Star.
London, England, 1825-10-22 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER COURT OF REQUESTS.

RATCATCHER TO THE ROYAL. FAMILY.
Busse tr. Isaacs.—ln this case Mr. Busse sought
to recover of Mr. Isaacs 16s. for work done, and agree
able to bargain. Mr. Isaacs denied this, saying, that
he had paid ss. already, which he thought more than
enough. Mr. Busse being ordered to make out his
claim, stated that he had the honour to be the Royal
Ratcatcher ; to prove which he handed in his card, a
really royal looking thing, greatly emblazoned, with
the King's Arms at top and G. R. in the corners ; by
his card, moreover, it appeared that he was rat de-
stroyer not only to his Majesty, but to all the Royal
Family ; and he begged to assure the Court, that he
had this, summer cleared out all the Royal Palaces, in
none of which did a rat dare to shew his nose, or ven-
ture to look for a candle end, or a cheese paring. At
this stage of the case, one of the Commissioners en-
quired if he looked after the rats in the Parliament
Houses? to which he answered, with much naivete,
that he was not yet appointed, but hoped to be so
shortly. He then went into a full, true, and particular
account of his engagement with Mr. Isaac!, who
is a fruiterer, in Bridge•street, Westminster; he
said that he was called in, a short time back, when Mr.
Isaacs complained to him that the rats were playing
the very devil with his apples, pears, grapes, &c. and as
to his nuts, they cracked and ate them like squirrels ; in
short, he told Mr. Busse, that if he did not give the rats
a quietus, he should be ruined, and must retire from
business. Mr. Besse kindly assured him upon the ho-
nour of a royal rat-destroyer, that the thing should be
done ; id est, if he agreed to pay him one guinea, which
must be paid in advance, and for which he should take
care that not a nut should be cracked in his shop, by a
rat at least, for one year to come: meaning that he
would, like Paul Pry, drop in upon the rats, from time
to time, with his " kindest inquiries." Mr. Isaacs agreed
to these terms; Mr. Busse set to work, and for a fort-
night fed the rats upon something so inviting, that every
peach was preserved, and not a medlar was missing
from the well-stored fruit baskets. At the end of this
time he set his live traps, and 48 fine rats trotted into
them; very much to his disappointment, as it seemed,
for he protested to the Court he would rather any day
or night catch 500 for half-a-guinea, than 50 for a whole
one. This may puzzle the uninitiated, but it was soon un-
derstood when he said he could have 6d. a-piece for
them, for the dog Billy and others to break their necks at
so many per militate, for the amusement of the gemmen
of Tuthill-fields, and its genteel neighbourhood. In
windiqg up his case, he said that a if so be any of their
Worships on the Bench wanted a dog trained to tke
ferret, or a few dozen rats for a day's sport, he could
supply them with some right good ones any time."—
Their Worships not replying to this very handsome
offer, Mr. Isaacs proceeded to I,is defence; but in this
he could not deny the rat-catcher's main facts; only he
seemed to think ss. was enough for what had been
done ; but upon being assured that all his rats should
be caught gratis fur the remainder of the twelvemonth,
he good-naturedly agreed to pay the 16s. with the,
Royal Ratcatcher s costs.

There is to be found in Mr: Pepys' Diary, anion
other curious traits of the times in which he lived, an
anecdote on the subject of Inquests on cases of suicide,
which presents a remarkable contrast to the practice of
the present day. A respectable and wealthy tradesman,
related to Mr. Pepys, had the mi•fnttune, in the great
knaof L .ndon, to lose a considerable amount of pro-
perty, which threw him into a. st ice of despondency,
and under the influence of this disetse of •he Mind, he
attempted to drown himself, but was preserve 4 by
the bystanders, and brought home. He caught,
however, in consequence of the drenching, such a cold
as brought on a fever, that terminated sortie weeks
afterwards in hisclesth. A Coroner's Inquest was to
be held notwithstanding, and so great was'the appre-
hension of the widow and his other relatives, that their
verdict would be feto•de•se, in which case all his re-
maining property would fall to the Crown, that Mr.
Pepys was obliged to exert his personal influence be-
forehand with the Duke of York and the King, to ob-
tain a promise of a grant of the estate to the iiiviving
family, in case such a verdict ensued: and this was the
more necessary in those days, as the courtiers very
often, on gaining scent of a case of suicide, applied in
like manner to the King for a grant of the estate As)
themselves, and frequently had it promised befoAthe
verdict was known.

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SPORTING INTELLIGENCEOrmic •
o, ii nt 1:
HUNTING. tsjaud
Monday his Majesty's stag hounds meet at Ascot Race Usioun9.i •
and on Friday at King's Beach Hill, at half-past ten o'cloeit eiel
day; if prevented by the weather, they will meet the following
day at the same place.
The Worcestershire Fox Hounds will meet on Tuesday, Octo-
ber 25, at Frieze Wood; Friday, October 28, at Round Hill.
Mr. Meynell's Hounds will meet on Monday, October 24, at
Shirley Park; on Thursday 27th, at Swarkatone Bridge; and on
Saturday 29th, at Blithfield.
The Shropshire Hounds meet on Monday, October 24, at rat-
tlefield ; Wednesday, October 26, at Stoke Heath ; Friday, Oct. bee
its, at Condover Pak.

Lord Yarborough's Hounds will meet on Monday, the 24th, at
Kingerby ; on Wednesday, the 26th, at Irby village; on Fr.day,
the 28th, at Kingsforth Mouse ; and on Saturday, the 29th, at
Rorton Wood.

The South Wold Subscription Hounds will meet on Tuesday,
the 85th of October, at Revesby ; on Thursday, the 27th, at Fut-
letby Mill ; and on Saturday, the 29th, at Sk•ndlehy Salter. '
The Somerset Subscription Hounds, on Tuesday at Ashok Wood,
and Friday at Buncombe Bottom, at ten o'clock.
The Brighton Harriers, en Monday at Patcham, Wednesday
at the Race Course, and Friday at the Dy ke.
NEWMARKET SECOND OCTOBER MEETING. ,!

FIUDAY.
Mr. Pettit's Leeway, Sit. sib. beat Mr. Lee's Madeline, fist.
T.Y.C. 50 sot. Won by a length-2 to lon Leeway.
Mr. Wyndham's Stumps, Bst. beat the Duke of Grafton's
Pucelle, 81. t. 81b. A.F. 2.00, h. ft. Won by a length-6 to 4 apt
Stumps.
General Grosvenor's Crockery, beat Lord Anson's ha, Sit. 41b.
each, T.Y.C. 100, h. ft. Won by three-quartets of a length--7 to
4 on Crockery.
Renewal of the Prendergast Stakes of 50 sow. each, h. ft. colts,
Bst. 51b. fillies, Bst. 31b. T.Y.C.
Mr. Wortley's c. Crusade . zs . • f
Duke of Grafton's ch. c. Goshawk . 2
Sir J. Byng's c. by Smolensko Ann -: mt..;
Six others started. Eighteen paid. Won by three-quartegi 4641
length-7 to 4on Crusader; 9to I agst Gosbawk; sto 1 apt Sir
J. Byng's c. by Sutolensko.
_ •

A smart shock of an earthquake was felt in ►Malone,
Franklin County, United Sta•es, on the Bth ult.
The American squadron has been entertained by the
Greeks; it has departed, leaving a corvette to protect
its commerce against pira:y IR the M.tclit4ranean.
Accounts from New York state, that in the late fires
in the woods, several farms, and a great many cattle
have also been burnt, and the heat.of the fire ways()
excessive, that a large number of fish were found dead
on the shore, and birds, which were flying in the air,
were seen to fall to the ground. No estimation has
been made of the loss occasioned by these fires.
The letters from Hayti, of the 30th Augus•, to a
Gentleman in the City, a correspondent of. the Hayrian
Government, in speaking of the advantages granted to
France in the reduction of duties, &c. say, th it they
are determined to give the same or similar privileges to
other nations entering into treaties with the m. Persons
have been sent by the Haytian Government to inspect:,
the mines and the mining district.
Sunday last, Prince CARIGNAN set off from tis
country house at Villemousin. On arriving at his
hotel, No. 9, Rue Verte, in Paris, he was found dead in
his carriage. Tiiis Prince, who was thirty-six ye.irs of
age, was son-in-law to the Duke of VANOUTOW, and
cousin-german to the heir presumptive to the crown
of Sardinia.

Several specimens of the gold from Aruba have been
exhibited in London, several of them weighing from
three to thirty-six ounces. The Dutch Government take
up the d scovery in a very so loos point of •iew, and a
decree has beet& sent out to the Governor of Camila.
denouncing the penalty of death on any person found
lon this small desert island, unless commissioned by the
Dutch Government.

The General Steam Navigation Company's vessel,
the Hylton Joliffe, arrived last night from Hamburgh,
after a passage of five days and six nights, during a
continued gale, or rather hurricane from the N.N.W.
and N.W. points.—The force of her engines fortunately
enabled her to keep on her course.—She observed
several brigs about mid channel, under close-reefed
main•topsails, and last night, a ship and a brig were
riding in the Lower Swin, with signals of distress
flying.—The Hylton Jolliffe encountered violent hail-
storms of several hours duration on Tuesday and Wed-
nesday nights, and on the latter especially, when the
hailstones were of the.size of common marbles.

OLD the Pamphleteer just published, in a
second edition of the life of John Elwell, the miser, it is
stated that he always considered it to be an impro-
priety to ask a Gentleman for money due to him. At
his death it was ascertained by his executors, that va-
rious Members of Parliament were indebted to him to
the amount of 120,0001. for which be had their bonds
and promissory-notes ; but his executors were never able
to recover one farthing of the said loans.
At a late ism given at Lewes, wheat Sir Joarn fineuxr, the
sittiog Member, found himself aide by side with a Gentleman
as Dansirms, who has announced his intention of opposing hint
at the asst liketies, the Sussex Baronet gave vent to his feelings
in poetry he sang a song, with an extempore addition of the fol-
lowing chorus
" Let Donovan do all he can ;
" I know 'de all io vain,
" And this I think a reason fair
• To 811 my glass again.
" To 1111. /4."

A friend of Mr. Dosses' immediately anode this reply to his
neighbour

"Lo! khans in vain
'• That A. Donovan came
44 To put Sir John so the bout,
" Far to use it is plain,
• Sir John now quite is vain,
" Mat Denelan chews him the root."

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