Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-08-08 00:00:00

HORRIBLE TRAGEDY IN AMERICA.

We have to chronicle one of the most horrible tragedies
ever committed in this city, hardly excepting the famous
torpedo case whereby Mn and Mrs. Allison met with a
fearful death by the diabolical agency of the nnhung Arri-
son. We affix the particulars, together with the verdicts
of the coroner's jury. The public, in the meantime, are in
a high state of excitement, and the bloody episode will
long be regarded with fearful interest by our citizens. At
about four o'clock in the morning, the mansion ocen-
pied by Mr. Nicholas T. Hortoa, in Ohio-avenue, at the
head of Vine-street-hill, was discovered to be on fire.
Judge Parker, whose residence is upon the opposite side
of the way, was aroused by the screams of the inmates
rf Mr. Herten's house, and speedily dressing himself he
discovered a gentleman named- Concklin endeavouring to
remove the prostrate body of Mr. Horton. The smoke
was suffocating, but between them they succeeded in
carrying their charge to the lawn, when it was discovered
that he was bleeding profusely from a cut inflicted in the
bead, and a dreadful gash, given evidently by the down-
ward stroke of some sharp weapon in the left groin, and
which had severed the femoral artery. He appeared sen-
sible, but was speechlese, and in a few moments breathed
his last. Previous to this, and at the first alarm of fire,
the mother of Mr. Horton rushed into the hall, when she
perceived her unfortun ite son-in-law staggering towards
he bedroom of his wife, who had but recmtly been con-
fined, and exclaiming, " Oh, mother, 1 am stabbed," he
fell upon the spot, where he was discovered by Judge
Parker and Mr. Concklin. In the meantime the excite-
ment hod spread, and some firemen from the Mohawk
engine-house arriving upon the spot the fire was seon
extinguished, and suspicion having fallen upon a serv-
ing man named Joseph Loeffler, who had for upwards
of two years been engaged in the family of Mr.
Horton, some pers ens hastened to a house at the corner
of Vine and Green streets, in which Loefner's
wife resided. In a few minutes afterwards, however, and
while the party assembled in front of the house were yet
in a state of horrid bewilderment, Loeffler was seen
staggering towards them from a neighbouring orchard,
bleeding profusely from a cut in the hand and a horrid
gash across the throat. Some of the party advanced to
meet him, but he a nk LI; on the grass upon' hands and
knees. They traced the blood to an apple tree, beneath
which they found a large sharp b .tcher's knife and a razor.
With the former he had inflicted the fatal blow which had
deprived Mr. Horton of life, and with the latter he bad
attempted to accomplish his own destruction. When in-
terrogated as to whether he had committed the arson and
murder, be nodded (for he was speechles,) assent, and also
that he had cut his own throe.. In the meantime the party
who had first started in purstf t of him arrived at the resi-
dence of his wife, but found the door of the room locked.
Subsequently they burst it ia, and there, stretched nearly
naked upon the bed, but with her shoes on her feet, they
beheld the dead body of the ill-fated wife of the murderer
of Mr. Horton, no wound upon her person but otherwise
ex'aibiting marks which made it evident that she had died
from s`raugulation. The wretched man, Joseph Loeffler,
was removed to the Commercial Hospital, where at a late
hour that night he lay in speechless agony, the attendants
expecting momentarily that he would breathe his last.
He heel preciously signified by signs that his motive for
committing this double murder, suicide, and arson, was
jealousy of his wife and Mr. Horton, and after being
taken to the hospital he succeeded in tracing upon a
slate the intelligible charac:ers that he had reason
to believe his wife on the day previous had given
him poisoned batter upon his bread, aid which had
caused the altercation that had led to her murder,
after which he had hastened to the house of Mr. Hor-
ton, in the front ba ernmt of which he usually slept,
where he kindled the fire with the intention of burning
the house and its inmates, but meeting Mr. Horton,
who was aroused by the smoke, he inflicted the fatal stab,
and then rushed forth into .the orchard to consummate his
own destruction. The fire which Loeffler had kindled was
immediately underneath the apartment occupied by Mrs.
Horton. Mr. Horton, in consequence of the recent con-
finement of his lady, occupied a sleeping room on the other
side of the hall and in the rear of the house. He was an
old and respected citizen, aged about 50 years, and leaves
his wife and six children to mourn his loss. He was an ex-
tensive manufacturer of grates and marble iron, doing
bus'ness in Third-street, between Race and Elm, the manu-
factory being in Plum-street. The firm was known as
Nicholas T. Horton and Co. Formerly he was in co-part-
nership with Mr. Baker, and more recently the firm was
known as that of Horton and Macy, but this connection was
dissolved two years since. Joseph Loefeer, the murderer,
is barely 22 yearn' of age, and is said to have on several
occasions exhibited a violent and ungovernable disposition.
He was engaged by Mr. Horton as a gardener and to take
care of the horses, and it is said that upon 'one occasion
when the harness became entangled, he seized a knife and
cut it to pieces, after which he turned and served his coat
which was hanging from a peg in the stable in the same
manner. The evening previous to the tragedy he had been
reprimanded by Mr. Horton for exercising undue cruelty
to the horses, and it is said that at that time he had mut-
tered dark and malignant threats. He was a German by
birth, and has lived in this country for years. Francisca,
his ill-feted wife, was a beautiful German girl of
some twenty summers. Her maiden name was Koehler,
and it was by this name that both she and her husband were
most frequently caled. She had contracted the ill-fated
marriage bat a abort eight months, and was five months
advanced in pregnancy. To a beautiful and expressive
face, and a form faultless in its symmetry, she is said
to have combined the more lasting charms of amiability of
disposition, and—a singularity
,for her station—a tefined
and cultivated mind. Like Desdemona, she suffered by
the green-eyed and unfounded suspicion of her jealous
tyrant, and met, too, the same death as that inflicted by
the Moor upon his putt and spotless wife. It will be seen
by the testimony elicited at the inquest held over her body,
that for some time previous to the fearful denoumen' her
life had been clouded, and the eager hope which, for one
in her situation, about for the first time to be invested
with the sacred title of mother, is ever supposed to shed a
rosy halo over the new and mysterious existence, des-
troyed by her cruel and unatuieble partner,—Cincinnati
Commercial, July 22.

THE Buiauwan/tai ELEe rioN.—The nomination will take
place on Monday, to be followed next day by the poll.
Mr. Bright is one of the candidates.
VIENNA, Thursday.— M. de Thouvenal, the French Am-
bassador at Constantinople, has taken down his flag,
but informed the Turkish government that he should not
leave his post far some days.
General Todtleben has received permission from the
Emperor Al xander to remsis away f om Russle until
July next. The General will continue to reside at Kissen-
gen, and other German watering pliees, uittil September,
%%bon he aiU proceed to Fiorenee and Naples.
COLONIAL GOVERNORS.—There are forty-seven colonial
governors, &c. Only one has £lO,OOO, Victoria. One has
£2OO, in addition to his salary as colonial secretary -a )d
registrar of St. Lucia. Sir John thwring has £4,000
salary as chief superintendent of trade in China, with no
salary as governor.
PORTSMOUTH, Thursday.—Some '2,300 officers and men
embarked today for India, and to-morrow another 1,000
men at least will embark. The officers and men who
embarked on board the James Baines and Clumpion of the
Seas seemed gratified in the highest degree at the roomy
and lofty accAnmodation these noble ships afforded them,
and in the best spirits at the prospect of a speedy passage.
They each have a tug from Liverpool, to tow them till they
get a good wind. Mr. T. M. Mackay, one of the owners of
the two ships, has presen,ed £2OO for distribution amongst
the wives of the soldiers who are on board.

}brawn Cosifocr.—As some lads were bathing last
week in the river Nene, at Peterborough, one of them
named Brawn, about twelve years old, got out of his depth
and sank. Fortunately, the Rev J. J. Beresford, • Pre.
centor of Peterborough Cathedral, happened to be rowing
up at the moment. Altfiough in an extremely weak and
delicate state of health, he at once jumped ashore, threw
off his clothes and commenced diving. At the first dive
he got so entagled in the weeds that he had great difficulty
in extricating himself. Nothing daunted, he continued
his gallant efforts, and succeeded in four or five minutes
in recovering the body and bringing it ashore. It was not
until the next morning that happily the lad, tinder able
treatment was restored to healtb.

THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE ()ATM BILL.—The
select committee moved for by Lord J. Russell to consider
the operation of the act &h and 6th William IV , cap.
62, with reference to the taking of oaths, and to ascertain
whether that act• would apply to the oaths taken by mem-
bers before sitting and voting in the Flouse of Commons,
met yesterday afternoon, at one o'clock. On the meeting
of the committee, the room was filed by a large body of
,strangers. conspicuous among whom was Boron Roths.
child, but the room was immediately ordered to be e!eared,
and the first thing which the cornmittee did was to came
to a resolution to exclude the public, consequently we can
give to report of the prcceaditgs.
THE MALAKOFF NOT TO BE TAKEN.—Several journals
have annotnced that the capture of the Malakoff was to
be represented at the Champs de Mars on the occasion of
the Emperor's fete, but that on an observation made by
M. de Kisseleff the programme has been changed. The
simple fact is, that when the newspapers mentioned that
the taking of the Malakoff was to be represented in the
Champs de Mars, the Russian ambassador waited on the
Minister for Foreign Affairs, who told him that the papers
were is error, that it was never intended to represent the
capture of the Malakoff, bat on the contrary the subject to
be represetted was the conquest of the Kabylla.—Zetter
from Paris