The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-01-03 00:00:00

GRAND HOAX.

Leaps, JAN. I.—There is at present in this town a
jocose spark, of hoaxing notoriety, who is playing his
pranks upon the inhabitants, on all extensive scale, and
commenced them oat Wednesday. last lay the following
asitachievoua deceit : in the eyetootht of that day, accord-
cording to orders received in a note, anal to the great
astonishment of a family, living nearly in the centre of
this town, a respectable trado iake node his appear-
ance at their door, and si:f sillies!, with a tone of condo-
lence, that he hail called to inquire at what time the Ml-
lowing morning the /I,..reac &tali moo, in:r hick
were ordered to attend hir fitimral at 11..;:a.lingley. were
to drive to the door. The atitateitieut of the family ota
receiving this extraordinary account of the thati's busi-
ness may he colieetved ; asi I :hat of the ividertaker
was fa:ar.:ely inferior at the singular' reception with
which he however, after some tithe silent ill
explanations,
explanation., he retireal.—Scarrely hail he left the door
when atiotter undertaker, eavially respeetolde, was an-
nounced, whose htisiness he explaitied to he, to measure
a young lady for her coffin. There was something
shocking in this, lint the piling' laity Aerie(/' assured
him that she had as yet no occasion for his services, aid
he also, aftm. the proper explanations, withdrew. The
reetting passed in conjectures, lint it was folly expected
that the hoax wls concluded: however, nest morning
a lady's sion- ~,,, !‘s r appeared, wills a bundle of dress
shoes under his arm, whirls he had been oglered to
bring for the choice of a bride and her utaitill, ttrhieh
the family, he understerel, *as that day to furnish. He
had scarcely stomached his disappointment, when ano-
ther" ambassador of raorneeo" rapped at the door, and
was in a like manlier repulsed. Alamo ten o'clock two
postodtaises, itarsispine grey horses, ands postil-
lions. attired in their hest liveries, atol with white
faramrs in their hats, drove up to the door, and for some
time waited the appearance of the es/./►•N /Hair, whom
they were to COM cy tat church, and afterwards into
the country. The Yount; lady *being no more ready for
the altar, than fur the others of the undertaker, the
diseencerted post-leivs anent hark to theif master, and
having asgrily told the story, stablest their horses. About
• 1-lay, a rmt/i.rtiourr sent to inquire what kind of
fruit the family would like for their erellimf eels rhsin-
ment, of particuars were nut specified in the note which
he had received. 11 hat fielders in sweetmeats are
making the bride-cake anal the fuoteral-biscuits, we
have an,: yet le.ar%cal. A haberdasher halloo etiolate eon-
feetioner : the tailor anti hatter afterwards api.ea real, and
thee Were SarePeileal by various ulhcr trades people.
In the evening, the I umpatty begao to drop an : bare
anus bad braved the rigor: of the trust, anal loofa rather
more sprightly titan those of the hostess seemed to anti-
cipate the pleasure sal a dame. This was infinite ly mor-
tifying, fair, en so short a notice, it was impossible to
make the necessary provisions tor patty, especialle
as not less than twenty or thirty friends it l'lr expected
to folio-w. The eveiong passed over unpleasantly, as
may be supposed, but at length the effects of tier prank
terminated.
According to Kr information, the acrorary of whirls
we have very li e re.nuu to doubt, the author of these,
mischievous andtatti;iplird impostures is a young gen-1
demon. whose jlress would stoop hitn a 114111.1 y, but
who is, we believe, intended tor the letor, ami usually
resides in a populous seaport of the East-kitting, lit
the rage bar hoaxlog. or are afraid Ile has. mat /viol so
far in lilacksione's latioutentaries as the parr which treats
of pdhlie trvmsg4,- and has greativ miseuneriveal the
bearing of what is said about " petatar rights." itt any
rate, it is oar fluty to warn the public against him, and
to cautiott him against a repetition of his pranks, which
will a/cession the publication of Isis name, and other
rather toth.leg%4lalt 11-011aMillearef. lie arty Mal it
amusing to Al himself against the pedalo.: haul it a' mild
he a very awkward :king to have the palladia: set agaiast

I k I 11l sell:

A Correspondcut observes on the following

" New year's tide.
" A cock's stride,—"
that they are evidently of rustic origin, and intended
to express the lengthening of the days in a small, but
perceptive degree. The countryman (it is likely) ob•
served, and mask a mark where the shadow of the Hotel
of his doorposts fell at mom on the winter solstice, when
the sun shone. On new-year's-slay, the sun bring
higher when at the meridian, lie Nods the shadow is
come nearer to the door lev three or tour inches, which,
fur rhyme's sake, he raked " • rock's stride."—This
rhyme came into use before the bty te was altered, when
the 'distance of time was greater, by eleven slays between
the solstice and new-years day,—consetpertetly, the dif-
ference was inure perceptible than it is now.
A circumstance has been mentioned to us strong-
ly indicative of the state of our domestic Woollen
Manufacture, and of the distressed situati )))) of that nu-
merous and valuable class of tradesmen, called clothiers,
who attend, or who forme, ly attended our t loth Halls.
.t stand for the exposure of woollen cloth, in the colour-
ed Cloth Ilan, at which, within the lust twenty years,
would have have sold freely for 119. or I was linocked
down last week at the low prier of forty shillings. and
numbers of these little freeholds have fallen Into the
hands of the trustees for sweepiaxs, which is a term
used to imply—a small animal demand for cleaning and
attending to the hall.—(Lied. Mereitry.)
Benjamin Snrr, the unfortunate ninuirte, the cir-
cumstance of whose discovery in the cellar of his father's
house we detailed last week, third nee 'Thursday last, in
our workhouse. The day before his death, his booty be-
came swollen to a great degree, and there seems no
reason to doubt that the change in the manner of his
treatment, from extreme severity to great 1:101111111•, pro-
dared leis death. The warmth and comfort whirls he
experienced during the week in which he was in the
workhouse, were so diiTerent to the rigorous to wisich
his reinstitution had been habituated, that they produced
the evil they were meant to avert. —(l:eerla Mercury.)
The new battery, in front of the ward entrance
of our Castle, is completed. Four pieces of cannon
are mounted on it, which are to be discharged
through square apertures, similar to the port-boles
of a ship, above which are a great number of loop-
holes for musketry. The whole has a most un-
couth appearance, and, to es, it seems to be not
altogether judiciously planned: one of the cannon
is pointed in a direct dine against the six front
pillars of the portico of the Slare-halls.—(Chester
Chronicle.)
The East India transport, the vessel appointed'
to convey Mr. Parker's party of colonists to South
Africa, which had been under sailing orders at
Deptford from the middle of last week, but was
detained by the state of the wind, dropped down
the river on Wednesday. She is a nearly new
ship, of about 520 tone burden.
The promenades have not been shorn of their
elegance and beauty by tile despotism of the frost,
severe and cutting as it has proved. During the
noontide influence of the solar ray, the cliff. breathe
' a mildness and warmth resembling the tempera-
ture of spring ; and our fashionable visitors peram-
j bulate them with countenances beaming with
health cad joy.—(Brighton Herald.)