Star.
London, England, 1829-10-28 00:00:00

ABDUCTION.

Weduesd..-v lust. Mr. Patrick and airs.
Anna Maria Magill, and Mr. John Magi:), ..ppv ii tj with their
Cou.:sel, Mr. J. B. at the Police-oilier, !Ivory—tree:, Dullin to
answer the complaint of Miss Julia Blake, of Illotg,mterF -street ,
who was accompanied by bee sister, Mts. Johnson.
The complainant detailed the particulars of her case with some-
what more minuteness than cm the first occasion. Tin- only
knowledge she had of where she had Ken, was her ttay.ng
passed through the village of Lucan, as she came Iwo
town ; she walked the whole way, and was occupied in
the journey from half-past five until a quarter past nine.
Mr. Magill's Counsel argued on the construction of the 2itl
lath Geo. IV. chap. 31, that no force bad been used, and that
Miss Blake bad voluntarily gone with the part'es.
After considerable discussion, Mr. Cole alluded to the cue of
Miss Turner; the story told of 111i.s Turner, as in this ctse. swat
totally different from what subsequently occurred ; it was not ma-
terial whether or not persons resorted to a complete degree of
violence to effect their object ; it was enough to say whether the
lady had been enticed from home, and that A degree of force had
been used at any period of the transaction ; and this, coupled with
the intent to marry, was proved.
Counsel expressed his regret that the matter could not he ami-
cably adjusted. and said, perhaps they might join their lauds be-
fore they left the office, as there was a clergyman present
The lady indignantly said she would sooner die than have any
thing to say to such a —.

- .
Mr. Cole said he was determined to leave it to a higher tribunal
to decide, in order to remove from the Magistrates any imput,ltion
of levity in a case where the rights of a female. more particularly.
were so grievously infringed on. It was the first case of this kind
which bad occurred in this country since the late enactment. and
he would refer it to a higher tribunal.
The young lady accordirgly proceeded to lodge her informations.
A Solicitor. on the part of the complainants, suggested to the
Magistrates hi, client.' walliticness to have the amount at hailmiti-
gated ; it was accardingly reduced to 25/. and their own surety of
50/. each, in default of hail to he committed to Newgatr. The
Solicitor off. red 1111111di very gen -musty as bail for Mrs. M not to
see her go to but the two gentlemen, a: the him.- of our
leaving, but not &name I the recriireil 4utetiet.

-
FrA r
'l4l

o~

7'HE MAN OF LEISURE, IN CHELTENHAM.

From the Cheltenham Journal_
No. 11.
" Thus I entertain
" The Antiquarian humour, and am pleased
" To skim along the surfaces of things."—WoaDiWOZTH.

have said that, in other times, I had found in CHILTZWILAX,
•he favorite, because the most delightful haunt of young and happy
days : and now I have returned to the scene of my early pleasures*
unty to be the more painfully convinced that I have lost, and for
,ver, the blessed hilarity of spirit which then turned every thought
to gaiety ; the vivid freshness of fancy which then, like the morn-
ing sun-beam playing upon a clear untroubled spring, sparkled
upon the stream of life, till I saw every object and every image re-
flected in the laughing light of joy. But if Ibe changed, even so
changed in feeling and in thought, how changed does every thing
in nature seem around me now ! The spot which, when I last be-
held it, was, at the most, a country villagt—rustic and rude in its
appearance—ttbseure in situation—difficult of access—inconsider-
able in size—and only brought into note by adventitious circum-
stances ; now appears to me at, extensive city—giving importance
not only to the shire in which it stands, hut to the country itself—
the dwelling place and the constant resort of all that is noble, pow-
erful, efficient, fashionable, gay, handsome—and distinguished in
the kingdom—and the great object of attraction not to Englishmen
alone, but to the people of every nation ; a'' shrine of Health" as
it has been, somewhat poetically, but not unappropriately, termed,
to which, as to the shrine of Mecca, unnumbered pilgrims throng
from every quarter of the habitable globe. Sensations such as I
experienced on thus contemplating a scene which set at nought all
my recollections of the past, and all my most liberal calculations
upon the progress of modern improvement, may be well contrasted
with the feelings so ingeniously described by the young and really
talented author of the " Alpenstock,•" a recent work to which I
cannot even allude without observing that it is an honour to the
genius of our country—and superior in my estimation to any con-
temporaneous description of the romantic land which it so faith-
fully and so vigorously depicts—it is, in brief, a work which the
traveller should read for the simplicity and strength of its details—
the philosopher for the delightful picture it presents of nature and
of mankind—and the Christian for the unfeigned and cheering
spirit of piety and devotion which breathes through every page. So
much for the book itself—and now for the passage which furnishes
so strong a contrast to my own sensations :—" I remember once,
in Germany, pausing in a wide plain over the site of what had once
been a smiling village, but which, during the late wars, had totally
disappeared from the landscape : nothing remaining but the village
well, and some of the foundation stones of a single cottage. It was
with a peculiar start of feeling that I discovered among the tangled
weeds which sprung about them, the wild and creeping branches
of two tines, about a yard apart. They alone marked the former
threshold."

What Cheltenham now is, I shall not attempt to describe, be-
cause I feel the impressions of other years so busily obtruding
themselves on my present contemplations, that to me the whole
scene before me appears more like the work of magic, than the
achievement of human industry, or the product of great public
spirit :—But that my Readers may form some notion of what
Cheltenham was, when I first wandered through the green lanes
and hedge-row paths, which then imparted a delicious character to
this tranquil retirement from " the crowded city," I will lay be-
fore them a brief extract from the popular " Guide" of that days
for which its visitors were indebted to the literary research and
personal observation of its accomplished and exemplary Master of
the Ceremonies—Mr. Moreau :—ln that gentleman's " Tour to
Cheltenham Spa," which had been published in 1786, but two
years prior to the period I now revert to—we find that the num-
ber of houses was set down at 400—and the inhabitants were
computed at 9,000. " The town runs in almost a straight line
one mile in length, from S.S.E. to N.N.W. having one principal
street, with some returns, lanes, and adjoining houses. Till within
a few years, the water ran through the middle of it, and in a
scarcity stagnated, and was offensive." And then we are told
that " there is no doubt but the inhabitants, who, from the
neglected state of this place for near thirty years, have been fear-
ful of risking any expense, will, from the great and regular increase
of company resorting to it within the last six years, be convinced
that it is their interest to render their lodgings as commodious, and
every other circumstance as agreeable as possible." The Old
Well Walk, and the approach to be the then solitary fountain of
Ilygeia, were thus described—" At the South Westgate (of the
Church-yard) a neat gravel walk leads to the Church Mead, and
through this another to the Chelt, over which a slight draw-bridge
is thrown to form a passage to the public walks, said to have been
planned by Norborne Berkeley, the late Lord Bottetourt. The
original design was to have continued the grand walk to the
Church. if the proprietor of a small piece of ground facing the draw
bridge could have been prevailed on to part with it. Many, indeed
think its present state more beautiful than such a length of walk, as
it now cannot be seen till at the bridge ; the effect it then has is not
easily to be imagined by those who have not been on the spot. The
church spire, rising on the centre of the walk, forms a very pleasing
point of view from the Well; on the side opposite to which, the
company have often expressed a desire that a dial with a minute-
band were fixed, and some of them have offered to contribute
towards erecting it." I pause in my quotation, just to observe
that " the desire of the company," has long been gratified, by the
erection of a clock as well as a dial-plate with a minute hand"—
but if report be true, the said clock, without which the dial-plate
would be of little use, is henceforth only to give " note of times
on week days and working days—and to enjoy rest and silence on
the Sabbath, in conformity with the conscientious views of some of
the " rigidly righteous." There was then, and indeed for years
afterwards, but one " grand walk,' in Cheltenham—mow we have
an almost endless variety of " grand walks" and ►ell wooded pro-
menades...the Montpellier; but that establishment has had its
praises said and sung by so many laudatory bards and encomiastic
penmen, that I leave its pretensions to be said and sung in future
by others—the Imperial and Pittville are all creditable to their
respective proprietors, and unrivalled amongst the adornments or
watering places. To the " Royal Well" (as it is proudly and pro-
perly and signally styled)—to the Imperial, and to Pittville I shall
dedicate my especial notice in due time—but for the present, I
must pursue the order which I proposed to myself when first I
meditated this series of descriptive sketches.
In resuming the Tourist's delineation of what Cheltenham was,
some forty years ago, I desire it may be remembered that in adopt-
ing his language, I seek the additional advantage which the corro-
boration of such an authority gives to my own detailed reminis-
emirs. It would have been easier for me to have committed to
paper nothing but the impressions which my mind then received,
and which it still most distinctly retains ; but when the whole
aspect of Nature seems to have undergone a change—at least within
a range of five miles from the centre of the town—l do not chose
to commit my " report" to the public eye, without the strong con-
firmation of Mr. Moreau's statement. Let us now turn from the
Promenades to the" Rides near Cheltenham"—and there we shall
End that " the most common ride has generally been in the Marsh
at the back of the town, a mile round, with a pleasant view of the
neighbouring hills." The Marsh, be it known to all the modern
visitors of Cheltenham, was at a little distance front North Lodge,
the present residence of Lord Dunally, and formed one of the
boundaries of Marie Hill, the seat of Robert Capper, E►q. Some
years ago the Marsh ezhibited one of those awful spectacles by
which the criminal law may be said to have extended its retributive
vengeance beyond the exaction of life, and to have perpetuated the
terrors of its outraged poweri by requiring even more than " blood
for blood." and gibbeting the carcase of its most atrocious victims.

• ' The Alisenstnet, of Skinehr• of Ssri‘s Scenery and Blau.
urn," by J. C. Latrube.—Srelry .tol Suns, London, 1829,

A tablet placed over the vestry-door of the parish church, bears
the following inscription :
To the Memory of KATHERINE,

The Wife of William P. A. a Court, of Heytesbury, in the County

of Wilts, Esqr.
Wbo departed this Life on the 23d day of Sept 1776,
in the 32d year of her age
The strictest Honour and Virtue, Elegance of Manners,
Integrity of Heart, and Delicacy of Sentiment,

Endeared her to a Select Circle of Friends and Acquaintance.
She was cherished as an only Child by an indulgent Father,
Beloved from Infancy by a tender Husband,

In whose Arms She Died an unnatural Death Effected by Poison,
Administered by the Hands of a Cruelly Wicked Livery Servant,
Whose Resentment, at being detected in Theft,
Prompted him to Perpetrate this Horrid and Execrable Crime.
Circumstances, which it is now needless to recapitulate, led to the
detection and consequent conviction of the murderer ; and between
the day of his condemnation and that appointed for the execution
of the sentence, he endeavoured to effect self-destruction—but
failed in the attempt, and died the death of ignominy. His body
was hung in chains and gibbeted as I have already stated. The
Marsh became deserted, and was afterwards enclosed. Many of
the facts of this ease—the incitement to revenge—the murder—
and the attempt to commit suicide, bear a strong affinity to the
fate of Cardinal Bainbridge, as that event is related by Aubrey,
except that in the latter, the assassin perished by his own hands.
In 1514, Cardinal Bainbridge who had been sent to Rome by
Henry VIII. being one day in a violent passion, to which he was
naturally subject, fell upon his Major Domo, one Renouad of
Modena, and beat him excessively. The enraged domestic re-
venged the beating with a dose of poison, which he found means to
administer to his master. On being apprehended, and imprisioned,
Renouad prevented the execution of justice by hanging himself,
My Readers must pardon this digression, which has almost uncon-
sciously engrossed the space which should otherwise have been
occupied by a transcript of what Mr. Moreau modestly terms
" the best idea he can give" of the other rides and roads in the
vicinity. Of the appearance of the houses, even twelve
years after the publication of " The Tour," an accurate
idea may be formed front the description of a learned
Antiquary, to whose amiable peculiarities of diction and
of thought I may have occasion hereafter to allude ; for in his
" Picturesque and Topographical account," the subject is illus-
trated, with an exquisite naiveté—and a felicitous eccentricity of
expression, which delightfully dissipate " the dust of the schools."
Anon, it may be, " I'll talk a word with this same learned
Theban." .For the present, I will but glean a few sheaves from
the ripe harvest of his wit, and bind them together with bands of
straw—and thus he writes :

In 1798, when the author first visited Cheltenham, the only
conspicuous objects, as to superior character," (what the "con-
spicuous objects" of an inferior character were, deponent says&
not,) " were Fauconberg House, and a double range of buildings
in the High-street, above the Plough, which buildings, with the
exception of one solitary brick house, that bore the air of a country
mansion and was near the Old Walk, were considered to be the
only habitations fit for the reception of high wealth and title.',
Mem : This " solitary brick Huuse," was called the Great House,
and has since been distinguished as the principal Boarding House
in the town : it was long conducted by a Mr. Fisher, and retain,
all its celebrity under the superintendence of Mr. Lyddell. " These
High-street Houses had balconies, for there was not a viranda in
the whole town. The two turnpikes were indeed soldier-dress
with whitewash, paint, gay lamps, and cheap tawdries of strong
effect." (What the "whitewash and paint" had to de with a
soldier's dress" in 1798. I pretend not to say—but in the " cheap
tawdries of strong effect," it is manifest that mine author glanceth
sarcastically at the fringe txssal and tinsel paraphernalia of the
" Count Carmine." of our own day.) " The High-street was of
motley character"—(" motley's your only wear," saith the philo-
sopher of the forest,) " the houses bring of all height., forms, and
description." If this constitute .. motley," why the High-street
is of "motley character still, and so is every street of every town
in the kingdom. But now comes a delineation which no human
intellect could compass without the "aid of Archeology." " A
kw thached house with a gabled end, and antique bay windows,
of horn-coloured glass, and leaden reticulations, adjoining a flat
dwelling, which poked out two atop windows, and looked like a
woman with milk pails!! and text to this, was a slim London
three or four storied house, with a railed area, ascent up steps.
narrow passage, front and back parlour, and so forth. The foot.
way of the street was partially paved ; but towards the Gloucester
end, there was only a gravelled causeway, intersected, at short in-
tervals, by open yawning drains, an inconvenience which rendered
the path utterly unfit for a gossiping or thoughtful promenade, be-
cause absence or occupation of mind occasioned a fall into them."
(What a novel property is here assigned to absence! None but an
archaeologist could have discovered that the sure way to fall into a
ditch was to be absent.) " Here and there in the fields near the
town, sew built houses were seen standing alone, looking like per-
sons whistling in solitude and waiting for friends to join them,
The roads to them had the aspect of canals, when the water is let
off, and at certain seasons of the year, might have been made navi-
gable. Indeed all the roads about the town were execrable, for
the native materials being only of the hardness of loaf-sugar, were
pulverized by every wheel. In the winter every track became a
gulley, and carriages were dragged along for miles in alarming atti-
tudes of obliquity and oscillation. Such was the appearance of the
town itself." And such, really and literally, was the appearance of
the town. Strip the description of the little eccentric " accompa.
niments" which were solely intended "to give a literary character
to the accounts of Cheltenham, by treating the subjecct acccording
to the rules of great authorities in scenery and archaeology," and
the picture is neither overcharged nor stinted in colouring—but it
is a good picture enough. As for the " women with milk-pails,
and " the houses standing alone looking like persons whistling in
solitude"—

" They are the Antiquarians, line for line,
For God's sake. reader, take them not for mine."
" Seeing what we have seen"—let us prepare ourselves " to

what we now see." To the description of Cheltenham as it is, I
should dedicate my next essay ; but my reminiscences of the scenes
of its first splendor, when it was the residence cif Royalty, contend
so strongly for utterance, that in the third number of these papers,
I shall endeavour to set forth—not the " cuctoms of the country',
—the Customs of the Court at Cheltenham.
THE MAN OF LEISURE.
Cheltenham, Oct. 21,1829.

At the Cork Special Commission, on Friday, John
Leary, James Berke, James Magrath, and William Shrine, were in-
dicted for conspiring to murder George Bond Low, Arthur G.
Creagh, and Henry Evans, Esqrs. at Doneraile. The principal
evidence was David Shehan. an approver, who deposed to the
meeting of the prisoners, to swear to murder the above gentlemen,
for certain transactions in their public capacity, at which they had
taken offence. Three shots had been discharged at a carriage
which contained the prosecutors, and the servants were severely
wounded. Several other witnesses gave testimony against the pri-
soners, and they were found Guilty.
A report is very generally circulated in this city, that
Sir T. B. Lethbridge has recently disposed of his Dunster estate,
amounting to 5,000 acres, to a Staffordshire Gentleman, named
Beach, for the sum of X 100,000; and should this prove correct, it
may be considered as Indicative of the worthy Baronet's intention
not to contest the representation of the county in the event of a
dissolution of Paillameut.—Bath Herold.
A RECIPE FOR, Tlll CURE OF POOR-RATES.—Take
of large farms fifty thoesand, and split them into small ones of Afty
of one hundred awes each ; let them to working tanners at mo-
derate rents. and the landlord will.then be duly paid. Erect cut..
rage papayas sulick—say one to every fifty acres; add thereto.
three or four acres of groans'. and.lm them to such of can keep .a
cow and a pig. Eruct smaller ones with a garden for the still
More humble labourer ; and depend upon it your poor-rates In vil-
lages will soon be reduced.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, OCT. 27.
11011111011 MID MOM= V. MUM MID 01311111.

Mr. Serjeant Wring stated the plaintiff's case. The libel was
published in the Morning Journal of the 18th and 19th of Novem-
ber, in reply to a letter in the Times, signed " Delta." It charged
the writer with belonging to a house which was a receptacle for
stolen goods; and asserted that a quantity of silk, stolen from Mac-
clesfield, was found en their premises, and seized by the Bow-street
officers ; adding, that Sir Richard Birnie had said that some of the
writers in the Tines were thieves—they knew them to be so.
Robert Slater, examined by Mr. Duns*u, proved the names of
the firm of Morrison and Co. and the handwriting of Mr. Dillon,
one of the partners. The establishment consisted of about 150 per-
sons, many of whom every year set up in trade in many parts of
the country. They purchase yearly, on an average, to the extent
of X 1,600,000, a great part British silk. There were seventeen de-
partments of their business, each of which had a superintendent.
They had nine buyers for the house. They had not pur-
chased less than eight or nine million pounds worth of Spi-
talfields goods within that last thirteen years. This trade was
chiefly wholesale—only one of the partners bought—the buyer
marked the invoices and handed them to one of the partners, who
also marked it as approved—they then went to a clerk who
journalizes and posts it—each purchase goes through at least six
hands, and was two days in being passed the books—witness had
read the articles in the Morning Journal of the 18th and 19th of
November, and believed the house of Morrison and Co. to be meant
in them—they had been in the habit of giving written instructions
not to buy of unknown persons.
George Brown, examined by Mr. Sergeant Gomintau, said he
had been a buyer for the house for nine years—he always bought
of respectable persons-a-be chiefly bought at Manchester and Mac
clesfield—never heard of any bales of stolen goods coming from
Macclesfield to plaintiffs' house.
John Smith said he had been for three years in the employment
of plaintiffs as chief clerk in the buying department, and had the
paying for the goods—knew the persons from whom the purchases
were made—they were mostly large manufacturers--generally
they were persons who were known to them, and, if strangers, in-
quiry was made respecting them—never knew of any application
or search for stolen goods in the house—must have known it if it
had occurred.
Mr. Serjeant WILDI said, that he had every buyer belonging to
the house in Court, and would call them, if his Learned Brother
required it.
Mr. Serjeant Msexweruaa said, it was not necessary.
Mr. Harrison, of the Times newspaper, produced a letter signed
" Delta."
Mr. Slater proved that it was writtten by Mr. Dillon.
The proprietorship of the Morning Journal was then proved.
James Harris said he was in the employ of plaintiffs from 1816
to 1821, and now lived in Fore-street. Mr. Alexander, of
The Morning Journal, called on him in January last, and told
him he supposed he bad heard that he was editor of The
Morning Journal, and that Morrison and Co. bad brought an
action against them, and that they meant to jusrity. He
said that be believed that witness could give them essen-
tial information on the subject, but declined to say who told
them that he could do it—witness said he did not believe the charge
—Mr. Alexander replied, that they could prove it by a mass of
evidence—witness said he could give him no useful information—
he inquired whether witness was Oh friendly terms with the house?
—witness said " No ; rather the reverse, and that he should have
no objection to state any thing against them, if he knew it"—Mr.
Alexander said that the house was in the habit of buying stolen
goods, and be could prove it.
The plaintiff's attorney's clerk proved 1 applications for
time to plead in justification on the part of the defendants.
The libels were then read by the officer of the Court.
This closed the plaintiff's case.
Mr. Serjeant Nlxamveanza, on the part of the defendants, said
that he should have found himself placed in an embarrassing situa-
tion, had not the instructions of his clients relieved him from it.
They were ready to do justice to the party they had in-
jured by every means in their power. Two of the de-
fendants were altogether removed from any share in the
management of the paper. Mr. Alexander was the editor and
he bad been misled by some of those false representations with
which persons in his situation were always beset, but as soon as he
had satisfied himself, by inquiries, some of which had been given in
evidence to-day, he had published a full and complete recantation
of every word that had been published to the plaintiffs' discredit.
No actual damage had been proved, and he had been informed that
the sole object of the plaintiffs was to vindicate their character,and
not to put money in their pockets.
Mr. Sergeant Wang replied—For once the defendants had ma•
nifested a wish to do justice ; and if the jury had the same desire,
he was sure the object would be accomplished by the exemplary
nature of tbeir verdict.
The LORD CHIEF JOST= charged the jury—They would not
keep the retractation of the charges out of consideration; but they
would say whether that was sufficient amends after the defendants
had asserted that they had the proofs, and had sought evidence of
them in January ?
Verdict for the plaintiffs—Damages, Three Hundred and Fifty
Pounds.

4