The Express.
London, England, 1853-02-14 00:00:00

DisoLVENT DEBTORS' COURT.-SATURDAT.

limas Mc Comosiscosmg Pistuarc
IN THE MATTRiI OP TALI'S BONLAL.—A MAN OP
MANY WIVES.

This insolvent, • 31;;;;Wmercliant, who wu said to bo
a man of many wives at Mogsdor, in Africa, appeared bo-
rne Mr. Commissioner Phillips to surrender in discharge of
his bail. The case was remarkable. The insolvent had
traded between Morocco and this country, and was arrested
in London fur a debt due to a merchant. Among his cre-
ditors was the Emperor of Morocco, who was inserted in
the schedule for upwards of 2,0001. On being arrested the
insolvent went to prison and pe:itioued this court.

Au application ;rats made to be admitted to bail, which
application was opposA by the creditor who had put him
into prison, on the ground that he could pay his debts, aud,
if allowed to go at large, would take his departure for Mo-
rocco.

rho bail, one of wham was a Moorish merchant rained
Mollena, iiifenal to pay 6001. into court to secure the insol-
vent's appearance, which was accepted, and the insolvent
liberated.
Since the bail was allowed the insolvent had been
made a bankrupt. The &Ina had been paid, and the bank-
ruptcy w..s about to be superseded.
The insolvent and his friend Mollena appeared in Court,
attired in the Eastern costume, with turban, &c.
It way reported that tho insolvent had been discharged
eat of custody, and that his debts bad been paid.
An order was made for the return of the Bahl. paid into
court, but some difficulty arose respecting the money, as
the assignee in bankruptcy had given notice not to part
with the lame.
Mr. Commissioner Phillips consulted Mr. Commissioner

L.► on the subject, wad wide an order fur the return of
the money, and thus the case ended.

THE POLICE COURTS.
MANSION-HOUSE.

Ilerwr, and Isaac Lowe,
well-dressed thieves, who infest the principal thoroughfares
of the City, were brought up in custody of Hayden and
Brett, detective officers, charged with having rubbed a lady
of her pure, emasining 11.
Hoyden described the conduct of the prisoners, whom he
well knew, as they pass.l along and attempted to pick the
pockets of several ladies. lle observed them surround a
lady in Leadenhall•street in such a manner as placed her
completely at their mercy, so that the only chance she had
of escape was want of property. As soon as they had felt
her pockets and found that she had no money, they cleared
the way for her, and looked out for another, whom they
treated in the same style, without at ell exciting her sus-
picion. After more experimects, equally clever and un-
lroductive, they closed round a lady of the name of Hal-
am, and suddenly Henry disengaged himself from hi/com-
panions and darted across the road quickly followed by Mrs.
Hallam, who caked out " Stop thief." The alarm was un-
necessary, for Hayden collared Henry, who immediately
flung a purse of money, which he held in his hand, upon
the footboard of a cab, probablyin the hope that " Cabby"
would serve kit's and himself by suddenly driving away.
Hayden, however, was not to ha baulked, either as to the
property or the thief, for he ran to the cab, dragging Henry
after him, and having secured the purse, could cot help
tumbling into the mud, together with his prisoner, who
made the most desperate of ..rts to escape. Brett, the
moment Hayden started after Henry, collared Mitchell and
Lowe. Mitchell said to him, " What are you taking us
for, Brett 1" Brett said, " For picking pockets." " Oh,"
said Mitchell, "we have not been in it. I have just been
at the West End, betting 81. upon Jack Grant. Let us go,
and you shall see us no more in the City to-day." Lowe
had is his pocket a key, which would open an ordinary
pair of handcuffs, which the officers believed he kept for
the purpose of putting it to that use, on the first occasion,
for himself or • friend.

Lowe—Lord! be calls my innocent latchkey a handcuff-
key. (Laughter.)
Mitchell—l lusuw nothing of either of these gentlemen,
and of course I know nothing of the robbery. (A laugh.)
Henry—There is a mistake in all this ; I neither saw nor
felt a purse, nor anything like it.
Mrs. Hallam said she distinctly felt Henry's hand in her
pocket, and saw her purse in his hand, and that moment
the officer pounced upon him.
The Lied Mayor committed the prisoners for trial, di-
recting that their former convictions as thieves should be
produced at the trial, and expressed his belief that they
would not be allowed to trouble England any more.
George Stevens, a very tall beggar, who has the knack of
coiling himself up in a corner, so as to appear a lump of de-
formity about three feet high, was charged with being ►n
inveterate mendicant.

It was clearly proved that he bad in his diminutive con-
dition received alms of several persons, and that when the
officers appeared, and accuied lain, he started up into his
usual proportions, sod ran off with great velocity. The
cry of " stop thief," however, checked his propels, and he
was received into the arms of a policernia, who tumbled
along with him in the street, but held him fast.
The policeman who charged the prisoner said the moment
he set off to run he began to throw away tho ponce and
halfpence be had collected, and several little boys tumbled
in the mud in attempting to pick them up.
The Lord Mayor—Can this tall man reduce himself to
the size you mention ?
Policeman—Certainly, my lord. He bobs in the street
as if ho had no: a bit of bone in his back at all, and he can
run under horses' bellies in the most surprising manner.
He is one of the worst beggars we have in the City.
The Lord Mayor—l shall send him to hard lobour in
prison for 21 days, where his diet will be attended to, and
he will get some work to do.
Committed.

A good-looking young Irish woman, named Ann Dillon,
who was described u a servant, living at Bottom's Town,
in Ireland, was brought before Mr. Payntcr on the charge
of stealing two 101. Bank of England notes, nine sove-
reigns, and a quantity of wearing apparel,and other articles
of the value of about 501., the property of a widow lady
named llughes, residing at No. 5, Goldhawk-terrace, New-
road, Hammersmith.. Thu prisoner was formerly so the

service of the prosecutor as a general servant, and, according
to an agreement, she was to have left her situation on the
12th of last month. She however, did not stop until her
time had expired, but absconded on the night of the 11th
ult. ; and when her mistress looked about the house on the
following day to ascertain if everything was correct, she
immediately missed three mourning cloak* belonging to her
daughters. She also missed a gold bracelet and locket, a
gold brooch, and a gilt bracelet. The next day she went to
her cash- b,l and found it completely empsy. It had con-
Wind two 101. Book of England notes and nine sovereigns.
The proseeutrix, on making a further search, discovered
that a woollen shawl had been stolen, also a pair of boots, a
hat, and other articles. Information of the robbery was
forwarded to the police, at Brook-green, and it was at once
suspect.d that the prisoner would make the best of her way
to her native place,and where her friends resided in Ireland.
Subsequently a communication was made to the constabu-
lary in the county of Limerick; and it was ascertained by
one of the constables, named Flaherty, that the prisoner
had arrived at her friends, in Bottom's Town. He also as-
certained that she intended to emigrate to Australia with
her two sisters, and that she intended to pay their passage
out to that p:aee. Ile accordingly obtained a warrant from
the magistrates for her apprehension, and, on the night of
the 2Stla alt., he proceeded to the house where he was in-
formed abe WS/ hying with her frieads. He found her in
bed, but she soon get up, when he told her his errand, and
dressed herself. On coming away, she put on a woollen
shawl, which had since been identified by the prosceutrix
as belonging to her. The officer found in the house the two
bracelets and lorooeb, which had been stolen ; and the pri-
soner, upon being questioned about them, said they were
her own, and that she had bought them in London. Fla-
herty found, at another house where the prisoner had been
sleeping, a carpet-bag, containing a quantity of things,
some of which had been identified by the proseeutrix. The
boots which the prisoner was found to be sweating were
the ones that had been stolen with Vie other articles.
Jones, 210 I', said be believed that, on a future occasion,
he should be able Vs prove that the prisoner had changed
one of the 101. Bank of England netts before she left for
Ireland.
Flaherty said he had been unable to discover any of the
money that had been stolen. The prisoner had only -b. in
her posesssion.
was remanded tin Friday.

DRAMA.

HAYMARKET.

Sir Edward buliver Lytton'. comedy, " Not to
BA mere Stein," having completed its amateur tour in
the service of the Guild of Literature and Art, was sub-
mitted on Saturday evening at the Haymarket for the
judgment of the general public, with completeand triumph-
ant success. Curiosity defied the snow, and filled the
house with • fashionable audience, which the intrinsic
merits of the play and the excellence of the acting kertt
amused end interested for three long hours without a single
interval of weariness or disapprobation. As the comedy
ha. already been acted, priuted, and criticised, it will be
sufficient here to indicate in the slightest possible manner
its general outline, w as to make intelligible our subsequent
observations as applied to the performance of Saturday
evening. It will be recollected that its dranicseisperrous
consist of a rather numerous but strongly-marked
aul well individualised set of characters, placed
by various circumstances in unfavourable lights
in the commencement, but ultimately proved in the defame- '
.sent to be severally " Not so bad as they seem." The haughty
and arrogant Duke of Middlesex turns cut to be a chivalrous
gentleniau, the gay Lord IfOiniot hides • true heart under
his fashionable levity, and the espiring parvenu, Hardman,
at last sacrifices both his ambition and his love to ittoin
tereeted friendship. Fallen, the fedora child of the Muses,
clings to hie high vocation through penury and sore trial,
preserves his honour iatact in his direst extremity; and at'
lan this general tendency to altimote and universal bens-
vulence is rewarded by a complete Cornucopia of good luck,
showered down upon all the personages of the comedy.
It is to be regretted that the distinguished author was
unable to be present at the performance of Satur-
day evening, as ho must have been delighted at
the manner in which not only his general design
was realised, but every light and shade of his
picture brought out with artistic discrimination. The cha-
racter of Sir ()ropy Thornside, mind-shattered by sup-
posed wrong, and suspicious of everything and everybody,
required all Mr. Webster's delicacy ef appreciation and ex•
perienced judgment to preserve it from the appearance of
exaggeration. In his band', it was a reality, drawing
largely on the interest and sympathies of the audience.
Mr. Leigh Murray, as Lord IViernot, was most successful
in personating a character of a much higher type than the
ordinary fine, gentleman of comedy. In appearance, he
might have Just stepped from Kneller's canvas, and his
action and delivery combined, with the elaborate polish of
the period, the bet air and high breeding which
helon4 to the gentleman of all ages. In the
fourth act, the interest of which is concentrated in
the interview between IVienvot and Fallen, Mr.
Murray (disguised as Cowell, the bookseller,) first gave an
admirable imitation of Farrell, and then, when struck by
the incorruptible integrity of the poor poet, row to • dig-
nity and impressiveness of elocution of which we could
hardly have believed him capable. Nothing could be more
striking or in better taste. rile energy of nowly•awakened
feeling never degenerated into declamatory rant, but was
preserved, throughout en arduous scene, with:a truth which
secured the entire sympathy of the audience. lie was well
played to by Mr. Howe as Fallen, who delivered his lugu-
brious portion of the dialogue with sense and propriety, and
never torgot that he was a poor gentleman as well as • poor
author. The fun—of a breadth approaching very closely to
the boundaries of fares—was well taken care of by Keeley
and Buclestone, as Soft/mad and Easy. The former, whom
the author evidently had in his eye when he wrote the
part, was fitted to • hair in his character. His
comical attempts to emulate the manner and conversation
of his fashionable model, Lord Wilmot, sustained the
earlier scenes, and, in the third act, his drunken scene with
Buckstonc, in Dead Man's-lane, kept the audience in a
roar of laughter, and was of itself enough to insure the
success of the piece. Buckstone, in his broader, more
boisterous, but equally amusing style, staggered, hiccupped,
and made drunken speeches in valiant emulation. His
mode of knocking down a watchman, and making his back
the rostrum for Is post-prandial oration, threw the gallery
into ecstasies, and compelled the more discriminating por-
tion of the audience to laugh in spite of their critical fasti-
diousness. Both actors, in short, had parts they
liked, entered into then with earnestness and spirit,
and judiciously sank their individual peculiarities in
the simulated characters. Mr. Stuart played the Duke
of Middletes with volcanic energy, and an oppressive sense
of ducal dignity, and Mr. Barry Sullivan that of Herd/non
in • manner which will not allow him to be dismissed as
the tail of a sentence. The impression leR by this gentle-
man's acting is that he possesses a strong and clear dramatic
intellect, but larks somewhat of the ficaibility required by
the characters of comedy. Hence his playing in the earlier
and mare level scenes was somewhat stiff and cumbrous,
though always judicious ; hut in the last act, the burthen
of which rested mainly upon him, he came out with energy
and lice, excited and sustained the interest of the and'.
wee all through, and obtained • succession of welldnerited
plaudits. Of the ladies, Misses Rosa Bennett and Amelia
Vining had little to do but look pretty and smile be-
witchingly, which they did with great perseverance
and success; and Mrs. Leigh Murray imparted quite
• melodramatic interest to some scenes by her mysterious
evolutions as the Silent Woman of Dead Man's-lane. We
could not hip thinking nevertheless that there was some-
what of an incongruity in this portion of the "business"
which was awkwardly reminiscent of the "Corsican
Brothers," but in justice we must add that, however in-
consistent with the canons, it was as much relished by the
audience as any other portion of the entertainment. Of the
acting we have not Ling to add, but that the ensemble was
preserved by the efficient mode in which the minor charac-
ters were filled, and that everyone contributed in his or her
sphere to the complete success of the piece. That nothing
might be wanting to secure a triumph, several new Seines
had been painters, amongst which the interior of Wills'
Coffee-house and "Deadman's•lane " were specially
noticed. The dresses were all new, gorgeous, and ap-
propriate, and even the entr'acte music was exclu-
sive, being that which had been composed by
Mr. Coote for the performance at Devonshire
house. The compeoer conducted in person, and had every
reason to be satisfied with the reception given to his music.
At the end of the ploy, the actors collectively received the
honour of a call, futlowed by a vociferous one for the
author ; but Mr. Webster apologised for his absence on the
store of indisposition, and announced the piece for repeti-
tion every evening until further notice, amid the most un-
equivocal demonstrations of approval.

THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 14, 1853.