6 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



whole procession all ranks of per- 

 sons who were present conducted 

 themselves with a solemnity rarely 

 witnessed in the east part of the 

 town ; and until the body was 

 lowering into the earth, hardly a 

 whisper was to be heard in the 

 street. Not a single accident hap- 

 pened. Williams is buried close to 

 the turnpike-gate in the Cannon- 

 street road. 



2. The infant son of Mrs. Del- 

 low of St. Martin's-lane, Cannon- 

 street, who was stolen on the 18th 

 of November, has at length been 

 recovered. 



The extensive circulation of 

 hand and posting-bills, minutely 

 describing the child, and offering 

 a reward of one hundred guineas 

 lor his recovery, caused great but 

 ineflfectual vigilance in the coun- 

 try, until the latter end of last 

 week, when a woman at Gosport 

 observed a neighbour of her's in 

 possession of a boy, bearing the 

 marks described, and answering to 

 the age of three years old. She 

 immediately thought it was Tho- 

 mas Dellow, who had been so long 

 missing : the more so, as she had 

 reason to believe that the pretend- 

 ed mother had never borne a child. 

 She communicated her suspicions 

 to the nearest magistrate, who sent 

 for Mrs. Magnes, the pretended 

 mother. The moment she was in- 

 terrogated on the subject, she con- 

 fessed the whole affair, and her 

 motive for the robbery. 



Magnes, her husband, who was 

 a gunner on board one-of his ma- 

 jesty's ships, and had saved a con- 

 siderable sum of money for a man 

 in his station of life, was extremely 

 partial to children, and had often 

 expressed his most anxio js wish to 

 have a little darling as he used to 



term it. His wife, not less anxious) 

 to gratify him in this respect, wrote 

 to him while at sea, that she was in 

 the family-way. The gunner, high- 

 ly delighted that he had obtained 

 his desired object, sent home the 

 earnings of many a cruise, amount- 

 ing to 300/. , with a particular charge 

 that the infant should be well rig- 

 ged, and want for nothing; if a 

 boy, so much the better. 



The next letter from his hopeful 

 wife announced the happy tidings 

 that his first-born was a son, and 

 that she would name him Richard, 

 after his father. The husband ex- 

 pressed his joy at the news, and 

 counted the tedious hours until he 

 should be permitted to come home 

 to his wife and child. 



At home he at length arrived, 

 but at an unfortunate time, whea 

 the dear Richard was out at nurse,at 

 a considerable distance ; change of 

 air being necessary to the easy cut- 

 ting of his teeth. Magnes* time 

 being short, he left his home with 

 a heavy heart, without bemg able 

 to see his offsprng ; but he was as- 

 sured, that on his next trip to Gos- 

 port he should have the felicity he 

 had so often pined for, of clasping 

 his darling to his bosom. It was not 

 until November last that he was 

 at liberty to revisit home, when he 

 had again the mortification to find 

 that his son, whom he expected to 

 see a fine boy of three years old, 

 had not yet cut his teeth, or that 

 lie was fr<jm home on some other 

 pretence. Magnes, however, was 

 not to be pacified thus : he would 

 go and see his son, or his son 

 should come to him. Mrs. Mag- 

 nes, finding him determined, 

 thought the latter much the best 

 way ; and accordingly set off to 

 fetch the boy. The metropolis oc- 

 curred 



