Month: August 2016

Captain William Hayes, D.S.O

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He is Pauline Roche‘s eldest grandson.

Captain William Hayes, D.S.O., Queen’s (R. West Surrey) Regt. and Staff Captain, died on October 20, at a stationary hospital abroad (Genoa) , of pneumonia following influenza.. He was the eldest of the three sons of the late Major Patrick Aloysius Hayes, R.A.M.C., and of Lady Babtie, and step-son of Lieut.-General Sir William Babtie, V.C. Born in 1891, he was educated at Beaumont and Sandhurst, and was gazetted to the Queen’s in 1911. With the 1st Battalion he accompanied the original Expeditionary Force to France, taking part in the Mons retreat and the battles of the Marne and the Aisne, in the latter of which he was very severely wounded. He returned to the Front in 1915, joining the 2nd Battalion of his regiment, but was soon afterwards invalided as a result of shell concussion. In 1916 he rejoined the 2nd Battalion in time to take part in the battle of the Somme. He was appointed second in command, with the temporary rank of major, and for his services in that capacity while in temporary command of his battalion was mentioned in dispatches, and awarded the D.S.O. in 1917. Later in that year he proceeded to another front, and in 1918 he was appointed Staff Captain on the lines of communication. He had just returned from leave in England when attacked by influenza. One who knew him writes :—” A keen soldier, whose heart and soul was in the honour and credit of the Queen’s, he was a man of character and of great personal charm, and his memory will live long in the hearts and minds of his regiment and of his multitude of friends in and out of the Army.”

The above text was found on p.18, 2nd November 1918 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher.  The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .

The Providence (Row) Night Refuge in Crispin-street.

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ProvidenceRow
Providence Row Night Refuge

Between 1860  and 1931 the Refuge provided nearly 2,600,000 free nights’ lodgings, and 5,200,000 free meals. The article below originally appeared in the Standard in 1905. It’s a jaw-dropping piece of journalism.

In the series of articles by Mr. L. Cope Cornford now appearing in The Standard, on “the Canker at the Heart,” the writer in Tuesday’s issue gave a description of a visit paid to the Providence (Row) Night Refuge in Crispin-street.

Upon the evening of November 1st, the Providence (Row) Night Refuge, in Crispin-street, which adjoins Bishopsgate-street Without, opened its doors. Men and women, with children, who had waited patiently for hours in the rain, fought to get in. Some hundred and forty men, a little over a hundred women, and fifteen children were admitted. Very many were perforce turned away.

Now, this particular refuge has certain characteristics that distinguish it from others. Every one is admitted free, irrespective of creed. Everyone must give an account of himself, or herself, which is taken  down in writing, and each case is subjected to inquiry. About three out of five are in practice, found to be true accounts. Should they be proved fallacious, the ticket which all receive, entitling them to five nights’ board and lodging, is not renewed. In genuine cases the tickets are renewed, entitling the recipient to a further fifteen nights’ lodging. Upon their entrance a bowl of cocoa and a small loaf are given to all. The people eat, sitting at the scrubbed deal tables in the clean lofty rooms, which are warmed and pleasantly lighted. Then they have their baths and go to bed. They sleep in great dormitories, in wooden bunks, raised about eighteen inches from the floor. The mattress and pillow are covered with American cloth ; the covering is a hide of leather. The whole place is kept absolutely clean. By means of the particulars obtained with regard to the circumstances of each person, differentiation is established, and the sisters of charity are often able to get work for the women, while the secretary and manager, Mr. J. W. Gilbert, does what it is possible to do, in the present unorganised condition of the labour market, for the men. There are a school for girls and infants and a training establishment and home for girls who desire to be domestic servants, or who are waiting for a place. These establishments are also conducted by the sisters.

WHAT THE REFUGE DOES.

From the economical point of view, it may, of course, be said that the Providence Night Refuge encourages the wastrel, in so far as it gives food and lodging to more persons than it can benefit permanently by setting them to earn a livelihood. On the other hand, it may be said that such an institution does as much as any private enterprise can hope to do, in the absence of any State provision for dealing with surplus labour or habitual idleness. It finds work where it can ; it gives the man and woman every opportunity and every encouragement to find work for themselves : and, above all, it distinguishes one case from another, and conducts a careful and most laborious inquiry into its circumstances. It also enforces conditions which serve to eliminate to a large extent the kind of person who gives a bad name to the common lodging-house and the casual ward. It does in fact, very much what the casual ward was intended to do, and which it has lamentably failed to accomplish—it gives a man down on his luck another chance, without too much encouraging the professional idler.

Public recognition of the Providence Night Refuge has so far manifested itself in an attempt made by the London County Council to register the place as a common lodging-house, in an action brought against it by the Council with the object of enforcing registration, and in the eventual failure of that action consequent loss of ill-spent public money. Now who and what are the people who take refuge here ? Glance down the rows of seated, quiet figures in the men’s room, and you shall see the familiar types, the familiar aspect of dull resignation. Here are two sturdy labourers, young men of 20, grey-haired men of the clerkly kind, their clothes the respectable clerkly black, elderly nondescripts, the youngster who has grown out of his boy’s job and boy’s pay, to be sent upon the streets by his employer ; ex-soldiers, of course ; and a few indubitable wastrels, who will be sifted out very shortly. On the whole, the remarkable thing about this assembly is its respectability.  Look down the half-dozen lines which make the written record of each case, and you shall see that the most of them are described as employed ” on and off.” They are, in fact, casual labourers, of whom there are so many in London to-day—the reserve of Labour of the economist—that under no conceivable circumstances could they all be employed at once in full work. Here and there is the record of a skilled artisan, “discharged in time of slackness,” Occasionally, “was in trouble.”

THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

But with the men we ,have already made-acquaintance, in the street, in the shelter, in the common lodging-house, and in the casual ward. Here is but a variation of the individual, not of the type. But what of the women and the children ? Cross the passage, and you shall see the bitterest sight in all broad England, the homeless woman and child.

Tables are set along the sides of the ball, and the women and children sit on either side of the tables. The black-robed sisters who take the records of each person, who call the roll, and who superintend the serving of the meal, sit at small tables in the clear centre space. These are kind and wise women, of an unfaltering courage and devotion. (The society has just lost a sister who for forty years gave herself to the care of the destitute.) Now glance down the ranks of patient women, who are so tired that they do not care to talk one with another. Worn, lined faces are they all, near defeatured of all expression save that of endurance. Many are old, white-haired. They have the dignity of age, which is still the sign of an honest, hard-fought life. They are beaten at last, poor souls, but they are courageous still

One chooses to relate these things in the baldest plain outline. For if their mere recital does not serve to proclaim the indelible shame and unforgivable wickedness of the wrong done to helpless children every day, every hour, in the dark places of the great towns, and the peril of the accumulating black debt which our sons and sons’ sons will surely have to pay to the last farthing, then it would avail nothing were the truth to be heralded by the trumpet of the Archangel, and written across the whole vault of heaven.

Whose is the fault, and whose the responsibility? Those are questions which each must answer for himself. The good people of the Providence Night Refuge have answered it. That is why I have taken you there.

The above text was found on p.15, 11th November 1905 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .

There are some photographs of the closing of the building on the spitalfields life website http://spitalfieldslife.com/2013/10/03/farewell-to-the-crispin-st-night-shelter/

The death of the Right Rev. 13th Lord Petre, 1893

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The reason for including some of the Petres is partly they are a great story, and also that at George Lynch, and Carmela Lescher’s wedding, the present from “the Hon. Mrs. Petre” was “a writing case”.  She can only be Julia, who becomes the 15th Lady Petre in June 1908, and the Dowager Lady Petre five months later.

We regret to record the death of the Right Rev. Lord Petre, which took place at his London residence, 21, Hyde Park Gardens, on Monday last. The deceased Peer and Prelate was a son of the 12th Baron, by a daughter of the Hon. C. T. Clifford, and succeeded to the title in 1884. He was a Domestic Prelate at the Court of the Vatican, and a Deputy-Lieutenant for the county of Essex. The title goes to the late Lord Petre’s brother, the Hon. Bernard Henry Philip, who was born in 1858. Lord Petre was educated at Stonyhurst, leaving which College he attempted, but unsuccessfully, to embrace the religious life with the Jesuits. Failing this he resolved to pursue the vocation of a secular priest, and resided for some time at Downside, where his great benefactions are remembered with gratitude. Meanwhile he had long been cherishing a number of plans and giving expression to many desires in connection with the education of youth, and a few years after his ordination he resolved to take practical steps in carrying out his determination.

It was in 1877 that Lord Petre, then the Hon. and Rev. Mr. Petre, founded his school at Woburn about which there was destined to arise so vigorous a controversy. He had long been maturing his views upon the method of education in vogue among Catholics, and those views he presently strove to vindicate in two vigorous pamphlets which produced in the English Catholic world an enormous sensation. The first he entitled Remarks on the Present Condition of Catholic Liberal Education and this was quickly followed by The Problem of Catholic Education. His ideal, as explained in these two pamphlets, is well known to all, and need not be brought up again here. His one desire in life was to be a trainer of youth. “A French poet,” he wrote “once declared that God for his sins made him a poet. I fear I myself lie under a similar judgment for being an educator. Certain it is that for years my prayers, studies, and aspirations have been directed to this one aim—to train the minds of youth. But for one of my vocation what opening is there ? Stonyhurst, Downside, Edgbaston, Beaumont, are all charmed circles, the properties of closed corporations, offering nothing to persons situated as I am except on condition of assuming the religious state—a vocation not granted to all. Ushaw, Oscott, St. Edmund’s are in a state of transition, being in part ecclesiastical seminaries and wholly diocesan property. In existing institutions, therefore, there is no place for the free exercise of a vocation that I will venture to call holy. Can I then be blamed if unwilling to throw aside the work of years, and contradict the tried impulse of my character, I venture to open a school of my own ? Nor can I see that by so doing I am fomenting disunion. Disunion arises where private aims are preferred to the public good. From the nature of the case my views can hardly be sordid or selfish ; and I propose, if God gives me health and strength, to lay all my opportunities and powers at the service of the Catholic cause. I have no wish to avoid a healthy criticism, and I will accuse no one of ‘ attack ‘ who may choose to publish his opinion on the growth of my work—be that opinion hostile or the reverse. With advance I shall hope for co-operation. Surely the imputation of disunion or disloyalty can find no footing here.”

In this spirit, then, Woburn was founded, and lasted steadily until 1884, when, shortly before succeeding to the title, he sold the property in deference to the wish of his father. After his father’s death he continued no less fervently in his desire to treat education, as he himself expressed it, “as something of a fine art.” But circumstances were too strong for him. He migrated with his boys to Northwood, in the Isle of Wight. But the new school lasted for a very short time, and when he decided to give up the idea of personal training he practically decided to retire into privacy.

Into the merits of the great controversy upon which Lord Petre so confidently embarked, there is no need to enter here. As to the spirit in which he accepted his task there can be only one opinion. He fought for it with a high spirit that seemed indomitable. In his first pamphlet, not having had much practical experience in pamphleteering, he committed himself—as he himself confessed—to some incautiously expressed propositions relative to the Protestant public schools of England. He spoke in praise of the individuality and the force of character which seems to be so often generated and fostered by their influence among English youth, wished to contend that schools formed somewhat on the model of public schools but informed with Catholic spirit and principle might realize much for English Catholics which heretofore had existed but in desire ; that Catholics, in short, might see their sons growing up in the expansion of mind, definiteness of aim and earnestness of purpose which is said to distinguish their Protestant fellows. At once he was severely taken to task. At once he felt that nothing but a bold front,—an attitude even of defiance—would save his reputation as a Catholic. Such an attitude he declared himself to have unwillingly assumed, and in doing so he lost for the time many valued friends.

The precise value of Lord Petre’s influence over the common scholastic ideal of the time cannot be easily adjudged ; but there cannot be the least doubt that, indirectly at least, he spurred up all the colleges of England to new efforts in the training of their subjects, particularly in the inculcation of a certain refinement which heretofore had been allowed to stand somewhat at a discount. But, as we have said, for nearly eight years he had taken no prominent part in any question of the day. Readers of these pages may, however, remember that when some years ago, a warm controversy arose upon the merits of corporal punishment, Lord Petre took an active part in it, and upon the side where one naturally expected to look for him. His illness was very brief. He had been ailing somewhat ; but on Sunday a serious attack of epileptic fits seized him, and later in the same day he received the Viaticum from Cardinal Vaughan in full consciousness. Later Mgr. Gilbert administered Extreme Unction. He died at 1.30 p.m. on Monday. The body lay in the house in a temporary chapel until Thursday, when it was removed to St. Mary of the Angels, Bayswater. On Friday Solemn Requiem Mass was sung, and to-day (Saturday) the coffin will be conveyed for interment to Thorndon. R. I. P.

The above text was found on p.28, 13th  May 1893 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .

The funeral of the 14th Lord Petre 1908

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The reason for including some of the Petres is partly they are a great story, and also that at George Lynch, and Carmela Lescher’s wedding the present from “the Hon. Mrs. Petre” was “a writing case” . She can only be Julia, who becomes the 15th Lady Petre in June 1908, and the Dowager Lady Petre five months later.

chapel ThorndonParkThe funeral of Lord Petre took place at Thorndon Hall, Brentford, on Monday morning. A Requiem Mass was celebrated in presence of the Archbishop of Westminster, and the music was rendered by fourteen members of Westminster Cathedral Choir, under the conductorship of Mr. R. R. Terry. The following music was sung :—In the chapel : “Dies irae,” Anerio ; “De Profundis,” Tollemache ; ” Ne irascaris,” .Farrant; ” Libera me,” Casciolini ; “In Paradisum,” Gregorian ; and during the procession : ” Miserere,” Viadana ; ” Benedictus,” Terry. The priests taking part in the service were Father Norris, Father Musgrave, Father Grant and Father Shepherd. After the Requiem the body was laid to rest in the private cemetery in the grounds. A large number of people attended and all the chief county families were represented. Among the mourners were the Hon. Philip Petre (who succeeds to the title), and the Hon. Mrs. Petre, Mr. Lionel Petre, and Miss Petre, the Hon. Albert and Mrs. Petre, the Earl of Granard, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Bretherton, Count and Countess Blucher, Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Petre, Mr. Lawrence Petre, Miss Agnes Petre, Mrs. Chadwick, Lord Clifford, Lord Mowbray and Stourton, Mr. F. L. Petre, Mr. 0. T. Petre, Mr. B. Petre, Mr. Lydden Clark, Mrs. de Windt, Lord Howard, Sir Henry Bedingfeld, ord Howard, and Mr. R. Bedingfeld. R.I.P.

The above text was found on p.15, 27th June 1908 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .

The marriage of Captain Edmund Molyneux Seel to Miss Clare Weld Blundell – 1894

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The marriage of CAPTAIN EDMUND MOLYNEUX SEEL to MISS CLARE WELD BLUNDELL, youngest daughter of the late Mr. (Thomas) Weld Blundell, of Ince Blundell Hall, was solemnized at St. Mary’s, Chelsea, on Tuesday. The ceremony was performed by Cardinal Vaughan, assisted by Father John Vaughan and the Rev. Benedict Weld Blundell, O.S.B. The nuptial Mass, a Missa cantata, was sung by Father Adrian Weld Blundell. The bride, whose dress was of white satin, trimmed with old lace, with tulle veil, was given away by her brother, Mr. Henry Weld Blundell. Mr. Basil Scott Murray acted as best man. There were six bridesmaids—the Hon. Mary Fraser, Miss Helen Lane-Fox, Miss Dorothy Lane-Fox, Miss May Weld, Miss Lawson, and Miss Teresa Lawson. They wore costumes of green. faced cloth, trimmed with white moire, and black picture hats with black feathers and white lace. After the Mass a large gathering of friends and relatives assembled at 20, Cadogan Gardens, the residence of Mr. George Lane-Fox,[ the bride’s brother in law, through his second wife Annette Weld-Blundell, who he married in 1879] where the wedding breakfast was served. Later in the afternoon the bride and bridegroom left for Dover, en route for the Continent.

Among the wedding presents, which were exceedingly numerous, were : The Duke of Norfolk, diamond and turquoise brooch ; the Ladies Howard, diamond and sapphire brooch ; Lord Lovat, diamond ring ; Lady Lovat, silver tea set ; Lady Herbert of Lea, diamond and turquoise bracelet ; Mrs. G. Lane-Fox, diamond and enamelled brooch ; Mr. George Lane-Fox, a luncheon basket ; Lord and Lady Herries, fan ; Colonel Blundell, pearl and diamond pendant ; Mr. and Mrs. Johnstone, diamond watch bracelet ; Miss Lane, Fox, silver castors ; Lady Charlotte Dundas, silver mounted scent bottle ; Mrs. Hornyhold, ditto ; the Earl and Countess of Loudoun, silver mounted inkstand ; the Hon. B. and Mrs. Maxwell, pearl and diamond necklace ; Mr. Henry Weld Blundell, diamond ring ; the Hon. Mrs. Carrington Smyth, pearl and diamond locket ; the Right Rev. Mgr. Weld, enamelled writing set ; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Walmesley, pearl and diamond aigrette ; Mrs. Weld Blundell, silver mounted dressing bag ; Captain and Mrs. Edward Molyneux Seel, old silver punch bowl; Colonel and Mrs. Eyre Williams, silver mounted claret decanter ; Mrs. Wilmot, silver bowl ; Mr. and Mrs. Bullock, silver dishes ; the Dowager Lady Puleston, silver cigarette case ; Mrs. Charles Weld, lace fan ; the Hon. Lady Mostyn, silver mirror ; Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien, Venetian mirror ; Mr. and Mrs. J. Snead Cox, Dresden figures ; Lady Stafford, jewelled clock, &c. ; Colonel Wade, silver side-dish ; Mrs. Silvertop, silver-gilt salt cellars; Colonel and Mrs. Starkie, gilt spoons ; the Hon. Mrs. A. Fraser, silver spoons.; the Hon. Miss Fraser of Lovat, pearl and diamond bracelet ; the Hon. Ethel Fraser of Lovat, pearl and diamond brooch ; the Dowager Countess of Denbigh, silver tray ; Miss Molyneux Seel, silver lamp ; Miss Monica Walmesley, gilt box ; Captain and Mrs. Glynn, silverspoons ; the Hon. Mabel Sturt, silver jug ; the Hon. Teresa Maxwell, gold snuff-box ; the Hon. Mrs. Charles Petre, gold bowl ; the Count and Countess Torre Diaz, silver tea-maker ; Mrs. Ince Anderton, silver clock ; Lady Henrietta Riddell, silver bowl ; Lord and Lady Camoys, silver mounted paper cutter ; Mr. and Mrs. Parker, decanters ; Mrs. Molyneux Seel, silver Queen Anne coffee-pot ; Mr. H. Campbell, Crown Derby tea set ; Mr. and Mrs. F. Bretherton, Lord Lytton’s works ; the Hon. Mrs. Dundas, old silver mounted quaighs ; Mr. and Mrs. Day, ditto ; Mr. and Mrs. F. Langdale, ditto ; Sir P. and Lady Radcliffe, silver cruets ; the Hon. Mrs. Scott Murray, silver tea urn ; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Weld, silver coffee-pot ; the Hon. L.:.dy Sausse, silver fruit dish ; Mrs. Slade, silver candlesticks ; Mrs. Dalgleish Bellasis, silver vases ; Mrs. Fitzherbert Brockholes, silver vase ; Sir Henry and Lady Bedingfeld, silver vases ; Lady Vavasour, two pictures ; Mr. and Mrs. Russell Howell, antique silver spoons ; Major and Mrs. Ovred, gold and tortoiseshell umbrella ; the Hon. Albert and Mrs. Stourton, gilt box ; Mgr. de Stackpoole, silver box ; Marquise de Stackpoole, silver frame ; Mrs. William Langdale, ditto ; Colonel Thompson, King’s Regiment, silver mounted brushes ; Miss Weld of Leagram, Dresden china clock ; Mr. F. Lane-Fox, silver card. case ; Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Stapleton Bretherton, mother-of-pearl opera glasses ; Mr. Herbert Stourton, silver salt cellars ; Miss A. Vavasour, oak chair ; the bridegroom, pearl necklace, and many others.

The above text was found on p.24, 3rd November 1894 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher” The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .

The Hon Mrs Charles Russell (1867–1959).

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Hon. Mrs Charles Russell, by John Singer Sargent 1908

 

This painting is an autograph copy of the original painting entitled “The Honorable Mrs Charles Russell”, painted by Sargent  in 1900, and is now in a Californian private collection. This copy was painted in 1908, and is in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum  in Madrid.

The main reason for starting to work out who she was,  came from Frank Purssell and Lily Kuyper’s wedding in June 1896. In the guests listed are Mr and Mrs Charles Russell, sandwiched between ” Mr. Everard Green,…. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Russell,…. Mr. Bradshaw Isherwood,”. 

Everard Green was the Rouge Dragon Pursuivant in the College of Heralds 1893; and the Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries 1897. A convert to the Church, and one of the Catholic great and the good. Mr Bradshaw Isherwood was the uncle of Christopher Isherwood, the novelist and playwright. He was the elder brother and inherited the family estate at Marple Hall, near Stockport, eventually leaving the estate to Christopher. Henry Bradshaw-Isherwood married into the Bagshawes in about 1910 becoming the rather absurd Henry Bradshaw-Isherwood-Bradshawe on marriage.

So who were Mr and Mrs Charles Russell?  They were guests at a grand society wedding, and a grand Catholic wedding at that. So working on that basis, and using our old friend the Catholic Who’s Who, the only realistic candidates are the Hon. Charles Russell (8 July 1863 – 27 March 1928) and his wife Adah Adeline Walmsley Russell, neé Adah Adeline Walmsley Williams (1867–1959).  Charles Russell was a solicitor and local politician, and the second son of Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen. His father received his peerage shortly before becoming Lord Chief Justice in 1894.

In 1896, Charles was still Mr Charles Russell, even if he was the Hon. Charles Russell from 1894, once his father had received his peerage. He was the second son, and third child of ten brothers and sisters. Rather neatly, five boys and five girls; at least three of the boys were lawyers, and Charles’s younger brother Frank became a Law Lord following in the footsteps of their father who was Lord Chief Justice, and he, in turn, was followed by his (Frank’s) son Charles who was made a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in 1975. All three took the same title of Baron Russell of Killowen.

So, Charles Russell was a successful lawyer in 1896, eventually receiving a baronetcy in 1916 when he became Sir Charles Russell. We’ll come back to him in another post

The next paragraph from the description of the picture on the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection website was slightly startling  “Adah Adeline Russell, neé Adah Williams, was the granddaughter of Sir Joshua Walmsley, one of the founders of the London Daily News. In 1889 she married Sir Charles Russell, a union that produced a single daughter. Her husband was a solicitor, best known today as instructor for Lord Carson during the trial in which Carson successfully defended the marquis of Queensbury against the charges of libel brought by Oscar Wilde. The acquittal led to the writer’s own criminal prosecution, imprisonment, and early death in 1900, the year Mrs. Russell was painted.”

The Oscar Wilde bit’s interesting, but from my point of view the Joshua Walmsley bit was one of those weird coincidences that explode every so often. Is this the same Sir Joshua Walmsley we’ve come across before?

It is  the same person,  so we have, rather bizarrely, stumbled across a portrait of a first cousin [five times removed] whilst trying to work out who’s who at a great, great uncle’s wedding. Even better, and in an attempt to discover more about a one hundred and twenty year old wedding, we have the pleasing symmetry of this only being made possible by another wedding, sixty years later.

It worthwhile leaving the rest of the description from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection regarding the portrait, though I’m not entirely sure that I agree with all the phrasing………….

“John Singer Sargent first painted Mrs Charles Russell in 1900, exhibiting the portrait (San Francisco, California, Private Collection), among his eight entries at the Royal Academy the following year. He was at the apex of his career as a portrait painter, but would soon turn away from the profession, tiring of painting images of the fatuous elite. His portrait of Mrs. Russell, however, the critics quickly noticed, was a singularly haunting, introspective image, a portrait that provoke a number of unanswered questions. “What he tells us of this pathetic face is very interesting and very sad,” wrote one reviewer, while another observed that “the face is of extraordinary character, infinite pathos, and a masterpiece of painting […] the face haunts us, with its sad eyes and intellectual distress. Who shall read the secret so surely set there?” “

Little is known of the enigmatic sitter. Mrs. Russell, neé Adah Williams, was the granddaughter of Sir Joshua Walmsley, one of the founders of the London Daily News. In 1889 she married Sir Charles Russell, a union that produced a single daughter. Her husband was a solicitor, best known today as instructor for Lord Carson during the trial in which Carson successfully defended the marquis of Queensbury against the charges of libel brought by Oscar Wilde. The acquittal led to the writer’s own criminal prosecution, imprisonment, and early death in 1900, the year Mrs. Russell was painted.

Describing the painting in 1925, William Howe Downs wrote of the “nervous face, the long, slim neck, and the sensitive hands” as well as the sad eyes and mouth. The tense, nervous quality found in Mrs. Russell, recent scholarship has pointed out, is a salient feature in many of Sargent’s portraits. The perceptive critic, Royal Cortissoz, writing in 1924, considered it the very aspect that made Sargent “modern” and that it identified him with the spirit of his time. Each century, Cortissoz felt, had a prevailing impulse. While the mood of the 18th was “cerebral,” “nervous” was the quality of the 19th. “What Sargent has had to portray has been a restless race,” he wrote, “the conclusively representative Sargent in this matter of modernity is the alert ‘Mrs. Boit’ or the tense ‘Mrs. Charles Russell.”

Two drawings are known to exist which relate to the painting, one in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the other, in The Harvard University Art Museums. They capture the gesture of the sitter, but in each, the poignancy of Mrs. Russell’s features is only suggested. In the drawings, however, most noticeably in the Boston version, the hands assume a greater importance and reveal in a nervous fluttering of fingers, the apprehensive tenseness of Mrs. Russell.

The Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza 1908 replica of Mrs Charles Russell, painted at the very time Sargent abandoned his career as a portraitist, remains as puzzling as the sitter. No mention of it seem to have appeared in the Sargent literature. More vivaciously executed than the 1900 portrait, it nevertheless duplicates, almost stroke by stroke, Sargent’s handling in the earlier version. Only the lamp, which still remains in the artist’s family, is indicated in a more cursory manner. The signature, which has been questioned as unusual for the artist, is now placed below the ledge of the table rather than at the bottom left of the canvas-hardly typical in the work of a copyist. While few replicas of Sargent’s portraits exist, the artist twice painted Baron Russell of Killowen, Mrs. Russell’s father-in-law, in 1899 and a replica in 1900. The one clue to the painting’s significance, the inscription “Alice Copley, Boston” on the back of the canvas, has so far proven unproductive. “

Lord Petre 1817 – 1884

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The reason for including some of the Petres is partly they are a great story, and also that at George Lynch, and Carmela Lescher’s wedding the present from “the Hon. Mrs. Petre” was “a writing case” . She can only be Julia, who becomes the 15th Lady Petre in June 1908, and the Dowager Lady Petre five months later.

It is with much regret that we have to announce the death of LORD PETRE, which took place at a quarter to eight on Friday evening at his lordship’s London residence, 35, Portland-place For a lengthened period Lord Petre had been in failing health, and, as he had been gradually sinking for the last few weeks, his death did not come as a surprise to his family. The Right Honourable William Bernard Petre, twelfth Lord Petre, of Writtle, in the peerage of England, was the eldest son of William Henry Francis, eleventh Baron, by his first wife, Frances Charlotte, eldest daughter of the late Sir Richard Bedingfeld, of Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk ; he was born at Thorndon Hall, Brentwood, on the 20th of December, 1817, and succeeded to the title on the death of his father in I85o. His lordship came into the possession of large estates chiefly in the parishes surrounding Brentwood. The Petre estates are, indeed, among the most extensive in Essex, and, in addition to reaching into many other parishes, comprised almost the entire acreage of East Horndon, West Horndon, Ingrave, and Herongate. For several generations Ingatestone Hall was the family seat, but in the earlier part of the last century Thorndon Hall was built by the ninth Baron—who, it may be mentioned in passing, held the title for the remarkably long period of fifty-two years—and this magnificent structure succeeded Ingatestone Hall as the chief country residence of the family. It was sumptuously furnished and contained an almost priceless collection of paintings by the old masters, as well as a very valuable library. At one time George III. was a guest at the Hall, and a handsome oak chair in which the King sat when holding his court there was carefully preserved. Unfortunately, Thorndon Hall was destroyed by fire on the morning of the 22nd of March, 1878, and though most of the works of art and other heirlooms were saved, the damage done was estimated at little less than £100,000. Lord Petre at once gave up any intention of rebuilding the Hall, thinking it better to leave such a serious task to a younger man. He and his family resided at Felix Hall, Kelvedon, after the fire, subsequently at York House, Twickenham, which he rented from the Right Hon. M. E. Grant-Duff, and afterwards at Roehampton. Lord Petre, like his predecessors, held a foremost place among the laity of the Catholic Church in England, and in 1869 Pope Pius IX. expressed his appreciation of his lordship’s services to religion by conferring upon him the Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IX. Lord Petre was an unfailing supporter of Catholic institutions, and, when the state of his health permitted it, was always to be found at important gatherings in this country in connection with his church. In Essex he and the other members of his family have ever been ready to contribute of their substance to the maintenance of their Church ; and the archives of the family are not without instances of great sacrifice—the sacrifice of freedom and liberty—in the cause of the faith to which the Petres have clung with so much devotion. The fourth Baron ended his life a prisoner in the Tower, and about the same period others of the family showed a readiness to give up freedom, and, if necessary, life in defence .of their faith.

The late Lord Petre was a considerate landlord, and during the agricultural distress regularly allowed handsome reductions of rent to his tenants. His lordship was a magistrate and a deputy-lieutenant for Essex and Middlesex, but he did not take a prominent part in the public life of either county. He was co-heir to the baronies of Howard, Grey, Stoke, &c. In 1843 he married Mary Teresa, eldest daughter of the late Hon. Charles Thomas Cliflord, and grand-daughter of the sixth Lord Clifford, who survives him, and by whom he has left a family of twelve children—namely, four sons and eight daughters. The eldest son, who succeeds to the title, is the Hon. and Right Rev. Monsignor William Joseph Petre, who was born on the 26th of February, 1847. He is a deputy-lieutenant for Essex, and resides at Woburn Park, Weybridge. The eldest daughter, the Hon. Frances Mary, was born in 1844, and married in 1873, the seventh Earl of Granard. The third, fourth, and fifth daughters are Nuns, and the sixth is a Sister of Charity at Darlington. Three other daughters are married, the most recent wedding in the family having been that of the Hon. Eleanor Mary Petre with Mr. E. S. Trafford, which was Celebrated at Kelvedon in 1880. His lordship is survived by one brother— the Hon. H. W. Petre, of Springfield-place—two sisters, three half-brothers—the Hon. F. C. E. Petre, of 49, Courtfield-Gardens, the Hon. E. G. Petre, and the Hon. A. H. Petre—and one half-sister, who married in 1845 the eighth Baron Clifford. An aunt of the late Baron and the widow of a son of the ninth Baron are also living. There are many representatives of collateral branches of the family residing in different parts of the country.

Lord Petre was representative, through the only daughter, of the last Earl of Derwentwater, executed for high treason in 1715, whose remains were buried at Dilston Castle, Northumberland, and removed, on the destruction of the chapel a few years ago, to the mortuary chapel in Lord Petre’s grounds at Thorndon.

THE REQUIEM AT SPANISH PLACE.

On Wednesday the remains of the late Lord Petre were transported from 35, Portland-Place, to St. James’s, Spanish-place, which was reached at ten o’clock, escorted by the orphans belonging to the Creche in Seymour-street, which is conducted by the Sisters of Charity. The body was enclosed in a rich mahogany coffin, bearing gold coronets on either side, and a beautiful gilt Gothic cross on the lid. On arriving at the church, which was filled to suffocation with those who desired to pay a last token of respect and affection to the memory of the late Peer, the coffin was placed on the handsome catafalque, which was surrounded with innumerable flowers and candles. The Requiem Mass was then proceeded with. The Bishop of Emmaus pontificated, assisted by the Hon. and Rev. Algernon Stanley, the Revv. FF. Hogan and Forster, Ob.S.C., and the Rev. J. Guiron, as master of ceremonies. His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster assisted in cope and mitre, supported by the Very Rev. Provost Hunt and Canon Bamber, the Rev. M. Barry acting as his master of ceremonies. In accordance with the express wishes of the deceased, all the arrangements of the function were carried out with as much simplicity as possible. The service was entirely without organ, and harmonised chants throughout, except the Dies Irae, which was sung to Gregorian tones. At the close of the Mass, the Cardinal Archbishop gave the final absolutions. In deference to the wishes we have already alluded to, there was no funeral sermon or discourse of any kind. At the close, the boys of the choir sang the In Paradisum to music composed for the occasion by the Rev. F. Sankey (Mus. Bac., Oxon), who directed the choir during the whole service.

Among the relatives and friends present we remarked Lady Petre, the Hon. Henry and Hon. Frederick Petre (the brothers and executors), Hon. Bernard and Hon. Philip Petre (sons), the Earl and Countess of Granard, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Bretherton, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Trafford of Wroxham Hall, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Butler Bowdon, Lady Clifford of Chudleigh ; Hon. Charles Petre, Mr. Edward and Lady Gwendeline Petre, Hon. Mrs. Douglas, Mr. Henry Petre of Dunkenhalgh, Mr. F. Loraine Petre, Mr. Edwin de Lisle ; the Earl of Denbigh, Lord Emly, Sir Henry Bedingfeld, Mr. Everard Green, &c., &c.

The church remained filled with a prayerful congregation till two o’clock, when the body was removed to Thorndon Hall, Brentwood, in charge of the Hon. Bernard and the Hon. Philip Petre, and was received there by the Hon. and Right Rev, William Petre.

THE FUNERAL.

The burial-place of Lord Petre was the family vault in the Mortuary Chapel at Thorndon, built by him some years ago.

At the funeral the Very Rev. Canon Bomber said Mass, and the Dies Irae and other chants were sung by boys from Woburn School.

Among those present were Lady Petre, Lord Clifford, Agnes Lady Clifford (half sister of the deceased), the Earl and Countess of Granard, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. F. Bretherton, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Trafford, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Butler-Bowden, the Hon. and Right Rev. Mgr. W. Petre (now Lord Petre), the Hon. Bernard Petre, the Hon. Philip Petre, and the Hon. Joseph Petre ; the Hons. Henry, Frederick and Albert Petre, the Hon. Mrs. Douglas ; the Duke of Norfolk, Lord Herries, Sir H. Bedingfeld;  Sir T. Barrett Lenard ; Count Torre Diaz ; Messrs. Henry Petre, Edward Petre, Charles Petre, John Blount ; Lady Sophia Forbes ; Hon. Mary and Catherine Petre ; the Right. Rev Mgr. Weld, the Very Rev. Provost Hunt and the Rev. M. Barry.

A PARTING WORD.

A correspondent writes to us : It is not often that we have to mourn the death of one endowed with such rare qualities as this nobleman or one so universally beloved and revered. In every relation of life, he showed himself to be the true Christian nobleman. In the colleges of Old Hall and Oscott he was educated, and learnt those principles which were his guide through life. When upon the death of his father in 1850, he came to his patrimonial estates, he made it his constant study to use his ample means in order to promote the good of others. There was not a poor person around his mansion who did not in some way partake of his beneficence. At a certain hour every day he was free to see any who came to him, and he was ready to advise them and afford them consolation and help according to their needs. His charity was not only generous but most considerate. He thought of the necessities of others and studied how he could relieve them. Perhaps nothing showed this so forcibly as in the comfortable cottages which he provided for them. These cottages had each three bed rooms, for the proper separation of the family, and two ample living rooms, besides a small larder. There was also attached to each pair of cottages a washhouse with copper and oven, and a large plot of garden ground, and the whole was let for the small rent of 1s. 6d. per week. Each cottage cost £200, it is therefore easy to see what a small interest he received for the money expended. He considered that he could not confer a greater charity than thus providing good houses for the poor, and in addition to the many which he found on the estate he added over fifty, which he let at that rate, within the means of the most humble. Another work of charity was the gift of milk to the poor. Each morning some thirty families of children were thus provided with what formed so necessary a part of their breakfast. On his birthday, the 20th of December, there was a donation of clothing to over one hundred families, without distinction of creed, who belonged to the three surrounding parishes. To the church he was a munificent benefactor. The chapels of Thorndon and Ingatestone belonged to him, and he mainly built the chapel at Brentwood, and made over the valuable plot of land upon which the new church, convent, schools, and orphanage were erected. The church and school at Romford, the school-chapel and school at Barking he erected, and almost entirely supported. He was also a great benefactor to the Church at Chelmsford and Ongar, and, indeed, there was no work undertaken for the benefit of religion in the county to which he did not largely subscribe. But his charities were not confined to his own county, he was always ready to give a helping hand to every work having the good of religion or the education of the poor for its object. He subscribed liberally to the reformatories, the poor school committee, the creche and night home, and the erection of the episcopal seminary. But what seemed dearest to him was the education of priests for the work of the missions. Until recently he had always five students who were studying for the priesthood, whom he either wholly or partially educated. It is only by these outward signs that we can judge of his interior virtuous qualities, for his modesty and retirement were equal to his liberality, and he tried to keep everything out of sight. It was this which prevented him from taking a leading part in public affairs, for which by his great abilities he was so well qualified ; and the same humility caused him to give orders that no discourse should be made over him at his funeral. He died as he had lived, calm, peaceful, full of charity for all, full of faith and confidence in the heavenly future. He was attended during his long sickness by one of his daughters, who is a Sister of Charity, and this was a real happiness to him. During the last painful days of his illness he was surrounded by almost all his children, who grieved over the loss of the best of fathers, whilst they were consoled by his peaceful, happy end. The poor around his residence, who loved him so well, as they had a right to do, are inconsolable, for they have lost in him a tender father. He died in his sixty-seventh year, having possessed the estates thirty four years. R.I.P.

The above text was found on p.25, 12th July 1884  in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .

George Lynch 1862 -1929

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George-Lynch
George Lynch

George Lynch married Carmela Lescher in October 1902. This was a nicely complicated family wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Harwood Lescher, the bride’s parents are both O’Bryen cousins. Mrs. Frank Harwood Lescher (nee Mary O’Connor Graham Grehan), is Celia O’Bryen’s niece. She is the eldest daughter of Patrick Grehan III, Celia’s brother. Frank Harwood Lescher is the son of Joseph Sidney Lescher, whose sister Harriet Lescher is the second wife of Patrick Grehan Junior, so he is Celia O’Bryen’s step-mother’s nephew.

So the O’Bryen boys are all first cousins of the bride’s mother, and first cousins once removed of the bride’s father. This makes [Thomas] Edward, Frank [Graham], [Mary] Carmela [Anne], and [Mercedes] Adela Lescher all second cousins. 

I’ve been slowly tracking down who’s who at the wedding, and will be posting that soon, but if you want to read the un-annotated write-up of it it’s here.

Back to George, this is his entry from the Catholic Who’s Who, 1908

Lynch, George — born in Cork 1868; educated at the Oratory School, Edgbaston; explorer in the Pacific Islands and Western Australia; correspondent for The Daily Chronicle in the Spanish American War, and during the Boer War for Collier’s Weekly, and other papers; his daring effort to leave Ladysmith during the investment involved his capture and imprisonment in Pretoria. He has since been with the International Forces to Pekin, followed the Russo-Japanese War, and been several times round the world. Mr Lynch married (1902) Carmela, daughter of Frank Harwood Lescher, and is the author of The Bare Truth about War — The Impressions of a War Correspondent — The War of the Civilizations and other books.

OBITUARY: MR. GEORGE LYNCH, 1929.

George Lynch demonstrating his patented gloves for handling barbed wire in August 1916

We regret to state that Mr. George Lynch, F.R.G.S., the explorer and war correspondent whose inventive genius was so useful during the Great War in the work of overcoming barbed-wire entanglements, died at his residence in West London on December 29, aged sixty. Mr. Lynch was a Cork man. After early education at St. Vincent’s College, Castleknock, he came to England and entered the Oratory School. A traveller at heart, he found an opportunity, as a young man, to explore ‘extensively the Pacific Islands and Western Australia. After the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, he became correspondent, for those operations, to the Daily Chronicle; and during the Boer War he acted in a similar capacity for the Illustrated London News and for Collier’s Weekly. A daring attempt to get out of Ladysmith at the time of the famous siege led to his being captured and imprisoned by the enemy. Since that time Mr. Lynch had been with the International Forces to Pekin, had followed the Russo-Japanese War, and was with the Belgian Army in the Great War; it was in this last campaign that he invented the S.O.S. (” Save Our Skin “) gloves and other appliances for dealing with barbed wire. In his time he represented many important papers, and he had been six times round the world.

Among Mr. Lynch’s published work, apart from his many letters from seats of war, were several volumes based on his experiences : The Impressions of a War Correspondent; The Bare Truth about War; The War of the Civilizations; Realities; The Path of Empire, Old and New Japan.

The funeral took place on Wednesday last, after a requiem at St. Mary’s, Bayswater.—R.I.P.

The  text immediately above was found on p.21, 5th January 1929 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher” The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .

The funeral of the late Lady Howard of Glossop 1887

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The funeral of the late Lady Howard of Glossop took place on April 23rd, at Hadfield. On Friday evening the remains were carried in solemn procession to St. Charles’s Church, Hadfield, where they were placed on a catafalque in front of the high altar, which, as well as the sanctuary, was draped with black. The coffin was covered with a velvet pall edged with a fringe of gold, and bearing down the centre a large Latin cross, in cloth of gold, while on a velvet cushion was placed the coronet of the deceased. The bier was surrounded with beautiful wreaths and crosses. Upon the lid of the coffin were a raised brass crucifix and the following inscription : “Clara Louisa Howard of Glossop. Born 13th November, 1852; died 17th April, 1887. R.I.P.” Vespers for the dead were chanted by choristers from St. Mary’s, Sheffield, under the direction of the Rev. Canon Walshaw. At nine o’clock on Saturday morning a solemn dirge was sung, followed by solemn Mass of Requiem. The celebrant was the Rev. Bernard Vaughan, S.J., of the Church of the Holy Name, Manchester, assisted by the Rev. J. Rowe, of the Oratory, Brompton, London, as deacon, and the Rev. J. Norris, of the Oratory, Edgbaston, Birmingham, as sub-deacon ; the Right Rev. Dr. Bagshawe, Bishop of Nottingham, assisted pontifically, attended by the Very Revv. Canon Tasker and Canon Scully (Glossop). The Right Rev. Dr. Macdonald, Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, occupied a faldstool in the sanctuary. Many priests, relatives, and friends were present, including Lord Howard of Glossop, Winefride, Lady Howard ; Mrs. Greenwood (mother of the deceased) and her sons, Captain Greenwood, Mr. Hubert Greenwood, and Mr. Wilfrid Greenwood ; Ladies Mary, Philippa, and Margaret Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, Lord and Lady Edmund Talbot, the Countess Loudon the Marquis and Marchioness of Bute, Lord and Lady Herries, Lord and Lady Ralph Kerr, and the Rev. H. S. Kerr, S.J. The Gregorian music, unaccompanied, was well rendered by the choristers of St. Mary’s, Sheffield. The Absolutions were given by the Bishop of Nottingham. The remains were then carried to the Lady Chapel, where they were solemnly interred. During the procession to the grave the choir sang the  In Paradisum  and chanted the Benedictus. The coffin having been placed in position, the procession withdrew, the Bishop of Nottingham reciting the De Profundis.

On the following day (Sunday), Father Bernard Vaughan, S.J., preached the funeral sermon in the presence of the Howard family, the Duke of Norfolk, and a large congregation. He contrasted the different views of death taken by the children of God and the votaries of the world ; he referred in moving terms to the two illustrious ladies whom Catholics were now mourning, dwelling especially on the love of her family and of the poor ever shown by the late Lady Howard of Glossop.

The above text was found on p.25, 30th April 1887 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher” The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .

The theft of 3.s. worth of Hay from Joseph Lescher 1842

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Old Bailey Proceedings, 9th May 1842.

ESSEX CASES. Before Mr. Recorder.

GEORGE PORTER and WILLIAM GARWOOD were indicted for stealing, on the 1st of April, 65lbs. weight of hay, value 3s., the goods of Joseph Samuel Lescher. [ (1796 – 1871) of Boyles Court, Essex]

The hay Wain
The Hay Wain, John Constable 1821. Image courtesy of the National Gallery, London

GEORGE MALIN (police-constable K 96). “I know the prisoner Garwood—he is ostler at the Rising Sun, at Ilford—Porter was a master carter. On the 1st of April, between seven and eight o’clock at night, I saw the prisoners in company—I saw Porter carry a truss of hay from the premises of the Rising Sun, and place it in the hind part of his cart—he was driving the cart himself—he went to the horses’ head and did something to the bridle, watered his horses, then followed me down the road about a quarter of a mile, and there overtook me—I asked him where he bought the hay in his cart?—he said, “At a corn-chandler’s”—I asked “What corn-chandlers?—he said, “I shall not tell you”—I said, “How can you say you bought it at a corn-chandler’s when I saw you bring it from the stable of the Rising Sun”—he then said, “I know I did.”

Cross-examined by MR. CLARKSON.  Q. “How is it you are out of your police dress? “ A. “I am suspended, and have been fined for neglect of duty—it does not arise from the proceeding at the Rising Sun, that I am aware of—it did come from the Rising Sun, but not in the present case—I believe it was done through ill-feeling towards me at that house—last Monday fortnight I was on duty in the same road, and a carter that goes the road interrupted me in any duty, and made use of very obscene language to me—I took him into custody for being intoxicated—it was two miles to the station—he begged hard of me to let him go, as he should have to leave his master’s team, and he would never do it again, and I let him go—he afterwards made a complaint against me at the station—there were two or three carts standing in front of the Rising Sun—I cannot say there might not have been four or five.”

GEORGE LORD. “I keep the Rising Sun at East Ham, and have a hay and straw loft in my stable—Garwood was the ostler—the key of the door hung outside the stable—I saw the truss of hay which was found in the cart on the bench, but did not examine it to see if it was like mine.”

Cross-examined by MR. CLARKSON.  Q. “How long has Garwood been in your service? ” A. “About three years altogether—his conduct was perfectly satisfactory—I had much confidence in his honesty—I have left him in possession of my bar and goods—it is the practice daily for carters to leave the fodder on the road down, and fetch it on returning, that it should not be splashed and spoiled as the wagons go for soil—he has been in the service of Mr. Hind, a brewer in my neighbourhood, for three years before he came to me.”

JOSHUA GUY . “I am carman to Joseph Samuel Lescher, of East Ham. On the 1st of April I drove my master’s team to town for a load of soil—I took two trusses of clover-hay, some mixed oats, beans, and clover-chaff —I waited at the Rising Sun—my horses consumed part of the clover-hay on their way to town, and I left the rest at the Rising Sun—it was rather better than a truss—my master does not authorize me to leave it there, but I always do it—I never got it back again—it was gone when I returned—I left it in Garwood’s care, in the double-door stable—Garwood told me to put it there—when I got there on my way back, Lord told me I had better not stop there, for my hay was taken away, and the police had got my corn—I have seen the hay taken from Porter’s cart—here is part of it—I know it, and can say it is part of the hay I left in the stable—it is the same as master had at home, which it was cut from—there was a binding on the truss, but I did not tie it myself—I had seen it tied and am able to say it is a portion of what I had left at the Rising Sun—I saw the whole truss at Ilford station, and this is a sample which I took from it.”

Cross-examined by MR. CLARKSON.  Q. “How long have you, been in the habit of going up and down the road? “  A.  “Four of five years—I was in the habit of leaving my hay at the stable—I alway found it safe before.”  Cross-examined by MR. ESPINASSE.  Q. “How do you know it?”  A. “There is no particular mark—it is clover-hay, trefoil, and Dutch clover mixed, and I know the growth—I know it is the hay I had in my cart.”

GEORGE MALIN  (police-constable K 96) re-examined. “This is part of the hay I took from Porter’s cart.”

JOSEPH SAMUEL LESCHER . “I have a farm—I saw the hay at the station, and hare no doubt of its being fart of what I had on my premises—it is red and white clover, and trefoil.”

(The prisoner Porter received a good character,)

GARWOOD— NOT GUILTY .

PORTER— GUILTY . Aged 26.— Confined Five Months.

Reference Number: t18420509-1658

Poor old George then has a second trial.

GEORGE PORTER was again indicted for stealing, on the 1st of April, 2 sacks, value 2s., the goods of William Maxwell,

GEORGE MALIN (police-constable K 96) .  “The prisoner lives at Barkingside, in Essex—I went to his house and saw his wife—I went to the place where he keeps the provision for his horses, and found three sacks, two marked, “W. M., East Ham;” the other, “H. Squires, Leytonstone.”

WILLIAM MAXWELL . “I live at East Ham, very near the Rising Sun—I have a farm-house by the road-side, on which the prisoner’s cart travels—these two potato-sacks are mine—I had no dealings with the prisoner, for him to get possession of them.”

Cross-examined by MR. ESPINASSE. “Had you missed any sacks? “ A.  “No; I have above 200, and never count them—I am in the habit of sending things out in sacks to London, very seldom any where else, except to my farm—I never send corn out in the sacks—the prisoner was sent to London to a salesman many times, and they send them to the consumer.”

MR. ESPINASSE called—- STRINGER.  “I deal in vegetables, and am in the habit of buying and selling potatoes—I get them in sacks, and generally have other persons’ sacks coming from the market, who have our sacks, and have others sent back in return—they get changed in business—the prisoner has dealt in vegetables since Michaelmas—he was my servant six years—sometimes, I send a ton of potatoes to market, and have several back not our own—I know the prisoner cannot read.”

NOT GUILTY .

Reference Number: t18420509-1659