The Express.
London, England, 1866-01-11 00:00:00

THE EXPRXSEL

WANDSWORTH.

ALLEGED KIDNAPPING NT GlPSllll.—conarrAL TO •

81170131.17W1T.
A boy, whou clothes were all rage, sad who gave the it
nameoo of Joha Matthews, wasilsally examined on a charge of et,
bing.gt
Ito eau presented some way curious features. The boy St
wrs under 14 years of use sad could not read or write. He la
represented that he wee brought away from Peterborough Isit
by glpeles who took all his good clothe, away from him. st
On the first examination, a gipsy woman from the camp fit
in the York-road, Battersea, attended and stated that she se
picked the boy up at some races and that B 1
he had bees with her ever duce. She also repro- at
seated that he did not know his right name but Ll'
since he had been with her he had 10110 by her name, that ;
of Matthews. The boy, on the second examination, ex- iss
primed a wish now to return to the gipiiies, and he was re- fit
mended for him to be sent to • reformatory, the police of 84
Spalding lariat sent a letter giving him an indifferent rho- St
meter and stating that he was neglected by bis father. 10
On this oeceston the boy at last admitted that his name a
wu John 11'llernosi, and that his father was a member of is
a Baptist dispel. St
Mr. Hayman thee sent bins to a refine* for homeless and
destitute boys in Maneellstreet, Whitechapel, fore period
Li
of five years. He told the prisoner that he would hare an
opportunity of going to school and bsoomiog a good member ;
of society. fit
The prisoner did not seem to approve of the arrangement, go
for he commenced to cry, and laid he was going to be sent 81
to • reformatory. gI
Mr. Dayman said be was not to be sent to a reformatory, SI
but to a school, and it an depended upon hie god conduct Li
whether they kept him. He would be taught • trade, and si
if be only paid attention they world make a man of him. 14
The boy was then removed. 11
The reporter understood that the magistrate had kindly 81„
forwarded a donation of 20 guineas from the poor-box to the ;
society, which 'rid received other destitute boys from the
cowl.

A Futourrtm Draru.—On Tuesday morning,
the 9th mat., O•orge Ohiloott, of Bridport, a mechanic, in
the employ of thb rymore Lil Company, wee called by the
fireman to assist him in letting off the surplus steam from
the large engine worked on the premises. It appears the Ili
fireman opened a valve to let off some steam close to the a
fire-place. The discharge was ma powerful that he could
not atop it. He then called George Chiloott to assist him,
who got on the boiler to get at the safety valve. The place
wee so densely filled with smoke that the poor man fell 1
off the boiler, • depth of eight feet, in front of the engine
where the shm was blowing, and could not be removed
for nearly three epistlers of as hour. When removed he was
dead, and fearfully scalded. There is no blame attached to 1.
any person. The deceased is a married mac, and leaves a
wife and family.—Nierborne Journal.
EXTRAORDINARY OAHE OF SHOOTING.—On Friday
last a most extraordinary and deplorable circumstance on. 8
curved at St. Helios, Jersey, resulting in serious injury, S
which it is feared will prove fatal, to a lad named Thomas 6
Horner. It apposes that this lad, in company with • com-
panion named Jabez 'Woods—both of them being pupils in u
the Naval Training School at Gorey, io tho island—had been p
out shooting birds, and when on their return home and near 14
the First Tower, on the St. Anbin's.road, Horner, in a joint. k
lar manner, gave • challenge to Woods to shoot him, ap• li
pending to the challenge the condition that Woods should t
be well laughed at if he mimed him. Woods, who carried g
his gun ready loaded with small shot, took up a position
about 15 yards from Horner, who placed himself in the i
middle of the roid for the purpose. Woods took deliberate Si
aim, tired, and nearly the whole of the charge struck Horner 81
in the face, disfiguring him in • frightful mariner. The
poor lad fell to the ground insensible, and was carried by
male passen.by into • neighbouring public-house. A ic
medical man from town was speedily on the spot and at- m
tended to the sufferer, when it was found that be had coin-
pletely lost the eight of hie right eye. He was conveyed aI
with all speed to the General Hospital, and placed under
the care of the medical officer of that establishment. The
sufferer has endured intense pain from the shot wound+, si
and up to the latest accounts there was but little prospect
of his recovery. Woods, it should be stated, feels the tl
greatest sympathy for his companion, whose life, by his
thoughtless conduct, he has placed in such jeopardy.
Si
THE SrazErs OF LONDON.—Dr. Lankeeter held

an inquiry at the Middlesex Hospital yesterday relative to
the death of John George Barker, aged 11, who was killed
in Oxford-street on Monday afternoon. From the evidence
it appeared that the deceased was endeavouritg to cross
the carriage way, and, as a precaution against accident, kept
behind a cart or waggon loaded with furniture. When in
the middle of the street he made a rush from the back of
the waggon to effect a crossing, but was immediately
knocked down by • Bayswater omnibus, the wheels of which
passed over him, causing iostantaineous death. From the
evidence of a witness who rode outside the omnibus it was
proved that the driver could not have seen the deceased,
and that therefore no blame attached to him. The coroner
observed that it was very dangerous to keep behind a
vehicle when crowing the street, and remarked upon the
impropriety of putting pawsogars down out of omnibuses
in the centre of the toed. The number of deaths in London
from similar causes to the present was about 300 annually,
but for every fatal tame there were at least 20 non-fatal
street accidents. He was of opinion that if bridges were
thrown across the principal streets people would use them,
and many fatal accidents would be thus prevented. A ver-
dict of " Accidental death" was returned.

AN UNFORTUNATE CALL —The Atilltive which
was before us at once revealed the blunder we had com-
mitted, and the unpremeditated glance which the mortified
baronne shot at us told us it was irreparable. What
would we not have given for a trapdoor just at that mo-
ment ! The baronne, however, with the tsct of a woman
—above all, a Frenchwoman—immediately recovered her
aplomb, and motioning us to a queer-looking rash-seated
chair, begged we would give ourselves the trouble to sit
down in rt. The harms repeated his lady's request, and we
took advantage of the silence which followed to explain the
motive of our sudden appearance. Madame, though dis-
concerted, contrived to maintain her composure, and, ea
the conversation proceeded, we had leisure to reconnoitre
the premises. We st last folt sure we were in the same
boudoir as on the jourtde rioeption, but the whole aspect
' and character of it were so metamorphosed, that it was es
&Moult to recognise it as its owners. Three sides of the
octagon were by some contrivance, essentially French, evi-
dently folding and removable, and being thus removed, the
boudoir. no longer octagonal in form, became an oblong,
half of which was a bedroom, not in the tidiest condition.

The delicate blue satin and 'gilding was covered up with
brown holland, and the aristocratic chairs and sofas were
wearing their pinafores. The elegant Aubusson carpet—
a work of art—was removed, and a cheap and rather
shabby moquette replaced it, covering up even the inlaid
floor ; all the little elegant bagatelles, which bespeak taste
and luxury —as long as they are supposed to form the ordi-
nary entourage of a woman—had disappeared, until they
should be wanted to play their part one. more in the peri-
odical domestic farce ; and instead of the silvergilt waiter,
the urn, and the array of exquisite Sevres cups, a
blackened chocolate pot stood on a torn piece of paper be-
side two mugs of dell, from which the baron and his wife
had been taking their preliminary breakfast. It seemed as
if the magician's wand had passed over the scene, and
there was almost a ghastliness in the unexpected change.
It contained a moral revelation which was uncomfortably
suggestive. One never likes to find things altogether dif-
ferent from what they have seemed, and this feeling was
not diminished when we turned our attention to the couple
who sat before us in their dlshabille. Hoosier sat by the
fire in a dreming•gown, leather cap, and slippers, perusing
the Silete, while madams, more active, was availing her-
self of the opportunity to clear out an old drawer. Her
attire was not put on by the dimpled fingers of the Graces,
' for she was still in curl-papers, and—shall we reveal your
sacred arcane, 0, ye cubicular Penates !—her features were
half concealed by the borders of . . . . a nightcap ! It
was plain we had put our foot in it—not the nightcap.
but the intimacy ; Orme was no hope of ever retrieving the
gaucherie—how could we look her is the face again, after
having caught her in bonnet de null! Even the bluff
Samuel Johnson regarded this portion of his toilet as too
delicate to admit of allusion, and, as our readers will re-
member, almost savagely reproved Boswell for attempting
to make a note of his prectioal ideas on the important sub-
ject. " Sir !" said he, in a tone that admitted of no
rejoinder, " posterity shall UMW know whether or not I
wore a nightcap." How then could we expect Madame
la Barons. to overlook such a rialasdresse 7 This was the
overwhelming thought that passed through our mind and
rendered as timid and reserved, as we statemared out our
alums to her voluble l'•1111111k11 t in feet, we were far more
ansbarramed Ikea err bests, end took oar leave as woe as
we decently coati.—The Argosy for January.