The Sun.
London, England, 1829-09-24 00:00:00

EXECUTION. OF DAVID EVAN S.

CARMARTHEN, SEPT. 21.
At ten o'clock this morning the wretched culprit,
• David Evans, convicted of the wilful murder of
Hannah Davies, on the night of Saturday, the 13th
day of June last, on Pencarreg mountain, in this
county, was brought out on the top of the county
gaol, where the scaffold was erected, to undergo the
awful penalty of the law according to his sentence.
The unfrequency of crimes of this atrocious descrip-
tion in the principality may account for the agitated
interest created by approaching catastrophe.
Before the hour of seven this morning an immense
concourse of people, horsemen and pedestrians, were
seen approaching the town from all parts of the
country to witness the execution; and when added
to almost the „hole population of the town, already
waiting in front of the gaol, the crowd presented an
enormous mass, seldom witnessed at a single glam:e.
When the unhappy man at length appeared, pinioned
and prepared for the last scene of his earthly career,
although nothing remarkable Was visible in his de-
meanour, the shock evinced among the populace was
affecting in the extreme, many of the females sob-
bing aloud, while others shrieked in bysterie;. The
prisoner himself showed unusual firmness, and with_
out much pausing dropped the handkerchief, the
fatal signal to Jamul' him into eternity, when the
stand beneath his feet was withdrawn, and horrid
to relate, the iron chain attached to the gallows,
through which the rope was reeved, gave way, and
in an instant down dropped this unhappy being, and
alighted on his feet, from which he fell for an in-
stant, but without any assistance rose again. It
seems he was no strange: to that vulgar error pro-
verbial among the lower classes, that when the rope
breaks a reprieve or pardon is the convict's due by
immemorial custom. Accordingly, when he gained
his feet a second time, he demanded his life, saying,
" He had been hanged once, and they had no more
to do with him." Here it became the melancholy
duty of those about him to convince him to the con-
trary ; but it was with much difficulty he was
brought up a second time. When every thing for
the purpose was now carefully adju,ted, he dropped
the handkerchief once more, and the world closed
on him for ever.

In adverting to the accident above described,
which prolonged the already intense sufferings of
this wretched being, and harrowed every human
heart in the unusually large throng, tee cannot too
severely censure the carelessness of the county car-
penter, whose neglect alone was the cause of it.
The great wonder is, that the gallows frame did not
sever and fall down altogether, as the carpenter had
most unaccountably omitted to put in the pins that
were to fasten the cross-beam to the perpendicular
ones, so that when the pressure came upon the
chain which had been passed round the cross-beam
(to shorten it), that beam gave a turn round, by
which means the hook of the chain that was fas-
tened to a central hole, became loosened from its
hold, and occasioned the very reprehensible disorder
above described.
The following minutiae of attendant occurrences
may be added:—The prisoner was attended by the
Itt-v. Mr. Jones, the chaplain of the prison, and the
Under Sheriff, L. 0. Lewis, Esq., to whom he ex-
pressed his unfeigned thanks for his humane atten-
tions. A thorough confession of his crime, without
the slightest reservation, adds highly to the weight
of the atonement lie has made. When divested of
his irons and pinioned, he prayed with the utmost
fervency, walked steadily to the fatal beam, firmly
underwent the ceremony of adjusting the rope, and
asked for the loan of a handkerchief to give the .
final signal. After hanging the usual time, the
body was cut down and given to the surgeons for
•
dissection.

GLOW Worth.—Last (seek two insects were
picked up on the sea shore, near Nairn, remarkable for
the luminous or phosphorescent qualities which they pos-
sessed, surpassing, we presume, in this respect, the bril-
liancy of the glow-worm. They emitted a strong light to
a &stance of upwards of half a yard, s,t bright that one
could see to read by it. The Rev. Mr. BARCLAY' of Auld-
earn carried one of them home with bin), and placing it
beneath a glass in a dark room, its light threw a distinct
shadow from the glass on a piece of paper held above it.
In day light its colour was whitish, and its form like that
of a email beetle.—Aberdeen Chronicle.

Yesterday a powerful-looking young man, named
John Muckland, was brought from St. James's
watch-home, before Mr. Rot;, the Sitting Magis-
trate, charged with the following daring outrage :
Mr. Phipps, a wine-merchant, residing at No. 4,
Mortimer-street, Cavendish-square, but having his
wine-stores and counting-house in Blenheim-street,
Bond-street, stated that the prisoner kid been for
some time past in his servicse as a porter, but from
several causes of dissatisfaction which he bad with
him, he discharged him on Tuesday morning last.
About four o'clock, however, on the same afternoon
the prisoner came to the counting. house in Blen-
heim-street, arid having rung the outer bell, be,
Mr. Phipps, who was in the counting-house at the
time, on hearing the hell ring, opened the door by
a lock-string, without knowing who it was that
n,anted adinittance: the moment the door was
opened, the prisoner rushed into the counting-
house, where fortunately Mr. Plascott, a wine-
merchant, in Old Burlingtonstreet, happened •
to be also; and after using the most offensive
and abusive language to him, Mr. Phipps,
the prisoner drew. -a large pistol from Iris side-
pocket, and was in the act of presenting it at his
(Mr. Phipps's) head,-when Mr. Plascott, who stood
nearest to him, seized the pistol on the instant be-
fore the prisoner could discharge it; he (Mr. Phipps)
also closed upon the prisoner, but the latter, being
a very strong man, succeeded, after a severe struggle,
in making his escape from both, carrying off with
him the pistol at the same time,and having slammed
the door after him as he ran our, he was out of
sight before it could be opened, and a pursuit raised.
In about two hours after that,—namely, at six
o'clock,—he (Mr. Phipps) arrived at home, at his
private house, in Mortimer-street, and on entering
the hall, who, to his astonishment, should he find
seated there but the prisoner, who, it seemed, was
admitted under a pretence he made that he was de-
sired to wait for his (Mr. Phipps's) return moms e.
The moment he (Mr. Phipps) entered the ball, the
prisoner again drew the pistol from his breast-
pocket, but he (Mr. Phipps) instantly closed, and
throwing himself upon the prisoner, hell his arms
fast until the servants came to his assistance, and in
the scuffle the pistol fell upon the ground and was
secured. In spite of all attempts to secure him, the
prisoner again forced his way out into the street;
and when Mr. Phipps, who is a gentleman ad-
vanced in years, pursued him in a very exhausted
state, he was assailed by a mob of nearly 100 ruf-
fians outside, who bad been attracted 1y the noise '
of the disturbance, who took a decided part with •
the prisoner, and aided him to escape, without either I
knowing or inquiring into the merits of tine ease.

Mr. Plaseott entirely confirmed the statement of
Mr. Phipps as to the outrage at the counting-hottc,
and showed where his (Mr. Plascott's) hand was
severely wounded in the struggle to wrench the
pistol from the prisoner's grasp.
Goddard, the officer, said, that on going to Mor-
timer-street on Tuesday evening, Mr. Phipps's son
pointed out the prisoner to him amongst a mob of
persons in front of Mr. Phipps's house, and think-
ing that the prisoner might still be armed with
some weapon, he (Goddard) ran in upon hiin at
once, and having thus closed with him before he
had time to prepare for any defence, he secured him,
and conveyed him off to the watch-house, where, on
searching him, he found in his pocket a large knife,
which, as a weapon of destruction, was a most
formidable one. The pistol, he said he hail pur-
chased that morning for at a shop, and he ad-
mitted that his determination was to blow out Mr.
Phipps's brains with it.
The pistol was here produced, and was found to
be loaded with powder and ball.
Mr. ROE said that the case was a very aggravated
one, and ordered the prisoner to find very sufficient
bail to meet any charge that may be preferred
against him at the sessions, and to give 48 bows'
notice of the sureties he meant to propose, that
their.sufficiency might be inquired into.
The prisoner was then locked up.
Mr. Freeman, of the firm of Scott and Freeman,
proprietors of Steyens's Hotel, in Bond-street,.ap-
plies! to the magistrate for a warrant to bring be-
fore him, the magistrate, a Mr. Prescott, ut present
a prisoner • for debt in the King's Bench Prison,
upon the following charge :
Mr. Freeman said, that Mr. Prescott, who was
nearly related to the East India Directoi of that
name, had incurred a debt at Stevens's hotel, and
on application being made to him a short time ago
for payment, he sent a letter,.enclosing- a cheque for
40/., drawn by himself, and requested that his bill
might be deducted from it, and also deducting two
guineas, for waiters, &c., that the balance might be
given to the bearer of the letter. This was accord-
ingly done; no suspicion whatever being entertained
-ut the time but that the cheque was a proper one;
but on its being presented at the banking-house on
which it was drawn, the answer was, that they
knew nothing there of Mr. Prescott, and that no
such person as the drawer had kept any account
there. Under these circumstances, ITh% Freeman
submitted that the case was one of clear and palpable
fraud. The cheque was here handed in to the Ma-
gistrate, and wa,, as stated by Mr. Freeman, for
40/., drawn by J.
,W. Prescott, on the banking-
house of Jones, Lloyd, and Co.
Mr. ROE said, that that the cheque having been
conveyed by letter, and the person complained
against not having appeared personally in the trans-
action, he feared a Magistrate could not look upon,
it in a light that would being' it under his jurisdic-
tion. He added, however, that the grounds of the

General THORNTON moved that a printed return
of all pensions granted by the Company, with their
dates, names of the holders, and their total amount,
should be laid before the proprietors, but being in-
formed by the Chairman that such a document was
regularly placed in the Proprietors' room, he with-
drew his motion.