The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-03-11 00:00:00

UNION-HALL.

- ......
ROBBERY BY A SEILVANT.—A girl, named Mary lintchiso.
wro. wu charged before the Magistrates at Union-hall with haring
robbed her mtstress of a great clunotity of clothes.
The prisoner wu fully committed for We?.

FATAL AFFAIR AT ETON:
The friends of Mr. Leith 177;17.—epared the following document
to be submitted by bim to the Court, if the trial had taken place at
Aylesbury
" Dltr LORD—I sin anxious to state a few words, which must
not be considered as an attempt to justify the part I took in the
late unhappy event, but arising. solely front the very great de-
sire I feel to remove some impressions which have been circulated
to my disadnunage in the published reports of this most lamentable
transaction, which I feel I do not merit, and which are cal-
culated to increase very materially the dirtress of my present situa-
tion. I never can enjoy happiness again till thitse impressions
are removed; and I hope, therefore, that your Lordship will allow
me to make a short statement of a fact which has been so cruelly
misrepresented. That I did administer brandy to the unfortunate
deceased is true ; but the exaggeration of the quantity in the public
prints has been a source of much disquietude to my mind, and I
feel myself called on to make the following statement, in justice to
my family and myself:—The quantity of brandy brought into the
field did not originally exceed two small wine glasses, of which the
lamented school-fellow sipped at intervals, hut in all not more than
one small wine glue; in proof of this I must mention, that I wet-
ted my haodkerchief to rub the face and hands, and none was given
by me without the knowledge and approval of his other friends. 1
beg leave, also, to observe, that in former fights at Eton, I have seen
(and which can be proved by witnesses row present) spirits given
to the parties ; this will prove that the giving it in this instance was
not a novel practice. I have, my Lord, further to remark, that I
was not the only speond to the unfortunate and much-lamented de-
ceased ; that, in point of fact, I only gave him a knee the two first
rounds, and that, for the last ten minutes of this unhappy tight, I
was employed entirely in keeping the ring. I acknowledge I was
very much interested that my brave little companion should obtain
thevictory, and it is probable that this anxiety may hare led to the
expression used at the Coroner's Inquest—that I was the avowed
second. Having expressed my anxiety that my brave little corn-
passion should obtain the victory, 1 cannot omit this opportunity
of bearing testimony to the generous conduct of the adverse party
in this tight. I shall conclude my observations on this point with
declaring most solemnly, that I was never second to any boy at
Eton, except once, for a couple of rounds, and those the two last,
when 1 gave in fur him seeing he had no chance ; and 1 appeal
with confidence to the whole school, when I say, that under the pe-
collar circumstances in which I was applied to to attend as second,
by and with another whom for obvious reasons 1 do not name,
could not refuse being so in this case ; I beg leave to add, that
during four years 1 have been at Eton, I have never fought with
one of my school-fellows, though on one occasion, when I thought
a little boy had been ill used by a man, I naturally took his part
and fought the man. As if misrepresentation had not already been
sufficiently used, it has been stated (though, indeed, justice has
since been done me on this head), that I was party to a conflict be-
' tween two boys of a marked disparity of age ; this was not the case;
and I only advert to it now, lest there should be some here who
had seen the imputation and not its refutation. In conclusion, I
have only to say, that I by no means intend to assert that no blame
attaches to me ; I admit there does, and most deeply do I lament
that a shadow of blame should do so. But, toy Lord, let me not
bear the whole blame ; and to whomsoever it may attach, let it be
attributed to the real cost--inexperience."