the change had been effected, she challenged them with so doing, whereupon the "gentleman" seized her by the arms, endeavouring to throw her down, and to take the packet that had been substituted for the banker's from her, but, failing to do so, he escaped from the house. While this struggling was going on the prisoner kept on exclaiming, "For God's sake, what is this about? what is the matter?" and seemed anxious to get away, but she was prevented by witness, who obtained the assistance of a gentleman then in the coffee-room, waiting for the coach in question, and the prisoner, finding she was detained, was observed to drop the banker's parcel from under her shawl, which was partly drawn off her shoulders by the weight as it fell.

At the conclusion of this evidence the parcel brought by the "gentleman" to the prisoner was opened; it bore a similar appearance to the banker's, being tied and waxed in a like manner, but it was found to contain a small bag filled with sand.

When it was exposed to view the prisoner laughed heartily.

Mr. Combe told her she was at liberty to ask Mrs. Griffin any question she thought fit.

Prisoner (firmly).- Will you swear you saw me drop the banker's parcel?

Mrs. Griffin.-Certainly, I do. Mr. Combe (to the prisoner).Is there anything else you wish to ask the witness?

Prisoner (smiling).-Why, no, sir. However, is she not more likely, as she uses sand, to have made up that parcel (pointing to the dummy) to play some trick?

Mr. Combe. Why really I don't think she is.

VOL. XCI.

The prisoner applied for the restoration of six sovereigns and some silver money which had been taken from her.

Mr. Combe.-Will you tell me your name, and where you live? Prisoner (good-humouredly).Will you let me have my money? Mr. Combe.-Will you tell me your name?

Prisoner.-Oh, you have got

name enough. One is as good as another. But do be kind enough to give me up my money.

Mr. Combe.-Not at present. I must know more of you first.

Prisoner.—“ Then I wish you good morning," and, turning to the gaoler, she tripped gaily to the cell.

30. DESTRUCTION OF THE OLYMPIC THEATRE.-This once favourite place of amusement was utterly destroyed by fire in the course of a few hours. The immediate cause of the fire is not known, but probably arose from the "lights." The persons connected with the theatre were beginning to assemble for the evening performances, when Mr. Stirling, the stage-manager, whilst standing on the stage to the "P. S." (prompter's side), saw flames running up the lining of the curtain. He immediately called the carpenters together, and told them to cut the leach lines. The men having divided the cords there, one side of the curtain fell, but the lines still remaining on the other side, the flames mounted upwards into the machinery, and very soon extended to the lawn coverings of the boxes and gallery, so that in less than five minutes every part of the theatre was fired simultaneously.

Before an alarm could well be given by the terrified persons inside, the flames broke through the

D

roof with fearful grandeur, and the engines were speedily on the spot. As the destruction of the neighbouring tenements was very imminent, the firemen were directed to carry the hose round the theatre, so as to attack the flames in all quarters, and prevent their further extension. An engine was also taken to the gallery entrance, with a view of conveying the hose into the theatre: that, however, was impracticable, for on the front door being opened, the scene that presented itself to the firemen was terrible. The seats in the pit, the machinery on the stage, with every box, were burning, and the noise caused by the roaring of the flames was almost deafening. The firemen, nothing daunted, kept to their posts; they mounted the roofs of the houses not on fire, and by that means were enabled to extinguish the fire in the Pavilion Tavern, and also to keep the flames from spreading further in the direction of Craven Buildings, although it was several hours before the fire in the last-named premises was wholly extinguished.

The main body of fire in the theatre continued to blaze, completely illuminating the district, when suddenly a fearful crash, produced by the falling of the gallery and boxes, was heard within. This had hardly subsided when the roof fell in; which for a moment appeared to damp the flames, but they afterwards burst forth with still greater vehemence, and myriads of sparks were wafted over the house-tops, to the danger of buildings at a considerable distance. The fire having been in some measure got down in the surrounding houses, the whole force was brought to bear on the theatre, and by great exertions, by 8 o'clock, the fury of the confla

gration was so far subdued that no danger existed of the flames spreading; but the theatre was utterly destroyed with all its contents. The building was insured, but none of the "properties," nor anything belonging to the establishment, were thus secured.

The theatre was built during the reign of George III. "Old Philip Astley," at the time the Amphitheatre in Lambeth was destroyed by fire, applied to the king to give him the timbers of a man-of-war to build a theatre with. Old Astley being a favourite with His Majesty, he having rendered some service to the state at the time of the French war, the king gave him the old ship called La Ville de Paris, in which William IV. went out as midshipman. Out of the timbers of this ship was the theatre erected, and on its completion His Majesty presented Old Astley with a splendid chandelier. The masts of the vessel formed the flies, and they withstood the fire until after the roof fell in.

31. DERELICT SHIP-At daybreak this morning the mackerel boat Fame, No. 19, of Rye, Captain John Hyde, was engaged fishing about 16 miles southeast of the Eddystone, when her nets were fouled by a vessel, which, on closer inspection, was found to be abandoned and dismasted, with her spars and rigging lying alongside. The Fame's crew immediately boarded, and having cut away the shrouds and loose gear, took her in tow, and, with the assistance of a Plymouth trawl, the Wellington, brought her into Sutton Pool. She proved to be the Dutch schooner galliot Hermanna, of more than 100 tons; her mainmast was gone, about a foot above the deck, over the larboard side; her mizen

was gone by the board in the same direction; the bowsprit and jibboom were standing. She had received

on the starboard side, amidships, a tremendous blow, which carried away her bulwarks, and, no doubt, dismasted her. A boat in chocks was on deck, neatly coiled warps were on the round-house, and an accommodation ladder was hanging undisturbed over her quarter. The fishermen state that when they went on board a watch was going in the binnacle and the lamp burning, so that it was evident that she had not been long abandoned. On examining her, it became evident that the captain had his wife, if not a child also, with him, as there were in it several articles of female apparel and a cradle. A careful A careful inspection was made of all drawers and boxes, and a considerable quantity of gold and silver coin, and other valuable property, was found. The violence with which the galliot was struck was exhibited not only by the damage she had sustained, but by the circumstance that the aggressor had left some of her figure-head and gilding on the round-house, and about eight feet of the bow of a new boat, from the remains of which she was judged to be an American.

APRIL.

4. APPALLING OCCURRENCE. Three of the female servants at a ladies' school at St. John's Wood were found to have been suffocated in the night, by the fumes of charcoal. It appears that the cook, who had been ill, asked permission of her mistress to sleep in a room adjoining the kitchen, in which the footboy had temporarily slept, as she thought she could repose more

quietly there than in her own bedroom. This was assented to on the condition that one of the housemaids should sleep with her, in case she might require assistance. It was thought that the room, which had no fire-place, might be too cold for an invalid; a patent stove, which had been constantly used in the hall, was brought into the room to warm it. Another servant also expressed a desire to accompany them. This arrangement having been made, the lady of the house and family retired to rest; but it is conjectured that, afterwards, the fourth female servant, not liking to sleep alone, took up her abode with them. As the unfortunate girls returned no answer to the summons of their mistress in the morning, the door was opened, when three were found to be quite lifeless, but the fourth, although in a state of insensibility, was recovered. It appeared on the coroner's inquest, that the fuel used in the stove was a patent article, professing to be perfectly harmless; but it cannot be too strongly impressed on the public that the product of all combustion being carbonic acid gas, which is destructive of life, no stove without a flue can be used without the greatest danger.

6. FORGING THE GOLDSMITHS' HALL MARK. At the Taunton Assizes, Horatio Jennings Warren and Samuel Henry Fuller were tried on an indictment charging that the defendants had in their possession, without lawful excuse, a certain ware of silver, to wit, a spoon, having the mark on it of the die used by the Goldsmiths' Company, which had been transposed or removed from another ware of silver by Hubert Sawyer Couzens, they well knowing the

same to have been so transposed and removed. There were other counts, omitting the name of Couzens. There was another indictment, charging the defendants with having been guilty of the same act as regarded a soup-ladle.

The case excited the greatest interest, the prisoners being large and opulent silversmiths of Bath. They were taken into custody on this charge in December last, and only liberated on finding bail to an immense amount.

Mr. Cockburn said that he appeared for the prosecution, which was instituted by the Goldsmiths' Company, to whom by law was intrusted the duty of watching over and protecting the purity of the precious metals used for the purposes of manufacture in this country, and the charge was, that the two defendants had in their possession a mark used by the Goldsmiths' Company, that mark having been transferred and removed from one piece of metal to another. By law, it was necessary for the purpose of selling any article of gold or silver that it should have impressed upon it the mark of the Goldsmiths' Company; and that provision of the law was adopted for a twofold purpose: one, for the purpose of securing the duty to be paid to the revenue; and the other, and still more important one, was to protect the purity of the metal; otherwise it would be impossible for purchasers of gold or silver articles to ascertain whether they were made of pure metal; therefore, the law provided that all such articles should be sent to the Goldsmiths' Company to be assayed and the mark affixed. Parties not complying with these provisions of the statute were liable to penalties; but, inasmuch as with

The

a view to evade penalties parties might have recourse to forged or counterfeit marks, an Act of Parliament, the 7 & 8 V. c. 22, had been passed for the purpose of making any such forging or counterfeiting the mark a felony, punishable by transportation. charge was that these defendants had in their possession a silver spoon, upon which was a mark of the Goldsmiths' Company, which had been transposed from one piece of metal to another. The facts of the case were briefly these :— In December last the Goldsmiths' Company received information which induced them to send down one of their most efficient officers, named Hough, to Bath, to the shop of the defendants, who carried on business as goldsmiths and silversmiths in that city. Hough purchased some silver articles, and, examination confirming previous suspicion, on the 9th January he was sent down again, with instructions to apply for a searchwarrant. He procured the warrant, and seized these two articles with 100 others. The spoon in question was of an antique pattern, but was of modern manufacture. It appeared to Hough that the Goldsmiths' mark on the spoon was of the ancient date of 1774, as the company altered their mark every year. The spoon was seized and taken to London; and, upon removing the gilding which was upon it, it became palpable that the mark had been soldered in. It would be found that there was running along the whole length of the shank a plain and visible mark where the one part had been soldered to the other, so that it appeared that the part whereon the mark had been originally placed had been taken off another

article and had been put on this spoon, so that the mark was transposed from one piece of metal to the modern spoon. In this way the revenue was defrauded, and by such means the silver to which the mark was affixed might be of less purity than the Act of Parliament required. This spoon was formed of three pieces of silver of different qualities. The bowl was four dwts. under the standard, the shank was three dwts. under the standard, and the handle, upon which the mark was placed, turned out to be one dwt. above the standard. It further appeared that, when the seizure of their goods was made, the prisoners sent to one Mitchell, who was then engaged in making similar articles for them, and induced him to bury these articles in his garden, and to give up or destroy his books. The motive of the accused had not been alluded to. It might have been to defraud the revenue; it might have been to give to a modern article the appearance of an antique one, as some persons would give a high price for antique plate. But the Act of Parliament gave the go-by to all questions of motive. It was indifferent what the motive might be. With a view of preventing fraud upon the revenue or upon the public, it sought to prevent fraud of every description; and if a person had in his possession an article with the mark so transposed, with a knowledge of it, the offence was complete, and the person was liable to penalties.

Evidence was called, which supported the statement for the prosecution.

Mr. Crowder, for the prisoners, admitted that they had attempted to evade the duty imposed by the

Acts of Parliament, and had exposed themselves to penalties, for which they might be sued; but it was not therefore to be imputed to them that they had been guilty of a felony. The case came within the fifth section of the Act, which rendered parties liable to a penalty of 10l. for evading the duty. He submitted it was an addition and not a transposition, and therefore the case came under the fifth section, rendering the parties liable to a 10l. penalty. The object was to give the appearance of antiquity to the article and to evade the payment of the duty. He did not mean to justify such tricks of trade; it was like a man giving a receipt without a stamp, which would subject him to a penalty, but not to criminal punish

ment.

Lord Denman summed up, and said it was a charge of the most simple character. The only question was whether this was to be called a transposition of the mark from one thing to another, or whether it was to be called an addition. He thought the taking it from one article, and applying it to a new thing, was transposing the mark.

The jury found the prisoners guilty of an addition, not of a transposition.

The verdict was received with great applause.

INDIA. The overland mail brought further accounts of the campaign against the Sikhs, of their retreat after the battle of Chillianwallah to an impregnable stronghold at Russool, and of their skilfully-conceived and wellconcealed movement to seize the fords of the Jhelum. The despatches also bring an indication of the unparalleled march of General Whish's force from