The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-10 00:00:00

THE BANDIT POACHER.

Nothing is now talked of in the neighbourhood of
Holstein but the exploits of a famous bandit, named
Eidit, or Eidit. He is a tall finely-made man, of a
prepossessing exterior. It is said he is the son of a
Hanoverian forest-keeper, and that he left his native
place in consequence of having committed some offence,
the nature of which is not known. Man, however,
has nothing to fear from him, as he confines his deeds
of blood to the four-footed inhabitants of the forest,
against whom he carries on a war of extermination ;
he is, indeed, a poacher par excellence, and wishing
to maintain the reputation for being at the top of the
profession, he has organised a numerous band, who
act under his directions. The peasantry, whondt was
never very difficult to persuade that the destruCtiOrTa-
the game which devastated their fields was desirable,
taken by his eloquence, second his projects with the
greatest alacrity. We hear of cart-loads of stags,
hares, leverets, and kinds of game passing to the dif-
ferent towns for miles round, whither they are sent
from the head-quarters of this magnificent freebooter ;
while all coming from the regular traders to the mar-
kets are seized upon by his emissaries as contraband.
Armed with a double-barrelled gun and a brace of
pistols he maybe seen openly perambulating the neigh-
bouring villages, or enjoying his glass at the cabaret.
He is known to every body, but no one seems to wish
to lay hands on him ; and- he has always hitherto
escaped from the snares which have been laid for him
by the authorities. Sometimes he retires to Hamburg
for a while, and then returns to the scene of action.
So well, however, are his dependents organized, that
his absence does not interfere with the prosperity of
his traffic. It is said that some of his subordinate
agents not making a sufficiently scrupulous distinction
between men and bucks, recently robbed a farmer,
who complained to the chief ; whereupon he not only
ordered immediate restitution to be made, but also had
the robber severely chastised in the presence of the in-
jured man.—Altona Mercury.

(From the Cornwall Royal Gazette.)
In consequence of a commission issued by the Lord
Chancellor, a court of inquiry into the case of Mr. John
Bassett, formerly of the parish of St. Enoder, an alleged
lunatic, was held at Pearce's Hotel, Truro, on Wednesday
last, before W. Hughes, Esq., barrister, and a respectable
jury of thirteen persons.
Mr. Simmons, as solicitor for the commission, briefly
stated the case. The supposed lunatic was the son of the
late Mr. Bassett, of St. Enoder, who died in 1830. From
his childhood the subject of the inquiry had been remarked
for wildness and eccentricity, which increased as he grew
up, until it was found necessary, in 1814, to place him in
an asylum at Exeter, whence he was subsequently removed
to one near Taunton, where he still remained. He should
not further detain them, but proceed to call the witnesses.
Mr. A. Cock had known Mr. Bassett, the lunatic, from
his childhood ; they were schoolfellows. When at school
lie was considered eccentric and unlike other boys ; as he
grew up and attained the age of 16 or 17 his eccentricities
and wildness increased. In 1809 he was very wild and
violent, and evidently of unsound mind ; people were afraid
of him, at he generally carried pistols ; his constant con-
versation was about shooting dogs and people. Mr. Cock
here stated several cases of wildness on the part of Mr.
Bassett, such as wearing a veil ; riding about in a cocked
hat ; standing on the back of a horse at full gallop with his
arms extended ; and also conducting himself in a most im-
proper manner when at church, by nodding to and laughing
gMenEeTelonDbeloonegißngEtsoTthoißs
townrsTG at the clergyeaan during divine service, and sometimes putting
SUSPENDED I rec R ED
Ar INCREDIBLE.—NEW
T.- To si \I
T.
lwA
on his bat and walking out of the church in the middle of
the sermon.
Mr. W. S. Treleaven has known Mr. Bassett since 1809 ; has a greyhound bitch, which lately had ten pups. Having
saw him go to the top of Truro church steeple, during the hhaedoardpelreendtiful supply of that species of quadruped at the time,
the whole to be drowned in a 'large tub full of
dinner hour of the workmen ; he ascended the ladders, the water. The
top of one of which was not secured, and got on the cap of hour after all slips ofs were
e allowedlife had t
disappeared,
sa red, and were remain
the spire, where he jumped about and extended one of his wards buried in a horse dung-hill.
Ipnpaebaontvtthonafter-
the
after-
legs. On another oceazion saw him at Bodmin, within 50 wards sounds of yelping and yowling issued d from'3 s g sue the dung_
yards of the range of the target when the volunteers were hill, and on turning up the soil
where
the pups had been
firing at it ; he also wore an old court dress and a cocked buried, they were all found to be " ales and weal, an livin'
l"
ha te 1809, witness has always conceived to be of However incredible the above mam, we give 'it on the
uns. Sincind. authority of a gentleman who is ready yto vouch for the fact.
ound m
Mr. William Edward Gillett, the medical superintendent —Dundee Chronicle.
at Fairwater-house, Taunton, Somersetshire, stated that DREADFUL OCCURRENCE BY FIRE-ARMS, AT
the lunatic was placed under his ca:e on the 25th of Octo- MUSWELL-lIILL. NEAR HIGHGATE.--On Wednesday afternoon,
ber, 1822, at which time he was deci,ledly labouring under between three and four o'clock, the following deplorable and
an aberration •of intellect. He has continued under his melancholy accident occurred at Muswell-hill, near Highgate,
care iron) that time to the present, wit.:iuul alteration or to Mr. J. -Page, a :espc,-table young man, residing at Mils-
amendment. He occasionally discovers continents and well-hill. It appears from his statement that he had gone out
islands, particularly one he calls Luciolpho, which he insists bwiirtdhshinis fhtionfifoorldtshedpurposeof amusing himself shooting small
contains gold, silver, and a newly discovered mineral he inuaring the afternoon. He was gathering
some blackberrie, hedge, when, not being able to reach
names dinir er ; red eailh .he calls radge, and says it con- one ofthe '
branches, the unfortunate man imprudently endea-
tains gold, with many other neculiar notions. voured to reach it with the butt end of his gun ; the piece
s .
Several other witnesses having been examined, being loaded, arid having the muzzle of it directed towards his
The lunatic was introduced : his dress wag neat and breast, by some accident the trigger must have been touched,
clean ; he wore a brown travelling cap, and a spot.'ed cot- when, melanch:3ly to relate, the contents entered his right arm,
ton handkerchief thrown across his shoulders like a ,shawl. shattering it in pieces ; from the closeness of the piece to his
On entering the room he appeared greatly excited ; arPlied clothes, they were ignited by the wadding, and the poor suf-
ferer was also dreadfully burnt on the side and neck. After
the epithets blackguard, monkey of hell, &c., to the Om'
missioner, who he contended was the Duke of Nortlilm.'- somehis
re
Snow,stiidmeeneaes:sistAaTreeia-as procured, and he was conveyed to
berland ;he said he was 48 years of age, which number he for from Hit legate, who
a surgeon,
attended,was immediately sent
promptly
.. . dressed his
wrote down on a sheet of paper, and challenged any once I wounds, but he lies - in a very precarious situation.
present to add a figure which would make the amount STATE OF TRADE IN LANCASHIRE.—It is Sit-
equal to 50,000 dollars. On leaving the room he bowed
tis-factory to observe the rapidly improving condition of all
very low, turning himself quite round, and near the door on
going out recognized Mr. Cock, whom he had not seen for part ie,.,+,. manufacturers and operatives, engaged in the staple
trade 01 this district. We have recently visited most towns in
20 years ; he also recognized and spoke to his uncle, Mr.
the cou.-tt)., .and hadfrequent opportunities of witnessing the
Williams. His appearance and behaviour was that of an
amazing 3tr.'des of the cotton trade, which now seems likely
insane person. to exhibit eve.l greater wonders than it has hitherto presented.
The ComMISSIONER recapitulated the evidence to the The result of cti r inquiries would show that the cotton menu-
Jury, and the Jury retired, and in about 20 minutes re- facture is widely ,extending itself ' lin a most esTry quarter where
turned, finding that Mr. Bassett was now insane, and had natural advantages invite its continuance and introduction, and
been so from 1802, and that he lied no lucid intervals. in some places it is caperseding other descriptions of trade,
The Solicitor to the Commission stated, that- as the de- and forcing them into more favourable positions. Many new
vision of the Jury respecting the property of the lunatic cotton mills have lately been erected in the neighbourhood of
Rochdale ; and it is the opinion of men well able
ftot speak.
would not be final, no evidence on that head would be
confidently on the subject, that theweollenm anumatco Torkl
offered. The Jury then fotm4 that as to his is:open:3i, and
the county will, at no distant day, be driven wholly_ its
insane, he had alienated any pail of it since he had .been
shire and Montgomeryshire, and the cotton trade occupy its
insane, they knew nothing. place. The stocks of manufactsnred goods on hand are gene-
rally low, and in several parts of .Lancashire great difficulty is
I experienced in executing export 0.-ders uithin the time re-
-1 quired. Whilst this activity is e,peo i
eueed, t is gratifying to
A know that the condition of the working classes is
although only to a small extent. ,
bitl tieir improved,
prospects seem
;g2.tening ; and it is to be hoped that ere long a more liberal
-ration for their labour will be obtained. Few, if any,
em un-
hands are now unemployed, and Lancashire, from ono
effect4v6
other, is a scene o active industry and comparative
a end to tilt'
contentn'en t. One class of operatives, the hand-loom weavers,
still " b:0). and bare," but their wages are slightly advanced,
and plentiful .employment 'keeps up their spirit. Various rea-
sons may be as
.'fined for this general iraprovement,,all of them
tending to show chat, as it is not the effect of speculation—it is
Jikely to be perw, ent.—jeancuL .ester Paper. ,- .

INTERESTING SCIENTIFIC FACT.—It is w",:11
known that at the period of the great earthquake at Lisbon,
the waters of Lochness, in this neigP:.;purhood, were agitated
considerably, as if by a violent storm, and rose about a foot
above their ordinary level. The extreme depth a the lake,
which in some places is as much as 130 fathoms, was consi-
dered the cause of this remarkable phenomenon ; but we ob-
serve an equally extraordinary fact recorded by an English
paper, the Brighton Gazette. On the day of the late erup-
tion of Mount Vesuvius, which was the most violent that has
occurred in the memory of the present generation, an earth-
quake took place at Chichester. Could any subterranean
communication have paused this coincidence? We can hardly
believe it was accidental.—.j;tverriess Courier.