The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-26 00:00:00

IMPUDEN T FRAUD.

AN UNIVERSITY GRADUATE IN DIFFICULTIES.—
At the Borough Court, yesterday, before Mr. Maude,
a young man of by no means prepossessing appear-
ance, who gave the name of Bradley, was charged
by Mr. Beswick, chief superintendent of police,
with the following; impudent fraud :—On Monday
he called at the shop of Messrs. Simms and Dinham,
booksellers, Exchange.street, and requested to be
shown a copy of Macaulay's " History of England,"
and also a copy of Moore 's works. Approving of
them, he requested that they might be sent to the
Guardian office with an invoice, and then left the
shop, directing the shopman to make them into a
parcel, and to address them to Mr. Sinclair. The
books were packed, and the invoice, amounting to
31. 135., enclosed, and a boy was dispatched with
the parcel to the Guardian office, receiving in-
structions not to leave the parcel without the
cash, unless he found that Mr. Sinclair was con-
nected with the office. When the errand-boy reached
the Guardian office he was met by the prisoner,
who came from behind the office counter, without hat,
and appeared to belong to the establishment, and,
taking the parcel from the boy, he pretended to have
forgotten a book which he wanted ; and, slipping a
written memorandum into the lad's hand, sent him back
for a copy of "Brydge's Algebra." The boy re-
turned to his employer's shop to obtain the work on
algebra, but on his return to the Guardian office,
in about five minutes afterwards, Mr. Sinclair had
disappeared with the parcel. It then turned out that
the fellow had not the slightest connexion with the
Guardian office, but that he had simply called to
write out an advertisement, and that the whole affair
was a mere ruse. Some half-hour afterwards the
prisoner called at the shop of Mr. Weatherley, old
bookseller, Exchange Arcade, where he offered the
books for sale for 345. Supposing that he had not
come very honestly by the books, Mr. Weatherley
felt some hesitation in buying them, but ultimately
he advanced 12s. upon them, requesting the young
man to call again for the balance in the evening.
Mr. Weatherley, on close inspection, discovered the
label of Messrs. klimms and Dinham inside the
books, and was induced in consequence to apprise
them of what had taken place. In consequence of
some previous information Mr. Beswick, on hearing
the circumstances, dispatched an officer to a low
lodging-house in Spinning-field, off Deans-gate,
where the prisoner was apprehended. When brought
up before Mr. Maude, the facts were stated in evi-
dence ; and Mr. Fox, a gentleman connected with the
Guardian office, stating that the !prisoner was not
employed there, he was committed for trial at the ses-
sions. From a copy of his advertisement, left behind
him, it appeared that he was about advertising for a
situation as " private tutor," or "classical and mathe-
matical teacher in a school," stating that he was a
univereities.—Manchester
graduatecourier in one of the
.

A RELIGIOUS IMPOSTOR. Yesterday, at the
Greenwich Police-court, a miscreant, who gave the name
of William 'Thompson, was charged with indecent be-
haviour to a child. lie stated that ho lived in High-
street, Camberwell, and was of no occupation, but it was
subsequently discovered that he was in the habit of
calling at respectable houses, and stating that he had
been " a minister of the gospel" for a number of years,
but had latterly been prevented from preaching by a
palpitation of the heart, and was therefore obliged to ob-
tain a livelihood by the sals of a book of family prayers,
composed by himself. It appeared that the prisoner
took the girl, Caroline Abbott, into a public-house at
Greenwich, and called fora pint of beer. He was after-
wards observed, through the muslin curtains of the par-
lour window, taking indecent liberties with the girl, upon
which the landlord sent for a policeman and gave him
into custody. The child confirmed the evidence of the
landlord, and said he had given her a penny. The
prisoner denied the charge, and said there
was another girl molesting the child at the
time, and he merely stopped to protect her,
when he asked her to have some porter. She went with
him freely and voluntarily. Mr. Jeremy—What, for a
child eleven years old to go with a man of your appear-
ance, with prayer-books in his hand, to a public-house!
It is a most lamentable thing and too apparent. Mr.
Jeremy repeatedly asked the prisoner who and what he
was, but could not obtain a satisfactory answer. Mr.
Inspector Mark handed up some volumes of family prayers
found on the prisoner. They consisted of four vo-
lumes of family prayers by the Rev. W. Dranfield, and
published by Aylott and Jones, Paternoster-row. The
prisoner said he knew Mr. Dranfield, and canvassed for
subscribers to his works. Mr. Jeremy again asked who
Mr. Dranfield was, and where he lived. Prisoner eva-
sively replied several times; at last he said—" Mr.
Dranfield is a gentleman with a palpitation of the
heart" (patting his bosom), and he had taken a glass or
two of ale that morning. The officer said the prisoner
was quite sober when brought to the station. Mr.
Jeremy said it was a most scandalous affair. He should
certainly communicate with the authorities, and recom-
mend the Treasury to prosecute, to ensure a trial. He
should therefore remand him for a week, and order strict
inquiries to be made in the meantime.
AN UNNATURAL PARENT.—On Monday a man was
brought before the Gorbals Police-court, in company
with a woman, implicated in the charge of having
thrown his own daughter, a child of tender years, out of
the window of his dwelling-house, under circumstances
of peculiar atrocity, by which she was seriously injured.
The case has been remitted to the sheriff. From the
facts which have transpired, it appears that on Saturday
night became into the house, accompanied by the woman
referred to. As he was considerably under the influence
of liquor at the time, his daughter, who is an interesting
girl, not more than ten years of age, remonstrated with
him; but all the rejoinder she received was a command
to have the house, or he would throw her out of the win-
dow. The poor girl, terrified at the threat, endeavoured
to leave the apartment; but, as her brutal parent bad
unconsciously locked the door, she could not open it, and
told him so. With an oath, the wretched man ran for-
ward to where the child was standing, and lifting her in
his arms, carried her towards the window, and thrust
her out, shutting it down upon her. The girl, in her
agony, caught hold of the window sill with her hands,
and hung there as long as strength held out. In this
effort her fingers mere cut and blistered, and her feeble
strength was soon exhausted, and she fell heavily down
on the pavement, where she was picked up. Had she
fallen in any other position than she did, the result, in
all probability, would have been immediate death, the
window from which she was thrown being on the second
lithwya tshe f
floor. It is not known yet whether her injuries are
likely to prove of a serioue kind. If the spine, as there
is too much reason to fear, has been injured, her ulti•
mate recovery is v,ry doubtful.—Glasgow Chronicle.
wgeirfed killedtiat Seven sheep out of a flock which had strayed upon
the Rendal and Windermere lino on Thursday evening
week a
nomailfound
efsrsoamr y Btior t hw
slaughterait e or
so m
Wm.—Cumberland Pacquet.