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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Rene_R, post: 9483670, member: 81814&quot;]Thonen was not the only Christian employed by them. But your assumption (that this was strange) may well be shared by others who were looking at the case before, explaining why Thonen became seen as a Jew. As to how he got the position, a bit is known about that:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>In his plight the hotelkeeper in Finsbury Pavement came to him as a benefactor. The innkeeper recommended his protege to Birnstingl, Schwabacher, and Co., in Broad-street Buildings, as a man well up in languages – which is true; he could speak French, German, Dutch, Spanish, every European tongue – and the Broad-street firm added him to their mercantile staff. Considering his acquirements the salary of £1 a week was meagre enough, and the condition was that if he did not suit them he could be turned off at any time. And, despite his knowledge of languages, Thonen was not a suitable clerk, and at the end of the week was told so. He begged so hard, however, to be kept on at a nominal sum (the nominal sum was only 10s. a week) until he could get other employment, that the firm good-naturedly agreed to do so; and he was coming and going in the office, more or less a regular clerk, but still with his own hours, until the middle of April, when he began to make an appearance for a few hours a day only. A situation loomed for him, working as a schoolmaster at Eastbourne, and he was already doing some work in the private teaching of foreign languages.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>From the testimony of Mary Anne Ettridge, servant to Mrs. Moxtay of 8 Broad Street Buildings:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>I have the care of the chambers. On Easter Sunday </i>[April 20th] <i>prisoner came, about a quarter past one in the day, and rung the bell. I opened the door, and asked him what he wanted? He said he wished to go into the office; and, knowing him to be one of the clerks, I went up stairs and fetched the key for him. When I had unlocked the office door, he told me I need not wait for the keys, as he would ring the bell when he went away. I remained up stairs till near seven o&#039;clock in the evening, and when I came down I found prisoner gone. I was standing at the door when I saw him came back again, and I reminded him that he had neglected to ring the bell. He said he forgot it. He went into the office and remained there about three-quarters of an hour, and when he was going away I told him it was rather an unusual thing for any of the gentlemen to come there on the Sunday. He made no reply but laughed it off. He came again on Tuesday evening after office hours. The door was open, and when I came down I found prisoner in the warehouse. While I was cleaning the office prisoner came from the warehouse and taking up an unlighted candle returned with it. I told prisoner to be sure to ring the bill before he left. He promised he would, and I then went up-stairs. I did not come down again till about nine o&#039;clock, when I found the office door unlocked, and prisoner gone, without ringing the bell. He called again on a subsequent evening, after office hours, but I did not see him.</i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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