Star.
London, England, 1826-09-18 00:00:00

THE WANDERING MINSTREL

Considerable interest was excited in Gravesend on Wednesday
and Thursday last, by a visit from a Gentleman who has made some
noise in the sporting world, by a ludicrous bet made some time
since. The Gentleman, who is reported to be an officer of high
rank in the army, delighted the inhabitants by his melodious strains
on the Scotch bagpipes, as he walked through the town. He was
accompanied by a servant, who received sundry donations from the
inhabitants. His garb was exactly suited to that of an itinerant
minstrel, but notwithstanding his disguise, his tall manly figure, and
general deportment, inspired those who saw him with the notion
that he was something more than an obscure individual. On leavin:
the town, he expressed himself highly satisfied with the liberality
he had experienced, as well as the certainty of *inning his wager.
Previous to his entering the town, he addressed the following letter
to the Mayor, who, with his usual politeness, immediately acceded
to his request :

" 70 VIZ

?HI MAYOR Of ORATILSOID.
" Rochester, Wednesday morning.
Sta—l have taken a bet of 1,0001. that I will travel u a wan-
dering minstrel for six months, pay all expenses, and save 1001.
"I thereli i s eg leave to solicit your permission to play for a few
Lours in Gravesend thitafternoon.

" I take no money osysdf, nor do T allow the servant to ask any:
It consequently cannot be called begging. •
" Your answer by the bearer will oblige, Sir, your most obedient
humble servant, " A. E. bI•DONALD."

OLDHAM, SEPT. 15.—The hands belonging to eight
mills, amounting to about twelve hundred, ale at pre-
sent out of employ, owing to an attempt by the masters
to reduce wages. Several other mills are expected to
stop in consequence of similar measures. The spinners
at this place hive applied to those at Manchester for as-
sistance in their struggle, but the latter have replied,
that they had four hundred of their own body already
on their bands, and that co operation on their part could
nut be effected. It is expected, at Bolton, that similar
measures will take place. Nearly all the mills in the
country are suffering under abatements, or are threat-
ened with them.

John Bs itten, of Church-street, Kensington, after bat-
ing indulged freely in the bounties of Bacchus, was re-
turning home on Sunday se'nnight, when feeling sleepy,
he laid down on a kiln of bricks, on the Uxbridge road.
As he did not return home that night his family became
alarmed, and on Monday morning commerced a search
for him, when he was found extended on the kiln quite
dead. A Jury sat on the body on Wednesday. Ver-
dict—Died from Suffocation.

The bailiff of a Gentleman at Worth, near Crawley,
Warwick, was snaking preparations with a friend to
partake of the sports of the field, when, as they were
leaving the house with the pieces loaded, his wife called
him back to make arrangements for a harvest supper,
which was to be held in the evening : while conversing
the trigger was accidentally touched, and the gun un-
fortunately went off, when the contents penetrated the
calf of her leg, and drove the flesh from the bone agains
the door. She died in a few hours:

Tue,clay, a very sedate looking man from the Cas•
dill!), was charged in the Police Court, Edinburgh, by
his own wife, with having robbed her of a pillow alp.
" I took awa' the pillow slip," said the man, "nae doubt
o' that, and my necessities compelled me to pawn it;
but what o that ? I tin been in the peaceable and un-
interrupted possession o that pillow slip for sax lang
yeas; and when I pawned it I thought I was lawfully'
disposing omy ain property." " But," asked the Su-
periitendeur, " is not the pillow slip your wife's?''—
" Her's !" replied the man; " she may call the hail[ bed
her ain, for, wee[ I wat, she occupies the best half o' it
—(A laugh). She may call my hat her gin, my coat
her Sin, na, my very breeks her ain, for troth she has
laned stair to wear them"—(Great laughter). 44 But did
not this pillow slip belong to your wife before you
married her ?"—" It did e'en sae ; and it was a' the
Locher I gat wi' her. Her father—a donee, honest man
I,e was, could, gi'e her nae mpir." So great now was
the laughter in Court, that the Judge could scat cely bet
beard explaining to the complainer that what was her
goodman's WAS his, and what was her's was his also.
On this being explained to her, she said, she could not
think of having her husband punished, and therefore
would forgive him.
Monday night, between nine and ten o'clock, an
affray took place at the West Port, which terminated
fatally. From what we have been able to learn of the
affair, k would appear that as an old woman and her
son were going up the Port, a person of the name of
llein, a hatter, accidentally came in contact with the old
woman, which caused her to fall. Her son was about
to resent what he considered an insult offered to his
mother, but she was endeavouring to prevent him, when
a Realer came running out of an entry,exclaiming, "Let
me to hint, and I'll do bis business, and immediately
knocked Bain down, and killed him.—Scolsntan.
PNISONS IN Baum—According with a resolution at
the late Quarterly Sessions for Essex, application is to
be made to Parliament for power to raise 45,0001. for
defraying the remainder of the expenses of erecting the
Convict Prison at Springfield, for erecting a new House
of Currecti.m in the Half Hundred of Beacontree, and
also to defray the expenses of improving and enlarging,
or re-erecting the other existing prisons in the county
of Essex.