The Express.
London, England, 1846-09-09 00:00:00

COMMISSION OF LUNACY.—FousTu DAY.

The proceedings in Mrs. Cumming's ease were resumed
yesterday at the Horns Tavern, Kennington, at which the
lady was present as before.
The first witness examined was Mies Lucia Wrixen, who
stated that having seen the reports in the newspapers of the
first part of this inquiry, she wrote to her mother, and was
consequently brought to town and introduced to Mr.
Dangerfleld, the solicitor for the commission, by whom she
had been subpoenaed. In the spring of 1842 Mrs Cumming
called on her mother relative to the character of a servant,
and she remained about four hours. Her conversation and
conduct appeared very flighty. She not only sat on the
sofa, but in every chair in the room. She talked incoherently,
frequently losing the thread of her conversation, and run-
ning from one subject to another. " She expreastd a wish,"
said the witness, " to make our acquaintance, and invited us
to her house at Maid* Vale." I went with my mother and
sister. She called for us and took us in her carriage. We
were shewn into the drawing-room, in which I was very
much surprised to find there was only one chair—an easy
one—and she told us to make ourselves comfortable.
(Laughter.) She left the room, staying away half-an-hour
or more, and we were kept standing all the while. She
then returned, and some chairs were brought, and she after.
wards brought some tea from her bedroom and also a plate
with shrimps—there were about a dozen shrimps in the plate.
(Laughter,) We were about two hours and a half at tea.
She did the honours of the table. She poured out the first
cup, and after about an hour and a half (Mrs. Cumming
talking all the while) she gave us the second cup. (Re-
newed laughter.) She recommended me to take raw eggs
for a sore throat, but I had no sore throat, and had not said
I had. She said she kept the hens in her bedroom, whence
she brought an egg, saying that she saw all the eggs laid be-
fore her, and that each egg coat her half-a-crown. She took
a silver salver from the sideboard and fed the cats upon it,
saying that her cats were always fed upon silver. On that
occasion she spoke to us of her family, saying that she had
an only child—a daughter seven years of age, who was very
beautiful and very accomplished, and was adopted by a colonel
and his family. She celled upon us about three times afterwards.
at our residence in Manchester-street—once to abuse the
servant, who she said was impertinent and extravagant, and
in every respect an unworthy person, though the servant
while she lived with us was a very good servant. Her
dress was very absurd ; her mantilla falling off her shoulders,
and her bonnet covered with flowers inside and out. She
was not particularly clean, her hands were dirty, and her
nails particularly so. At her house she had a little girl
whom she said was an orphan, who used to tremble in her
presence. She said the little girl had some prop.rty, and
that her aunts were continually bothering her to get her
property away. We at length discontinued her acquaint-
ance, and when she called refused her admission. The
witness in her crows-examination said, that her sole object

in coming forward voluntarily was to prove this lady's'in-
sanity. With respect to Mrs. Cumming's bonnet, there
were not so many flowers in it as there are in Covent Gar-
den, but they were of as many hues and varieties. Her
eyes rolled most curiously; she could not show the jury,
how, but there was no one in court whose eyes rolled like
hers, nor had she seen any other person do so who was of
sound mind.
Sarah Sere, a servant, deposed to Mn Cumming 's unkind
treatment to her daughter, Mrs. Ince, and aso to the
irregular state of her house, as well as to her violence of
temper.
Mrs. Sarah Pullbrooke, matron of York House Asylum,
whose evidence was objected to on the ground that it would
not relate to when Mrs. Cumming was a free agent; but was
ultimately admitted on the ground that such would be a
Edon for the jury ; deposed to her calling the Captain'
husband) " a superannuated old fool," adding that he
ten children by his former marriage, one of whom wee a
captain in the navy, who would, if he knew she was in the
asylum, soon remove her, and that to him she would leave
all her property. When the death of her husband was com-
municated to her, she said " Oh, they have got rid of him."
ldr. Ci. Johnson stated that he had been 15 years in prac-
tice as a surgeon. He signed the certificate for Mrs. Clam-
miDg's removal to York House. Attended Capt.
in April, 1845 and then thought Mrs. Cummingo=
mind, as she is now. This witness was cross-en:mined se
to his reasons for forming an opinion of Mrs. Cum.'s in-
sanity ; he stated that her conduct was outrageous towards the
captain, who might be considered on hi. death•bed. Her
hatred towards her children was great, and in manias hatred
to one's family is a marked symptom of insanity.
Mr. Wilmot, surgeon, had seen and convened with Mrs.
Cumming at York flows on the 14th May, and had had no
hesitation in signing a certificate for her detention there.
Dr. Prihehard, one of the commissioners under Lord
'a Lunde Act, stated that he went with mediae
411111111110 Mrs. Cumming at York Howe,
aullhessi • opinion that she was of mamma min&
The cue wee ailletwaed till this day.