Star.
London, England, 1809-12-12 00:00:00

Mr. Curt, 66 y'ou must give me some reference as to
your respectability."—" Oh," said Mrs. Clarke," there
will be no difficulty on that head ;" and she accord-
inly referred him to Francis Wright, who was, on
all occasions, her common voucher ; and who, she
said, had known her many years. Mr. Curt has-
tened to Francis *Wright's, daieking he had gotten a
good tenant, and asked what Wright knew; of Mrs.
Farquhar, for Mrs. Farquhar and Mrs. Clarke were
one person ; Mrs. Clarke always passing in her nisi-
tiler's name, because she was a married woman ; and
this name served her more times than one. The
Learned Counsel had heard of the many-folding shield
of Ajax ; but he had never before 'beard of the many-
folding shield of an upholsterer. This name served to
Francis Wright as a shield for himself, and to Mrs. Clarke
as a shield against her creditors. Wright knew that
Mrs. Clarke was a married woman, ind therefore
pretended to trust Mrs. Clarke's mother, Mrs. Far-
quhar, with the goods which where isi reality supplied
to Mrs. Clarke. This mother, the Learned Counsel
had no scruple of calling a miserable reptile, who
was on all occasions Mrs. Clarke's go-between. This
name acted as a shield to Mrs. Clarke in this way :
when the butcher or the baker proceeded against her
at law for their debts, with a view of seizing some
of her fine furniture, in stepped Mrs. Farquhar—
" It's my furniture : touch it if you dare." This
answer he would prove to have been received by
many an honest tradesman. Wright was protected
by this contrivance, against both Mrs. Clarke's cre-
ditors and herself ; and said to her, 66 If you don't
pay me when you have ensnared some old or young
fool (for there are fools cf all ages), I will arrest
the body and bones of your mother ; and the neces-
sity, not the Charity, of a daughter, who cannot do
without her, must relieve her. It was thus in the
name of Farquhar that Mrs. Clarke applied to Mr.
Curt, and was referred to Francis 'Wright, who told
Mr. Curt, that he had known Mrs. Clarke ever since
the year 1802, and knew her to be a respectable wo-
man. Mr. Curt said, " I request you to deal openly
and frankly with me, as between tradesman anel
tradesman ; tell me the truth."—" Oh, certainly,"
said Wright, 66 I have known her many, many years,
and have taken many, many thousands of her money
(this was true) ; and if I had fifty houses, she should
have her choice of them all-this too was true)
she is a woman of character." Ibis was false ;he
knew that only three weeks, or a month before, she
had been turned out of Ar. Bull's house, and that
her general character was that of a strumpet. Mr.
Curt asked, " Is she married ?"—" She has been,"
replied Wright, " but whether her husband be dead
or living, I cannot tell." If this were true, the Jury
might acquit the Defendant to-day ; but if it were •
false, it would be damning proof against him. In
the June before this, this very Defendant had justi-
fied bail with her Attorney, Mr. Stokes,/ in an ac-
tion to which she pleaded her coverture, etrd in which
the Plaintiff was cheated of his verdict. It would
be said to the Learned Counsel, " Why do yeu
proceed ! Have you not said enough, to convince us
of the strength of your case P' And yet he had hitherto
disclosed but little of what he should have the honour
of laying before them to-day. Mr. Curt then visited
Mrs. Clarke—told her he had heard a good character
of her, and that she :hould be his tenant. He found,
the house where she was neatly furnished, and told
her the furniture was very well adapted in size for his
house. She replied, that it xas quite impossible she
could move that ; it was much too old fashioned, and
that she should take nothing but beds and chests of
drawers ; for Francis ;VI ight bad agreed to furnish
Mr. Curt's house in Xestbourne-place. And this
was consistent with Wright's former story to Mr.
Bull. This took place in the latter end of October,
and it was agreed that the lease should be executed
on the 9th November. About a week or ten days
before Mrs. Clarke went to Westbourne-place, he met
Francis Wright going there, as he told Mr. Curt, to
take measure for the carpets and furniture ; such
anxiety had Wright to serve the person, by whom ul-
timately he was to benefit. Mr. Curt was very well
pleased, for he found his house white-washed, Ste. ; he
found too, that coals for Mrs. Clarke had been sent in
by Wright. Two days before the lease was exe-
cuted (and this sufficiently developet: a conspiracy, •
and strewed that, as to the names of Farquhar and
Clarke, each served for the other, mutat° immine, de to
fidula narratar), Mrs. Farquhar herself cased on Mr.
Curt, and told him that she was the mother, and that
the house was taken for her. Mr. Curt did not care
to which it was, and to her he executed the lease, at
the house of Mrs Stokes the Attorney, and was not
there told, as he should have been, that Mrs. Clarke
was not Mrs. Farquhar. This was done to pro-
tect Mrs. Clarke from her creditors, and Wright
from Mrs. Clarke. Mrs. Clarke, in her evidence,
had sworn, that Francis Wright would not give her
any credit. In a subsequent conversation with Mrs.
Clarke, Mr. Curt informed her, that there were
fixtures in the house to be taken at £lO6. 1-Is. 6d.
which he himself had paid for them : Mrs. Clarke re-
quested credit for this payment, and held out as a
lure to Mr. Curt, that if he would wait 12 months,
she would buy the house of him, and pay for die fix-
tures too : he deslined this, and what was• Mrs. C. to
do ? She could not apply to an usurer for the mo-
ney ; for though we saw advertisements of money to
lend every day, yet the advertiser never lent to any
1 but persons of responsibility : she applied to Wright;
and the Learned Counsel would produce Wright's
cheque for this £lO6. 1-is. (3d. payable and paid at
his Banker's, to Mr. Curt. And thus it was that the
lease was executed to Mrs. Farquhar. On the 10th
and 11th of November, the very days after the lease
was executed, Wright sent into the house, in West-
bourne-place, load upon load of furniture, to enable
Mrs. Clarke to carry on her business, and hoped that
Ithe splendid curtains which were hung across her win-
dows, would act as cobwebs to catch the passing but-
terflies ; well knowing, at least, that the sooner her
shop was opened, the sooner might he expect back
the money for her stock in trade. Thus was Mrs.