The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-17 00:00:00

A LADY FORTUNE TELLER.

At the Worship street Police court, on Saturday,
Charlotte Sabine, a middle aged person, attired in
mourning, and of ladylike address and deportment, was
charged with having fraudulently obtained money from
a young woman named Ellen Kenny, under the eretence
of telling her fortune. Mr. John de Courcy Young, a
surgeon residing in George place, Old street toad,
stated that a short time slice the prisoner engaged the
first floor of his house, unfurnished, of which she
obtained possession on the strength of such satisfactory
references that be believed her to be a person of un-
questionable respPctability. The apartments were fur-
nished so sumptuously that he was disposed to congratu-
late himself on securing such 13fi eligible tenant Until his
attention was attracted to the ektraotdiriarr influx of per-
sons of both sexts, but mostly .females who were in the
habit of calling to see her, and having quietly inquired
into the matter,!he was astonished to ascertain that she was
a professed fortune teller. Witne=s immediately obtained
the assistance of the rlice, and the necessary means were
adopted for her detection aad apprehension.
Ellen Kenny stated that, pursuant to directions she
had received, she called at the house on the previous night,
and was ushered by a female servant into an elegantly
furnished drawing room, where she found the prisoner.
On intimating that she wished to have her fortune told,
the prisoner produced a; pack of cards which mbe directed
her to cut, and after scrutinising them with fixed atten-
'ion, the defendant proceeded in solemn accents to
teveal her future destiny. After sundry gloomy predic-
tions, to the eff,ct that her mother was then lying at the
point of death, and that she was doomed to he cheated by
her mistress out of her wages the prisoner wound up with
the complimentary forebodings that she R oul d c
give birth to a child before the year was out ; but that
she need not distress herself on that account, as the man
she loved best would ultimately make an honest woman
of her. On the completion of her prognostications wit-
ness handed her a shilling, which had been previously
marked by the police, and on reaching the street she
communicated what had cccurred to a detective officer,
who was waiting outside. Police.coustable Evans, G
145, deposed that on receiving the communication from
the last witness, who had acted under his directions, he
at once entered the house and took the prisoner into cus-
tody. Rebecca Newton, the prisoner's servant, was also
examined, and reluctantly admitted that dozens of
ladies were accustomed to visit her mistress in the
course of the day, but she had never seen any
money pass on those occasions. In answer to the
charges the prisoner, who was greatly agitated, ear-
nestly implored the merciful consideration of the
magistrate, and said, that she had been compelled to
resort to such practices in consequence of the illness of
her husband, who was in the last stage of consumption,
and had recently been an inmate of the Victoria park
and Brompton Hospitals. Mr. D'Eyncourt said, it was
a very serious offence, which was .replete with the most
mischievous consequences to society, and notwithstanding
the position in which the prisoner had evidently moved,
lie felt it to be his duty to convict her under the Vag-
rant Act, and sentence her to one month's imprisonment.
The prisoner, who .was apparently much astonished at
the decision, and convulsed with grief, was then re
moved by the jailer.