The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-28 00:00:00

CLERKENWELL.

A young man, named John Smith, rather genteelly
attired, was charged with attempting to commit nume-
rous -frauds on housekeepers.
It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner has
been for some time in thehabit of visiting houses which
have lodging bills in the windows, on pretence of taking
apartments. The rooms shown to him invariably
suited his taste, and so anxious was he to conclude the
bargain that he always insisted :on leaving a deposit.
For this purpose he drew forth a sovereign or half a
sovereign (he never had any small change), expressed a
wish to leave five shillings as a guarantee for his return,
and having, obtained the change, walked away, leaving
the landlady quite pleased with the punctuality of her
new lodger. Failing to come, however, on the day ap-
pointed, the lodger was suspected, and the deposit, on
examination, turned out to be a counterfeit. On the pre-
vious evening he went into the coffee-shop of Mr. Hitchin,
15, Colonnade, Russell-square, and asked for a pork
pie; which was supplied him. In payment he threw
down half-a-crown, a genuine one ; the change was laid
on the counter, but whilst the landlord was engaged in
other matters, the prisoner put ono of the two:shillings in
his pocket, and left a bad one in its place. He then re-
membered that he had a penny, which he wished to pay
for the pie and get back his half-crown. The landlord,
however, discovered the fraud, and upon charging the
prisoner with it, he instantly swallowed the base shil-
ling, and then in a daring manne )11 ill dandlord and
police at defiance.—The prisoner was remanded.
DARING ROBBERY.--Two women of the town, named
Reeves and Holland, were charged with robbing Mr.
Briggs, an artist, residing in Moorgate-street, of a gold
watch.

The prosecutor was returning from a dinner party
last night along Holborn, between 12 and 1 o'clock, when
he was accosted by the prisoners. They asked him to
treat them, which he refused. When he entered Gray's
inn-lane, one of them pushed him into Fox-court, the
other threw her arms round his breast ; he shouted po-
lice, and a constable, 35 G, came up. They were
secured, and Mr. Briggs then found that his watch had
been removed, and that his gold chain had been cut or
broken. Every search was matl for the watch, but it
i
could not be found, and it s believed that the prisoners
threw it away when they saw the officers coming up.
Mr. Briggs was perfectly sober.
The prisoners, who did not deny the charge, were re-
manded.
Sixty postage stamps have been received by Mr.
Combe, the sitting Magistrate at this Court, for the re-
lief of Mary Anne Hartwell, whose case appeared
The Sun about a week ago. The benevolent donor re-
quested that the receipt of the stamps might be ac-
knowledged in The Sun, as from H. C. E. S.
Our Reporter has been requested to state, that whe
the period of her imprisonment had transpired, Baylis ,
the messenger of this Court, by direction of the Magis-
trate, conveyed her to an asylum, in accordance wit h.
the wish she expressed on her trial. She, however; re -
fused to enter the asylum; and there is too much reaso
to believe that she has again resumed the same profli -
gate course of life which, on her examination, she
seemed so determined to abandon.

The stamps lie at the Police-court, and will be re-
turned to the donor, if he wish, or applied to the gene-
ral purposes of the poor-box.

The admirers of Fornasari will regret to hear that
he is now suffering so severely from water on the chest as t o
prevent his singing; and it is in contemplation to send fo r
ramburini, who will shortly be in Paris. _ _ _

Mr. Higham, Secretary and Comptroller-General to th e
Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt, had
an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterda y
at his official residence in Dowsing-stree
• We are gratified to be able to state that the sub-
seription for the widow and children of the late Chief Office r
of Police is going on well. The amount up to last night wa s
about 600/., independently of a sum of 500/., which th e
commissioners voted at a special meeting last night. Th e
barristers present at the late assizes contributed nearly 40/.
to the fund.—Brighton Gazette.