The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-22 00:00:00

THAMES.

William James Hopkins, a lighterman, in the em-
ploy of Mr. John Dudin, of Horselydown, was
brought before Mr. Yardley, on remand, charged
with stealing six quarters of oats.
On the 4th inst. the prisoner was ordered by his
master to navigate a barge, called the Eclipse, along-
side the ship Tennant, off Rotherhite, to receive 260
quarters of oats, part of a larger quantity, which Mr.
Dudin was engaged to lighter from the Tennant to
Whiting's Wharf. While the corn meters and fel-
lowship porters were employed in loading the Eclipse,
a skiff was brought alongside the Tennant. It was
in charge of a man named Wheeler, a companion
of the prisoner's, who ordered the porters to lower
five quarters of oats into the skiff, and said Wheeler
was in Mr. Dudin's employ. The corn was lowered
in sacks which the confederate Wheeler brought
with him. The porters thought the transaction a
very strange one, and called to Mr. Adcock, the City
meter, who was measuring the corn in the hold, to
come upon deck, and on being informed that five
quarters had been lowered into the skiff, he appealed
to the prisoner, who said it was quite right, and that
the corn in the skiff was wanted for Mr. Dudin, and
that Wheeler was in his employ. Wheeler the rowed
the skiff away in the direction of Princess-stairs,
Rotherhithe, and the fi ire quarters of corn were never
traced afterwards. After the barge was laden, and
the meter was about to give the prisoner a bill for
the corn delivered, he asked the meter to " slink" the
five quarters, and said that he did not want his master
to know anything about it. Mr. Adcock, the meter,
understood what this meant, and refused to be a party
to the transaction, and on Mr. Dudin being informed
of it he gave the prisoner into custody, and paid the
merchant for the corn stolen.

The prisoner, in defence, said he did not put any
oats into the skiff, nor speak to Wheeler. He also
denied using the word slink.
The prisoner was committed for trial.

THE BLOCK PRINTERS' PRESENT

TO THE QUEEN.
A few weeks ago, the society of block printers of
this and the adjoining counties forwarded to Sir
George Grey, for presentation to her Majesty, a
splendid dress-piece of mousseline-de-laine, printed
by hand. The following letters hare since been
received by Mr. Thomas Graham, the secretary of
the block printers society :

Whitehall, October 6, 1847.
" Sir,—ln the absence of Secretary Sir George Grey,
I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, trans-
mitting, on behalf of the society of block printers, a piece
mousseline de laine, as a present to the Queen ; and I
have to inform you that this present has been forwarded
to the Lady in Waiting, with directions for its presenta-
tion to her Majesty, together with your letter which
accompanied it.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
" DENIS LE MARCIIANT.
"Mr. Thomas Graham, Secretary to the Block Printers'
Society, Rhodes, Middleton, near Manchester."
" Whitehall, October 13, 1847.
" Sir,—l am directed by Secretary Sir George Grey,
with reference to my letter of the 6th instant, to inform
you that he has received a letter from the Lady in Wait-
ing, conveying the Queen's gracious acceptance of the
mousseline de laine dress presented by the society of block
printers ; and her Majesty has been further graciously
pleased to desire that patterns of the same material
may be submitted fur her inspection.'
" I am, sir, your obedient servant,

:e DENIS LE MARCHANT.
" P.S. These patterns had better be submitted through
the Lady in Waiting, and not transmitted to the Secre-
tary of State.—D. LE M.

"Mr. Thomas Graham, Secretary of the Block Printers'
Society, Rhodes, Middleton, near Manchester."

.n old man of seventy-seven, named Martinet, and
a middle-a;.ed woman, named Meunier, were on Friday
tried before the Court of Assizes of the Seine for rubbing
and wounding a person, named Marlf..-3, carrying on busi-
ness as a watchmaker and grocer at Belleville. The
female prisoner had lived with Nfarit.. and his wife as
servant, but carried on a criminal intercourse with her
master. At length the latter drove his wife from the
house, and lived publicly with the woman. After a
while she persuaded him to receive Martinet into the
house as a lodger, and it appears that she carried on a
connexion with both. This led to constant quarrels,
which resulted in blows, and in one of these encounters
the female inflicted a peculiar mutilation on her master.
She, however, had such an empire over him that she
persuaded him to declare he had done it himself, with
the intention of committing suicide, owing to his inability
to pay a bill. Notwithstanding this kindness of her
master, she acted contrary to the advice of the medical
man called in, by administering strong and exciting
drinks and drugs to the sick man. At length he died,
after cruel suffering, and the prisoner immediately laid
hands on everything the house contained, and, carrying
it away, went to live with Martinet at Charonne. The
latter was a party to the robbery. The details of the
wound inflicted by the woman rendered it necessary for
the public to be excluded from the Court during the
trial. The jury declared both the prisoners guilty, and
the Court condemned the woman to twelve years' impri-
sonment with hard labour, and exposure on the pillory ;
and the old man to six years' reclusion. Being very
deaf, the sentence had to be shouted in his ear, and, on
learning it, he cried " Six years' reclusion ! I should
have have preferred death !"—Paris Paper.
WELSH SUPERSTITION.—John Hughes, butcher,
was charged before D. Edwards, Esq., mayor, and John
Davies, Esq., with threatening to assault Margaret
Davies, for bewitching his son. The poor woman stated
that on Saturday last the defendant had followed her in
the street, charging her with having bewitched his sun,
and said if she would not instantly undo her work that
he would make her food for fowls (a Welsh phrase,
equivalent to the English of cutting her into mince
meat). The complainant stated that she knew nothing
of what he had attached to her, and from the violence of
his threats she was really afraid of the man. Hughes
denied having threatened to assault her, but acknow•
!edged having charged her with bewitching his son, who
had been ill for two years, and he knew that it was her
hand that was upon him. He had merely asked the
complainant to come and cure him. The mayor ex-
pressed his astonishment at the superstitious ignorance
of the defendant, and ordered him to enter into recog-
niaances to keep the peace towards the complainant,
himself in 201,, and two sureties in 101. each. The
judgment seemed to fill him with the most profound
astonishment.—Chester Chronicle.

ACCIDENT ON THE EDINBURGH AND GRANTON
RAILWAY.-011 Friday night, about a quarter to seven,
when the train arrived from Granton at Edinburgh, the
"messenger-rope" attached to a carriage came in con-
tact with one of the iron bars connected with the switch,
which stretches across the rails, whereby the rod was
bent, and the rails opened up in such a manner as to
throw two of the carriages entirely off. No effect fol-
lowed, except that the passengers were a little startled
by the sudden jolting of the carriages.—Caledonian
Mercury.

AN UNFORTUNATE FAMILY.—On Friday last Mr.
William Yarworth, of Dean Pool, Clearwell, proceeded
from Monmouth to Usk, at which place he put up his
horse, desiring the landlord of the King's Head to give
it a feed, should he not come back in the evening. Not
coming back that night, nor the next, inquiry was set
on foot, when it was ascertained that the last place he
was seen at was the Merlin public-house in that town,
whichlhe had left, as supposed by the inmates on Friday
evening. The garden which leads down to the Usk
river was carefully examined, as was the river itself, and
on Monday the body of the unfortunate young man was
discovered in the river, not far from the garden. It is
presumed he must have walked accidentally into the
river in the dark, as he was sober at the time. The de-
ceased was brother to Mr. Richard Yarworth, who was
murdered at Piff's Elm, near Cheltenham, about seven
years since ; as also to Mr. George Yarworth, who was
killed by a waggon running over him some two years
ago. The fate of the three brothers has elicited the
commiseration of all who were acquainted with them.
'—Cheltenham ,Examiner.