Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1865-04-28 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

VERY IJNGRATEFITL.—On Saturday evening week, as a farmer residing within a few naies of Worce6ter, was returning home from market, he saw, on  passing near Offerton-Bridge, a young woman leaning against the hedge in great apparent anguish, and another girl standing near her. On inquiring what was the matter he was told that the girl was very ill, and this gallant Don Quixote, eager to relieve the distress of the suffering fair one, aligb;ed frnn his horse and inquired how he might be et eissistance. While leaning over the damsel in the endeavour to catch the feebly uttered reply that fell frniu her lips, an unusual noise caused him to turn his head, and to his unutterable surprise he saw the other young woman se tea like an amtztin astride his Rosinante, her crinoline spreading over the animal like a huge mushroom. Off went Dobbin at a gallop, and away started out rustic in pursuit. He soon found, however, it was or no use, Mid, weary and panting, he returned to his lair lady. 'up his great astonishment and unutterable disgust he found that she too had gone, ,and he perceived that he had been made the victim of a cruel hoax. i Dispirited and chagrined he plodded home but did not, it is said, meet with any sympathy from die wife of his bosom, who would not see the adventure in its proper light. Various inquiries were made, but nothing was heard of the steed and its fair rider till Monday afternoon, when the missing horse was sent to the farm of our hero.—Woreestershire Chronicle.  CLEVER CAPTURE OF A PARTY OF COCKnolursas. On Thursday week, information having reached the Secretary (Mr Colain) of the Royal S ,ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that several mains of cocks were to be fought at a house, called the Queen's Head, Queen's head passage, Windmill-street, Loudon (better known as "Jemmy Shaw's"), and that wagers to an extraordinary amount had been laid, the secretary, together with Mr W. Love, the chief officer of the society, concerted measures for the breaking up of the sport and the apprehension of' the offenders. About five o'clock in the afternoon Mr Love and other officers went to the pit where the fighting was carried on, having got permission by a ruse, and after witnessing scenes of revolting cruelty they commenced taking some of the parties into custody. No sooner had they done so than a general panic occurred, many of the parties making themost desperate efforts to escape by climbing over the roofs of the adjacent houses and secreting and locking themselves in the upper rooms of the house. The officers of the society, however, with the assistance of Inspector Walker of the C division and a number of constables, succeeded in c tpturing 38 of them, amongst them being colonels, captains, county magistrates, &c. The officers also succeeded in securing a number of fighting cocks, both alive and dead, the dead ones presenting a shockingly mangled appearance. There were scales and weights for weighing the birds before they were pitted against each other, boxes of silver spurs, and all the paraphernalia used on occasions of these brutal spectacles. Amidst the greatest excitement in the neighbourhood, and throughout the line of route to be taken, the prisoners were conveyed to the station. The charges having been entered in the usual way, some of the more affluent of the parties were immediately bailed out, while others were kept in " durance vile," the latter being the poorer and rougher sort. We are creditably informed that more than one noble lord was found on the premises, though not taking part in the proceedings. Shaw, the proprietor of the house, and who is alleged to be notorious for encouraging cock and dog fighting, is one of the persons taken into custody The men were brought before a magistrate and fiued i 5 each.  _ Some excitement was occasioned in the city of Durham, on Friday morning, by a report that one of the pri oners in the gaol had committed self-destruction t and further inquiry proved that it was quite true, Michael Fitzsimons, who had been committed for trial by the Sunderland borough magistrates, on Wednesday week, on the charge of wilfully murdering, on the 2nd inst., Daniel Keenan, foreman to Messrs. Burdess, the proprietors of the limekilus at Southwick, near Sunderland, being the prisoner who had committed the rash act. It appears that it was the duty of a warder, named Allison, on the evening previous, to Convey to Fitzsimons' cell the evening repast, which he did without observing anything either about the prisoner or the cell to lead him to suspect that there was anything wrong. After leaving the prisoner's cell, which is on the ground-floor, the warder similarly attended to other prisoners in other parts of the prison. On returning, however, some considerable time afterwards to Fitzsimons' cell, for the purpose of collecting the cans in which tea had been served, the warder discovered that the prisoner had committed suicide by hanging himself with his boot laces, which he had attached to the. upper part of the band or hinge of his cell door. The boot., it would appear, are the only portions of dress which persons committed on the capital charge are allowed to retain at night after their incarceration. The occurrence was at once communicated tp the Deputy-Oovernor.