A woman’s fall at Uffington is an extreme example of the come-uppance of eaves-droppers.
“An extraordinary case of this kind occurred at Uffington, near Stamford, on Friday last, very early in the morning. A married woman, about 35 years of age, the wife of a labourer named Stanton, was indulging in very attentive observation of the proceedings in a neighbouring house, when, leaning too far out of a window in her earnestness to see all that could be seen, she lost her hold, and was precipitated heavily to the ground from a height of about 15 feet. Her fall being upon a hard pavement, she fractured her right collar-bone, three or four of her ribs, her breast-bone, and her left arm, besides dreadfully bruising herself in other parts of the body. The poor woman was brought to the Stamford Infirmary, where she now lies in a precarious state.”
Stamford Mercury 3rd April, 1840.