two men, the one • Samuel Charles Phillips, and the
other an Isaac Cohen, who have just had their trial at the
Central Criminal Court. About two yearn ago an Austrian
Prince sent over to England an assortment of old china
for sale, worth ..C1,500 but with the modest value set upon
it of £l4OOO. As • cheap and ready method of effecting a
negociation the agent took a shop in Jermynlit, London,
and it need hardly be said the first year passed and no
sale had been effected. Now comes the remarkable part
of the story.
List August Phillips called on Herr Vehovar, the agent
at his hotel, and sent up his card. His name was quite
unknown, and he had no introduction, but WU shown
upstairs, and introduced himself. lie had heard of the
splendid collection of china, and would like to see it.
Being shown some of the pieces, he handled thou like a
connoisseur, and asked the price. £5,500 was named, and
he then inquired whether it could be (livid.' into two
parts, which was arranged, the first group to consist of 25
pieces for /.5,000, the second of 11) pieces for £4,500. The
bargain thus being struck, Phillips began to admire the
pictures. There was one of Poussin's. Ali! he had one
of that great painter's in his own rmsms at the Albany,
for which one of Isis friends—a lord, of course—had offered
him £2,01.10. Would Ilerr Velsovar call at four o'clock
and see it? Ile found Phillips living in well.fumislied
lodgings, with pictures hearing the names of Poussin and
Salvator R. 1,3, and other great masters on the walls,
w bids be incidentally said had cost him Clikeisl, and
every sign of luxury. Speaking of the arrangements for
buying the china, Phillips dropped hints about his fasoily.
Ilk lather %. AA a rortime, just going up the
Mediterranean in his yacht, supl he should borrow of him
gieju as soon RA be got the smaller lot of china, and
thou buy the larger lot. A few days later Phillips
tells Vehovar that his eller awl sisters aro
. 'lag up from Hyde to make purchases before their
tour; and his friend the hurl is alsi e sluing ; what an
excellent opportunity to let them all see the smelter
group of Si.vres. So it was agreed that Ilerr Vehovar
was to he at the Albany nab Ilse china at four in the
afternoon, but to Ise suite and not isonse earlier than that.
Ile was punctual with his II pieces in a box, and took his
china out of the box, and arranged it on the sideboard,
Phillips saying as he did so, " Now I have the stssaller
gr.sup I can have 3 loan from my father, and to-morrow I
will bring the lord, and he shall buy the Poussin." The
Picture had leeis taken down, and Phillips *obi, " Are
y, u not going to take it away with you r Vehovar, how-
ever, left without it, intensling to call for it next day.
When he got back to Itis hotel the waiter followed him to
his room and told hiss& that somebody wanted to see him.
It was Cohen, whom lie had met at Phillips's rooms, and
who WO brought the pictures in a van and left them,
saying, as he did so, that toy lord was coming to buy the
Poussin to-morrow.

•
Lvery reader of this curious story will guess the sequel.
Next morning the victim called at the chambero at the
Albany but was refused admittance and no nobleman
mine to buy the Pettish'. In a day or two he got • letter
(rota Phillips saying that' he was at a hooting party at
Beckenham but would be back in a few days. It is need-
less to say that he never returned and the next that llerr
Vehovar saw of him and of Cohen was in the custody
the police at Bow-street. The Poussin was a bad copy.
worth £4O or .C. 50. It appeared (ruin the evidence given
,
on behalf of llessra Lumley that the whole furniture of
' the rooms had belonged to the Prince Rodocanachi, whose
effects had been sold by auction ; that the friends of the
Prince had offered M. for them, but Phillips had bought
them for £450. He appears to have been in business in
Ely-place, and to have taken these rooms with the express
object of getting possession of Prince Repnine's china, lie
had made an arrangetuent with hie creditors only a few
days before be had taken Prince Rodocanachi's chambers.
He seems to have left the place as soon as he had secured
the booty, taking some boxes with him which probably
contained the seem-es china, Offers were afterwards made
to restore the articles on payment of /MU., but no such
payment was made, and Phillips has le-en convicted of
the fraud and sentenced to eighteen months hard labour.
Cohen, who was regarded as having acted merely as his
servant or agent, was acquitted.