The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-11 00:00:00

BRENTFORD PETTYSESSIONS,

On Wednesday Edward Dart, a respectably-dressed
youth, aged 19, was brought before the Magistrates, of
a charge of having feloniously uttered a forged check on
the bank of Messrs. Drummond and Co., with intent
to defraud Mr. Morse, of Ealing.
Mr. Morse deposed that he did not know the prisoner
personally before the previous day, when on his return
home in the afternoon, he learned from the servants that
he had called at the house two or three times durin;.
his (witness's) absence, desiring to see him. About six
o'clock he again called, and presented the following check,
with a request that witness would cash it for him :
" No. 2,739.
" Messrs. Drummond and Co., 49, Charing-cross.
" October 7, 1839.
" Please to pay to my order the sum of six pounds ten
shillings, to Mr. Dart or bearer, for
" 61. 103. " J. W. BEVAN, Oxford."
Witness further proved that the prisoner presented th,
check to him to have it cashed. He first said he hat,
got it from his father, and then from a person in Ham-
mersmith.

From the evidence of other witnesses it appeared that
no account was kept by Mr. Bevan at Drummond's bank.
The prisoner declined saying anything in answer to th,
charge, but

His father, who was present, and who was much af-
fected, said that for the last two months the prisoner had
been consilered by his friends as not right in his head.
He was committed to Newgste to take his trial.

WESTMINSTER COURT of
REQUESTS.

FAMILY SHAVlNG.—Budridge-vreet, St. Giles's, ha,.
been long known as one of the most populous and
wretched of those numerous locations of the lower order
of Irish in London. Possessing all the characteristics o'
such settlements, dirt, drunkenness, rags, and perpet 1121
rioting, no industrious man in his sober senses, and es-
pecially a Scotchman, would, it is presumed select suet.
an unpropitious spot wherein to carry on his worldly
calling. To this locality, however, came Alexander
Macpherson, a raw Scotch lad, the personification of
Strap, in " Roderick Random," who having just explored
what the facetious lexicographer called the most pleasin_
prospect in all Scotland—the high road to London—
here adventured to set up his shaving pole. A Scot, it
is said, can manage to live, where any other man would
starve ; but even to a Scotchman, a barber's shop
among Irish cadgers, haymakers, and hoppers, presents
about the same prospect of success as that enterprising
breeches-maker had, who emigrated, to the Highlands in
the hope of establi-hing a trade. Getting, as might bt
expected, wofully in arrears with his landlady, a hard-
featured and hard-fisted virago, he found himself sud-
denly summoned before the bench of Commissioners tf,
say why and wherefore the sum of 16s. should not bt
liquidated, either by purse or person.
Mrs. Judith Maginnis, the raw-boned landlady, proved
the hire of the shop at 4s. weekly, and an accumulated
unpaid rent of four weeks.

The unlucky shaver, who looked as if he had fed
' upon nothing of late more substantial than " muslin
kail," sorrowfully acknowledged his inability to discharge
the hack-standing amount ; but hoped the Court, in
consideration of his manifold mishaps, would deal 118
leniently as possible with him. A stranger to London,
and conceiving one quarter quite as good as another for
trade, he 'Lid incautiously consented to hire a shop in
Buckridge-street, and to try his luck in the shaving line.
The defendant, moreover, had stipulated that, in addi-
tion to the rest he was to give the two " boys" an oc-
casional touch of the rrzor, and once a week, or 011
gala days, give her own carrotty front the a la /node
frizzle. The poor chin-scraper had hardly been es-a-
blished an hour in his new shop, before he found he was
the first customer that was likely to get " lathered.'
One of the daily, or rather hourly, rows happening
close to his door, the pole, which stood invitingly out,
was immediately seized and converted into a most
efficient shillela by one of the combatants, who, on being
applied to for the restoration of the shaving symbol,
made a whack at the barber's sconce, which, had is
not been warded off, would have given h.m his
' quietus. Five melancholy weeks were weathered out ;
at last, his shaving kit being pounced upon for a beer
score, the barber was obliged to own himself " dead
beat." But what he principally relied on to induce the
the Court to take off a portion of the amount was the
unfair advantage the landlady and " boys" had taken of
the shaving and dressing stipulation. " The boys,'"
continued the barber, " I fund were no but twa chicle
six feet lang, wi' faces lik sides o' bacon, an' beards as
bristly as an auk: boar's doup ; and they wad baith lute
a clean scrape ilka mornin', and the landleddy wadna be
content, unless I used a gude sixpenny worth o' scented
Macassar, and pit French bows and Victoria plats till
her ain pow." _

There must be a mistake here," said a Commis-
SIGNER, who had been inspecting the " set off" account
put in by the shaver, " I perceive you have charged 6d.
for shaving the landlady three times."
"'An the job was wee( worth a saxpence," said Sandy.
" But you don't mean to say you shaved the lady as
well as her sons r remonstrated the CHAIRMAN.
" tak my aith o't," said the shaver. " Let ony
o'ye gang intil Buckridge-street, and ye'll see see Irish
lasses there wi' beards like tinklers."—(Laughter.)
The landlady, when appealed to, did not deny the
" soft impeachment." She, however, declared the ope-
ration was only necessary because she was marked on
the upper lip with a " hare's foot."
" Well, well," said the CHAIRMAN, laughing. " The
difficulty of the task was well worth double the shaving
price. But why is this shilling charged for fumigiting
the shop ?"

Shaver—The shop, ye maun ken was mair darty than
ony stye. and crammed wi' creepers, so that I was
obleeged to gang till a 'potecary for some yellow stane-
like stuff. I uinna ken the name o't.

Was it brimstone?" asked the COMMISSIONER.
Shaver—Oh !ay ; that's the nam ; but I'll no be
sure. 1 brent it and smithered the vermin wi' the reek.
COMMISSIONER.--It's rather odd you should not
have recollected the name. Don't they use brimstone
occasionally in Scotland ?
Shaver(angrily).—We hae nae use in Scotland for ony
sic an article.
The Court took the whole case into consideration,
and ben of opinion that something ought to be allowed
for the
" family " shavings, reduced the plaintiff's claim
to 10s., which was ordered to be paid at 6d. per week.

A very tardy but humane act is now about to be
performed by Government, after the annual loss, for
centuries, of numerous valuable lives, mostly of seafaring
persons. A harbour of refuge is niw about to be con-
structed at Margate for her Majesty's steamers, and, it
is hoped, tOr many other vessels of burthen. It is cap-
able of being mide a noble harbour at little expense --
150,0001., including back-water. This was the late Mr.
John Rennie's opinion. It is earnestly hoped no paltry
consideration of expense will longer delay this " na-
tional undertaking, and that the valuable lives of our
poor boatmen and nautical brethren may be deemed
fully worthy of the best efforts of Governm,lnt and their
engineers in its speedy completion.—Kenlish Paper.