The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-02 00:00:00

too, that requires, on the part of its professors, the
utmost tact, readiness, self-possession, and knowledge
of character. A man may be a very excellent
lawyer, who would make a very indifferent dog-
stealer ; but the latter, if he be an adroit prac-
titioner, is already in possession of many of the re-
quisites that tend to establish the reputation of the
former. The legal system of " refreshers" seems to
be thoroughly understood and appreciated by the
honourable and ancient fraternity of dog-stealers.
An experienced professor purloins one of those inoffen-
sive quadrupeds; straightway negotiations are opened
for its recovery, but the sum being deemed insufficient,
its abductor makes a point of forgetting to return it—
in the hurry and multiplicity of business, how could
he be expected to remember such a trifle ?—and it is
not until his memory is jogged by a " refresher" in
the shape of an increased offer, that he recals the
whole circumstances of the case, and returns the kid-
napped animal to its legitimate owner. The negotia-
tions respecting these " refreshers" are sometimes very
edifying, and if they do not come up to the just ex-
pectations of the professor, he pockets the affront, but,
as a matter of course, the dog is stolen again. Cap-
tain ALEXANDER, as appears by the Report,
has paid at various times not less than twenty-two
pounds—his Royal Highness the Duke of CAM-
BRIDGE, not less than thirty pounds—and Miss
BETHELL not less than ten pounds, for the recovery
of their canine property ! Mr. Bis Hop, an intelli-
gent man, whose evidence is well worth reading, has
given the Committee some curious particulars eluci-
datory of the science of dog-stealing, and mentions,
in particular, the case of a lady whose dog was twice
stolen, restored, and re-stolen, which so alarmed her
sensitive nature, " that she has since then left Eng-
land "—adds the deponent—" and I really do believe
for the sake of keeping the dog. She has left the
country because she could make more of a certainty
of keeping the animal in foreign parts than in Eng-
land, if that was not the sole cause of her leaving.
She prayed for the time to come when she
might leave this country, which she has
done, and taken the dog with her !" This excess of
sensibility is really very touching, and we can
imagine the holy fervour with which the fair peti-
tioner offered up her prayers to Providence for the
preservation of her four-footed favourite. But con-
ceive a lady self-exiled from her native home on ac-
count of a pet lap-dog! Separated by seas and con-
tinents from her friends, her relations, her acquaint-
ances—and all by reason of her nervous apprehensions
for the safety of "Beauty," "Chloe," "Fanny," or
whatever else may be the dog's patronymic ! This
solicitude may possibly appear to many of our readers
exceedingly amiable and virtuous,but to our thinking, it
savours not a little of the maudlin. We would far
rather see a tear drop from a fair lady's eye for the
sufferings of the poor and the friendless—and more
especially for the helpless, over-tasked, under-paid,
and under-fed milliners' apprentices, than for a mere
lap-dog, however exemplary the qualities possessed
by this darling quadruped. And here, while on the
subject of dog-stealing, we cannot but express our
astonishment that the professors of this science have
never yet been tempted to vary their practice,
and turn their attention to man-stealing.
Much might be done in this line, and a
very handsome competency achieved by it, if
carried on with due skill and spirit. Imagine, for
instance, Sir J. GRAHAM kidnapped from Downing-
street by a party of ingenious practitioners, and
safe locked in a coal-shed, till a reward was adver-
tised for his recovery ! Can any one doubt the im-
mense sums that would be immediately offered by
his anguished colleagues for his ransom ? Why, the
very paupers in the union workhouses throughout
the kingdom would,. in the excess of their
gratitude, subscribe each his mite; and the
remainder of the demand would no doubt be cheer-
fully made up by Messrs. DUNCOMBE and MAZZINI!
We throw out this suggestion—having no immediate
intention of acting on it ourselves—for the benefit of
expert practitioners in dog-stealing ; for they
may rely on it that were they to enlarge the
sphere of their operations, and experimentalise on
the Home Secretary instead of on ladies'
lap-dogs, not twenty-four hours would elapse
from the period of the Right Honourable Baronet's
abduction, but the following advertisement would
appear conspicuously in the Times,- Post, and Stu'
newspapers :—" Lost, stolen, or strayed, a stout
middle-aged gentleman, answering to the name of
GRAHAM. Whoever will restore him to his discon-
late owner, Sir ROBERT PEEL, shall receive a reward
of ten thousand pounds, payable out of the Income-
'tax. N.B. The last time the missing individual was
seen in public, he was peeping into a private letter
at the General Post-office." Verbum sap.

According to accounts from Madrid of the 25th
ultimo, an alarming commotion took place in the
capital on the previous night, but the cause of it is
not explained. The whole garrison were suddenly
summoned to arms. The Puerto del Sol and Post-
office were occupied by regiments of cavalry and
infantry, and patrols and picquets watched every part
of the capital, through the streets of which the
authorities, civil and military, had been seen hasten-
ing with great anxiety. Some reports state that all
this display was in consequence of a communication
from NARVAEZ, that a republican plot was about to
break out—a very probable occurrence. PrivatE
letters announce a probable change of Ministry, and
the downfal of the Dictator. One of them thus con-
cludes :—" Be assured that though we have had several
years of civil war, the revolution has not commenced."
The Bourse was closed on the 25th.

Dispatches and private letters have been received
from Otaheite at Paris, giving numerous details of
the disturbances there, and the expulsion of Mr.
PRITCHARD, the English Consul. The contents of the
dispatches had not transpired, but nearly all the let-
ters thrciw the blame on the English. The remarks
of the writers, however, and the conclusions to which
they come, must be received with caution. They
betray a strong feeling against this country, and
absurdly assert that our Government attaches great
importance to the occupation of the islands by the
French, and infer that underhand means are adopted
to deprive th2m of the protectorate. They throw the
entire blame on Mr. PRITCHARD, and assert that he
had formed a plan for a general insurrection against
the French. The following is an extract from one
of the letters, dated March 19th, and in the state-
ments which it contains most of the other writers