146 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



tress, had the misfortune to break 

 some articles of furniture, and to 

 spoil four dozen of knives and 

 forks, by incautiously lighting a 

 fire in an oven where they had 

 been placed to keep them from 

 rust. The unfortunate girls had, 

 however, bought other knives and 

 forks. Upon the return of Mr. 

 and Mrs. Gibbons (on Sunday, the 

 14th), the servants were severely 

 reprimanded for what had happen- 

 ed, and one of them received notice 

 to leave her place. They both ap- 

 j>eared to be very uncomfortable 

 during Sunday and Monday ; and 

 on the latter day the footman heard 

 them in conversation respecting 

 Martha Viner, a late servant in the 

 same family, who had drowned 

 herself in the pond in the garden ; 

 and observing one to the other, 

 that she had done so through 

 trouble. The elder then said to 

 the younger, " We will have a 

 swim to-night, Mary !* The other 

 replied, " So we will, girl.'' The 

 footman thought they were jesting, 

 and said, •' Aj'e, and I will swim 

 with you.'' Sophia Edwards re- 

 plied, " No, you sha'nt ; but [ 

 will have a swim, and afterwards 

 I will haunt you.'' After this con- 

 versation, they continued about 

 their work as usual, and at six 

 o'clock asked the footman to get 

 tea for them ; while he was in the 

 pantry for that purpose, he heard 

 the kitchen door shut, and on his 

 return into the kitchen they were 

 both gone. The footman after- 

 wards thought he heard them up 

 stairs, and therefore took no notice 

 of their absence, until eight o'clock, 

 when he told his master and mis- 

 tress. Search was made for them 

 about the house, gai den, and neigh- 

 bourhood, during the whole night ; 



and early on Tuesday morning the 

 same pond v/as dragged which had 

 so recently been the watery grave 

 of Martha Viner, when both their 

 bodies were found in it, lying close 

 to each other. The jury returned 

 a verdict of — Found drowned. 



25. Between six and seven o'clock 

 this evening, Mr. Wiggin, a re- 

 spectable miller, who resided about 

 two miles from Bridgnorth, was 

 murdered between that place and 

 his own house. He was on his re- 

 turn from Wolverhampton market, 

 and was met by a footpad about a 

 mile from home. It is supposed 

 that, on making a stout resistance, 

 the villain drew fi pistol, and shot 

 him through the body; the ball 

 passed in a direct line just below 

 his heart. It seems, however, that 

 the assassin was alarmed by his 

 cries, as he made off without taking 

 any of his property, which consisted 

 of between 50 and 60/. in cash and 

 notes. It is remarkable, that the 

 unfortunate man pursued his mur- 

 derer after being shot, for about a 

 hundred yards, and was found by 

 some persons from a turnpike- 

 house, who had heard his cries, 

 exhausted with loss of blood, at a 

 stile which he had in vain endea- 

 voured to get over in his pursuit. 

 He was carried to the house, where 

 he expired in a few minutes. It 

 is said, that the deceased was about 

 being married to a lady of Wol- 

 verhampton. 



26. In an application to the 

 Court of King's Bench, for a cri- 

 minal information against two per- 

 sons for posting a merchant of 

 London in a coffee-house for re- 

 fusing a challenge, Lord Ellen- 

 borough pronounced sentence in 

 the following terms : — 



" Really it i» high time to put a 



stop 



