The National Register.
London, England, 1818-11-16 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER

y humanely tuck the infant gill out of the chaise
which ha -I been left under the garden-wall of the Asylum, on
Smolay evening, and probably saved the innocent's life.—
Here Mr. Carter, who is employed at Astley's theatre, was
sent for, and on his arrival at the. Hercules public-house be
folly described to the servant the man whom he had seen take
the child out of the chaise. 1e ; but she declared stir 'lid not
know such a man, or any thing of the child being taker out
of the chaise. She was interrogated by several persons there,
as to her knowledge of the children being left in the chaise
near the Asyl .in that cruel manner, late on Sunday even•
lug, but no satisfactory information could be obtained from
her, ►he denying all knowledge of leaving the children in
that deplorable state. Among the persons present was a
female elegantly dressed, who inlet fared, and interested her.
self very h respecting the servant; she endeavoured to
get her away front the officer privately to herself; but God-
frey refused to consent to let her go out of his sight ; she
tried various stratagems, such as to give the girl tea, assigning
prnate reasons; but Godfrey was not to be removed from
his resolution, saying, wherever the servant went he would
he present ; and the girl also declared she had no occasion to
wish to be absent from him. It did not appear who this
mysterious female was, or what her object was in interfering
with the servant ; and the girl declared that she did not know
any thing of the lady. They left the Hercules
and proceeded to Itow-street office, where they arrived about
a quarter helot'. 9 o'clock. Mr. Hicks was then sitting,
and the investigation co 11111 l enced, which lasted about two
hours.

Among the gentlemen who addressed the Magistrate was
one who stated himself to be a neighbour of Mr. Horsley's,
and that he was one among, a number of others, who had
taken a lively and active interest in his loss, and that he and
several friends loot been out night and day making inquiries
for the still undiscovered chid at the watch-hottses, and at
every placew het e la' ge assemblages of people wet' collected,
On the fires ions night (Tuesday) they had been to Wapping,
and about t at; o'clock tot Wednesday morning, they met with
%eve' al sailors, stone of whom recollected being at a public-
home in Sunday evening, in a lane in Lower Thames .street,
near Billingsgate, where the•pass•mgers by the Gravesend
boats assembled ores i,k111; to the s.tilnng of the boats, and they
tecollected seeing a man with a child exactly answering the
description of Mr. Horsley's, is person as well as die's.
elan $l6O answered tile description, except as to his dress
and Mr. Carter suspected mint to be in a disguised die's, and
it is supposed he chanced his dress again to avoid being
traced or discovered. He laid his head on a table in the room
in the public house where he was wailing, and went to sleep,
keeping the child close to him, and at tell o'c:ock that night
he went on board the Gravesend boat, taking the child with
him.

The aeponnt Elizabeth Holbrook gave of herself is, that
she had *red as a nurse girl to Mr. Horsley for two years and
several months. There were three young children, and when
the weather was fine she was in the daily firar•lie•r of taking
them out in a child's chaise, two at a time. Abort two
months since, when she was nut with the children in their
itemise, she met with a voting Man, with whom she became
intimately acquainted ; in fact, she acknowleged that impro-
per familiarities turd taken place tretwr•rn them. He very
frequently met heKdirlien she was out with the children; he
made love to her, called her his sweetheart, and pr. veil to
marry her ; but 'lie acknowledged that she neither knew who
he was nor what he was; all that she professed to know f
him was, that his name was George Faulkner, and she con-
sidered l,iw to be a young gentleman, by his di ess, eke. Ili
told her that 104 relations and friends lived at Birmingham,
and they would be married there; and desired her to leas,
her place on Sunday for that impose, and that he would
make arrangements for her journey, and therefore she need
not make any arraugeruents herself'. He enjoined her to
strict secrecy; that she was not to tell a single person what
she was going to do, and that she was to meet him in Smith-
field on Sunday afternoon, and he mide her promise to bring,
the diddles. with her. According to angements with
lett her master's house al t two o'clock, taking the chil-
dren le the chaise, as her mistress supposed, to give
term an mime. Sir proceeded with all possible speed
to Smithfield, anti drew the chaise about their, between ao
hour 411.1 an hour and a half, wailing fur Mr. Faulkner ; and
nn his enuring to her, he gave her a 21. bank note, and told
her he had taken her plare, skewed her the inu where thecoach
went from, and told her he would follow her to Birmingham
by the next coach. The inn she went from was the Saracen'..
Head, on Snow Hill. 311.. Faulkner took possession of the
child's chaise, promising to deliver the children back to then
parents, whom he would infurin.that she was going to bi
married, and would explain every thing to them. She gave
him the key of tier master's street dooros hick she had brought
out in hue pocket, which he also promised to deliver safely,
The adventure of her journey to Birmingham, and her re
turn to London, is already described in the guard of the
co.ich's account.

She was not sworn to her statement, the Magistrate de
dining to do that, lest it might torn out hereafter, that she
was concerned in a conspiracy to carry oil the children.
She was interrogated very closely by the Magistrate, and
by se wer,il gentlemen, as to her more particular knowledge of
the supposed Mr. Faulkner and the Mall who carried off the
boy from the chaise, and went by the Gravesend boat w itlt it
but no jai-womb oo could be obtained lien her respecting
them, she denying that she knew any mote than what sin had
told. Gotlftet said, before he hi might her to the office, she
told him she knew where Mr. Faulkner lived, and that he did
not live far from her master's house. She explained this by
saying, that about a fortnight sitter, when she was out with
the children it, the chaise, slit met with Mr. Faulkner, atm
the weather linVifig the appearam r of rain, he said he ninthl
on and feielt an umbrell.•t, which he accordingly did, and wip,
not gone above tit cllllllllle9,illlll he appealed In her to go 1.,
a house in a muss of houses called Sere' buildings, but she
did not know which house lie %%tilt 11110.

A of gontleinen lute' log:dill her, lint nothing more
of imp.' 1.u.c0 COilld be obl.liovil fiool l:( r, and the Magistrait•
rnn•ad.•acd her to have been an ignorant dove of sunac
log clil.un orrillaiu..A,p. lot.. lit. µII° appealed
tAlrcon ly alerted :Intl grirved at the rondoet of 16,4 'laugh-
tor. .1 he ts,esitienseti ',resent, the mend. of Mr. and Mr..
Ito she, , spu6r iu the highest terns of his hi,. wife's eon.
duct. The 31agistrale in C1,11,4.(i11e1i VP .1; ranged that her
I.ither,hoold take her home 's li ke,cp her in el• sr
ginitiurnittitt,.not solferiog iirr to go taut, ui lo have intercom st
with any perede ; 2iui that lie ,sll,.ttoit be ans%%erohte
furlhconriul whets the bohoin who stole the (Ain't %%as /purr
'trotted

sow, later tbis asisegeinent had been matte, Mr. lior,dey
anti his friend, so Its entmegly exerted himself, chtor-
eil the office, from l liegluu. %% lien the itivestipit,uu %cis 11.
sumed, for the satisfaction of Ms. Hos Acy, who, As %%cii as 4ts

Nnra 1 1

friend, ye' y closely interiugaied the girl ; as • ol :11.1 CI
be them, she acknowledged ilia, had talked
tit .11 r. Faulkner, as to what a fine child the boy was, And
a hat a great fortune lie would have. She also acknowledged
that MI I'aniko r, soh( n lie arranged with her to go to Mr.
'unfelt:nu on snuday, and told her to bring the children with
her, said the boy was to be 011 e of them, and her IllistreSS
•ent her out a little before one o'clock with two girls, she,
ul ciiii•i quent c of Mr. Esulkaer's direction, returned home
at two O'ClOek, left one of the girls, anti brought out the bob-,
and put him into the chaise.
Mr. Smith here addressed the Magistrate, and submitted,
that the gill might not to be allowed to go to her father's, but
should be sent into confinement; and Mr, Horsley also urged
this, but at thr same time allowed that he could not but con-
soler her the lop of some designing villain.
The 'Magistrate accordingly agreed to send her to the House of
Correction, with a direction dud her father shoald have free access to
her, but no other person ; and the clink aecont ugly prepares] tie
wind information, but Mr. Horsley refused to sign it. He said le
could charge her indirectly, but not directly.
The Nlagistrate, w th a temper and disenmination which did him
infinite himour in this distressing situation, hummed him, that he
then could not send the girl to prison, as there was no way of
making out a commitment to prison but on a charge upon oath.
Mr. I torsley's friend offered to make the charge upon oath.: a ha
had no doubt but that she was concerned in carrying With: child ;
but a charg: from him was not de teed sufficient.
Mr. Horsley pro' *Jed that she should be kept in confinement aft
the Brown Bear public house • but this was also refused, and Use
Magistrate ordered that the girl should be taken under the care of
her father, as he had originally arranged. tic feelingly regretted
the callous manner of the girl, who appestat, diming the whole of the
late investigation, to he totally insensible of her improper condur
and when giving an account of herself and her conduct,. apt): e
as unconcerned as it' had been about sonic ordinary business ;
and when on the eve of being sent to prison did not appear at a.t
affected. _ _ _

The elegantly dressed female who endeavoured to get the girl
privately to herself from Godfrey, the constable, at the Heicules
public honk, folios/0d her to the officz, and remained at the hack ut
the crowd during the whole of the investigation, but did not attempt
to interfere.

Mr. Biraie on Thursday sent again for Elizabeth Holbrook,
the serval'', and examined her apart, and very minutely, as to
the whole of her transactions with the man, who said his
name t 544 George Faulkner. Upon a full investigation, it
tarns out not to be true that an improper or criminal connec-
tion bad taken place between her and the supposed George
Faulkner, which is a very great satisfaction to her father and
mother,as well as to Mr. and Mrs. Iturslev,who have the can-
dour to feel that she has been the dupe of a malignant villain.
She promises to render every possible assistance to reeve' r
the child, and to bring Iho robber to condign punishment ;
but still to judge by her countenance, she is unmoved by any
thing that takes place or any thing that is said to her. The
poor thing is evidently stopitied by the overwhelming mag-
nitude of the distress of which she finds hersellto have heels
untlesignedly the instrument; and this stuff erection, which is
nothing more than the natural consequence of sudden and
great calamity, operating upon an ignorant inexperienced
mind, is most ancharitably construed iuto callous iusensibilits
fhc first thing Mr. Dimly employed her about was to send her
to endeavour to thud out Seem'''. Row, Islington, whence
Faulkner fetched the umbrella. She was accompanied by
Godfrey and Goodwin, the constables : they proceeded to
Severn's Row, Islingtoil ; and after making inquiries at a
I 7-n houses, they entered one, when after examining the
house, Elizabeth Holbrook observed au umbrella hanging up,
which slir recognised as the same which the tutu who had
dumped If:r fetched, about two or three weeks since, whe•
he was going out to walk with her and Mr. Hersley's
children : it was red silk of French mantifecture, and there-
fore sufficiently remai kable to have attracted her notice ; and
she positively asserted it to be the same so the constables.
They coosequently proceeded to make very strict inquiries
resit 'cling essay person in the house, and 'carved that the
umbrella belonged to a female lodger, whose husband had left
the house to go into the country last Sunday. (bum his persuu
being described, Elizabeth Holbrook had no doubt but that
he was the mall 0110 pw, ed himself to her as a single man,
by the name of George, Faulkner, who had duped her by
promising her marriage, and sending her to Birmingham.
The constables proceeded to interrogate the woman, and
from her answers and general conduct, they suspected her
to be an accessary with her husband ; they took her into ells.
ludo, and brought her to the office, together with the um-
brella.
She underwent a long examination, when it appeared that
her 111111ballil'A name is not Faulkner, but Rennet( ; that he
Was of no direct or regular profession, but that he freipiently
went to France and other torcigu parts, it is supposed, for
the purpose of ; he was ftegnently away from her
foe months at a time. He hail lately returned 11010
Chapelle, and had been in England shunt two months, and on
his return had taken the lodging in Sev for
the purpose of being in the neighbourhood of Mr. Hoisley's
residence, and Ores enabled to carry into execution his
scheme of cart ying oil' Mr. Horsley's son. She acknowledged
that they lived very iniconifortably together; but that un
Sunday, when he asset off. they parted ft ierels, and its took
leave of her between I and 2 'o'clock. taking vs ills him two
portmanteaus anti n 1,1110 01 money; he said he was ;piing to
France, and she would toot see him again for two months.—
She denied all knowledge of his going to catty off Mr. Hui,
ley's child, or that he had any scheme for that purpose. Mr.
Horsley was sent lot. to the office on her being broug!it titer, ;
on his arrival anti si chug her he appeared exttemely shocked,
she beitig the wife of one of his relation*, (we nod( stand Ins
cousin :) lie confessed, hawever, that it slid not altogether
surprise him that her listsband, Charles 14111101 t, was the
wretch who had committed the horrid deed ; iu fact, lie
said, that he thought he was the man who had C 4111011141 tl •
child fi OM the imaeorons malignity of has clini alley, and fruits
the dreadful threats that be had ilintle Ilse of towards him and
his family ;he assigned as hot reason for suspecting I* , that
some time shire he hail a law-snit with Clouts s Rennet' le-
xpecting the heirship of an estate, and east him ; and his sort,
who was now, by a th•ep laid stratagem, cat tied oil, was heir
to the estate. About four years since, at the time Mrs.
Horslt y was ',regimen with the said boy, 1 err.%
letter stating that Mr. Horsley had suet with a must dreadful
acrid' ut liver Lundno.l,u idge : that in consequence be (mind
not sun viva, mitt it' she wished let M.o. him alive,she most hasten
to the spot is:staidly, which stir at to:Juttingly did, in the gleart-
rst 'listless and eriguish of mind. alien she teal at that ha
ar 'debt had befallen Mr. Horsley, and that the triter was
U 110.1% a Falun-antral. The said Clan les Rennet! aas suspects d
to be flu an hot of it, for the dieaolica: ri pose of causing a
toir.e a wage, 14 at the chid might pi use a boy. This base
design, however, has been pros Went iaby itust ated . Untlcr
all the se eirenmetances Cherie* lie 00000 let was Oral geil wall
cruse 01 strafing the child, and Mr. klitnie laJtetti wanaute

NOV. 16

Against him, and despatched the most active, intelligent and per-
severing principal officers in pursuit of him, to Dover. Margate,
litighton, and other parts; and to pursue him wherever they could
gain any information respecting him. They were accompanied by
lir Horsley and some friends, who can identify Charles Rennet' and
the child.
It is feared that he has succeeded in getting out of this country
with the child, and carried it into France ; but the known dilligence
of the French police encourages strong hopes, that before many days
shall have elapsed, this monster of atrocity will be in the hands of
justice. It is stated, that upon the life of the child depends the sum
of 20,0001.
A man in tattered garments, named M•Vie, was charged with
Depeatedly anaoying Mes,rs. Greenwood, Cox, and Co. army agents,
and refusing to leave the house when desired. Tile unfortunate man
bad been an officer in the 77th regiment, and fancies that he has
same demand upon the house in question. but for which there is no
foundation. He has been for several years in the ,:onstant habit of
going to the office, using threatening language, and otherwi.e mis-
condu:ting himself.—Committed for want of sureties.

soung man, genteelly dressed, calling himself the Hon.
Gordon, of the Royal Navy, was charged will; feloni-
ously stealing Li Bank of England notes and 18r. from Mr.
Richard Mnnn, a haberdasher and hosier, in Great Russel.
street, Covent Garden: also silk obtaining flow hi:n various
articles of hosiery.
It appealed that the prisoner went to the New llmmoinins,
in Covent•garden, on Monday, and ordei ed a bed, eke, by the
name ue:be Hon. W. B. Gordon, having handsome cards, ele-
gantly engraved, with this address. On Tuesday morning
between nine and ten o'clock, he desired R. Jones, one of the
porters belonging to the New H 1111111 l ums, to send a hosier to
win with some blaok and white silk stockings, some cotton
stockings, &v. porter in consequenee went to \l r. Muntes
shop, anti gaVe the order. On tits reborn the prisoner seta
him with a draft for .11. drawn on Messrs. Esdaile and Co.,
in Lombard-street, which was refused payment, the answer
being "No effects." Mr. Mann waited upon the prisoner, in
h s bed room, and sold him several pairs of stockings, also
drawers, &c., to tit...amount of 41. 2s. The prisoner desired
Lite to frlidi him change for a 201. Bank note, which he ac.
cot diii tydid,and gave the prisoner fifteen 11. Banknotes,
slid eighteen slittling'. The prisoner counted the notes care.
folly over, Mr. Maim remaining at the door, when the pri.
sutler steldenlv eselaltned, that he
ter-eloact, and It ft his room. Mr. Munn waited about three
or four minutes, when a suspicion :nose in his mind that the
prisoner was an imposter: and lie went to the water closet
and found he was not there : he diem proceeded down to the
coffee room; witere he learnt front the head waiter, that the
prisoner had ordered breakfast, hut had left the holseiii haste,
saying lie should return in a few minutes. The suspicious
against him were directly afterwards increased, by a porter
belonging to the house hiving met ban in Tat istock-row,
entitling ith g rest %peed. He not returning, Mr. Harrison,
the proprietor of the New Hui 11111 l anis, entered the bed room
which the prisonei occupied, when his found that lie had b.f.;
several articles of wearing apparel, and a new leather note.
case, and a LI. Bank, note lying loose on a piece of paper,
which proved to be one of those he had obtained from Mr.
Nunn, In the evening, one of the waiters belonging to the
New liumumens was passing along the Strand, when lie saw
the prisoner enter the Sans Pared Theatre, of which Its gas e
inforinationtO Mr. Harrison and Mr. Munn, alio made appli-
cation at the office, and Thomas Mayhew, a constable, accom-
pained hint to the Sans Pareil Theatt e, where, on describing
Lis per‘on, they wei e. informed he had just left the theatre,
but was especteorto return; and after waiting in the passaee
a short time, the prirm or returned with two dashing females,
One Oil each arpi.:::kle was token by Mayhew to Covent-gar-
den watch house, 'where lie searched him, and found seven It.
Bank "lutes ; live of them proved ta Le part of those he ob-
tained trout Mr. Mu who could not identify the other two.
On his being asked what he had done mid' the remainder of
the money lie had obtained from Mr, Munn, he replied, he
Lad given titter:of them tonne of the females who was with
Lim, and had paid his landlady in Crovs•court, heiween two
and three pounds. On his being brought to the alive, and
placed at the bar, lie said his name was Thomas Haldivicbe.
He did not make any answer to the charge. lie Was coin-
:bitted fur trial. _ _ _