The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-27 00:00:00

LIFE AND DEATH OF A TAILOR'S

A I'PR ENTICE.

Yesterday, Mr. William Payne, the coroner, went
into a protracted investigation at Guy's Hospital, re-
spt-cting the death of Itqbert Minden, aged 18 years,
late au apprentice to Mr. John Triggs, a master
tailor and oilman, carrying on business at No. 54,
Church-lane, Whitecharel, w ho, it was alleged, had
died from neglect. Sarah Pedgriff, formerly in the
service of Mr. Triggs, said she recollected the de-
ceased as the apprentice. He slept in a little room at
the top of the house. Mr. Triggs had two houses in
Church-lane, one in the tailoring business and the
other was an oil shop. Witness saw the deceased at
every meal time. He bad for breakfast every morning
two slices of bread and dripping, with half a pint of
tea. The deceased often told witness he could eat
more. He had potatoes and meat for dinner, and
for tea he had a similar quantity as at breakfast.
What the deceased had would not have been
enough for witness. The dinner wes cut off
for him, and he generally stood up and ate
it, going directly to his work again. The deceased
used to complain very much of not having a suffici-
ency of victuals, and witness wanted to speak to Mr.
Triggs, but the deceased would not allow her to make
any complaint either to his master or to his parents.
Ile was in the habit of getting up at six o'clock in the
morning and working until ten and eleven o'clock at
night. On Saturday night he would work much
later. The deceased only went out on Sundays, and
then only from three to six. Deceased frequently
complained of his bed being dirty, the blankets not
having been washed for three years. He scoured his
room and made his own bed. Witness used to per-
suade him to tell his father, but his answer was " never
mind." The deceased did not have a proper quantity
of food. The witness added, in answer to the coroner,
that the two slices of bread would make as much as a
penny roll. The deceased slept alone in the house at
night, and was very timid. Elizabeth Mindon, the
mother, stated that the deceased complained very much
of his mistress, who treated him unkindly. He came
home on Monday week, and said he was very bad ;
he was crying, and said, " Oh ! God has heard my
prayer." He begged of witness to take him away
from his place. Witness went to the mistress and
asked her to let deceased have a basin of gruel, as he
was very ill. Mrs. Triggs replied, " Gruel, indeed ;
what next." 'Witness afterwards told her that she
should take the deceased to a surgeon, and send the
bill to her for payment. The deceased was then or-
dered to the hospital, where he died on Tuesday. The
deceased said his bed place was dreadfully dirty, and
that be was almost eaten up with large quantities of
fleas, through the bedclothes not being changed since
he had been there. Witness thought deceased's death
had been hastened by the want of proper food aad
cleanliness. Dr. Gull, the resident physician at
Guy's Hospital, deposed that the deceased was ad-
mitted suffering from typhus fever. He was delirious,
and continued so until his death. The jury returned
a verdict of " Died from typhus fever." The jury
also considered that the deceased had been very un•
kindly treated.

WIDENING OF CHANCERY-LANE

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—The two letters on the above subject which
appeared in the Times of Saturday last it would seem
have not had the desired effect. The scaffolding being
now in the course of erection for the new building at
the end of Chancery-lane, without any terms being
effected, ere a few days have elapsed it will be too late
to remedy this reproach to civilization.
The parochial authorities have nobly done their
duty, as you, Sir, have done yours ; but it is only fair,
the improvement being a great public boon, in which
every nobleman, merchant, gentleman, and tradesman
in London is more or less concerned, that her Majesty's
Commissioners of Woods and Forests, the Hon. So-
ciety of Lincoln's•inn, and the ground landlord, the
Earl of Radnor, should severally bear their share of the
necessary compensation.
The opening of the Great Northern Railway has
already increased the traffic in Chancery-lane to a
considerable extent, and when the projected new
Record-office, with the new street through the Roll's
estate, &c., is carried out, the traffic will be still
further extended.
It may be urged, and perhaps with some reason,
that the three houses on the west side of Chancery-
lane, holden of Bartholomew-hospital, are those which
should be removed in preference to the ones proposed
—as this would preserve greater uniformity in the
line of buildings • but I would respectfully contend,
that ultimately the public will require these houses as
well, and even then there will not be too large an
opening for this daily increasing thoroughfare.
To preserve greater uniformity in the present pro-
ject it will be necessary to take 24 inches in a shelving
or slanting direction from the confectioner's shop,
which will involve but a small expense in refronting
the house, it being otherwise in perfect repair. The
house also belongs to the Earl of Radnor, who holds
property here to the extent of many thousands per
annum.

So important is the approach to Lincoln's•inn from
Holborn, that the benchers have more than once con-
templated a similar improvement, which they hoped
to have effected through their own property.
It is to be hoped that all parties will meet together
as men of business, and consult the public conve-
nience by agreeing to and tendering to the various
interested parties a fair and liberal compenaation. If
they will not accept this, it will be the duty of the
parochial authorities, without loss of time, to empanel
a jury under the Metropolitan Improvement Act to
assess such compensation, the expense and trouble of
which ought to be avoided if possible.
I have the honour to be, Sir, yours, &c.,
13E JUST AND FEAR NOT.
Chancery-lane, Sept. 26.

FOREIGN MUSICAL MEMORANDA.
THEATRE ITALIEN, PARIS.—Some important en-
gagements have been concluded for the approaching
season, and the troupe will soon be completely formed.
It is said that the programme about to be issued will
at once astonish and please the French public. The
rehearsals of the chorus have been proceeded with,
and M. Ber, the joint manager with M. Ronconi, has
been extremely assiduous in the performance of his
duties. Under all circumstances, a far more favour-
able season is anticipated than the last.
A new work by M. Halevy is about to be produced
at the Ofira Comique. The principal role will be
entrusted to Mdlle. Darcier, but it is thought that it
will have to undergo some alterations to suit the voice
of this lady.
The tenor Bordas has been engaged by Signor M -
relli for the Imperial Theatre at Vienna.
NAPLES.--The opera by the maestro Chiaramonte,
Caterina di Cleves, has been recently produced at the
San Carlo Theatre with the utmost success. Merca-
dante is engaged on a new work that is destined for
the same theatre. The subject is a semi-serio poem by
Marco d'Arienzo. A new work by Aspa, for the
Teatro Nuovo, is also spoken of, under the title of Gli
Aragonesi in Napoli.
PALERMO.—The season here is about to open with
Attila, interpreted by La Mazzioli, Landi, Cresci, and
Selvi.

POTSDAM.—The operatic theatre at Potsdam has
ceased to be a private enterprise ; the management of
the house has passed into the hands of the Marechal
de la Cour.

IVErsrAn.—A grand fate has just taken place here,
to celebrate the inauguration of the statue of the
celebrated philosopher, Herder, who died in 1803.
The event was signalised by the performance of two
grand musical compositions, written for the occasion,
one being a cantata by Messrs. Liszt and Lohengrin,
and a grand opera in five acts, by M. Richard
Wegener, a pupil of Meyerbeer. The two works
were highly successful, and a silver btiton was pre-
sented to M. Liszt the day after the fete by a musical
society of the town.
BRUSSELS.-A new Italian opera has just been
established in Brussels, under the direction of Messrs.
Quelus and Bocca. The work selected for the open-
ing night was Verdi's I Masnadieri, and the enter-
prise seems at present to be entirely successful.

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Ann Elizabeth Wardell, aged three years, and R
War-
dell, aged fifteen months, children of Robert Wardell,
obert War-
labourer, who had been drowned on the previous day.
Har-
riett Wardell, the mother of the children,
Monday last I went to glean in a field deposed—On
took my two children with me of Mr. Hill's, and
me. 1 left them under a hedge
with some other children, and went off
o'clock they both came over t
the oto glean. About o
side of the field wherene
o I
was. I gave them some cake,
set them under a hedge, and
told them to wait until I hadglean, and then I
would take them home. A pondgot
was near another
wher I left them,
but it was fenced off. About a quarter of an hour after I
went to the place where I left them, and I said, "Have I
two little bairns here?" as I usually did. I was surprised at
not receiving an answer. I then began to look about, and on
going to the pond I discovered the legs of one of the children
projecting out of the water. I immediately got them out,
and called to the people in the field. Mr. Clement, surgeon,
was immediately sent for, and used every endeavour to res-
tore animation, but without eflect. In the absence of infor-
mation as to how the children got into the pond, the jury
returned a verdict of " Found drowned."
PUNISHMENT OF DEATH BY BURNING.--In the
Notes and Queries of Saturday, the 10th of August,
" Senex " gives some account of the burning of a female in
the Old Bailey, " about the year 1788." Having myself
been present at the last execution of a female in London,
where the body was burnt (being probably that to which
" Senex " refers), and as few persons who were then present
may now be alive, I beg to mention some circumstances re-
lative to that execution which appear to be worthy of notice.
Eight of the malefactors suffered on the scaffold, then known
as " the new drop." After they were suspended, the woman,
in a white dress, was brought out of Newgate alone; and,
after some time spent in devotion, was hung on the project-
ing arm of a low gibbet, fixed at a little distance from the
scaffold. After the lapse of a sufficient time to extinguish
life, faggots were piled around her, and over her head, so
that her person was completely covered; fire was then set to
the pile, and the woman was consumed to ashes.—Notes and
Queries.