, 1876-07-08

~ oS w SAS - AN IA RASSNAO NS
recently purchased the portrait of the
Duchess of Devonshire, by Gainsbo-
rough, for 910,6O5, the highest price ever
paid at auction for a portrait, and exhibit
ted it at No. SOB Old Bond Street.
On the morning Of Friday week the pic
ture was found to have disappeared, hsv-
ing been cut out of the frame, and it 10
supposed that some thief had hid himself
in the room, cut out the picture in a very
workmanlike manner, and passed it out OF
the window to confederate in the street,
escaping himself afterwards by a back
door. Messrs. Agnew have offered
$1,000 reward for the discovery of the
thief, but as yet no clue has been obtained
by the police. 1t is difficult to imagine
that a burglar with capacity enough to
attempt such a feat would steal so utterly
unstable ar article as a picture known
to every dealer in Europe while q person
al enemy Of Messrs. Agnew would have
adopted the safer course of cutting the
canvas to ribbons, and carrying away only
a part. The presumption, therefore, is
that the thief is a foreigner, who intends,
from some safe retreat, to extort black-mail
for the return of the precious canvas.
Should this prove to be the case, the
great picture-Owners of England should
compensate Messrs. Agnew for an UNI
qualified resistance, as if they yield, even
to the extent of paying the reward before
the thief is surrendered, no picture in the
country will be safe. Plate is locked up,
but the pictures in country-houses have
hitherto been considered as safe as the
book-cases or carpets.
Another scandal about City editors has
transpired this week, it being alleged, in
the case Of the Lisbon Tramways Compa-
ny, that the promoters paid sums of money
dire"-.y to City writers for notices of their
project in the daily papers. None OF the
persons accused are now in the employ OF
the journals mentioned, and we, therefore,
give no names but there has been o great
deal too much of this sort of thing for the
credit of the London Preas. The owners
Of the daily journals can have no interest
in the corruption of their City correspon-
dents, but they ought to take much more
stringent precautions than they do. II
they cannot find honest men, which we
should have thought quite possible, they
can at least make contracts, under which
they could sue any servant of theirs who
took a bribe, for sums that would make
bribe-taking a very risky business. A
little more liberality, too, would, in many
instances, BIZ advisable. II is perfectly
sickening to near Of the suffering endured
by innocent people because they have
trusted representations on business matters
made in journals which, on the political
side, earn and deserve o character for in-
flexible independence.
The extraordinary case Of " The Crown
y William Vance and Ellen Snee" ter
minated at the Central Criminal Court on
Thursday, Mrs. Snee, it will be remem-
bered, advertised for help in chemical ex-
periments, intending to obtain from some
doctor a supply of drugs with which she
could, undiscovered, destroy life. William
Vance, o medical student, answered her
advertisement, and on payment of about
$50 and promise of 47O sent her most
violent poisoBs, especially prusaic acid and
q preparation of choral, and elaborate in
Btructions as to their use. In the CORES
pondence between them, Mrs. Snee, under
the name of " William QuarlI," asked for
the means of committing suicide without
detection, and Vance replied on that as
sumption. There was no proof, how
ever, that either of them meant muir.