The Sun.
London, England, 1826-06-22 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

BOW-STREET.—Yesterday an elderly woman, calling her-
self Mary Edwards, accompanied by a pretty-looking girl named
'Betsey Jones, was brought before Mr. HALLS, at the instance of
Mr. Harris, a saddler and lodging-house, keeper in Arundel-
street, Strand, on a charge of robbery and various acts of swindling.
The girl .Tones was about 14 years of age, and had an appear-
ance of extreme simplicity and innocence, but it would seem from
the evidence that she has already been made tolerably proficient in
the ways of vice.
Mrs. Edwards, it appeared, came in a hackney coach to Mr.
Harris's house on Friday last, and requested leave to look at some
apartments which were to let there. She *as shown up stairs,
and having expressed herself satisfied with the accommodation
offered, and the terms, she stated, in answer to a request for 'a
reference to some person of respectability, that she was a lady of
fortune from Sornereetshire—that she was sojourning in town for a
short time to settle some business relating to her property, and that
she had only brought her otn maid with her, as she wished to be at
as little trouble and expellee as possible during her very limited stay.
She afterwards added, as if seeming to recollect herself—" By the
by, my cook is on her way to town, for I stn very particular in
'' culinary matters, and do not like to eat any thing that is not
dont after my own fashion and by my own servant, who has
been with me for many years, and knows all my little ways and
likings." She is a woman of superior address, and her man-
ners were so imposing, that Mrs. Harris felt satisfied that she
was about to receive into her house a person of censequence..—
The bargain was struck at two guineas per week, and the same
evening Mrs. Edwards eagle and took possession, bringing with
her the other prisoner, slants, who passed as lady's maid. On Sa-
turday the cook, a comely-looking woman,. arrived, and entered
upon the duties of her office, and certainly her mistress kept her
very well employed, for no lady could take better care of herself in
the eating and drinking way than Mrs. Edwards, but it happened
that it was entirely at the expence of the neighbouring tradesmen.
'She had not been an hour in the house on Friday, before her
maid Betsey was sent to the various tradesmen in the neighbour-
hood, and in a very short time a complete stock of provisions,
wines, spirits, &c., were safely deposited in Mr. Harris's house
for the use of Mrs. Edwards and her little establishment, and all
these things were obtained entirely upon credit ; for if any,
question was asked, the lady's maid at once silenced the ques-
tion, by "0, Sir, you need not send the things unless you like ;
I can go elsewhere, I dare say. My mistress is a lady of fortune,
and will pay you in her usual way, once a week." It was re-
marked, as a little extraordinary, that every thing brought into
the house on Mrs. Edwards' account was conveyed to her apart-
ments, instead of being deposited in the kitchen ; but this was
accounted for by the lady's maid, who said her mistress was un-
fortunately of a suspicious disposition, and when in London liked
to have every thing under her own eye. The cook was observed
to go out very often, and each time to have a tolerably bulky par-
cel with her; and the great quantity of goods which were conti-
nually pouring into the house, and some conversation which Mr.
Harris happened to overbear between the three, at length ex-
cited some suspicion—which being rather openly expressed, the
cook soon afterwards went out, and did not return. Mr. Harris
inquired amongst the tradesmen, and found that in three days Mrs.
Edwards bad obtained goods to the amount of nearly 501. She bad
got 6/. worth from an oilman alone ; and from a neighbouring pub-
lican she bad had three bottles of wine per diem, besides a quan-
tity of spirits which her maid ordered on the day of her arrival.
This information, together with the non-arrival of Mrs. Edwards's
luggage, which she had stated would be brought by waggon in a
day or two, convinced Mr. Harris that the sooner lie got rid of
Mrs. Edwards the better, and without ceremony he informed her
she must quit his house as speedily as possible. She professed to
he very indignant at this, and high words arose Mr. Harris told
her plainly he "should stand no nonsense," and proceeded to ex-
amine the apartments, when he found that two silver spoons,aotne
table-Worn, +tad :other WAWA* *Mali .weee furnished to Mrs. Ed-
wards, were misehig, and tiiiis.riet a single article was left of the
great quantity of goods whloh slacked obtained. Mr. Harris mods
further inquiry respecting the prisoner in other quarters, and found
that only a week before she bad taken apartments in Southamp-
ton-buildings, Holborn, under the same pretences ; where she re-
mained four days only, and in that time contrived to obtain goods
from every tradesman in the neighbourhood, which goods disap-
peared acrapidly as they were procured.
The office was crowded by the tradesmen in Mr. Harris's
neighbourhood from whom the prisoners had obtained goods, and
they all concurred in pronouncing Miss Betty Jones, the lady's
maid to be a perfect adept in the deceptive arts by which her mis-
tress seemed to have supported herself.

Mrs. Edwards laughed at the charges made against her, and said
it was true she had got the goods, 'end shimeant to pay for them.
As to the spoons and the other contemptible trifles, she knew no-
thing of them ; and it was ridiculous to suppose that a lady would
look after all the little matters which were let to her in a furnished
lodging.
Mr. Hit.t.4 said, he was not to be deceived by tine talking.—
She appeared to him to be one of the most industrious swindlers
he hod ever seen before him, and he should certainly detain her
and her pupil for further hearing, and meanwhile, perhaps, some
publicity would be given to the ease, and other complaints would,
he doubted nut, be forthcoming.

The prisoners were remanded till Friday next. When they
were rettioved to the lockup-room, Jones, one, of the gaolers, I
thought he would search the old lady, and doing so, he pulled forth
from an immense poeket which she wore at her side, an old greasy.
night cap stuffed full with biscuits, cakes of chocolate, two or
three second-hand hair brushes, a towel, some pawnbrokers' du-
plicates, end a huge unhoiled potato,. Jones brought her in he.-
fore the Magistrate again, and produced what he had found; the
exhibition of which produced no mall degree of merriment.
When taken to prison, Mrs. Edward* Was , immediately wog- ,
Mud as an old visitor ; and it was ascertained that a man, who 1
once pissed as her valet, was transported some time since for
swindling practices.
MARLBOROUGiIeSTREET.---On Tuesday afternoon a re-
spectebly-dresied man appeared before J. E. CON A NT, Esq., 'the
sitting Magistrate, and made the following complaint 1—
lie was, he said, a Manchester man, recently arrived in this
metropolis, and Thomas Booth, his name. On Wednesday last,
he went to the Bank of England to get a 50/. note changed, and
• was returning home, when in St. Paul's Church-yard he was ace
coated by a man of gentlemanly,. and rather 'countrified appears '
ance, who began a conversation with him; by asking his opinion
of the merits of the City candidates. Mr. Booth did not hesitate
to give his opinion, and from one topic they proceeded to arr-
"other; and Mr. Booth determined in his own mind, that lie had
met with a very desirable acipaintence; and so considering, he •
did not hesitate to make the country gentleman aegesitited with
the business he was then upon, end ask his advice abant. lie
(Booth) was then going to an attorney, concerning one Waylen,
a seelerboard-maker Gray'e-in-lane, who had induced him, by
false etaternenfs, to purchase his business, to secure which he de-
posited,with Waylen 4/. and his tools. Pie afterwards learned
that the business was not so advantageous as it had been re-
- presented to be, and he, in consequence, desired to have
his money end tools again, but Waylen refuted give
them up. These things he told the country gentlentan,
niht) strongly advised him to have nothing to do with the
law, at all events. • Mr. Booth, however, did go to an attor-
ney,
anndei' with thehetlln attrYgtoenrnteleyt,na the countrynarrilP" gentleman
iedhil; and when they
had took him into
a. dark back parlour in the Five Bells public-hew, in Chancery-
; but looking reundi. and as Mr. Booth supposed, seeing none
of his accomplice' there, he came out, and th,CY' Went together to
the Old Blue Boer, in Newport-market. As they went in at the
door, Mr. Booth heard sonic one say, " up stairs, gentlemen !"
and the Gauntry
on i
ile fit
untryge»tlresm ;root
r:wentsy helup: tair followed by Mr. Booth,
into a room theys,
eat
down, end called for
refreshment. After a short time, V Ssiklr reeled into the room,
and Shewing what appeared te be Bank notes, proposed towing foe
had Net 4,5/. ! Mr. Booth
51. a time ! The country' persuaded 'Mr. Booth to
himself Mr.
.ißv°a°atthhear peee'rls,uaalilldedtn"eundteirarmetill
te"'
with ;be sailor, proinieingstoci:`ugsoprhealtevneacel
by the country
gentleman, to go and wait outside for five minutes. Mr. Booth
went outside, and when the five minutes had elapsed, lie went
into the room nein. It is almost unnecessary to add, that the
country gektleam,the and the' 451. were gene ! The
landlord of :11iiheter,: 'when Mr. booth represented to him the
trick that hail been played upon Win, declared that he knew
nothing at all pf-the
parties.
Mr. Cuieerr, however, gent Clements, the officer, who brought
the landlord of thellitie Boat to the Office' yesterday. Be
silted, however, in his ignorance of the parties, or of the ttatliz

action having taken place at all ; but Mr. Conant told him be
e4med to know more about it than he chose to tell, and warned
him not to show any reluctance to give his evidence, as it would
be remembered. The ollicere, he believed, had obtained a clue,
which he hoped would lead to the apprehension of the cheats.
The landlord said he would readily come forward at any time to
tell " all he knew—which was nothing at all," and he wiut per-
mitted to withdraw.

MARYLEBONE.— Thomas Wight, a young gentleman of
fashionable appearance, was charged with assaulting MIL Elisa-
beth Robins.

Mrs. Robins stated, that she and her husband were in the ser-
vice of Mr. Grice, the apothecary of the Paddington Dispensary.
Mr. Wight was an apprentice to Mr. Grice. He took several
opportunities lately of making overtures to her, to induce her to
desert her husband and live with him. On Sunday night, while
she was sitting on the sofa, he came and sat near her, and said
her husband was a rogue and a villain, and not deserving of such
a wife. He praised her beauty, said she was a nice-looking wo-
man, and he had taken a liking to her, and If she would consent
to live with bins he would make her happy and comfortable, and
give her every thing she could wish for. She would not listen
to him, and on that account he threatened to strike her. She
told her husband of the circumstance. On Tuesday afternoon
Mr. Wight quarrelled with berin the kitchen, and struck her a
violent blow on the face, and she fell against the dresser. She.
bled profusely, and could not have lust a less quantity of blood
than a quart. Her nose bore evident marks of the assault. All
she now wanted was protection.
Mr. Wight denied the charges/and said that Mrs. Robins called
her husband a villain. He never took any familiarities with her.
Robins, the husband, here came forward, and called Mr. Wight
a villain and a liar. He would not listen to such imputations on
his wife's character. He would split Wight's skull, and have
satisfaction. (He became outrageous at this moment, and broke
a two-foot rule on the bar.) He did not care what would be done
to him.
Mr. linwurisorr said unless Robins restrained his furious
temper he should have him removed from the office.
Robins (vehemently)--I don't care whether you lock me up or
not, I can't bear it.
Mr. Grice was lorry that such an unpleasant occurrence should
have taken place in his house.
Mr. RawLatspre regretted that so respectable a young num
should be guilty of such an offence. It was the second time, that
Mr. Wight was brought before him for assaulting a married
woman in his master's house. It was a serious offence to disturb
perhaps for ever, the peace of mind of a virtuous family. The
case should go to the Sessions, and in the mean time Mr. Wight
should find very good bail.
Two respectable individuals then came forward, and-were as-
eepted as bail. Robins was bound in recognizancea of 50/. to
keep the peace towards Wight.