The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-09 00:00:00

ELOPEMENT EXTRAORDINARY.

At Croydon Police-court, on Saturday, a well-dressed
middle aged woman, who gave the name of Keziah Sid-
dons, but who is better known in Croydon as Ann
Trust, was brought before Mr. Adams, chairman, and
Mr. Wilkinson, the presiding magistrate, on a charge
of having obtained a considerable sum of money and a
quantity of clothes from a young lady, named Eliza-
beth Markby Dodd, by means of false and fraudulent
pretences.
Mr. John Drummond, solicitor, of Croydon, who at-
tended in support of the charge, called the complainant
as a witness.
Miss Elizabeth M. Dodd, a young female of attractive
appearance, and apparently about twenty-five years old,
deposed as follows:—" I reside with my aunt, Miss
Markby, who carries on the business of a stationer in
Croydon. I know the prisoner. About last May she
came to me, and said that a young gentleman belonging
to the East India College, at Addiscombe, was anxious
to pay his addresses to me, and that he had employed
her as his agent, to convey messages and letters between
us. She described him as being tall and fair, and said
that his name was Anderson, and the reason assigned for
the secresy was, that if it were known that he was cor-
responding with any young lady, the authorities of the
college mightdeprive him of hiacommission. A gentleman
answering the description given by the prisoner had been
to the shop, and she believed the information made to her
by the prisoner, and they communicated together from
time to time upon the subject. In August the pri-
soner showed her an advertisement in a newspaper to
the effect that the communications were still to be kept
u p through " a friend," and she said this advertisement
came from Mr. Anderson, and referred to her. The pri-
soner toad her that everything must be kept very secret,
and it would be necessary, as her lover bad been sent to
India, that she should follow him there to be married,
and she, the prisoner, was to accompany her, and it was
necessary that she should have an outfit. In consequence
of this, witness gave the prisoner several dresses, and
she said that her lover was to meet her at Bengal, and
they were then to be married. The prisoner then said
she must have some money to prepare for the voyage,
and witness sold out some stock belonging to her, and
the first sum she gave the prisoner was 191., and she
afterwards gave her another sum of 154 On last Friday
week, upon the prisoner's representation that every-
thing was ready for the journey, she clandestinely packed
up her clothes and left her aunt's house, and accom-
panied the prisoner to the Greyhound Inn, at Sutton,
where they remained until the following Wednesday,
and during that period she gave the prisoner another
sum of 101., but she returned her 51 They proceeded
trom Sutton to the Red Hill station 'of the railway, and
from thence by train to Dover, intending to go to France,
and proceed by the overland route to India to meet her
lover. While they were at Dover, however, some gen-
tlemen from Croydon, accompanied by a policeman, over-
took them, and the prisoner was taken into custody, and
the witness returned with her friends.

In answer to questions put by Mr. Drummond, the
complainant said that she had begun to have suspicion
of the prisoner, but she was induced to accompany her
on account of her threats of personal violence, and she
repeatedly threatened to shoot her if she broke her pro-
mise to go to India.

Mr. Drummond—Was it upon her representation that
you were accompanying her to India, to meet your sup-
posed husband, that you advanced her the money?
Witness—Certainly it was.
Mr. Adams asked the complainant if she knew any-
thing of the prisoner before this transaction. She re-
plied that she had known her for two years, and she
added that she believed she got her living by fortune-
telling.
Mr. Adams—Has she ever told your fortune? Com-
plainant—Several times.—(Laughter.)
Mr. Adams—And did she ever say anything to you
about a tall, fair young man? Complainant—She did
not.

Mr. Adams—Allow me to ask how old you are?
Complainant—l am twenty-six.
Mr. Adams—Did you ever have the curiosity to make
any inquiry whether there was any young gentleman at
Addiscombe of the name of Anderson? Complainant—
No, I did not, because the prisoner said that if any
inquiries were made it would spoil all.—(Roars of
laughter.)

Mr. Adams—Then did you never see the gentleman,
or have any personal conversation with him ? Com-
plainant—No, sir. The prisoner said he was tall and
fair, and I recollected a gentleman answering that de-
scription coming to the shop, and that his name was
Anderson, and this was all I know about him.
Mr. Adams—Then you actually started upon an
overland journey to India, to meet and to be married to
a gentleman whom you had never seen, or spoken to
upon the subject? Complainant—l did, sir. (Laughter.)
By Mr. Drummond—The prisoner told me that if
anything came to the knowledge of the colonel, the
young gentleman would be expelled.
Mr. Adams said he should have hardly thought this a
sufficient excuse for not making inquiry before starting
on a voyage to India upon such an errand.—(Laughter.)
In answer to further questions put by Mr. Drummond,
the complainant said that she began to repent of the
step she had taken when she got to Sutton, but the pri-
soner had obtained such influence over her that she dared
not leave her.

Sergeant Lumber, belonging to the East India Com-
pany's establishment at Addiscombe, deposed that at the
time in question there was no cadet of the name of
Anderson belonging to the establishment.
Anne May, the confidante in the elopement, deposed
that she was in the service of Miss Markby, the com-
plainant's aunt, and she remembered the prisoner
coming to Miss Dodd, and telling her that a cadet had
stopped her (prisoner) in the street, and told her that he
was in love with Miss Dodd, and wished her to be the
medium of the communication between them. The pri-
soner said that the reason he gave for this was, that if
he was seen in the matter himself, he should lose his
commission, and he wished her to get Miss Dodd to
come out to India, and marry him, and bring her (pri-
soner) with her as a companion. The witness also said
that she was present on a second occasion, when Miss
Dodd gave the prisoner money and clothes, and she
packed up her clothes on the same night she went away
from her aunt's house.

By Mr. Adams—The prisoner used to come very
often to the house to tell fortunes, but it was without the
knowledge of her mistress. The door was left open, so
that she might get down into the kitchen unperceived.
The prisoner frequently told Miss Dodd her fortune.

M. Adams—What aid she say to her—do you recol-
lect? Witness—l cannot recollect it all. but I know
she used to say something about a tall tine young man
being in lave with her.—(Roars of laughter.)
Mr. Adams—Did you ever hear her say who this
young man was? Witness—Oh, yes ;, she used to say
that he was lieutenant in the army.—(Laughter.)
Mr. Adams—Was any one in the secretbut you? Wit-
ness—No; I packed up the things for MissDodd without
the knowledge of her aunt, and I suspected she was going
to India to be married —(A laugh.)
Mr. Adams—What did you say to your mistress when
the flight of Miss Dodd was discovered ? Witness—l
told her I knew nothing about it. Miss Dodd, before
she went away, told me that if I told her secret her
lover would lose his commission, and they should all be
ruined.

The prisoner, upon being called upon for her defence,
repeated her statement about the young gentleman being
in love with Miss Dodd, and said that the money was
only applied to the necessary expenses.
The magistrate, after a short consultation, said there
was no doubt that the prisoner had acted in a most crafty
and wicked manner, although at the same time they con-
sidered it was most extraordinary that a young woman
of the age of Miss Dodd, should have been so
credulous as to allow herself to be duped by such an ab-
surd story. They were of opinion, however, that the
evidence did not support the charge, and they were there-
fore compelled to dismiss it ; but, they, at the same time,
remarked that they saw quite enough or the prisoner's
course of life to induce them to caution her to be careful
in future, or she might depend she would get into a
scrape, and receive some punishment.
The prisoner was then discharged.

SUSPECTED POISONING. SUTTON - UPON TRENT,
SATURDAY EVENING.—A case involving a strong suspi-
cion of poisoning, which took place two years ago has
Just been discovered at this place. The person, whose
death is in question, was a farmer of Carlton-upon-Trent,
named George Taylor, who died on the 26th November,
1844. Some remarks having very lately got abroad re-
lative to the cause of his death, R. Falkner, Ese., of
Newark, gave orders for the exhumation of the body, and
a jury was empannelled, which sat on Friday and Satur-
day last. From the evidence adduced it appeared that
the deceased was unmarried, and that a woman named
Elizabeth Smith, who was described as somewhat pre-
pcssessing in appearance, intelligent, and twenty-eight
years of age, took care of his house. In September,
1844, Taylor was attacked more than once by severe ill-
ness, during which his housekeeper nursed him with
great care, but he ultimately sunk under the complaint
and died on the day above named : his disease being, in
the opinion of the medical attendants, ulceration of
the stomach. After his decease the woman Smith
showed signs of much mental suffering, and at length
confessed to other parties that she administered mercury
to her master at two separate times, which she put in his
coffee. It appears that a preparation of arsenic is fre-
quently kept by the farmers to steep the wheat before
sowing, and this preparation is commonly known among
them by the name of " mercury." The witness who
spoke to having heard Smith confess her having admi-
nistered the drug, said that at the time she declared her
only intention was to make her master ill, but not to
cause his death, for which she felt great remorse. The
inquest was ultimately adjourned that the contents of the
stomach of the deceased might be taken to London for
examination by competent chemists.
MIDDLE TEMPLE.—CALLS TO THE BAR.—The un•
dernained gentlemen were called to the degree of the
Utter Bar on Friday, and published in the Miadle Temple
Hall on Saturday eveuitig:—Augustus Frederic Bay-
ford, Esq., LL.D.; James Cockle, Esq., M.A. ; Arthur
Becher Pollock, Esq., B.A. ; John Hindmash, Esq. ;
George Brookes Van Buren, Esq. ; John Duke Cole-
ridge,Esq., B.A. ; James Jones Aston, Esq. ; Patrick
Lenaghan, Esq.; Walter Hills, Esq.; Clement Milward,
Esq.; told Henry Leeming, Esq.