The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-01 00:00:00

GREAT FIRE LN LONG-ACRE.

Yesterday morning, the extensive show rooms of
Messrs. Horne and Co,, carriage manufacturers, of 93,
Long-acre, fell a prey to a most destructive fire. The pre-
mises in question must be tolerably familiar to the metropo-
litan public, theft bold and lofty Grecian facade bounding
the view as one passes up Wellington-street or Bow-street
from the Strand, and forming a striking feature in the
street architecture of London. The building was only
finished about two years since, and at the outbreak of the
fire contained as many as 100 carriages. Of these many
were on the lower flour, raised a foot or so above the level
of the street, and a eonsideruble number were in the gallery
of the next superior story. Above these were the workshops
appropriated to the use of the artisans engaged in the
lighter branches of the business. The upper front chambers
looking lowa Bow-street, were occupied as a private resi-
dence by Mr. Mitchell, foreman of the establishment, and
his family.—Several engines arrived with all promptitude,
and plenty of water being obtained all hands were set to
work, but the flames travelled completely round the
building, and descended three floors, of course destroying
all that they contained, and there seemed every proba-
bility of the entire range of premises falling a prey to the
fury of the devouring element. The floor of the third
story, constructed it is stated, on a fire-proof principle,
seems to have assisted the firemen to arrest the progress of
the flames, but it was late in the day before the engines
could be withdrawn with safety.
The following is Mr. Braidwood's official report on the
extent of the damage sustained:
" Sunday, August 31, 18.51.—A fire broke out at 3) a.m.
in the premises of Mr. W. Ilorne, coachmaker, NOB. 93 and
94, Long-acre; the third and fourth floors burned out, and
roofed ; the second floor seriously damaged by fire and water ;
the first ground and cellar floors severely damaged by water
only ; part of stock on ground floor damaged by removal.
The building belongs to the ISlereeni` Company, and is sup-
posed to be insured in the 'loyal Exchange Fire-of ice. The
contents were supposed to be insured in Alliance and ano-
ther fire office. The cause of fire unknown."

REMARKABLE CABE OF FRAUD BY AN
AUSTRIAN SPY.-SUDDEN DEATH OF TUE
IMPOSTOR.

A very remarkable case of successful imposition
was brought before the magistrates at Birmingham, on
Saturday ; under any circumstances it could not fail to be
important that such a system of fraud should he detected
and exposed, but in this instance the affair assumed a some-
what painful aspect, in consequence of the sudden death of
the chief agent in the crime, sit the very moment when her
real character was discovered.
Abaut a month since there arrived in Birmingham a wo-
man between fifty and sixty years of age, accompauied by
ajooung manabout five-and-twenty. The woman took up her
abode at the Clarendon Hotel, and announced herself to be
the Boironess Von Beck, an Hungarian lady of noble
family, whose husband had been shot whilst fighting fur his
country at Vienna, and she—the personal friend of Kossuth
--after performing deeds of noble daring in the course of
the Hungarian war, after having been entrusted
with and performed many delicate and dangerous
missions at the especial request of Kossuth him-
self, after encountering malty hair-breadth escapes
and perils, suffering toil, privation, and fatigue,
she had at last sought in England an asylum and refuge
from persecution, stricken with bodily ills and men-al
anguish. The young man in her company was declared to
be her secretary ; he gave his name to be Coustant Derra
(de Moroda), and was said to be from t'esth.
From the above outlines of " the baronets's" story, it
will be at once seen that it is just such a one as would be
likely to interest the benevolent and the friends of freedom.
Before madame had been many days in town, her secretary
managed to get himself introduced to Mr. George Dawson,
who at once (having heard the story) interested himself in
this "noble Hungarian lady's" behalf: thatgentleman had
an interview with her, and "the baroness" gave a glowing
description of her deeds of heroism—of the noble death of
her noble husband—of her sacrifices for, and ker devotion
to, her beloved country. She ,poke of her intimate anal
close frienship with Kossuth, and of the coutidence he had
reposed in her ; her picture of the high society in
which she had mixed, and by which she had been
courted throughout her life, and the wealth she
had lost by her attachment to her country, was presented
with equal warmth of colouring. "'f he baroness's " secre-
tary announced that she was about to bring out a new work
entitled, " 'the History of the Life of the Baroness Von
Beck ;" a subscription list was shown to Mr. Dawson, and
he (observing several names of the authenticity of which ho
hail no doubt; amongst others was that of Mr. Joseph
Sturge, and that of a Liverpool gentleman named Yates),
at once undertook to assist iu procuring subscribers, which
in a very short time he did, and a sum of money was handed
over to madame's secretary. In the meantime, however,
the lady's health grew worse; Mr. Dawson sent to her his
own physician, and that gentleman reported that the woman
was really ill, and required quiet and a purer atmosphere
ere she would be likely to recover. Upon this being made
known, Mr. Henry Tyndall (a gentleman, benevo-
lent and philanthropic almost to a fault), caused " the bare-
nese" to be immediately removed from the hotel to his own
house ; there she was treated with deferenceJeindness,aud dis-
tinction ; introduced into the best society, and every considera-
tion and sympathy manifested, in regard liar her suite rings,he r
destitution, and her alleged deeds of heroism and misfor-
tune. " The barimess's " secretary was also received into
the family, and Mr. Tyndall mid his wife exerted them-
selves so greatly iu behalf of their guest that in a little
time they had procured from seventy to eighty subscribers
for the new publication, and about 21)1. on account was paid
to the secretary of the illustrious exile. By and bye, Mr.
Dawson began to entertain suspicions relative to " the ba-
roness's" character; on closer acquaiutance it was dis-
covered that neither her habits uur her couversatiun dis-
played much of either elegance or refinement ; in the ordi-
nary accomplishments which a lady whose life had been
passed at court, and in the society of this highest nobles (as
the baroness represented hers to have been), Madame Von
Beck was entirely deficient; of French she did nut under-
stand a word; the Magyar tongue was unknown to her;
and, of German (although as it turns out a native of Aus-
tria) she was unable to write half-a-doaen lines correctly.
Whilst Mr. Tyndall and his friends in Birmingham re-
mained in doubt, a knowledge of the facts came to the can
of some Hungarian friends in Loudon, and on Friday even-
ing there arreved nt Mr. Tyndall's house the agents by
which the imposition was detected and brought to light.
These were Mr. Toulmin Smith, the barrister, a friend of
M. Pulsky's, and M. I'aul Hujrick, a distinguished Hun-
garian, who held high office under Ferdinand the Fifths and
under the government of Kossuth. This gentleman was
shown " the baroness" through a window, and he imme-
diately recognised her as a woman of a bad character and
habits, a spy of the lowest description, who had been em-
ployed on one occasion during the Hungarian war as a spy
or servant to a spy; tier real name was Itacidula, and at
the time to which this gentleman referred, he had himself,
at Kossuth's request, made out a passport in favour of Ha-
cidula and her mistress lie further assured Mr. Tyndall
that the entire story about her intimacy with Kossuth—her
heroic deeds—her sufferings—ner noble family—her hus-
band's death—and the loss of her fortune, were a fabrica-
tion from beginning to end. With respect to her conduct
since she had arrived in England, it had been most disre-
putable ; she had had concern with a publication, " Per-
sonal Adventures in Hungary," in which she had described
tho domestic life of men whom she had never seen, and
libelled others who had relieved her, not excepting M.
Pulsky : and, as the crowning act of her infamy, she had,
since her residence in England, received as much as 5/. per
week as the paid spy of the Austrian police.
With such proofs respecting the character of Isis guest,
Mr. Tyndall immediately assented to "the baroness" and
her secretary being taken into custody; they were at once
removed from Mr. Tyndall's house by Mr. Stephens, the
superintendent of police, and it was airanged that on
Saturday morning at eleven o'clock they should be brought
before the magistrates. The case created a good deal of in-
terest; and on the bench were the Mayor, admiral Moor-
som, and Messrs. Martineau, H. Smith, and Welsh.
It has been stated above that the woman was in bad
health ; she was suffering from heart disease, and the cir-
cumstances attendant on taking her into custody had much
excited her. On her way front the room in which she had
been confined during the night to that in which the magis-
trates were sitting, she fainted, and before that fit had
passed away her life of crime and imposture had ended ;
she died in a small room adjoining that in which the magis-
trates were before there was time to procure medical at-
tendance.
In view of this painful circumstance, both Mr. Dawson
and Mr. Tyndall (who had both been guided by the most
humane motives throughout) expressed some disinclination
to proceed further with the charge against the secretary ;
but Mr. Toulmin Smith said that the true friends of Hun-
gary resident in London, felt it necessary that this fraud
should be thoroughly exposed, in order that it might he
fully shown that they had no connexion with the parties
who had committed this most scandalous imposition; that
M. Pulsky and other equally eminent friends of
the Hungarian cause telt how deeply their character
would be compromised if the procceedings of this
woman were not thoroughly exposed and disavowed ; there-
fore he wallprepared to prove by the most irrefragable evidence
that the deceased never had had any intimacy whatever with
any of the recognised friends of Hungary; that she had no
claim whatever to any consideration on account of any ser-
vices or sacrifices, hut was, on the contrary, a most worth-
less and disreputable person, obtaining money from what-
ever quarter she could, by all sorts of the vilest schemes
and representations; and so far from any intimacy with
the illustrious Kossuth, she had never spoken to him.
The case was accordingly proceeded with, and Mr. Smith
brought forward a good deal of documentary evidener to
show the real character of the deceased ; from this up.
peered that she had obtained money from M. Puhdri, and
then libelled and threatened him, and endeavoured to ex-
tort further supplies from him; and from Mn. ',law, the
eminent authoress, she also obtained handsaw-0 contribu-
tions. She appears to have received 61. Ha.. per week as
an Austrian spy, whilst in London, as is 0.,0wn in the fol-
lowing letter, which Mr. Smith read to the magistrates
" 13, Sussex-street, University, Aug. 26.
" My dear Madame Pulsky,—ln reply to the inquiry
contained in your kind note, I beg V, inform you that the
person styling herself " Baroness d e Beck " is the same who,
accompanied by Dr. Heineman, offered personally her ser-
vices as a spy and informer to the recently established
foreign branch of the English police force. This I know
from good authority, and I know likewise that for a fort-
night or three weeks she has obtained for such services the
sum of 61. 16e. Bd. per week. It is also no secret to me that
the soi-diaant baroness introduced herself to the commis-
; sioners of police by forwarding a letter written front Dr.
I Heineman, and containing an enclosure which consisted of
IMO articles and regulations adopted by an association of