A mistress of the house in the Georgian era
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In 1780, Abraham Durnford & William Newton hired an empty house. The
landlord, not liking his new tenants, asked Mrs. Boucher, the mistress
of a public-house opposite, to have an eye on their proceedings:
'August 5, 1780, she observed the new tenants [...] enter the house,
& open the parlour windows. Soon after she saw a 3rd man knock at
the door, which was open, & he entered. Watching the event, she
heard an uncommon noise, &, stepping over the way to listen, heard
the cry of "Murder!" as from a hoarse faint voice, succeeded by a
kind of groaning, which very much alarmed her; &, looking through
the key-hole, she saw 2 men dragging a 3rd down the cellar stairs;
on which she cried out loudly "They're murdering a man!"
She knocked hard at the door, & begged the people in the street to
break it open; but none would interfere. Being enraged at their not
assisting her, she burst open the window, & was entering the house,
when [William] Newton jumped out of the one pair of stairs' window,
& was running off; but, on the cry of "Stop thief!" he was instantly
taken; Mrs. Boucher seized the other by the throat herself, &
dragged him to her own house.'
(From The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar, Vol. 1,
by Camden Pelham.)
Tags: quote, england
Authors: ag