The Sun.
London, England, 1834-08-23 00:00:00

IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT.

Yesterday evening an inquest was held at the Red Lion,
Prince's-street, Drury-lane, before Mr. Stirling, to inquire
touching the death of Elizabeth Kirby, aged only 18,
daughter of the late clown at Drury-lane, who himself com-
mitted suicide about six years ago.
The evidence adduced was as follows

Mr. James Lloyd Emerson, pupil at the Royal Infirmary
for children, Waterlooroad, deposed that he knew the de-
ceased, who resided with Mr. Civester, chemist, of Princes's-
street, Drury-lane, as his housekeeper. Witness called at
the house of Mr. Civester about seven o'clock on Wednes-
day evening last, and saw the deceased, who said that Mr.
Civester had been taken from home to White Cross-street
prison for a debt of iMs. ; that he.(Mr. C.) sent a message
to witness a short time before. Witness returned home,
and, having obtained the amount of the debt, proceeded to
White Cross-street prison, where he obtained the discharge
of Mr. Civester, and they both returned to the residence of
the latter. They, however, could not gain admittance for
some time ; a lodger at length opened the door, when the
deceased was discovered lying on the sofa in a back par-
lour apparently in a state of great suffering. A phial which
had contained laudanum was found in th room, as also a
broken tumbler. Witness immediately obtained proper
antidotes, which he administered to the deceased ; and sub-
sequently Mr. Lane, a surgeon, residing in Drury-lane, was
sent for, who attended with the stomach-pump, and a quantity
of mucus was brought off the stomach strongly impregnated
with laudanum ; she, however, rapidly sank, and died about
midnight.
By the Jury—l understand that bans marriage were
published between the deceased mid Mr. Civester. I am
positive that the deceased and Mr. Civester were on the
best terms. When the deceased communicated to me that
Mr. Civester was taken to Whitecross-street, she was much
agitated, arid appeared to feel it deeply. I cannot account
for Mr. Civester being taken to prison for such a trifle. His
friends are highly respectable, and well off in a pecuniary
way. The deceased lived with Mr. Civester as his wife. I
am sure it was his (Mr. C.'s) intention to marry her.
Both the Coroner and the Jury commented on the strong-
est terms upon the severe law of imprisonment for debt,
where a man could be dragged from his home to a prison
for a few shillings. It was high time the. Legislature should
put a stop. to such a law.
The CORONER observed there could be no doubt that
the unfortunate young creature had sunk under the shock
of her intended husband being dragged away to prison.
From her tender years she magnified, the horrors of it,
which in addition to her peculiar situation, drove her to the
commission 'of the act.

Mr. Lane, the surgeon, said that the deceased could not
have taken less than eight ounces of laudanum.
Verdict—" That the deceased poisoned herself, being at
the time in a state of temporary mental derangement."

HAMMERSMITH PETTY SESSIONS, AUG. 22.

TWOPENNY V. CRACKUM.

Joe Crackum appeared before the bench, to answer a
summons obtained by Bill Twopenny, under the Wilful
Damage Act, charging him with maliciously injuring his
ass, and damaging his machine.

The complainant and defendant are both professors of
the (black) art of chimney-sweeping. Crackum being a
staunch supporter of our venerable institutions, repudiates
the new-fangled notion of sweeping chimnies by a machine
and stieks, and supports the good old custom of having
climbing boys for that purpose. Twopenny, on the other
hand, strongly supports the new mode, which is dictated by
humanity.

The complainant, the obliquity of whose vision was most
enchanting, said, your Vortchips, I'm Bill Twopenny, and
the civilest and quietest chap living, tho' I says it myself,
as shouldn't say so ; that's if people vill let me. Joe
Crackum, there, and I, vas always friends, 'till I saw the
hiumerpriety of making living boys go up the chimbly ; so
I says to myself, I'll 'mancipate my chaps, which I does
'mediately. .

Magistrate.—What has that to do with your complaint?
Come to the point.

Twopenny.—That's the pint, your vortchips, I vants to
tell you. Vell I 'mancipates my chaps, and gets me a ma-
sheen, and cos I vas patrunhised by the ladies for my 'uma-
pity, Joe Crackum alvays 'sults me.
Magistrate.--Come to the point ; tell us what he did on
Tuesday.

Twopenny.—l'se come to that pint directly, and as I
said afore, cos I 'mancipated my chaps, and got a masheen,
he always 'sults me. Tuesday, as I vos coming long the
road, with it on my ass—l alvays carries it on my ass vhen
I goes out to use it. So as I vos saying, as I vos coming
long the road, Joe Crackum there, halloos arter me,
" There goes Twopenny Bill, with his Tommy (machine)
on his ass." Presently arter I meets him • agin, when he
sings out to me-
4, If I'd a donkey rot vouldn't go,
D'ye think I'd vollop him ? No, no no ;"
and \about more ado he upsets my ass, and breaks my ma-
sheen. So I says to him, says I, " Joe, you've no feelings
of 'umanity in you, to hurt my poor ass, and as I'se a riglar
'scriber to the hanimals' sciety, I'll punish you." •
Joe Crackum, in his defence, said, " I belongs to the
Chummies' Society, and wouldn't be guilty of nothing
whatsumdever what was ungentlemanly. Bill Twopenny
always chaffs me 'bout 'mancipating my slaves, as he says
all black slaves were 'mancipatedpn the Ist of August.
Twopenny—l doesn't say nothing of the kind.
Crackum—You know.: you does. Well, last Friday,
when I meets him on the road, he says to me, " So the
Leggislater has made a new hact, and so if you now calls
out Sweep,' and wakes the great uns out of their sleep in
the mornings afore they goes to bed, they'll make you tip
up forty bob." So, says I, that hact hopperates on you as
much as me, so you need not chaff so much about it. So,
says he, " they know as how I'm 'umane, so they won't
make me tip up." So as I saw that he thought no dirt of
himself, I chaffed him with a bit of a song I. sings ; but I
can assure your Honours that I never touched his ass nor
his Tommy.
4 person, who was accidentally passing when the ren-
contre took place, came for Ward, and having proved that
Crackum did upset the donkey, which hurt its leg, and that
the bead of the machine was broken off by the fall, the Ma-
gistrates inflicted a fine of 10s., and cautioned them not to
come there again, or he would make them both find bail
to keep the peace.

HIGHLAND TRAVELLING OF YORE BY POST.
—Notwithstanding, however, that, since the middle of the last
century, the communication between the Highlands and Low-
lands .was opened in several directions, yet the inhabitants
were extremely slow in availing themselves of the advantages
of easy and expeditious travelling. For a considerable time
after the suppression of the rebellion of 1745, the great High-
land road by Badenoch was infested by gangs of desperate
robbers, and so unsafe was the route across the Grampians,
that many persons made their wills before undertaking a Jour-
ney beyond their own neighbourhood. Garrons, or little
Highland ponies, were then used by gentlemen as well as by
the peasantry ; inns were few and uncomfortable ; and even
when post-chaises were introduced, the expense of hiring one
was thought on for weeks, perhaps months, and arrangements
made far dividing it among as many individuals as it would
contain. If the harness and springs of the vehicle kept toge-
ther, the travellers were introduced, jaded and weary, on the
evening of the eighth day after that on which they had left In-
verness, to the High-street or the Grass-market of Edinburgh.
—Anderson's Guide.