The Sun.
London, England, 1806-05-28 00:00:00

HOLIDAY SPORTS.

Gooseberry Fair, held ►n Tuthill-fields on Monday
and yesterday for the second time, eclipsed. all other
Whitsuntide fairs, 1-br gaiety and fun, in the vicinity-
of the metropolis. The holiday, folks repaired thither
in cromls, so irresistible was the attraction of the
lilt of; which the inhabitants of Westminster had
prepared for them. Various prizes were put up to
run, wrestle, and play at single-stick for; in the true
spirit •of old English pastime. On. ivronday there .
were eight candidates for the prize of a gold-laced
hat, destined for the best player at single-stick. They
were to contend on the principle of a main of cocks,
the winners ofeach set-to to play together until only •
one' remained tmvanquished. ,

The favourites of this pastime were three brothers,
of the name of Withers, and an old Life-guards-man,
named Chapman; the latter had obtained every prize
he had contended for, and liad beat the fatuous Blue-
skin. 'Many, very. dextrous in the art, came from,
the country to oppose them ; but the brothers and
Chapman triumphed over their Opponents. At
length it fell Wale lot of twb.of the brothers tc,play
together; but they declined, and Dick, the youngest,
was fixe to sustain the. hon Cur ut the family
against: C.;l.,,Enan. They contsted the palm, as the
whets bad done, on a :stage erected for the purpose:
their;-blows fell as heavy and thick as if they had
been threshing.. corn ; but each guarded his head so
dextrously, that no blood w 4 drawn, and night
Coming gym, they retired by mutual consent, amitht
the applauses of the speaators.
Yesterday there was a poney-race, and races run
y..lezdies for chemises, besides other ruined Sports not
mentioned in the-bill of fare.

At a bear-biting yesterday, in Tothill-fields, one
of the bears having broke loose, fastened upon a Per-
son of the name of Shawe, whom-he tore very much
I.vsith his paws, and would have destroyed him, but
for the assistance of the people.
•Monday afternoon a select `party of friends went
up the river in a pleasure-boat, and stopped at Isle-
worth, when four of them went to bathe. • . One of
them, son to Mr.Noorr, of Lothbury, was drowned
in sight of his father: The ,body was scion after
picked ip, and taken to a receiving-house, when
the usual means were resorted.to to restore life, but
without elle.a.

CHILD-STEALING. - ThiS nefarious praaice, it
seems, is sill carried on. A fine girl, named Mary
Brown, about seven years of age,, 'was stolen from
her parents' door, in Montague Close, in the Bo-
rough, on Monday afternoon, and has not since been
heard of. ' his supposed, the child being very well
dressed, induced some person to carry her off for
the purpose o undressing her.

POLICE.

FRAUD UPON THEATRES.

. _
TIOW:STREET.—Io the course of laSt :season vari,
ous impositions, were pradised upon several of the
performers . belonging to Drury-lane: and Covent.-
Garden Theatres; for the purpose of .proc:fring ad-.
mission: Our. Readers may :recoiled, person
assuming the name:of -folvision was advertised.in
the Papers, who - had frequently, under' pretence•of
being a literary-. charaCter, and belonging to a,
Alornin.gPaper, obtained possession of ,MisS•Dnn-
can's and Miss Mellon'stinfluenee.- These practices,
however, have' 'beets. carried this season to: .a s;ill
greater excess, and if not 'put a timAy. step to :by
the attive' interference of the 'Magistrates; must end
in very Considerable-loss to the perfortners in general,'
vs we see exemplified in the fOllowing 'cirCutristance':
—Yesterday ,It'qzinia Jenkins :and her sister, two-
girls, about twenty years of i&e, with an elderly
woman, were brought 'before the 'Sitting Magistrate,
•ID •
charged with obtaining' benefit tickets tuider"false.
pretences. Mr. Kernble, Mr. and Mrs. H.Siddcins,
Mr. Brunton, -Mr. Hill', MisSDe.Camp's sister, and
several other Performers, some of 'whom :had been.
defrauded in thiS way; attended the investigation,
It appeared, that on the loth inst. •a .note was
brought by the PriSoner, Jernima; to MissDe Ca mp's
lodgings, purporting to be Mrs. H:Siddons's corn=
plimetv.s to Miss .De CarnP, requeqing.her to send,
per the bearer, six box tickets. 'The yoringeiMiss
De Camp went down stairs to -the Prisoner,
.and
having interrogated. her, was satisfied with her an-
swers, and delivered the tickets- accordingly ; she
said Mrs. H. Siddons was hot well,. from the fall,
she had got in-performing Sigisinunda a' night. or
two before ; and when asked, if she-h-ad had:advice,
or applied any remedy ? the Priioner answered, it
was but a trifling. hurt, and would be soon' well
again-, as Mr. Siddons had rubbedit with opodeldoc,
or sothething ei that nature. •
Mrs. H. Sidclons declared . her total ignorance of
the. person of the Pris Oner, or of the transaaion it-
self, never:having authorized arty prie to do`so. .
Mr. Brunton said, a similar application had been
made to his' sister, also in the name of Mrs. H. Sid-
dens, for eight box -tickets.), he answered the Priso-
ter Jemima, who brought the note, and suspe&ing
soine'iMposition, refused to give the tickets. •
It was further stated, that similar applications had
been made to Mr. Hill, Airs. Martyr, and some
others; in consequence of which an inquiry was set
nn toot, and the Prisoners were apprehended.
When called upon for their defence,. JeMirna
Jenkins was the spokeswoman : she 'siiid,ishe was
the daughter of a man who. vas formerly fAreibii
to a cloth-shop in the Strand:but hart. het lived
with, or seen her, father for some time. :She 64.1
her sister now resided at Westminster, acid worked
for army accoutrement-makers ; that she had known
the other Prisoner at a Mrs. Johnston's,' in the
neighbourhood of the Theatres, through whom they
used to get tickets for the play ; 'and being on that
'light in some difficulties, 'she thought of-going to
the play, to drive away melancholy. Having,
therefore, procured the tickets, She took the other
. two POseuers and another 'girl- along with her to
the pit.
The elderly-woman confessed She had once, under
false pretences, obtained possession of Mrs. Martyr's
bones, but itver any benefit tickets; She 'further ad-
mitted having gone to the Play with the other Pri-
soners on the night in question,:but Wholly 'denied
any knowledge of the manner in which the tickets
were obtained. . _ .

• -Jemima "Jenkins was then fully committed •to
Newgate for trial, and as there was no.dired charge.
against the other
.two, 'they were. dismissed, after
receiving a Viholesotne reprimand, and advice from,
the Presiding.l4.yragistrate:
The Office" was crowded with performers belong-
ing to 'both Much sport was produced at
the ex ence of Mr. Kemble, who got into the Bar
by mistake; and remained there during the eN.ami-
matioti.

IIATTCN-GARnEN.---Yesterday four delicate fe-
inales were brOught before the Sitting Magistrate, by
a reSpeaable:shoentaker in the neighbOurhood, on a
'charge of raising a riot in his house, and breaking
ueveral paneS of glass in his shop-windows. It ap-
peared, that the Prisoners had each of them purchased
a pair Of shpes on Monday at his . shop, for the
purpose of .sp-Orting them at Greenwich. One pair
tf the. shoe' ,happened to be too tight .for the
Wearer,. and to make them ,easier; she cut the in-
side soles Chit of theth. This, however, was found
not to have the• desired effect, and she yesterday,
with her eomputiOns, returned to the shop, and in-
sisted on having the Money -back 'again. The shoe-
maker, of course; refUSed to comply with her request,
and was finally obliged to send for a constable, and
take her •and her companions before the MagiStrate,
bUt net until they had broken several panes of glass.
The M:igistrite required that they shtr.ld make
compensation for the damage.; but the Prisoners,
all .pleaded warmly at the same time, were de-,
sirous Of proving to the Magistrate, that the shoes
were too small, and refused to pay for the broken
windows, its tOnsequence of which, they were all
c :mnlitted.

Iresteiday morning, Sarah Arthur,. an- elderly
man,' emplo.etlby the Board of Works, was. seized
'with sua a violent effusion of blood. froM her 'right
leg, that she a6tually bled to death. The Coroner's
Jury, on a view of the, body, returned.a verdia—
Died ty the vifitation (If god.
. Last week, slaring-a tremendous ,stortn of thunder
and hail, the,wind Wowing a perfect hurricane, and
the fresh in the river Wear,
_owing to the incessant
rains of the preceding day, being unusually, great, the
shipping in Sntrde-rland harbour, about five hundred
sail, Was thrown into extreme danger and Confusion.
Severallost their tuastsand bowsprits, and three that
were droVe tishore, it is feared, will becoMe entire
wrecks,. Vive ke,-,ls, forced out to sea,were seen to sink
upon the and some Others were unaccounted for.
One seaman., belonging to the:Nathaniel, which had
con= into poil-thatday, WAS. jj. wicked oVerboard -and
drowned, ;and -another, had' his thigh. broken. The
Nathaniel, and a Ship- belonging to "Shields were.
totally dismasted. A Boat with two men'was driven
under a keel, and the men were drowned.