The Express.
London, England, 1862-09-29 00:00:00

MOB IyATilt AT LONDON BILIDOL

Two DAT--liaritTki-itTls;.::::iillui;Wai",6,l. 401 i.
Taawasow—Mandais. N. ..a.mseas. K tlft.

LONDON, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29.

Berea' we know all the circumstances in which
M'CLELLAN fought his great battle on the 14th
we learn that it was but the first of an important
series of battles, the issue of which is still uncer-•
taro. It is well to observe, however, that we
have no report from M'CLamAN later than that
published on Saturday. Up to the 14th the
Federal General had been steadily making his
way by Sugarloaf Mountain and Frederick on to
Middleton, intending by his advance to
get into the rear of the enemy, who,
in the confidence of recent victories, was
pushing on from Williamsport and Hagerstown to
invade Pennsylvania. General Les, perceiving
from M'CIALLAN's movements that he must
either abandon his Pennsylvanian campaign
or fight M'CLELLAN, resolved to dispute with
the latter the passage of the Gap in the
ridge of hills which crosses the road from
Middleton to Boonesboro'. Then followed the
battle of the 14th, erroneously described in the
earlier telegrams as having been fought at Hagers-
town, but correctly stated in M'CLELLAN'S de.
'patch as a contest for the possession of the road to
that place. The divisions of HOOKER and RENO,
which formed the centre and right, stormed the
heights and obtained possession of their whole crest,
while FRANKLIN captured the Gap. Hooara was
immedi►tely sent in pursuit of the enemy, and
reported that he was rapidly moving on the river.
The Confederate corps which fought at Middleton
Gap is known to have been commanded by Gene-
ral LEE, and we are now told that it retreated
upon Sharpsburg, on the Potomac. The news-
papers report that on the 15th a second battle
was fought between LEE and M'CLELLAN, near
Sharpeburg. A third severe engagement is
incidentally spoken of as having taken
place on the 16th. But after the battle
near Middleton Gap, the most important one of
which we have information was fought on the
17th. By that date LEE had been joined by
JACKSON, and M'CLELLAN had also received rein-
forcements. The assurance was not needed that
under such circumstances the Confederates fought
with great vigour ; but if it be true that, after
fighting until four in the afternoon, the Confede-
rates were compelled to retreat, leaving General
Loriormizirr and part; of his division prisoners,
there must have been considerable vigour on the
Federal side also. The recital of four engagements,
two of which were undoubtedly great battles,
attended with enormous loss, ends with an intima-
tion that a decisive result is still to be waited for.
Both armies would be sure to receive reinforce-
ments. LEE, if able and resolved to remain north
of the Potomac, would be obliged to call up bri-
gades from the Rapidan and the Rappahannock.
But the recent encounters must have made him
reconsider the calculations which led him to Mary-
land and Pennsylvania, and another defeat may have
induced him to abandon the project altogether.

THE hi1t.027 01 the wretched woman, CATH ERIN P.
WILEON, just convicted of murder by poison-
ing at the Central Criminal Court, reveals
a long career of crime so secret and appal-
ling that it is almost impossible to think of it
without a shudder. Though several times sus-
pected, and more than once actually arrested on a
charge of secret poisoning, Carew/is Wiraox
had successfully evaded the avenging sword
of justice. She has, however, been at length over-
taken by the strong arm of the law, her guilty
career is finally arrested, and she will speedily pay
the just penalty of her accumulated crimes.
The particular crime for which this guilty woman
is at length condemned was committed no less than
six years ago. And considering the long interval that
has elapsed, and the great difficulty of obtaining
definite proof in such cases, the evidence produced
at the recent trial must be regarded as remarkably
satisfactory and conclusive. It was of course
purely circumstantial, but the circumstances proved
were so decisive, that the conviction of guilt
amounts to a moral certainty. About Christmas in
the year 1855, the prisoner went to lodge with
Mrs. Soaans, a widow lady, residing with her
two daughters in Alfred-street, Bedford-square.
She occupied the first-floor unfurnished, and a
young man, named DIXON, afterwards one of her
victims, but who she said was her brother, came
with her, and for a time occupied one of the rooms
on that floor. Her first object in taking up her

PREsENTS TO THE Qua= OT PORTEGAL —The
presents sent by the Pope to his god-daughter, the
Princess Pia, on the occasion of her marriage, are much more
valuable than was at first stated, being worth, it is said,
several hundred thousand franca. One consists of • double
leaf of maniac gold, opening in the forgo of an album, and
containing two precious relics—a piece of the veil of the
Holy Virgin, and • thorn from the crown of our Saviour.
Those two relics are imbedded in the gold leaves, and
surrounded by • border of precious stones. The two
outer surfaces are ornamented with two extremely
beautiful miniatures, corresponding to the rears in
which the relics are placed. The miniature at the
back of the veil represents an Addolorata, and the
other an Ecce Homo. There is also a chaplet of 315 beads,
each separated by a pearl and • diamond ; also a time-piece
of exquisite workmanship, the hours of which are each
represented by a relic; lastly, there is ao heraldic album
of the popes, with portraits and inscriptions relative to
each pontiff, the whole ornamented with precious stones.
The binding is in gold, studded with jewels. The present
of the municipality of Naples is • splendid set of ornaments
in pink Aral. of the value, as already stated, of 30,000 fr.,
consisting of a necklace of two rows ; several bracelet. ;
double pins, one in a single piece, worth 3,000 fr. ; twelve
large buttons for a riding dress, others for cuff., with
combs sad pins far the hair, the whole most admirably
carved. The artist took four years to complete this set, as
the coral fishery could not sooner supply him with the
peculiar kind of coral required. These ornaments are
placed in a case covered with velvet, and studded with
coral-headed nails.

---
CZYSTAL PLUM. ON. Bnn.uNo DAT.
SATCRDAT, BgPTIMIIIII 27.—Admissions as paymact, 3,530 ;
ditto by moon tickets, 916 ; total, 4,476.

THE EXPRESS, MONDAY E.
residence in the house was tollstablish herself in
43313. QI I visrt•P^'
her landlady's confidence and smuts her good op- •
Mon, and in this she appeals to have sismeeled.
The Members id the
The eldest daughter, in givigg he evidengs, states,
make imam.. noma F
" The prisoner became on vary intimate terms the prince d Wale. and Prince
" with my mother soon after she came, and my burg and the aeighbouring rocky
" mother frequently went to her room." The A great oesting al deputies frees various German choral
prisoner, Mrs. WILSON, continued to live in the societies Is sow Wag held at Coburg. Os Holiday last,
house on terms of growing intimacy with the family daring the shy f some el them at Roseau, they seat the
till the month of October. On Wednesday, the kil'"i.gee_,___„_"A'gmm,b'',blr,jigajisiY_.. at Riejahallilimn
15th of that month, Mrs. Soamrs went to " `"` "'"P`""' """ —choralseeleties were as-
sembled this mooing in the builtplaes or his royal high.
see her brother, who resided at Holloway, with the I the revered Prince Consort, Duke Albert. In melee-
view of obtaining some money from him, and he I °holy remembrance, and with the despot respect, we have
let her have 91. in gold. A legacy of 1001. had swilled this event by a unanimous solemn cheer (fool what
been left her by her father a little while before, Hoch) for the welfare of yorr Majesty. That this an-
which she appears to have received from her brother naseemme. may be aractosiely received prays the penitent
by instalments, so that she had been in the habit 41"7".11.N. ) IJar 114 84uttgard
of going to him from time to time for money. Her le deputies were emetehted hi the the the
brother deposes that when with him on the after- I telegraph brought them the followiag reply :
noon of this day his sister was in her usual good' "Her Majesty the Queen returns bier deeply-felt Works
health and spirits. On returning, she had ,to the deputies of the German choral ocietio now mem-
tea with her daughters as usual. " While bled at Coburg for the friendly telegram jest received from
"we were at tea," deposes the eldest Ulm- "O. ROLLED."
daughter, " the prisoner came in and told my I
" mother she wanted to speak to her, and she
" went up to her room." During the night Mrs.
Swarm was attacked with violent sickness and
great pain in the chest. The pains and sickness
appeared to increase rather than diminish, and
during the whole of Thursday the poor woman was
very ill. A medical man, Dr. WHIDRORNE, was
sent for, and he, taking the symptoms to indicate
English cholera, administered the usual soothing
draught to arrest the progress of the disorder and
relieve the pain. The prisoner was constant in
her attendance on the nick woman, and insisted on
giving her the medicine. After taking it, however,
the terrible pain in the chest and the sickness came
on with greater violence than before. On his
emend visit the doctor, being surprised and puzzled
at this unexpected result, prescribed • stronger
opiate, in the hope of affording relief. This too
was administered by the prisoner, and with the
same result of aggravated symptoms as before.
Both daughters depose that during the day
the prisoner several times gave their mother some-
thing to drink in • tumbler, while the younger
" adds that she expressly told her that it was • mix-
ture of brandy and egg. The poor woman con-
tinued to get worse, and, after suffering dreadful
tortures, died during the Frid►y night. Dr.
WHIDBORNE was so dissatisfied and suspicious that
he refused a certificate as to the cause of death,
and made a post-mortem examination, with the
view of ascertaining whether poison had been admi-
nistered. No traces of it were, however, disco-
vered. Both he and Dr. TAYLOR agree, however,
that the symptoms were not those of English cho-
lera, and could only be accounted for on the sup-
position that some vegetable poison had been admi-
nistered and rapidly absorbed into the system. What
this poison really was, another part of Dr. Warn-
soaes's evidence may serve to explain. He says :
" A person named Duce: lodged in Mrs. Swans%
" house, and he died there in June, four months
" before the death of the deceased. During his
" illness I had a conversation with the prisoner, and
" she told me that DIXON had been in the habit of
"taking colchicum for rheumatism, and I
" told her that it was a very dangerous medicine,
" and that it should not be administered except
" under medical supervision ; and the prisoner re-
" plied that she knew this, and was well acquainted
" with it. An overdose of colchicum would pro-
" duce all the symptoms that were exhibited by
" the deceased—namely, vomiting, purging, sick-
" nem, and pain in the chest and bowels. No
" such results could have followed the administra-
" tion of the medicine that I preset:bed." Dr.
TAYLOR'S evidence as to the influence of colchicum
was to the same effect, and there can hardly be a
doubt that the poor woman died from this poison.
A number of decisive circumstances connect the
prisoner with the administration of the poison.
She not only gave the medicine, as we have seen,
and another mixture with her own hands, but
she kept the bottles containing the medicine
carefully locked up in her own room, and on being
asked by Miss Ross, one of the lodgers, why she
did so, explained that "it was particular stuff,
" and she must administer it herself, and give it
"to the deceased with her own hand." It comes
out in evidence, moreover, that the prisoner, with
• view probably to her own protection, circulated
in confidence the report that the deceased had
poisoned herself, that she was privy to the fact,
bet did not wish to reveal it for the sake of
her family. It was proved, however, that the
poor woman was perfectly cheerful, in good health
and spirits, with no motive whatever for commit-
ting such a desperate act, and had, in fact, made
arrangements during her short illness on the
expectation of her speedy recovery. If
she died by poison, as the prisoner con-
fidently asserted, there could be no doubt as to
who h►d administered it. The only point remain.
hag to be noticed is the motive for the murder,
and this, as in every previous case of poisoning by
the same hand, appears to have been money.
The prisoner knew that Mrs. SoANts had gone toi
her brother for money, and probably did not know
bow much she had actually received ; but what-
ever it might be she evidently resolved to possess
herself of it, and accordingly no trace of the 91. in
gold was found after Mrs. SOAMES'S death. It
appears uncertain whether she bad not obtained
other sums from the murdered woman. After
her death she certainly obtained ten pounds from
the daughters, on the faith of a document said
to be in their mother's handwriting. But it is
perfectly clear that this wretched woman
had become so terribly familiar with
the appalling crime of secret poisoning, that the
certain prospect of even • comparatively small
prize would be quite sufficient to incite her to
another attempt. Fortunately, though justice
has been slow in overtaking its victim it has not
failed, and this merciless woman will now ex-
piate her offences on the scaffold.

Timis vigticrtallikir
URG, Inst.ll4
rpyal. ily oontinue to
Rh ,restorday
Ilie Wirt-
-"1-44.1

It it; rumoured Oars the Manchester Guardian)
that Lewd Gough, the Duke at Ostabndge, sad Lord Clyde
will be promoted to the rank of field-marshal on the occa-
sion of the Prince of Wake attaining his roajority.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge and
their Serene Highnesses Prince and Princess Edward of
Saxe-Weimar, who hare been staying during the week with
the Earl and Countess of Chesterfield, at Gedling Lodge,
Nottinghamshire, returned to town on Saturday.
The Earl and Countess of Derby returned to
Knowsley, near Prescott, on Saturday. from Gedling Lodge,
where they hare been among the guests of the Earl and
Countess of Chesterfield.

The Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury and Lady
Victoria Ashley left Grosvenor-square on Saturday far St.

Giles, Dorset.

The Earl of Warwick left his house in the Stable-
yard, St. Jame's, on Saturday, for Warwick Castle. The
noble earl and counties leave in a few days for the Earl of
Wemyse seat in Scotland.

The Duchess (Dowager) of Sutherland has arrived
at Inverary Castle, N. 8., on • visit to the Duke and
Duchess of Argyll, from Erskine House, where the dachas
has been staying with Lord and Lady Blantyre.
The Earl of Chesterfield arrived in town on Sa-
tsrizy from Codling Lodge, Nottinghamshire, and will
Lave to-day for Newmarket.
The Earl and Countess Fitzwilliam left to J on
Saturday for Wentworth House, Yorkshire.

The Dowager Marchioness of Queensberry has
arrived in town from the Queen's Hotel, Upper Norwood.
The Earl and Countess of Lincoln have arrived
at Thomas Hotel, Berkeley.equare, from Clamber Park,
Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston are re.
calving • 100011/111011 of visitors at their seat, Bros Saudi,
Hants.

Viscountess Jocelyn and family are expmt-d at
Cambridge Rouse today from a tour on the Continent.

Tile opera reason in Dublin commencer on Tues.
day, the 7th of October, under an arrangement with Mr.
Mapleson, of Her Majesty's Theatre. The company is a
good one ; it includes Mlle. 'Miens, Madame Leroaire,
Signora Giuglini, %dish, Herr Formes, &c. The operrs
announced are II Troratore, Lucia di Lammermoor,
Purigani, he.

The united agricultural societies of Leicestershire
and Waltham met on Friday at Melton Mowbray, when
there was a most succensful show of cattle and sheep. Prizes
were given to the labours= successful in various competitions
by the Duke of Rutland, who also assigned very good reasons
for the practice. At the dinner which followed the great
question was the distress in the north of En3land. The
various speakers dwelt on the comparative prosperity of the
farmers at the present time as a reason for sympathy with
those whose lot was so muck less fortunate, and Lord John
Manners renewed and enforced the suggestions he made •
short time ago at Leicester, that it would be well to adopt
lines and woollen garments in place of cotton, and that the
opei•tives should be employed in the production of these
fabrics instead of waiting idly for an indefinite period in the
hope, which might possibly prove a delusion, that cotton
would become se abundant as before.

At Gaivaborough, the other day, at a dinner of
the Rifie Corps, Major Hutton said he had had the pleuure
some little time ago of visiting Garibaldi at Caprer► The
first thing spoken of on reaching his house was the volun-
teer movement "I consider it," Garibaldi said, "to be
the finest thing England ever did." For a fell hoar he con-
tinued to put questions about the movement, and in bniob-
iog the conversation to a close he said, "So long as this
movement Leta, England never need fear an enemy."

Prince Christian of Denmark, with the princess,
and their daughter the Princess Alexandra, have returned
from Belgium and Germany, and are now passing some
days ►t Banker, in the duchy of Alton*, one of Unseats of
the Landgrave William of Hesse, who is their near relative;
but it is expected that they will shortly proceed to Copen-
hagen, where the people are most anxious to have an oppor-
tunity of expressing their satisfaction at the high destroy
which awaits their favourite princess.

A correspondent of a cotemporaty writes :—" 1
have noticed on my various visits to St. Paul's ever sin°s
the opening of the International Exhibitioo, that, though it
is crowded with visitors, there is not a single seat for any
one to sit down upon. I have more than once been asked
by ladies who requir:d such accommodation whether a seat
could not be obtained, and on applying to the vergers I have
been told by them that all sesta were removed by order of
the dean. This I cannot believe ; and I write this that the
matter may be put in your hands, and that by your able
pen you may demand that visitors—and especially ladies—
after, perhaps a fatiguing walk, may, wheu they go to see
the cathedral of which we are so proud, dud a seat on which,
for • brief space at least, they may rest. Of course I allude
to the cathedral as found by visitors when service is not
going on. There is no seat in either of the side aisles, or in
the nave, or under the dome. I may add that at West-
minster Abbey the side aisles are clothed with seats, as are
both the transepts."