.
Somebody had stolen a bay mare, worth £20, from John Knapman, a farrier whose stables were at Bartholomew Yard in Exeter. He suspected the horse had been stolen by a young man called William Phillips. When William Phillips came to hear that he was a suspect he wrote a letter to Mr. Knapman:
"Exeter April 1ts (thus) 1835,
Sir,
Hearing from very respectable quarters that you have insinuated you had an idea that you was aware who had your horse, I must beg leave to tell you that I do not insinuate the least to tell you that if you throw out any illusions to me, you may take my honest word for it I shall return the compliment by givin you as sound a thrashing with a ground ash as you perhaps have been in the habit of ever meeting with.
No sir, when I turn horse stealler, it shall not be a broken down old horse, it must be something superior to what you ever had or ever will have to cause me to risk my liberty for life; therefore I beg of you to retract the assertion you have made as soon as possible. If you should wish to see me you may do so without offering a handsome reward.
Sir. I remain yours to return any Compliment you may think proper for your Blackguard Behaviour,
Wm. PHILLIPS"
Three months later the case came to court and young William Phillips, despite the chutzpah, was found to be guilty. Horse-stealing had only just ceased to be a capital offence. He was sentenced to transportation for life. I think we must allow he merited his cruel fate, - if only for his murder of the English language!
Source: The Western Times, 4th July 1835.
No comments:
Post a Comment