Star. — 1826-12-29 (London, England)

CLASS. Kr. Marshall's Snap beat Captain Morris's Dusty, Aad Won the Cup.  This morning, soon after nine o'clock, an accident took place in Bruton•street, Chelsea, wherehrtwo individuals were severely injured. A man named Thomas Jessop, residing at Na. 16, in the above street, wAs about to try some chemical experiment, and for that purpose was boiling a decoction of spirits of an inflammable description in a small earthen vessel on the fire, when suddenly the pipkin flew to pieces, and in an instant the whole plate was in a flame of fire. Jessop, and atintl•er man named Hughes (whose clothes were smeared with the same description of spirits), were standing near the fire. place at the moment, and were immedi stely enveloped in flame. Hughes ran down stairs in the state he was in, and procured assistance for himself and Jessop, and after some minutes had elapsed, the fire that t.urroundesl them was put out, but both of them are severely burnt, Jessop in particular; his face being so dteadtully injured, that it is feared he will be disfigured fur the remainder of his life.  Robberies almost nightly are committed at Chel. sea. A few days past the larders of one entire mime were swept of their Christmas contents. La•t night the old church was broken into and robbed of chandeliers, arc. and the same evening the private yard of Mr. Long, of Beaufort Row, was meted and despoiled of some timb r and everything portable that the thieves could lay their hands on. THI Mtranzaan Gus/T.—The following is the story on which the above Play is founded. It happened in 1736 ?...18 Jonathan Bradford kept an inn on the London Road, near Oxford, and bore an unexceptionable character. Mr. Christopher Hayes, a Gentleman of fortune, put up at his house, and joining two other Gentlemen at supper, incautiously mentioned that he.had about him a large sum of money. Some hours after they had all retired for the night, the two latter, who slept in a double-bedded room, beard repeated groans pro. ceeding, es they conceived, from the next chamber. On rising to examine the cause, they found the door ajar, and were struck with horror at seeing Mr. Hayes weltering in his blood in the bed. and the landlord standing over him with a dark lanthorn in one band, and a bloody knife in the other. When seized he dis. played every sign of trepidation and guilt, bukpersisted in affirming his innocence of the deed. On his trial the Gentlemen deposed to these facts, which Bradford admitted, but declared, in his defence, that having, as well as the witnesses against him, heard, the groans, he had stricken a light, armed himself with a knife for his 'defence' and bad but that minute entered the room before them. The Jury, without leaving the box. found him guilty, And he was executed, protesting his innocence of the murder to.tbe last, though disbelieved by every one. Yet his assertions vice true. The crime was actually committed by Mr. Hayes's own servant— who having stabbed his master, and rifled his portmanteau of his money, gold watch. and snuff box, escaped to his own room, which he could. scarcely have regained a minute, before Bradford entered. the fatal chamber. This he confessed on his death bed eighteen months after the execution of the latter. The landlord, however. though innotent in act, was not so in intention. He, as well as the servant, had beard Mr. H. mention his money at supper, and went to his room on the same diabolical errand; wan he found the deed already done, he was struck with amazement ; he could not believe his senses; and in turning down the clothes to assure himself of the fact, in his agitation dropped the knife on the body, by which both it and his hand became bloody. These  circumstances he acknowledged to the Clergyman who attended him after his sentence."