A Commission of Lunacy sat on Monday, and every day
subsequent, at Gray's Inn Coffeehouse, before Mr. Phillimore and others, to inquire into the sanity of Mr. Edward Davies, of Philpot Lane, whose case was before the public some weeks ago. His father, it appeared, had died when he was an infant ; his mother had contracted a second marriage, and entered into the tea trade with her son, whom she now wished to have declared a lunatic. Sir Charles Wetherell sup- ported her petition. The young man, he said, had not, till a comparatively re- cent period, evinced symptoms of iusanity ; he had been attentive to business, and proved himself quite as great an adept in packing tea, as his learned friend (Mr. Brougham) was in packing speeches: but success in trade seemed latterly to have turned his brain ; he had fancied himself the peculiar care of supernatural influences ; he had discovered in himself talents, latent to all the world besides, for metaphysics and finance; he was in the habit of edifying his bankers when he called upon them on business, not with dissertations on Life Annuities or Three per Cents, but with lectures on stage-reading, and illustrations of the use of the cadences which he deemed most effective ; he supposed that half the world sought no other employment than laughing at him supplied ; and in order to put himself on a level with his enemies, he studied boxing, single stick, and pistol- shooting, and boasted that he would ere long bring his accomplishments of that kind into exercise. Such was the substance of the learned gentleman's speech. A medical gentleman proved that Mr. Davies's conduct had been extremely wild in July last. Davies had called upon him to impart a tale of horror, but when he had secured a fair hearing in a room of which the door was locked, he merely imparted a statement of the amount of his wealth, of his skill in trade, and of his knowledge of poetry and elocution. He asked the medical gentleman whether he was mad ; and desired a visit of him next day, with a threat that were it de- layed, he might " dread the revenge of a madman, who carried pistols." Mr. Davies accompanied these disclosures with no fee—and from that circumstance as well as the others, the medical witness could not avoid the conclusion that his visitor was mad. A elerk in the banking-house of Messrs. Ransom stated, that Davies had called for him in July last; had charged him with neglect in not calling at Philpot Lane, and marked his sense of the slight by presenting a pistol at him ; had declined visiting witness, because" it was beneath the dignity of a citizen to visit any one in furnished apartments ; " and, to crown the whole, had insisted on being styled " Alderman Davies." Mr. Davies's aunt stated, that he was in the habit.of boasting of illumination from heaven—of declaring that des- tiny called him to Court—and that should it be his lot to harangue the senate, the leading men there would be glad to hide their heads. Sir Charles Wetherell asked whether her nephew had specified any one Parliamentary orator, whom it was the will of Fate that he should eclipse ?—whether he had not proposed to out-talk one in particular whose name begins with B. The witness declared that her nephew had singled out no rival—that he had merely professed himself superior to the whole mass of collective wisdom. This witness, during her cross-examination by Mr. Brougham, got a little angry, and admitted that she had formerly expressed herself less decidedly on the subject of her nephew's madness. Mr. Robles gave it as his decided opinion, from what he had seen of Davies during his confinement at Clapham; that he was not in- sane : flighty he was, no doubt, but not more so than any one under restraint might be expected to be. He had at that time, taken instructions from him on business, and never had he met with a client who better understood his own affairs. Other witnesses, some of them medical men, stated that Mr. Davies was wild in manner, but hesitated to declare that he had been absolutely mad. One of these gentlemen heard Mr. Davies say that his only friend was a dog—thought this very odd, but it might be a jest—never read a sentiment of the same nature in the works of Byron. Mrs. Hardell, with whom Davies lodged in August, stated that his manner was very wild, and his language incoherent ; that he called himself the son of God Almighty, and declared that he had been born without a mother; that he termed himself a greater man than the Duke of Wel- lington, Mr. Peel, or the King; and alleged that he had been visiting in heaven, where he had been appointed candle-bearer to Jupiter and snuff-maker to the moon. This witness admitted, however, on cross-examination, that she had not repeated these extraordinary expressions to Mr. Hobler, or any of the persons who took interest in Davies. Sir George Tuthill declared, that in his opinion Mr. Davies had been insane, but that he believed he would recover. Sir George ad- mitted that he could not have discovered anything false or startling in Davies's com- munications to him, but for the information which his mother supplied. Dr. Framp- ton declared Mr. Davies to be mad now because he would not admit that he had been mad in August. (Here the auditory hissed the witness.) He thought Mr. Davies's purchase of an estate at 6,000 guineas an act of madness in his circum- stances,—though, upon cross-examination, he admitted that he did not know what these circumstances were. He should deem any trader mad—not merely impru- dent, but mad_who should lock up so large a proportion of his capital.
In consequence of the misunderstanding between Sir Charles Wetherell and the Solicitor-General on Friday, both of these gentlemen were bound over on the same evening in heavy recognizances to keep the peace. It was no easy matter, it is said, for the officer to find either of them. The thoughts of both were bloody, and they kept out of the way as much as possible. The whole interior furniture and decorations of St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street, were sold by auction on Wednesday. The edifice is about to be pulled down.
Some shares in Drury Lane Theatre were sold on Tuesday, at the Mart, by Mr. Robins. A 5001. share, with an income of Is. 3d. every night of perform- ance, and a free admission, deable or transferable, was sold for 270 guineas. A 1001. share, with a life admission' was sold for 60 guineas. Terence's Phormio was played for the third time atWestminster School on Mon- day night. The audience was numerous, and the representation quite as effective as on the former occasions.
Sprats were selling in Bridgewater, on Tuesday evening, at one halfpenny per pound.
A few days ago, as Gallagher, the ventriloquist, alighted from the Cork coach in Dawson Street, Dublin, he played one of those tricks of his art which a few months back, was nearly costing him his life at Tipperary. When dismounted from the coach, he gave a very large travelling trunk to a huge lump of a fellow, of the name of Sweeney, to leave it at Mr. G.'s residence ; the trunk being so very heavy, obliged Sweeney to rest himself at the corner of the above street, when, to his utter amazement, an unknown voice was heard from within the trunk roaring at a tremendous rate—" Murder, murder I Och, Sweeney, for God's sake let me out I 7, At this moment poor Sweeney ran from the trunk as if the
devil seized him, and in a few minutes had a mob surrounding Gallagher. One fellow, of the name of Kelly, a notorious vender of songs, swore that the venttil quist was no other person than Hare, %lin smothered the people to supply the. Scotch doctors. The laugh of the matter is, that they were marching Gallagher and his trunk, well guarded, to College Street Office, until he opened it in the street to satisfy a furious rabble.—Freeman's Journal. There was a sporting hunt at Killala, county Clare, last Tuesday : but the tnost extraordinary feature in the day's amusement was towards the wind-up, when the buck, hard pressed by the hounds and horses, made right for Maguilane libuse, the residence of the late Bishop O'Shaugnessy, where a sumptuous repast was laid out for the members of the hunt by the present hospitable occupier, Mr. Francis Healy. The noble animal dashed head-foremost into the very room, carrying on his wide-spreading antlers the double window frame, all the panes being shivered to atoms is the leap. Tables, dishes, glasses, and decanters, were upset in the greatest disorder, and in an instant all became a mere wreck. The author of this unexpected calamity was taken in a corner of the parlour, crouch= ing before his enemies, and looking with surprise at the destruction he !Ad M.. fected.—Cork Southern Reporter.
IRISH Loolc.—As an instance, and it is a curious one, of the declining pope. lardy of Mr. O'Connell, we state, that on Saturday last that gentleman's son, Maurice, was black-balled in the new Liberal Club, in Dawson-street, one esta- blished by his worthy and respectable father.—Dublin Evening Iliad: [We should have looked on this rejection merely as a proof that Mr. Maurice was unpopular.] A VETERAN DEFEATED.—William Mills was brought before the Magistrates on Tuesday sennight, by the overseers of the poor of Sheffield, for refusing to pay the costs of a warrant which had been awarded against him, when brought up for neglecting to maintain his wife. In describing her conduct, Mills said, " Please your Worship, she's a drunken trollop and it is impossible for any man to lead his life with her. I, please your Worship, have fought with the Duke of Wel• lington for twelve years, and I have stood before a column of one hundred and sixty thousand men, but I never met may enemy till 1 met with her (pointing to his wife). There, Sir, stands my enemy. I would sooner stand before a column of one hundred and sixty thousand men than I would stand before her." The Magistrate told him he must pay the expenses which had been incurred, or he would be sent to the House of Correction. This Mills agreed to do within a fortnight. WORKING CLEamr.—Among the HarIeian Manuscripts in the British Museum (6824, No.31), is a clergyman's journal, from which we make one excerpt:— "Sunday, June, 24, 1724. I was at the funeral of the Reverend Mr. Foard, Curate of Mary-Bone. The Reverend Mr. Thomas Riddle, who was Reader of St. Giles's in the Fields, and since Lecturer, stated that on one certain Sunday he performed the following duties :—In the morning, marryed six couple ; then read the whole prayers, and preached—churched six women. In the afternoon, read prayers and preached; christened thirty-two children, six at home, the rest at the font; buryed thirteen corpses, and read the distinct service over each separately— this
done by nine at night.
IMPROVED STEAM-ISOATS.--.-We mentioned in our last that an American steama boat had run-eighteen miles an hour. At home an increase of speed is expected, , from the use of vessels built of iron. It has been found, by experiment on the Forth and Clyde Canal, that an iron boat, from comparative lightness, is more easily dragged than a wooden one, in the ratio of 7 to 4. A horse will draw , 70 tons in the iron boat, when he is unable for more than 40 tons in an ordinary , gabbed. In consequence of this result, an iron steam-boat has been constructed for the Clyde, and will be finished in a few weeks. With equal horse power, in proportion to her tonnage, she is expected to run much faster than the wooden vessels. We know not whether the Americans derive any advantage from the high-pressure-engine ; if so, its introduction here would surely. be advisable. To obviate danger from the bursting of the boiler, the Americans are beginning ; to surround and overtop the boiler by bulk-heads, with the convex sides to the ' boiler.—Glasgow Chronicle.
THE LAST LEAP.—Should the ingenious writer who has treated us in Black.' wood to so many and various lasts, that Maga at length looked like a cobbler's shop, quite hung round with them, be at a loss for a finisher, we would recoma mend to his notice the last leap of poor Sam Patch. Sam, it will be recollected, boasted that he would take a jump, some day, that his countrymen would not: soon forget—and he has kept Isis word. We feared for poor Sam, the moment we heard of his leaping from a scaffold. Most ouf or friends that have tried that feat have had reason to repent of it. Sam's leap down the Genesee Falls was one hundred and twenty-five feet. " He descended," says the correspondent of the r Albany Register," the third of the distance as handsome as he ever did: he then evidently began to droop." What strange fellows these Yankees are I—think of a man drooping, who is dropping at the rate of a hundred miles a minute ! But it is a vile calumny on the gallant Sam. The fact is, he turned to leap up again, i; but missed his footing. Had he continued his downward course direct, he would _t still have remained in the land of the living, an honour to the New World ; but: the best of men will make a false step, and on a less slippery path than that which; leads from the scaffold to the ground. Sam is not the first that has been seriously t injured by a slight check in such a descent. A libellous little paper, called the Lockport Gazette, says of the deceased hero—" Sara Patch passed through this! village a few days ago, drunk. Nothing extraordinary was discovered in his countenance. Whereupon the Morning c'Herald (not of London, but a kindred' spirit of New York) is specially amazed that a man of such a character—that drankt rum, and had nothing extraordinary in his countenance—could congregate thou-, sands of enlightened men to witness his exploits. If he had stuck to water, and' had a nose six inches long, Yankee curiosity might have had its excuse; but to run from far and near to see a man leap one hundred and twenty-five feet, who took grog o' mornings, and looked for all the world like other Christians, what shameless weakness in a republican people!
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