THE INCORRIGIBLES, EXETER, 1844.

 From The Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 27th January 1844:

" 'Ah, Foweracres,' said the Mayor to an inspector of the night force in waiting of that name - 'I see you have a set of incorrigibles again.'

"The 'incorrigibles' to which his Worship alluded were produced by the officer, and consisted - not of impracticable fish-women or shameless female adults  of another class grown hoary in obscenity and degradation - but of four juveniles, who gave their names of  Lydia Worth, Harriet Peters, Edward Tucket, and  George Hetherington.

"The inspector stated that he was on duty in Guinea-street at a late hour on Saturday night,  when he perceived several boys in Mr. Pope's door-way.  He went to the spot, when they ran away.   On opening the door and going into the passage, he found two of the prisoners - a boy and girl - standing there.  They could give no satisfactory account of themselves, and he took them into custody.  On examining further he found the other two also together.

"Inspector Norcombe said that Peters was nearly drunk.

"The Mayor - How near should you suppose?

"Norcombe - So near, your Worship, that she was that howdacious, as when I axed her her name, she looked up into my face as brassy as could be, and said she didn't know she had one.

"After some consulation among the Bench, the Mayor stated that the prisoners, having been in custody since their apprehension, would be discharged; but told them their faces and characters were well known,  and cautioned them to take care how they appeared there again.

 "- We must confess that a slight infliction of corporal punishment, in the shape of a severe private whipping, would, on the boys especially, have had a judicious effect."

These four children had fallen foul of the police by committing what would seem to have been a pretty harmless trespass and little Harriet was 'nearly drunk'.  They had spent a week in police custody, been brought before the Police Court at Exeter Guildhall and reprimanded and made fun of by the 'Chief Magistrate'.   The Tory Gazette was of the opinion that they had got of lightly and that they ought to have been severely whipped.

The same newspaper clearly also enjoyed taking the mickey out of the police inspectors.  So that's all right!

I haven't heard 'brassy' used to mean impudent for a while and a while.