The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-08-22 00:00:00

THE SALE AT STOW E.

(From the Times.)
This magnificent seat of the Duke of Buckingham is
being dismantled of all its beauties. Last week the auc-
tioneer was at work. Under the lofty arch which crowns
the long avenue fiom Buckingham, and opens the first
view of the splendid Palladian facade, has lately passed a
daily cavalcade which, except in its utter absence of style,
might remind one of the road to Epsom on a Derby day.
Barouches, flys, stage-coaches, " busses" pressed from
the metropolitan service, and every gradation of " trap"
down to the carrier's cart hastily emptied of groceries,
dragged to Wolverton, and filled with the unfortunate
holders of return tickets to town, constituted a dreary
antithesis to the cortege which so lately brought Royalty
to Stowe. An elaborately circuitous road conducted the
impatient visitors to the park front, before which, in the
vast amphitheatre formed by its side colonnades, so often
the scene of rural festivities, the enemy encamped. One
might imagine that a great county picnic liad suddenly
gathered at Stowe. Even stalls were there. From the
branch of a noble beech hung a huge pair of scales on
which venison was weighed. An advertisement posted on
the front door particularized the very moderate prices at
which a buck, a half, or a quarter might be obtained. In
the distance were fallen trees, timber waggons, and ex-
tempore sawpits. The extensive edifice was a human
hive. _ _

The house was well set out for the distinguished visi-
tors. Neither Louis XVIII., nor the Duke of Orleans,
nor Queen Victoria, nor any of the great ones of the
earth, whose visits are recorded with pillars and with
trees planted by their own hands, saw Stowe so nobly
arrayed as the British public have seen it this week. The
bride.was dressed for the altar, the victim for the sacri-
fice. No thrifty coverings, no ghostly brown holland, no
neat patterned chintzes were there. King Mob had it all
of the best,—the richest damask furniture and the newest
state hangings ; only, as that personage rode literally
roughshod through the palace, and brought with him
cartloads of gravel, there was just an attempt to save the
carpets from excessive trituration. In the state dining-
room were set out 60,000 oz. of gold and silver plate ;
one was involuntarily reminded of the weight, for the
scales were at work there also, and men were weighing
and noting down lot after lot. On a table 20 yards long
and on a dozen sideboards stood forests of vases, cande-
hbra, epergnes, groups, goblets, tankards, and every
other form and variety of plate, from the elaborate de-
signs of Italian artists to the simple elegance of the Old
English school, and the pretentious richness of the last
generation. Among fifty other pieces of historic value,
the gifts of Royal personages and distinguished men,
stood a vase, formed from snuffboxes presented by the
cities and corporations in Ireland in 1779; the mace of
the old corporation of Buckingham, purchased by the
Buckingham Conservatives and presented to the Duke as
an everlasting possession ; and the Chandos Testimonial,
for which the gentry and yeomanry of the county lately
subscribed, we believe, £1,500.

The galleries of family pOrtraits and collections of family
memorials seem to connect all the great men and all the
great achievements of modern Europe with the names of
Chandos, Temple, Cobham, Nugent, and Grenville.
But, beyond the somewhat extensive circle of family
affection, the original portraits of famous men and women
here assembled are of the greatest interest and value.
Here, too, is the victor's portion in the spoil of celebrated
sieges, the memento of historical friendships, and the
favourite gem of Royalty or beauty. In the Manuscript-
room is the most extensive and valuable collection of Irish
documents anywhere to he found. For the pictures,
marbles, bronzes, antiques, articles of vertu, curiosities,
china, glass, and wines, we leave them to the auctioneer,
and his catalogue of 5,000 items.
And everything is to be sold. The frtal ticket is every-
where seen. The portrait of Charles Brandon, Duke of
Suffolk, the first founder of the family, by Holbein, is
now lot 51, in the 21st day's sale. That every other an-
cestor should go the hammer, whether by Van Dyk, or
Lely, or Kneller, or Gainsborough, or Reynolds, follows
of course. But there is one item of which no preparation
can remove the shock. The Chandos family is descended
from Francis Brandon, eldest daughter of the above
Charles Brandon, by Mary, daughter of Henry VII., and
Queen Dowager of France. Some time since certain
savages or dillettanti at Bury exhumed that Mary Bran-
don from her grave and took from her head a lock of
silken hair, which thus constitutes a visible link between
the present Duke of Buckingham and the throne of these
realms, to ;which he has a reversionary interest. That
lock of silken hair, in its glass case, is now to be sold to
the highest bidder. Can we say more to show the extent
of the devastation ? After this it is idle to mention that
the Temple of Friendship is rifled of its illustrious
tenants, and they are all to be sold. We repeat that
everything goes. In two month's time there will not
remain in that vast house one pewter spoon, one cracked
cup, or spoutless tea-pot, to give a last vestige of hospi-
tality to the last vestige of the ducal interest in Bucking-
hamshire.

The Morning Post states the general circumstances
that have led to the sale :—" The bona fide debts of the
duke are variously estimated, but I believe about one mil-
lion and a half sterling is within the mark, and may be
considered approximating to the true amount: The cre-
ditors for this enormous sum are, as I understand, with
scarcely an exception, amply secured on mortgages, which
extending over every acre of land on the family estate,
(with the single exception of the Chandos property,)
amounting to about £17,000 per annum, as well as on the
mansion of Stowe itself." The Post represents the Mar-
quis of Chandos, a young man of five-and-twenty, as urg-
ing his father to the most ample sacrifice of the entailed
property, the most direct courses, and the most manly
openness. During the past week Stowe was thronged
with visitors of every degree, from the ducal carriage-
rider to the suburban butcher in his taxed cart. On Mon-
day rough measures were required to exclude several per-
sons who had got in without authority. The articles sold
on the first days have been principally china ware and
objects of vertu. From the terms of the advertise-
ment, it appears that the sale is expected to last, at least,
till after the 25th of September. The Spectator says:—
" Our contemporaries do not deal with the cause to which
the disaster is popularly assigned, an inordinate greed af-
ter land, inherited by the present duke from his father, a
desire to grasp at every purchaseable acre, in order to ac-
quire for the ducal demesnes a princely extent of terri-
tory. According to report, it is not through munificence,
but through a species of covetous grasping, that the
princely dignity of Stowe s
i banded overto the bailiff,
i
and its ' rural felicity' ends n the squalidest of town mi-
series, a sale by auction."

Mr. George Cornwall Legh, M.P., has accepted an in
vitation to a public dinner at Macclesfield, on the 13th
September.
On Tuesday, a surgeon, at Whitehaven, named Dick,
was drowned whilst bathing.
The Wesleyan Methodists have decreased nearly 3,000
in number during their last year.
Considerable quantities of butter have lately been im-
ported into London, from Havre, and other French ports,
It isstated that there are 14,328 deaf and dumb persons
in Great Britain.
The Annuity Tax martyrs in Scotland are recovering
their liberty by the aid of a subscription. If you want
sympathy, break the law !
At Appleby assizes, the Rev. W. R. Robinson, aged
, son of the late Rev. Dr. Robinson, of Clifton, was
gegenced to fourteen years' transportation, for forgery.
t. Ting PROTECTOR UMBRELLA.—The novelty of this in
vention is, that by unscrewing theme dle the umbrella is
fastened so as to prevent its being by any person but
the owner.

Otneral gt tsrellann,

The Lancaster Guardian says that Lord John Russell
offered to M. T. Baines, Esq., M.P. for Hull, the Under-
Secretaryship of the Home Department, but the honour
was declined.

Parsnips sown in September, will produce a.n abundant
crop, be fit for use early in June, and of superior quality
to those sown in Spring, and would be found an excellent
substitute for the potato.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated on Monday
night, in the House of Commons, that the Earl of Shel-
burne (son of the Marquis of Lansdowne), having resigned
his appointment as a lord of the Treasury, the government
had determined, in compliance with the recommendation
of the committee on expenditure, that the vacancy should
not be filled up.
KNOWING BETTER THAN THE DOCTOR.—A poor Trish-
man called fur relief at St. Peter's Hospital, Bristol, a
few days ago, and complained of being ill ; when the nurse
offered him some physic, but Pat said he did not want it.
The nurse declared that he did, for the doctor said so.
" Arra, whist," was the reply, " I know better than the
doctor; 'tisn't physic I want at all, but sausages and lay."
Lieutenant Munro was on Tuesday liberated from New-
gate. Before his release an application was made to Mr.
Baron Alderson at chambers for a summons to be directed
to the Governor of Newgate, to show why he refused to
give up the prisoner to certain sheriffs' officers who hela
an execution against him, but the learned judge refused
the application, and the debt was subsequently settled.
THE LATE ANABAPTISM AT WINCHESTER. —The
Guardian states that the Rev. C. J. Proby, Rector of
St. Peter Colebrook, has been suspended from all clerical
functions in the Church of England. It appears that Mr.
Brand, the Baptist minister, who rebaptised him, is an
old and intimate friend of Mr. Proby both in India and
at home.

SUMMARY PUNISHMENT.—An effectual means for pre-
venting depredations has been adopted in ore of the Lon-
don parks. Any person who plucks a tree (I) or a flower
is made to draw the roller for a certain time, or to give
his name and appear before the magistrate. The former
is generally preferred ; but as it subjects the individual to
the laughter of all the lookers-oil, it is not liked.
An application to the postmaster-general has been nu-
merously signed at Peterborough, requesting the trans.
mission of letters from Hull, Wakefield, Manchester,
Yarmouth, and other places (chiefly in the north) may be
so arranged that they be not first taken to London! which
makes it a two days' post, and causes much loss and in.
convenience.

DECAPITATION.—On Saturday last a melancholy and
fatal accident occurred at the steam saw-mill, Nairn. It
appears that the workmen were engaged in the immediate
vicinity of the saw, when one of them stooped down, for
the purpose, it is thought, of adjusting the log; but in
doing so his shoulders came in contact with the saw, which
instantly decapitated him—completely severing his head
from his body.—Elgin Courier.
A single woman, named Ann Wright, of Birch-row,
Radford, aged 29, a silk-winder, has committed suicide
under the following circumstances :—She fancied a Wes-
leyan minister preaching in Nottingham had fallen in love
with her, though he had never spoken to her. On being,
after considerable reasoning, convinced by her friends that
there was no foundation for such an idea, she retired to
her bedroom and cut her throat with her fathor's razor.
During a heavy storm of thunder and lightning, last
week, the dwelling-house of Mr. Sidford of Bishopstone,
was struck by the electric fluid, which forced two of the
grates out of their places, passed round one of the rooms,
melting the bell-wires, and proceeded up the chimney,
in which it exploded, wholly demolishing that portion of
the building. At Fovant, so heavy was the roin, that the
water was three feet deep in the road.
On Friday a young man, named William Waldron, died
at Kensington, London, under the effects of cholera.
Mr. Wakley (coroner) said that the case was one of de-
cided cholera, and considering the dampness of the pre-
sent season, it would be advisable for persons to take a
great deal of spice,—for instance, a good deal of cayenne
pepper. He did not believe that cholera was contagious,
and he considered that if the stomach be well supplied
with wholesome food, it will not be susceptible to cholera.
SIR TATTON SYKES.—At Guildford assizes, on Satur-
day, this celebrated race-horse was the subject of an ac-
tion. The plaintiff was Mr. Kennedy, a gentleman of
fortune, and the defendant was Mr. Clark, a gentleman
who had .been long acquainted with the turf. In 1847,
the plaintiff purchased the horse for £1,350, and in-June,
in this year, the parties to the action met, and had some
talk about it, from which the defendant imagined that he
had bought the horse. He removed him from the plain-
tiff's stables, and entered him as his own horse at Hamp-
ton races. The plaintiff tried to get the horse back, but
failing in that, brought the present action for damages.
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff—damages £B5O.
CAUTION.—A CLERICAL IMPOSTOR.—The Glasgow
Examiner, of Saturday, gives details of the mode in
which " a grave-looking man, who describes himself as a
preacher from Jamaica," has been duping the citizens of
Glasgow. "He appeared to have African blood in his
veins, was somewhere about forty years of age, and wore
a hat of the most approved Episcopalian form, and pre-
sented all the outward appearance of a minister of the
Gospel." He introduced himself to several gentlemen in
Glasgow, and other introductions followed. He preached,
prayed, and collected money, pretending it was for a
school in Jamaica ; but it appears that the cash which he
obtained by day he spent amongst the most disreputable
characters in the evening, for which purpose he disguised
himself by putting on different attire.
DREADFUL COLLIERY EXPLOSION.—FOURTEEN LIVES
LOST.—On Tuesday morning last, a lamentable explosion
took place at Murton colliery, about nine miles from
Durham. The catastrophe occurred soon after noon, in
the " Polka" pit, and is ascribed to what is called a
" blower," or accumulation of foul air, which had been
ignited by some of the candles used by the workmen.
After the report of the explosion was heard upwards of
sixty men and boys who had been working in the same
district of the pit in which it took place, but further from
the mouth of the shaft, collected together, and endea-
voured to reach the mouth of the pit. They finally effec-
ted their escape. The explosion was of a violent nature.
The body of a boy named Haddock, who was employed
close to a man named Noble, (also killed,) was found 40
or 50 yards from the body of the latter. In all fourteen
lost their lives, four only by the explosion, and ten by the
effects of the after-damp. Three horses were also killed.
The pit appeared to be perfectly safe just before, and was
well ventilated. The depth of the part where the explo-
sion took place is 220 fathoms. The pit was but slightly
damaged.

THREE CUM:44EI4 ,Al' A RIRTH.—A, poor woman,
named Hapsom, 'e Ott In g at 50, Little George-street,
Hampstead-road, I.6ndon, has been delivered of three
children all are going en as well as can be expected.
A SMART REPROOF FOR A JURY.—During the Dur-
ham Assizes, a charge was preferred against a prisoner for
having assaulted a policeman at Win laton, with intent to
do him grievous bodily harm. The jury returned a ver-
dict of guilty of a common assault. Mr. Justice Cress-
well, in sentencing the prisoner, said, " He had no doubt
the jury had returned such a verdict as they were bound
to return, in the exercise of such talents as God had
blessed them with !"

LIGHTING THE NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.-011
Thursday night experiments for the purpose of testing a
new system of gas burners, with which it is proposed to
light the interior of the new houses of Parliament, were
made in Trafalgar-square. A brancit, containing eight
burners, for consuming common gas, was introduced into
the refleztor at the south east corner of the square, and
which threw a most brilliant light, by which small print
could be read at forty paces.
BUTTER WELL PRESERVED.—Last week, while some
men were digging in a mossy ground on the farm of
Achilty, belonging to Mr. Ross of Kinnahaird, they dis-
covered, about three feet under ground, a cask, one-half
of which was quite sound, and found to contain a quantity
of butter. Some parties conjecture that it was hidden
during the rebellion of 1745, by some cautious person,
alarmed at the depredations then committed by the scat-
tered forces.—lnverness Courier.

AN OPEN GAOL.—A spectacle of rare occurrence in
these dangerous times was presented to tLe inhabitants of
Tretford on Saturday. The keeper of the Borough Gaol
suspended a white flag from the topmost window of the
prison-house, and, throwing open all the doors, afforded
an opportunity to those whose feelings might be too ten-
der to view the victims of vice and crime in the solitary
cell, to inspect the interior of the place without an inha-
bitant.

ENGLISH AND IRISH REAPERS.—In some parts of the
country a feeling of jealousy amounting to violence has
sprung up between these parties, and the Irish have been
driven away. At Hatfield, an Englishman, named Ed-
ward Swain, was ferociously killed by one of a party of
Irish, whilst sitting in a public-house with a number of
companions, but taking no part in a disturbance between
the native and strange reapers. At Doncaster the disputes
prevailed for a week.
EXTRAORDINARY CASE.—A few weeks ago, when the
4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards were stationed at Not-
tingham Barracks, two of the privates quarrelled, and one
bit the other in the finger. The wound festered, and at
length the man's whole body became affected, the bones,
denuded of flesh, protruding through the skin. The suf-
ferer lingered until Monday, when he was relieved by
death. The case has excited great interest in a medical
point of view.
The Government have very wisely determined to take
early precautions to prevent the cholera from spreading to
our shores, in the event of any case occurring in ships
afloat. They have ordered the Benbow and Dvonshire,
old line-of battle-ships, to be immediately prepared as
hospital-ships, to receive Cholera patients from merchant-
vessels ; and another ship, the Iphigenia, is also to be
fitted as a cholera hospital-ship, should necessity require
additional accommodation.

MELANCHOLY OCCURRENCE.—Thomas Hall, a youth
of nineteen, is in custody at Nottingham, charged with
having wounded, with intent to murder, his sweetheart,
Francis Green, by whom he had had a child, by discharg-
ing a pistol at her. The statement of the prisoner is, that
he purchased the pistol from a man in the street, and, not
knowing that it was loaded, cocked and snapped it at the
young woman, when it exploded, wounding her in the
neck. The unfortunate young woman now lies in the
hospital in a very dangerous state, the ball not having at
present been extracted.
EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPE.—A few days since, a la-
bourer fell down a shaft of the tunnel at Retford, 130 feet
deep. Of course those who saw the accident naturally
concluded that the unfortunate man must have been
dashed to pieces, but, singular as it may seem, he fell into
the sump hole, in which was about six feet of water, and
did himself but little harm ! When he fell he was sense-
less, but was at once rescued from a " watery grave," by
two men, who were on the spot at the time. Since then,
the man has resumed his wonted employment, and seems
none the worse for his perilous descent.
A DINNER IN THE THAMES.—A young man named
Coombs, having provided himself with some patent ap-
paratus, on Friday. undertook to light a fire and cook and
eat a dinner in the Thames, the possibility of which
seemed a matter of doubt to many spectators. Having
moored a kind of floating teatray out in deep water, near
the Chain-pier, Chelsea, he plunged into the stream, pro-
ceeded to light his fire and cook his dinner, which he not
only accomplished with great ease, but also ate it with
great gusto. to the astonishment of upwards of 3,000
persons. More than an hour had elapsed ere he had pre-
pared and taken his coffee, after which he floated to the
surface, amidst the plaudits of all assembled.
DIVORCE.—The divorce bill of Miss Field, or rather
Mrs. Brown, has been thrown out of the House of Lords.
Miss Field, who by the death of her father was possessed
of about £40,000 in money, and an income of £1,200 per
annum, and who will be mistress of twice as much at the
death f her brother, was, with the latter, under the care
of a Mr. Brown, she being seventeen years old and he
fifty-two. He persuaded her, by threats and otherwise,
to marry him, and he published false banns, for which of-
fence he is now undergoing imprisonment. The result of
the Lords' decision is, that the girl w;11 be handed over
to her husband the moment his term of imprisonment
expires, and he will become master of her and her pro-
perty.
EXECUTION.—At Chelmsford, on Monday, Mary May,
who was convicted at the last Essex Assizes of the murder
of her brother at Wix, by poisoning him with arsenic, for
the purpose of obtaining the allowance from a burial club
at Harwich, in which she had entered his name without
his knowledge, was executed in front of the county gaol.
After her condemnation the miserable woman, who was
38 years of age, formed the design of starving herself to
death, and for a time obstinately refused to take any food,
but hunger at length subdued her, and since then she has
taken her meals regularly, and slept soundly, sullenly
denying her guilt, and treating her fate as a matter of
indifference. Strong suspicion was excited that the un-
happy woman poisoned several of her children.
AN ARTFUL ROBBERY.—On Saturday evening, about
eleven o'clock, a very artful robbery was committed in
the shop of Mr. David Habbershaw, grocer, Waterhouse-
lane. It appears that while Mr. and Mrs. Habbershaw
were in the shop attending to some of their customers, a
man rushed in crying out for protection, pursued by four
men, all of whom followed him into the shop and pre-
tended that they were quarelling with him. They all ap-
peared extremely violent, swearing that they would have
the man out of the shop. A scuffle ensued, and Mr. and
Mrs. Habbershaw interfered in behalf of the man who
was assailed. Ultimately, however, they all went into
the street, and, in a short time afterwards, Mrs. Habber-
shaw, to her extreme astonishment, found that her pocket
had been picked of her purse containing £3 and two half
sovereigus.—Hull Packet.
ONE OF THE GOVERNESS ADVERTISING GANG.—At
Marlborough-street on Wednesday, John Smith, as he
calls himself, but whose real name is Whiting, son of a
deceased auctioneer of Bury St. Edmunds, was brought
up, charged with felony, and with having for a length of
time gone about representing himself to be Lord Alfred
Hervey, M. P. for Brighton. From communications
made to the magistrate, it appeared that the prisoner for
about three years has been carrying on a system of fraud
and immorality to an incredible extent. At one time he
was riding about town in a carriage with •footmen and
coachmen, assuming the names of more than one noble-
man. A lady mentioned to Mr. Hardwicke that the pri-
soner had passed himself off to her as Lord George Ben-
tinck, and that she believed his representations from see-
ing his stylish carriage and servants. One part of the
prisoner's system appears to have been to reply to adver-
tisements for governess's situations ; and numerous ap-
pointments with young females were found in his posses-
sion. The prisoner was fully committed on two charges
of felony.
A COMICAL FOREMAN.—At Radnor Assizes, in the
trial of Thomas Watkins, charged with stealing a pair of
hames, the property of Edward Bird. Mr. Allen replied
to the defence, by contending that if the prosecutor was
to be believed, he had never lent the harness to Powell,
and therefore the prisoner could not have borrowed them.
The foreman of the jury here arose and said, " It is im-
possible that he could have ploughed without them."—
Mr. Allen resumed, but it was evident that his observa-
tions were not attended to by the jury, for they were al-
ready busily engaged in consultation. In the midst of
the learned gentleman's address, the foreman again in-
terrupted him by saying, " There ! we have had enough
o'that ! we shanna find him guilty !" For a moment the
learned gentleman looked confounded—he, however, took
the hint, and in a few words concluded. His lordship
then summed up the evidence, and the jury, without a
moment's hesitation said, " We find a verdict that the
prisoner borrowed 'em."—The judge : Is the prisoner
guilty or not guilty ?—The foreman : Not guilty, my
lord. After the lapse of a few minutes, he again ad-
dressed the court by saying, Have you done with us, my
lord ?—The judge : Yes, the jury are discharged, and the
county thank them for their services.—The foreman : Oh !
but I beg your pardon, your honour, a'nt there no pay ?
(Laughter.)—His lordship did not reply.—The foreman
(with indignation) : By God, it's a shabby consarn I'll
be d—d if I ever come here again.—The court then
rose, amid much laughter, the business being concluded.
PAYNE'S TIMBER-PRESERVING PROCESS.—A second
most successful experiment, to test the uninflammability
of wood prepared by Payne's process, took place a few
days since, at Westminster, in the presence of the Lord
Mayor ; the Speaker of the House of Commons ; Lord
Dudley Stuart, M.P. ; Lord Ebrington, M.P. ; and many
scientific gentlemen. The experiment consisted in expo-
sing to the agency of flame two wooden cottages of similar
dimensions, the one Paynized, the other unprepared.
In the interior of each, and simultaneously, about 7 or
8 lbs. of dry shavings were ignited. The Paynized struc-
ture resisted this severe ordeal three several times, being
merely charred at the termination of the trial. That un-
prepared was consumed to the water's edge by the first
charge, during the time these ineffectual attempts were
being made to destroy the other. The mode here presen-
ted of preserving life and property from fire, is worthy of
consideration. The cities of Liverpool, Manchester, and
other great centres of population, are much interested in
the subject. Apart from the accidents to which property
is always subjected from fire, we observe that in various
parts of the world, especially in the West Indian planta-
tions, where the towns and factories often consist entirely
of wood, incendiaries have lately succeeded in the wilful
destruction of valuable property. An additional reason
may therefore be urged in favour of a careful investigation
of the matter by the authorities, by the Fire Insurance
Companies, and by the public. The qualities of Paynized
timber to resist the destructive agencies of the dry rot,
of the white ant, and even of the augur worm, and its
applicability to the general purposes of railway construe-
. ton, are already well known.

At the Carlisle Assizes, on Thursday, J. Murray, aged
26, was found guilty of bigamy, having married Martha
Sanderson, his first wife, whom he had married only three
years previously, being still alive. The case was remark-
able as showing the facilities afforded by the Scotch law,
for what is commonly called Scotch marriages, for decep-
tion. The first marriage was celebrated by the landlord
of a public-house, the second by a toll-keeper. The ce-
remony consisting only in their declaring themselves to be
man and wife in the presence of a third party. The pri-
soner was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment and
hard labour.

Loss OF THREE LIVES.—On Monday, the Isleworth
regatta was held on the Thames. At a ball at ate Water-
men's Arms were three young men, named Edward Bol-
ton, aged 22, William Smith, 19, William Pendry, 25, and
four others named Mancey, Wicker, Baylis, and Bolton, a
younger brother of the beforementioned Edward Bolton.
Between four and five o'clock these young men decided
upon having a row up the river before going to work, and
for that purpose unloos d a skiff that was made fast to a
barge moored off Ashby's cement works. They had pro-
ceeded up the river and neared the railway bridge, when
William Smith stood up in the boat, and the others com-
menced rocking the boat. This caused her to ship a
quantity of water; she swayed on one side, and instantly
turned bottom upwards, immersing the whole party in 15
feet of water, it then being the top of the tide. All the
men could swim except Pendry and Wicker, who had a
wooden leg, and Smith was a noted swimmer. Several
boats with drags were soon on the spot. In the mean time
Mancey, who had got to shore safe, seeing that Wisker,
the one-legged man, must sink if not assisted, nobly swam
out and brought him to shore, as he also did the younger
Bolton. The three first mentioned young men were un-
fortunately drowned.

PALSY'S NATURAL THEOLOGY.—A startling article,
under the signature of " Verax," appears in the current
number of the Athenceum, charging Dr. Paley as a pla-
giarist, and that his celebrated treatise on " Natural
Theology," is nothing more than a copy of the writings of
a Dutchman, who flourished about one hundred years
before our author. " Verax" says, and we think truly,
•' that there is not probably one out of a thousand of Dr.
Paley's readers who does not believe the treatise on Na-
ture Theology' to have been entirely suggested by, and
carved out of the natural sources of Dr. Paley's mind—
that he had collected all the materials, and arranged them
according to his own ideas of method, and that he was in
the fullest sense of the words an original thinker and
illustrator of this department of human knowledge." In
support of the charge several parallel extracts from both
works are given. To show further the connexion between
" Chamberlayne's Christian Philosopher" and " Paley's
Natural Theology" the plan of both publications is given
in parallel columns. They are almost complete in their
identity, and prove how closely Paley has followed the
Dutch philosopher. There can be no doubt that the as-
persions here cast upon the doctor's reputation will rause
much literary excitement.

EXTRAORDINARY CREDULITY.—A few weeks ago, a
gang of gypsies took up their abode on Osmotherley
Common (North Riding of Yorkshire) ; and George Leng,
a man near seventy-eight years of age, who resides on a
small farm belonging to R. Haynes, Esq., and which is
situated just in the locality where those insidious gentry
bad " pitched their tents," has had the misfortune to be-
come the dupe of their base stratagems. It appears that
a female belonging to this party, taking advantage of the
old man's credulity, persuaded him that a " pot of gold,"
containing £7OOO, was hid in one of his fields ; and in
order that he might become the possessor of this valuable
treasure, it was requisite for him to advance £4O. Elated
with joy at the idea of becoming a "gentleman" in his
declining days, the old man used every effort to get this
amount collected together. Not being able to raise more
than £l7 10s. he began to despair of success; but the
female, ever anxious to promote the welfare of her fetiow-
creatures, and taking into consideration the poverty of the
old man, finally agreed that by having the money delivered
up to her, she would carry out the process. Atter the
agreement to these arrangements, it was proposed that the
gypsy female and her dupe should meet in the field at an
hour when the rest of mankind had retired to rest, and
then the old man should take possession of his hidden
treasure. Punctual to the appointed time, the old man
took his spade and pickaxe, and repaired to the field ; but
as for his gypsy " friend," her harvest was finished. Like
those " stray birds" which visit us in the pleasant months
of summer, and then take their departure for a more
genial clime, she bad taken her flight with the wings of
the morning, leaving the old man to declare his loss, and
to mourn over his folly.
A LONDON SEWER.—A general meeting of her ma-
jesty's justices and commissioners of sewers was held on
Thursday, Lord Morpeth in the chair, when the follow-
ing startling fact came out. The clerk read the report of
the surveyor on an examination of the sewers in the Kent
and Surrey district. It said :—" When we had proceeded
to the men-hole, about 40 feet from the side entrance,
opposite No. 12, Friar-street, Blackfriar's-road, the safety
lamp we were provided with went out; the air was so foul
as to be incapable of supporting combustion. We were
deterred from again lighting it, as, had we made the at-
tempt, an explosion must inevitably have occurred. At
this point, myself, the superintendent of the flushers, and
the man who accompanied us, were seized with a tainting
sensation ; the superintendent became alarmed, attempted
to rush back, and tell fainting into the water, at this place
upwards of two feet in depth. It was some minutes
before we recovered him, as we were in total darkness,
and ourselves affected by the foul gas. All the silver and
copper money, our watches, and almost every article of
metal that we had about us, were coated with a peculiar
dark livid tint. The Friar-street sewer is of modern
construction ; it was lniilt by order of the late commis-
sioners, in the latter part of last year." Mr. Chadwick
said this was an example of cases of a frequent kind, met
with where the sewers emitted the fculest odours. This
sewer was only built last year, by the late commissioners.
which the present commissioners had no power or means
to remedy, unless their new bill before parliament were
passed into a law. Several commissioners expressed their
astonishment that a sewer should have been so recently
and imperfectly constructed, and-urged that every means
should be used to get their new bill passed in the present
session of parliament.
MAGISTERIAL INJUSTICE.—A case was tried at Devizes
on Saturday, remarkable for the relative positions occu-
pied by the prosecutor and prisoner. Mary-Anne New-
man, the prisoner, a woman of unimpeachable character,
even upon the admission of the prosecutor, Mr. Williams
of Braydon, lived in his service as cook. She was indicted,
together with Jane Goddard, the one for stealing and the
other for receiving property stolen from Mr. Williams.
The facts were these :—Goddard came to the presecutor's
house, and asked him to buy some corks she had in her
basket, or to give her something to eat, by way of alms.
He would, however, do neither, and ordered her off the
premises. He went into an outhouse to watch her, while
Mary Anne Newman, the cook, being unaware of what
had passed between Goddard and her master, entered into
conversation with the woman Goddard. Goddard said
she had seven children, and had no victuals to give them.
The cook's heart was touched by the pitiful story, and
she gave the unfortunate woman some broken victuals,
the exact amount of which we are enabled to state with
the utmost precision. They consisted of three pieces of
rough bread and four slices of rusty bacon. Goddard then
went away, but, as she was passing out, Mr. Williams
emerged from his place of concealment, and questioned
her as to the way in which she became possessed of the
broken victuals he saw in her apron. She admitted that
she had received them from his servant. Mary Anne
Newman, on the other hand, acknowledged at once that
she had given the scraps of food, but said she had done
so out of charity. Mr. Williams then gave both her and
Goddard into custody, and a magistrate—the Rev. J.
Hawkins—was found, who, upon this. evidence, actually
committed the poor girl for trial. We need scarcely say
that the jury at Devizes brought in a verdict of not guilty.
Mr. Justice Coleridge, the presiding judge, heartily con-
curring in the propriety of the verdict, and animadverting
in severe terms upon the conduct of those who had placed
the innocent girl in a position which would be synonymous
with disgrace, were it not sometimes occupied by persons
as guiltless as herself. Meanwhile, the poor girl spent
some two or three months in gaol, while the master who
prosecuted her, and the magistrate who committed her,
were at large.—Times.
A FASHIONABLE SWINDLER AT SUNDERLAND.—An
affair has lately transpired at Sunderland which has cre-
ated much gossip. The history of the matter is shortly
this :—A young lady, daughter of a respectable Sunder-
land tradesman—goes to Scarborough some few months
ago, for the season. It becomes believed at Scarborough
whether through the lady's own report, or that of hthers,
it does not clearly appear—that she is an heiress ! Forth-
with sundry speculative gents commence dangling after
the now beautiful and wealthy lady—rich ladies are always
beautiful—amongst the rest, a suitor clothed in " purple
and fine linen," who dubbed himself an Indian officer, and
the son of a nobleman ! This gallant gentleman, or
rather young nobleman, carried the lady by storm : he
was ravished by her beauty and accomplishments, and
could not wait another day till she became " his own !"
A clergyman (so called) appears, under a special license
(which he carried no doubt in his pocket, as it was never
seen), and the delighted pair were, supposedly to the
lady, bound in the silken bonds of matrimony. The mar-
riage is sent, with all pomp and circumstance, to the Sun-
derland and other neighbouring papers, and the happy
pair, after a short tour, do themselves the pleasure, and
others the happiness, of paying a visit to the relatives and
friends of the lady at Sunderland. A course of feasting is
gone through by all those connected with the family, who
uad become honoured by their new relative, and professed
cooks are sought at any cost to prepare all the delicacies
of the season. The affectionate father presents the lady
with a gold watch, as a bridal gift, value £4O, which the
happy husband is much delighted with, and resolves to
send it off to his own engraver, to have a suitable inscrip-
tion placed upon it ! Apartments are taken at the leading
hotel, and the ever-bustling host has to rack his invention
for viands, costly and rare, on which to feed this-heavenly
pair. Well, at length, mine host's bill is to pay, and
cheque for £34 odd, uponia first-rate firm, asarray agents,.
in London, is tendered. Mine host, a notoriously shrewd.
wight, is " much obliged," but would like-" Bank of Eng-
land " better. At length, the too happy father would cask.
the cheque, and all are smiles and happiness again.
pair now now must depart : they are going where duty Mlls
the officer," and a reluctant consent of the too 1100'
friends is at length given for their departure. They VP":
but where ? oh ! where ? They have not since been beam
of ; but we regret to add, the cheque has ! The father
placed it in his banker's care, suspecting nothing ;. ttiel
pass it to London, and—it returns with two striking
words written across it, which, on being deciphered by the
ready clerks, were found to be, "No Effects." The de-
nouement stands thus:: the officer has got his heiress a 91.1,
companion, minus her wealth, which is not yet ready'
the lady is done out of everything—the mock parson fowl
a confederate of the scamp, and the watch not having T!
the
returned from the engraver—the friends have' lost wear
titled relative, who is a swindler—and " mine uncle,
luckiest fetiow, has got the watch 1.--Dior, Chronicles.