The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-14 00:00:00

Two Infant Dromios.

At Worship-street, John Harrison, 23, of Mill-row,
Kingsland, toymaker, was on Friday charged befored Mr.
Cooke with stealing a child, named Edward Corderoy, four
years of age, and Charlotte Amey, 31, of Gower's-walk,
Whitechapel, needlewoman, was charged with unlawfully
possessing the child. Mrs. Leader, wife of a horsehair
manufacturer, in Birdcage-walk, Hackney, who had a fine
little boy in her arms, said the child's mother, Elizabeth
Corderoy, was her sister, and a widow, who lost her hus-
band a year and ten months ago. She had had the care of
the child, off and on, ever since it was born, but entirely so
since its father's death, as its mother had now to be out all
day at work at Homerton, and could not look to it. At 11
in the morning of that day week (Friday) the mother
called to see her, and as the child cried after her, she told
the prisoner Harrison, who had been five weeks in her
husband's employment, and was going out on an errand,
to take the child with him and buy it some sweetstuff.
When he returned he quietly closed the gate after him, but
he had no child, and on her asking him what he had done
with it he said first he had given it to his mother, and then
that two women—one in black, and the other with an apron
on like a servant—had suddenly crossed the road and
claimed the child, and he had therefore given it up to them.
The child• had always called her mother, and she was so
distracted at its loss that she had handbills printed de-
scribing its clothing, and offering a handsome reward for
its restoration or discovery, and not only went to every
workhouse and police-station after it, but to Waltham-
stew, where one child had been found, and to Islington, in
the other direction, where the dead body of a child of the
same age had been discovered, but all to no purpose. She
could make nothing of what the prisoner told her, and she
therefore insisted, upon his going with her to the station,
where he again so contradicted himself that Inspector Brood
detained him, and witness charged him with stealing the
child. A woman then came to her with one of the hand-
bills in her hand, and told her she thought she could help
her tO find the other woman and the child, though she did
not know where she lived. They went with another woman
through Winfield-street and Flower-and-Dean-street, in-
quiring at every house in each, and at last discovered the
prisoner Amey in bed with the child in a miserable garret.
The bed was without either sheets or blankets, and the pri-
soner was parted from the child with the greatest difficulty,
and earnestly claimed it as her own, which it could not be.
David Isted, 223 11, said he was told to make inquiries
about the stolen child, and questioned Harrison. He de-
nied having done any harm to it, and said that while walk-
ing with it a young woman in black suddenly lan over to
him, told him to stop a minute while she fetched its
mother, and that then another woman, who claimed the
child as hers, came over, took it up, and he let them go
away with it. On finding himself likely to be detained he
made several violent attempts to escape, but was pre-
vented. Mrs. Emily Rogers, of Hopetown, Bethnal-green,
said her daughter, who was the woman in black described,
came home and told her she had assisted Mrs. Amey in
carrying her child on the Friday, and described its appear-
ance and clothing. On Wednesday night her husband
came home, with a bill about a stolen child, and as she felt
sure the one her daughter had helped to tako away was the
same, she and a Mrs. Rose told Mrs. Leader and helped to
find it. The prisoner Amoy assured the magistrate that
the child in court was hers, and implored him to let her
have it. Her husband had abandoned her for two years,
and through his living with another woman she had not
been able to see her child since Christmas, but she knew
him at once when she met him. Mrs. Rogers said the pri-
soner had claimed the child in this earnest way, all
through, but she could swear it was not hers. She had
seen the prisoner's child. Amey still cried and protested
that the child was her own, and Mr. Cooke remanded both
prisoners till yesterday, taking the female prisoner's own
recognizances for her appearance. She now surrendered,
and cried the whole morning till she was put in the dock
when Ellen Rogers, the other woman's daughter, said the
prisoner called on her mother on Friday and asked wit-
ness if she would show her where Collard's-row was, as
she wanted to find where her husband lived,
and to get back her child. Witness went with her, and
on suddenly seeing a man (Harrison) with the child, she
exclaimed, "That is my child; oh, get it for me," and
the witness was convinced she entirely believed it was
her child. The witness took it by the hand, and on the
prisoner crossing and telling the man it was her child, he
simply said, " Oh, very well," and gave it up to her. The
prisoner carried it in her arms, but was rather the worse
for drink, and offered her sixpence if she would help her
with it, which she did as far as Whitechapel, for fear she
might lot it fall. Elizabeth Corderoy, the child's mother,
identified it as hers, and said as hers was an out-of-door
business, her sister always kept the child for her. Samuel
Amey, the prisoner's husband, was here called in, and pro-
duced his child, which was placed on a bench beside the
other child, and the extraordinary likeness in hair, eyes,
shape [of face, and expression of the two children, who
were total strangers to each other, struck every one with
surprise. Mr. Cooke said it was certainly very strange,
as the only difference he could see was a slight difference
in height. The husband, who looked like a porter, picked
out one child as his, and said the prisoner was its mother.
He had been living separate from her for some time, and
had had the care of the child himself, his wife not having
seen it since the end of last November. Mr. Cooke asked
him why he did not live with his wife, and the man said,
" Things did not agree with us, and I would not live with
her, and took the child." The prisoner said—l do not
want to expose my husband's conduct, nor do 1 wish to live
with him, or ha ve my child, but I do want to see it some-
times. I am satisfied now that the other child is not
mine. Mr. Cooke said there was no charge sustainable
against either prisoner, though the man's conduct was
very improper. He discharged both. Mrs. Leader then
took away one child, and the man Amey went away with,
the other.

THE RESTORATION OF SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.—
The committee for conducting the restoration of
Salisbury Cathedral met on Saturday last, under the pre-
sidency of the bishop of the diocese ; and it was announced
that the works comprised in the first contract, and which
had been in progress for the last two years, had now been
completed. A second contract has been entered into for
the restoration of the west front of the cathedral, and it is
calculated that the new portion of the work will be com-
pleted by June, 1867. The work of strengthening the
lantern walls of the tower—probably the most important
of all—has been completed to the entire satisfaction of the
architect, Mr. Gilbert Scott, as well as of Mr. Shields. If
the funds found to be at the disposal of the committee will
warrant such a step, it is next proposed to undertake the
warming of the cathedral. Tho subscriptions originally
promised amounted to £15,341 10s. 51, and of this sum no
less than Xll,lO bail already been received.