The Warwickshire Herald. — 1893-08-03 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

HEARTLESS CASE OF ABDUCTION.  At the Central Criminal Court on Saturday, before the Common Serjeant, Mendel Silverman, who was convicted of taking Esther Falk, an unmarried girl under the age of 18 years, out of the possession ana against the will of her father, with an improper motive, was brought up for sentence.—The Common. Serjeant, addressing the prisoner, said that, in his opinion, this was a very gross case of abduction. The girl was only 16 years of age, and the prisoner was a married man. After systematic attempts to induce her to leave, finally be had succeeded in getting her to go will him. He had repeatedly tried to carry out his nefarious obje,t ; but apparently terrified by the condition ot the girl, and unable to do what he desired, he left the poor girl unprotected in Paris, having previously robbed her of the whole of her money, and of what little jewellery she possessed. 'f he prisoner had shown no contrition for his base and heartless act, nor had he offered any kind of restitution to the girl until after the verdict a the jury.—Mr. Geoghegan, who appeared for the defendant, said that restitution was offered ashen the case was before the magistrate, who refused to allow it to be received.—The Common Serjeant said that it was nat tor a moment ti be supposed that a magistrate would allow so serious a case to be dropped because restitution was given. It was necessary to pass upon the prisoner a severe sentence for two reasons—firstly, to punish him ior his conduct, which had been heartless in the extreme; and, secondly, to deter others from coinmitting a similar offence. He ordered the prison,e to be imprisoned and kept at hard labour for 18 months.  The Sheriff of Lincoln, on Saturday morning, received from the Home Secretary an intimation that Christopher Barker had been reprieved. Barker, a Lincoln joiner, 60 years of age, was convicted of murdering a young Wesleyan schoolmaster, and was sentenced to be hanged. The execution had been fixed for Tuesday.  The steamship Bona, which left the cholera. infected port of Bussorah on June 9th, arrived off Gravesend on Saturday morning, and reported that one of her crew died of cholera on the 18th ult., and was buried at sea. The vessel has been handed over to the sanitary authorities for disinfection.  An extraordinary coincidence is reported from Malta in connection with the Victoria disaster. On the day that the telegram announcing the catastrophe was received, one of the two heavy doors of the Victoria Gate leading into the Valetta fell, killing one Maltese and severely injuring two others. The doors which close the gate are not of the ordinary kind, tile hinges being at the top, and by the system of counter-weight the doors are lilted up flat against the ceiling of the arch as the drawbridge descends.  "How often," he said, with intense sarcasm, "do you expect to be eng.nrd this summer?" "Oh, dear," she answered, "don't talk that way; you lumw I despise arithmetic."  Teacher (to a boy in his class): "John, correct the following sentence: 'lt are very cold.' John (as lie wipes the perspiration from his forehead): " It are thundering hot.'"  llorker "Spoodle has married a girl who knows h..if -a-dozen languages." Nagger : 'Poor fellow, I pity him. My wife only knows one language, and I find that one too many."