Star.
London, England, 1822-12-21 00:00:00

WIFE SELLING EXTRAORDINARY!

About half-past twelve, on Thursday gen:tight, the
Public were attracted to Plymouth cattle minket, h
consequence of notice which had been previottly
given, that a man; at that time and place, was to
dispose of his wife by public sale f The report v..lticli
accompanied the notice stated that the Lady was not
only young and handsome,' but that she had rode to
town in the morning cn her own horse, of her o.,;)
free will and accord, and with consent of her
who was to act the part of auctioneer on the t;cc.l.
sion ; and that she would, moreover, in the cour,e ct
a few days, succeed to 6001. which her then (and as
it still happens, her present) husband could not touch.
The concourse of spectators was immense, and they
were not kept waiting long, the husband and the
wife having appeared in the market-place exactly kt
the appointed time, the latter accompanied by the
hostler of the Lord Exmouth Inn, Old Town.

The husband put the article up at once, and st,,lted
for bidders—" Five shillings" was the first
ten" the next—" fifteen" the third—and so on, until
the hostler aforesaid bade " Three Pounds;" stica
to the evident disappointment of the auctioneer, as
well as of the lady, two constables took possession of
the goods, and with them the auctioneer, and carried
them both directly to the Guildhall, where the Chief
Magistrate was then sitting. The parties were placed
before the Mayor. The husband, named Brooks, and
who resides at or in the neighbourhood of Ivy Bridge,
on being asked why he had committed so illegal
an act as to attempt the sale of his wife in the ts ay
he had been doing ? he very innocently said—" They
were both willing, and he did not think there w
any harm in doing it—they had not lived together
for a considerable time—they had been married ab.ait
two years and a half, and she brought him a child
three weeks after marriage !' which, until after it was
horn, he never knew anything about ; that the chill
soon after died ; that he got a coffin for it, paid the
expenses of the funeral, and put it con/for/di:, nut cf
the way, without ever reproaching his wife Nish her
conduct ; but all would not do. She soon afser de-
serted him, notwithstanding his kindness, and avert
to live with another man, by whom she had one child
since, and, he was informed, she was again progadilt
with another.
On being asked who had advised or told him that
he could sell his wife? he said, many people in di::
country told him he could do it ; and that in conc.
quence of her coming to him and saying that a per.
son would give him £2O, and take her altogether
clean off his hands (ES in hand and £l7 more at
Christmas), he had had her advertised for sale in Mod-
bury, on three separate market-days, and had come
to Plymouth that morning by her appointment to get
the business finished.
The Lady, a good-looking young woman, stated,
that she and her husband could not agree, and that
in consequence, as she knew of a person who would
take her, and give £2O for the bargain, she wished
to get separated from him, and she had been told by
different persons that the thing could be done, by
public sale in the market-place on a market day.
On being asked the name of the person who was
to buy her? she said it was Kane, and that he lived
near Plymstock ; she further said, he had disappointed
her in not coming forward to bid as be promised, and
that in consequence she had employed the hostler of
the Inn where she put up her horse to bid for her if
the price did not exceed £2O. She said she had left
her own horse by the way on account of its having a
sore back, and borrowed one in lieu of it of a person
near Ivy Bridge, with whom she stated herself to be
in habits of intimacy.
After a good deal of consultation it was deter-
mined upon that the parties should be bound over to
answer the charge at the ensuing Sessions ; but thcir
own recognizances were taken, neither of them bcia
able to find sureties.

Mr. ROBERT GounLAy appeared before the Ma-
gistrates to request an order from them, to compel
the Overseers of Wily to allow him a sufficient main-
tenance as a pauper. He entered into a very long
detail of circumstances relative to his situation, the
sum of which was, that he had gained a settlement 3
Wily; that 'he had not wherewith to support himself;
that he did not wish to eat the bread of idleness ; he
did not ask for charity, but employment, and a soil-
dent sum for his labour. The Magistrates listened
with the utmost patience and attention to his story:
they were aware of his talents, his integrity, zlii
made ample allowance for his eccentricities. Mr
SWAYNE, of Wilton, in a way which did credit to that
feeling and humanity for which he is so eminently
distinguished, on inquiring about his property, "as
informed by him that he had given 1,5001. in tru4
for the benefit (we think) of his family, but over which
be had no controul. As for the ring which he 1)3,1
upon his finger (we believe it was a mourning onei,
be considered that to be a species of propefty %%1:11
which parish officers have nothing to do. The 11-
gistrates fully coincided in this opinicn, and scenle.l
surprised and offended that such a subject show.,l
have been introduced. The Magistrates ultinntwiy
made an older for an allowance of three rlill:''
pet week to the once opulent and generous possess ,I
of Deptford farm !—Southampton Chronicle.