The Sun.
London, England, 1851-12-12 00:00:00

ROMANCE IN REAL LIFE.

The late Mr. Basil Montagu, Q.C., whose death, at
the advanced age of 82, is recorded to have occurred
at Boulogne-sur-Mer on the 27th ult., was formerly a
Commissioner in Bankruptcy, and was so eminent a
practitioner in such matters that for many years he was
regarded as an oracle of the bankrupt laws. So little had
been heard of him of late years that many of his quon-
dam friends laboured under the impression that he had
long ago discharged the debt of nature. It is not
generally known that this distinguished lawyer was
the fourth son of John, fourth Earl of Sandwich, by
Miss Margaret Reay, a celebrated beauty of her day.
The melancholy fate of this lady inspired the deepest
public interest at the time, and the whole affair has
been justly styled one of the most romantic and ex-
traordinary love tales ever recorded, so much so that
it has often struck us with astonishment that, in these
novel-manufacturing and ready-reading days none
of the novelists who cater so strangely at times for
the public taste have seized upon the ample materials
this case affords as the groundwork for a book of
lasting and intense interest. Miss Margaret Resy,
the mother of the late Mr. Basil Montagu, was the
daughther of a stay-maker in Covent-garden, and
served her apprenticeship to a mantua maker, in
George's...court, St. John's-lane, Clerkenwell.
Having, during her apprenticeship, attracted
the attention of Lord Sandwich, he took
her under his protection, and treated her
from that period until her melanaholy sssassassination
with the greatest tenderness and affection, which was
sincerely returned by Miss Reay, until her introduc-
tion by his Lordship to ayoung ensign of the 68th Re-
giment, then in command of a recruiting party at Hun-
tingdon, in the neighbourhood of which stands Hitchen.
brook, the splendid mansion of the noble hsuse of
Montagu. Mr. James Hackman, the wretched
but highly gifted hero of thit sad nsrrative,
from the first moment of his introduction, fell des-
peratelyhaffi
rpdaesasihoinm increasedbytheinviwtaitthiontshhee
received
s in love with the mistress of his noble host, and
p s table. With the object of continuingyo p:oapnohrdhi tsiutsLankoi
assi-
duoustirnidcg
tiotnisshleadgyo
Lord-
ship's
engaging her affections aitnteddotfhtheleNhlorproe of ultimately
attentions to h.
holy orders obtained the living vert.on, in Nor-
folk, only a few months prior to the c
crime which brought him to theomsmc iffssoilodn of that
Miss Reay had given some encouragement to h. That
fiery
Passion cannot be denied ; the tenor of their corre-
spondence
clearly proves it, but gratitude towards the
Earl and prudential motives repecting the welfare of
her children induced her afterwards to refuse the offer
of the Rey. Gentleman's hand, and to intimate the

necessity which existed for discontinuing his visits for
their mutual interest and their peace of mind. Stung
to the quick by this sudden an unexpected termina-
tion of his long cherished and most ardent passion, no
doubt can exist in the minds of those who have care-
fully perused the highly interesting correspondence
between the parties, publisned many years ago by Mr.
Hubert Croft, in a volume entitled " Love and Mad-
ness," that Mr. Hackman's mind became unsettled,
and without meditating a crime which, properly
speaking, could scarcely be fairly classed in the cate-
tory of murder, there is no doubt that he became
weary of his own life ; and finally, though without
distinct premeditation, determined that she whom he
loved so passionately should share his fate. At this time
the Rev. Mr. Hackman was lodging in Duke's-conrt,
St. Martin's-lane, and the fatal day, April 7, 1799,
was occupied all the morning in reading Blair's Ser-
mons ; but in the evening, as he was walking towards
the Admiralty, he saw Miss Reay pass in her coach,
accompanied by Signora Galli. He followed and dis-
covered that she alighted at Covent-garden Theatre,
whither she went to witness the performance of Love
in a Village. Mr. Hackman returned to his lodgings,
and arming himself with a brace of pistols, wedt back
to the theatre, and when the performance was over,
as Miss Reay was stepping into her coach, he took
a pistol in each band, one of which he discbarped at
her and killed her on the spot, and the other at him-
self, which did not, however, take effect. He then
beat himself about the head with the butt-end of the
pistol in order to destroy himself, but was eventually,
after a dreadful struggle, secured and carried before
Sir John Fielding, who committed him to Tothill-
fields Bridewell, and afterwards to Newgate, where
he was narrowly watched to prevent his committing
suicide. He was shortly after tried at the Old
Bailey, before the celebrated Justice Blackstone,
author of the " Commentaries," found guilty, and
sentenced to be hanged at Tyburn on the 19th of
the month, where he suffered the last penalty of the
law with all the firmness becoming a gentleman
and a Christian who felt that he had com-
mitted an irreparable injury, and that his life was
justly forfeited to the outraged laws of his
country, although ho persisted to the last that
the idea of murdering the woman he so fondly
loved originated in the frenzy of the moment, and
never was or could have been premeditated. One cir-
cumstance in this slight narrative which redounds so
highly to the honour of the party most aggrieved in
this sad affair must not be omitted. Lord Sandwich
with a noblemindedness rarely exemplified in such
extreme cases of injury to the pride and sensibility of
man, wrote to Mr. Hackman after sentence of death
was passed upon him : .

. .
" 7th April, 1779.
" If the murderer of Miss - wishes to live, the man
he has most injured will use all his interest to prooure
his life."

The prisoner replied the same day—
" Condemned Cell in Newgate.
" The murderer of her whom he preferred, far pro•
ferred, to life, suspects the hand from which he has
just received such an offer as he neither desires nor de-
serves. His wishes are for death, not for life. One wish he
has —could he be pardoned in this world by the man he has
most i❑jured—oh, my Lord, when I meet her in another
world, enable me to tell her—if departed spirits are not
ignorant of earthly thi❑gs—that you forgive us both,
and that you will be a father to her dear children."
It is almost needless to observe that the Noble Earl
did faithfully comply with the dying wishes of the
wretched man, and was a good and generous father to
all the children of this connexion, of whom the
learned gentleman just deceased was one.—Morning
Post.

PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY OF BOOT
AND SHOEMAKERS' ASSISTANTS.

Oa Tuesday evening last the third annual festival of
this society was celebrated at the Cranbourne Hotel,
Upper St. Martin's-lane, when about one hundred mem-
bers and friends sat down to an excellent supper, the
chair being ably filled by J. Sparkes Hall, Esq.
After the cloth had been drawn, and the customary
loyal toasts responded to, the CHAIRIMAN gavo the toast of
the evening, "Success to the Philanthropic Society of
Boot and Shoemakers' Assistants," and in an excel-
lent speech alluded to the chief objects of the society,
more especially to one which be warmly supported, the
early closing of shop 3, as he believed that not only was
the health of their assistants affected, but their goods
also suffered from the injurious effects of gas. Intro-
ducing an anecdote of an old shoemaker, Timothy
Bennett, who defeat( d George 11., with reference to the
closing up of a public footpath, and quoting his phi-
lanthropic motto, " Let us endeavour to leave the world
better than we found it," the respected chairman ex-
pressed a hope that they would always remember this
precept, as he believed it was with such a spirit that
their association had been founded. After addressing
them at greater length than our limits will allow us to
give, during which he was repeatedly cheered; he con-
cluded by proposing the toast, which was enthusiastically
received and duly responded to.
Mr. JONEB, the secretary, then read the report, which
was admirably drawn up, and showed that there was a
handsome surplus in the bank and in the hands of the
treasurer, Mr. John Simpson, whose unwearied exertions
wore highly eulogized. It contained also an earnest ap-
peal for continued support, and explained the chief ob-
jects of the society.
Various toasts were then given, including the health
of the Chairman,and a handsome sum was subscribed in
aid of the funds.

Tho musical arrangements were under the direction
of Mr. Pawsey, assisted by Mrs. Pawsey, Mr. Seymour,
Mr. Butler, Mr. Edmonds, and Herr Kuchler, who
presided at the pianoforte; and the enjoyments of the
evening were greatly enlivened by several favourite
glees and songs, including an original composition, ap-
propriate for the occasion, the whole of which were
exceedingly well received.
. _ _

The various arrangements of Mr. Parrott and the
other stewards were most excellent, and in every re-
spect an evening was spent extremely satisfactory to all

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

SHERIFFS' COURT, Dec. 11.
FALSE IMPRISONMENT—JARVIS V. KINGSMILL.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.)
For the defendant it was contended that the detention
of the plaintiff wai to a great extent attributable to his
own conduct, and that it was evident that he had been
lending himself to the mistake in order to shield his
friend Mr. Wilson.
Richards, jun., said that be had been sent by
plaintiff to Mr. Wilson's for linen, and on the Thursday
ho saw a collar on plaintiff's dressing-table, and took it
to his father and mother, and there was the name of
Wilson on it. Witness had taken notes to Wilson's, and
had others in return, but they were not addressed.
Mr. PRENTIS addressed the jury in reply, and parti-
cularly drew their attention to the contradictions between
Hart and Richards. As to the absence of the address on
the notes, he urged that it was quite natural that a per-
son would not address a note under such circumstances,
which was to be carried by a strange boy, and his name
might have transpire f, and it might have reached the
ears of his brother officers. Whatever kindly feeling the
plaintiff might have towards Richards, it did not mate-
rially affect the case, as in reality Hart was the party
who would ultimately be responsible.
The UNDER-SHERIFF briefly said that the plaintiff
must have a verdict, but no special damage was alleged,
such as the loss of his commission, by not joining his
regiment in time. The only question was what damages
the plaintiff had sustained.
The jury, after a short consultation, retired.
The Foreman said they differed as to whether the
officer ought not to have made proper inquiry, and have
released the plaintiff without requiring the indemnity.
After a short time they gave a verdict for 251.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.
NORTHERN ClRCUlT.—Liverpool, Dec. 11.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Baron PARKE.)
John Hampson, 34, was indicted for the wilful
murder, at Manchester, on the 17th of August, of
Mary Hampson.
Mr. Monk and Mr. Assheton Cross conducted the
prosecution, and Mr. Ovens defended the prisoner.
Thesecu
prisoner and tho deceased were man and wife.
tion,
By trade he was a clogger, and the woman worked in
a factory. It appeared that they did not live very
comfortably together, and the evidence showed that
on the night of Sunday, the 17th of August last,
they were quarrelling between ten and eleven o'clock.
A woman of the name of Bethell saw them go into
their house about five minutes before ten o'clock, and
she then heard the prisoner charging his wife with
drinking. She retorted that it was not at his expense,
but did not deny that she had had some drink. She
was, however, sober. They were heard by Mrs.
Bethell to continue their angry words after they
entered the house, and the prisoner was seen by her
to get up several times and go towards the deceased,
on each of which occasions she heard a smack as if
he was striking her. About half-past ten o'clock
Alice Helliwell heard the quarelling going on, and
soon after saw the prisoner come out of the house,
and the deceased come to the door and shout after him
to go where he had been before. She then shut the
door and locked it, upon which the prisoner turned
back and called to her to open it, but she did not do
so. He went aside as if he was going away, and the
deceased then opened the door and looked out, upon
which the prisoner came forward and went in, and
the door was again fastened. It would appear that
soon after this a., Mrs. Hargreaves, who lives in the
adjoining house, was awakened by a noise as of some
one falling down stairs, but was somewhat confused
in her mind, and the prisoner and his wife being fre-
quently to her knowledge in the habit of quarrelling,
she thought nothing more of it. This witness spoke
to the fact of her clock having struck eleven about a
minute before the noise she described. There ap-
peared to be some discrepancy among the witnesses
as to time, for George Small, a very material wit-
ness, proved that at five minutes past eleven he spoke
to the prisoner as he was passing his door and going
in the direction of his own house. In about twenty
minutes he returned to Small's house, and, the door
being then shut, he knocked until it was opened, upon
which he said "My wife has fallen down stairs, and
I believe she has killed herself." In reply to Small's

FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 12, lB5l.

question as to how it was, he said that he had knocked
at the door, and his wife had got up out of her bed,
and on her way to let him in had fallen down stairs
and had been lying there half an hour, and the
door was fast and he could not get in. Small went
with the prisoner to his house, and found the door
locked inside. Eventually, after Small had got a
hammer to remove the fastening of the shutters, the
prisoner got in through the window. Mrs. Small
then came up, and the door was, at her request,
opened. Upon entering they found the deceased lying
on the floor in her chemise, her head being sideways
on the centre of the bottom step of the stairs, and her
feet pointed towards the door. There was a quantity
of clotted blood where her head had lain, and she had
also bled from the nose and right ear. She was quite
insensible, but they raised her up, and put her on
to a chair. Small begged the prisoner to go to Dr.
Race, but he said it was of no use ; " what a d--
fool he should look to go for a doctor for a drunken
woman." He persuaded him to go, however,
and he returned, saying Dr. Race would be there
directly. It would seem, however, that the prisoner
never went for him. The deceased was subsequently
removed to bed. She groaned once, but did not speak,
but began to vomit considerably. Dr. Race had not
arrived up to half-past twelve o'clock, when Small
left the house. There was a clothesprop lying on
the centre of the stairs when this witness first went
in, and it was over this the prisoner averred that his
wife had fallen. She was found with her head
touching the bottom end of the prop. The deceased
lingered until three o'clock on Friday morning, when
she expired.
Mr. Evan Thomas, surgeon—Was sent to the de-
ceased on Tuesday night by a Roman Catholic cler-
gyman, as no medical man had previously seen her.
Upon examining her he found her in bed quite insen-
sible. There was a wound towards the temple and
behind the ear, about an inch long, lacerating it very
much. He considered that she was labouring under
compression of the brain. On examining the body
he found contusions on the left collarbone behind the
right shoulder, on the left side, near the arm-pit, and
a very large one about four inches in extent below
the left breast, one on the right groin, one over the
right knee, one inside the left knee, and several on
the shins. He made a post mortem examination on
the Saturday, when he found the skull fractured
across the base, and a good deal of blood effused into
and upon the brain, which, in other respects, was
healthy. There was also a rupture on the left ear.
The witness gave it as his opinion that direct vio-
lence must have caused the wound on the ear, unless
she had fallen on something sharp, and that that had
been the cause of death, and expressed himself as
being perfectly satisfied that all the injuries could not
have been caused by a fall down the stairs, though
such a fall might have produced some of the bruises
he had observed. He thought that the same blow
which in his opinion inflicted the wound on the ear,
might have caused the fracture of the skull. She was
five months advanced in pregnancy.
Upon cross-examination, this witness said he would
not say that, had she fallen, of herself even, upon the
sharp edge of the stair the wound on the ear might
not have been produced by such a fall.
Mrs. Flinn, a woman who was in the habit of
going to work at the prisoner's house, saw the de-
ceased on the Monday morning, when she was sen
sible but very drowsy, and she then complained of
headache, and the witness bouund her head round
with a handkerchief. The prisoner told her that he
only pretended to go to the doctor, as it was only a
drunken bout, and he did not wish to be the laugh-
ingstock of the neighbourhood.
The Learned JUDGE here recalled the medical
man, who said, in answer to a question from his
Lordship, that though the bruises were all recent he
would not say that they might not have ben inflicted
at different times.

The Inspector of Police proved that the prisoner
stated to him that his wife had fallen down stairs, and
that she had told him that she was some months gone
in pregnancy, and she was sure she could not re-
cover. This witness described the nature of the
staircase in the prisoner's house, from which it ap-
peared that the stairs go right up into the room above,
but that the banister stops short of the room by about
two feet, so that the head of the staircase is left de-
fenceless.

The deceased's sister was called to prove that she
was perfectly sober on the day in question, having had
nothing but a little whisky.
Another inspector proved that at the bride well, in
answer to the charge of beating his wife and endan-
gering her life, he said, " I declare to God I did not
beat her ; I merely gave her one slight tap on the
head ; she fell down stairs when she was going to let
me in."

Mr. Race, apothecary, of Oldham-road, Man-
chester, who lives about 150 or 200 yards from the
prisoner, proved that no one came to him on the night
in question to go to the prisoner's house.
Mr. OVENS addressed the jury on behalf of the pri-
soner, and contended, that no proof being given of any
malice in this case, the charge of murder could not he
substantiated, and that the principal question for their
consideration was whether or not this was a case of
manslaughter. He urged them not to allow them-
selves to be prejudiced by the very natural feeling
they might have from a good deal of the evidence that
the prisoner had somehow er other, from his ill-treat-
ment, caused her death. The Learned Counsel then
went at some detail into the consideration of the evi-
dence, and concluded by leaving the case with confi-
dence in the hands of the jury.
His LORDSHIP summed up the evidence with great
minuteness, and

The jury, after considering for some time in the
box, retired from court, and in about half an hour re-
turned with a verdict of Guilty of manslaughter.
Sentence was deferred.

John Charles Keith, the Irish soldier, who was
convicted on Monday of assault and robeery, was
called up, and having received from the sergeant of
his regiment an excellent character, was sentenced to
six months' imprisonment.

NISI PRIUS COURT.-(Before Mr. Justice EaLE.)
Patrick O'Toole, who was yesterday convicted of
not surrendering under a fiat in bankruptcy, was
sentenced this morning to be transported for seven
years.
John Kilburn was indicted for having, at Liverpool,
unlawfully and by force and violence assaulted, re-
sisted, and obstructed George Jones, he being an
officer of the Customs, and in the execution of his
office.

The jury convicted the prisoner, at the same time
recommending him to mercy.
The Learned JUDGE, in passing sentence, said that
it was of great importance that officers should be pro-
tected in the discharge of a public duty ; but, taking
into consideration that the prisoner had hitherto borne
an irreproachable character, and the recommendation
of the jury, he thought the ends of justice would be
attained by sentencing him to six months' impri-
sonment.

heel of his boot she was so frightened that she ran out
of the room. Afterwards she got the prosecutrix into
bed and bathed her head, which was cut open on the
top. On the Saturday night after be had struck her
with the hammer witness saw him kick her in the
lower part of the abdomen. She called out for as-
sistance, for she saw the prosecutrix was insensible.
She did not see him use the hammer, but she found
it afterwards under the table. She could not say
whether there were any marks of blood on it.
The defendant asked the witness if she had not said
to his wife that it was her (the wife's) fault, as she
had aggravated him when he was in a good temper.
Witness denied having ever done so.
A person named Hockley, residing in the same
house, said he overheard the disturbance in the dc-
fendant's room on the Friday and Saturday nights.
On the latter occasion he remonstrated with the de-
fendant, and called him a few vile names for beating
his wife, when he said he would have a glass of beer
with witness, and tell him all about it. He asked
witness if he should like his wife to keep bad hours
and do bad things. Witness at that time saw the
hammer in the defendant's coat pocket. He thought
it was a poker, and called out to that effect.
Mn.rkerow, 126 E, said he was called about two
o'clock on the morning of Sunday, the 23d of Novem-
ber, to No. 30, Stephen-street. He went up to the
defendant's room and saw the prosecutrix lying on
the floor insensible—her head in a pool of blood.
There was a wound as long as his finger on the top of
her head, and another wound at the back of her ear.
He discovered the latter at the hospital. He found
the handkerchief produced. There were several per-
sons in the room. He asked if any of them would
charge the defendant. No answer was given, and
thinking it likely from what he had seen that the
woman would die, he took him on his own respon-
sibility.

The defendant, in answer to the case, complained
that his wife had kept late hours. On the Friday
night she did not get home until half-past twelve,
and when he asked her where she had been, she said
she had been to the theatre to see the " Bloomers."
He asked her what theatre, and she told him to
mind his own business. He charged her with
having been to a Mrs. Robertson's, when she told
him to trouble his head with his own concerns, and
to go and leave the place, as she had not taken the
room in his name, and the sooner he was gone the
better. She excited him by saying that, and he struck
her, upon which she took up a knife, and threw a
candlestick at him. He threw his boot at her, but,
whether that cut her head, or whether it was cut
through her falling down, he could not tell. On the
Saturday night she struck him because he refused to
sleep with her. He told the young woman West to
sleep with her, and that he should sleep in her bed.
She was very violent and threw things about, and the
bruises she got were from falls, not kicks.
This was denied by the prosecutrix and the witness
West.

The policeman said the prosecutrix was taken to
the hospital on a stretcher, and, when there, she had
above 20 fits. Her ribs were severely bruised ; there
was a running wound in her leg as if a piece had been
kicked out ; and she appeared to have been sub-
jected to a long course of brutal treatment.
The surgeon at the hospital said he had never seen
a woman in so emaciated a condition from ill-usage.
West said she had lived with the prosecutrix by
way of protection, as she was afraid her husband
would murder her.

The DEPUTY 'JUDGE having summed up,
The jury at once returned a verdict of Guilty.
The brother of the prosecutrix now stood forward
and stated she had gone with him to the theatre on
Friday night, be having met her in the street as she
was leaving work. The defendant had used her most
brutally for three years, and her family, who lived in
the country, were afraid, when they heard of a man
having murdered his wife in Marylebone, that prose-
cutrix was the victim, knowing, as they did, that they
lived in that part of the town, and that Clarke was
continually ill-treating her. Onlya fortnight before
this her father had to interfere for her protection, and
she was never free from black eyes. They had only
lived in Stephen-street a fortnight, and the last place
they lived in they had notice to leave and their rent
was given them.
The young woman West said the prosecutrix al-
ways was afraid the defendant would murder her.
She had never been free from black eyes caused by
the defendant's violence since she had known her.
The DEPUTY• JUDGE sentenced the defendant to
imprisonment with hard labour for twelve months.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
GUILDHALL.

William James Millson, who has from time to time
appeared under the aliases of Chadwick, Williams,
Baillie, and Dr. .Harris, and described himself as
seneschal of Lincoln, the rejected candidate for the
borough of St. Alban's, as well as a preacher and
member of the Society of Friends, was brought up for
further examination on various charges of obtaining
money under false pretences, and otherwise defraud-
ing a great number of tradesman.

lir:Vann attended, as on the former occasion, for
the prosecution, and Mr. Bury Hutchinson for the
prisoner. . _ _

The prisoner was committed for trial on the first
charge preferred against him, and on which he was
apprehended. The same bail was consented to.

WORSHIP-STREET.

Henry Le Noir and James Smith, two determined-
looking fellows, were charged with having been con-
cerned in several ingenious robberies.
The prisoners declined offering any answer' and
they were committed until that day week for the
completion of the evidence.