The Sun.
London, England, 1837-12-18 00:00:00

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SAM SCOTT, THE LEAPEft.

(From the Liverpool Standard of Tuesday.)
Yesterday this daring and rash individual again per-
formed his fool-hardy feat of leaping from the mast head of
a vessel. The town during the week has been plentifully
placarded with announcements that he intended leaping
twice from the mast head of the Oriental, lying in the
Prince's Dock, a height of 193 feet : the first jump to take
place at one o'clock, and the other at three. In conse-
quence, however, of the authorities of the town having
been called upon through the press to put a stop to
such a rash hazard of life, a notice was yesterday morn-
ing posted at the Prince's Dock gates, stating that no
such exhibition would be allowed in that dock ; and
in consequence great numbers of persons returned.
Scott, however, obtained permission to leap from the mast-
head of a barque, the Ellen Mary, moored in the river,
in front of Prince's Pier, and the news soon spread that the
scene of action had been removed there, and an immense
crowd collected. At a few minutes past one o'clock, we un-
derstand Scott made his appearance, and leaped head fore-
most from the royal-mast truck into the river. The Prince's
Pier was crowded by an immense concourse of persons, and
amongst them a collection was made for his benefit. It having
become known that he had leaped once from the vessel in
question, an enormous crowd assembled to witness the second
leap at three o'clock. Prince's Pier from nne end to the
other was one dense mass of human beings, through the
centre of which it was with difficulty a person could make
his way ; whilst facing the wall, wherever a glimpse of the
water could be got, was jammed as tight with people eight or
ten deep as they could be squeezed together. The scene was
more like the crowd round the stand of a race-course than
anything else. The " full, true, and particular account"-
men were not even wanting. We heard several crying
" the life and adventures of that stonishin' leaper, Sam
Scott ; written by hisself ; with a true and partickler ac-
count ov his peculiar sensations, when he wos a-mid air."
Three o'clock passed, and no Scott appeared. About half-
past three a sailor ascended the mast-head, waved his hat,
and came down again, and many thinking that this was a
signal that Sam Scott was not coming again left the pier.
Four o'clock arrived, and it was beginning to be dusk when
he was pulled in a boat to the vessel. He soon after
ascended the rigging to the mast-head, where he balanced
himself for sometime on the " truck," or extreme top.
There was, however, no signal-staff for him to balance
himself by, so that he could not stand upon it ; and after
remaining there a few minutes he came down to the top-
gallant yard, along which he ran, and lept off the end
into the water, a height of about sixty feet, to the
grievous disappointment of the horrible sight lovers, who
looked with supreme contempt on this comparatively insig-
nificant jump. The reason, we understand, that he gave
for this was, that the vessel had not " list" (leaning)
enough on the side he was to jump, though the mate
averred that it had full as much as the first time he
jumped. The fact, however, we believe to be that the
man was tipsy, and a conscious feeling that he was
unable to balance himself with sufficient steadiness,
without support, while he threw himself from the
mast-head, was the cause of his not doing so. In-
deed, his running on the naked top-gallant yard to the
end, without any hold, at a height of fifty feet above the
deck, was not the act of a sober and sane man ; and he
had nearly paid for his temerity by losing his balance. We,
however, highly commend his prudence in acting as he did,
if he felt that he could not clear the vessel. We sincerely
hope that such a senseless hazard of life will not again be
made. Not less than 25,000 persons were assembled, and
Ithe river was studded with boat-loads of people in every
direction.

John and William Hore, father and son, were on
Wednesday committed for wilful murder to the Leicester
county gaol, in consequence of the verdict of a Coroner's
jury, held at Aylestone, near Leicester, on the body of a
young man named Joseph Torsers, a framework-knitter, who
died by a stab which severed the femoral artery of the right
thigh, during a drunken quarrel.

A very simple method has lately been adopted to
render the surface of paint perfectly smooth, and eradicate the
brush marks ; it is done with a small roller covered with cloth
or felt, about eight inches long and two inches in diameter,
worked in pivots, similar to the common garden roller. The
flatting coat, by this method, is made beautifkitly ;men, and
looks exceedingly well.,