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Leader (1850-1860), 11th July 1857, Edition 2 of 2, Page 8

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      Ouk Civilization. —: ? The Trial Of Miss...

      you go out . I am longing to meet again , sweet love . We shall be so . happy . I have a bad pen—excuse this scrawl—and B . is near me . I cannot write at night now . My head aches so r and I am looking so bad that I cannot sit up as I used to do ; but I . am taking some stuff to bring- back the colour . I shall see you soon again . Put up with short notes for a little time . When I feel stronger you shall have long ones : Adieu , my love , my pet , my sweet Emile . A fond , dear , tender love , and sweet embrace . Ever , with love , yours , —Mran . " No . 119 was a copy of a letter in L'Angelier ' s handwriting , taken by a copying machine . Its reception was objected to on the part of the prisoner . A debate took place , and the judges by a majority decided that it was admissible in evidence , leaving its authenticity and value to be determined by the jury . It was as follows : — 'Glasgow , March 5 . —My dear sweet pet Mimi , — I feel indeed very vexed that the answer I received yesterday to mine of Tuesday to you should prevent me from sending you the kind letter 1 had ready for you . You must not blame me for this , but really your cold , indifferent , and reserved notes , so short , without a particle of love in them ( especially after pledging your word you were to write me kindly for those letters you asked me to destroy ) , and the manner you evaded answering the questions I put to you in my last , with the reports I hear , fully convince me , Mimi , that there is foundation in your marriage with another . Besides , the way you put off our union till September , without a just reason , is very suspicious . I do not think , Mimi dear , that Mrsl Anderson would say your mother told her things she had not ; and really I could never believe Mr . Houldsworth would be guilty of telling a falsehood for mere talking . N " o , Mimi , there is foundation for all this . You often go to Mr . M . ' s house , and common sense would lead any one to believe that , if you were not on the footing reports say you are , you would avoid of his mends know lie witn

      going near any . I goes you , or at least meets you in Stirlingshire . Mimi dear , place yourself in my position , and tell me , am I wrong in believing what I hear ? I was happy the last time we met—yes , veryhappj-. I was forgetting all the past , but now it is again beginning . Mimi , I insist on having an explicit answer to the questions you evaded in my last . If you evade answering them this time , I must try some other means of" coming to the ~ truth . If not answered in a satisfactory manner , you must not expect I shall again write you personally , or meet you when you return home . I do not wish you to answer this at random ; I shall wait for a day or so , if you require it . I know you cannot write me from Stirlingshire , as the time you have to write me a letter is occupied in doing so to others . There was a time you would iave found plenty of time . Answer me this , Mimi" Who gave you the trinket you showed me ? Is it true it was Mr . Minnoch ? And is it true that you are directly or indirectly engaged to Mr . Minnoch or to any one else but me ? These questions I must know . The doctor says I must go to the Bridge of Allan . I cannot travel five hundred miles to the Isle of Wight and five i hundred back . What is your object in wishing me so very ] much to go south ? I may not go to the Bridge of Allan < till Wednesday ; if I can avoid going , I shall do so for your i sake . I shall wait to hear from you . I hope , dear , i nothing will happen to check the happiness we were ~*> - — A » •*» rf ^^ w * ^ p ^ - - ^ m « hh m ¦ Jl Hk 1 ^» * m ^ t v ¦ >^ « w rn v A t /¦ m fet 4 r Vt V ^ ^ x tr ^ 4 uiraa vii i \ iuuu

      ** ^ ^ ^ ^^ *^ ^ ^ uguiu cnjuyuiy . j . 'Jluj uuu } uu |> , u « u , nu and tender embraces , believe me , with kind love , your ever affectionate husband , Emile LVAnoelier . " Other letters from Miss Smith to L'Angelier , down to the 13 th of March , are written in the former style of devoted fondness ; but , on the 16 th of March , she writes to Mr . Minnoch , addressing him as ' My dearest William , " and speaking of him as one she lovea . On the 21 st of March , she writes to L'Angelier the letter quoted by us Ia 9 t week , commencing , " Why , my beloved , did you not come to me ? " ' At the commencement of the proceedings on Monday morning , in reference to the memorandum book which i -was found in the desk of L'Angelier , the counsel for the i prosecution proposed to have it admitted as evidence ; i

      but the Judge decided that this could not be done , stating that it was commenced when the prisoner had rejected L'Angelier , and demanded to have her letters back . These memoranda appeared as if written for the purpose of increasing L'Angelier ' a power over the young lady . This closed the caeo for the prosecution . For tho defence , thirty witnesses were called , the

      tenor of whose evidenco went to show that L'Angelier had confessed to using arsenic , that ho took laudanum and poppy seeds , and had frequently expressed his opinion that suicide is justifiable under circumstances of great sorrow or disappointment . On one occasion ho declared — " I wish I had courage to blow my brains out . " Tho evidence proved that L'Angelier was very depressed after the breaking off of ( ho love affuir ; that ho was excited at times , and talked wildly ; that he frequently wept , and spoke of killing himself in various ways ; that ho wua often ill previously to his quarrel with Miss Smith ; that ladies havo been greatly interested in tho viso of arsonio as a cosmotio oinco the publication , about two years ago , of artlcloa in IJlaokwood ' a Maguzina and Chambero'a Journal ; and that washing the face and

      hands in arsenic is not necessarily dangerous . Doctors Lawrie and Douglas Maclagan testified to this from personal experience . Janet Smith , the prisoner ' s sister , a girl of thirteen , who gave her evidence with great com-I posure , was also examined , and stated that she slept with , her sister on the night of Sunday , the 22 d of March ; that they both went to bed at the same jtime ; and that Madeline was found in bed in the morning as usual . She addedi in cross-examination : — "I remember the morning Madeline went away . I suppose she came to bed that night , but I was asleep that night before it was her time to come . I missed her in the morning on awaking . " The evidence for the defence having closed , the Court adjourned at five o ' clock till Tuesday . The Lord Advocate , on the part of the Crown , replied to the evidence for the defence on Tuesday , and went elaborately through the whole facts , observing that , though he should have been far better satisfied had the testimony of the witnesses enabled the Crown Jo withdraw from the prosecution , it appeared to Kim that " everv link in the chain of evidence was so firmly fastened , every loophole so completely stopped , that there did not remain the possibility of escape for the unhappy prisoner from the net that she had woven around herself . " This reply occupied the whole of Tuesday ; and on Wednesday the Dean of Faculty addressed the Court for the prisoner . After remarking on the touching nature of the circumstances about which the jury would have to come to a decision , the Dean alluded to the letters written by Miss Smith to L'Angelier , and remarked that at first they showed nothing but gentleness and propriety . But , he added , " in the spring of 1856 the corrupting influence of the seducer was successful , and the prisoner fell . How corrupting that influence must have been , and how vile the arts were to which he resorted for his nefarious BUTDOse . could never be known so

      well as by looking to the altered tone of this poor girl ' s letters . She had lost not her virtue merely , but , as my learned friend ( the Lord Advocate ) said , her sense of decency . Whose fault was that ? Whose doing was it ? Think you that , without temptation , without vile teaching , a poor girl falls into those depths of degradation ? No . Influence from without , most corrupting influence , could alone account for such a falL - And yet , gentlemen , through the midst of this frightful correspondence , whicn I wish to God could have been concealed from your eyes and those of the public—and if it had not been , as my learned friend thought , absolutely necessary for the ends of justice that it should be produced , I feel satisfied he would not have done so—eren through the midst of this frightful correspondence there breathes a spirit of devoted love towards the man who wronged her , that strikes me as the most remarkable . " The Dean then referred to the facts of the case , contending that it was not satisfactorily shown that the accused and L'Angelier met on the 19 th of February , and particularly that there was no proof that Miss Smith possessed arsenic until the 21 st of February , though all the druggists ' 3 ht > ps in Glasgow had been searched , and the prisoner ' s purchases had been openly and frankly made . The Drown must therefore choose between the horns of this dilemma : —If L'Angelier was ill from arsenic at that time , some other hand than the prisoner ' s must have administered it ; if he was not , the whole foundation of the case was shaken . After maintaining that the ovidence disproved their having met on the 22 nd of February , the second occasion on which she was charged with attempting to nnto / tn 4-Iia Tkann «< rj 4 Vi *•*• £ >/ I + /\ tlin ( iKcAnpA nf nil rtrnnf

      ¦ pVIUWIlt *•• % ¦* A'VMtk AbkVk 1 VIA fcW ** IW »/**•¦ ' - ¦>•» w «• —» - — ymw * whatever that they had met the night before the death of L'Angelier . The appointment was made for Saturday , not Sunday . The prisoner went to bod late that night with her sister , and there was not a tittle of evidence that the house was disturbed or approached in tho course of the night . She could have hud no motivo to destroy L'Angelier while he had such letters in Ins possession , and every circumstance in the case spok , o strongly against the probability of her committing a foul and deliberate murder . The Dean dwelt on tho

      probability of L'Angelior ' s death being tho result of suicide or arising from other causes , and implored the jury not rashly to tear aside the veil of mystery in which Providence had wrapped this man , and prayed them to bring their hearts as well as their minds to the judgment of tho case . Tho Lord Justice Clark then commenced his charge to tho Jury . He observed that poisoning by arsenic was

      almost always a secret crime , and waa generally to be proved by circumstantial evidence : that evidence , however , must bo complete , distinct , and satisfactory , and muBt exclude tho possibility of innocence or of unexplained mystery , and they musb not supply any dofoot in tho prosecutor ' s cuse by suspioion or presumption against the accused . They must bo satisfied that tho accused had the purpose and tho opportunity ; thoy must L > o satisfied that tho parties mot that night . Thoy might have a strong suspicion thoy did so , or tlte probabilities of the caso might favour that view ; but , unices they could , by just , Batiafuctony , and inevitable inference , conclude that they did moot , a link remained wanting in tho case , and tho catastrophe and its alleged cause were not found together . Tho numerous theories

      for te ence g ; failure could in no way strengthen the case for the prosecution , which must be of itself complete and conclusive , and carry conviction to their minds . —His Lordshi p had read over nearly half of the parole evidence , when the Court adjourned at six o ' clock till Thursday . On that day , the summing-up was resumed and finished , the Lord Justice again impressing on the jury that they must not convict even on a very strong suspicion of guilt , but only on the strongest conviction . He concluded by beseeching an All-wise and All-seeing-Prcvidence to direct them to a right verdict . Many persons in Court were affected even to tears by the solemnity of this address . The jury then retired to their room , and , on their return , the Foreman , in the midst of a breathless silence , said , " We find the prisoner Not Guiltt on the first count , and Not Proven on the second and third . " A loud and long-continued burst of applause followed the announcement ; but this , of course , was checked as soon as it could be . The excitement outside the Court was immense . During the fearful moments of suspense between the retirement of the jury and the delivery of the verdict , Miss Smith preserved the same astounding demeanour of complete calmness and indifference which she had exhibited all through the trial ; but , when the foreman pronounced the finding of the jury , she gave a heavy sigh of relief . According to one account , there was a slight shade of sadness on herface " at the commencement of the day ' s proceedings ; but she did not appear to be in any degree cast down when the Lord Justice Clerk , in the progress of his summing up , brought forward the strong points against her . A more wonderful instance of self-control has never been seen in a court of justice , on a trial for life , than that presented by Madeline Smith .

      Hdef Miht Not Be Of Much Valuebut Their ...

      hdef miht not be of much valuebut their THE LEADER .. [ Ho . 381 , Juey 11 , 1657 . boo - - . - — ~ ~ , ~—

      Execution Of Mansell. After Remaining In...

      EXECUTION OF MANSELL . After remaining in suspense for some six months , hanging literally between life and death on ' the thread of a legal technicality , Mansell was at length on Monday morning publicly killed . It will be recollected that he shot a corporal of the Forty-ninth Regiment , to which he also belonged ; and that the arguments in two lawcourts with respect to the alleged flaw in the construction of the jury which tried him have delayed his execution up to this time , though he was found Guilty at the winter Assizes . He appears to have buoyed himself up with the idea that , after such frequent respites , he would not be hanged at all ; and many others shared this belief . Efforts were made to save him ; but Sir George Grey , who seldom leans to the side of mercy , said lie saw nothing exceptional in the case , and therefore refused to interfere . When informed that lie must die , Mansell seemed greatly shocked . He exhibited considerable irritation after the failure of the second attempt to reverse his sentence ; but this gradually passed , and he evidently reckoned on a commutation . To the last , he showed no contrition , affirming that the overbearing conduct of the corporal justified him in what he did . His only living relative is a brother , who is now confined in a lunatic asylum ; so that there was no final interviews with members of the family . Upon seeing the ordinary and the governor of the prison on Monday morning , he shook hands with them , thanked them for their kindness , and asked them to forgive him for the trouble he had given , and for the manner in which he had acted upon several occasions . He then requested that the medal , which he had received for- good conduct as a soldier , might be handed to one of the officers of his regiment , and he was assured that his request should be complied with . The prison clock having struck twelve , he asked , very composedly , "Are you not a little behind time ? " He refused the assistance of Calcraft in mounting the scaffold , and ran up the steps by himself . According to one account , he appeared to die in an instant ; according to another , he suffered greatly . The crowd was much smaller than is usual on these occasions .

      Middlesex Sessions. The July General Qua...

      MIDDLESEX SESSIONS . The July General Quarter Sessions were opened on Monday . On that day , William Spencer , recently a constable in tho polico force , was found Guilty of a criminal ussault on a servant girl . He was sentenced to . eight months' hard labour . Thomas lieevca has been found Guilty of obtaining money by fulse pretences from the Key . William Skynner ,, Sir Arthur Httllam Elton , tUo member for Bath , and others . Tho facts have been already related in these columns . Previous convictions for similar frauds wore proved against him ; and ho waa sentenced to penal servitude for three years .

      Central Criminal Court. Tho July Session...

      CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT . Tho July Sessions commenced on Monday , when Rosa Bush , a young woman of twenty , was tried for tho ab-, duotlon of Elizabeth Harris , a girl under fourteen years 'of ago . Tho girl was a Jewess , of vory prepossessing appearance , and scorning to bo older than her years ; and a butohor named Clarke made advances towards her . Buah , who was a servant In tho employ of Eliza-

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 11, 1857, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_11071857/page/8/