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Leader (1850-1860), 18th August 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 5, A Thief-hunt in Night-clothbs.—The premi...

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      .August 18, 1855.] The Leader, 785

      . August 18 , 1855 . ] THE LEADER , 785

      Js6—¦- ' " : The Slow-Poisoning Case. Fu...

      JS 6—¦ - ' " : THE SLOW-POISONING CASE . Fubtheb evidence was received on Saturday last in connexion with tbis mysterious and distressing case . Mi 88 Ann Brecknell , sister of Mrs . "Wooler , was examined ; and the result of her testimony went to showthat Mr . Wooler had exhibited great anxiety about his wife , to whom she believed he had always been strongly attached ; that he wrote to the witness very urgently to come and stay with her sister during her illness , and that he seemed very much delighted when she arrived . But she could not recollect what was his demeanour

      immediately after his wife's death , although she had thrown her arms round his neck on that occasion , and kissed him . ¦ She had heard her sister say , shortly before her decease , " Dear Joseph , my dear Joseph !" In answer to questions j ut by counsel and by the bench , Miss Breckne'l confessed to great want of memory with regard to details . She " had not been told by any one to tell anything , or conceal anything : she only wished she had a better memory . " A letter having been produced , with the words " Please burn this" written on it , she said that it was written by her .

      Misd Lanchester , a lady who attended on Mrs . \ Y ooler , also testified to Mr . Wooler being affectionate to his wife , who had declared she never entertained a wish but her husband gratified it . This witness , also , owing to the state of her feelings , could not recollect how Mr . Wooler seemed when his wife died ; but she said he had previously expressed great anxiety for the arrival of the doctors . He read out loud the certificate stating that his wife had been poisoned , and remarked , " They make it out that my dear Jane was poisoned . " Miss Marshall , who had also been with Mrs . Wooler during her last illness , had heard Mr . Wooler urge the calling in of Dr . Hazlewood . as he had no confidence in Dr . Jackson .

      A disclosure of considerable importance was made by Mr . Hensell , surgeon , to whom the urine of the deceased was sent for auulysation on several successive days . On one of these occasions —namely , on the day on which cer : ain tingling symptoms , suggestive of poisoning by arsenic , were experienced by the patient—the urine received by Mr . Ilemell was sent together with a note from Mr . Wooler . Upon being analysed , the secretion was found to be totally different from what had been previously examined , ; uid appeared to indicate a healthy

      change . Mr . Ilensell and Dr . llaslewood expressed to Mr . Wooler their suspicion that a mistake had occurred ; when he called up the maid , Ann Taylor , and then said there had been no mistake . " This , " added Dr . Ilaslewood , was on the day that the tingling symptoms were reported to him . Mr . Wooler told him that they had come on that day . Hut Mrs . "NVooler replied that he must have forgotten , as she had told him ( Mr . Wooler ) about them three or four days before . " Subsequently , the secretions again exhibited their original character . Mr . Wooler was once more remanded , to await the result of Dr . Taylor ' s analyses .

      Oult Civilisation. Assi/.K Casks. A Lovn...

      OUlt CIVILISATION . ASSI / . K CASKS . A Lovnn and nis Bkoken IIkakt . —An action for breach of promise of marriage was brought by a gentleman , Captain Holder , against n Miss Josliug , at the Bristol Assizes . In answer to a letter , enclosing a wedding ring , from Captain Holder , Miss Josling , who was a young lady vt great attractions , had written to Bay she accepted his offer imil his "dear ring" with pleasure . In subsequent letters , she spoke of her " dearest John , " and her " dearest Jack ; " sent " lots of love and lots of kisses from your own dear pet ; " and mentioned having ordered her "things" for the marriage .

      She also said that her cousin had gone abroad brokenhearted because she " would not have him . " Subsequently she broke off the engagement , on the plea that , having lost her mother about th « time of the offer , she was glad of the prospect of u home ; but that she had since found she could not love Captain Holder ; and ehe afterwards wrote to the captain ' s mother , saying she did not approve of his opinions . For the defence , it was shown , by letter * from Captain Holder ' s attorney , that the plaintiff ' s chief object was to obtain money compensation for the presents he had made , the marriage license ho had obtained , and the expenses of hi * trips to Until ,

      in courting the lady . Mr . Justice Williams , in summing up , made some very severe ronmrks , by implication , on the mercenary object of tho plaintiff , for whom , however , the jury returned a verdict—damages , tfOOV . —Two caaca of breach of promise of tho ordinary kind have beon tried , one of which was accompanied by seduction . A female witness * , who proved tho seduction , and who tracked tho purlieu into tho lady ' s bedroom , and spoke to them through tho door , nai < l that sho " made lu > rsell busy , woman-like ; " that tho plaintiff , " of course , " told her to " mind hur own buaincss , " but that she did not do bo . A verdict , in thin , an in the other case , was given for tho plaintiff .

      Railway Kouhkiuks . — At tho Lancaster Assizes ' , several officials , of a subordinate capacity , connected with the LancuHtcr and Carlisle Itaihvny , were found guilty of stealing from trains on thut lino a largo

      ^^^¦^^¦^¦ w quantity of silk handkerchiefs , gold pins , cloth , & c . They were all sentenced to penal servitude for four years . Jealousy . —Edward Aspinall has been sentenced to fifteen years' transportation for endeavouring to throw a girl with whom he had been " keeping company" into the Manchester canal . Jealousy was the cause .

      A Thief-Hunt In Night-Clothbs.—The Premi...

      A Thief-hunt in Night-clothbs . —The premises of Mr . Thomas Fisher , a clothworker in Broker ' s Alley , Drury Lane , were entered on the night of Friday week by some thieves who had apparently climbed the water spout , and forced open the first-floor window . Several hales of cloth were then removed , and placed in a cab which stood at the door . An assistant of Mr . Fisher was sleeping in the house , and , being roused , went down stairs , and caught sight of the cab as it was being driven

      off , the thieves themselves escaping on foot . It was a quarter past four in the morning ; and the assistant , with nothing on him but his nightshirt , followed the cab through several streets , running at the rate of eight miles an hour , and shouting " Stop thief ! " till he was nearly hoarse . The cabman was at length taken into custody by a policeman ; and upon being brought before the magistrate at Bow-street , made a very rambling statement . He was remanded , that further inquiries might be made .

      Piuvatk Public Houses . —A decent-looking young woman was charged at Lambeth , on her own confession , with stealing a gentleman's Match . The prosecutor said he had met the prisoner some weeks ago in Lambeth , and had treated her with gin at several " private houses . " Upon the magistrate asking him what he meant , he said , " 1 mean private houses where gin is sold when the public houses are closed , of which I should think there are hundreds in Lambeth . " The prisoner added that she knew several places where gin and other spirits are privately sold ; and in these places bottles containing the spirits are kept between the bed and the mattress . The woman was Temanded .

      Urisk at Mid-day . —At the une office , on the aarne day , Jane Dunninghara , the wife of a police sergeant , was fined ten shillings for being found helplessly intoxicated in the streets at mid-day , and assaulting a policeman who assisted her . The prisoner , who is a confirmed drunkard , has been in the habit of trumping up charges against the policemen of her husband's division , and but recently got a sergeant reduced to the rank of a constable . Fosged Notes . —Robert Drink water , a licensed victualler , was charged , at Worship Street , with having severally passed two forged Bank of England notes on Mr . William Jordan , a beer-shopkeeper in Spitalfields ,

      who described his house as . beinga " relieving shop , " that is to say , an unlicensed pawnbroker ' s . The prisoner and another man went to Mr . Jordan ' s shop ; and , after having some refreshment there , Drinkwater tendered in payment a 10 / . note . Mr . Jordan gave him the change , and he and his friend then left . This note , together with one previously received from the prisoner , was discovered to be not genuine , and Driukwater , on a subsequent day , was given into custody . Mr . Pelham , for the defence , contended that the passing of the forged notes was unintentional , and begged the magistrate to accept bail for the prisoner , whom he knew to be respectably connected . This being disproved by a policeman in court , bail was refused . The prisoner was remanded for a week .

      Highway Koubekv and Assault . —At the Lambeth Police Court , James Taylor , wjio has several times been remanded , was re-examined and committed for trial on a charge of assaulting and robbing a journeyman painter named Charles Bowers . On the evening of the ' 2 ' Jlh ult ., he was walking along Albert-Street , Londonroad , when a woman spoke to him , and immediately afterwards Taylor and another man rushed-on him , and knocked him down by a violent blow on his left eye . While he was on tho ground , they robbed him of all

      the money he had about him , amounting to If . 4 s ., threatening nt the same time to " do for him . " They did not , however , commit any further violence , but ran away . Bowers pursued them , and overtook tho prisoner , whom he seized anil held until the arrival of a policeman , when ho gave him into custody . —Two oases of highway robbery , accompanied with murderous violence , tho one in Liquorpond-streot , Gray ' s Inn-lane , the other in Sharp ' s-iilley , Cow-cross , have been tried nt tho Middlesex Sessions . The offenders were sentenced to throe years' hard labour .

      Cuazici ) . —An infirm old woman , named Mary Ann . Smith , was examined , nt the Southwark Police Court , on n charge of attempting to lure Joseph Brown , n child three years of age , away from his home . The boy , it appeared , was returning from . school , whon he was mot by the prisoner , who , taking him by the hand , walked off with him in the opposite direction , promising to buy him sweetmeats . They were seen by a young woman who knew both tho child and his parents , and who , entertaining some suspicion , naked Smith where she was taking' him to , ami » ho answered , " To his home . " His homo , however , whs in tho contrary direction ; and the woman was given in chargo . Tho prisoner stated to tho m « gintmto that tho little boy was her grandson ; but tho mother of the child declared that she had never seen tho woman before . Ono of tho prisoner's own grandchildren waa brought into court . Ho was about tho some age

      as the other boy , and something like him in appearance . As the prisoner might have mistaken the one for the other , and as she appeared to be of rather unsound mind , she was discharged with a caution . Polick Rttffiauism . —At the Thames police court , two constables brought a charge of assault against an elderly man named Joseph Smith , who had formerly himself been a policeman . The charge was denied by Smith , who brought a counter accusation against the constables . He had found them blocking up the pathway , and had requested them to let him pass ; which they refused to do , and one of them not only threatened to kick him , but actually did strike him in the face . This statement was confirmed by three witnesses ; and the case against Smith was dismissed . So far , so good ; but what of the case against the police officers ?

      Hoci-ssiXG . —The driver of a Hansom cab was called about ten minutes past twelve on Saturday night to convey a young woman , who had been found in a state of insensibility on the pavement in Cheapside , to Camomile-street , Bishopsgate . The woman was followed into the cab by a young man ; and , in consequence of something which had been said , the cabman twice lifted the trap in the roof of his vehicle , and saw what convinced him that a criminal assault upon the woman was- intended . He therefore gave the man into custody ; and the woman was taken to her home . Before the Lord Mayor , the latter stated that she and a female cousin from Sheerness were seeking work in London : that her cousin , on the night in question , went

      into a shop to inquire about work , leaving her outside ; that the prisoner accosted her . and , after some resistance , persuaded her to take a glass of wine ; and that , after drinking this at a public-house , she became insensible , and so remained until Sunday morning . Ann Smith , her cousin , stated that , after missing her , she found her insensible in Cheapside ; that she did not observe the prisoner follow her into the cab , and that she did not herself get in , because she thought she should have to pay a second £ > re beforehand , and she had no money . The prisoner said he was so drank that he recollected nothing about it , but that be was sure he meant no harm . He was bound over to meet the charge on a future oc-ension . It is satisfactory to add that his

      contemplated purpose was not effected . STAnvATioN-PEsrERATE . —A young man , in grea $ destitution , was sentenced at Westminster to a fortnight ' s imprisonment for breaking glass in the workhouse windows . It appeared that a large number of destitute paupers , who have been refused admittance , have latterly made organised attacks upon the building , saying that they are going to assault Sebastopol . A Desperate Fioiit . —Dennis Daly was taken into custody in the Hampstead-road for pocket-picking , and , while " beiug convened to the station-house , a mob

      assembled , and attempted a rescue . The policeman sought refuge in a butcher ' s shop to await assistance , when the prisoner seized a knife , and attempted to cut his necktie , in order to get off . Foiled in this , he sought to stab * the constable , whose fingers were in fact cut ; and the latter would probably have been murdered , had not the butcher ' s wife wrested the weapon , and afterwards another , from his hand . Before reaching the butcher's shop , the policeman was knocked down , and severely kicked . The prisoner was committed for trial . The butcher has been a great sufferer , as the mob pillaged the front part of his shop of a good many joints .

      Patrick M vypowdei :, an Irish labourer , has been seut to trial on a charge of aggravated assault , almost amounting to murder , on his aunt . —Several other cases of brutal assault , of the usual character , and inclusive of savage wife-beating , have come before the magistrates this week . Trials for savage personal outrage have also been frequent at the Middlesex Sessions . Ann Do-wxks , the wife of a bedstead-maker in the Borough , has been committed for trial , charged with stealing a box containing money from H neighbour .

      Gas Koiibery . —Henry Cash , a smith and brass founder , has been sentenced to a year ' s hard labour for having stolen two thousand feet of gas from the Commercial Gas Company . The company had supplied him up to a certain time , and had then ceased to do so ; but the . prisoner connected a pipe , to the service pipe , and helped himself . The light was carefully concealed from peoplo out of doors , and this went on for some three years ; so that the company had been defrauded to tho amount of more than three hundred pounds . Tho theft .

      probably , would never have been discovered , had not two of " tho prisoner ' s discharged workmen given information . " AXY- \ VHKKK , ANVWHKUK , OUT OF THK >> OlUA ) I A young Welshwoman attempted , a few nights ago , to drown herself in the Serpentine . Being rescued , and brought before the magistrate nt Murlboroug h-strcet , 8 no told her history , which was n sad one ? She *** ™ £ Hedueod , and hnd gone upon tho town ; had b ^ reaC ^ by a clergyman , and taken to livo in hw ho * o 'md been again seduced , this tl . no byJjo ^ ™\ brother ; hadI como up to Loiulo . « ndNbadj ^ ^ Monday to demonic Cinleiw . 1 ™« , » or 8 c . j ^ T ^ T ^^ J ^*"""**' "tSu " ESSi ^ Ot arf-th Kennedy hM

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 18, 1855, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18081855/page/5/