The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-12 00:00:00

THAMES.

Isabella 211' Lean, a Highland woman, was on Monday
brought before Mr. Broderip, charged with the following ex-
traordinary conduct. Whilst in the dock she vainly endea-
voured to check the laughter which shook her sides through-
out the whole inquiry.
Edward Yates Denton, proprietor of the Dundee Arms
public. house, Wapping-street, St. George in-the-East, stated
that the prisoner was his servant. On Saturday afternoon
his sister desired her to prepare the tray for a gentleman who
was in the habit of dining at the house, but though the di-
rections were repeated three or four times she never moved.
Complainant, who witnessed her conduct, took her by the
arm, and asked her why she behaved in that manner, but
she only laughed in his face.
Mr. BnonEtur—Why she is laughing now, and has been
ever since she came into the Court.

This observation only increased the mirth of the prisoner,
who laughed till the tears ran down her cheeks.
The prosecutor proceeded to state that since the very ex-
travagant manner in which the prisoner conducted herself,
he sent his boy for the woman by whom she had been re-
commended, and before he was aware of what she was about,
she ran to the engine, and opening several of the taps, rum,
gin, brandy,&c., began to flow away. He stopped them at once,
but she soon seized another opportunity and set them flowing
again. He, then, seeing his property so wantonly destroyed,
thought it high time to send for a constable, but even then
she made another attempt to set the liquor afloat, and kept
laughing all the time. More than this, she attacked the
customers at the bar. One man came in for half a pint of
beer, and as he was drinking it she hit the vessel on the bot-
tom and cut his mouth. To another man who had a pot of
half-and-half, she cried out, " What do you want here? We
are all drunk here." And in proof of the assertion she turned
the pot of beer upside down.
Mr. BRODERIP—Was she drunk? Complainant—l don't
know, Sir. She has no opportunity of getting spirits at my
place.
Mr. BRoDERIP—What did she say for cutting the man's
mouth and spilling the beer ?—She only laughed, your Wor-
ship, as she does now. The loss sustained by her operations
on the engine was not more than a few shillings.
Gilbert, 245 K, the constable who took her into custody,
said that when he came he found the landlord trying to keep
her from the taps.
Mr. BRODERIP—Was she intoxicated? Constable—She
smelled very strong of spirits. your Worship. I advised her
to quit the place, but she tried to get at the counter, and
when I prevented her she struck at me, kicked me violently,
and endeavoured to bite me, but she laughed still.
Mr. BRODERIP (to the prisoner)—tip hat have you to say
to this conduct ?

The.prisoner, after a strong effort to check her laughing
propensity, said :he was sorry for it.
Mr. BRODERIP—Your lips express sorrow, but your de-
meanour exhibits the contrary, and my experience here has
taught me that female servants imagine that they can do
anything with impunity. Unfortunately too much lenity
has been extended to them ; and, presuming upon this you,
after destroying the order of a peaceable family, when the
nuisance is about tobe abated, attack the officer, kick at him,
and bite at him whilst in the execution of his duty. I wish
it may be publicly noticed that I will not countenance
female servants in the supposition that they can do what
they please. You seem to think it a matter of mirth, for you
have been laughing the whole thus you have been in the
dock. but Pll change your tone. You shall pay for the da-
mage you have done to your master's property, and for the
assault on the constable ; I shall send you to prison for three
weeks. The worthy Magistrate miscalculated his power. He
did not change her tone, for she laughed as she left the dock ;
laughed in the gaoler's room, laughed in the cell, laughed in
Gaelic with another Highland dame, who was allowed to see
her before going to prison, and laughed loudest and longest
on entering the prison van.
HAMMERSMITH.

Monday John Leyden, a man having the appearance of an
engineer, who has been in custody since the 12th of October
last, was brought up before Mr. G. Clive, the sitting magis-
trate, for final examination, on a charge of having attempted
to murder Frances Wheeler, a woman with whom he had
been cohabiting.
Frances Wheeler, who was not a voluntary witness, but
attended on a summons, deposed that she was the wife of
George Wheeler, and lived at No. 2, Oakum-street, Chelsea.
She had been parted from her husband for eight years, and
had been living with the prisoner for nearly the last seven
years. Eight or nine weeks back they had a quarrel, and
witness left the prisoner, but used to go to him for money to
support the three children she had had by him. On the
night of Saturday, the 11th of October last, after witness
had received some money from the prisoner, she went home
with a man of the name of Langston, and while talking to
him in the presence of his (Langston's) daughter and son-in-
law, the prisoner came in and ordered witness out of the
house. Witness refused to go, and the prisoner left the
house. Soon after Langston's daughter and her husband
left the house, witness remaining. Langston was drunk and
went to bed. Witness's child, eight months old, that witness
had with her, she put into the same bed. Witness then sat
herself on the bed, and about two o'clock on the Sunday morn-
ing the prisoner came to the window, and asked witness
again to come out. Witness again refused, and the prisoner
said, " If you don't come out I'll make you." Witness locked
and prevented hint coming in at the door, and he then
broke in and forced himself through the window and struck
witness a violent blow with his fist in the face. Witness en-
deavoured to get away from him and fell over a chair. Di-
rectly witness got up the prisoner struck her three or four
blows, and she then fell against a carpenter's bench and• hurt
herribs. The prisoner then went away. Witnessfound that
she was unable to walk, and a police-constable afterwards
came and took witness to St. George's Hospital, where she
remained until Wednesday. the 29th ult. Witness is still an
out-patient of St. George's Hospital.
Mr. Nichols (the clerk) informed the Magistrate that the
'witness could have told a great deal more had she chosen, but
she was a most unwilling witness.
George Langston deposed, that he lived in a cottage in
Holtnes's bricktield, Gloucester-road, Kensington. On the
;night of Saturday, the 11th of October, the witness Frances
Wheeler went to witness's cottage to spend a few hours with
-witness's daughter and her husband. Between one and two
.o'clock in the morning witness was tired and a little the worse
tfor liquor, and went to bed, leaving Mrs. Wheeler and wit-
ness's daughter and her husband in the next room. Shortly
_afterwards witners was awoke by hearing the prisonerrs
• an.l titua all cut of the
house. When they appeared quiet witness went to bed
. again. Some time after that witness heard another voice,
and, on raising himself up in bed, saw the prisoner upon
',Ream Wheeler, who 1735 upon theground, and In thou