Star.
London, England, 1827-08-13 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

RXETRR, AUGUST 10.
CIVIL Sillintrel`e Lwd Cbief Javier Ben and a Special Jury.

LIIVY V. BAKER.

This was an action brought by the plaintiff, to recover
the sum of 7631. alleged by him to be owing to him by
the defendant for goods and ninnies.
Mr. Sergeant WILD' stated, that this action was
brought by Mr. Levy, who was a resrectabli silver-
smith and jeweller, residing in Eseter, against Mr.
Baker, a Gentleman of considerable property, who, its
the course of the last year, had come to reside in Devon-
shire. Mr. Baker, while visiting Eseter, was struck wi:h
the appearance of Mr. Levy's shop, into wl.i:h he went,
and bought goods to the amount of between eighty and
ninety pounds, which he paid for, AS a stranger would,
who entered. a tradesman's shop f r the first time.
He promised his custom, and called again to give a
much larger ord r; his manner was that of a Gen-
tleman, who had a perfect knowledge of his deal-
ings, and he left no trace on the mind of Mr. Levy, or
of any other with whom he was doing bu Mess at lie
time (August, 1526) that he was incompetent to transact
his own affair s,—tl,is defence, which he now understood
was to be set up against an honest t. adesman's
Indeed, sonic persons amongq them, Mr. Marsh, of
Sidmooth, who kept the public library there, congra-
tulated Mr. Levy upon having acquired so good a cus-
tomer. Mr. Marsh informed the plaintiff, that Mr.
Bake/ had lately come to reside at Siiimouth, that he
was about concludiog the purchase of Mr. Bacon's house
at S dCliff, near that place, and that he app aced to be
a Gentleman living in good style. How, theta.- ere, c • uld
Mr. Levy hesitate to execute the order ? It would be
hard, indeed, if, when a Gentleman aas in a condition
to go about with his family, and to attend to tfe whole of
his own affairs, as Mr.B.ker did, that the tradesmen, who
had accounts with him, should be depriied of their just
claims, without having received the siighte t notice that
the person with whom they were transacting business was
incompetent to manage his own affairs. Nevertheless,
whether Mr. Baker was or was not road at the time, it
was necessary, before M. Levy could be • icluded from
his remedy, that it should be shewn that the
had any probable reason for suspeciiog iliac he was
dealing with an unsound man. He .Loral spew that
the defendant had been dealing with Mr. Mare,, Mr.
Bacon, and other persons; the.), for very
weighty concerns, without t' e le.i•t • usricior. &Witching
at the time to his sanity. Whir n h (N 1 r. Sergeant Wilde)
should prove this, he had no doubt that thedirry would
feel that, whoever suffered, it ought not to be the honest
tradesman, who had given his property in the fair and
usual courseof business.

Mr. Marsh arr..s then 'mired, ard gave evidence to
the facts a, stated by C, ousel.
This oitness was crsss- zamin •d at c,nsiderable
length by Mr. Sergeant NIEREWETMER In the course
of which he stated, that he had gor e ;o Ezet r with Mr.
Baker in his carriage, in which iLe sat v hide Mr. Baker
made a visit to a house which witness believed t., be a
bad one; that, with this knowledLe of Mr. Baker's pro-
pensities, he.had permitted his own drught.r to go and
reside in the defendant's house, as companion to Miss
Baker ; that he had afterwards heard of that Gentle-
man's insanity, but that he gave no proofs of it at
the time.

The father and mother of the plaintiff, a female who
attended his shop, and a boy, were •ucces,ively examin-
ed, to shear the manner in which Mr. Baker had trans-
acted business with the plaintiff, and the delivery of the
goods and money to that Gentleman.
The watch, some of the books, and some trifling ar-
ticles of jewellery were produced, and identified as part
of the things bought from Levy by Baker.
A brother-in-law of Levy said, that it was he who
sold the watch and the diamond articles to Levy, and
that they were great bargains at the prices stied as
above. If (key were new, they would have fetched a
far greater sum. Ile was reluctantly obliged, by ord r
(.1 the Court, to state the prices that t' ese at lic!ei were
set down at in his sale to Levy ; the diamonds v ere2Oet.
the watch 501.

Mr. Bacon, of Sidcliff, was next examined. :inJ stated,
that Mr. Baker, accompanied by !tilt. Marsh, hsd ca:led
to lock at his estate, for which, after some negotiation,
Mr. Baker agreed to give him 5.006-guineas. He sug-
gested some beneficial alterations in the stsbling, and
some parts of the grounds, and wanted to buy his pic-
tures,. which, host ever, the witness drclined selling.
In his cross-examination this viltrless admitted, that
when Mr. Baker accompanied him to his attorney at
Hinton, about the deeds, the fi st thing t e did when he
went into the house of a perlect stranger was, to begin
ringing the bells, and calling for :ell eshment., as
though at an hotel, giving recitations an poetry in the

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room, and going through the fencing exercise. This
was odd to be sure ; hut he saw nothing extraordinary
in it;ind it was only a day or two after ,when he came
_. it three o'cii,ck in themiming • mimto Sidniouth, knocking
them all up, making a piteous noise, and rolling himself
on the grass, that he thought all was not right with
him. Hr then believed him to be perfectly insane.
. Mt. Setegearit MERIEWETriaR then addiessed the Jury
fog the defence. He said he should read letters to the
.
July, Written by the defendant, one nf which *mild
Ow, 0,0 delusion that Its was under relative to Sideldr.
and the othei actually proposing w the father IA e
comiisOn prostitute marriage with his daughter,. pre-
' •
aided the parent:; consent were obtained. The Learned
Sergeant then read the following letter ;
" Sidrnouth, Aug. 10, 1825.
s •
sr Mae liacarea—T have not hai the pleasure of hearing any
thing shout you or Mrs. R. for a long time. I hope you are both
anihylng all the blessings of health and happiness. I suppose you
may have heard that I am now at the Devonshire coast ; and, in-
deed, to tell .you the fruit, I think that I shall never more leave
this part of the country ;and, as a sort of proof my intentions
being acted on, I base actually purchased an estate, within one
mile and a half Sidmdtith. The estate is called Sidcliff—it is.
without exception. the most elegant house I ever was In. and the
gardens and shrubberies about it make it quite an enchanting spot.
It was originally built by a Gentleman of the name of Bowen ; he
- possessed at one time a fortune of 40,0001. a year, but through un-
toward teems he lost the greater part of it. The succeeding pur-
'chaser was Thomas Bacon, Esq. the great sculptor ; when in Lon-
don, he resides in Newman-street. Of this Gentleman I have
bought the whole of the estate. He is going to reside near his
father, who resides near BroMley, in Kent. Mr. and Mss Bacon
and the young Ladies are all very handsome, and are exceedingly
genteel. Sidcliff house and gardens have always borne the palm of
.being the genteelest and most elegant place about Sidmouth. I have
already laid much money out on it, and.shati continue to,slo so un-
til I have made it very complete. I have just given orders for
two ledges to he made, and I ant going to do something to the front
attesms that runs through the estate, and to have fresh fencing and
fresh gate- throughout the farm. There is much orchardy in the
place, and this year I expect I shall be able to make fourteen to
sixteen hundred gallons of cider. Not far from my residence is
Mr. Fisher's house. The Gentleman treats the public once or
•• twice& week with the view of his house and gardens, and he has
hjt rooms very tastefully fitted up, and many, showy thing., but I
mean to surpass him ; I am arranging to build a museum—not
only for anatomical preparations, but also minerals and sutural
philosophy—also for antiques. I wish you and Mrs. R. would
come down and stay with us; we have the whole house, and only
ourselves in it; you will he delightedwith the place. I shall build
a handsome place with a dome to it for a museum, and my curiosi-
ties and wax preparations must be much admired. At all events,
the was anatomical, preparations, and the antiques of Derculine,
Veauvim, &c. have already cost me 4501. so )ou may suppose.
sty preparatioos will be rare and valuable. bly ware anatomical
preparations are beautiful, and anatomically correct. A friend of
Mine brought them front Italy, and he waited tea months to
ace them finished. He brought them from Florence—they are
beautiful beyond description. The principle figure is an ele.
gatuly formed temale figure of a most beautiful young Lady, quite
a Peaks de Media She ls modelled in wax as large as life, and
lies on her back with her left arm thrown gracefully over her face.
Her hair, quite black, is about one yard and a half long, and that
is gracefully thrown over her shoulder, and spread over her breast.
She lies in a large glass ease, and the figure is so constructed, that
you can open the head, the chest, and the abdomen, where a most
beautiful and correct Anatomical display is seen. I have given about
sEGOO for all the curiosities. Thew wax figure, are unilue, and not
any other to he seen like them in,England or elsewhere. My friend,
who sold them to me, was 20 years surgeon on the Continent; he
bas also for sale some fine Maude, for which he wants 450 guineas,.
Ile bas also sold I 11( his house and garden at Euro': he is going
to travel again. Having given you this account, lam going to
ask you a very great favour, which is, that you will be.go good
as.tu give me back the injected head. It will form a desirable
preparation in my tmeeetn. 'this I ask as a favour. You have
two heads. hilt T won; the best; send glass and all; I will pay the
package, &c and rend me any rarity you can spare. Pray come
and see u- 1 ant new living in style, with handsome Oquipage.and
I intend keeping very choice company. 1 beg my Ent remem-
brance to D:t.. Rawer and to Davis.
" I am, very sincerely, yours,
." ROBERT BAKER.
.‘ We are living very gay here—l have porcbased Lucy an
Arabian horse,aU widts, and long mane and long tail. She is quite
the talk of the plate.
" Since I bought the first estate, I have bought another, next to
it. I have expended eleven thousand pounds.
" lam engaged—shall be married one month hence. We now
go to concerts and halls. Lucy is much improved on the harp and
Italian singing. I beseech of you and Mts. R. to come to us. I
wain her advice.
. The second letter, to which he (Mr. Sergeant Mere-
st ether) alluded. ran as follows :
Sidcliff, August 20, 1826.
4' Much respected Sir,—For some months since I have been
affectionately attached to your amiable and much injured Eliza
Raymond. I love her virtuously, and I will not marry her until
I have gained not only yos.r own, but also bet mother's. consent. I
am.a man of independent fortune, and if Eliza is my wife, I will
always sheW attention and honour to her. If your favourable reply
comes next letter, our marriage day shall take place in one month,
and for your satisfaction, and to shew her to her neighbours, I will
bring her to your own parish church, and there with her undergo
the solemnization of marriage.
" I have the pleasure to subscribe myself,
" Your affectionate, ROBERT BAKER."
" P.S. The vile Irish seducer, about a month since, sent for the
het* female child to take under his own protection. I hope he is
reformed to ways of virtue; at all events, I hope he will nut expose
his vices to the child.
" To Mr. John Raymond, Fain, •
Thringstone, Leicestershire." •
Two servants of the defendant wets then called, who
proved that their master was in the habit of committing
all sorts of excesses; he would sometimes suddenly order
his horses out, and work them almost to death, without
• ever giving them the slightest rest on the longest jour-
.
nies; he had occasionally gone to some one *house very
JI AO' night, ma'am without stopping a moment, in-
itantly go back again to his own house; sometimes on
the road he would pick up common girls and othpr
.
improper persons, and let them' occupy a seat in his
carriage along with his son and daughter.
Mr: Scott, the brollier•in-law of the defendant, and a
Wisher from the Old London Inn io this city, spoke to
the insanity of the defendant.
A Clerk from one of the Exeter Banks stated, that
on Saturday Mr. Baker came to their office for the pur-
pose of writing a letter, by which stock of his. in Lon-
don might be sold out. He appeared to be remarkably
nervous and agitated, so much so, that the Flak re-
marked to somebody alter he was gone, that he felt
sure that there was no such stock to sell est. Levy Was
with_the defendant on that occasion, looking over his
shoulder, and to him what he should write.
Chief Justice BEST asked Mr. Sergeant Wilde if he
proposed to carry the case any further?
Mr. Sergeant WILDE said, that he had never any
desire to prolong a case that to him appeared not to be
tenable, but %kith respect to The present, he had. a dif-
ferent impression. Hr entertained no doubt of the in-
sanity of Mr. Bake,. but he. also thought that there was
no evidence to shew that the plaintiff was e.t.a:- of it.
Chief Justice BEST said, that if the ease were to go
on any farther, it would estainly be necessary for hiM
to adjout it it ; fur the fatigue was too great both for the
Jury and for himself; but let it go on as lung as it
• would, he should still leave the question to the Ju. y,
whether the 861. which Levy bad already received was
nal quite sufficient to elver any demand that he might
.have upon the defendant. •
Mr. Sergeant WILDS then. addressed ehe.Jury for the
plaintiff. and pressed upon their coiesidera'ion that the
present case was more a.quesnon of fact than ef law ;•
that no tcoin had . ken '.,hewn why an honesr trailer

man, having a just demand, should not be entitled
receive the amount of his claim.

Chief Jiistice BEST said, that he should• be ashamed
of himself it, in summing up so disgr ,eeful is case, he
allot, ed himself to occupy the attention of thetJury for
more than a minute. It was impotsihle for any honest
man to doubt, for an instant, that great advantage had
been taken•ot the infirmity of the defendant, and minic
cularly by Levy to palm anything Oh the weakness of
his intellect; and no man who had watched the rro-
gress of the case could possibly believe that the hank
.notes and sovereigns, which formed so considerable aft
Kern in the plaintiff's demand, had ever been placed-in
the hands of the defendant ; the evidence'of the waiter
appeared to him to get that matter eetirely It rest; and
he therefore left it to the Jury to say, whether they did
not think that Levy ha.l been amply repaid for every
thing, the defendant had had of him, by the sum of 861.
which had already been paid him ? •
The Jury, after a short deliberation, decided, that
th• 861. was a full remuneration, and •therefore gave
their verdict for the defendant.
Chief Justice BEST demanded of the defendant's
Couniel,'whether they were not. remit to bring an in-
dictment against the parties for a conspiracy?.
Mr. Sergeant MEREwrruza said that they were retcly
to do whatever the justice of the case reqUired, and
would avail themselves of the suggestion of his Lordship.
Chief Justice BEST said, that there were two conspi-
racies—the Exeter conspiracy, and the Sitlmouth con•
spiracy. With respect to the former, he ordered Levy,
the plaintiff, who was in Court, into custody, and eras
about to issue his warrant for the apprehension of old
Levy and his wife, when they appeared in Court, and
were also given in custody to the tipstaff. They were
subsequently bailed.