The Sun.
London, England, 1850-08-23 00:00:00

SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 23, 1850.

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY).
OLD COURT.
(B,fore Mr. Baron PLATT.)
CHARGE OF MURDER.

Mary Rook, aged 39, tied described as a married
woman, was put to the bar, charged with the wilful mur-
der of Elizabeth Wallis.
The prisoner was a masculine-looking woman, and
' when placed at the bar appeared somewhat indifferent to
the position in which she stood. When called upon to
plead she said " Not guilty" in a firm voice.
Mr. Parry defended the prisoner.
Mr. CLARKSON stated the case for the prosecution, the
circumstances of which will be found in the following
evidence called to support it.
Catherine Wallis called—ls no relation to the de-
ceased child, Elizabeth Wallis. Lives at the Grove,
Ealing. The prisoner and her husband also live there.
Keows the prisoner. Knew the deceased Elizabeth Wal-
lis; she was a daughter of the prisoner by the first
husband. Tee deceased was about 17 years of age. The
psis iller Lad six children by the second huehand. The
prisoner Las get her living by taking in washing. The
daze a ddied on Thursday night, the Ath August instant.
Was prearmt at her death. Have se.ei her ill treated by
the pris nor, within six months of her death. At her
death observed marks of bruises on he r person. The
deceased was ill abut five weeks before her death. She
was attendsd by the medical matt of the parish. Have
seen the deceatetd struca at the top of the stairs by the
prisoner and knocked down stairs. Teat was about six
months before her death. After she had fallen down
stairs the prisoner followed her down stairs and beat her
again. The stairs have about ten steps. The
mother beat her with her hand down stairs.
The child cried out. She beat her perhaps
about a mieute. The deceased was perfectly
healthy about that time. Have not seen her beaten
much at ray other time—not more than is usual with
mothers, Have seen her beaten across the shoulders,
about twelve months ago, by her mother. Have seen
the family of the second husband at meals. The de-
ceased was not fed like them when witness had seen
them at dinner. Have seen her (the deceased) have a
piece of dry bread, and a piece of bread thrown at
her by the mother, while the other children would be
having bread and meat to dinner. The deceased did not
sit at the same table with the rest of the family. The
girl never complained to witness until the day before
she died. Witness thought and told the deceased she
was dying, and urged her to prepare for
death by praying to God to pardon the sins
she • had committed in this world. She said
she would pray to be forgiven. Knew that the
deceased had committed some sins, and urged her to
make a confession of them before she died, in which
cat.e she would not be likely to have so much to answer
fir in the next world. The deceased said she would
pray to be forgiven those sins, and then she repeated
the Lord's Prayer and part of the Creed in presence
of witness. Asked deceased if she really felt she would
die, and she replied she did. She complained that she
was hungry. Witness then took a mutton-chop, which
deceased said was in the prisoner's house, and cooked it
along with some potatoes, and took them upstairs to the
deceased. She complained of her ear aching very much.
Remember the inquest being held. It was on the
Saturday. The body of the girl at that time was
in her mother's house. During the progress of the
inquest, heard the mother say, if she got her
liberty, she would go home and throw the la— out,
(meaning the body of the, deceased), box and all. The
prisoner was then in custody at that time in the tap-
room of the public-house where the inquest was being
held. The prisoner went to the station-house along
with her husband and witness; and on the road she
charged her husband not to follow the body of the de-
ceased to the grave, and that it he did she (the prisoner)
would remember it when She came out of prison. She
told her husband not to bury the deceased, but to let the
parish doctor do it.
Cross examined by Mr. PAitRY—Am the wife of a
chimney. sweep, and take in needlework. I also let
ponies and donkeys far hire. Have children of my own;
six, all living. Have had occasion to heat my own
children, with my hand and with a strap also, when they
have teen disobedient. May have beat them with
the stick I drive the donkeys with, but not
to injure them. I have daughters. I know the pri-
soner had been drinking at the time of the inquest, and
was, in fact, very much excited when she made the ex-
pressions I have related, at the time of the inquest. The
prisoner is a laundress, and her husband is a labouring
man. She has always worked very well for her family ;
but she does Let toil from morning to night for their
support. The deceased used to wash also; she like-
wise went out to wash occasionally. I believe the de-
ceased was the only child of the prisoner's first mar-
riage. I believe the prisoner was pregnant when her
first husband died. I was not on very friendly terms
with the prisoner. I have, however, been in the habit
if going to her house, and she has come to my house
occasionally. Tho prisoner has a mangle, and I have had
my clothes mangled there. The prisquer and the family
had meat generally to dinner; but Ido not think I •
have ever seen the deceased have meat to her dinner, or
sit down to dinner. I have known the family for six
years, and may have seen them sit down ten times to
dinner. I have had words with the prisoner, but not
recently. I have often had words with her respecting
the deceased, when the prisoner has ill-treated her. I
have c autiened her about beating the deceased, and have
t .Id her some day or other she would give her an un-
latchy blow which would cause her death.
Wm. Brooks, alley- binder at Ealing, said he knew the
deceased. lied seen her ill used by her mother. Saw
her so ill-used a mouth ago yesterday, when the mother
entered the outer door of their house, and struck the de-
ceased on the head with her fist. The deceased was ill at
that time. She tumbled un the stairs from the blow ;
the mother saying at the same time to the deceased,
" D—n your -- eyes." The deceased was about
seventeen. Ott another occasion the deceased was hang-
ing out clothes in her mother's garden, when the pole
which supported the clothes fell down, and the mother
came on', and, taking her by the hair of her head, teat
her for some minutes and swore at her. Witness occa-
sionally cut the neighbours' hair. About twelvemonths
ago cut the deceased's hair, when he found three bruises
on her head; her left ear was also cut and covered with
matter. Heard the mother say after that she would be
her (the deceased's) -- butcher or murder her.
Cross examined by Mr. PARRY—I believe my wife has
quarrelled with the deceased, but I have had no quarrel
myself with her. I have not been in the prisoner's house
since I cut the deceasen's hair. The quarrel between my
wife and the prisoner was very bitter on both sides. Sbe
said she would be my wife's b— butcher, and wash her
hands in her blood. I did not bear the prisoner use
that expression, but my wire told me she used it. I
don't know that the prisoner has been in the habit of
drinking. I have not seen her drunk to my knowlr dge.
Mary Turner said—l live in Ealing-grove, next door
to the prisoner. I knew the deceased. I have seen her
ill-used very often by the prisoner. My garden adjoins
hers. lam a laundress. I have seen the prisoner beat
the deceased about five or six weeks before she died; she
beat her with her clenched fist about the head or any
part of her body that came first. I have heard
her being beaten in the garden, and the girl cry
out. I have also heard her driven into the mangling-
house and beaten by her mother. When the girl came
out on those occasions she was sometimes all over blood
about the nose and mouth. That might be about three
months before she died. That beating used to go on
every day while the mother was rt home. I have seen
the mother heat her with a birch-broom, but I don't
know on what part of her person, for I did not like to
see her, and I would run away. I have seen the deceased
rather stagger under the weight of the wet linen, and
whilst her mother was wringing it out. That was about
a week before her death. That was after the parish
doctor had been to attend her.

Cross-csamincd by Mr. PARRY—Fridays and Satur-
days were vry busy days, and the prisoner seemed more
in a hurry and more irritated to got her work done, and
on those days she was more in the habit of beating the
deceased. I have always seed the prisoner work very
hard while she was at her work.

Mrs. Wallis recalled—The deceased was in the habit
of thieving; but I did not know she had b3en taken into
custody ot:ce. I knew acts of theft which the mother
did not know of. Her mother has told me that table
cloths were missing, and that she bud to supply articles
to her customers which she suspected the deceased had
sto!en.

Mary Massey—l live in a cottage in Ealing-grove,
opposite the prisoner's. I went on the 24th of last July
to work at Mrs. Payne's, which is a short distance from
the prisoner's hou: e. I saw the deceased at Mrs. Payne's,
sitting by the breakfast table. She appeared very ill
indeed. She was unable to do her work. I bought a
half-pint of beer, and gave it to the deceased with a
piece of bread. She was not better after taking the bcer
and bread, and was unable to wash.
Cross• examined—l know nothing of the deceased's
habit of thieving. She never took anything from me;
but I have heard very bad accounts of her. She was in
the station once.

Louisa Cutting—l am a married woman, and live in
Ealing-grove, about three doors from the prisoner. Have
known the prisoner for four years. Have seen her
throw the flat-iron at the deceased's legs, but I don't
know that it hit her. That was about twelve months
ago. I have seen the prisoner beat the deceased with a
mangle rope severely over her back. I have also seen
her beat her across the head with a copper-stick, which
is a little thicker than a broom-handle. These beatings
were about twelve months ego.
Cross-examined—l have heard the deceased was in
the habit of thieving, but I don't know it of my own
knowledge. The prisoner, (more than twelve months
ago accused me of stealing some diaper from her. I
have worked for her since.
Win. Henry Turner corroborated the testimony of his
wife.
Mr. Wm. Jones, one of the relieving officers of the
Brentford Union, said on the 11th of July the deceased
came to me and applied for an order for the district s u r-
g eon, as she was ill at that time. I gave her an order
on Goodchild, the surgeon. I went to the house
where the deceased lived on the Saturday before she
died; I fou,d her in bed, and I wished to have her taken
to the workhouse, but she refused. She wanted t./ go
to an hospital and I got her taken there. The mother
said she had an order from the vicar for her admission
into the hospital. I got a cart to take her there; but I
don't know that she ever went there. The mother ap-
plied on the Wednesday, the day before her death, to
the board of guardians to have her taken into the
workhouse, as they had refused to admit her into the
hospital. An order was obtained to take her to the
workhouse, but she could not be removed. She, how-
ever, bad meat and nine from the workhousg.
Cross-examined—l have seen the prisoner very hard
at work, and believe her to be a very hard-working
woman. She has applied to me occasionally for relief on
account of a complaint she has had in her legs ; but I

never gave any relief, thinking Oat her and her hus-
band's income was sufficient to maintain them.
Mr. John Goodchild-1 am the parish surgeon at Eal-
lug, and live thole. I received an order to attend the
deceased girl en the 114 i July. I found the girl suffer-
ing from colt ; I found her at her mother's house, sit-
ting up. I treated her complaint as an ordinary
cold at first. I attended her until her death, on the
Bth August. I made a post Inca tem examination of the
deceased, and found that the cause of her death was in-
flammation of the air tubes of the lungs. There were
three or four slight bruises on her person. With the
exception of the lunge, the other parts of the body were
healthy. I knew the inflammation of the lungs had ex-
isted for a month, and 'should think it had existed longer,
perhaps five weeks before her death. The bruises on
her body had been inflicted perhaps nine or ten days
before her death, and they were wearing off. I think
they had been inflicted on her after I had commenced
attending her. The three bruises I speak of were en
the shin, but in addition to that there was a vs ry
slight bruise on the thigh, and a slight puffi •
ness c n a part if the scalp. I examined
the ear by the dile cam of the Coroner, but I could not
determine whether its state had her n caused by violence
or whether it was constitutional. I have heard what the
witnessi's have raid with reaps ct to the treatment of the
deceas, d, and I think it was ligely to bring her into a
state cf eebility such as would render her liable to in.
fismmation of the lungs. It the itfllmination existed
before, such treatment would aggravate it.
By the JUDGE—The bruises might have been oc-asi. ned
in getting out of bed or in striking herself agsinst,a chair
‘.r such a thing. I should doubt that the puffiness I saw
on the head was attributable to pulmonary ac ion. I did
not bleed the deceased, because I thought the inflam-
matory action was not suffici,.ntly active to warrant it.
Cross-examined by Mr. PARRY—I have no doubt the
puffiness on the head had exited more than twelve
months, and it might have been born with the deceased.
Thomas Tull, T 22, apprehended the prisoner at the
instance of the Coroner. When she was taken to the
station-house, she adds esse d some words to Mrs. Wallis,
hut wiT.ess was not near enough to hear what they were.
She was intoxicated on that occasion.
Cross-examined—The deceased was once taken to the
station-house for stealing tarts.
This was the case for the prosecution.
Mr. PARRY submitted there was no evidence to go to
the jury.
Mr. Baron PLATT thought the evidence did not bear
out the more serious part of the charge, but as the
assualis on the deceased formed part of that charge,
within the meaning of the Act of Parliament, he thought
the case should go to the jury.
Mr. PARRY addressed the jury on behalf of the pri-
soner, and afterwards called several of her neighbours,
who had known her for many years, and who gave her
a general good character for humanity, admitting, how-
ever, that she was harsh and hasty at times.
Mr. Baron PLATT having summed up the cusp,
The jury immediately gave in a verdict of Guilty of
an Assault, and they begged to express their thanks to
the parish authorities for bringing the case before the
Court.

Mr. Baron PLATT then sentenced the prisoner to be
imprisoned and kept to hard labour for twelve calendar
months.

MARLBRO'-STREET.-(THIS DAY.)

EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE.—Benjamin Sheppard, and
Sarah, his wife, were brought before Mr. Hardwick,
charged with stcallng two silver candlesticks, two valu-
able gold watches, and a large sum of money, the pro-
perty of the late Colonel Charles Ryan, who died about
six weeks ago, at No. 3, Upper John street, Golden-
square.
A gentleman who attended to prosecute on behalf of
the heir to the late Colonel's property, stated that the
prisoners were the landlord and landlady of the house in
which Colonel Ryan died. After the Colonel's decease
his efficts were examined, and amongst other things the
property named in the charge was missing, and on being
traced to the prisoners thy were given in custody.
Mary Hawthorn, servant to the prisoner, deposed that
the late Colonel Ryan was a lodger in her master's
house, and had been lodging there fir about eleven
years. On last Saturday six wet ks the Colonel died, and
at the time of his death he bad several gold watches,
chains, and a large sum of money in a cash box. The
watches and chains produced, with the cash-box, be-
longed to the late Colonel. She remembered a gentle-
man telling the male prisoner if be had any of the late
Colonel's property to give it up. The prisoner replied
that he had not any of his property, as it was all under
lock and key in the Colonel's bed-room. About three
weeks ago the prisoners left the house, and witness saw
no more of them until last night, when she saw them in
custody. Last night she heard the male prisoner
admit taking two 51. notes from the Colonel's box,
one of which he had paid towards the funeral expenses,
and the other he had with him in his pocket.
Mr. Linkleter, fur the defence, said the gentleman who
had attended to prosecute had not shown the least title
or claim to the property, or to act on the part of the heir
at-law. Be therefire contended that his clients, who
were honest and respectable, had been hardly dealt with
in being taken into custody. There was at present 4001.
in the Court of Baekrut tey ready to be given up, wi;h
all the re-4 of the property, to the heir-at law whenever
he thought proper to come forward and claim it. His
clients admitted having possession of the property, and
were wilting to give it up to the person entitled to it.
They had n,.t held it with a felonious intent.
Mr. HenDwicx thought it quite time enough to pro-
secute the defendants ftr felony %hen the real owner
came forward to do so, but at present there was no
distinct heir or rightful owner to claim the property,
and he should therefore discharge them, and recommend
them to make out an inventory of the deceased's t ff-cts
and deliver it to the real claimaet. The parties then
left tke con, t.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.
YORK RACES.—THURSDAY.
RACE-COURSE, FOUR O'CLOCK.—The races having Cora •
menced late this afternoon, we have only to state that the
weather was veld and showery in the early part of the
afternoon, and the attendance much larger than on the
first day, but still below what we have usually seen here
on the grand day.
The Bramham Park Stakes of 100 sovs. each, 30 ft, for
three yrs old colts, Bst 7,b; fillies, Bst 21b; winners
extra. Mae and a half. (6 Subs.)
Mr. Jaques's Mildew walked over
The Chesterfield Handicap of 10 sovs. each, with GO
added; the winner to pay 10 soya. towards expenses.
One mile. (15 Sues.)
Lord Stanley's UI iel, 4 yrs, Tat 10lb (Flatman) 1
Lord Zetland's St. Ann, 5 yrs, Bst 41b...(J. Mermen) 2
Mr. Meiklam's Polonaise, 4 yrs, 6st 11b ...(Arnold) 3
Mr. Allen's Cuba, 3 yrs, sst 81b (T. Dolt) 4
Sir J. Hewley's Hippie, 3 yrs (West) 5
Betting-5 to 4on Uriel-4 to 1 agst St Ann—and
5 to 1 agst Hippie. Won in a canter by four lengths.
—Run in 1 min. 48 secs.
The Filly Stakes of 10 soya. each, with 25 added, for
three yrs old, Bst 71b each; winners extra. One mile
and a quarter. (4 Subs.)
Sir J. Hawley's Tiff, Bst 121 b (Templeman) 1
Mr. Jas. Pilling's Lady Elen, Bst 121b...(G. Abdale) 2
Betting-11 to Bon Lady Eden. Wca by half a
length. Run in 2 min. 46 secs.
The Old Three yrs old Produce Stakes of 100 soya.
each, h fc, for three yrs old; colts, Bst 51b; fillies,
Bst 21b. Two miles. (12 Subs.)
Mr. Jaques's Mildew, Bst 21b (Flatman) 1
Mr. Bowes's Mickleton, 83. t 51b (F. Butler) 2
Betting-2 to lon Mildew, who won by a length.
Run 3 min. 57 secs.
The County Plate of 100 soya., added to a sweepstakes
of 15 sovs. each, fee. T.Y.C.
Mr. Halford's Harriott, 3 yrs, Bst 71b...(Whitehouse) 1
Mr. Dawson's Tightwaist, 2 yrs, Est 91b
Lord Zetland's Radulphus, aged. 9st 3.b
The fullawing also rat) : —Mr. Morris's Meridian,
5 yrs, 9st 61b—Lord Zetland's Miss Ann, 5 yrs, 9st 31b
—and Mr. Devidson's Fleur-de-Seine,_ 5 yrs, Bst 71b.
Betting-2 to 1 agst Harriott. Won in a canter.
The Great Ebor Handicap of 200 sovs., a'lded to a
sweepstakes of 20 soya. each, 15 I-, and 5 only if
declared; the second to receive 50 sovs. (93 Subs.,
62 of whom declared.)
Mr. Dawson's Mark Tapley, 3 jrs, sst 91b (Arnold) 1
Mr. Parr's Clothworker, 4 yrs, 6,t 21b ......(Hiett) 2
Colonel Anson's Champion, 4 yrs, Est 91b (Charlton) 3
The following also started:—
Mr. Roles Clollingwcod, agt d, Bst 121 b (Nat) 0
Mr. Walt, rs' Maid of Team Valley, 7st 41b(Meicalte) 0
Mr. Wrather's Maid of Masham, Bst 111 b (G. Abdale) 0
Mr. Pedley's Chatterer, 4 yrs, 6.t. 12ib ...(Holloway) 0
Mr. Meikiam's Cocktail, 4 yrs, Est ( A Idcroft) 0
Lord Zetland's Cantab, 3 yrs. sst 71b (Osborne) 0
Mr. Walter's Reality, 5 yrs, sst 41b (Harwood) 0
Mr. Stopford's Elcho, 3 yrs, sst 2lb (Wells) 0
Betting-7 to 2 agst Champion, 7to 2 agst Coiling-
wood, 5 to 1 agst dark Tapley, 6 to 1 apt Cantab, 7
to 1 agst Clothworker, wad 12 to 1 agat Elcho. A very
fine race from the Stand. Won cleverly by half a length;
Clothworker beafng Champion by a length, Cantab,
Collingwood, and Maid of Masham well up. Run in 3
min. 22 secs.
The Lottery Plate of 251., added to a sweepstakes of 5
soya. each, for three yrs old, &c. The second to save
his stake. One mile. (7 Subs.)
Mr. Hobson's Gladiule, 3 yrs, Tat 131 b ...(Osborne) 1
Sir C. Monk's Gulliver, 4 yrs, 9st 71b...(Sampson) 2
Mr. Hesseltine'a Andalusian. 4 y 8s t 21b ( Langstaff ) 3
The following also ran : —Lord Cardrose's Scarborough,
3 yrs, 7st 41b—Mr. Walter's Mary Nobbler, aged, Bst
91b—and Mr. Meiklam's Freech busy, 3 yrs, 7st 11b.
Betting-2 to 1 agat Andalusian, and 3to 1 agat
Glediole. Won by two 1, ngtbs.
The Scurry Stakes of 5 son. each, with 20 added for
three yrs old and upwards. Gentlemen riders. T.Y.C.
(5 Subs.)
Mr. Davidson's Fleur deSeine,llatlblti(Capt Broadley.) 1
Mr. Nicoll na o.bald wick, 3 yrs, lOst Cardroas) 2
Won in a canter.
YORK, FRIDAY MORNING.
LATEST BET PING.
THE YORKSHIRE STAKES.
11 to 8 on Pilaf .rd 10 to 1 eget any other
6 to 1 agst Cyprus

bT. LEGER.
6to 5 agst Voltigeur 7to 1 agst WVEinDdNiEscs . h
7 to 1 agst Pit,ford 10 to 1 agst any other
GREAT YARMOUTII R gratz
AcEs._ DAT
The Great Yarmouth Handicap of 10 sous. each, 5 ft.,
N
and 60 added. One n.ile and a quarter. (17 Subs.)
Mr. Drinkald's Juggler, 4 yrs, 7st 4 b (Rodney) I
Mr. G. Ongley's Bird of Paradise, 7s: 91b (Norman) 2
Mr. Cowley's Second Sight, 4 yrs. Bst 21b (Crickmore) 3
Mr. Gurney's St. Fabian, 3y. s, 7st llb (Thorogood) 4
Mr. Derrian's S2ll-defence, 5 3rs, 7st 9:13...(J. Mann) 5
.......

Won by a length.
The Nelson Stakes were won in two heats by the
Dromedary colt beating Goodwood by half a length.
Th,- Subscription Ilardicap of 5 sovs. each, 3 ft., and
20 added, about three•quarters of a mile (4 Subs.), was
won easily by Mr. Clark's May-day, 4 yrs, 83t 41b

(Jay), beating Cayenne, 4 yrs, Bst 61b, Second Sight, 4
yrs, 83t 101 b, and the Lioness, 2 yrs, Est 10Ib, by a
length.
The County Members' Stakes of 5 soya. each, and 25
added. Heats' one mile. (2 Subs.)
Sir E. Lacon's br c by Dromedary, d by Mulatto,
;
3 yrs, 83t 41b (Thorogood 1 1
Mr. Harvey's Dover, 83t 121 b... (Bartholomew) 2 dr
Won by a length.
The Consolation Scramble of 5 boys. each, h ft, and
25 added, three-quarters of a mile (4 Subs.), was won
easily by Mr. Ongley's Camilla, 4 yr 3, 93t (Norman).
beating Cayenne, 4 yrs, Bst 101 b, and Anchor of Hope,
5 yrs, Bst 91b.

CRICKET.
MARYLEBONE CLUB AND GROUND v.
COUNTY OF SUSSEX.
This match was concluded on Wednesday mornlng
Marylebone winning in one innings by 40 runs. The
score was as follows:

SUSSEX.
First Innings. Second Innings.
Dean, b Sherman
H dson, b Lillywhite ... ..... 3 b Caffyn
.. ...... .... iS
Picknell, c Dakin, b Sherman 2 c Diver, b Sherman... 4
Mr. E. Napper, hit wicket, b
Lillywhite
Box, b Sherman . . 3 run out 3
Mr. W. Napper, b Lillywhite 4 b Lillywhite ..• - ••• 7
13ushby, b Caffyn
Pennikett, b Sherman
Mr. H. N. Curteis, b Sherman 2 b Sherman
Mr. A. Smith, run out ...... .. 10 run out
%Vooller, not out 0 b Li11ywhite........... 2
Byes 3, wide 2

Total ... 126 Total •....... 98
MARY LEBONE CLUB.
Bin W. Nicholson, b Hodson
Royston, b Dean
Caffyn, b Woolley
Mr. J. Walker, c Picknell, b H0d50n....••••• 83
Dakin, b Dean
••. ••
Mr. R. Kynaston, b Hodson . ..... • 22
Mr. C. H. Hoare, b Wtooller
Diver, not out ......
Chapman, c Dean, b Pennikett
Sherman, c W. Napper, b Hodson ....••••••••
Lillywhite, run out •••
•• •••
Byes 1, leg byes 9, wide 2, no ball 1

Total 268

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

Last evening was the first of the extra perform-
ances at her Majesty's Theatre, and we had the last
act of Lucia di Lammermoor, with Miss Catherine
Hayes as Lucia and Mr. rims Reeves as Edgardo,
and the ever fresh and delightful IZ Barbiere, with
Madame Sontag as Rosina, who sang and acted deli-
ciously. Never did she sing Rode's air more bril-
liantly than last evening, and on being encored she
substituted "Ah ! vous dirai-je," in which she was
applauded to the echo. Then we had a divertisse-
ment, in which Amalia Ferraris created a perfect
furore by her admirable execution of her pas, and the
last act of Ernani by Mademoiselle Parodi and Gar-
doni. The whole concluded with Les Plaisirs d'Hiver,
in which Amalia Ferraris was again rapturously ap-
plauded. The house was crowded in every part by a
brilliant audience.

LITERAT URE.

THE FOURTH ESTATE. 2 Vols. Ey F.
Knight Hunt.
Fortunately for himself the compiler of these two
volumes has disarmed criticism by at once acknow-
ledging them to be mere " contributions towards a
history of newspapers." Otherwise he must infal-
libly have incurred the blame of all impartial re-
viewers, supposing him to have arrogated to himself
the title of an historian of journalists. Any such
pretension, as we, have intimated, is waived by Mr.
Hunt with a grace and modesty befitting the delicate
office upon which he has adventured. As " contri-
butions towards a history of newspapers," therefore,
his volumes will prove not altogether unacceptable,
though at the same time it must be confessed that
their deficiency of information, in a thousand parti-
culars, must render them, in many instances, and in
the highest degree, unsatisfactory. The opening
sentence of the narrative, if such it can be termed
with any degree of accuracy, though picturesque and
striking in itself, seems in its tone to be a vast
deal too pretentious considering the baldness
of many of the subsequent passages. It runs thus :
"When the reign of James the First was drawing
to a close ; when Ben Jonson was poet laureate, and
the personal friends of Shaksperel were lamenting
his then recent death ; when Cromwell was trading
as a brewer in Huntingdon ; when Milton was a
youth of sixteen, just trying his pen at latin verse,
and Hampden a quiet country gentleman in Buck-
inghamshire, London was first solicited to patronize
its first newspaper." After so very dignified and
sonorous an introduction it is impossible to peruse the
very confused and fragmentary details into which the
work not long afterwards degenerates without expe-
riencing very considerable disappointment. A ram-
bling superfluity of quotations from Ben Jonson's
" Staple of News," a casual reference to the acta
diurna, an incidental allusionito the Venetian Gazettes,
and an inadequate account of the newsletters and
newswriters preceding the rise of journalism,
bring the reader rather abruptly to the establishment
of the first newspaper,:the Weekly Nexes, the earliest
number of which was printed on the 23d of May,
1622. After this we are introduced at intervals in
succession to Sir Richard Knightley, to Sir Lionel
Craufield, and to Sir Roger L'Estrange. We read
some insufficient remarks on the origin of the Censor-
ship, and have our attention dtrected but for a
moment to the Star Chamber persecutions. Having
glanced at the press as it was under the Common-
wealth and subsequently to the Restoration, Mr.
Hunt pauses when he arrives at the period of the
revolution, and thereupon ensues a somewhat more
orderly and coherent arrangement of the narrative,
which, nevertheless, in spite of all contrivance in the
way of sequence and symmetry, still remains flawed
by many unnecessary omissions. A century of news-
papers conducts us from 1688 to 1788, from the
Orange Intelizgencer tot'the Times. During this period
references are intermittingly made to Tutchin, Defoe,
and Judge :Ji tlei ik-s, to Pope and Bolingbroke, to
Swift, Steele, and Addison, to Fielding, Foote, Burke,
Johnson, Smo!lett, Wilkes, Churchill, Junius, and
Cbatterton. Afterwards, while following the pro-
gress of journalism, from 1788 to 1800, we find
mingled among those of the professional members of
the press the names of Paine, Crabbe, Erskine, and
Sheridan. The second volume contains a general
survey of the press of the present century, followed
by separate chapters on the London Daily Papers, on
the Evening Papers, on Reporting and Reporters, and
on the Mechanism of a Morning Journal. For the
amusement of our provincial readers, and maybe
of some alio of our readers in the metropolis, we
transcribe from Mr. Hunt's work on " The Fourth
Estate" the following graphic and accurate descrip-
tion :

lexten p the speeches helms been listening to. If the dc-
bate is prolonged, by the time his first notes have been
prepared he must be ready to go into the House again,
and it sometimes happens that a third turn is taken on
the same night. When the speakers are good, or the
debate important, this combined labour of so many pens
completes a formidable mass of 'copy.'
"By nine o'clock the editor, the sub-editor, the foreign
editor are all busy; the editor with his leaders, the
foreign editor with his German and French, and the
sub editor with the mass of multifarious things that now
load his table. The law reports being on matters of fact,
and usually prepared by barristers, give little trouble;
but with this exception, scarcely a line comes to the
sub-editor which does not require preparation at his
hands. Meetings reported to please speakers instead of
the public, railway and commercial statements full of
long tabular accounts to be summarised and made read-
able; letters from indignant' constant readers,' in which
libels lurk in the midst of long statements of wrongs
endured, or reforms demanded; reports of police courts,
of inquests, of disasters, all %raters on fliaisy'paper. and
requiring great quickness of eye and mind to decipher
at nil; papers from all quarters of the kingdom; sta-e•
inente of markets, 4 f shipping, of births, deaths, and ail
other conceivable and inconceivable things, demand at-
tention and preparation for the prine.rs, who by this
time are ready for the six hours' rapid and skilful labour
that shall convert this mass of contributions or all sizes,
characters, ar,d qualities into a shapely morning paper.
With the help or an assistent or two, the load rapidly
diminishes, and by midnight 'here is a tolerably clear
table, pre aratory to the arrival of the late railway dis-
patches. These received, a new labour has often to be
commenced. Although the troublesome search through
fifty county papers has afforded a great quantity of local
news, the lire dispatches often bring up much more; the
Irish and Scotch :deices come to hand, and with this
addition r f home news very often comes a file of papers
from America; from the West Indies; from Brazil; from
France, Germany, or Hamburgh. An hour or two clears
off all these new accumulations, and then the proof
sheets having been attended to, and the place and ar-
rangement of the articles being decided upon; —the num-
ber of leaders, and the number of advertisements set-
tled, the columns calculated, and the decision made as
to what shall appear, and what stand over, the editorial
work of one day is done. By half-past four the paper is
at press, and news-boys and morning mails distribute
the papers to all parts of the c .untry to meet their' con-
stant readers' at breakfast tables, in counting-houses, and
at country fire-side a.

" Just was the wet newspaper, fresh from the news- boy,
is being opened at the eight o'clock breakfast table of
the early rising city merchant, the Dublin correspondent
i, again handing his dispatch on board the steamer at
Kingston fvr to morrow's journal—and so the twenty-
four hours of a newspaper life are up."
As we have more than once intimated, in our pre-
vious observations, it is fortunate for the author of
these volumes that he repudiated, on :his very title-
page, all intention of assuming to be the annalist of
journalism. His labours, as here collected together in
these volumes, are little better than loose notes,
gathered from a variety of miscellaneous sources
for the benefit of some future historian. For inasmuch
as he has attempted to pioneer the way for his des
tined successor Mr. Knight Hunt must be com-
mended : and, considering the novelty of his subject
and the scattered nature of the materials, it is assu-
redly anything but surprising that numerous parti-
culars of importance have been all but, and some-
times entirely, overlooked. These blemishes upon the
work under consideration are solely attributable, to
our thinking, to the embarrassing amplitude of theme
so large as journalism, and not to any depreciation of
the value of completeness on the part of the com-
piler. The motto selected by him for the title-page
is of itself a sufficient evidence that he has formed
a high) estimate of the importance of the Fourth
Estate, being nothing less than that brilliant sentence
of M. de Tocqueville—" What is it that drops the
same thought into ten thousand minds at the same
moment ?—the newspaper." Perhaps the most feli-
citous remark in the book here submitted to our
criticism is where the author says that a daily news-
paper is " a great mental camera which throws a
picture of the whole world upon a single sheet." With
that admirable epigram upon the literary microcosm
—a newspaper—we bring our comments on the
‘• Fourth Estate" to a conclusion.

A MONUMENT TO LORD ASHLEY.
(From Punch )
Yesterday will long b•• remembered in the annals of
the libro d'oro of the Beadle of Exeter•hall. There never
has been such a Busting in the memory of the oldest
Sabbatarian ; and it was confidently prophesied that
Time may stand upon tiptoe to watch the advent of such
another and never behold it.

It is tha pecuthr felicity of a grand idea to
beget anumb.r of smaller notions, bearing some
resemblance to the original thought. Alike, but
very different. Thus, it was no sooner determined
to erect a monument to the b nevolent genius of a great
statesman: of a man who, whilst ho patronised the cheap
loaf, did not loftily eschew the patronage of art and
letters—than a monument was determined for his late
Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge; a monument,
as it now appears, put off until next season, in consider-
ation of the calls upon Parliament, by grouse and the
German spas. In the meantime, the architects of
England have until February next to mature their de-
signs for a monuxent to departed royalty, whose peculiar
goodness it was—boldly avouched Lord Grosvenor—to
have subscribed every minute of time, and every farthing,
of money, towards the necessities of human ',attire. To
Eternise such a fame (when duly proved, as no doubt it
will be when the shooting season I nds ), will tax to the
higteNt the creative genius of England's sculptural
uoribies. In a while, and progressing at the rate we
have travdled for the !mat-month, monuments will start
into stony existence rapidly as mushrooms.
L'.rd Ashley is to have a monument; and his Lord-
ship deserves one. It was this deep conviction of his
merits—a conviction throbbing at the hearts of his ad-
rs—that yr sterday filled Ex-ter hall with the elect
of the wicked city of London, gathered together to pay
homage to the bold and subtle genius of that " pious
and excellent nobleman," as the 7 imss fleeringly called
him, who ";tole a march upon Parliament" on the day
of the Derby, to shut up the Sunday Post-office; and,
with the dexterity of a professor of the persecuted art
of pea-and-thimble, worked a work of zealous holiness.
The chair was taken by Mr. bE NEWCATE, who
called upon every really pious man with a heart in his
breast and a shilling in his pocket to come forward with
his sixpence. They would butli such a monument to
the good intentions of the Noble and Pious Lord, that
au admiring posterity should go down upon its knees to
'!'heir opponents had flung it Ia their teeth that a
certain place, to which at that meeting it was not neces-
sary for him wore particularly to allude, was paved with
good inter tons; he, however, came not there to dwell
upon the enlargement of that pavement, but to propose a
monument to good intentions. Lord Ashley had betn
defeated—(Groans)—wickedly defeated by a mammon-
loving Government; but his Lordship's intentions re-
mained the same: he would not only have gone the
whole hog, but have compelled every man, woman,
and child to wear a Sunday inner garment of its
bristles.—(Cheers )
Mr. SLEEKLOCAS rose to move a resolution. For hie
own part, tie wi.hed to express to the noble, the heroic,
but defeated Lord, the pious admiration of his disciples
in the most significant and touching material—of course
he meant gold. The iniquitous Sunday letter-delivery
had been stopped. A sinner under sentence ef death
had been reprieved; bat—the mail-bag remaining at the
Post-office—the evil-doer was, for the day, kept in igoc-
rance of the mercy ; and thereupon had his thoughts
directed as they ought to Le; whereas, had the sinful
post run upon that day, the maletactor would have been
rejoicing. Mr. Sleeklocks thought that a handsome
gold ink-stand in the shape of a death's head should be
presented to Lord Ashley in commemoration of his
triumph—a triumph to be renewed next session—
(Cheers)—over the carnal authorities ef St. Martin's-
le- Grand.

Mr. PRosrnon thought a lucifer box, delicately
chased with the armorial bearings of his Lordship,
would—to use the express words of the speaker—" find
an echo in the heart of every genuine Sabbatsrian."
_

.. -
Here ensued a long and desultory conversation, which
it is needless to report. We shall therefore omit all
details, ct ming at once to the determination of the meet-
ing. which was, namely—
To erect, immediately opposite to the Post office, an
obelisk to the memory of Lord Ashley's fl-eting tti-
uniph,
.made of the very best and most enduring black
sealing-wax.

DEATH OF MR. LET, CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF
COMMONs.— In our obituary of yesterday we recorded the
death of ?Sr. John Henry Ley, clerk of the House of Com-
mons, the duties of which office he has executed for the
lengthened period of 29 years. Mr. Ley's connexion with
the Huse of Commons dates from the 2d of July, 1801,
when the House resolved that, in consi •eration of the in-
crease cf the public business, "the clerk of this House be per-
mitted to appoint an additional clerk to assist at the table."
Mr. Hatsell offered this appointment to the subject of this
notice, in consequence of the valuable services of his uncle,
Mr. Ley, who was at that time acting as deputy-clerk of the
House. Mr. J. H. Ley performed the duties of second
clerk-assistant until 1814, when, upon the death of his
uncle, the deputy-clerk, and the promotion of Mr. Dyson to
that office, be su,•ceeded to the office of clerk-assistant, the
duties of which he performed until the death of Mr. Hatsell,
and the expiry of his patent in 1821. Mr. Ley then received
the appointment of the Patent-office as Under-Clerk of the
Parliaments, to attend upon the House of Commons, or, as
the office is usually designated, the Clerk of the House of
Commons. Altogether Mr. Ley has served the House of
Commons without intermission for a period of 4? years.
During the recess Mr. Ley generally resided on his estate
of Trehill, in the parish of Renn, in Devonshire, where he
was much respected. He married on the 23d of October,
1809, Lady Frances Dorothy Hay, the second daughter of
George, seventh Marquis of Tweedale, by whom he leaves
one surviving daughter and five sons. Mr. Ley was a bencher
of the Middle Temple, and a magistrate of the county of
Devon.

DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL ACA-
DEMI% —Th,! much- esteemed President of the Royal Aca-
demy, Sir Martin Archer Shee, F.R.S., died on the 19th
instant, at Brighton, atter a long and severe illness, at the
venerable age of t<o years. Ile was sec,)nd son of Martin
Shee, Etq., of Lublin, by the eldest daughter and co-heir of
Francis Archer, E,q., of the same city, and was grand-
nephew to the ate Sir George Shee,firstlaronet of Du..more.
He married in 1796 the eldest daughter of James Power,
Esq., of Youghal, county of Cork, was elected an associate of
the Royal Academy in 1798, a Royal Academician in 1100,
and was chosen to till the president's chair on the death of
Sir Thomas Lawrence is 1830, on which election he received
the honour of knighthood. He was an honorary member of
the Royal Hibernian Academy, and of the academies of New
York, Charleston, and Philadelphia ; was aw hor of " Rhymes
on Art," " The Commemoration of Reynolds," " Alasco," a
tragedy, &c.