The National Register.
London, England, 1821-10-14 00:00:00

328

Anne[. ImecuktTion.—A fellow was lately charged at
11:,e Police-office, Etlinhargh, with various acts of swind-
Eng. The success of his scheme♦ was not less remarkable
than the ingenuity with which they were planned. Atter
duping a carters wife of has. and robbing a house at
Costerphiun of a gold watch and other at ticles, lie gained
tl!e affections of a young woman, a widow, who kept a
►lop at Portobello. Hy his persuasion site agreed to give
up tier house, and follow him, with her (Wielder, a child
about live years of age, to a lodging in the Grans-mai ket,
where the necessary measures %sere immediately taken for
the performance of the marriage ceremony. But the af-
fair ttttt st be douse genteely, and it was customary on such
o,:easions to get new garments; his lainenees prevented
from calling on tiiends; but he would write a 'low—
an order to a friend in Porter-row, for a small sum 231.
and his intended wife would have nothing to do but pre-
tent it. She went, het not finding such a person as the
ol:e mentioned, she came bark, and found that the
gloom hail decamped, alter breaklirg open a trunk and
1• away all her clothes, with some at tit-lea of jew-
ellery. Such WAS the tale this deluded female told, whose
reddesty and propriety of demeanour rendered her an
okyeet of considerable interest. On the fellow himself
t,.•ing called in to give an account of the property, no-
toile; could be snore striking than the contrast in their
behaviour. Tile full rotund features of an Italian were
dt•ftgared by flirt, and distorted by the leerof impudence.
lie readily gave information of the way in which he had
disposed of the iintintutiate woman's property. 'flue neat
a. our in which our hero engaged may be considered his
d'erurre, as here he triumphed, not only over the
eantionertess of age, but the shrewdness anti tenacity of
tee Highland character. Having got Lionself conveyed,
a• a 111411 ill rxtrt Me bodily distress, to the house of 411
11 porter, in a few minutes he succeeded in eetab-
-I.shung himself there as a family lodger. The moment
that lie had thus domesticated himself, he despatched the
), .1 ler to Leith, to look after some ensuggled spirits,
which he said were deposited there on his account ; add.
i e, for the purpose of removing all apprehension, that
I. had used the precaution of bribing the police-officers,
who world either walk off upon the approach of the por-
ter, or wink at him as he paused. In the absence of the
Later. he proceeded to practise upon the simplicity of
his wife, 111/ old woman of at Iciest sixty years of age, who
scarcely understood a word of English. The defender.,
according, to the old woman's story, after sounding the
depth of her affection for the absent Dittman, expressed
los wonder how she could think of melting her drys in
the society of such a homespun mortal. He next touched
111/1111 the von dly circumstances of the worthy couple, and
drew from his hostess an admission that they had a bank
receipt for 301. snugly deposited in the cupboard. Has-
te: by this time made an impression on the heart of the
oid woman, lie easily pereitaded her to allow him a sight
of the 'torment, which, after scanning over, be declared
Fie right of drawing the money had replied that very
day, and proposed that, lame as he was, he would go with
lior to the Bank and uplift the money. 'llie old woman,
in a state of great trepidation, assented. Away they !lob-
bied up streets, and the defender, by personating the
potter, found no difficulty in exchanging the receipts toe
pounds sterling. Strange and almost incredible as it may
seem, this arch deceiser had an plied his imsnspecting
dupe with flattery, that, before 1116, left the batik, her
affections acknowledged another master than honest Den-
can. In place of going home, they went to a public-honse,
w here a plan of elopement was finally agreed upon ! To
slow his gallantry, he treated the enamoured matron, out
r ;. her own money, with a silk gowd, purchased front a
broker, and himself with a resplendent snit of clothes.
Her heart expanded at this generosity, and she gave her-
self lip to dreams of ecstatic happiness, freely indulging
in the most copious libations. Her alarmed, astonished,
sell stunned torshand found her at ten o'clock in the even-
ing dealt drunk ! Bust the swain hail made good hie own
elopement, ellrr!,imig with him Isle new apparel end the
reversion of the money. A 'lumber of similar charges,
bat of minor importance, were brought against the de-
tender. which greatly increased the 11.110111SiIIIIC11t at the
extensive havocks he had made upon the hearts and small
properties[ of unfortunate females. A precognition of all
Cie circumstances had been conducted befote the 6hei
preparatory to a justiciary trial.

AN AWKWARD NIISTAKE.—A reverend popular
preacher, well known to the literary circles of the metropolis. was
constantly received t ith warm hospitality ut the table of the late
Mr. and Lady Eliz 'beds Whitbread. Hie conversational talents
had reconnuended him likewise to the protection of Lady Au-
gusta Murray, better knusil, perhaps, to gear de condition, by
the title of " Duchess of Sussex," at the bottom of whose table
he was usually requested to take his chair. 'fbis priest of nice
discrimiaation had engaged himself to dinner with his early pa-
troness, Lady Elizabeth Whitbread, and in the forenoon of the
appointed day was summoned for immediate attendance in his
customary place lit the "chequered" board of the royal Duchess.
It did not take bins much time to decide between the
.fasaenif of
aristocracy and less flattering station with an unpretending boor-
Obliviscent" (to use one of his own oratorical terms) of
los duties in Dover-street, he sat down to his csirsduire de l.sUr,
caJ indittxl(im grind trahsp) the following notes, and by a
:glit of hood was sufficiently fortunate to transmit the billets
(cross-purposed) exactly to the parties for whom they were Nov
ci.:stined .—Tats •. Dear Duchess,—.\ thousand thanks for your
most delightful invitation. I mug, I will accept it, though to do
so I am compelled to put off the brewer and his wife :"—ad-
dressed.por accident. to Lady E. ‘Vhitbrentl, Darer-street,-.2d.
" The Rev. presents his respectful csuipliinents to Lady
Elizabeth Whitbread, and rtrgrets that the sudden indisposition
of his aunt, from whom he has great expectations, wilt prevent
ban from indulging himself in the high honour of waiting upon
Ole family to dinner this evening in Dorset-street ;" addressed
(par ineprier) to the Duchess of sussex. Hartored, staggered,
chagrined, and confounded upon discovering tar tate the slip of
hand which hush thus laid bare the aristocrat lurking amid the
f dds of h:s priestly garment, he wrote off to his neglected patron-
ess a cypress-wise letter, doling out miserable deprecations of
wrath, and urging more miserable entreaties still fur forgiveness,
concluding with the unfeigned assurance, " that his soul would
be exposed to stiffer all the torments of purgatory, while for this
one Crow banished, as he felt that he merited, from the paradise
of her patronage." Mass for the repose of this disturbed soul
was executed. est molts/rile ityosse, in the following terms:—
" Lady Elizabeth V. hitbread presents her complintelfts to the
Rev. Mr. II —, and doubts not bat that, when fatigued with the
s .ciety of Dukes and Duchesses, lie would contlescead to put up
with the humble fare of a brewer and his wife. At the same
time, the reverend applicant for pardon must clearly understand.
that Lady Elizabeth ‘l.liithreati can never admit blasphemous
language as an apology t'or ungentlemanly. conduct."

ni et.—.l meeting took Farce on Friday morning on Fincl4ley
mmon, betwetn J. J. C-----.', L. 41. linri a gentles mot
4 t the num' of M—r-3, rehire to a divtitea bct at Eillie:tl
R ca. Jlr. C. was wounded in the arm in Mr tag Me.

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