Star.
London, England, 1803-01-06 00:00:00

MURDER OF OLD ntATTMEWS.

UNION He Lt..—Ycllerday Arthur Bowers, Rolucre
Bo:suert, and —Sprague, the three itinerant chim-
ney (weepers who are in cullody on fuipirion of
bring concerned in the (hocking murder commit-
ted on the perfon of Samuel Matthews, the Dul-
wich Hermit, were brought before the Magiftrates
at the above Office ; when Thomas Davy Rated,
tl,at he is a watchman and ratifiable at Dulwich,
and that on Tucfday morning, the 28th of De-
cember, after having gone his rounds between one
and two o'clock in the morning, on his return to
his watch box, he faw the prifoner Sprague, and
the boy Robert Bowers together, who came up to
his box, and entered into cotiverfation with him ;
when Sprague told him they were to (weep Mr.
Sadler's chimney at fix o'clock in theynorning, and
begged a little Ilraw out of his box to fit. upon,
which he gave them. Sprague then told him they
had the day before come from Dorking, and had
pitched their tent within too yards of the cave of
old Matthews.—This introduaion of that fingular
old man's name canted the fubjeet to be continued,
when Sprague Paid he had the afternoon or even-
ing before been to fee old Matthews, as he lay in
his but : and that when either of them (poke to
him, the old man was very angry; laying,—" Go
along; go along ; I have nothing to fell ; nothing
to give ; I have nothing at all for you."—Sprague
then remarked to Davy that Matthews was " a
d—d rum old gill." After this a long converfation
paired between them, until (lx o'clock in the morn-
ing, when Sprague and the boy went to the houfe
of Mr. Sadler. The witnefs in the morning heard
of the murder of Matthews, when the converfation
he had the night before with Sprague occurred to
his mind, and he was induced to fufpelt the pri-
toner had fome concern in it; particularly from
the circumftance of his being out all night from
his tent (where he might have laid until fix o'clock
in the morning) after having walked from Dor-
king, according to his own confoffion, the day be-
fore. He, therefore, gave information of the caufe
of his fufpirion,and had the prifoners apprehended.
James Brown, a farmer's man in the neighbour-
hood, was going to fetch up his horfes, when he
law Davy in converfation with Sprague and the
boy. He flopped fame time at the watch box, and
corroborated all Davy had Rated. To which be
added, that Sprague Paid, when they went to his
hut, the old man was very much frightened.
The prifoner, Arthur Bowers, when called up-
on for his defence, Paid he was an American, and
got his living, lince he had been in this country,
by felling trifling articles, and jobbing about the
country, whenever he could get employed; he
cohabited with the daughter of-Sprague's wife, and
Lillian), lived in the fame tent with them. He cor-
roborated the fag of their having come from Dor.
king the night before the murder of Matthews, at
whofe hut, or cave, he denied ever to have been.
He laid, that when permiffion could not be obtain.
ed for them to fleep in any of the farmers barns or
out-houfes, they uthally pitched their tents as near
the houfes as the people would let them. On the
Sunday they were encamped in a lane near the
Half Moon, and on Monday morning (track their
tents, and marched to Sydenham Common, where
they had been tv-ice before. For the greater part
of the day, (Monday) Bowers and his wife begged
through Dulwich, and returned before dark to the
tent, where they were all atfembled by four o'clock,
when the boy, Bowers, was fent into the town to
get fome tca and fugar, and not returning fo foon
as they'expeeed, Sprague and his wife went out,
as they laid, to find him. They returoed, after
being aldent about half an hour, cooked their fill:).
per, and were all laid down for the night by eight
o'dock. He heard Sprague fay to the boy they
were to (weep Mr. Sadler's chimney at fix o'clock
in the ruo:ning; between one and two, however,
Sprague go.. up and called the boy, laid it was
very light, and they mull be off, or they lhould
lute the job. Bowers remained in the tent, and did
not fee them until eight o'clock the neat morning,
a nJ at bre Mail remembered Sprague's laying they
had gone oust a great deal too /coon, andhad flop-
ped at Davy'. watch box.
_ _

It appears that when begging at Dulwich, he
palled the houfe of Mr. Turk,the butcher, at whole
Ihop the poor old man changed his half guinea
the afternoon prec,:diug the aught lo which he was
murdered.

pert )n was not, however, in town yeßerday
to afcertain the fall, whether there people were
AbOlit the lhop at that time. They were warned
to (pit their camp by tome Gentlemen in the neigh•
bourhood, but in oonfequence of the information
of Darr, acre taken int,' cnßnd Bowe's, on
7:17 minutely "maimed Irf/Le lllaaiQtatrs

as to the fad of his cutting any flicks, conferred he
Lail cut two, which, from deferiptities anfwer to
the one with wile!: it is luppofed the murder was
committer:. lie had cut and trimmed them with
his bill honk, each having a hook at the end of it,
upon wb:di thew hirag a kind of fkreen to keep the
ind from blowing their' tire Amt. The Rick,
however, which wa:: thewn to the Coroner was not
produced, hut will he on their next examination,
for which they are committed.
GlYll.llHALL.—Yclierd‘ty a young man was tom-
mined fur tiial, for picking the pocket of a Gen-
tleman in Chcaplide, of hi, handkerchief.
A woman of the name Of Eyre, charged her
!lath:4nd with airatilting her. It appeared that the
parties had been feparated by mutual content, and
that the hinband had come to lee lodging;, and
taken away a child which they were both the pa-
rents of. The hatband alledged, that the woman
was bringing the child up in a moll dreadful way,
teaching it to fwear and drink tfrong liquors, and
when he went into the room, he found the mother
furrounded by feveral common proaitutes and men.
The Magiftratc commendedthe man for hisparental
affeetioo, and defired that he might take the child
to his lifter's, which it appeared was the man's
who faid it would be well taken care of.—
They were then difmilred, with a caution not to
interrupt each other for the future.
MaNsiov-I-Lousz.—Sarah RoGinfon was again
brought before the LORD MAYOR, on the charge
of having fwindled Mr. Wright, a butcher, in
Leadenhall-Market, out of a guinea, which the
pretended the had given in payment fur a leg of
mutton. Several other tradetmen, it appears,
have been tricked by the fame perfon ; but their
loires being trifling, none but Mr. Wright, and a
perfon of the name of Edwards, perlevered in
lubflantiating their charges againa her.
' Mr. Wright laid. that having yielded to the
young woman's dory, of having given to his
daughter the guinTa in qualion to change, under
imprellion, that, in the hurry of butimets, the
might have received it, and forgot, he was (till fo
far fufpicious of an intentional fraud, that he cart
up the whole accounts of the day, in order to af-
certain the fad, when he was thoroaghly convinced
that he had been Dwindled out of the guinea, and
thought it right to apprife all his neighbours of
the eircumflance, in order that. fhould the attempt
to impofe on any of them, at any time, they might
not only be on their guard. but have her immedi-.
' ately apprehended. No great length of time
' elapfed, before he was fent for by a poulterer,
within a few doors of him, to fee a woman who
had come to his &op to purchafe a gonle, who,
after waiting fome time for its being plucked, re.
queried change for a guinea, which the observed
(he had given him fame minutes. The poulterer,
Lat &11, endeavoured to convince his cullomer of
the miaake, till, recolleding the notice he had re-
ceived from Mr. Wright, he tut-peeled it mull he
the Caine woman he had complained of, and im-
mediately fent for him and his daughter. Mifs
Wright inaantly recognized her to be the perfon
who had been at her father's atop a few days be-
, fore • but the female (harper being tared with the
fact, (googly denied it, and gave her place of ad-
drefs, which proved a falfe one. She was taken
into cuitody, at the inaigation of Mr. Wright,
when (he told an artful tale refpeding her brother
having left town that day for Norwich, arid that
prior to his Petting off, he had provided a place in
the coach for her to follow him. The conaable
accompanied her to the Inn from which the coach
was laid to Pet off, but nothing like the truth ap-
peared. She teemed to be miarefs of every county
dialed. and altered her fpeech as carcumaances
required. . _ .

'After her examination clofed on this charge,
Edwards, who keeps a mangle in Holford•court,
Fenchurch-llreet, depofed, that on the fame day
that this woman had defrauded Mr. Wright, the
came to his houfe, no perfon being at home except
an old man, who knew little about the hufineis,
and requetled to have two gowns which the had
left there a fell days before. The man obferved
the proper perfon was not at home to deliver them,
laud delired her to call again; the then urged the
necellity of having them direftly, adding, at the
lame time, that the could point out the gowns,.
which the man imprudently fuffered her to do.—
Ilcaring, however, that a perfon of the defcrip-
tion of the prifoner had been taken into cuflody,
having at the fame time in•her poireffion a bundle
with two gowns, he had attended that morning,
and found- that the articles in %tie Won were the
fame he had been defrauded of.

Mrs. Jefferfon, of Fenchurch•llreet, attended,
and laid that one of the gowns belonged to her,
which the had given into the care of Edward Ruf-
fen. A porter's wife alfo claimed the other.
The charge being thus bro►►ght home to the
prifoner, (he thought of a tiratagem to prevent the
ends of juftice. It happened that a poor woman
with her little girl was prefent in the Court, who
bad been brought there on fume trivial affair.
when the prifoner Robinfon, fuppofing t•► avail
hcrfelf of the other's tainted charafler, charged
her with being the caufe of all her crimes, and
Itoutly alledged they had been acquaints(' for a
length of time : the moreover laid, that the little
girl had been fent to her at the Poultry Cottrozcr
the day befor:, to confer with her on the prelant
buCneii.

Such an uncommon turn of affairs furprifed the
whole Court, and the Lord Mayor took great
pains to invelligate the matter. On crofs•exami.
nation of the prifuner, it clearly appeared that the
whole Rory was a fabrication, and that Ilse had
never feen the woman and the girl befote that
morning. The turnkey proved that no perfon
whatever had had admit ou to her tince her ctm-
finemeot, and no fuch pert.= as the little girl ever
made application. Seeing herfelf defeated at all
points, the next attempted to excite the compaZon
of the Lord Mayor, and prayed to be pallid to
her friends in the country. His Lordfbip told Ler.
that to fend her into the innocent part of fociety
in the country. with all her deptacity about her,
lie might as well fend the plague a:n(l4ga them ;
and that £be could eapeet no other clectLon than
to take the cootie of jultice. vials accordingly
fully committed far trial.