The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-30 00:00:00

EX7RAORDINARY ESCAPE OP A BUR•

GLAD FROM PRISM.

The Birmingham Daily Post has the following:
Should Mr. Ainsworth be in want of a hero for a new
novel of the downright blood and burglary cast, we com-
mend to the delicate manipulation of his harrowing pen the
notorious thief and prison-breaker Alexander. From the
tip of his quill such a scoundrel, combining as he does a
somewhat comely figure and great physical strength with
a certain amount of mechanical genius and a great deal of
very delicate cunning, would flow off the most virtuous of
housebreakers, the most fascinating of burglars, awl the
sweetest-faced thief that ever drew breath. The in-
genuity of the man is as great as his desperation, and
his success is almost equal to both. He is, in fact, at
the top of his craft—the " star" amongst burglars. Our
readers know something of his exploits, They know that
he had planned one of the most daring and extensive bur.
glaries that ever took place in this town ; that he came spe-
cially from Manchester to superintend the execution of it
by astute Birmingham thieves ; that his plans were carried
out successfully, and that he made a clear escape to Man-
chester. Followed there by Birmingham detectives, way-
laid and overpowered by numbers, he fought for his liberty
with a desperation worthy of a better cause, and was not
captured until he was stunned wioh policeman's staves and
handcuffs. Brought to Birmingham and committed for
trial, he managed to drop his shoelace into the lock-box of
the police cell, to shoot back the bolt with it, and to make a
clear escape out of the town. In the course of two or three
days he was recaptured, and being a curiosity, unusual care
was taken of him until the assizes, when he was tried and
sentenced to penal servitude for 20 years. No doubt the
scoundrel, aware of his boundless resources, laughed in his
sleeve:wbile the judge passed sentence,and the public thought
he was safely disposed of at last. Arrived at Warwick Gaol
he began to show symptoms of insanity, and feigned so well
that the doctors, judging that the blows he had received at
Manchester affected;his brain, treated him accordingly. He
grew gradually worse, poor fellow I and about 16 days ago
was removed to the County Lunatic Asylum, at Hatton.
Here he was still held to be insane. For the success of his
plan it would not have done to be violent, so he afflicted
himself with that mild kind of insanity for which restraint
is not held to be a remedy. He was given to gibbering and
apparent idiotcy, and was looked on as a harmless kind of
imbecile. On Saturday evening, between 7 and 8 o'clock,
according to custom, he and a real lunatic on the way to con-
valescence were conducted by an attendant to their dormito-
ries on the third storey of the building, Before locking them
in the attendant left them for a few minutes, and on his re-
turn discovered that the gaol bird had flown. The real luna-
tic, on being asked what had become of his companion,
pointed to a ventilating trap in the ceiling, and with mingled
terror and satisfaction informed the astonished attendant
that Mr. Alexander had gone up there to catch a rat. The
attendant, who at that moment undoubtedly " smelt the
rat," called several of his coadjutors, who, after a long
search, succeeded in finding out—not Alexander—but how
ho escaped. It seems that the clever rascal on passing
through the trap, which he reached with the assistance of
a broom and the dormitory door, made his way to the ven-
tilating shaft, and descended by that to the basement. In
this adventure the broom handle would seem to have been
of some service to him, for he left the head behind and took
the stick, which if not of service would have been an in-
cumbrance to him in his descent of the chimney. On get-
ing to the basement his egress was barred by three locked
doors. These, however—to an old burglar who had pos-
sessed the finest implements ever seen at the detective-office,
and knew the construction of a lock well enough fo use
them, and in their absence to turn the first instrument
that came to hand to account—formed no impediment. The
locks were all picked in a few brief minutes, and Alexander
was once more a free, and, no doubt, a sane man. He has
not since been heard of. In case the poor fellow should
have been really mad, and should be now a wandering,
homeless lunatic, we append his description in the hope
that he may fall into the hands of some good Samaritan
who will return him to his bereaved friends. He is a well-
built man, between sft 7in. and sit Bin. high. His head is
large, his complexion fair, his hair light brown or sandy,
and his eyes grey and deeply seated. From a peculiar twist
in his legs he is supposed to have been a tailor, and from
certain marks on his head it may be inferred that Detective
Sergeant Seal punished him severely at Manchester. When
he escaped he had a moderate stock of whiskers, but these
may by this time have been clean shaven or replaced by an
enormous pair like those found in his possession when he
was apprehended for the Bull Ring burglary.,