The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-31 00:00:00

I MANSION-HOUSE.—Richard Rolfe and Alfred
• Large, two notorious magsmen, were placed at the bar
before Alderman Moon upon the following charge.
Mr. Lewis appeared for the former, and Mr. Wontner
for the latter prisoner.
Edward Fairbrass said—l am a sailor, living at No.
3, Crown and Shear-court, Minories. I was going along
Tower-street about half-past two o'clock yesterday,
when the prisoner Rolfe asked me if I could show him
the way to London-bridge. I said I was going a little
way towards it, and would direct him. He said he was
shortly going to Australia, and was then going to buy
nine pounds' worth of clothes, and would like me to go
to the shop to see if they were anyways good enough to
go out it in. I agreed to accompany him. He asked
me to take something to drink, which I declined. He
then said he wanted to get something to drink himself,
and invited me into public-house with him. I said I
had not much time to spare. He asked me up stairs,
and pressed me to take something to drink, when I said
I would only have a glass of water. Two other men
then came in, one of whom was the prisoner Large, and
another man came in with razors, which he offered for
sale. We all refused to by any. I then saw a pack of
cards on the table, and the razor man took out three
cards—an ace, the jack, and the ten of hearts. The
prisoners then began to gamble with !,,hat man, and
called out " one pound," " ten shillings, and "five
shillings," betting that they would put their bands on
the right card. Rolfe turned up the corner of the jack
so that it might be seen, and they all asked me to bet
upon them. I said, " I have only about a shilling or
two ;" when Large replied, " You've got a watch ; you
can put that for two pou‘nds, if you've got no cash." I
took my watch off my neck, and put it towards the
cards. The razor man put down two pounds against my
watch that I would turn up the jack. I then turned up
the card that I supposed was the jack, from its having
been bent, and found that it was the ten of hearts,
which had been substituted for the jack. Large then said
to me, "If you don't want to lose your watch altogether,
if it is worth more than two pounds, I'll release it for
you." The man with the razors took up the watch, and
put it in his pocket. Large said he would redeem it if
I could get the money to pay him again. I said I
would, upon which he put two pounds on the table.
The razorman took up the two pounds, and put them in
his pocket, and gave the watch to the prisoner Large,
who put it in his pocket, and said to me, "Come along,
I'm in a hurry." I said to Rolfe, "If you are going to
buy the clothes you spoke about you had better go now."
He replied, "Oh, I've lost five shillings, and I must go,
and get more money." Large and I went away together,
and he I.roposed that we should go and pledge the watch,
which we did for twenty-five shillings. I gave the
money to Large, taking the duplicate myself. We then
went to a public-house, where he paid for a glass of gin
and water, which tve drank. He then said, " When
am I to get that fifteen shillings to make up the two
pounds I" I told him I would give it him the following
afternoon if he came to my house for it. He said he
would meet me at that public-house the next day at four
o'clock, and asked me, in the event of my meeting any
of his companions, not to let them know about it, as he
did not wish it to be known. He then asked me the
way to London-bridge, and said he was going to Aus-
tralia, and we parted. I told the whole matter to my
mother, who communicated with an officer, who appre-
hended Rolfe on Tower-hill, and shortly afterwards
Large was captured near the same spot. After trying
to escape from the officer Rolfe said, "I'll give you any-
thing to let me go, and pulled out of his pocket thirty
shillings and handed to me, which I took, still holding
him. I said, "No ; I'll not let you go." I gave the
thirty shillings to the officer at the station-house. I
should not have noticed the prisoners, who would have
escaped had the officer not pointed them out.
Cross-examined by Mr. Wontner—Three men came
in together, Large, the razorman, and another. The
razorman sat by.himself. I can't tell who brought the
cards.

Thomas Hayton, City constable, 588—From informa-
tion I received, I accompanied the prosecutor to Tower-
hill, on the 23d inst. where I met the prisoner Rolfe.
I said to the prosecutor, "This is the one you want, is
it not ?" He replied, "Yes." I then took Rolfe into
custody, telling hini I charged him with defrauding the
sailor of 255. He said he was innocent, that it was not
him, and that the prosecutor must be mistaken. On
the way to the station-house I met the prisoner Large
in Tower-street. I said to the prosecutor, "That's the
other", pointing to Large. He said it was. At this
moment the sergeant of the Pension-office in Tower-
street-hill was passim., whom I left in charge of Rolfe,
and pursued Large, whom I succeeded in capturing after
a long chase. On Rolfe I found a 51. note, three sove-
reigns, and a flash note. I have known Rolfe about two
years, and have frequently seen him prowling about the
Minories, Tower-hill, and Thames-street. I have fre.
quently seen them enter the public-house.
Mr. Goodman- -So that he would know his way to
London-bridge ? Laughter.
Officer—Oh, yes. I have also seen him on London-
bridge. I have known Large for three months. I have
frequently seen the prisoners together.
Cross-examined by Mr. Wontner. The prosecutor
would not have noticed Large except for my pointing
him out. He was then within a yard and a halt of me,
and the prosecutor did not notice him.
George Mills, quarter-master-sergeant at the Pension-
offi-ce, Tower-hill, partially corroborated the statements
of the two preceding witnesses.
Ferdinand Brown—l am a licensed victualler, and
landlord of the house that has been spoken, The Ship
Afloat, in Deer-lane. I do not know either of the pri-
soners so as to be able to swear to them.
Aldermen Moon—You heard the officer say that
he has seen them separately and together enter your
house ?
Witness—l am very busy at the bar. I never noticed
them. I have been master of the house 11 years and a
half.

Two officers proved the prisoners to be companions,
and one of them had had Rolfe in custody.
The prisoners were fully committed.
The prisoner Large was again charged, with a man
named R. Crane, with conspiracy, under the following
circumstances :
Mr. Beard from the office of Mr. Buchanan, appeared
for Crane ; Mr. Wontner, as in the last case, defending
Large.
Mr. John Trotter Hamilton—l am master of the
Venus collier, trading between Newcastle-on-Tyne and
London. On Wednesday week last I was crossing
Tower-hill, when I saw the "tall gentleman" (Large),
who came up to me and asked me to be so good as to
show him the road to London-bridge. I told him I
would show him the road as far as I was going, as I was
on my way to the Coal Exchange. He said he wanted
to look at the bridge as he had only a short time to stay
in town, and was going abroad. After we had walked
a few paces he said he was going to Australia on a
speculation, having a little money to lay out. I re-
marked it was a very fine country for those who were
going there. We eventually came to Brown's public-
house, The Ship Afloat, when he invited me in take a
glass of ale with him.
Alderman Moon—And yet the landlord swore he did
not know Large. Some inquiry must be made about
this house.
The witness continued—l observed to him that my
time was short, when he said we would only stay a
minute or two. We then went up stairs into the par-
lour, when be called for two glasses of ale. Another
" gentleman " then came up to him, and said, " What
do you think ? some men have been calling these things
nutshells (alluding to some gambling cups). I call them
monkeys' skulls. I brought them from Gibraltar."
(Laughter.) He said to Large, "I'll show you how to
play with them," and produced a pea. I thought to
myself I would like to see how you play with them,
With that they got under weigh.
Alderman Moon—What do you mean by " under-
weigh ?"
Witness—They began to play with them. (Laughter.)
At this time the prisoner Crane, whom I had never seen
before, came in, and sat at my left, Large sitting on the
right beside the player. The two prisoners and the
player began
playing and betting as to which of them
found the pea under one of the shells. They played
several times, betting five or ten shillings, and then per-
suaded me to try and find which shell the pea was under.
The shell was put so that I could see the pea, it being
only half-covered over. I bet upon that shell and won
a half sovereignwhich was paid me by the player, he
takingfives
shilling, which I had staked against it. I lost
the half sovereign almost immediately. I then said I had
no more money. upon which Large observed "Here are
two sovereigns I will lend you. Play on, you are sure to
win." I took up the two sovereigns, the player shuffled the
shells, talking "this, that, t'otber," and offered to bet
anybody five sovereigns that he could not find the
pea. Large whispered to me, "Go on, you are sure to
win this time." I had bet the two sovereigns, which I
lost upon taking up the shell and finding no pea under
it. I then said, it was time I was going away. I went
out of the house, the two prisoners following me. We
again got into conversation, and Large followed me into
the Coal Exchange, I having previously told him, as we
were leaving The Ship Afloat, that I was going there to
get some money. Crane told me he was going to call
upon a friend to draw some money, and intended to
return to the public-house to try and win back the money
he had lost. I said, "My loss is heavier than any of
yours, I believe." Large then left, saying he would
join us in half-an-hour. I went to my factor's at the
Coal Exchange, and drew 201., consisting of three 51.
notes, and five sovereigns. As I came out of the office
I found Large standing in the gallery of the Exchange;
He came to me, and we returned to The Ship Afloat,
where he called for two glasses of ale. The man who
had played with the shells came and sat down by us,
and began playing. The prisoner Crane next came in.
We took turn about to play at the same game. I lost
a 51. note, one of those which I received at the Coal
Exchange. We played until I lost the other two 51.
notes. When Large saw I was losing lie asked me for
the two sovereigns that he had lent me, and I gave them
to him. I said, " I have only three left now." I-tried
again, and lost the three. I said, "Now I'm a hatter;
I have got nothing left." (Laughter.) The player then
rose. saying, "If you have no money you can't play,"
walking quickly out of the house and not returning. I
lost altogether 201. ss. The witness added that, en
leaving the public-house, he drank part of one of the
I glasses of ale which Large had called for, and did not
reaching
finish it because be found it very thick, and that on
his ship he became completely stupified, and
remained so till the following morning.
Mr. F. Penny-_I am clerk to Messrs. Hill, Wood,
and Hughes, coal-factors. The last witness ' came to
our office on the 21st inst., and drew 201. in three Si.
notes and five sovereigns. I took the numbers of the
notes at the time. The 51. note produced by the officer
is one of those ITaid to him.
Thomas Hayton, City Police constable 588—I took
the prisoner, Large into custody on another charge, and