The Sun.
London, England, 1802-01-04 00:00:00

COURT OF REQUESTS, JAN. 2.

Philip Steers, one of the porters belonging to the
Golden Cross, summoned Mr. —, an eminent
Jeweller near the. NeW Church, for the sum of
seven shillings, the value 'of a turkey left at his
house on Christmas Eve. The..name on the direc_ ;
tion•had by some means been obliterated, but the:
address, " Jeweller and :Silversmith, near the New''
Church," stood. --The porter said he. carried the
turkey to the 'Ddendant's • house, and asked the
maid-servant whether her master expeded 'such a
present from the country ; she replied, he frequently
received presents, and she had no doubt it was for
him ; accordingly she paid the porterage and took
in the turkey, which was dressed and lormed part
of the Christmas-day dinner, at which, no doubt,
4,the unknown donor's heajth was drank. In the
Mean time, the person who was the lawful con-
signee of the turkey, received advice of its having
been sent ; he therefore applied at the office, and
after. a few inquiries discovered, ,it .had been taken
to,,grace the. table of his neighbour.—T4• porter
instantly paid the demand that was. made upon him
for the value of the turkey, conceiving that he Was
bound io repair the consequence of his mistake ; he
,then, resorted to the Defendant, and desired 10 be
reimbursed, but the Defendant refused, observing,
that it was his own mistake, and he intik suffer
for it. Upon the above fads being stated,
,the De--
fendant was called upon for an answer : he insisted
he had no right to pay the money ;, that he would
not have bought a turkey, nor had one for dinner,
if the one in question . had not come as a present.;
and that if he was obliged to pay,
,it would enable
poulterers to get off their hands any quantity of
their poultry, no matter whether-good or bad, for
whatever prices they pleased to ask, by having them'
sent from the country, and conniving with the por-
ter at the inn, to deliver them to.wrongdiredionsl-
under pretence that the realone was erased. •
One of the 'Commissioners observed, that there
was no pretence for imputing to the:Plaintiff any
such trick as the Defendant had supposed, by way
of defence.—lt was- but fair and reasonable that
the person who had ate the turkey should pay for
it ; and accordingly, the Defendant was awarded
to pay seven shillings, with costs of suit.----At this
decision, the Jeweller's eyes sparkled with choler.
The Court and audience burst-into a fit of laughter
at his expence, and he retired, exhibiting, to. the
no small entertainment of the spedators, all the
wrath and irritability of the turkey-cock, in the
demolition of which he' had taken -so active a part
on. Christmas-Day.
...kichard Rost, a Journeyman Hairdresser, Was
summoned for zs. 6d.. for the use of a -cocked hat,
to go to a ball in. The Plaintiff, who is a Hatter
in the Haymarket, said he very frequently charged
4s. and ss. for the loan of a cockedbat, and, that he
had made the present demand so low ;on
.account of
the Defendant's situation in life.--4he Defendant
contended, that a second-liand hat. as this was'(uot
worth a guinea), was too extravagantly paid, for at
zs.
ifß6ad. a night.rberswou '
would be
Commissioners
esuchfools,astogoobstoerbvaeldl,s,tliirtt
stead of staying at 'home and minding their business,
• they must be content to pay for their folly.

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LONDON: Printed by BUCHANAN M.MILLAN, 40t Boiw;S. tree!, covent_Garden,); and Published by ‘VILL: Am ARNticF.a SCR IPP3; (ot'llorse-terry-road;. Westminster);.
At the Styri-Orptcz, Nij
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