The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-04-06 00:00:00

Scotlanb.

SEED-TINS IN SCOTLAND.—The weather has been Bo
favourable of late for sowing the cereals in the north of
Scotland that the seed has been got into the ground
in fine condition. Genial reins fell on Monday and
Tuesday.
SALMON FISHING--Daring the past week (says the
Edinburgh Courant) the salmon fishing in the Tay has
been prosecuted with indifferent success. In fact, on
Monday, on the stations below the Friarton, scarcely
any fish wore captured ; and on Tuesday there were no
signs of an improvement. In the north (says the Banff
Journal) the put week has been the most successful of
the season in salmon fishing in this quarter. Very good
takes have been got in the Da everon, and it may be said
that in it the fishing, as a whole, has been better than
for some years past. In the Spey the net fishing
towards the mouth of the river has been rather pro-
ductive. During the two or three last days of the past
week there has been fair sport to the angler in the
salmon way. A few have also been caught in the Find-
horn during the put week.
A Cuillous STORY.—The Edinburgh correspondent
of the Fifeshire Advertiser is responsible for the follow-
ing story :—The scene is laid in a farmhouse not above
100 miles from Pennicuik, and was enacted only a short
time ago. A servant girl hired herself in the said farm-
house to do the dairy work, dm, about the place, which
she did for a short time, taking ears however, to leave
open on several occasions letters addressed to herself, in
which continued reference was made to an estate in the
west of Scotland, accompanied with a castellated resi-
dence, and worth £5,000 • year. The bait took, and
the son of the worthy farmer threw off his old love,
said to be a fair dame in the kingdom, and was imme-
diately on with the new ; questions were asked on both
sides, and plausible answers returned. For example—
" What caused you to become • dairymaid ?" " Oh,
became I wished to be able to instruct the servants,
on my estate." That was deemed satisfactory enough
and our heroine was invited to the table in the dining-
room, where she enjoyed the good things of this life,
laughing in her sleeve at the nice trick she had played.
Things progressed favourably. A match was proposed
and mutually agreed upon. The gentleman ordered
suits of clothing for several friends, and all went merry
as a marriage bell. The castles built in the air were
innumerable. The fine shooting was dilated upon, and
arrangements made for a condescending visit to see the
old folks at home during the season. The fair lady,
when spoken to about the matter, referred to her agents
in this city, and no suspicion existed in the minds of any
but that all was right. At longth the banns were pro-
claimed, and the marriage all arranged for, but when
the hour came there wag a bridegroom, but the bride
had fled. Of course, it was thought that the lady had
been detained by some unforeseen aooident, but as time
went on there was no word of her entering even an
appearance. Inquiry was then made at the "agent's."
who said he certainly acted in that capacity, but it was
to defend her in a case of petty larceny and some other
misdemeanours.
SHOCKING MURDERS AND
_SUICIDE. AT LERWICK.

OU-ThUr-Sdi;y morning week the inhbitante of Lerwick
were appalled by the intelligence that Mr. Peter Wil-
liamson, for many years an influential and enterprising
merchant, propnetor, and farmer, had destroyed the
lives of his wife, a son aged 14 years, • daughter aged
12, another four-and-a-half years, and that he had com-
pleted the terrible tragedy by committing suicide. The
manner in which the unfortunate man accomplished his
. . .

apparently determined and premeditated purpose was by
the use of a hammer or cleaver and razor, with the for-
mer of which he seemed to have stunned his victims,
and thereafter cut the throat of each, commencing, as is
supposed, with his wife, and then killing his eldest
girl, who was in bed unwell, sleeping with 'her mother.
Leaving their apartment, he seems to have entered a
room in which his youngest girl slept, and by the same
dreadful process destroyed her. Prom...ling thereafter
to an upper room where he had slept the previous night
with his two boys, he succeeded in killing the youngest;
but the eldest, after being severely out about the throat
and head, managed to escape and conceal himself in
another room. The unhappy man, having thus effected

the destruction of his wife and chlldreh, appears to have
returned to his wife's bedroom with his youngest girl's
body, and there destroyed himself by cutting his throat
in the most dreadful manner. These shocking murders
are supposed to have commenced about half-past five
o'clock, while all the inmates were asleep, as about
half-an-hour after Mrs. Williamson was found still in
life, although she died immediately afterwards, her hus-
band lying not far from her quite dead, and his youngest
girl placed between his knees with her head nearly
severed from her body. Fortunately one of the family,
a boy, was at the time staying in the country with some
friends, and thus escaped the general slaughter. The
eldest son, about 16 years of age, who made his escape
from the murderous assault of his parent, although now
lying in a very precarious condition, is thought likely to
recover. It is stated that at a late hour on Wednesday
evening Mr. Williamson transacted business with two or
three commercial gentlemen, none of whom observed
anything unusual in his conduct. As he was understood
to be in comfortable circumstances, no reason can be SA-
signed for the perpetration of this fearful crime, although
it is conjectured that his mind had been affected for
some short time past. The day for the interment of the
bodies up to M mday was not fixed, the authorities hav-
ing been desirous to make a searching investigation into
the shocking occurrence.