The following singular st...
The Times, 1824-06-08T00:00:00

The following singular story appears in the Soutkiarmton Countdy Chronirle:-"1 Extract of a letter from Honfleur.-'A Xcu. uious circumstance occurred to a banker in this town a few nights since. A person who had been in the wine and spirit trade failed for a considerable sum in this banker'st debt. tie received a polite invitation from him, to say that if he would co'me and spendt the evening with him, hie would endeavour to armnga matters so as in time to liquidate thie account. The banker gladly accepted the in. vitation, and, upon his esttering the sitting-room, the ladyr of the house stoodl up andl locked the door; immediately two men ap- peared from an inner room, with crape over their faces, and laid hola of the visiter (nearlY 70 years of age), and put a gag iii his mouth, and with a pistol to each ear, made him sign draughts on his different correspondents in Paris and Rouien to the amount of 800,000 francs ; the first set of bills he signed in a difTerent hand from his usual hand writing ; but onbhanding thedraughtato anaccoRmplice-whostood outside, and whio was well acquainted withi his signature, the hills were handed back, and hie was obliged to sign fresh ones. This de- tained him fiom eight to twelve o'clock, when hie was liberated. One of the men was apprehended next day on board the steam-boat that plies between this town and Havre, and has confessed that the man of thie house had a hole dug in his cellar, ten feet deep, to bury him, as the intentiona was to MUrder him, but for thle servant-maid calling tieveral times to know what kept her master out so late. it is needless to say that the man and his wife absc-onded. After six days' search In all directions, the wife was apprehended, in a wet and dirty state, hidden in a hedge; but the man has hitherto eluded his pursuers, though it is not probable he will finally ecape. The banker sent exprsss next morningz to Paris, &c., to stop pay- men t of any bills of his, that m,ight 'be oifibrad. '"I We have heard with great satisfaction of a letter written by hiis Royal Highness the Commander-in.Clhief to our wortiy, representatie, Sir H. Hardinge, expressing his Royal Highness's entire and unqualified approbation of his highly honourable and gen- tlemanlike conduct, in the recent unjustifiable attempt of Mlr. Bat- te,late a Cornet in the 10th Hussars, to fasten a quarrel on hini. Hisl Royal Highness states, that had Sir H. Hardlinge acted other- wise than as he did, it would have been in directdisobedience of his, express commnands, and woulId have incurred his serious displeaure adding, after perusing the statement confirmed by Colonel Wetern's sgaueit would have lowered the credlit of that profession which his dai'stinguishetd services and gallantry in the field had so eminently upheld, and that by continuing to treat with contempt any intrusion on his attention, hie wiU best consult the credit of the service, and best support a character which is too well established to risk being afFectect by the failutre of any atttempt by Air. Battier, or by any otilier pers.on disposed to advocate his cause, (if, indeed, any such could be found after his own exposure of hiis conduct) to provokt him to abandon a course which it has been his Roya2 Hlighnes's duty to prescribe to him. The letter is dated Horse Guards, 25th Mlay, 1824, and signed "Frederick, Commander-in.Chief."-Dar- kerm County Adverti.rer. An elopemernt has taken place in Paris, whichb is likelv to excite thie attention of the gentlemen of the long r-obe here, iii mnore ways than one. The patties are, a noble lord well known in the gay circles of this metropolis, and the wife of a young baronet.- Evening paper. We utiderstand that the practice of plucking live 5eese, twice a year for the sake of the featlhers, is very prevalent at Broad. clist, and otfier parts of this county. The tortures which thje poor animals are thus occasioned may be conceived frora the fact, thai the extraction of every feather opens as many bleeding pores. To satrip a living goose of its clothing, worth after all not more thian 6d., is a refinement in cruelty which a humane mind revolts at.-P1y. ,,walkh Journal.-( Where is MIr. Mlartin ?) The following account of a murdlerous rencontre, for it deserves no oth'er name is related in an United States paper of thst 25th of Mlarch : the adkir took place on the I8th of that month : "M Aajor Kilerease, of Lawrence county, Tennessee, with two othes gentlemen, was riding apparently out of town, when he was met by Coloacl Lowe, of this -vicinity; they were both armed. Colonel Lowe had his pistol in his hand ; Mlajor Kilerease had his in his holsters. Colonel lowebhad approDached the Major so nearlyvbefore he discovered him, that he had not time to draw his weapon. Te avoid the fire, ll1ajorKilcrease threwv himself from his horse, and at the same instant Colonel Ljowe's pistol was discharged. No injury was asne ; but before Mlajor Kilcrease could retuirn the shot, who when he fell, took withi him ene of his pistols and on foot pursued the Colonel a short distance, Colonel Lowe hiad got into a house, where he reloaded his pistol. Mlajor Kilrease afterwards walked in the direction of the house in which Colonel Lowe then was, with his pistols in his hands. Colonel Lowe sitepped out, and at a distance of about 20 yards they levelled at each other and Mfajor Kilcre2se fecll, having ieceived a shot in hiis forehead. hie lived until the 23d instant, when he breathed his last. We saiake no comments, as the trantsaction will be Investigated by the proper tribunal. It was a horrible spectacle to be acted in the face of a civilized community; we wish never again to witness suchi another. Mlajor Kihcrease, we understand,was an active, enterprising, and respectable man, and has left an amiable wife and several children tobewail his untimely end." A most heart-rending scene presented itself yesterday morn'ing in Thomas's-street,St.Thomas's Hospital. A poor woman, of the name of Galloway, wife of a fellowship-porter, residling in Thames.street, B3ankside, had been to obtain medicine, and re- ttirning homeward, met in the street the mangled and dead body of her child, conveying to the Hospital, a fine boy, two years old. The wretched hiarent had left the child in the care of a neighbour, who had taken it, together with another of the same age, to the wharfs, near the Southwark Gas-works, and was sitting near a wgon just loaded with timber, not yet secured, the children play- ig aout litr, whien one of the pieces of timber fell I The woman saw it in motion, caught at the child nearest her, and drew it from destruction: the other the next minute lay beneath the ponderous mass crushed to death, one of the arms chopped from tne trunk. They were conveyed to St. Thomas's Hospital, where an inquest will be held. The feeliRgs of the poor woman, to whom no parti- cular blame can attach, were agonizing beyond measure. H YPRtoPrsmn1A.-It is again our painiful duty to record the death of a useful memnber of society by the direadtul malady of liydropbobia. This distressing event took place on lMonday lsit at our Dispensary, in the person of Samuel Powndll, of Newbridge lane, who, after a lapse of severn weeks, became afFected with the- symptoms of hydrophobia from the bite of a eat, above the wrist, in his father's house. The necessarymeans were at thietime used; the wound was cauiterized, and drfessngs, applied to keep it open, withi occaisional purgatives to regu]Lce the action of the bowels, In con- sequence of the irritation of the dlressings, a soothiing plan was adopt- ed, and the pain which, extended along the arm subsided. On the Sunday afternoon, a tslight sensation of cold ahiveringwas perceived, which 'increasing with the least drauglht of air, andl a spasmodic affection in the act of swallowring, he was aLdmitted into the Hiouse of Recovery. le was nerfectly aware of his dreadful situation, and resigned himself -(to use his own words) into the hands of the gentlemen of the faculty and to Providence. He did not complain, of any pain; pulse wtas 120, blit weaik; tongue much furred; bowels constipated ; thirst very great; after swallowing, coDn- vuinive sobs with spasmodic contractions. In this state he remained, and wsvr restlessiduring the night. OnlAlenday his svnsptoms increased thrughoutshe day, withocecashonaI paroxysms; was quite sensible, and wondered at his situa~tion. At half prt two the pa. moxysmrs became very frequent snd.outrageous. and he was violently sick, which continued until haif past thiree, when he died. An in- quest was yesterday held upon the bedy before Mir. Hiollins, the coroner, when the following verdict was returned: ---" Tha the de- ecasedl had died of bydTophoWoa in consequence of being bit by a cat." The alarming state of the public mind here, from the numa- her of persons known to hare been bitten by cats, has caused such a general abhorrence of the feline race as to an almost total extinction of themi. Every evening during the last fortnight, scores have been brought in sacks and --baskets, and thrown over the Lancashire bridge into the river AMerey, besides large numbers which have been destroved in other paris of the towls by other means....Slock. port Adveriir.e- EXECUIroN.-Oin Wednesday, John M Creevie was exe-. cuted at Glasgow, pursuant to his sentence for housebreaking and tlieft. He was doomied to suffer along with AM'Teague, who was executed on the 19th ult., but owing to some strong representations of his innocence which he made, a respite of a fortnight wvas applied for, ead procured, in order to give him time to substantiate theso.. lame asseverations which he had constantly continued to make from thepsio ofrecivig sntece.Unfrtuately for Ml'Creevie, and in somedegee or hos whointresed hemelver in his favour, lie competel faled o mke god he sateentswhih hehadprevi- ousl mad, alhoug be tillcontnuedto delr,I h ot po- sitie maner hat e wanot uilt ofthecrm fowhh he was abot t suler Afer is ina dom,was made kniown to him, lie continued in a very weak and agtated state of mind, and could not be brought to converse about his situation with any degree of calmness. At ten minutes after two o'clock, the, ma,stmtes came into the Hall and the unhapply prisoner was immedizately brouglit up, supported by Fsome of lisa friends, and passed slowly along to the foot of the scaffibd2 wliere lia again declared that he was altoge- ther innocent of the crime for which he was about to die. He then zshook hands with one or two of the M1agitrates, and tlianked thesn for thie kindness and attention they had shown him; lie also express- ed hiis gratitude for the humanity witli which he had been treated durig te priodof is onfiemet. 'Creevie was then support- ed o te saffld,whee te Rv. r.Muir offered up a prayer in his el,af~ he aparaus avin ben adjusted, the uinforttinate manwaingaed or fe ehnuts i pryerfor himself, which lhe didin lod ad frvet mnne, feqentl ejaculating, " 0 Lora, receve e! 0Chrst,he tat iedfor me, receiv'e my spii1t. He thensgv the signal and ia the coDurse of a minut hi cufrings were at ane. LAdvertisement.1-THE A555ANTEES.-We are requested to state, that Mr. llupu is, late his Britannic Mstesty's Envoy and Consul at Ashantee, is about to publish a Journatl of liis Residence in that Kingdom, to which will be prefixed an accolutt of the origin and causes of the present war. it wiill comprise alsolhhi Notes and R searches relative to the Gold Coast and the interior of WVestern. Africa, chiefly collected from Arabic MSS-., -antl informatiors:comn. muiuncated by the AMo3lemst of Guinea.