The National Register.
London, England, 1820-12-25 00:00:00

EVTRACT or A PRIVATE LETTER.

The eir4mat clum.lt•ltcr.., pl. Uwe,. of ti Ni were
ran e 111,11.11 IL !Millie gentlemen %err pityl..R .a..i •t
lime i.e, or, broke uul ; but buti! Wat• Its fuly ohm it c I
.tot ~e rill soul I. Atr. 1f•m1i,.41 lima, d, and Nlr
Nii!k, I hi• r,u/er, but uciih•-r to anti in neat 1114•
*eke. Tor lion. t 6 u.or iiiii pi est•ist, a h r. 11.1 e spiv 41..
, I herr more eutivillirnl Ilf re.'of
loons, iu the kieglhlttl.

Letters received tat B.ltortily from I)oluir,,r.t,
end dated the 8!!1 ult. state, th.o Lieut.
lkittineic died ,it the tiovcci.i.l-. ~.11 • : •
the Ist th:.! • •

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BOW•S'i It EET.
On Thursdry Mr. Frederick Accurn, the well-known
lecturer tin practical chemistry, was brought to the
office by Ilishop and Nicholls, the officers, from his
his bonito: in Coolinowstreet, Soho, where he has re-
sided lot about 3t) CAIS, charged with sobbing the
lloyal Institution, in Albemarle-street, to which the
prisolier was a stilneritwr, and hail been so tor a number
of years. lie underwent an exammation before
lhritie, the sitting magistrate, froin tt Bich it appeared
that the talualile library or the II byal Institution lad
been considerably deteriorated tor some years past, on
Bs:count of the books having been mutilated by bootie
persist' who had torn out part of their leaves. Thli dos.
graceful practice is supposed to hate been carried on fur
stone stars before it was discovered. At first, when
one Imiek awl then ;moth r was pointed out as imptirlect,
it was conjectored to bate been by accident; but at length
in Win. dt.:LOVVit'll that books, acculeutally found to be im-
pel:eel, hail been completely oerlect but a very shoo
time be: ore. Ni. dolt lit, thereiore, was entertained
sh the books having come two the instittstaei iii a perfect
state. The discovery of the defective books increased,
particularly Joilsolug scientific and rare boosts--so nitwit
eo, that Mr. Jelin Sten, the assistant librarian to the
Royal 1 aistitutiolo, made a formal statement on the ihnO•
jeel in tile tlianaitelS, and, at the same, slated that no
tenon but a sideerilser could have carried on the de-
predations for seek a length of time, as no occasional
wisher could have had the upeortunity of co iiiiii 'tong
such repeated thefts, and lie at Ir quit tnenuotied the
prisoner's name as the gentleman whom he suspected—
ullegh g, as the ground of his suspicion; that the books
which he had discovered to be mutilated were books that
the primmer was iii the habit of reading, and that. alter
the prisoner had left the Ilistitution,he had examinsd the
same books which lie had seen in his hand, and found
leases taken mil of them. These circumstances, how-
ever stoma agalinit the prisoner, were not, in the mind
of tile managers, soillicitait to justify ally proeeedinas.
against him, especially as he was considered a gentle-
man of rack and ccesecittetice in the scientific 5% odd.—
it yeas therefore ,•ectititl necessary that every precaution
should ire taken formic such ;111 ellenee should he charged
upon a gentleman of ti.o pristine:es respectability ; and
Mr. Siert was directed to watch the conduct of the pri-
soner %viten he ['line to the 1 listitistion, which he ac.
cordingly did. The prisoner's boor of visiting the lot-
saituteas were generally from a little after live o'clock in
the afternoon till ;test seven, i ;e hours certainly best
Calculated fur his purposes, as there are fetter subscribers
there at that hour than at any miter. On Weanestlay
evening the prisoner was at the lostititutel as usual,
between five and seven. .11r. Steil watelied him very
closely, and he had no doubt bin that he had torn some
leaves out of wine hooks which he had been reading
but, owing to a pile of hooka which was between them,
be cuttld not be positive, cud therefore he was afraid to
interfere. After the prisoner had left the Institution,
Mr.Stert proceeded to cXJunne the banks which toe had
particularly noticed in flue prisoner's baud,. when he
found a periodical scientific work, called " N wholson's
Journal," defeeti%e of lite leaves, which he was positive I
had been entire last wet L. lle sire aaly suspected that ,
the prisoner had taken them, and determined tat taking
steps agates; hint. lie alit:titled, thcrefOre, on Thursday
wonting, at the ogle:, and repelled the whole of tile
ceiraordinary and suspicious circumstances to Mr.
'Strum, the sitting magistrate, who issued a warrn,t to
search the pneoner's house, to ascertain if the prisoner
had taken the five leaves out of sNichulaun's Journal tin
NVedtwial ty evening. Mr. Siert had expected to find
them in the house, as it was supposed that Mr. Accuites
object WIS 10 assist hull I i his scientific publieatious,
and save him the expense of purchasing books, the ieaVt
taken out of the different books being the most interest-
ing and important part of the works. llishop and Ni-
cholls, the officers, accompanied Jlr. S. to the ',rimier's
house bi C plots-street, with the searclowaraint.
and :bond the ;disinter at home. On the officers cool-
nittiticaling to iiim their business, he appeared a 110,iti
tleal surprised. Mr. Steel proceeded to to:amuse the thr-
krent papers in die house, and identified a number
whom bad been tofu out Of the books beloilaing to the
Roy to histitution. While Mr. Siert Was pursuiva this
111%%•.igation, the prisoner was walking up and down
the room ill great agitation. The officers seiziel thy
kites, eicc, iollinied by Mr. Siert as leeonaitta to the
ruin-weirs of the lleyit! I issidattion, and brute:Mt them
rod cur pri,,utier to due office, before Mr. thrum, when
Meet again identified somilry leaves, as correspond-
inewith books belonging to the Ronal 1 nstitution, which
which had heel mutilated. All tile woks which. Hail
been plundered of leaves were those which the prisoner
-wasp the liahit of reading wilco he was at hit: Halal
initlitnitni• nree leaves found iu his house, corres-
Jponded with the tint volume of NV illieit's I)oinestic
oicyclore.lia, which Air. Stern hail no doubt belonged
it, the volume be bingi og to the Itu) al itstitut iiit ; :16/
three leaves e()Ill4111111g, 110111 p. 16.: 4:!I to .46 ui Cullen's
Materia .14telica, which had been atlases] ROM that work
belsiogiag to the Institution. The officers lotallored a
number of other leaves, amounting, in the whole, to
satanic thirty mind, and large, st hien Mr, Stern said he
It id nu t:einht belonged to books in the library of the
J listitution.
: pre:rater, in his defence, said, the leaves seised by
oliieers at his house, and produced before the
•strate, belutiged to books much lie had at liume.
ise Magistrate, after hearing the whole of the case,
oleicrved, that, how esti valuable the books a l
athe h•
which the leaves 'ousel id tee prisoner's house him Lieu
taken, yet tiir leaf Chi scpat.uetl lentil oleo) were only wasu
ptaiterg if they had wuglted J pound, he WOWil hat e
ColllMilied hint inr ties 1:Inf tn.a putineatf waste i.aper ;
but is that w n nut the Lit 4* he 81,LC11;1r;,...(1
A111.1i0:1UU G! I i
A trustful, came before the ltl..gistrates en Thursday
of some imput toucc, espial the cu..)ttuctititi 01 Ow