The Sun.
London, England, 1823-05-02 00:00:00

EXTIIAORDINARY AFFAIR.

A. great sensation has been excited at Brightoi
during the last week, by a circumstance unparalleled in the
annals of the town. A Gentleman who has attained great
celebrity by the acts of fanciful philanthropy with which
his name is emaciated, and who has been residing at
Brighton for about a week past, was, In consequence of in-
formation given to the Police, brought before Sir Davin
SCOTT, on Saturday last, together with Archibald Robin-
son and his wife, keepers of a well known house of ill fame,
and as many as fourteen or fifteen female% of abandoned
character. The above Gentleman, it appeared, had with that
eccentricity which at all times distinguishes his conduct, entered
Robinson's house, where he distributed money and clothes to
these poor creatures ; the report of which spreading far and
wide, he had soon a numerous list of applicants for bounty.—
Among these was oneyoung girl from Lewes, and another from
the vicinity of Devil's Dyke, and in this manner he presented
as many, we understand, as twenty-five with a sovereign each,
and to the greater part of them besides an order on a linen-
draper for goods to the amount of 10s. It would have been well
if his intercourse with them had terminated here ; but when it
became known that scenes of the grossest indelicacy were taking
place, it was judged nececessary to interfere and prevent the re.
petition of these outrages on decency and morality. Of these
scenes some idea may be formed when we state, that two young
girls, one of them thirteen. and. the other only ten years of age,
were sent up to Mr. ,by the woman of the house, for a pur-
pose unusual we would fain hope, to Engliahmen, but to which
we cannot more particularly advert; the latter, we shudder
while we record so revolting a fact, being her own daughter!
whom, sensible and ashamed of the infamy of her conduct, the
unnatural mother introduced under a fictitious name. A good
deal of difficulty was experienced by the officers in getting ad-
misiion to the house, and they were obliged to have recourse
to stratagems before they could succeed. disgusting facts
having been satisfactorily esiablished,
Mr. ----- was bound over
in heavy recognizance% to be of good behaviour, as were
also two sisters of Robinson's wife, who had been privy to
what was going forward, and had shared in the vile profit ex-
acted by these unprincipled creature% from the objects of his
misdirected bounty. For, not contented with the usual con.
tributions levied on those who resort to such haunts of vice,
they actually claimed and received from each of these poor
girls the sum of twelve shillings and sixpence, before they
were suffered to quit the house. A prosecution was ordered
to be instituted on behalf of the parish against Robinson and
his wife, who gave bail themselvis in 1001. and two sureties
in 75. f. each for their appearance at the Sessions to answer the
charge ; so that an establishment which has we understand ex-
isted in Brighton noless than 17 years, will at length be deserv-
edly broken up. 'We are in possession of many more particulars,
such however as we must forbear to detail ; but we cannot re-
frain from expressing our regret that a person who was formerly
a headborough of this placelliould have given information to
the keepers of this brothel o the measures which wqre being
taken against them. We think it ought to be known that one
of the girls concerned in the above transactioon, and who
shared the bounty of Mr. —, was Alice Markwick, the same
person against whom it will be recollected our Bench of Megi-
Atratei directed an indicunent for perjury, on account of the
gross prevarication in her evidence on the investigations rela-
tive to the late Mr. Williams. We will undertake however
to say, that the lesson which she then received bas operated as
a caution to her with regard to the testimony which she has
given on the present occasum.—(Brighbn Gazette,)