The Sun.
London, England, 1802-03-12 00:00:00

. . •
the room he saw 'Mrs. Robinson (whom he had
never seen before) seated in a chair, with a tnble
before her and papers on it ; that she appeared in
state of 'the utmost stupiclity;or intoxication ihat:
she began to sign her name, but, not :being well
able to finish it, the pen was taken out of her hand
by Mr. Geale, and again put into it ; that at length
she finished the name, and the Witnesses signed ; but
that, in his opinion, she was by no means in a state
to execute any paper ; that there were no words
passed by which the Witness knew this paper to be
a Will; that the Defendant was present at the exe-
cution of the Will, and, to the best of hiScrecollee-
don, the maid-servant of Mrs. Robinson was prez.
sent, who then went by her maiden name, Betty
Bodkin, but who is now Mrs. Stevenson, wife to
the Defendant. This paper was • signed at so later
an hour as eleven o'clock at night.—The Witnesses
then returned in a post-chaise to town, where they
arrived about two o'clock inithe. morning. ; On his
return home, be had some conversation with his
aunt, who, told hiM, " that paper you. signed is,
that old Lady's Will,- and young Stevenson will be
the better for it."' Some short time after the exe-
cution of this Will, the Witness disobliged the Ste-.
vensons by marrying a servant-maid, who, they
said, was of a bad. charafter ; but whom; the Wit-
ness says, he married out of a very respectable house
in Cheapside, and whose real fault in .the eyes O.; his
relations was,..that,she was poor. In Conseqtnce
of this disagreement he left his uncle's hottA and
was in different services. At last he worked'-on the
•
quays,. in -the capacity of a ticket-porter for about
six years, when, by the severity of the labour, he
broke some- blood-vessels, and was disabled from
following that employment. He then worked for
different Orange-merchants during the season, while
there was any thing to be done. - When the season
was over, .he supported himself and his wife by
selling matches when the Weather was bad,- and
when the weather was fine, he carried a show-box
about the neighbouring conntry towns ar4 fairs;
that he was once reduced to such a state of poverty
as to be obliged to ask his cousin, the present De-
fendant, for, a,letter to the Inquest, recommending'
him for some temporary relief. This the Defendant
gave him with some difficulty, and with much ap...
parent indifference. Upon the Witness"sNife call-
ing upon the Defendant to thank him for his letter,
he pushed her out of,. the door, and said, they got
more; than they deserved.. In the year 'Soo, as',
the ,Witness was going to a fair, with -a shoW.box
on his back, and accompanied by his wife, he was
met, near the . turnpike at Hampstead, by he pre-..
sent Plaintiff, who asked him his' name ? When he.
told, he was asked,. was not he a Witness to 'this
Will ? He replied in the affirmative, and gave the.
same account of the execution of it that he does at
present. The Plaintiff then tonic him immediately to
his Attorney, leaving his show-bor and his wife at
the turnpike-house. The Witness admits, that the
place of porter, which he now has (with toe wages
of twelve shillings a week), was obtained by; the -
recommendation of the Plaintiff.

The. case, both of the Plaintiff and ,Defendant,
depended on the credit the Jury gave to the lesti-
triony of this Witness, as the principal tition for
the Jury was, whether, at, the execution of the
Will, Mrs.,Robinson was or was not in that state
of stupor or intoxication described by this Witness ?
Serjeant ,SWEr HERD stated the case on the part
of the Plaintiff; he contended, that not the slightest
degree of discredit could be thrown on COOPISOII
on account of his,poverty.; that the Defendant had
not been able to adduce a single circumstance against
his moral charafter ; and that he had several Wit-
nesses, to whom Cooperson bad been a seryant., 'that
would proVe him to be an industrious and very
honest man, worthy of confidence and Credit ; that
every circumstance attending the execution of the
Will confirmed the account given
.y Cooperson :
he should, prove, that Mrs. Robinson, although.
otherwise a sensible woman, had the failing of fre-
quently drinkieg to intoxication ; that the manner
she signed her name, at which she first made one or
two unsttccessful attempts, was, a proof that she was
'not then in the possession other faculties ; that the
Defendant being himself present at the execution 'df
the Will, employed his
_own Attorney to draw it
up; and getting that Attorney, his Clerk, and his
father's shopman ,to, be the witnesses 'to it, and to
come to London for that purpose, was a strong
.ground of suspicion. that some foul tranSattion ' was
going forward. In addition to thi:Ae suspicious
circumstances, the then maid-servant of Mrs. Ro-
binson is now the wife of the Defendant; and that
maid-servant had, after her mistress had been dead, .
and laid out for some hours, told the Apothecary
that she was in a fine sleep, and begged that he
would-not go in to disturb her. On 'the very same
day the Will was sent up to London to,be registered..
Orr all these circumstances, Serjeant SHIPirERD
argued with ability, and submitted it to the Jury,
that this old Lady's signature was obtained in a
state of intoxication ;,and that .Will so obtained
probably had remained in the custody of the Defen-
dant ever since, without the knotvltdge of Mrs.
Robinson.

The Witnesses for, the Plaintiffconfirmed this state-
ment as to the good character of Cooperson, and as
to Mrs. Robinson being addicted to drinking. Mr.
Andrews, the Apothecary,. also swore, that he was
refused admittance tc Mrs. Robinson's room, in the
manner stated, after she. was dead.