The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-15 00:00:00

RADCLIFFE RACES-MONDAY.

The Bury Plate of 40 soya (handicap), for all ages ; win-
ners extra. About three-quarters of a mile.

Mr. Drake's Worthless, 4 yrs, Bst 61b (W. White) 1
Mr. T. Cliff's Alice Lee, 4 yrs, 7st 131 b (Maidment) 2
Mr. Barber's Cutaway, 4 yrs, Bst 101 b (Ward) 3
Wallet and Desdemona also ran.
Betting-2 to 1 each agst Wallet and Alice Lea, sto 2
agst Cutaway, 4 to 1 agst Worthless.

Won by three-quarters of a length ; a length between
second and third, and a head between third and fourth.

The Radcliffe Plate (handicap) of 50 Bove, for all ages;

winners extra. About ball a mile.

Mr. Handley's Viola, 3 yrs, Bst 21b (Maidment) 1
Mr. Drake's Worthless, 4 yrs, Bst 101 b (W. White) 2
Mr. W. Phillips's Jolly Boy, 2 yrs, 6st 41b ...(Hoystead) 3
Rose of Denmark and Bismarck also ran.
Betting-7 to 4 agst Worthless, sto 2 agst Viola, 3to 1
agst Bismarck.

Won by a neck; a length and a half between second and
,hird.

The Wilton Cup (handicap) of 100 sovs, added to a Sweep-
stakes of 5 SOPS each, 3 ft ; second to save his stake ;
winners extra. About one mile and a half.

Mr. Goodlass's Empress of India, 4 yrs, 6st 91b (Martin) 1
Mr. G. W. Morris's Club Queen, 3 yrs, sst 131 b (Challoner) 2
Mr. Barber's Helen, 4 yrs, ist 31b (Ward) 3
Lord Westmoreland's Orloff, 3 yrs sst 71b (Kenyon)
Betting-6 to 4 agst Helen, 2to 1 agst Orloff, 5 tol2 agst
Empress of India, 5 to 1 agst Club Queen.

Won by a length ; a neck between second and third.
The Heaton Park Handicap of 5 sovs each, with 30 added;

winners extra. About one mile.

Mr. T. Cliff's The Lizard, 3 yrs, ist 21b (Kenyon) 1
Mr. Redhead's My Mary, 6 yrs, Bst 101 b (Clarkson) 2
Betting opened at 2 to 1 on My Mary, but closed at 6 to
5 on Lizard.

Won by a short head.

The Selling Handicap of 5 sous each, with 25 added;

winners extra. One mile 240 yards.
Mr. T. Griffiths' Rose of Denmark, 3 yrs, Bst
(IL Grimshaw) 1
Mr. Smith's Desmond, 4 yrs, Bst 101 b (Lomas) 2
Mr. J. Foy's Bismarck, 2 yrs, 6st 121 b (IL Sharp) 3
Betting-7 to 4on Rose of Denmark, 9to 4 agst Bis-
marck.

Won by a length ; three lengths between second and
,hird. The winner was not sold.

The Case of William Watson.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sin,—The case of Wm. Watson, at Marlborough-street
Police-court, reported in your impression of last evening,
is by no means an isolated one. I myself was served pre-
cisely similar some months ago at Clerkenwell, with the
exception that the persons, three in number, who wit-
nessed the transaction, were strangers to me, but never-
thelbss kindly offered and did go to the station, and wore
refused admittance, although I told the officer in charge
there were two or three persons outside to speak in my
behalf. His answer was, " They must come in the
morning," and I was consequently locked up on the con-
stable's own false and uncontradicted statement.. Despite
Inspector Walker's denial that such is the practice, I
maintain that it is the rule, and not the exception. Your
insertion of this, I have no doubt, will find many re-
sponses.—l am, Sir, yours respectfully,

W. H. M.

Aug. 15, 1865.

COURSE OF . EXCHANGE—This Evening.
Amsterdamto Short. 11 181 11 191
Dit
Rotterdam 3 Months. 12 1 12 lir
Antwe 12 1 12 11
rp
25 50 25 57*
Brussels
Hamburg
Paris Short 25 174 25 25
Marseilles
25*
2* 47
Frankfort on the Maine 1204 251
1211
Vienna — 11 221 11 25
Trieste — 11 221 11 27/
Petersburgh - 304 304
Berlin
Madrid
Cadiz
Leghorn
Milan
Messina
Genoa
Naples
Palermo
Oporto
Lisbon .

471 471
47f 47{
25 671 , 25 621
25 55 25 60
25 55 25 60
25 67f 25 621
25 57f 25 62
25 57f 25 62
51} 51}
514 51}

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE—This day.

LONDON, Aug. 15—Wind at Noon, S.W. ; steady breeze
and hazy.
FALMOUTH, Aug. 14—Arrived—ilolsatia, from Rio
Janeiro ; Dogie, from Taganrog.
OFF DARTMOUTH, Aug. 14—Arrived—Montmorency,

from London.
OFF PLYMOUTH, Aug. 14—Arrived—British Constitu-
tion, from Calcutta.
CARDIFF, Ang. 14—Sailed—Ivanhoe, Madras; Highland
Chief, Monte Video.

from Penang ;
BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAW.
GRAVESEND, TuUoday Morning.
-)elthillonilin3r;e'Corsair's Bride,
Arrived, Aug. 15.—Fanny Jinkings, from St. Kitt's ;
Alphion, from Porto Rico ; James Cuckow, from Bilboa ;
FronkinaLord Htirt
Hinig-nteoenh,iefrnozfiTomuniEs
u;
from Ceylon ; Jacolina, from Oporto; Ann Rendle, faun St.
Kitt's ; Ifardenger, front Guile ; Semper Fidales, frtim De-
mesratirleid,•, NlV4itlhli.e_apnedliExittfioer, fereotmtaP; rvinecespelrs,ltftonrds.
Amsterdam;Quebec ;
Lady Raglan, for Cronstadt ; Wolf's Cove, for
Prince of Wales, for Demerara.

DEAL, Tuesday Morning.
Passed, 14th.—W. S. Lindsay and J. L. Hall, both from
west for London.

GLASGOW, Aug. 12.—Yarns.—In the yarn-mar-
ket there has been an improvement on the dulness
which formerly prevailed. With the increase of business

. ,
doing, however, producers are demanding ljigher rates, the
effect being the curtailment of operations. iron.—Pig iron , •
has drooped about 6d. per ton in course of the week, with= '
out any more cogent reason than the general indisposition •
of speculators to operate, although the legitimate depart-
ments of the trade exhibit great activity. 'Warrants hare ,

ranged between 51s. 9d. to 545. 3d. cash—the latter the
closing rate yesterday. G.M.8., No. 1, 555. ; No. 3, 545. ;
No. 1 Coltness, 525.; Gartsherrie, 51s. ; Calder, 565. 6d. ;
(Tilengamock, 555. 9d.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The Osborne, steam yacht, Commander D'Arcy,
left Portsmouth yesterday morning for Cherbourg,
with the Duke of Somerset, K.G. (First Lord), Ad-
miral the Hon. F. W. Grey, K.C.8., and Rear
Admiral E. G. Fanshawe, Lords of the Admiralty ;
Captain Hall, Secretary to the First Lord; the Earl
de Grey and Ripon, Secretary for War ; and Sir R.
Mayne, Chief Commissioner of Police. On leaving
the harbour the Admiralty flag received the custo-
mary salute from the Admiral's flagship Victory.
The Enchantress, Admiralty yacht, Staff Comman-
der Petley, with Lord Clarence Paget and Lady
Paget, and Mr. Hugh C. E. Childers, and Mrs.
Childers, followed the Osborne. The Fire Queen,
steam yacht tender, Staff-Commander Paul, con-
veyed the Naval Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir
M. Seymour, K.C.8., and Rear-Admiral Wellesley,
Admiral Superintendent of Portsmouth dockyard ;
the Sprightly, steam tender, Master Commander
Allen, conveying the Admirals' boats and boats'
crews. The Urgent, troop-ship, Capt. Henderson,
also left the harbour about 11, having been especi-
ally appropriated for the use of naval and other
officers. The Royal Sovereign, turret-ship, Capt.
Herbert, left Spithead, yesterday morning, for Cher-
bourg.

The Channel squadron left Portland Roads for
Cherbourg on Sunday evening. The whole of the
vessels of the Channel squadron, under the com-
mand of Sir S. C. Dacres, K.C.8., Rear Admiral,
consisting of her Majesty's ships Edgar, 71 (flag-
ship), Capt. G. T. Hornby ; Achilles, 20, ironclad,
Capt. E. W. Vansittart ; Black Prince, 41, ironclad,
Capt. Lord F. Kerr ; Defence, 16, ironclad, Capt.
A. Phillimore ; Prince Consort, 35, ironclad, Capt.
George 0. Willes, C.B. ; Hector, 24, ironclad,
Capt. George W. Preedy, C.B. ; Research, 4,
ironclad, Capt. Arthur Wilmshurst ; Liverpool,
39, screw wooden frigate, Capt. Rowley Lambert;
Octavia, 39, screw wooden frigate, Capt. Charles
F. Hillyar ; Constance, 39, screw wooden frigate,
Capt. Edward K. Barnard, Trinculo, gunboat,
tender to the Edgar ; and Salamis, paddle, despatch
vessel, Commander Francis G. Suttie, left Portland
Roads at a quarter to seven o'clock. Anchors were
hove short at six p.m., and at the time first stated
all weighed anchors. The Defence was the first off ;
she was followed in Indian file by the Achilles,
Prince Consort, Hector, Black Prince, and Research,
under steam. The Edgar (flagship) was followed
by the wooden frigates Liverpool, Octavia, and
Constance, all being under plain sail, the rear being
brought up by the Trinculo and the Salamis, under
steam. After rounding the breakwater, the fleet
were divided into two divisions, all of them being
under plain sail ; the ironclads to leeward, and the
rest of the fleet to windward. The departure of
the fleet was witnessed by hundreds of people, the
" Look-out" and the "Nothe" at Weymouth being
lined with spectators. The wind was fresh from
south-west.

It is understood that the French fleet will arrive
at Spithead on the 28th inst., and their stay will
extend to the 2d of September, during which time
the flag officers will be entertained on board the Os-
borne by the Duke of Somerset, as First Lord of
the Admiralty. General invitations will be issued
for a dinner at the Port Admiral's, and also on
board the Duke of Wellington. A review of the
troops will take place on Southsea-common, on the
evening of which day the French officers will be the
guests of Leiut.-Gen. Sir C. Buller, and a banquet
on a grand scale to be followed by a ball from the
Mayor, town council, and inhabitants of theborough
generally will probably add to the festivities.
Admiral Sir M. Seymour's flag on board the Vic-
tofy was struck last evening at sunset. During the
absence of Sir Michael and Rear-Admiral Wellesley
the duties of the port will devolve upon Capt. Scott,
C. 8., Flag-Capt. of the Victory.
An official investigation into the circumstances
attending the fire on board the Arethusa has been
instituted by order of the Admiralty, and a report
fordwarded to their Lordships. The fire was first
reported to Capt. Macdonald at about six o'clock
p.m., as he was at his station on the bridges, and
just as the frigate was coming to an anchor at the
Little Nore, after returning from a lengthened
trial trip for the purpose of testing her steaming
capabilities, and only a few minutes before she
saluted the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir C. Talbot,
K.C.B. During the day the lower part of the fun-
nel was found to be dangerously heated, and this
circumstance occasioned great anxiety to Capt.
Macdonald, who directed the boats to be removed as
far as possible, and to prevent their igniting, of
which grave fears were entertained, wet swobs were
placed over them, and other precautionary measures
adopted. An inspection of the hold in the imme-
diate vicinity of the boilers proves that the fire
originated near the fore boilers, as was believed to
be the case at the time, which is to be accounted for
from the vessel having been nearly 12 hours' steam-
ing, the engines during that time being driven to
their utmost capacity, while the furnaces were kept
fed to as much as they could consume. From the
heated state of the woodwork in that part of the
vessel where the fire first broke out it was a miracle
the flames did not gain the mastery. But for the
energy of Capt. Macdonald and the officers and men
under him one of the finest frigates of her Majesty's
navy would have been completely destroyed. After
the fire had been extinguished it was ascertained
that the Arethusa had between four and five feet of
water in her hold, which will give some idea of the
quantity thrown on the flames. On account of the
fire the Arethusa could not join the Channel
squadron.

The following are the prnicipal dimensions of the
new ironcased frigate Hercules, of 1,100-horse
power (nominal), which is about to be commenced
at Chatham dockyard, from the designs of Mr. E.
J. Reed, the Chief Constructor of the Navy :
Length between perpendiculars, 305 ft. ; extreme
breadth, 57ft. ; depth of hold, 20ft. 7in. ; burden in
tons 4,813 14-94. Her sides are proposed to be con-
structed of a thickness greater than any vessel now
afloat, in order to render her as nearly as possible
invulnerable to the heaviest description of ordnance
she may be called upon to face. For this purpose
the Hercules will be plated with a thickness of no
less than 114 in. of iron, in addition to 32in. of
timber backing at tha water-line, and in immediate
contiguity to her gun battery. Her armour-plates
will be composed of the best description of rolled
iron, 9in. thick, in addition to which a double skin
of iron-plating, composed of plates liin. in thick-
ness, will be worked behind the 10-inch teak back-
ing, to which the armour-plates will be bolted.
Behind these again will be 22in. of timber, and,
finally, the ordinary i-inch inner plating, or skin of
the frigate. Contrasting these with the correspond-
ing figures in the Minotaur, Warrior, and others of
our ironclads, the Hercules will have a thickness of
iron-plating more than double that of either of the
vessels named. It will surpass that of the iron
frigate Bellerophon, nearly completed for sea at
Chatham dockyard, although the latter is considered
a marvel of strength. In the case of the Warrior.
the iron armour-plates are only 4lin. in thick-
ness, and in the Minotaur 5 in., while along a
portion of her broadside the Bellerophon carries
armour-plates of 61n. in thickness, with an inner
plating of liin. in thickness behind her 10-inch
timber backing. Like the Bellerophon, the Her-
cules will be built on the cellular principle, with
a double bottom, the Bellerophon being the first
vessel in the British navy constructed on that
plan. In her construction steel will be used for her
stronger plates, and in:other parts where experience
has shown that it is advisable to employ that sub-
stance. The Hercules will be commenced in the
second dock, in which the Lord Warden, wooden
armour-plated frigate, is now being fitted for sea.
Orders have been received at Chatham for tend-
ers to be received on the 29th inst. for the purchase
of the screw gun-vessel Plover, 80 horse-power no-
minal, and 426 tons, now attached to the third di-
vision of the steam reserve, together with the whole
of :her spare gear. The Plover was built for the
Government only a few years since by private con-
tract, and has recently been paid off after a length-
ened cruise on the West Coast of Africa.
Mr. Reed's iron screw steam ram corvette Pallas,
launched at Woolwich on the 14th of March last,
and supplied by Messrs. Humphreys and Tennant
with engines of 600 nominal horse-power, is nowt

ordered to carry the following armament :—Four
300 and two 100 pounder Armstrongs in the mid-
ship batteries, four 40-pounders on the upper deck,
one in the captain's cabin and one abaft, and two
pivot guns forward and aft on the weather deck.
She is rapidly approaching completion,-and will be
undocked on the 30th of November next.

The ironclad Research, 4, Capt. Arthur Wilms-
burst, has arrived at Portland from Portsmouth.

His Prussian Majesty's steam corvette Nymphe
Delphine put into the Portland Roads on Saturday
afternoon through stress of weather, being en route
for Plymouth. She saluted the flag of Rear-Ad-
miral Sir Sidney Colpoys Dacres, which compliment
was duly acknowledged by the Edgar. A strong
southwest wind was blowing, with squally weather.
The paddle despatch steam-vessel Salamis, Capt.
Francis G. Suttie, arrived at Portland from Ports-
mouth on Sunday morning at 10 o'clock.
The War Department storeship Lord Panmure, Mr.
Moore, master, in charge, haviugreturned toWoolwich
from Portsmouth, yesterday commenced unshipping
at the Arsenal wharf. Her cargo consists of shot
and shell, with 40 Armstrong guns, brought back
to the Royal Gun factories for alteration and re-
pair.

The troops, already mentioned in the Sun, dis-
embarked from the troopship Himalaya, Captain
Lethbridge, yesterday morning, at the jetty in
Portsmouth dockyard, under the superintendence
of Col. Shadwell, A.Q.M.G. The 63d Regiment
proceeded to Aldershott by railway, via Farnbo-
rough, the time-expired men to their respective
depots, and the invalids to the Royal Victoria Hos-
pital, Netley.
The Lady Melville, hired transport, arrived at
Spithead yesterday from Calcutta, with time-ex-
pired men from various regiments serving in India.
They will disembark this morning. She also brings
a few private passengers.
The Orontes, troop shipot Capt. H. W. Hire,
arrived at Portsmouth yesterday morning from
Dublin.

The following appointments were made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty :—Capt. Leveson E. H.
Somerset to the Formidable, as additional, for ser-
vice in the Bristol ; Lieut. J. W. Brackenbury, to
the Hector ; J. S. and C. Bower nominated to a
naval cadetship ; J. G. Taylor, engineer, to the
Britomart ; H. A. Henri, B. Carr, and Andrew
Hindmarsh, engineers, to the Duncan, for disposal;
J. Bates, J. Davies, and W. G. Paige, for Ist class

assist. engineers, to the Duncan, for disposal.

The Murders near Holborn.

The visit of the London detective police to Rams-
gate has set at rest all doubts as to the identity of
the Stephen Forwood of that place with the Ernest
Southey of Brighton, Ryde, Surbiton, Worcester,
and Putney. Inspector Tanner, to whom the pri-
soner was well known as Southey previous to the
dreadful crimes of last week, reports that while at
the examination at Ramsgate on Saturday the pri-
soner referred to his applications in past times for
pecuniary assistance, and remarked that the Go-
vernment, which would take no notice of him be-
fore, could now offer a large reward for him.
When in London the murderer wore a beard and
moustache, but he shaved them off about a fortnight
before the commission of the crimes—a change in
his personal appearance which he took care should
be noticed in every place where he was known ; a
fact which leads to the opinion that, whatever crimes
he meditated, he desired in some way to baffle jus-
tice.

The inquiries of the London detective police,•act-
ing under Inspector Tanner, have shown that Mrs.
White, the mother of the three children murdered
in London, was in communication with the prisoner
up to the latter end of June, when she was living
in the neighbourhood of Putney. She had with her
a little girl which she had borne since cohabit-
ing with Southey, and she has been known to de-
clare that her life withthe man had been so wretched
that she was desirous of being beyond his power.
An opportunity occurred for her to go to Australia
with a family in the capacity of nurse. She gladly
took the offered situation, and, leaving her little
girl in the care of a benevolent lady, who was wil-
ling to take charge of her, the woman sailed from
England a few weeks ago. Forwo6d, it is under-
stood, was not aware for some time where his late
paraMour was, and he used every exertion to disco-
ver her, making repeatedinquiries for her in all parts
of Putney, telling the many persons in that place
who knew the pair of his loss, and always styling
himself her husband.
It is believed that his connection with this woman
did not have that romantic commencement which he
has described. There are reasons for supposing
that he knew her before he left Ramsgate, and that
he maintained a connection with her after her
marriage, about 10 years since, to Mr. White,
who, it will have been noticed, regarded the mur-
dered boys as his " reputed children" only, and not
without cause. For several nights previous to
committing the murders the prisoner slept in thi)
stable of a publichouse in Putney, and he left
there at three o'clock yesterday week, as he took
the three boys from Mr. White's house to the coffee-
house where they were murdered. He had no
money when he left Putney, but he must have ob-
tained some, as he defrayed the expenses of lodging
and living at the coffeehouse, bought a new revolver,
paid his expenses to Broadstairs, and had los. when
taken into custody. He had, however, means of
obtaining money which must now and then have
put him in possession of a few pounds ; for, besides
his billiard-playing skill and betting, he was always
writing begging letters to benevolent noblemen and
gentlemen.
Whatever doubts Mr. White had of the parentage
of the murdered boys, it may be stated to his credit
that he did allow those doubts to weigh with him
as to his duty towards the children. He made every
arrangement for the burial of the unhappy boys,
and, after the opening of the coroner's inquiry on
Friday they were placed in separate coffins, and in-
terred on Saturday morning in the cemetery near the
Victoria-park.

It is considered most probable that the prisoner
will be removed by writ of habeas corpus to take his
trial in London for murder of the three children, as
it is looked upon as most undesirable that a cause
of so much importance should stand over for months,
as it would if it should have to wait for the Maid-
stone assizes.

THE MURDERER'S LETTER.—The following is the
letter of Southey, as it appeared in the Daily lele-
graph of Monday, April 11, 1864 :

" In almost boyish years I met with one who was poor
and delicate, educated, and unprovided for. For these
reasons I resolved to shield her from the world. I was at
this time directed in my conduct by a strict conscience, re-
ligiously formed and scrupulously exacting, with very im-
perfect perception of that compromise between good and
evil which human conduct, after all, can only amount to.
Upon an occasion I forgot my duty, and from that one
circumstance dates all my misfortune and fearful blight of
life. The standard for my conduct had been fixed too
high, and my declension corresponded. My religious be-
lief now only created doubt and despair. With self-respect
gone and renewed temptations, I diverged wider and wider
from that practice of right which under all I loved. I
found
andno at stand point upon which to recover my lost bal-
ance,my ruin. The l
last sought in frivolous diversion to escape
consciousness of everything, abs,illiathrdast clamfoeutnodcommpylseetile
result finally and
w
Glasgow. I had now falleni or a single person I knew, in
without means or profession,
tojud the bottom, and all this the
Timteewntuosfi the obligations of
result of an ill-balanced
t-xemediably ruined
human life. I felt that my
whol
resolved to
and worthless, but for the sako of that
trusted, and (knowing mo well) respected me,
make some reparation to her, who was now the motvheedr t'eof
my children. A first wrong is like the letting out of water,
Sternly resolved, I now sought suitable employment, day
after day, but in vain. At last,without a penny in the world,
I resolved to use for my redemption what had helped to
my ruin—billiards. I reasoned that I could therein show
to men of position and power that I was governed by
principles and aims which were worthy of better employ-
ment, and I then engaged to conduct a billiard establish-
ment. In course of time I received much kindness and
respect from gentlemen who discovered my character'and
false position, and I pressed forward for my object—hon-
ourable employment. My claims and credentials were ac-
knowledged, and some few, kinder than most, used some
efforts in my behalf. But in the end I found that men in busi-
ness are too much occupied in their own concerns to take up
another's interests; that my previous connection with bil-
liards had been a mistake (although I had separated from it at
this time); and that niany'who would risk their own lives to
save a drowning:wretch would leave unaided those who suffer

pain that makes life itself a burden, because the evidence
of this equally fatal suffering is not seen. I did not find a
keenly discriminating man benevolent, and having power
to regard the usages of society at proper worth, who, to
save more than life, would exert himself in proportion.
For five years I struggled on through bitter life unspeak-
able, and all that penury, loneliness, self-reproach, and
persecution (from those who could not understand me)
could inflict, I suffered, and many and many have been the
times that I have asked myself shall I still keep on ?
What I :have suffered has made me, who was a common
man, uncommon, and has taught me to live, not for life
itself, but for its aims. But this is stern teaching. I re-
solved again and again, but still no one helped me with
that much-needed little lift. I gained respect; the first
gentlemen in Glasgow would shake hands with me ; but
still I was left to have the credit all to myself, of my re-
demption, if it was to b© accomplished at all. I was re-
ceiving some little help from my friends at this time, and
came to England. Knowing that rich men play at billiards,
as at rifle shooting or other sports, for stakes, which, if
fairly won, at least reflect no dishonour, and believing that
the end justified the means, I entered into competitions of
this nature, pitting my small means and skill against the
advantages of my opponents with varying success and
failure.

" At Kentfield's Subscription Rooms, Brighton, where I
was known, I met the Hon. Dudley Ward. He was play-
ing with a solicitor whom he knew, and with whom he had
often contended before. I made a wager with him of ss.
upon the game, and he lost to me in all £122. He then
contested with me, and altogether raised my claim to
£1,172. I should have previously stated that at the com-
mencement of the games he proposed an agreement that
all losses should be paid before leaving the room, to which
I acceded. Upon being applied to a fortnight after the
occurrence, he sent a letter to say that he could not pay
then, but would as soon as he was able. Two months
afterwards, being pressed for payment, and not being able,
he repudiated the debt. I then offered to allow the matter
to be arbitrated by two noblemen, to which he did not even
deign a reply. I went home the night that I had won this
contest thanking God that at last I had gained the power
to carry out the purpose of my life—that I should be able
to employ means less uncongenial to my tastes and percep-
tions—that my life would no longer be a lie—lbat in living
out my better nature I might still be of use to the world as
well as myself. The disappointment came upon me with
all the force and effects which circumstances gave to it—it
broke me utterly down.

"A few weeks before the last-mentioned circumstanced
I met one evening a lady whose extremely agitated manner
showed to mo that she was suffering great mental distress.
I learned from her that she kept a young ladies' school—
that she was endeavouring to bring up thereby four young
children of her own—that she had 2s. 6d. in her possession,
was in debt, and had already sinned to get them bread as a
mother should not—that she had left her home, intending
never to return, feeling that farther life would only end in
great sin and disgrace—was going to the pier to escape ex-
istence. I saved her, as I should expect my sister to be
saved by any honourable man finding her in such position.
A banker, at the recommendation of the minister of her
church and others, helped me to try and establish her in
her home. I canvassed to get her pupils, sold her draw-
ings, helped her from my small bank to the best of my
ability, and saved her from the grasp of a man who sought
to make her his prey. Her health failed, her home was
broken up, and I got her received into an hospital. Had I got
my money in proper time, this, with much more, might
have been saved. I would have lent her an amount to
carry on with, for she had fair prospects if this had been
afforded. She shared my disappointment, gave me sym-
pathy and affection, and in the end I found that I could
not forsake her without sinning over again the sin of my
early years.
" I calmly weighed all the serious difficulties of my posi-
tion, and obeyed the dictates of conscience in yielding to
her entreaty to share my destiny, which, God knows, could
be small boon. But the decision was not completed until
the Earl of Dudley refused to pay his brother's debt. I had
already striven with all my power, and suffered all I could
bear. The disappointment which had incapacitated me for
further effort bad also disclosed to me that I could not live
on through more such life as I had without becoming a bad
man, which I am not, and will not be. I will rather die. I
entered then into union with this lady, with the under-
standing that our lives were at issue upon the settlement
of my claims, and trusting, should we fail during life, the
fuller representation of the facts afterwards might obtain
for those whose interests we sought the right before re-
fused. This may read strange and unwise, but most men,
had they passed through what is here very faintly shadowed,
had either been in the grave, a prison, or a madhouse. It
is not external circumstance which measures human con-
sciousness of pain, but individual sensitiveness thereto. I
tremble more at life than death, knowing in which I have
most to gain. But Ido my duty as far as lam able, and
ask that help which I think it my duty to ask.

" I must believe that one of the highest responsibilities
of title is, that their possessors should hand them down to
posterity unsullied by reproach. The heir apparent to the
title of Earl Dudley has by conduct most dishonourable
(that to which the world applies the severest epithets)
brought upon me the greatest trouble, which now doubt-
less brings me to within a few days of the close of my life.
Will the order of society to which he belongs permit the
wrong ? I felt it my duty to place these grave facts before
the present Earl of Dudley, under the assurance of several
noblemen that, considering all the circumstances, his lord-
ship would be more than justified in preventing all this
evil. I waited upon his lordship, who, upon informing
him that it was to me a matter of life or death, became
violent, and disclaimed the family responsibility urged. I
was not acting solely for myself, and I pleaded, and was
then driven from the house by his lordship as if I had been
a dog.
" Then, for the first time in my life, I felt painful but
bitter malignity, and wished for death, lest I became a bad
man. I have suffered many bitter wrongs not spoken here,
the inevitable lot of those who aro down in the world.
But it is not for me to cast the first stone. Upon the ad-
vice and at the recommendation of a noble lady in Lon-
don, my more than wife also waited upon his lordship.
His manner, at first too amiable, upon being assured that
he was only waited upon for business, and that by the
wife of Mr. Southey, suddenly changed to the opposite
extreme. Ho only permitted a partial explanation, and
then refused, sneeringly, the request urged with the bitter
tears of a mother.

" Hoping from the intercession of a magistrate of Wor-
cester, who had placed before his lordship his views of the
circumstance, that he might now be willing to hear and
believe her statement, Mrs. Southey wont again to Witley
Court, alone and unadvised,and was showninto the library.
She now knew what she had not long fully known, that
the purpose of my life had been, and still was, to make
what reparation I could to my children and another
already mentioned. She had known that I had one
paramount object from the first, but not its nature, and
now shared my ardent wish for success, inspired also by
love for her children. These united motives, and our
desperate position, gave courage for this unpleasant duty,
and nerved a delicate woman for one more last effort. She
asked to see the Earl of Dudley, and was refused. Feeling
faint and very unwell, she then asked to speak with the
housekeeper. The earl she
entered the room, and,
without allowing time for speech, seized her by the
wrist, using his strength with spiteful violence, and
twisting her off her feet, dragged her from the room into
the hall, and then with great force pushed her from the
door. One arm was so much injured by his lordship's
violent wrench that a druggist upon whom she called for
advice declined treating it, and referred her to a medical
man. It is now five clays since, and it is utterly useless.
Were I not seeking, above all things, to fulfil claims which
even this outrage does not permit me to forget, I should act
very differently in the matter.
"As it is, before asking a decision of justice thereon, I
feel bound to afford another opportunity for staying a tor-
rent of evil, of which the reader of this cap but partially
see the magnitude. He must stand in my position, and see
with my view to be able to judge of my motives for this
action ; or let him be guided by what I have shown of my
life for this judgment. I act, believing I have but a few
days left in which to finish my work, and am employing
my last resources, that 1 may not leave unfinished the one
object of my life.
" I now submit my position to the world, in the belief
that any man in desperate extremity is justified in calling
upon his fellowmen for aid, that private misfortune should
not be allowed to become public calamity. And to those
many friends who have confirmed mo in believing that I
was doing what was right, I address a last request for
their influence. It is currently reported that his lordship,
in matters of like nature in years gone by, has in preference
to his own judgment yielded to the voice of his ccmpeers.
And if I am not now acting upon an erroneous conviction,
I trust, pleading as I am for the innocent, and not for my
own sake, that my appeal may not be in vain. That this
statement is written in all sincerity and truth is best evi-
denced by the manner in which I seek, under all the pain
of a voluntary confession of my own weaknesses, to make
atonement for them. I seek to show to the thinking and
unthinking alike in warning an illustration how one error,
small in itself, may bring such a train of baneful conse-
quences as will write in fearful lines the mournful requiem
of all earthly joy. Life presents too many instances in
which trouble has accumulated until it has become insup-
portable to render it needful for me to say more than that
these circumstances bring a crisis from which there can be
no beyond.

" I am well aware that fow men, feeling themselves in
such a position, have had the power to do as I am now
doing; but my life has been too rugged and my position is
too critical for me at this moment to pay uncalled-for
regard to conventional usages.
" Whatever may have been my errors, I seek rather to be
guided by the true spirit of what is right than the imper-
fect letter thereof, as represented by social laws. For me
the love of life is gono, and I have the courage, which
suffering gives, to do this my duty to society, by striving
all in my power to avoid a calamity, and to ask in return
that society will do its duty to me. Had the Earl of Dud-
ley at first calmly heard and scrutinised my statement, he
would surely have acted as nobly as became his high sta-
tion ; and I declare again, as it has already been made
known to his lordship, that had he have enabled me to ful-
fil my wishes, oven as the whole strong bent of my nature