The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-26 00:00:00

• THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 26, 1858.

CRIMINAL COURT.--(THIS DA E)

Basineee
Done.

OLD COURT.
(Before the Recorder.)

CARD SHARPING.

William Thomas, a respectably dressed man, aged 45,
was indicted for obtaining, by false and fraudulent pre-
tences, a gold watch and chain from William North. The
prisoner was also indicted for conspiracy.
Mr. Ribton appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Met
calfe defended the prisoner

92
85##

Mr. Ribton, in addressing the jury, said the prisoner was
indicted under the provisions of 8 and 9 Vic., cap. 109, sec.
17. The prosecutor was a gentleman residing at Cardiff,
and while visiting London he took a trip to Woolwich on
board one of .the steamboats, when he was accosted by a man
on board the boat, and a lively conversation ensued. The
result was jr.A North was invited to partake of a glass of
ale, and for this purpose on leaving the boat they both
went to the Pier Hotel. When there the prisoner followed
by another man entered, and cards were produced and
shuffled. Three cards were produced, two black and one
red. The feat was to discover the red card after the three
had been shuffled. The prosecutor was induced to stake his
watch for a bet of ten pounds, which, it was needless to say,
was lost, and from various circumstances that occurred he
believed he had been the victim of a conspiracy, in which
the prisoner had taken part-
-105 411 I The following witnesses were then called .--

621 2 i 2

193 i 3

Mr. Augustus North said—l am a brewer residing at
Cardiff, and in July last I was in London. I went from
thence to Woolwich on board the steamboat, where I met a
person to whom I spoke. After we had been in conversa-
tion for some time, he asked me to have some ale. I even-
tually went with him to the Pier Hotel, and we had some
ale. After we had been there a short time the prisoner and
another man came in. and began talk about a ring, which
they wanted me to purchase. I said I did not want it, and
then the cards were introduced, and they began to bet about
finding the red card. I told one of the men in the room I
knew where the red card was, and they said to me,
" Why don't you bet ?" I said, " I have left my
purse in London," and they then said, " Why don't
you stake your watch ?" I closely observed the
cards, and feeling confident I knew which was the red
card I staked my watch as a security for a bet of £lO. I
turned up the card, and instead of the red card it turned
out to be a black one. The watch was taken up, and after
some arrangement it passed into the prisoner's possession,
who told me if I came to his residence, in High-street,
Paddington, and gave him £2 I could have the watch, and
he would rely upon my honour for receiving the remaining
£8 when I returned to Cardiff. I went to my uncle's- •
(laughter)—immediately after I lost my watch, and after
that I went to the place mentioned by the prisoner with
the £2, but I could not find him. I have no doubt, while I
was taking off my watch the cards were changed. I value
my watch at £l5, and the chain at £3 10s.
Mr. Metcalfe—What should you havo done with the £lO
note, supposing you had turned up the red instead of the
black card ? Would you not have picked up both it and
your watch, and put them in your pocket ?
Prosecutor—Yes, no doubt I should. (Laughter.)

55iiii

51a
n 1 I ni
Mil
5
93i1111

36 5i
97i f
67

561 1 717

03} i
4

761 6 4
101

741 i

The Recorder—As I said before, we must have some
proof that the game was unfair. At present there is not
the slightest. The prosecutor makes the bet, thinking he
had the advantage, as he had seen the cards.
Mr. Ribton—The cards were changed.

The Recorder—There is no evidence of that. We may
all of us have our suspicions, but you must produce evi-
dence. The prosecutor thought he had chosen the right
card, but it turned out he was mistaken. If people will be
so foolish as to bet under such circumstances, they must
put up with the consequences.

The jury, without hearing the counsel for the prisoner,
returned a verdict of Not Guilty.

The prisoner was then again indicted, charged with ob-
taining money by false pretences, and also with conspiracy.
Thomas Haywood said—l live at Leicester, and am an
engineer in the Royal Navy. On the 26th of August I met
a man on board of one of the Woolwich boats who entered
into conversation with me. On our arrival at Woolwich
we, at his suggestion, went to the Pier Hotel. We had
some ale, and in a short,time after the prisoner and another
man came in. A conversation then arose respecting some
rings, but the cards were introduced, and he asked me if I
would have a cut at the cards. The prisoner and the card-
man began cutting the cards for a ring. The game was
changed, and three cards were introduced. I was then
asked to bet. The person I met on board the boat pressed
me to bet. I never had a chance of winning. (Laughter.)
The prisoner asked me to play. We began betting 55., and
the bets rose to £5. I continued playing until I had lost
£l5. I then said I should go and fetch a policeman, as I
believed there had been cheating. The prisoner said he
would go with me. We went as far as the pier and were
unable to find a constable. The prisoner, while we were
waiting on the pier, said, "There's a policeman," and run
away, but the constable brought him back. When we re-
turned to the public-house, the other two men had gone.
Mr. Metcalfe—Supposing you had won, you would have
put the money in your pocket, and said nothing about it ?
Witness—l suppose I should ; but I never had the
ehance ? (Laughter.)

Mr. Metcalfe—Two black and ono red suit cards were
placed on the table, and you thought your eyes were quick
enough to watch the red one. You then bet and turn up,
the card you imagine to be the red, and it turns out to be
the black one.

Witness—Yes ; but I believe the card I wanted vanished
before I had the chance of picking it up. (Laughter.)
The Recorder—Did you see what became of the remain-
der of the pack ?

Witness—After the three cards were selected I never saw
the pack again.

The Recorder—Were the remaining two cards turned up
after you had made your choice to show you that the red
one was there ?

1.41 ft 1

99 i

23
1201 1
105

24}
102}

Witness—No, never. The other cards were never shown
t. me.

The Recorder—Never turned up ?
Witness—Never. They were taken up and shuffled again
The Recorder—How many times did you bet ?
Witness—About ten or a dozen times.
Mr. Ribton—How many times did you win ?
Witness—Not once.

William Wilkinson, a police-constable, said—l took the
prisoner into custody on the 26th Augus:;. I asked him if
he had been playing at cards, but he said " No." The
prosecutor identified him as the man. The watch that be-
longed to Mr. North was found upon him.
Mr. Metcalfe—Said there was no evidence of conspiracy.
The Recorder—l think there is. I don't say how much,
but I think there is enough to go to the jury.
Mr. Metcalfe then addressed the jury on the part of the
prisoner, and contended that no case of fraud had been
proved against the prisoner; the evidence showed that
the prosecutor had been deceived by slight of hand.
Theßecorder, in summing up the evidence, dwelt strongly
upon the circumstance that the three cards were never once
turned up to prove that the red one was amongst them.
If such had been the case, it was not too much to expect
that when the police were threatened to be sent for,
as there was reason to believe that cheating had
been going on, the prosecutor would have been shown
the cards to convince him the red card was there, and that
he had made a blunder in not discovering it.
The jury found the prisoner guilty of conspiracy.
The Recorder asked if the prisoner was known.
A City police-constable said he knew the paisoner as a
card-sharper. He, in company with three others, were
constantly to be seen in the neighbourhood of Tower-hill.
The Recorder, in passing sentence, said he had no oubt
the prisoner had for a long time been carrying on his dis-
honest practices ; he should therefore sentence him to 18
smiths' imprisonment with hard labour.:

THIS DAY'S MARKETS.

HAY MARKETS.

SMITHFIELD..— Meadow hay, £3 5s to £4los ; clover,
do. £3 15s. to 1555.; and straw, £1 4s. to 116 s. per load.
A fall average supply, and an active demand.
_-------
CUMBERLIND.—Meadow hay, £3 Os to £4 lOs ; clover
do., £3 15s. to 1555. • and straw, £l4s to £l6s per
lead. Both hay and straw were in fair request, at our
quotations.
•

WHITtCHAPEL.—Meadow hay, £3 Os to £4 10s; clover,
•;10., £3 15s to £5 ss. ; and straw, £1 6s to £1 8s per load.
Supplies good, and trade steady.

COAL MARKET—OcT. 25.
(Prices of Coal per Ton at the close of the market.)
s. d. s. d.
Bates' W. Hartley 14 6 Powell'sDuffrynSteanal 0
Haswell Gas l3 0
Holywell 16 0 Walls End.
Hastings Hartley 15 3 Bradyll's Hett0n......19 6
Tanfield Moor 12 9 Hartlepool. 2O 0
Tanfield Moor Butes..l2 9 South Hartlepool 19 6
Wylam 16 0 Caradoc
Nizon's Merthyr.....2l 0 Riddell 17 9
Ships at market, 25—sold, 22.

LITERATURE.

Five Years of It. By Alfred Austin. 2 vols.
Hope.
These volumes- will afford amusement in their
perusal. There is a great variety met with in
their contents, and the different incident recorded
display a considerable knowledge of li. Edgar
Huntingdon, the hero, is an excellent character ;
firm and self-reliant in difficulties, but ever ready
to sympathise with others, and eager to render
assistance to the unfortunate. He presents a
striking contrast to his friend Cooper, who is weak
and vacillating, and who sinks under trouble in-
stead of rousing his energies to meet it. His fate
is a most melancholy one. Some of the scenes are
very cleverly sketched ; as, for instance, the one
where Bingham leads in Miss Fairfort to denounce
Edgar, and in turn is discomfited himself. The
very evidence he was going to bring against his
enemy furnished overwhelming proofs of his own
guilt. Annette Fairfort is a pleasing portrait.
She does not appear much, but what is seen of her
exhibits firmness and prudence that is not often to
be found in girls brought up and influenced as she
was. Lord Fairfort is ably described as an imper-
sonation of family pride carried to an absurd
degree. There are passages of considerable inte-
rest met with in the records of the adventures
of some persons introduced in the story, to whom
Edgar Huntingdon was of signal service. With-
out possessing any striking merits, this novel may
rank above the common, and the high principles
advocated in its pages render it deserving of
regard.

Old Tom .
Mainstay .

The Secret of a Life. By M. M. Bell, author of
" Deeds not Words,' &c. Routledge.
There is a great amount of ability apparent in
this work ; and, although some parts of the story
can certainly be called extravagant, there is a
degree of fascination in its description that carries
the reader irresistibly along to the conclusion. The
heroine, Ellen . Egerton, is a charming character.
Had she been fortunate in her family and friends,
had she been better influenced, she might have at-
tained to an exalted standard of excellence. In her
disposition there were the germs of pure and noble
qualities. She was remarkably unfortunate in the
circumstances that attended her return to her
father's house, after an absence of many years.
Her father was a very peculiar man, not at all cal-
culated to be of service to her ; her stepmother was
kind to her, but she was a very vain, foolish woman,
intent on forwarding the pet schemes she delighted
in concocting. Reginald Stanhope, the hero, is not
at all an estimable character. He was weak, un-
stable, and irresolute. For the sake of expediency,
and to avoid the occurrence of awkward events, he
submitted to the most flagrant injustice that could
have been devised: One cannot fail to feel regret
at the cruel sufferings that the gentle Ellen under-
went ; but the same sympathy cannot extend to
Stanhope, for he made no effort to free himself
from the snares into which malice had entrapped
him. No man of spirit, or of a right sense of honour,
would have tamely submitted to such an outrage.
The only paint in which Ellen erred was in con-
senting to the hasty marriage with Reginald
Stanhope. She acted against her conscience in
agreeing, and the regret that awaits such actions
was indeed swift in overtaking her with its aveng-
ing, footsteps. The authoress has displayed con-
siderable insight into the passions and prejudices
of mankind ; and in recording some of those scenes
of anguish which call forth the deepest and strongest
feelings of human nature, she may be said to be
very successful.

Heraldry in History, Poetry, and Romance. By
ThEislliesn
aJs.
oAmlilellnvihgattonno.
velCfihaelpdmfoarn
aand Hall.
y
to enter
upon ; 'but the authoress has acquitted herself with
credit. It is not everyone who cares to devote
much time to the study of heraldry, and there are
fewer still, We suspect, who would elevate it to the
lofty position claimed for it by its present chroni-
cler, but the authoress has contrived to mingle quo-
tation, reference, and anecdote in such pleasant
variety that many might find entertainment in
turning over her pages. The accounts of the diffe-
rent ceremonies of installation, the historical re-
cords of the orders, the circumstances of their in-
stitution, and the many allusions to old songs or
legends are full of interest. Sir Walter Scott's
readers will, as Miss Millington observes, be better
able to appreciate the influence of heraldry in the
middle ages- than others. In Quentin Durward,
Rouge-Sanglier, and his associates, occupy a pro-
minent position, and the description of " Sir David
Lindesay, of the Mount, Lord Lyon King-at-Arms,"
in Marmon, is so appropriate to the present volume,
that the passage is quoted at-length. The following
extract from the preface sets_ forth the
heraldry for useful purposes :—" Heraldry was
originally, and it ought again to be, identified with
deeds great, because good. and with distinctions
going before to judgment' as heralds, and mani-
fest before hand as preludes of the final victory
and the eternal reward. Still, ,while recognising,
in the first place, the high religious and moral sig-
nificance of heraldry, it must not be forgotten,—
and this, in our practical age, will perhaps be one
of its surest clauns to respect,—that, viewed in
connection with history, it is of infinite value
and importance, and has been found use-
ful in elucidating points of law, and
deciding genealogical questions, while, as an emi-
nent American writer has observed, coats-of-arms
and mottos often illustrate, and even afford a clue
to national character." The author has evidently
bestowed much time and labour on the compilation
of her work, and if so obsolete a science seems
scarcely worth the trouble at the present day, it
will be undoubtedly a useful guide to antiquarians,
and all who wish to prosecute inquiries among the
genealogical or traditionary legends of the middle
ages.

Photographic Portraits of Liczng Celebrities. Maull

and hilyblanic.
-We have before had occasion to notice this ad-
mirable series of photographs, which include many
of the most eminent names of the present day. The
skilful arrangament of light and shade throws out
the figure with unusual distinctness, and though,
of course, they are more or less successful, they
generally give the impression of being correct like-
nesses. Among those recently published are Mr.
Gladstone, Sterndale Bennett, Dr. Livingstone,
and Daniel Maclise. One of the recommendations
of this gallery of portraits is its comprehensiveness.
It includes men distinguished in every grade of life,
men of science, mechanicians, authors, musicians,
painters, soldiers, lawyers,
actors, re-
formers ; and if it proceeds statesmen,
with the same ability
and success it will be the best national portrait
gallery ever offered -to the public.

Quicksands. A Tale, by Anna Lisle, author of
" Self and Self-Sacrifice," &c. Groombridge.
Miss Lisle has already won the approbation of
the public by some pleasing domestic stories, and
the present work shows considerable promise. She
will doubtless become one of those skilful delinea-
tors of home scenes and characters whose pictures
are often more welcome than a startling tragedy or
mournful romance. Ti. t plot is
_novel, and, if not
very probable, displays considerable ingenuity.
The characters arc also well drawn and strongly'
marked. Helen Grey, the heroine, is by no means
a faultless piece of perfection ; indeed she is rather
in the other extreme. She has many good quali-
ties, but her mother's influence over her is most
pernicious. One of her most dangerous failings,
which has been carefully encouraged by Mrs. Grey,
is an excessive love for finery and show of every
kind. Mrs. Grey and Helen are constantly endea-
vouring-to keep up an appearance quite inconsis-
tent with their position. Great is Mrs. Grey's
satisfactionwhen Helen is engaged to John Howard,
the only son of a wealthy lady in the neighbour-
hood, and the brother of Helen's early playfellow.
Mrs. Howard is a very superior woman, and has
endeavoured to counteract the evil effects of Helen's
education. Unhappily, an old friend of Mrs. Grey's
appears on the scene, and insists on the mother and
daughter paying her a visit at her country house.
Helen agrees reluctantly. The month's visit
lengthens into two,- and by the time she returns
she has deserted John Howard, and engaged her-
self to Mrs. Huntingdon's son, Arthur. Mrs. Hunt-
ingdon, for reasons of her own, has forwarded the
marriage in every possible way, akled by Mrs.
Grey, whose head is turned by the grandeur of the
establishment. After her marriage, however,
Helen discovers that all is not gold that glitters,
and a few years' mournful experience convince her
that her husband is a madman. The reasons that
influenced Mrs. Huntingdon, and the subsequent
fate of Helen, we will leave the reader to ascertain.
The plot is well calculated to display the different
characters. The way in which Helen's jealousy
and love of display are made such a temptation to
her is very ingenious. John Howard engages much
of the reader's interest, though he is occasionally
unreasonable. The unfortunate Mr. Huntingdon
is ably drawn, and there are many minor characters
introduced. One of the most successful of these is
Marty, the rustic servant. The high moral tone of
the book is much to be commended, but we would
suggest to the authoress a little more care & intro-
ducing sacred subjects. Anything that looks like
"preaching" immediately fails of its effect, and
Helen's career would teach its own lesson with
very little addition. An occasional abruptness in
the style, too, might be softened with advantage ;
but we have no doubt that, with time and practice,
the authoress will take whigh rank among domestic
novel writers:

THIRD EDITION.

SUN OFFICE, Seven o'clock.

NEWMARKET PACES.

(THIS DAY.)

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)
•
CAMBRIDGESHIRE STAINES
EURYDICE
BEACON
UNDERHAND
Thirty-six ran. Won by a length

SWEEPSTAKES OF 10 SOVS.

Ten ran.
SWEEPSTAKES OF TEN SOWS,
Queen of the South
Perfection

£5O PLATE, FOR ALL AGES,
Secret Treasure
Gulliver
Whimsical

Sixteen ran.

HANDICAP SWEEPSTAKES.

Lottery
Layton
Eight ran.
:Four ran.: Won by a length.
SWEEPSTAKES OF I 0 SOVS.

A Poney
Marmalade
Thirteen ran.
SELLING HANDICAP.
Young Hopeful
Maggie Lauder

. 0 1

. 0 2

MATCH—Barba colt beat Pavilion.
MATCH—Actreon beat Olympus.
MATCH—Blacksmith beat Musjid.

LATEST BETTING
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
11 to 2 agst Leontes
Bto 1 agst Zouave
10 to 1 agst Ancient Briton
12 to 1 agst Prioress
12 to 1 agst The Brewer
20 to 1 agst Satinstone

LONDON GAZETTE-( THIS EVENING.)

CROWN-OFFICE.
MEMBERS RETURNED TO SERVE IN THE PRESENT
PARLIAMENT.

Borough of Leominster.—Captain the Honourable Charles
Spencer Bateman Hanbury, of Shobdon Court, Hereford-
shire, in the room of John Pollard Willoughby, Esq., who
has accepted the office of Member of the Council of India.
Borough of Reigate.—The Honourable William John
Monson, of Gatton, in the county of Surrey, in the room
of Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, K.C.8., who has
accepted the office of Member of the Council of India.

Borough of Guildford.—Guildford Onslow, Esq., of
Upton House, Airesford, in the county of Southampton,
in the room of Ross Donnelly Mangles, Esq., who has
accepted the office of Member of the Council of India.