Tbe 'pettator, Yttite 12tb, 1852
A " most horrible piece of London romance " came under the Lord Mayor's notice on Saturday. Mahomet Abraham, a jet black blind beggarman, who is usually led through the streets by a brown dog, and Eliza -, aged twenty- three, the daughter of a gentleman who resides in London, were brought up in custody by Henry Major, an officer of the Mendicity Society. The male prisoner was a peculiarly revolting object, his head being covered with long matted hair, and the covering upon his limbs being filthy in an extreme degree. His companion was a small-sized, pretty-faced girl, presenting a remarkable contrast to the wretched creature by her side. The officer charged them with begging. . . . The Lord Mayor could hardly believe that the ill-matched couple had lived together; but there was no doubt of the fact. He • asked the young woman, was it possible that she could have any respect of affection for the miserable creature at her side ?
The female prisoner-" Yes, I have both respect and affec- tion for him. We can do very well together," (and she laid hold of the tatterdemallion's greasy black paw).
The Mendicity Officer-" The man has been begging about for several years, and I have no doubt is well able to keep a woman in great luxury. I am convinced that the girl has been attracted by the excellent living with which he indulges her. They have been in the habit of getting the best; and she does not deny it." The female prisoner-" Well, I can't go home; and I won't go home."
The Black said he- had been dog-led through the streets of London for eight years, and there could be no mistake about his blindness; and if anyone knew how a blind man was to support himself except upon the kindness of those who were not blind, he would be much obliged to be informed in what way.
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