The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-30 00:00:00

STRAWBERRY HILL.

" Some cry up Gtumesbury,
For Sion some declare,
And some say that with Chiswick House
No villa can compare.
But ask the beaux of Middlesex,
Who know the county well,
If Strawberry-hill, if Strawberry-hill,
Don't bear away the bell ?"
The first day of the private view of the contents of
this place commenced yesterday.
The house looks wretchedly dirty, dilapidated, and
deserted. It would almost appear that not a shilling
had been expended upon it,- or upon anything in it,
for half a century. The usual appearance of all
houses in which a sale by auction is about to take
place is comfortless and cold ; but in this that appear-
ance is increased by the quaint and faded look of the'
furniture, and the style of the decorations. The auc-
tioneer's men sort badly with the portraits of lords
and ladies ; they look like the undertakers of departed
grandeur, if not of departed worth, and increase thi,
gloom by the monotony of their motions and answers.
This place must have been a very different sort of
thing in its original state, and under the immediate
care and management of its original owner, from what
it now is,.-or its reputation, even as an elegant toy,
could never have been so high and so widely spread.
The attendance of company yesterday was but
thin. Amongst the visiters of rank and fashion we
noticed Lords Tankerville, Cadogan, Lilford, and
some others.

The sale of Strawberry-hill is creating s great
commotion among the lovers of Fine Arts. The
list of rarities is numerous. The various portraits of
Holbern, curious as showing the rise of the limner's
art in England, and valuable as undoubted likenesses
of Bluff Harry, his wives, his children, and his
courtiers ; those of Vandyke, exquisite in colouring
and consummate in anatomical skill, conserving the
beauty and the chivalry of a later age in his glowing.
canvas; the lovely faces and the voluptuous bosomi'ef
the fair ones whose bloom still lives in Sir Peter
Lely's warm colouring ; the lovlier, because more
modest damsels, to whose charms the pencil of Sir
Joshua Reynolds has imparted half of his own im-
mortality ; the portraits of Jarvis, of Richardson, of
Kneller—these are, for the most part, firstof their class,
they are all priceless as representations of the illustrious
of the land, as well as splendid specimens of each ar-
tist's peculiar style. Portraits, either single or in groups,
from the principal portion of the pictorial treasures
of Strawberry-hill--for though there are beautiful
composition pictures by Reubens, by Rembrandt, by
Rosa, and other old masters, they prodominate—but,
as a series, they are unique and above value. The
two paintings by Hogarth, of " The Original Sketch
of the Beggars' Opera," and " The Rehearsal of in
Opera," as they came from his hand, must not, hew-
ever, be passed over in silence, though here we must
bid adieu to the nobler twin-sisters of the arts. In
sculpture, unless on a small scale, Strawberry Hill is
not rich ; still it possesses an Imperial Roman eagle,
discovered about a hundred years ago, nears the baths
of Caracalla, which is truly a superb specimen of Gre-
cian skill; a head of Vespasian in basalt, of wonderful
expression and character • and other relics of the
same sort, perhaps equall worthy of mention, but
less striking to the eye. In prints, in original draw-
ings, and in manuscripts, here are, indeed, riches
boundleilk Eight hundred letters from the renowned
Maria de Vichy, afterwards Madame du Deffaud, to
Horace Walpole, throwing light upon the transac-
tions, literary, political, and social, of France, up to
the time of her death in 1780, and dissecting, with a
skill which a femme spirituelle of that period so well
knew how to employ, her contemporaries—historians,
poets, philosophers, beauties ; the collections of por-
traits to illustrate Granger, and those designed to
illustrate the reigns of William the Third and
his successors, down to George the Third, con-
taining some thousands ; the engravings of Faithorne
and Vertue, and other artists, to whose talent and
perseverance we owe the unequalled position England
now maintains in that branch. The superbly illumi-
nated mis-s-aIS lijity lib Clovio and others ; the rare
books published at his private printing press by M.-
race Walpole himself, and' the wany soarce works
to which he has added yet greater worth by com-
ments and marginal notes written by his own hand—
amongst which we may mention the copy of the Iliad
and Odyssey, from which Pope made his translation.
These are all our space permits us to name, yet there
are enough to indicate the precious store of learning,
of wit, of personal sketching here deposited. But
it is as a museum of curiosities that Straw-
berry-hill surpasses. Its exquisitely-chased orna-
ments, its miniature bronzes, its Etruscan vases, its Li.
moo-nes enamels, its antique medals, its coins of all
dates and countries, its magnificent armour and
knightly accoutrements of the middle age, its antique
furniture, and its porcelain of Sevres, of Dresden, and
of China, are indeed as splendid as they are varied.
Add to these its rare intaglios, its choice collection of.
miniature paintings, its Indian sacred utpsils, its
filen za and majoilica vessels of classic design, and above
all its painted glass, some of which is truly surprising
for drawing colour, and expression, and a faint idea may
be formed of what is here to be found to delight the cu-
rious and to gratify the man of refinement. Amongst the
last-named class of articles it is impossible not to no-
tice more narticularly a large silver bell, enchased in
the most exquisite style by Benvenuto Cellini, and a
suit of armour, steel gilt, worn by Francis the First
of France, each of which is, in its line, beyond any-
thing we have ever seen in beauty of workmanship.
A hunting-horn of copper, enamelled of that descrip-
tion called Limoges, having the history of St. Hubert
painted on it, is, we believe, unique in its way; and
a small gilt clock, presented as a love-token by Henry
VIII. to Ann Boleyn, when he was a thriving wooer, is
an object which must be interesting-t 9 the tender-hearted
of all ,ages. 'We could dwell with rapture on Ilte
enumeration of the many pieces of China which are
indeed beautiful, on the vessels of terracotta, of the
relics reserved from Herculaneum and Pompeii, and
on the fine Gothic and old English carvings, but we
must deny ourselves that pleasure. Still the wonder-
ful magic mirror of Dr. Dee,'and his right-hand man
Kelly, must not be forgotten. A day or two now
will make us bid farewell, to Strawberry-hill and to
its treasures.

CAUTION TO LINENDRAPERS.
A system of fraud and conspiracy, which lias been
carried on with impunity for• a number of years, to
the incalculable injury of the trade, has at length
been exposed, and visited with exemplary punish-
ment, by the spirited exertions of Mr. Richard
Northover, a respectable draper, residing at Win-
chester. Having had several occasions during the
last five years to advertise for assistants in his
business, Mr. Northover's attention was excited by
the extraordinary similarity of
„many of the applica-
tions he received in reply, being addressed to him by
individuals of different names, and from different
parts of London, not only in the same language and
handwriting, but even with the very same errors of
style and orthography. Suspecting, therefore, that
the whole of those communications mint have ema-
nated from the same source, Mr. Northover thought
it worth while to take some pGins to trace out
their origin, and the means by which it was
attempted to render them ultimately. available. As
the letters always contained a reference to some
member of the trade by whoka the writer professed
to have been previously emplbyed, Mr. Northcote
made a point of applying to the parties referred
to, and in every instance he received a satisfac-
tory reply ; but it was very remarkable that,
to whatever place the inquiry was sent, the an-
swer was invariably received from London, and
bore the London post-mark only, although dated
from the proper place—a fact which tended mate-
rially to strengthen the suspicion that all was not
right. Mr. Northover's next step, therefore, was
to address a letter to the postmasters of the different
towns, or some respectable inhabitant there, inquir-
ing whether or not such persons as those referred
to were actually residing there, .to which inquiries
he received in every instance a negative reply, with
information that his own letters had been sent for by
the parties, to be forwarded to them in London, prov:
ing beyond all doubt, that the whole of the corres-
pondence was fraudulent, and the names fictitious.
Thus convinced, Mr. Northover considered it is duty
to exert himself to the utmost for the detectiori and pu-
nishment of the guilty partie&,Xor that purpose, after
a correspondence of more than ordinary complexity, he
proposed to accept the offer of one of the applicants,
who had assumed the name of H. ,41a,ckson, and
referred for his character to a Mr. Smee, of Rochester,
from whom a letter was received through the London
Post-office (but of course dated from Rochester) con-
taining everything that could render )Irolkokson's

services desirable. Tee bait having succeeded, Mr.
Jackson made his appearance at Winchester in due
orm, to occupy.the situation, little dreaming of the
reception that had been prepared for him. Suffice.
it to say, that a few hours after his ar-
rival he found himself securely lodged in the
police station, under a charge of offering himself_ as
a servant under a false and counterfeit certificate of
character, whereby (under 32 Geo. 111., cap. 56, sec. 5)
he had rendered himself liable to the penalty of 201.,
or imprisonieent and hard labour for not exceeding three
months. The case was heard before the borough lgagis-
-trates of Winchester last Thursday morning, on which
occasion the prisoner made a voluntary statement, ad-
mitting that his real name was George Blair, and that
the correspondence by which he had obtained the situa-
tion was altogether counterfeit, the letters havingbeen
written by the same parties in London, from whom
Mr. Northover had received so many other appli-
eations. The act not allowhig of any mitigation,
the prisoner was convicted in the full penalty
of 201., and in default of payment committed
-to. hard , labour at the County Bridewell for
one month. In consequence of the disclosures made
in the investigation of this case, confirmed as
they were by the letters and other evidence which
Mr. Northover had previously collected, the Magis-
trates immediately issued warrants against two other
kodividuals, resident in London, and Mr. Northover
-at once proceeded to town with one of the Win-
chester police, to take them into custody. One of.
the delinquents:was unfortunately permitted to escape,
but the other, %lobe mane --is-j-Edivard AM-re-Ws,
otherwise Edward Etches (after being suffered
to leave his residence, No. 1, Pembroke-ylace, West-
minster-road, in the very face of the policeman), was
afterwards met by Air. N-orthover, who caused him to
be immediately apprehended, and taken to Winchester
on the following morning, where he was properly con-
victed as the actual writer of several of the letters, and
sentenced to two months' hard labour in the Bridewell.
The other parties implicated in this nefarious concern
are well known, and hopes are yet entertained that ,
they will be shortly brought to justice. The bonus
Or fee expected and generally paid by a young man
for obtaining a situation through the agency of these
parties, varied from 1/. to 51.—Hampshire Paper.

AMERICAN NEWS.
(Further Extracts from the American Papers.)
SAN ANTONIO MUTINEERS.
The nine men arrested for murder and mutiny on
board the Texian schooner San Antonio, on the night
of the 11th inst., were yesterday brought before his
Honour the Mayor for examination. The Attorney
General was present—so was Lieutenant Seeger,
commander of the San Antonio.
The depositions of Messrs. M. H. Dearborn, Allen,
and Odell, all officers of the San Antonio, and who
were on board at the time of the unfortunate occur-
rence, were taken down. They are in substance a
recital of the facts given in this paper on the 13th
inst. They were all remanded to prison, to await
their trial on a charge of murder, except Edward
Keenan, the cook, who, it appears, did not partici-
pate in the mutiny.
The following are the names of such of the crew
as are still at large, who were concerned in the plot,
and a party to the proceedings. Those persons to
whose name an asterisk is prefixed were among the
ringleaders :

*James Hodgins, *Charles Lourence, *Mr. Wal-
lace, *John Francis, Thomas Compton, Henry Stultz,
T. E. Power. James Alsten, Eyeton, William de
Roone, R. A. Neely, A. Londois, R. Martin, and A.
Messenberger.
James Hudgins, another of the 'Texia' n mutineers,
has been arrested. He was taken at the South-west
Pass, on board a schooner bound for New Xork.—
New Orleans Bulletin, Feb. 22

EPUDIATION IN FLORIDA.—The Star of Florida,
of the 10th ult., *says--" So far as the fair fame of
Florida can be disgraced by the action of a faction,
we are of opinion that she has been disgraced by the
repudiating doctrines passed through the Senate du-
ring the past week. The following resolutions in-
troduced into that body by Mr. Cooper, of the Eastern
District, were taken up and passed :—" Resolved—
That the Territorial Legislature does not possess, nor
was it ever invested with, the authority to pledge the
faith of the territory responsible for the debts, or en-
gagements, of any corporation chartered by said Ter-
ritorita Legislature. Tirlt thc!,Territorinl Legislature
pruygr or qztluar;l7.__Le. it*pose taxes on
the citizens of the territory, for the purposa of dis-
charging the obligations, or paying the debts, of any
bark, railroad, or corporation ; and all pledges of the
public faith so pledged, and laws made to sustain
thereby a levy of taxes on our citizens, are null and
void, ab initio."
ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.—The Baltimore American
of Saturday says—Mr. Thomas J. Flack, wholesale
grocer and liquor merchant, was found in his ware-
house in Argyle-alley, near South-street, this morn-
ing, with his throat cut and in a state of insensi-
bility. Physicians were immediately called in, who
dressed the wounds in his neck (being two giShes
running into each other immediately under the chin),
after .whichrhe was removed to his dwelling, appa-
rently insensible, and unable to communicate any
reasou for the rash act. Slight hopes, however, were
entertained of his recovery. Mr. Flack, it is said,
had between one and two thousand dollars about his
person yesterday evening, which was not found on
him this morning, though it may have been disposed
of or left in some secret place at his house. The
spickets of two large casks of liquor in the ware-
house had been turned some time in the night, and
the contents (amounting to several thousand gallons)
run out.

MORE Mon Law.—The Batesville News, of the
10th ult., gives us an account of an outrageous mob
in Van Buren county, Arkansas. The circumstances
are as follows :—A short time since, at the County
Court of Van Buren, a young man by the name of
Kiser, was engaged in a fight with one of Samms,
when Butram threw a rock and broke his skull. Bu-
tram was arrested and committed for trial, but subse-
quently made his escape. A mob, then, of some
fifty persons gathered up and attempted to commit
violence upon the father of the young man who was
killed. The old man then with some friends, barri-
caded his, hoise, and the mob commenced firing
into it, which they riddled considerably with their
balls. A female child, daughter of Mr. Kiser, had
her finger shot off. Mr. Kiser, by some means, got
a messenger off for aid to a neighbouring county, to
assist him in getting off with his family, but on their
arrival, Mr. Kiser and five others of his friends, who
were in the house with him, were missing. What has
become of them no one knows. The mob, at the last
account, were still in arms, and had stopped a num-
ber of persons passing through the county, and exa-
mined their persons and papers. The Neu s under-
stands that a messenger had been dispatched with a
petition to the Governor, to call out the militia of
the adjoining counties to put down the mob.