Star.
London, England, 1828-02-02 00:00:00

THE LATE MURDER AT BATH.

•
BATH, 141-1. _
Richard Gillham, the butler to Mrs. £bte,►has bean
taken up on suspicion, and together with his wife un-
dergone several examinations before the Mayor, G. N.
TuowrLE., Esq. The investigation was continued to a•
late hour last
.night, and the prisoner was afterwards
conveyed to jail ; but none of the evidence has'yeftiatt;
spired. The remains of the unfortunate young woman
who has thus met with such a dreadful and prematurd
end, were on Wednesday morning interred in Walcot
burial ground, a vast concourse of persons attending
the funeral.
Herald Office, Friday Morning. Matte o'Clock,
We have just learnt that a large quantity of goods, which are
s pposed not to have come honestly into the prisoner's possession,
have been found at his private lodgings ; but up to this hour Dave
not been sworn to. A Clergyman has just been sent for, and gone
to the prison.—Bath Herald.

FIELD SPORTS FOR FEBRUARY.

FROM THE ANNALS OF SPORTING.
February is indeed the month for fox hunting, the
pet iod when the greater number of excellent runs might
be expected to take place, particularly as foxes generally
run well on the approach of spring; and the ground, it
is hoped, be found in a better state than during a great.
pottion 9f the preceding winter : for (with reference td
the present season) the country, generally speaking, has
hitherto never been known so heavy in the memory of
the present generation of sportsmen, and this on account
of the immense quantities of rain which have fallen.
Most capital runs have we witnessed in fotmer
Februaries ; and we have set our hearts upon enjoying
many a brilliant burst during the present one. •It sa.
true, harsh winds often breathe with blustering breath
at this period, particularly towards the latter end of the
month ; and when these prevail, hounds can seldom
hunt, the atmosphere being unpropitious to scent i still,
on the other hand, it may be asserted that, at this a 4.
vanced period of the season, the hounds and the horses,
also, will, from previous exercise and attentive grooming,
generally be found in the best condition for their business,
more capable of enduring fatigue, and steadier than at
the hot hour of the commencing spoil.
Hare hunting will also be actively followed during the month,
and as foxes run well on the apprbach of spring, so we may observe
of the hare,with the addition of; few words of elucidation. Nothing
is more common than to find a buck hare at a considerable distance
from home, at this period, having rambled in search of the female. •
When found by the hounds, he makes the best of his way hack, and
thus the pursuit becomes somewhat similar to a short run with a
fox: moreover, it generally ends with death—(a very satisfactory •
conclusion in the estimation of us all) a hare has little chance of
escape from hounds when she runs straight forward; her safety •de.
pending upon those doubles and turnings for which she is so
well known.
Coursing will still be briskly followed, and matches and meetings .

continue to come off.
Stag and hind hunting is equally in high feather, and will continue
to be followed ardently.
Our readers need hardly be told that, on the first of February, •
the pursuit ()Lille partridge and pheasant ceases ; and, therefore, the
operations of the shooter will be much circumscribt 1. Partridges
have been very plentiful during the season ; and though many have
been killedlthere perhaps were never more birds left at its conclusion.
They Were found wild at an early period, and packed sooner than
common, and by thus becoming difficult of approath unusually early,
they remain in more than ordinary number tor the ensuing breeding
season; which, if dry, (and consequently favourable fur the propa-
gation of these birds, and indeed for feathered game in general,)
cannot fail to produce Immense quantities of partridges.
Woodcocks and Snipes will still afford amusement fur the shooter,

precisely, however, in proportion to the stale of the season; if the
approach of spring be indicated at an early period, these birds will
take their departure accordingly, and few will be found towards
the latter end of the month ; if, on the contrary. hard weather con-
tinue longer than usual, they will be found to remain with us later
alto. At first sight it will appear strange that the corning and going
of the woodcock should be so regulated by the weather, since, sup.
posing it to be fine and the spring early, the bird, we should suppose,
can be under no necessity to quit this country on account of the
scarcity of food, inasmuch as the food of the woodcock (consisting
principally of worms) is then more plentiful, acd More easily at- •
tained, than during the winterniontbs. The case is different with
the. swallow tribe—these birds do not quit our shores till a short
measure of food compels them to traverse the ocean.
WILD Fowc.—Of birds which may lie classed under this general
denomination, many have visited this country during the Winter, at
least of the lesaer !kind, such as the duck, the wigeon, Mid teal I
geese have been more scarce, and swans rarely seen. Many-of these
birds will be found during the month of February, and of course
afford amusement or diversion to the wild fowl shooter, since, when-
ever they can be approached they are considered fair game, without
any reference to legal enactments. They will be found wild; most
probably, as indeedthey haie beiii,duiing the wholeof the winter,
or rather, pachaps, we ought to say, difficult of approach. Never,
In the memory of the oldest man living, were the fens, marshes,
and lower grounds, recollected to be so deeply and so widely over.
flown; and, as little frost has occurred, wild fowl have been enabled
to revel in security at a distance from their pursuers. On this ac.
count, even at fleeting time, few shots, comparatively speaking,
have been obtained. Near the mouths of great rivers, however,
and on the coast, wild fowl may be tuet with, and a variety found'
which are not seen in the inland parts of the country.

This morning, about three o'clock, a fire broke out.
in the house, No. 106, in Oxford-street, occupied by
Mr. GERARD, haberdasher, the flames from which
communicated to Grafton House, n xt door, a straw
bonnet-shop, and both houses were totally destroyed.
During the late extraordinary floods, a quantity of
fish were seen sporting in their element rn Salsbury
Plain, upwards of four miles from the river, a circum-
stance never before heard of by the oldest shepherd on.

the Plain. ••
Thursday evening Mr. Collins, of Dockhead, was
stopped by some ruffians, near his own house, and rob-
bed of his watch and money. The thieves beat Mr.
Collinsin a most brutal manner, and left him on thi
ground in a senseless state. •
NARROW ESCAPE.—As Colonel BERKELEY was fol-
lowing the Fox Hounds on Monday lastoutar Todd's Cottages, the
ground beneath bins suddenly gave way, in consequence of being
near the brink of a stone quarry. The Colonel instantly threw
himself off, and his horse, a valuable animal, was precipitated into a
hole nearly fifteen feet deep, but fortunately escaped without any
Material' injury. The Gallant Leader of the Chase immediately
mounted another horse belonging :to one of his men, and pursued
the sports of the day with his accustomed Spirit.
Blackfriar's Bridge, says the London Encyclopedia,
was originally called Pitt's Bridge. "On the last day
of October," says an inscription on a tin plate on the
;foundation stone of the edifice, " in the year 1760, and
in the beginning of the most auspicious reign of Geo.
HI. Sir Thomas Chitty, Knight, Lord Mayor, laid the
first stone of this Bridge, undertaken by the Common
Council of London (in the height of an expensive war),
for the public accommodation and ornament of the
City—Robert Mylne being the architect; and that there
may remain to posterity a•mt.nument of this City's af-
fection for the man, who, by the strength of his genius
—the steadiness of his mind—and a kind of happy
contagioa of his, robity and spirit (under the Divots
favour, and fatttaate auspices of Geo. II.) recovered,
augmented, ana secured, the British empire in Asia,
Attica, and America, and restored the ancient reputa-
tion and influence of his -country among the nations of
Europe,; the citizens of London have unanimously vot-
ed this Bridge to ,be inscribed with the name of Wil-
liam Pitt." Of all those who now pass this Bridge
daily, how few are aware of the fact which this inscrip-
tion records I The compliment which the citizens of
1760 unanimonsly 'voted, the citizens of later times
have refused to confirm and RR's Bridge is now idyl•
ed, beyond hope of alteration, .01ackfriars.