The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1843-02-10 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

JUVENILE THEATRICALS.—At the Police-court, yesterday, a little boy, of appparently twelve or fourteen years of age, named Tittle, was placed before Mr. Rushton on a charge, as it at first appeared, of committing a murderous assault on another urchin of about the same size and age (James Lawson), who appeared with his head so much enveloped in bandages, surmounted by a handkerchief, that his face could scarcely be seen ; and the inference was, that he had undergone a terrible smashing to require so many ligatures to keep the numerous fragments of his capttt together in an orderly manner.—Lawson said, that the prisoner had, without provocation, called him to a chink or hole in the wall (as we understood him) of the cellar where he was "acting" with others, and that when he went up to him, he first spat in his face, and then, without more ado, stabbed him in the eye with a sword—which was produced. The weapon was a small straight sharp-pointed sword, without a sheath, and shorn of the tinsel which had once ornamented its handle. Two witnesses spoke to its being used against the complainant.—A surgeon who was present, and who attended the complainant, said there was only a slight injury done to the lower eyelid—a small wound by no means dangerous.--The prisoner (who, it appears, resides in a court in Charles-street) said, that he and some of his companions had a small show in his mother's cellar, only for their own amusement, and to which the landlord was agreeable; that the prisoner, who lived in the next cellar, and who might have been welcome to see it, made a practice of coming every night, " breaking" in upon them with bricks and stones, and otherwise annoying them ; that he had a piece of brick in his hand at the time stated, and had himself run upon the sword at the hole.—Another boy, who was in the court, started forward to corroborate this, stating that he saw it all, as he was "on the stage" at the time. It did not appear what character the prisoner was personating at the time the rapier was alleged to be used ; but it was probably that of Hamlet, who, when his privacy was invaded by old Polonius behind the arras, exclaimed, " A rat, a rat : dead, for a ducat," and thrust his cold iron with more tragical effect than his present prototype. Be this as it may ; it did appear tat te cos dramatique of Charles-street had suffered sundry annoyances from the complainant, whose mother, it appeared, had been spoken to to restrain them, but without effect. The probability is, that the complainant had taken dudgeon at being refused an engagement as a " star." On the other hand, the complainant's mother said that her place was nightly disturbed by the ranting and noise of the actors.—Mr. Rushton said it was highly improper to cause annoyance to neighbours, and still more so to use art instrument from which dangerous consequences might ensue. The prisoner must, therefore, pay a fine of 2s. Gd. and costs.—We would advise the Theatre Royal, the Liver, and the other " minors," to beware of the "minors" of Charles-street, who, in the cellar of a court in Charles-street, have commenced so formidable a competition.