The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-29 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER.

A RESPECTABLE MARRIED WOMAN.—Charles Baker, a
cab driver, was charged with robbery under the following
extraordinary circumstances :

Annie Homes, who described herself as a married woman,
and the wife of a pensioner, said that at 2 o'clock this morn-

ing she was coming home down South Audley-street, when
the prisoner accosted her and asked her if she wanted a cab.
She replied, " No, thank you, I have no money," when he
inquired whether she was going towards Chelsea, and on
her replying in the affirmative, he said, " Never mind, I'll
take you for nothing—jump in," which she did, but they
had not gone far before he asked her to have something to
drink, and she agreeing, they turned into Piccadilly from
Park-lane, and she had some gin and water. He then
drove on towards her home, when she missed her money,
and told him so, upon which he said if she did not get out
of the cab he'd kicK her out, when she alighted and hung on
behind the cab till she was exhausted and fell. She then
got up and ran after the cab, calling " stop thief," till pri-
soner was apprehended, when she gave him into custody
for robbing her of Bs. 6d.
Mr. Arnold—Have you told me all the facts ?
Prosecutrix—Yes.

Mr. Arnold—l thought you said that you told tho cab-
man you had no money.

Prosecatrix—l meant that I had no money to spend on
cabs.

Nr. Arnold—You say that he brought the gin and water
to you in the cab. I don't see how he could have robbed
you.

Prosectitrix--He stood close to me inside the cab.
Mr. Arnold—You did not say that before. Was the cab
a Hansom ?

Prosecutrix—Yes; and the flaps were open.
Mr. Arnold—You describe yourself as a respectable mar-
ried woman. Do you live with your husband ?
Prosecutrix—Yes, your worship.
Mr. Arnold—Then, may I ask whether you are in the
habit of riding with cabtueti and not paying them ?
Prosecutrix—No, but I was tired and thought I would
like to ride home.

Mr. Arnold—What do you say to drinking with the
man ?

Prosecutrix—Well, he asked me.
Mr. Arnold—And aro you, being a respectable married
woman, in the habit of drinking with cabmen at 2 o'clock
in the morning.

Prosecutrix—Not generally. I believe never before.
Mr. Arnold here intimated that if the man did rob the
woman, which be very much doubted, the case ought not
to have been brought here, but taken to Marlborough-
street,

The police intimated that the woman said last night that
he was inside the cab with her and robbed her in Caeogan-
place, Chelsea,

Mr. Arnold (to prosecutrix)—Did you say that ?
Prosecuoix—l cannot remember, I might have said 80.
Mr. Arnold—Oh. I can't place any reliance upon the
testimony of this woman. Tho prisoner is discharged.

THE PARALLARS.—A cor-
respondent of the Rear (A. S. Hersche'l) writing
to our contemporary, observes :—Father Secchi in August,
1861, aided by a base-line, 40 miles in length, between
Rome and Civita-Vecchia, and the electric telegraph, by
which observations of the same meteor at the two stations
were insured, gathered some most valuable facts respecting
the elevation of the shooting stars of the 9th, 10th, and
11th of August in that year with a minimum of trouble and
of liability to error. The following extracts from the
Roman newspapers of Aug. 13, 1861, were from the pen of
Father Secchi, describing the immediate results of his expe-
-1 rimonts :—" Near to the zenith no shooting star had a
parallax of less than 20 to 30 degrees, but occasionally a
somewhat greater parallax than this, which was ascer-
tained by the constellations intervening between the two
apparent places of the meteors, It was impossible even
for inexperienced observers to be mistaken in the meteors
doubly seen. These observations, therefore, establish the
moderate height of shooting stars, For, if we admit a
parallax of 35 degrees near the zenith to be not greater than
was actually observed, their height at nearest approach to
the earth will be 90 kilometers, or 50 geographical miles
(58f miles English), above ,its surface. On the other
hand, the least parallax observed, of 20 degrees, implies
an elevation of 180 kilometers (117 English miles) at
their greatest height above the earth, On the 10th of
August last, observations were made at Ilawkhuret, which
prove that the electric telegraph is not an indispensable aid
in these inquiries. The use of a well regulated timekeeper
was found to insure the identification of a meteor, without
the possibility of a mistake. A parallax of 35 deg. was
commonly observed between Cambridge and Hawkhurst,
and of .15 deg. between Greenwich, or London and Hawk-
hurst-, at disappearance of the meteors. The following
heights of appearance and disappearance observed on this
occasion approximate in their average very nearly to the
foregoing results obtained by Father Secchi.
THE SCHILLER MONUMENT AT FRANKFORT.—
On the 15th inst. the first stone of the monument
about to be raised in Frankfurt in memory of Schiller was
laid. In presence of a deputation of the senate, a number
of valuable documents, several pieces of money, some bot-
tles of wine, and three balls, containing wheat, barley, and
oats, were deposited in the hollow of the stone. Amongst
the documents are a copy of the album presented by the
town to the sovereigns who attended the banquet given at
the Kaisersaal, as well as a photograph of the royal per-
sonages who took part in the Congress of 1863.—.7/a
Acatler.

THE SHAM LIFE ASSURANCE SOClETY.—Yes-
terday the three men, Knowlden, Oxford, and Dron, the
three officers of the Perseverance Lite Assurance and Sick
Fund Friendly society, were convicted of conspiring, at
the Old Bailey, and the Common Sergeant sentenced them
to 18 mouths' imprisonment.
UNJUST ASPERSION ON A VALIANT SOLDIER.—
Lzquiriny Eng/ishman--"But I thought General Bragg
was a Yankee ?" _lndignant Bouthcrner—" Oh hy- no
means—only nominally I"—Pund/,