14 APRIL 1838, Page 6

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The Manchester Guardian has a strange story of a woman, in seventeen years has passed for a man, being married, and having fie several years carried on the business of a bricklayer with s Manchester. A quarrel with the wife induced the latter to reveal the secret; which she declared she had only herself discovered two ot three years ago, a long time after they had been married. No narnei are given. The Manchester paper tells another story of the sum kind, on the credit of Mr. Thomas, the head of the Mancheitet Police—

In January 1829, a labourer in the service of Mr. Crisp, ship-builder, at Duckhead, London, while assisting in sawing a log of fir, was struck by the severed part id the log with such force on the head, as to die of the injury while being conve) ed to St. Thomas's Hospital. On stripping the body to teepee it for interment, it was discovered that the deceased, who was about thirty. eight years of age, was a woman. She had been known for about twenty-ties years to have filled various situations as groom, shipwright's labourer, and other subordinate occupations in dockyards, vitriol-workir, &e. ; and had bear twenty-one years married ; and his wife declared in the most solemn inertia, on the inquest, and before the Police Magistrates at Bow Street, that during the whole of that period she bad been in utter ignorance of ihe real sex other supposed husband."

On Wednesday night, Thomas Wale, a young man recently dis. missed for bad conduct from the employ of Mr. Butterill, horsekeeper in Birmingham, stubbed Michael Handley, an old man hired by Botterill to succeed Wale. The wound was in the side ; and Handley died soon after receiving it. There had been a previous scuttle between the parties ; but Mr. 13otterill interfered, and locked Handley in the stable : Wide waited till he came out, and then attacked him.

Samuel Kiikby, a lad of fifteen, upprentieed to Jiihn Bruce, a butcher of Lincoln was committed on Saturday, to be tried on a charge of poisoning Ls master; who died suddenly after taking ten, in which arsenic was found. Several other members of Bruce's family were taken ill, but recovered. Kirkby had been severely flogged by his master for some neglect, and had sworn that he would "serve him out." It was proved that he had purchased arsenic "to poison rats."

A large new factory belonging to Mr. Jacob Bright, of Rochdale, fifty-seven yards long, twenty yards broad, and five stories high, was en- tirely destroyed by fire on Tuesday, with the whole of the machinery, which was new, and of the most valuable description. The fire broke out about eight in the morning, and is understood to have arisen from friction in one of the scutching-machines. The loss is supposed to amount to 30,000/. The building and machinery were insured.

On Tuesday night, the Lodge Farm, at Diddlebury, in Hereford- shire, was found to be in flames, and unfortunately was burnt to the ground, together with a large quantity of stock, six cows, seven calves, and a quantity of pigs. This calamitous fire is the work of an incendi- ary the premises are insured.—Hereford Journal. The Lincoln Gazette mentions, that on Sunday last (Palm Sunday) the ancient but indecent custom of the whip-gad cracking was gone

through use usual, in one of the Lincoln churches. In the first lesson, three loud cracks near the church-door; in the second lesson, the gad is held over the parson's head during the time be is reading it.