Star.
London, England, 1824-04-26 00:00:00

MOZART'S DEATH.

This Composer died before he had attained his 36th
year; hut indefatigable to the doge of his existence, he
created in the last month of his life his three chefs d'oeuvre:
the Magic Flute, the Clemency of Titus, and a Re-
quiem—the last he just lived to finish./ He had under-
taken the composition of his Requiem at the request of
an unknown person. One day, conversing on the sub-
ject with his wife, he said, he was persuaded that the
Requiem would be for his own funerali adding, that he
believed they had poisoned him. His wife, unhappy
, when she found herself unable' to remove that impres-
sion, took away the manuscript. The concealment of
,the work appeared to increase his illness. It was then
restored, and soon after he became melancholy. Oa the
day of his death he requested the Requiem might
be brought to his bed ; Was I not right," said he,
when I told you it was for myself that I composed
this Requiem ?" and tears dropped froth his eyes. This
was the last adieu to las art./ After his death the un-
known person appeared% and received the Requiem.
They never heard more of the mysterious employer,
but the widow preserved the original manuscript. It
does not appear that the cause of his death was clearly
ascertained, but according to all who have written the
Biography of Mozart, the general opinion was, that he
died poisoned by some one who was jealous of his won-
derful musical talents. The strange declaration made
by Sahel i, the Composer, accusing himself of the mur-
der, and which, according to the Journal des Debats, is
the effect of insanity, may have been occasioned by the
impression made by the above account of Mozart's death.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

• BOW-STRRET.
Saturday Ezekiel Ryan, a decent-looking young man, was brought
before G. It. MINSHULL, Li:sq. charged with obtaining money from
several persons under false pretences. The principal coirpleieent
was a young journeyman mechanic, of the name of George Pearce ;
and it appeared from his statement, and that of other veitne‘ses,
that the prisoner is a bricklayer, and that he some time since took
lodgings in the house of a widow, where several other young men
of the same rank in life also resided. Ile had been but a very short
time in the house before he began to boast of having several very
rich relations, and one in particular, an old aunt, from whom he
had large expectations. In a shott time a letter arrived from the
country, addressed to him, with a black sell, announcing the death
of his aunt, and stating that she bad bequeathed 10,00u1. to him.
and 4.0001. each to his brothers. This letter he took especial care
should be seen by every one in the house ; and while reciting the
congratulations of his fellow-lodgers, he observed that the next thing
would he to consider what use he had better make of the money.
He was not, he said, the sort of fellow who would let the cash be
idle : he would do some good with it. Ile proposed among other
things to build a house rack for Pearce and the other young men,
and to set them up in business, they engaging to pay a low rate of
interest for the money advanced, anti to repay the principal debt by
instalments as their success enabled them. Some delay, however,
must unavoidably take place before he could touch the cash, and
meanwhile he was without supplies of that necessary article. lle
wanted clothes; he mast employ a lawyer; and there would he va-
rious other demands upon hint which he knew not how to meet
unless sonic one would assist him. Hints of this kind were suffi-
cient with these who had expectations from him, end he obtained
six pounds from Pearce, and similar sums from others. He paid I
great attention at first to the widow, but she had lived long in the
world, and did not give implicit credit to 4:: his fine tales; and ton-
sequently he ceased his flattery, and watilai Pearce and the others
to be cautious of her, for she was cunning and designing. Several
other letters, purporting ;o ceme from his relations, in all of which
the great legacy wait the prevailing theme, were delivered at the
house, and the prisoner went so far as to speak to his master to re-
commend him a hAnker, and aettially gave orders for building ma-
terials. At length, however, he thought the farce could not he kept
up much longer, and, as a I ist hit, lie borrowed a suit of clothes
from Pearce, and absconded. Pearce !tamed where he was, and
had him apprehended; and it was then found that he had pledged
the clothes he had borrowed from Pearce. After he absconded, it
was discovered that the stories about his wealth were entirely fa-
brications, and there was every reason to believe that the letters
mentioned were written by himself.
While the witnesses were telling their several tales, the prisoner
stood laughieg at the bar, and appeared to exult in his roguery.
He was remanded for further examination, on the charge of un-
lawfully pawning the clothes belonging to Pearce.
George Drew, the driver of a Greenwich stage-coach, appeared in
custody, to answer the complaint of Mr. John Cherie:: Peters.
Mr. Peters was disputing at, Charing-cross, with a coachman,
who had brought him from Blackheath, and was_ endeavouring to
extort front hint more than the ordinary fare; when, suddenly,
George Drew came up and struck Mr. Peters on the mouth.
Mr. Peters said, he had already proposed that George Drew
should make a public apology in the Newspapers ; but he was too
proud to submit to it ; and, therefore, he should certainly indict
him. So George Drew was held to bail for his appearance et the
Quarter Sessions.
DONEILYISNI...—triViont Brodie, an old man, and Gem-7 Dean, a
lad, were charged wi'h having stolen one brown donkey, the pro-
perty of Thomas Wadham, of the liorseferry-road, Westminster.
Messrs. Brodie and Dean were observed by some of the day pa-
trol driving the donkey up St. Martin's-lane, and as Mr. Brodie
was known to them as a general appropriator of other men's pro-
perty to himself, they suspected the donkey was not exactly his
own. They therefore looked after him suspiciously ; and their sus-
picious look was not thrown away upon Mr. Brodie, for he directly
clapped Master Dean on the donkeys back, and gave the poor de-
vil such a thwack over the crupper, that away he went with a
speed which would have done credit to a better bred brute. This
proceeding confirmed the suspicions of the patrol; and, going in
pursuit, they took them all three into custody, Mr. Brodie, Master
Dean, and the donkey ; am: they afterwards ascertained that the
donkey had been stolen f-oin .dr. Thomas Wadhant, of the Horse-
terry-road, as aforesaid.
Mr. Thomas Wadham deposed that the donkey was indubitably
bis property, having been brought up in his own family.
The Magistrate asked hint how he knew it to be his? and
Mr. Wadnian replied—" First and foremost, I know I tin by the
loss of his latter end, your Worship ; but, most of all, I know him
by his rum tricks, and I'd tell him amongst a thousand donkeys, if
I could only once catch hold of the stump of his tail! Resides,"
he added, " Bill Brodie has been tried for stealing him once before,
and he knows it !"
Mr. Brodie admitted that this was not the first time the same
donkey had brought him into trouble. " But, please your Vor-
ship," said he, " vee'd no notion of stealing it this time. Vee lives
in Vestminster, your Vorship, and vice were ...king a bit of a vaik
up the Hoss-ferry-road, and wee sees a past ; chaps a ill using of
the donkey, and vee druv e'm avay—for I've a nattrul liking to
donkeys, see 'em were I vill; and so vets vee'd druv them ere chaps
avay, wee borrowed the donkey to take us up to St. Pancras for a
narrand, and should have brought'n him back agen in a k'vaurtur
of an hour if the padroll had lett'n us alone."
Master Dean said nothing in his defence—he seemed to think his
patron, Mr. Brodie, had said quite enough for both of them ; and
they were both fully committed for trial.