The Sun.
London, England, 1830-01-14 00:00:00

LAMBETH-STREET.

Three publicans were yesterday fined in mitigated
penalties, for keeping their houses open during the
hours of divine service on Sunday.

THE MINT ROBBERY.

No tidings have yet been heard of George Keith.
The precise number of gold blanks prepared to be
coined into sovereigns which he carried off was
2,804. The robbery was not committed pursuant
to any preconcerted scheme, but upon the idea of
the moment; for these blanks did not come into his
hands in the ordinary routine of business. The
blanks are collected in bags of 151 b. weight, con-
taining 701 pieces, and these bags are technically
called journeys. A man named Taylor, who attends
on the moneyers, not having arrived at seven o'clock
on Saturday morning, Keith was desired to carry a
tray with eight journeys in it, to an old man named
Arthur, in another part of the premises, to be an-
nealed. He went into Arthur's room with the gold,
but Arthur told him he was not then ready to re-
ceive it, as his fire was out, and his shovel had been
carried up stairs, and he desired Keith to keep them
for a few moments in his own room, that being
deemed more secure, as there was no thoroughfare
in it. When Arthur had fetched his shovel and lit
his fire, he called for Keith, and receiving no answer,
conjectured he had gone home to breakfast. He
accordingly went to his room, which was nearly in
darkness, Keith having turned off one burner of the
lamp, and nearly extinguished the other, and grop-
ing about lie found four journeys in the tray.
This quantity being one which was very frequently
given,' out, he did not expect that any thing was
amiss, and he sat to work, chalking on the wall be-
fore him the quantity he had received, according to
the custom of the place. Keith was observed by a
fellow-workman leaving the premises about a quar-
ter past seven in the morning. He appeared to
stoop a little, and open the door cautiously ; but
from having worked at the Mint 20 years, his conduct
did not excite suspicion. When he came to the
gate, the porter asked him where he was going, and
he answered that there would be no work ready for
him till ten o'clock. On Tower-hill he was noticed
by another workman hurrying towards the Minories,
but from his previous good character, no suspicion
was awakened by the circumstance. It was naturally
supposed he was going home to breakfast. Four
hours afterwards one of the moneyers, in passing
through Arthur's room, saw four instead of eight
journeys chalked on the well, and said there was a
mistake. Na, Sir, there's na mistak at all; I had
but four, Sir," replied Arthur, who is a North
Briton; arid Keith was immediately called for, and
was, for the first time, missed. Keith's employ-
ment was to boil the blanks in an acid to clean
them, after the annealing. He is said to be a native
of Falconborough, in Scotland, and has left a wife
and seven children, who are living in Sweet Apple-
court, Bishopsgate. A similar depredation was
committed at the Mint about 30 years ago.

Considerable improvement has been made in
the middle district of the Lincoln and Peterborough road,
since Mr. PRISTON has had it under his superintendence.
Many of our readers, who have travelled the road, will
recollect two very disagreeable turns at the village of
Langtoft, near Market Deeping. These have been obvi-
ated, and the road rendered pertectly straight by removing
some trivial obstacles, and cutting a direct line from the
entrance to the village from Bourn. A similar improve-
ment has been made at Bourn, at the entrance from the
soutb.— The Champion.
ANECDOTE OF KEEN CRUISING.—When
the crew of the Black Joke were burying the dead of the
slave-trader Almirante, in January last, "Avast there !"
cried one, " that fellow's an officer---let's overhaul him a
bit before he goes overboard." They did so, and found
a belt fastened round his waist, which contained a row of
4oabloOne

PRICE 7D.

SUICIDE OF MISS CHARLOTTE BOTH

The following particulars of the suicide of this
' young lady, and the attempt on the part of her sis-
ter, Miss Josephine, are derived from a source
which leaves no doubt of their accuracy.
It may be as well to premise that it is the eldest,
and not the youngest, that is dead, and that they
were not w►thout a morsel to eat. On the con-
trary, they were supplied with every necessary, or
even luxury, they saw fit to call for; even the very
poison they swalled was mixed in a tumbler of wine,
part of a bottle which, by their directions, had been
procured for them the preceding day by Mrs. Per-
ceval, the respectable widow lady in whose house,
No. 157, Albany-street, Regent's park, they occu-
piedapartmen ts.

_ .
The suspicion that they had poisoned themselves
first arose about eleven o'clock on Monday night,
from the groans which were heard to issue from
their sleeping room. On trying the door, it was
found to be locked ; and the surviving young lady,
in answer to inquiries made of her, refused to open
the door, or tell what was the matter. The watch.
man, in consequence, was called in, and the door
forced, when the two young ladies were found lying
in bed, evidently labouring under the effects of poi-
son. The deceased was then quite insensible, but
on the other the poison had happily not taken a fatal
hold. On a chair were lying a number of sealed
letters, with a slip of paper on the top of them,
simply requesting Mrs. Perceval to forward them to
their respective addresses by post. Their night-
dress appeared to have been arranged for the occa-
sion, their stays being kept on tight laced, and a
handsome night-habit thrown over it, and on their
hands they wore white kid gloves. Medical assist-
ance was instantly sent for, and Messrs. Elkin and
Lee promptly arrived, and by means of the stomach-
pump succeeded in removing a quantity of liquid
laudanum and powdered opium from their stomachs.
After the usual process of successively filling the
stomach and emptying it had been performed several
times, an emetic was administered, and they were
kept constantly walking, or rather being dragged,
up and down the room for four continuous hours.—
This treatment, although successful in the case of
Miss Josephine, proved unavailing upon her sister,
who died at half-past four o'clock on Tuesday morn-
ing. The poison appears to have produced little or
no effect on this lady, for she is already perfectly
recovered, and was yesterday found by Mr. Elkin,
on his visiting her, sitting up in the drawing-room,
having dressed herself, and curled and decorated her
hair in a manner which showed that she was not un-
mindful of personal appearance. She was very com-
municative, and mentioned the places were the poi-
son had been procured, and the time when. In all,
she said they had procured three ounces of laudanum
and one ounce of powdered opium. That each of
them swallowed an ounce and a half of the Linda-
num, and afterwards a portion of the opium in a
quantity of wine. On being pressed to make a so-
lemn promise never again to attempt self-destruc-
tion, she smiled, and said she could not promise any
such thing. The intention of destroying themselves,
she said, had been formed some days back, and se
veral of the letters which were found on the chair
then written. These letters have since been for-
warded to the parties to whom they were addressed,
and a letter has also been sent to Lieut. Crowther,
the brother-in-law, who is residing at Deal, ac-
quainting him with the event, and he is expected to
arrive to-night. The Misses Both went to reside
with Mrs. Perceval about a month back. They oc-
cupied the second floor, which is handsomely fur-
nished, and for which they agreed to pay a rent of
30s. a-week. They appear to have had but little
money when they went there, and, latterly, every
thing they chose to order was paid for by Mrs. Per-
ceval. A gentleman of the name of Hare, who re-
sides
in Gloucester-place, having undertaken to pay
every thing up to Friday next, before which they
had promised to proceed to Deal. In fact, the same
gentleman has, since the fatal event, again come for-
ward, and made himself responsible for the expenses
necessarily arising therefrom. They had given Mrs.
Perceval to understand that they intended to leave
her house on the Tuesday, and had actually packed
up their property, as if with that intention. The
deceased told Mrs. Perceval that she expected a
letter from Deal on Monday last, but none arrived.
The pride of these ladies, particularly the deceased,
appears to have been excessive, for upon Mrs. Per-
ceval once venturing to suggest to them that it was
a pity, considering the state of their finances, they
had not chosen less expensive apartments, the de-
ceased indignantly replied that the apartments were
not a bit too good for them.,

FITTING UP A LIBRARY.—A steward wrote
to a bookseller in London for some books to fit up his mas-
ter's library :—" In the: first place, I want six feet of
theology, the same quantity of school metaphysics, and
nearly a yard of old civil law, in folio."

RARE OCCURRENCE.—In the populous
townships of Brynton and Blymen, which form ene large
parish, situate within a few miles of Newport, Shrop-
shire, a male child bad not been born daring the last 24
years, until Wednesday, the 23d ult., and only one other
within the space of 24 years!

The Ninth Number of MORGAN and
CREUZE'S " Papers on Naval Architecture" contains
several articles of general interest to Naval Officers.
Though a work expressly carried on for the improvement
of naval architecture must necessarily embrace many sub •
jects, the investigation of which depends on difficult ma-
thematical analysis, yet we consider that the more articles
contain practical descriptions and experimental results, of
the more general utility the work will become, and of
a more extensive circulation. The present number con-
tains a good description of Captain ELLIOTT'S method of
fitting a ship's riding bitts without cross pieces, and of
fitting a ship's launch to carry out or weigh a bower
anchor. The following extract is taken from a valuable
article, giving a detailed account of the new armament at
all French ships of war, with their establishment of powder,
small arms, &c., translated from an official document in
the Annales Maritimes :