The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-12-25 00:00:00

A LONDON MYSTERY.

On Friday evening, in last week, Simon Hatchwell,
one of the City of London Police, was shot in the
head on or near the Holborn Viaduct, as he was quietly
walking home with his wife. He had been on what is
called beat duty, and, having finished his day's work at
six o'clock, he was in plain clothes, and, later on, was
going with his wife from the Viaduct in the direction
of the police-station on Snow-hill. Just then he heard
a slight report, and, turning to Ins wife, he said, "I'm
shot in the head !" She had, it is said, not even
heard the report. With her assistance he will taken
to the police-Station, which is only a few yaids from
the spot, and afterwards to St. Bartholomew's Hos-
pital, where, under the influence of chloroform, he was
subjected to a surgical operation, which was success-
fully performed, and resulted in a bullet being
extracted from the side of the head over the right ear,
but which, fortunately, had not penetrated very deep.
In answer to an inquiry at the police-station on Snow-
hill on Sunday the answer was that the wounded man
was progressing favourably and as well as could be ex-
pected under the circumstances, and that was all that
could be said. The affair at present is involved in
mystery, and no motive can yet be assigned for the out-
rage. Hatchwell has the reputation of being a respect-
able member of the Force, in which he has served
upwards of ten years—namely, from June, 1865. On
Saturday, the morning after the occurrence the
authorities at the headquarters of the City Police,
Old Jewry, are understood to have received an
anonymous letter, with an address in Cornhill, to
the effect that the writer, about the time in ques-
tion on Friday evening, was travelling by an omnibus
going from the West en towards the City, and occupied
a seat outside on the box near the driver. As the
omnibus passed the upper end of Snow-hill leading
from the Viaduct the writer heard a report as if from
a pop-Run rather than from a pistol, and looking in the
direction whence it came he saw a lad or man sitting
in the bottom of a cart, which he was driving from the
tail-end apparentle, and which was then emerging on
to the Viaduct. The writer's idea at the moment was
that the person firing was simply amusing himself, and
the circumstance made no further impression on his
mind until he saw in a newspaper of the following
morning an account of the outrage on the policeman,
The injured man bears a highly reputable character.
It is said he is of an agreeable and conciliatory disposi-
tion, and was popular along his various beats. He is
about 32 years of age, and has been married some two
years.

Ivis titan co us 111(414M IC,
„
HOME, FOREIGN', Ai4D COLONIAL

OBVIOUS.—A sweet place to live in—The
Island of Candy. —Judy.
SUNDAY LIBRARIES.—Mr. Vickers, librarian
of the Pahli3 Library of Cincinnati, makes the follow-
ing state:Lont in bis annual report recently loaned :
" i'ho Sancitty -use of the library eLow. :. vcry ',ll3.rked
increase, from au average of 485 per Sunday during
the year 173 4 to an average of 605 during the
past year. For the coming year there is . every.
Indication that the average per Sunday will not be far
from 1,000. This great success of whA was regarded
by many of oar best citizen's in the beginning as an
experiment of doubtful propriety is the best evidence
of the wisdom of the Board of Education in directing
it to be tried. Certainly no one who will visit our
various reading rooms on Sunday and observe the
large attendance of young men of the city, the earnest
and thoughtful aspect of by far the larger part of them
and the quiet and decorum which everywhere prevail,
can fail to see that the library,, with its Sunday read-
ing, is exercising a powerful influence for good upon
the morals of the conantraity."
A BARGAIN. —A French connoisseur lately
entered a Paris "curiosity shop," and saw a beautiful
Dresden vase (says the Graphzc). Asking the price,
he was told £4O ; " and," said the dealer, "if I had
the pair they would be worth £200." Ai. ,A. offered
£2O, and came eeveral days running to renew his pro;
postal, but in vain. One day a man came to M. A.'s,
apartments to show him some old china plates, and itr-
duced him to visit his shop in the Batignolles. To his
surprise and delight, M. A. saw in an obscure corner
of the shop a vase exactly similar to the coveted
Dresden, and eagerly secured it for £4B, with the
assurance that the pair, if fortbcondng, would be
worth £4OO. Al. A. rushed off to the first dealer, and
offered him his own price for the vase. "Ala,Sir,"
said he, "you come too late; I sold it yesterday to a
dealer at the Batignolles 1"