Source: Bell's Weekly Messenger, No.1804, Sunday October 24, 1830.
On Tuesday Thomas Fuller, a lad of about 15 years of age, was placed at the bar on the following charge of robbery: —
Miss Hansell stated that about eleven o'clock that morning, the prisoner came into her shop in Middle-row, Holborn, and asked for a pair of stockings. Whilst engaged in looking out a pair for him, he managed to put fifteen silk hankerchiefs that had been lying on the counter into his hat. She shortly missed the handkerchiefs, and knowing that no one had been in the shop.
since she had placed them on the counter, but the prisoner, she suspected him, and called a policeman in to search him.
Johnson, a constable of the F division, stated that he took the prisoner into custody, and found in his hat the handkerchiefs, which were identified by the last witness. Besides them he took out a text, which were slightly pasted into his hat, and read as follows:—"Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and which thou hast been assured of.—2 Timothy, chap.iii."
Some laughter followed the announcement of such a piece of scripture being found in the procession of a person charged with robbery, as few had believed that any one who followed a wrongful course of life would bring scripture either to bear them out in what they did, or console their conscience in some measure. The prisoner in his defense stated, that he had taken up the handkerchiefs to look at, and that they had dropped accidentally into his hat, which was on the counter. He put it on his head, quite unconscious of its contents, and was so taken into custody. The scriptural and unconscious youth, however, was only laughed at for his ingenious statement, and fully committed to trial.