The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-20 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER:

IMPUDENT ROBBERY AT ONE OF MR. BELLEW'S LEC •
TuxEa.—A fiashly dressed fellow, with a carroty moustache,
who gave his name George Wood, but refused his address,
was placed at the bar before Mr. Arnold, charged with rob-
bing a gentleman at an assemblage in the Vestry-hall,
Chelsea, congregated to hear Mr. Bellew on Shaksperian
readings.

Mr. Henry Barrett said he was one of the company at the
Vestry-hall, and when he was leaving there was a stream
of people coming from the hall and another entering it. On
a sudden prosecutor felt convinced that ho had been robbed.
His attention was at first attracted by hearing "a click,"
and on looking down, he found his watch gone and his
guard hanging loose. The robbery had been committed by
cutting through the ring of the guard-chain with some
instrument.
Mr. Arnold—Where was the prisoner at the time you
missed your watch ?
Prosecutor—Right in front of me, coming in an opposit,,
direction; and at the moment after I heard "the click" I
saw the prisoner pass something to another person near
him.

Prisoner—. Why did you not lay hold of the person ?
Prosecutor—l could not.

Primer—Oh yes you could, if what you say is true.
Why did you let the person go away ?
Prosecutor—There were so many persons passing at the
moment that the person was lost in a moment, and I found
I had quito enough to do to secure you.
Prisoner—Your Worship all this is a mistake. I sat
next but one to this gentleman in the hall, and heard the
lecture, and we were coming out together when I was sud-
denly mistaken for somebody else land given into custody.
Mr. Arnold—Are you aware whether he sat next to you
in the hall.

Prosecutor—l cannot say ; I did not see him until he
was before me in the crowd he was then coming in a
perfectly opposite direction.
Prisoner—lt's all a mistake.

A gentleman who was near the prosecutor here stepped
forward and clearly described the position of both parties.
He saw the prisoner extend his hand towards the prose•
tutor, and after " the click" distinctly saw him drop the
gold watch ring from his hand, and witness afterwards
picked it up.
Prisoner—Well, your worship, if he will say that, he
will of course say anything.
Mr. Arnold—Do you object to give your address ?

Prisoner—Well, yes, I would rather not.
Mr. Arnold—You are remanded till Tuesday.

THE MARQUIS OF BATH'S PRESERVES have this
year yielded about 14,000 head of game.

SKATING AT PARIS.—The Paris correspondent of I
the Morning Post says :—" Skating is becoming e
courtly amusement beyond the ice-bound regions of the
north. While royal highnesses are skating in England im-
perial highnesses are skating in France. It will hencefor-
ward be necessary that persons, from chamberlains down to
powdered fooimen, should know how to cants attendance
not merely in withdrawing and reception halls, but on the
slippery frozen floors of lakes and ponds. On Sunday a new
set of courtiers and honaehold servants surrounded their
Imperial Majesties, who again honoured the small lake of the
Bois de Boulogne. The weather was pleasantly cold. In
addition to the usual park company assembled on such oc-
casions the waters wore surrounded by a number of the
fashionable world, who evidently expected the Imperial
party, the Court circle arriving about 3 o'clock. Already the
skaters had mustered pretty strongly. There were German,
English, American, and one or two French ladies gliding
about with men companions, and there were sledges driven
swiftly onwards by cavaliers of the ice, containing those of
the fair sex who were born in days when the ladies of France
did nothing gymnastic but dance. How shall I describe the
skating modes of Paris ? Most of the fair creatures wear a
pretty round hat, with a red or white wing, or feathers, and
a veil which invites the curiosity of youthful imagination.
Any gay-coloured jacket, of any cut, decorated with any
description of fur, is allowed—and very pretty it is to ob-
serve the animated patches of red, violet, blue, white, and
black darting about amid the gloomy great coats and ugly
hats and caps of the men. But to continue my description
of the ladies costume. Now comes the difficulty—to de-
scribe the toilette, costume, dress, robe, modes—how ought
it to be called ?—of what comes below the jackets,
casaques, polonaises, palotots —how ought such things
also to be called ? Well, that portion of female covering
which begins after the waist, and in our day assumes awful
proportions before it hides the feet, is in the ice modes of
Paris drawn up in festoons by unseen mysterious mech&-
nical aid, leaving (and here again I feel a difficulty) very
visible nearly a wholo pair of stockings, which may be red
or black, or—if I dare use the word in such a place—
' fancy.' Then come the Polish boots, and then the silver
skates. My limited descriptive powers are happily no longer
required; but if such enchanting toilettes do not lead to
holy matrimony, men's hearts aro frozen as well as the
waters of the Bois do Boulogne. Skating, it should be ob-
served, in the Parisian polite world is only beginning to be
fashionable. The Emperor no doubt learned to skate in
Switzerland and England ; but where did the Empress learn
to glide •ver the ice so gracefully ? Dressed in a pretty
black costume, and appearing delighted with the sport. Her
Majesty several times, accompanied by two gentlemen, not
in waiting, but in going, skated among the moving multi-
tude, while the little Imperial Prince and heir to the throne
was showing the crowd of spectators on shore that he had
already become familiar with this slippery world and its
accidents,"