The Express.
London, England, 1853-06-20 00:00:00

TO TEI IMO* OP TUX IMPRESS

Blft,—The competitive struggle of trade has long
since been accustomed to manifest itself through the me-
dium of circulars, detailing the extraordinary merits and
ridiculously low prices of Mr. A.'s wines and spirits ; Mr.
B.'s linendrapery, or Mr. C.'s turn and coffees; but to such
matters (at least so far as my experience goes) has this mode
of fishing for custom been hitherto chiefly limited. Now
there is nothing in this to excite more than a smile and a
shrug of the shoulders. The numerous missives of this
description which I have from time to time received, cer-
tainly n had any other effect on me—they never yet
induced me to change my wine-merchant in the
of getting "fine nutty old brown sherry at 20e. the dosen "
—to vary. my liasodraper and haberdasher with the hope
of procuring "the best India silk handkerchiefs at le. 9d.
each," or to discard my tea-dealer under the impression of ob-
tabling elsewhere " the mostsplendidgguuapowder at 2a. 2d.
per lb." Such invitations may, ami do, succeed with
some—whether they do or sea, browews,tbere is no offence,
no violation of decency In thin—dma the spetarn seems now
to be applied in a way which attacks mil "becks the feelings
to an extent that is perfectly intobialle. When, instead
of being invited to try Mr. B.'s shirts, I am requested to
try Mr. D.'s shrouds, or, in lieu of Mr. C.'s coffees I am
offered Mr. B.'s coffins, the thing is too ghastly foe en-
durance, and it is time that this phase of the nuisance should
be put down.
A member of my family is just recovering from an Blum
which, for a dais, kept all about her In daily apprehension.
The fact of the Illness becoming known in the neighbour-
' hood, I am forthwith inundated with undertaken' circulars,
in which all the horrid paraphernalia of the tomb are set
forth, together with the various merits, " readiness " "dis-
patch," dee. of the applicant, expectant of his job, and all
this is shamilessly, indecently, waatouly, thrust before the
very eyes of aMleted relatives, with* the sick bed with
feelings naked between the alternans of hops and
detour. Their griefs are to be thus rudely probed and in-
sulted by a rulfenly small trader, fey the sake of his pick-
ings out of the pave. I say nothing against undertaken
as a class—they are useful and , and those who
ply their calling quietly end, unobtrusive y may escape any
refection on the unpleasant nature of their trade—but
practices like those to which I refer It seems to me cannot
be too widely held up to public disgust and abhorrence; and
I would recommend all who may be served es I have been,
and who feel as I do, to follow the course which I have
adopted. I called on the sender of the only circular
which had escaped the kitchen fire—told him that the ill-
' nue" which, I presumed, had elicited his application, had
not (he might, perhaps, be sorry to hear) terminated in
death—that it would save him any future trouble to
take a note of my address, end to refrain from
"ending his demises there, under my fill assurance tha
whenever I should unhappily require each services as those
he sought to render, be undoubtedly would not be applied
to. And thus, even at come personal trouble, I mean to
act (when the happy issue of an illness may enable me to do
so) towards any touting undertaken who may have fa-
voured me with their anticipatory applications ; and if this
course wen generally followed, it might have some influence
in abating the nuisance, and perhaps preventing its occur-
rence in instances where death, afterwards resulting,
renders the survivors too prostrate to resent the wanton
outrage. I am, sir,
London, June 18, 1853. VIVANS.

ESCAPE TROY KENDAL HOUSE OF CORRECTION.—
An attempt to escape from the Howls of Correction, in
Kendal, apparently quite unpremeditated, but of a very
rash character, took place on Saturday morning last.
The hero of the exploit is a young man of the name of
James Leonard, aged 24, who was convicted at the Easter
Seuions of larceny, and sentenced to four months' im-
prisonment. It appears that he had been placed by the
Governor in one of the rooms on the debtors side, a reom
certified by the government impeder as well fitted for
separate confinement, and had been let out about seven
o'clock into the yard for the purpose of going to the
privy. Hs, however, took the opportunity, during the
momentary absence of the turnkey, of working himself,
by means of his hands and feet, up the wall, which here
forms an angle, on to the top, whence he dropped down
a distance of twenty-two feet in to the high road on the
ether side. He could not have been more than two
minutes in accomplishing the feat, and when it is added
that there was • broad and projecting flag on the top,
which he bad also to surmount, it will be readily believed
that he evinced no little alacrity. He did not, however,
fare so well as regards the result of his attempt. In falling
on the hard road, be severely hart himself, having sus-
tained a compound fracture of the left leg, with consider-
able injury to the right ands. He was found lying in this
stavi on the ground by • milkman who was pasaiog at the
time with his cart, when the governor was immediately ap-
prised of the fact, and the unfortunate fellow, whose pre-
mature close of his incarceration seemed hardly worth try-
ing for at such a risk, was carried back to undergo a term
of confinement much more protracted than his original
sentence, and under suffering which Was not meant tu woos.
pally Patrioi.

THE FORTUNE-TELLERS OF THE Li; JON

POOR.