The Sun.
London, England, 1822-12-05 00:00:00

FEMALE IMPOSTOR.

liNioN-HALL.—Yesterday the Magistrates of this Office
received a letter from Warrington, which places the character
of this singular female in a light that shocked and astonished
even those who watched her examination.

The following is the statement, which has been confirmed by
the Overseers of Warrington and the Keeper of Bridewell.
" Under the head Union-Hall, in the newspapers of Saturday
last, there is an account of an extraordinary impostor, of whom
it is said—' At Warrington, this very extraordinary young wo-
man imposed upon a number of medical gentlemen.' This is
not only true, but the circumstances were such that had not the
minutest inquiries been made, and the strictest scrutiny resorted
to, it is more than probable that two innocent men would have
been sacrificed to her diabolical falsehoods. She was found in a
state apparently dying, and conveyed to the poor-house.. An
investigation took place, when she accused two men of robbing
and then brutally abusing her, leaving her nearly dead. The
story was believed; the town was in a ferment, and two men,
who had been seen, on -the road, were taken up and con-
veyed to prison. ' ,Every Possible ,kindness_ and attention
were paid to her by the Magistrah,es, the Clergy, the Me-
dical Gentlemen, the Overseers, and the respectable inha-
bitants of the town, many of whom visited -her daily. The
first time I saw her I really did not think that she could exist
till morning : she sat up in bed, supported by pillows, frothing
at the mouth, and, in short, appearing as one on the verge of
eternity ; she had persons to sit up and watch all night, and on
my inquiring in the morning I was surprised to hear that Mary
Ann Sherratt (which I believe is her real name) was some-
thing better.' This farce continued some time ; but the ac-
counts she gave of herself and her relations being found incor-
rect, suspicion took place of certainty, and indignation of pity.
It fortunately happened that some Gentlemen well acquainted
with that part of Staffordshire whence she had stated she came,-
knew something of the family to whom she said she belonged.
An inquiry was instituted in the proper quarter, when it was
found that she was a dreadfully artful impostor; that at that
very moment she was under a recognizance to appear at the
ensuing Stafford Assizes against a gentleman of respectability,
whom she had accused of an attempt to commit a rape. The
Governor of' the Stafford Gaol was sent fdr, who came down,
and instantly recognised her. Till this period she endeavoured
to keep up the imposture; but as soon as this gentleman ap-
peared she tore off the mask, and exhibited herself in such a
manner as really to leave us in doubt whether we could have
imagined a character so insolent, so impudent, and so brutish
as she proved to be. The poor men, who had been confined till
that time, were set at liberty, and she \\as committed by the Ma-
gistrates to the House of Correction at Kirkdale as a vagrant.
" It may not he improper to apprise the Governor of the
Tread Mill at Brixton, that she has a power of feigning dis-
tress, and that to an extreme degree, beyond what all the medi-
cal men here supposed a human creature capable of. She has at
times pretended to be dying and even dead—she has the art of
procuring a frothiness at her lips, it is supposed by means of
soap which she conceals for this purpose; besides which she will
for days refuse sustenance under a pretence of being too ill to
take food. From this place, or rather when liberated from Kirk-
dale, she went to Northwick, where she played the same tricks
over again, and was again discovered to be an impostor. It is
her practice when in confinement to accuse either the Governor
of the prison, the medical attendant, or some other person, of
an attempt at rape, consequently it behoves those who are at
all acquainted with her villany to make it known."—The
statement is signed J. K. Glazebrook, and corroborated by the
signatures of the Overseers of the Poor at Warrington, and the
-Governor of the Bridewell. The wretch whose character was
represented in such frightful colours, has taken it into her head
to be ill at Brixton, and refused to work at the Mill. The
_Keeper has therefore at the desire of the Magistrates placed her
in solitary confinement.
Mr. Perry, the proprietor of the Brill Tavern, Somers Town,
applied for permission to see her, as he had no doubt of her
having stolen 20/. from him when in his service.