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THE INCENDIARY.

[We cannot refrain from here giving a powerful illustration of the tale of "The Incendiary," at page 74 in our present number, which was printed before we obtained the following report. The present is a case tried at Salisbury, before Lord Chief Justice Denman, on the 18th of July, in which conviction clearly took place, the whole furnishing most extraordinary facts on the philosophy of the human mind]:

Charles Kimmer was indicted for setting fire to certain premises of the Rev. Maurice Hillier, of Oare, in the parish of Wilcot. Mr. Rogers conducted the prosecution.

The following are the most striking facts produced in evidence :

The Rev. M. H. Goodman said he lived at Oare. A fire took place on his premises on the 21st of April, ten minutes before one, and he went down immediately. It was from 150 to 200 yards distant. All the roofs of two barns, a cart-shed, and stable had fallen in, and three horses and twenty-four pigs were burnt.

By the Court-The prisoner was not in his service, but his father has ever since ten years of age; he is now sixty-two.

Stephen Jenkins-Was disturbed about half-past twelve o'clock that night; next day found the horses with their heads and legs burnt off-the bodies remained; then went to his own house; it caught fire several times. The prisoner lives about 400 yards from the barn; he called to me and said, "It was a bad job that happened to-night;" begged him to give me up.a bucket of water; gave him the bucket to get some more, but he took it away with him; did not see him again till the fire was over; he was sitting close to the stable that had been burnt down.

The examination of the prisoner was then read, in which he stated that he took some tinder and struck a light, and set the strawrick on fire, and that he was the only person concerned.

Henry Goddard said, he was a Bow-street officer. On taking the prisoner to Salisbury gaol, he asked him where he had been on the afternoon of the fire? He said he had been at Pewsey, and on coming back IT CAME INTO HIS HEAD ALL AT ONCE to set

fire to Mr. Goodman's premises. He asked him how he had spent his time previously? He said he went home at half-past eleven o'clock, and sat himself down in his mother's arm-chair, and after remaining there nearly an hour, he took some tinder out of the tinder-box, some matches, and flint and steel, and put them into his pocket, and then went to Mr. Goodman's premises, struck a light, and set it all on fire. Witness asked him if he heard the horses cry? and he said he did, and that he was truly unhappy. He added, he was going to set fire to Mr. Edmond's premises. Witness said, what on the same night? the prisoner said, yes; but the reason he did not do it was, because he was afraid his own sister's house would be burnt, VOL. V.-No. 2.

and it might have burnt her child. He said he hoped the governor would not keep him by himself, or he should repeat the same he had done in Marlborough gaol. I asked him what that was? and he said, that he attempted to hang himself.*

The jury immediately found the prisoner guilty. Lord Denman then put on the black cap, and addressed the prisoner:"You have been convicted on evidence, which leaves no manner of doubt of the fact, of one of the greatest crimes that it is possible for a man to be guilty of. You have set fire to the premises of a person who was doing benefit to your family, WITHOUT THE SMALLEST MOTIVE that can be assigned, and WITHOUT ANY THING LIKE PROVOCATION which could give an appearance of an excuse. The destruction of his property is in itself a most wicked act; but this case is accompanied by other circumstances, which give it a still more diabolical character, for those poor things in the stable and sties were sure to be sacrificed to your cruelty; and besides that, there were three boys in the stable which was fired, whose lives were almost sure to have been sacrificed, and it is a great mercy that their lives were sparedthat the alarm was soon enough to enable them to escape; and it must be some consolation to you, even in your present situation, and in almost the last moment of your life, that you have not added the guilt of the murder of those boys to the fact of destroying your benefactor's premises; but this is not all, because there is too much reason to believe that Jenkins and other inhabitants of the village might have had their property and lives destroyed; so that it is really impossible to conceive any case in which a greater rarity of moral evil and fatal consequences were almost sure to have followed this act, and they were only prevented by an extraordinary concurrence of circumstances. Supposing you had only committed the act of arson, under circumstances so likely to have endangered the lives of others, it would have been my duty to carry the law into execution; and there is no one consideration that can induce me to pause in respect of what I must now do. It is my painful

It must be noted in the preceding, that the prisoner appeared to feel remorse, though surely only in appearance, fearful of the personal consequences to himself; for he would have set fire to other places, but from fear of destroying his sister and her child: not so in the foreign tale. But our readers will peruse with attention the opinion of the judge.

Q

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.

(No. 15.)-COSTUME DE SOIREE.-Dress of organdi, embroidered in coloured worsteds; the pattern rose-buds and foliage. The corsage is perfectly plain, and tight to the bust; the sleeves à l'imbécile, full all the way down. The embroidery is continued in a light wreath round the bottom of the skirt, to mark where the hem should come. (See plate.) The cap is of blonde, a plain crown, and excessively full border(see plate) which is very deep in front, and diminishes gradually towards the sides; the border is made to stand back from the face: a small wreath of roses pompones" is placed over the curls at the right side; a ribbon brought across fills up the front: the bows and ribbons are of gauze. Pompadour and ceinture of urban taffetas-(see plate): the pompadour, which has long ends brought beneath the ceinture, is fastened in front by an emerald brooch. White gloves, white silk stockings, and black satin shoes.

66

(No. 16.)-TOILETTE DE CHATEAU.Coiffure à l'antique, ornamented with a cameo and an arrow. The front hair is

brought to each side in smooth bands; where, just over the ear, it is turned into a large smooth ring-(see plate): the back hair is partly à la Grecque; part forms a thick coque or bow, and part a second braided coque; while the remainder forms a coil, that goes round the head, and, crossing in front, retains a cameo. (See plate.) An antique arrow passes between the two coques at the back of the head. Dress of white muslin; corsage à l'enfant, with entre-deux (insertion) let in round the neck and on the shoulders. Sleeves à l'antique, with elbowpieces and ruffles à la Louis XV. (See plate.) The sleeves at top are immensely full, and are gathered into an elbow-piece, which is plain, and cut on the bias. A large piece, in shape a long mitre, is edged with entredeux, and put into the top of the sleeve. (See plate.) Ceinture with long ends fastened in front of urban fleuri, a rich flowered ribbon. Long black gloves, à jours; white silk stockings, and black satin shoes. Chain and ear-rings of enamel. Jardinière, or flower-stand, of brown dyed wood.

Drama, &c.

HAYMARKET. A new play in three acts, Beau Nash, or the King of Bath, was produced on the 16th ult. The title almost explains the dramatic turn of this piece, as developing the history and peculiarities of this once all-regulator of absurd fashion. Mr. Farren, Mr. Buckstone, and Mrs. Nesbitt made the most of their respective parts, and the piece was very favourably received. The Haymarket is generally fortunate in good houses and good company.

THE ENGLISH OPERA-HOUSE actually opened on the 14th ult. The appearance of the house was extremely striking and ele gant. Mr. Serle delivered an appropriate address. The Yeoman's Daughter and Call again To-morrow, well-known pieces, were selected for the honour of first representation. The promise of closing earlier, one of the prominent benefits put forth under this ma

nagement, was on the first night as little attended to, as regular hours at the other theatres are now expected. Why cannot managers see the dissatisfaction the public has in being so long detained, making a pleasure not merely at the time a toil, but a great interruption, from the lateness of the hour at night, to business in the morning: it is almost as intolerable a nuisance as double newspapers. The plan of the set-apart private boxes may be a public benefit, since we learn that there will be no exclusion, but parties or payers of one shilling extra will, if they are not at the time engaged, be permitted to go into them. As may be expected, from the shortness of the time in fitting up the building, some of the minor arrangements of the building are not yet quite complete; but this is only visible to those who, in technical language, "get a peep behind the scenes."

Miscellany.

Two FINE ELEPHANTS for the Surrey Zoological Gardens were landed on the 15th ult., from on board the Malcolm, via Calcutta. Great admiration was excited by the tractability of the animals, while leaving the ship and passing through the streets, following their keeper. They are what is termed in India high caste elephants, their pedigree being transmitted with them, as with race-horses in this country. The male, Radjepoor, on being liberated, and meeting

the female, Hadjepoor, on the wharf, expressed the most extravagant symptoms of delight, both of them sending forth cries of joy, and breathing through their trunks with such violence, that the blast resembled an impetuous gust of wind; the latter flapping her ears with astonishing velocity, passing the extremity of her trunk over the whole body of the male with the utmost tenderness, and inserting her trunk into his ear, and then into her own mouth.

Lady's Magazine.

Modes.

On s'abonne à la Direction du Foller, Boulevart St Martin, N.61.

Bonnet on Blonde ore de fleurs - Robe en Organde brodé de laine

Published by J. Page 112 Fetter lane London

1834.

No15.

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Lady's Magazine.

Wodes.

On s'abonne à la Direction du Follet, Boulevart St. Martin, Nr. 61.

Published by J. Page, 112. Fetter lane London

1834

No 16.

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