The Sun.
London, England, 1869-10-08 00:00:00

ESCAPE PROM AN INFIRMARY.

On Wednesday morning, a man, namea Whitwham,
engine driver, made a daring escape from the Huddersfield
Infirmary, where he had been sent after sustaining an
injury to one of his hands. About four o'clock Whit-
wham, his left arm being at the time bandaged and
fastened in a sling, seems to have gathered together every
arlicle that belonged to him, and, having dressed hinrelf,
prepared the means for his dangerous descent out of
the ward window, to a depth of something like
three storeys, into the grounds adjoining the in-
stitution. In the ward at the time were twelve
patients, all asleep. At that time the night nurse had gone
into the accident ward to attend to other patients, and it was
while she was away that Whitwham made his escape to
effect which he had actually gone to the bedside of one
of the other patients, who was fast asleep, and, took
from under the pillow a bandage. This and
another one that he had got from the head
nurse the previous day, pretending that he wanted
it for his wrist, ho twisted and tied to a water-
pipe in the room, and then fastened them to a couple of
sheets, which enabled him to make his single-handed descent
from the ward window into the area. The bandages had not
been firmly tied to the water pipe, and he must have fallen a
portion of the distance. In his descent ho broke twopanes of
glass in the lower story, used as a brewhouse. He had left
two windows open, and one of the patients, feeling the
cold, awoke. Immediate he awoke the rest, but all were
too frightened to take action. However, they came to the
conclusion that" Golcar," by which sobriquet Whitwham was
known in the ward, had jumped out of the window. The
head nurse was called, and she was made acquainted with
the story of the man's mysterious disappearance. An ex-
amination was made of the grounds and premises by a
number of policemen and officials, but the missing man
could not be found.

SENDING A THREATENING LETTER TO
A POLICE MAGISTRATE.

At the Westminster Police-court, on Thlrriday, before Mr.
Selfe, Arthur Brown, of 6, Hawthorn-dean-place, West
India Docks, a man of respectable appearance, and describ-
ing himself as "a gentleman," was d-arged, on remand,
under the 24th and 25th Vic., c. 100,with sending letters to
Thomas James Arnold, Esq., one of the magistrates of that
court, knowing the contents thereof, demanding money
with menaces and without any reasonable or probable
sause. The first letter stated that an innocent youth,
whom the magistrate had condemned to a heavy fine some
years ago, in consequence of the injury it had done
him had determined to take his (➢lr. Arnold's)
life. Tho writer stated that he had endeavoured to
calm the youth, but his efforts were unavailing, and if he
did not see an advertisement in the Standard headed
" compensation," murder would be the result. This letter
bore date May 30th, had the Jersey postmark, and was
signed " Your forewarner, again advising you,
for your own sake, to notice this letter." On
receipt of this letter Mr. Arnold consulted Inspector
Humphreys and caused the following advertisement to
appear in the Standard :—" Threats are quite unavailing,
though, if the facts are as stated, something perhaps might
be done. What is asked ?" Immediately after this inser-
tion Mr. Arnold received a letter signed " Intervener in
this matter," suggesting an interview, and stating
that the youth's personal less all included at
the time of the occurrence, amounted to between
£2O and £25, besides the other damage ho went

through. At present he was in very reduced circumstances.
out of which, by a sum of £8 to £lO, he could disentangle
himself, and get in a position to earn respectably seine
money. A retribution to that extent would satisfy him, for
which besides "he would ever be grateful." The letter asked for
another advertisement headed " Compensation." Some
little delay occurred when another advertisement was in-
serted as follows :—" Facts should begiven; an interview as
suggested seems desirable, or references. I will be at the
Freemasons' Tavern, Queen-street, Lincolns Inn Fields, on
Wednesday next." This advertisement not having been
seen other correspondence ensued, and on the 28th
September the prisoner wrote a letter with his own name
and address, the result being his apprehension. On the
first examination the prisoner, who was said to be subject
to epileptic fits, fell down in the dock, and was carried out
of court in a state of insensibility, and in consequence the
case was adjouned until to-day.

Inspector Humphreys now resumed his eNidence and
stated that he apprehended the prisoner, and on the way to
the station, he said he was fined by Mr. Arnold ten years
ago in the sum of about £l6. He was accused of being
drunk, but could have proved, had he been allowed to do
so that he was not. He did not send those threatening
letters ; they were sent by a man named Jackson, who
lived at Pleasaunce Cottage, Jersey, and his object in wish-
ing to see Mr. Arnold was to tell him not to fear. Witness
afterwards went to Jersey, and found that a person named
Jackson did reside at Plcasaunee Steps, hut had left 130100
time.

Mary Delarue said her husband resided at No. 0, Haw-
thorn-dean-place. She left, with her family and the
prisoner, from Jersey on the 15th September. Ho had
boarded with them at Jersey six years. She had never
heard him say anything about this matter. He always
behaved himself in a respectable manner. He had
drank on the island, and had been confined
for being drunk. Sho had never known him in the
possession of a dagger. It was unknown to her that on one
occasion, when under restraint in Jersey, a dagger was
taken from him. Thought one of the letters produced was
in prisoner's handwriting.
Mr. John Jackson, farmer, East-sea-end, Thorpe, Surrey,
said he had lived at Pleasaunce Cottage, Jersey, and loft
there on September 1868, He had no knowledge whatever
of the letter produced. He never saw the prisoner to his
knowledge.
The prisoner said the Jackson he alluded to was a
schoolmaster in Mott-street, Jersey.
Witness knew there was such a person a schoolmaster
but he did not live at Pleasance Cottage.
Mrs. Delarue recalled, said she knew that there was a
Mr. Jackson, a schoolmaster, in Jersey, and that the
prisoner had been in his establishment as a French
teacher.

Sergeant Marshall, superannuated police-officer, stated
that he remembered in the year 1859, in July, the
prisoner was charged at the Westminster Court, before
Mr. Arnold, under the name of Robinson, with drunken-
ness and assaulting John Whitehead, a watchman, at
Cremorno ; also with assaulting witness and another
person at the station. Mr. Arnold fined him £5 for each
of the three assaults with £1 costs. Witnesses were
called at the time, and a servant of prisoner's father
proved that prisoner was net drunk and that he had
as many as eight fits in one day.
This being the case, the prisoner, in reply to the usual
question, said, "All I can say is, I never had any ill-feeling
against Mr. Arnold. What made me write to him on the
28th was to obtain an interview with him, and tell him not
to be frightened." He was then committed for trial.

The English Independent publishes a letter from
Pekin, by the Rev. J. Edkins of Pekin, respecting the mis-
sionary and gunboat difficulty. The missionaries do not
wish to pay the rev, gentleman for the interposition of the
gunboats on behalf of themselves or their convert; but they
do not intend to give up the rights secured by treaty to
the teachers of Christianity. If the treaties be infringed
in their persons or in that of their converts, they will still
lodge their complaints with the nearest British Consul. And
the Chinese Government fully recognises the necessity of
repressing disturbances wherever they may arise. "Chris-
tian sects being made legal by treaty, it is," say the Chinese
Government, "impossible openly to prohibit them, the native
pundits must rely on their own correct morality and teaching
to counteract the efforts of the Christians."

OUT SIDEUS or SO CIET Y.—But there aro—who shall
say how many ?—people living in London who live almost
alone! who have no society except of a casual, and what
may be called an anonymous kind ; and whose homes are
merely places where they may obtain shelter and rest. I
am not hero alluding to the class who are social and
domestic outlaws because they are positively poor. There
is no anomaly in this condition of life ; it is a natural con-
sequence of having no money. The people I mean have
mostly money enough for themselves, but not sufficient to
make them important to others, and obtain for them con-
sideration in the world. Sometimes their positions have
changed ; sometimes things have changed around them
and left their positions as they were, the result being much
the same. It may be that they are seeking to make a
little more money by such employments as agencies,
secretaryships, and so forth—employment the most
,lifficult of all to get as any man of moderate education
and abilities can do the duties—but most frequently they
are content to vegetate upon what they have, and to con-
centrate themselves upon the attainment of companionship
and home. When one of the active men whom I have
mentioned goes away from home the Post-office establish-
ment is ruthlessly disturbed by mandates for the re-ad-
dressing and forwarding of letters. The migration of ono
of our passive friends makes no difference to anybody.
Except it be an occasional communication from a relation
in a distant colony, sent to the care of an agent, ho has no
letters to trouble him, and if ho did not occasionally make
a show of existence by asserting himself in pen and ink,
he might perish out of the memory of man. To such
people the advertising columns of the newspapers must
possess peculiar interest; for a large number of the an-
nouncements seem expressly intended to meet their require-
ments, while on the other hand an equal number of the
specified " WaOs " seem to come from their class.—London
Society.