The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-28 00:00:00

A SLEEPY FARMER.

The Gateskead Observer tells the following story :
A worthy Northumbrian farmer left home the other
Saturday for Newcastle market, on the day of the
rent dinner, and Peggy, the maid, who was also com-
ing, received strict orders from her mistress to see him
in the train at night: Peggy was true to her trust ;
she saw her master into a second-class carriage, and
got into a third-class carriage herself. On her arrival
at the station she went on foot to the farm. " Well,
Peggy, where's your master," asked the dame ; " did
you see him into the train ?" " Yes, ma'am," replied
Peggy. " Then where is her continued her mis-
tress; "did you see him get out ?" "No, ma'am,"
rejoined the literal maid; "you didn't tell me to
do that." " Stupid!" exclaimed the farmer's wife ;
"he'll have gone on with the train." And so he
had! He went forward to the next station,
and would have gone on to the very terminus
of the line, but the guard popping his lantern
into the carriage, saw him snoozing in a corner, and
rousing him up cried, "Hollo! Mr. —, where are
you going to ?" "To —," said the farmer. "To
—I" echoed the guard ; " why, you've got to
--." Our hero started at the annoucernent, and
his friend of the lantern, assisting him to descend,
transferred him to the mail train, which just then
came up from the opposite direction. Manful was
the struggle which he made to keep awake until the
train arrived at —; but his potent enemy, sleep,
came off conqueror. He awoke no more until a voice
resounded in his ear, " Rollo, Mr. --, what's
brought you back to Newcastle?" lie thought it
was a dream; it must be the reverberation of the cry
which awoke him at —. But no! it was a waking
reality. He had got back to Newcastle again ; and
the news of kis return reached his brother tenants
before they had broken up from the rent dinner !
He made no further trial 'that night by the rail, hut
came to the resolution that " he would not go home
till morning."

WILL OF SCROPE Ilwrcntrtsow, M.D.—The late
Scrope Hutchinson, Esq., of Guildford-street, Russell-
square, Doctor of Medicine, formerly of Dover, Kent,
who died on the 25th of November last, had exe-
cuted his will on the 16th of December, 1846. lie
gives to his son William Barclay Hutchinson all his
medical books, and those books strictly termed pro-
fessional, and all his surgical instruments of every
description; and to his son George Rowan Hutchin-
son he gives fifty volumes of hooks, to be chosen br
him from his library; and directs that all his leasehold
and personal estate, and all his freehold houses, lands,
and real estate, be disposed of and converted into
money, and invested in good securities, to pay the
interest, dividends, and annual proceeds of such trust
moneys or securities to his wife for her life ; and after
her decease to pay or transfer the same to his five chil-
dren, as follows:—Two-fourteentbs thereof to his
son, William Barclay Hutchinson ; two-fourteenths to
his son, George Rowan Hutchinson ; four fourteenths
to his daughter, Mary Hutchinson; three-fourteenths to
his daughter, Isabel Hutchinson; and the remaining
three-fourteenths to his son, Charles Scrope Hutchinson;
and leaves all estates vested in him upon trust, or by
way of mortgage, of which he had power of disposition,
to his son, William Barclay Hutchinson, Esq., who is
the acting executor, a power being reserved to his
relict to prove hereafter. The personal estate was
estimated at 10,0001., and probate granted on the 10th
instant.

EMPLOYMENT IN MANCHESTER.--The total num-
ber of hands employed in the last week within the bo
rough of Manchester was 44,261; and in the present
week, 44,581. The number of hands working full time
last week was 32,266 ; in the present week, 32,718.
The number working short time last week was 4,732 ;
in the present week, 4,711. The number of bands wholly
out of work last week was 7,262 ; in the pres Wit week,
7,153. From this statement it will be seen that little
variation in the state of employment, as regards the bo-
rough of Manchester, has taken place within the last
fortnight. Whatever change has occurred has been
favourable to the operatives ; but how long this state of
things will continue it is difficult to say. In most of the
towns surrounding Manchester, comprising Ashton,
Staley bridge, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Stock-
port, Middleton, and other places, the condition of the
operatives is daily becoming worse. Short hours of labour
are proposed, and in some places the reduction has
already begun. It is satisfactory to find that wages are
still maintained, yet how long this maybe the case is
doubtful. The Manchester market indicates no ini.
provement, and languor and depression pervade all de-
partments of trade. The prospect is gloomy, and there
is no hope of immediate amendment.
SOFTENING HORN.—" Can horn be so softened as
to be moulded into any required shape, or pressed into
moulds? And can it be made white or is white horn to
be purchased ?"—Querist. Horn may he softened by a
degree of heat not exceeding melted. lead, and may
afterwards be moulded into any required shape. The
horn handles of knives, razors, &c., are now commonly
made by moulding. The softened horn is first pressed
into a mould or die, which is then inclosed in a nut-
cracker sort of clamp, and the die, clamp, and horn im-
mersed in boiling water for a few minutes, after which
the clamp is screwed as tight as passible by means of a
screw attached to the end opposite the joint. In about
twenty minutes the horn is taken-out and finished. It
is commonly died of various colours, and may also, we
presume, be blackened, though we do not recollect to
have seen any articles of white horn. Ivory is usually
whitened by boiling it in pearl-ashes and water; and
perhaps horn may be so also.—Mechanics' Magazine.
Baron Delaitre, Consul of France at Santander,
died last week at that place, after a long illness.

• POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE. •
An elderly, well dressed man, named William
Edwards, was brought before the LORD MAYOR at
the instance of the Mendicity Society, upon the
charge of having acted as a gross impostor.
The details of the system were so skilfully arranged
that few, with the exception of those who had been
deceived by the genius of the London mendicant,
would be likely to entertain the slightest doubt of the
genuineness of the tale of distress or of the signatures.
Samuel Daniels, an officer of the Mendicity
Society, stated that in consequence of information
which he had received he went to the offices of Messrs.
Thompson, in St. Swithin's-lane, for the purpose of
taking the prisoner into custody. He had bad the
prisoner in custody on a former occasion upon a
charge of having imposed upon Sir Watkin Williams
Wynn, and had known him as an impostor for seven
years.
Mr. T. Thompson, of Salters' Hill, said, I received
this Fetition from my brother.
Here the following petition was read :
" Parish of Crayford, county of Kent.—Whereas,
on the evening of Sunday, the 2d instant, while Mrs.
Amelia Hall, widow of the late Mr. Edward Hall,
grocer, draper, haberdasher, &c., of this parish, with
her family of nine children, was attending Divine
service, her shop and dwelling were entered by
burglars, who stole and carried away divers moneys,
goods, wearing apparel, and plate, the whole amount-
ing to at least 300/. ; which said loss, together with
previous misfortunes, will prove her entire ruin with-
out the timely aid f the nobility and gentry con-
nected with this neighbourhood.
" Mrs. Hall is a person of the strictest integrity,
and her family of excellent moral character, in con-
sideration of which, we, whose names are hereunto
subscribed, do most earnestly solicit the sympathy of
the benevolent on behalf of this worthy and distressed
widow and family, trusting their combined dona-
tions, together with our mutual assistance, will re-
lease them from their present circumstances.
" Given under our hands this 21st day of January,
in the year of our Lord, 1848."
Then followed the names of a long list of contribu-
tors, in which appeared the names of Lord Saye and
Sele, Lord Bexley, and a number of the clergy and
gentry of the neighbourhood in which the robbery
was stated to have been committed.
Mr. Thompson continued—lnformation was given
to the Mendicity Society. The clay before yesterday
the prisoner called at the office, but I did not see him
till this morning. I had gone to Bexley and ascer-
tained that no robbery had taken place at Crayford,
and that the signatures were fictitious. The follow-
ing is the certificate of the police on the subject :
" Bexley- heath Station, Jan. 25, 1848.
" Sir,—l certify that I have not heard of any such
robbery as described in the begging petition bearing
the name of Mrs. Hall, in the village or parish of
Crayford during the last two years, and I am not ac-
quainted with anybody of that name as a shopkeeper
in Crayford.
"JAMES ROPING, Sergeant."
Yesterday a young woman called with this letter, and
said she was the writer's wife :
" Crayford, Jan. 26, Wednesday, Seven o'clock.
" Sir,—l am unable to leave my business to. day,
and therefore I take the liberty of sending this note
by my wife, who will wait an answer to the docu-
ment I left in your possession yesterday, and for
which I was desired to call this morning. I trust
you will condescend to add your name to the list of
subscribers as it may be of great service in the neigh-
bourhood.—l remain, Sir, your obedient servant,
" JOHN HALL.

" To E. Thompson, Esq."
I saw 21. given to her, and she was told that if the
facts were correct, she should receive 31. more
if Hall, her husband, called. The prisoner accord-
ingly called this morning. I merely asked him if he
had authorised the person to call who had brought the
letter addressed to me and signed "John Hall ?" He
replied that he had ; and he assured me that he had
received 1201. in consequence of that petition, and
that the money was paid over to Messrs. Swaisland.
I held the petition in my hand at the time, and he
told me the letter the woman brought to me was in
his handwriting.
'The LORD MAYOR—Prisoner, what have you to
say in answer to this most serious charge ? The
prisoner said, he had taken the petition to Mr. Thomp-
son on Monday, and he could not help pleading guilty
to the charge. He admitted also that the young
woman whom he had sent with the letter had re.
ceived 2/., but he protested most solemnly that he had
n of handled a halfpenny of it.
The LORD MAYOR—You spoke of the woman as
your wife. Is she your wife ? The prisoner—No,
my Lord. I merely said she was my wife • but she
is no relation to me. Ido not even know her. But
I acknowledge that I am guilty of this charge, and I
am very sorry for it.
The LORD MAYOR—I have not, in all my expe-
rience, met with a more gross impostor than you.
You have got up this case with all the ingenuity of a
regular trickster, and no doubt you have been very
successful, tOr it was one very hard to be detected.
You have not only told infamous lies as to the rob-
bery, but you have added a great variety of forgeries
to the falsehoods. It appears that you are well known
to the officers of the Mendicity Society, and I regret
that they have not produced any proof of a former
conviction. If they could produce evidence to that
effect I should be able to add the punishment of a
good sound whipping to that of three months' im-
prisonment and hard labour, to which I now adjudge
you.
Lewis Jones, Nathaniel Kingha, William Jarvis, of
the crew of the City of Rotterdam steam-vessel, and
George Benton, were brought before the Lord Mayor
and Alderman Gibbs upon an information charging
them with having been on board a vessel liable to for-
feiture for having on board a quantity of tobacco
upon which the duty had not been paid. The first
three pleaded " Guilty," the last " Not Guilty."
Benton was, of course, the only person against whom
evidence was called. Against him a case was proved,
and each of the thur defendants were fined 1001.,
and ordered to be committed until the penalties should
be paid.
The LORD MAYOR begged to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of 51. for thepoorlbox from " M. C."