The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-07 00:00:00

A ROGUE'S HISTORY.

A convict named Thomas Rainbow, who was convicted
at the last Summer Assizes, and ordered to be transported
for life, and who has recently been removed to the
Justitia hulk, at Woolwich, preparatory to his being
sent out of the country, made the following extraordinary
statement of his career of crime, to the governor of the
gaol, prior to his departure. His statement was as fol-
lows :—He said that when a boy about seven years old,
he was employed as a bird keeper in the corn fields, and
he saw the fine pheasants walking through the corn, and he
thought he should like some of them, and upon making in-
quiry of some young men in the village, he was informed
how to catch them, and he bought two rat trap's or gins, but
he said he did not make much of them, as he sold them
to the young men for a trifle, but in a very short time he
found a better market, and this made him look out for
hares, and led him on to visit gardens and orchards,
stealing fowls, ducks, and anything else that came in
his way. Soon after this he fell in with a gang of young
poachers, and they were not satisfied with the profits of
day poaching, but took a worse step by going oat night
poaching, and spending their days half drunk in the beer-
shops, and they then sallied out at night armed with guns,
and took all the game they could lay their hands on. In
1830 he, with one of his comrades, was committed for house- '
breaking, but on the trial they were acquitted. In 1832
he and another were committed for night-poaching, but
there was some difficulty as to their identity, and the
Grand Jury ignored the bill. In the same year he was
again committed, with two of his companions, for bur-
glary, and was again acquitted. The next assizes he was
tried for fowl-steeling, and was again fortunate enough
for be acquitted. In 1834, however, the law overtook
him. He was convicted of night-poaching with gins,
and was sentenced to be kept to hard labour for twelve
months. Since this time, he says, he was in ten
or twelve different gaols for various offences.
In 18:37 lie and two of his companions com-
mitted a highway robbery and left the neighbour-
hood and went into \Vales, where they got work in
the iron mines, and earned about eighteen shillings a
week ; but this did not do for them, and they soon re
turned to their old courses, and went from place to
place stealing from houses and robbing every one then
could on their way. They seldom, however, he said,
committed a fresh offence until they had disposed of all
the booty which they had obtained from their preceding
act of plunder. They had a great deal of cash and a
number of watches, and sometimes got hold of some
plate, but they had no difficulty in disposing of
the stolen property, no matter of what description
it was. On being interrogated on the subject,
lie said that he did not recollect ever hurting any body
that they robbed ; hut if any resistance was offered, they
gave them only a bit of a squeeze, and they were then
generally glad enough to give up all they had, without
any more violence being necessary. The convict, in
conclusion, admitted that he had been concerned in more
than a hundred and fifty robberies, asd that he knew of
as many more having been committed by his companions,
but in which he had taken no part. The country may
congratulate itself on being rid of such a hardened ruffian
as this fellow has owned himself to be.

GALLANT AND ENERGETIC
CONDUCT.

In April last, whilst her Majesty's ship Conway was
lying off Whampoa, a party, consisting of Lieut. Bea•
don (recently made Commander), Mr. Smith, Assist-
ant-Surgeon, and Mr. Tournour, midshipman, and
fourteen men, left her in a large boat, and pro
ceedcd to Macao where they stayed a few days, and
, left that place to return to the Conway about noon on
E niter M mday. A fine breeze carried them safely
over half their distance, when, it being too dark to see
the numerous fishing-stakes laid down at the mouth o!
the river, or to discover any'of the landmarks, they cast
anchor about midnight. At one A.M., on the 30th,
Lieut. Beadon, feeling the boat ride uneasily, gave or-
ders for the cable to be cut, but, before even this could
be done, a heavy squall took her, and she filled bead
foremost, becoming instantly a wreck. The miserable
crew clung on till daylight in spite of a terrific tempest,
accompanied by violent thunder and lightning. Seve-
ral junks passed and avoided them (which, perhaps, is
not surprising), but, to their shame be it spoken, on
European boat, belonging to the same people at Ma-
cao, passed the helpless group with equal apathy. At
length, after being washed about for some hours on
rafts, which Lieutenant Beadon, almost single-handed,
had constructed, for, with the exception of a man and
a boy, the crew were too panic-struck to render much
assistance in lashing them together, they descried a
Chinese fishing junk containing one old man ; Lieutenant
Beadoa forbade any whining supplication, but ordered
the men to give three good hearty English cheers ; th,
good old fisherman (who proved himself a Samaritan
truly, whatever his creed) waved his hand, and
instantly bore
,down to their as!istance and picked
up their scattered and exhausted party, and
gave them food and covering. Lieutenant Bea-
don offered him forty dollars to take them to her
M rjesty'a ship Wellesley (that being the nearest). He
did so, carefully concealing them from his own country-
men. They sustained the loss of one man, a carpenter.
named Shroushire ; he was washed off the deck when
too much exhausted to regain his hold, and sunk to rise
no more. Lieutenant Beadon endeavoured, during
fourteen hours of awful and appalling danger, to stimu-
late the crew to exertion, telling them it was a mockery
of God to give themselves up to prayer without at the
same time using the bodily powers and mental faculties
he had given them for the preservation of their lives ;
but immediately they were on board the junk he ad-
dressed the men upon the awful warning of the uncer-
tainty of life they had just received, exhorting them to
make that the era of the commencement of a new life, be
the help of God, and lamenting his own unfitness and un-
worthiness to offer up a prayer of thanksgiving, earnestly
imploring each to offer one up in his own heart. Upon their
arrival on board her Majesty's ship Wellesley the)
were warmly welcomed by Captain Maitland and of-
ficers , the former immediately ordered eighty dollars
of the public money to be paid the old Chinaman, in
addition to the feet, Lieutenant Beadon had promiserl
from his private purse. Mr. Beadon was a consider•
able loser by this unfortunate occurrence, having lost his
sword, dressing-cese, spy-glass, clothes, bedding, some
silver, a variety of handsome presents he had bought
to send to his friends in England (from whom he has
'peen separated beyond the usual period of foreign ser-
vice), also his desk, containing all his private papers
and sundry articles of comfort for the ship's company,
purchased with his own money, about 301. worth, and
a variety of other things, making altogether not less
than 801. or 1001. worth.—United Service Gazette.

WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO READ
SHAKSPEARE AND MILTON.—Much depends upon when
and where you read a book. In five or six impatient
minutes, before the dinner is quite ready, who would
think of taking up the " Faery Queen" for a stop .gap,
or a volume of " Bishop Andrew's Sermons?" Milton
almost requires a solemn service of music to be played
before you enter upon him. But he brings his music—to
which who listens had need bring docile thoughts and
purged ears. Winter evenings—the world shut out—
with less of ceremony, the gentle Shakspeare enters. At
such a season, The Tempest—or his own Winter's Tale.
These two poets you cannot avoid reading aloud—to
yourself, or (as it chances) to some single person hstee-
mg. More than one—and it degenerates into an audi-
ence.—Charles Lamb.
GREAT CHARTIST MEETING IN ST. PAN-
CRAS.—On Monday a public meeting of the inhabitants
of the extensive parish of St. Pancras took place in the
vestry-rooms, Gordon-square, pursuant to public notice.
for the purpose of meeting Mr. Feargus O'Connor ; and
further (according to the placard) " to take into consi-
deration what measures should be adopted in the present
state, of the country." Shortly after seven o'clock, Mr.
Nicholson, a vestryman of the parish, was called on to
preside, and briefly alluded to the object of the meeting.
the various speakers alluded to the great distress which
their brethren in the various commercial towns were
buffering. Mr. Feargus O'Connor having addressed the
meeting, resolutions were passed in accordance with the
notice convening it, and the assemblage after giving
three cheers for the Charter, and three groans for the
factious, broke up. There could not have been less
than a thousand persons present, a great number of
whom were females.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a few
days, will remove from his house, 2,9, Albemarle-street.
to his official residence in Downing-street. The Right
Hon. Gentleman has purchased of his predecessor the
principal part of his (Mr. Baring's) furniture in
Downing-street, and the remainder was removed this
morning to his (Mr. Baring's) country-house at Lee.
FREAKS OF NATURE.— A white hare was
kilied at Offronville, near Dieppe, a few days ago, a cir-
cumstance uncommonly rare in France, though white
hares are often found in the north of Europe.