The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-29 00:00:00

THE MURDER NEAR LEIGHTON BUZZARD.

Yesterday, the inquest on the deceased Charity Glenis-
ter, who was so brutally murdered by Abel Burrows,
was held yesterday. The proceedings excited the utmost
interest, and the room at the hotel was crowded all day.
Much surprise and no inconsiderable amount of indig-
nation have been excited amongst the residents in the
neighbourhood by attempts which have been made to
represent the accused as labouring under mental aberra-
tion consequent upon religious fanaticism. It is stoutly
denied that there is the slightest ground for such a state-
ment—indeed it is confidently affirmed that he never
evinced any degree of religious feeling, his whole career
having been one of unswerving dissoluteness and profli-
gacy. Since his capture he has taken a course which,
under other circumstances, might lead to a belief in a
state of mental unsoundness, but there seems to be
nothing in his previous life which for a moment warrants
the supposition that he was in anything but full posses-
sion of his senses when he murdered Charity Glenister
and threatened the lives of all other persons who came
in his way.
A number of witnesses deposed to the facts which were
narrated in The Sun of yesterday. Amongst them was
the father of Burrows, a very old man, whose failing
memory and desire not to criminate his son, rendered his
evidence an almost unintelligible mass of confusion.
The jury at once found a verdict of wilful murder
against Burrows.

It appears that since the prisoner's apprehension a
letter has been sent to him by the woman with whom
he has been cohabiting while apart from his wife, which
corroborates the rumour that she was not aware until
quite recently that he was a married man. From the
tenor ofithe first part of the letter, it is evident that she
deeply regretted the deception which had been practised
upon her.

Contrary to the expectations of the coroner, the pri-
soner was not brought before the jury. His presence,
however, was quite unnecessary. Burrows is 37 years of
age, and has a daughter grown up to womanhood. He
is a native of Leighton Buzzard.

RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—On Thursday evening last a
few minutes before eight o'clock, an accident, fatal in its
consequences, occurred at the Bury station of the East
Lancashire Railway. The guard of a luggage train
named Samuel Millet, of Paradise-street, Bury, aged 24
years, was engaged in assisting to shunt some waggons,
when his head was caught by the coupling books, and
he was instantly killed.
DEATH FROM A KICK BY A HORSE.—An inquest was
held on Thursday last, before C. Collins, Esq., coroner,
at the Waincaegurwan Arms, on the body of Lewis
Lewis, collier, aged 28 years. A farmer, named Wat-
kins, rode up on horseback to the door of a cottage, in
which the deceased and other parties were attending a
wedding party. The deceased came out, and com-
menced teasing and playing with the horse. The rider
cautioned him that the animal was a " kicker." In a
short time the animal kicked the deceased so severely
that he died some hours afterwards from an internal in-
jury. Verdict—" Accidental death."
THE FRENCH COURT-MARTIAL AT ROME.—During the
last month, the French Court-martial at Rome pro-
nounced six sentences, viz., four for wounds inflicted
upon French soldiers, and one for theft practised upon a
French sutler. This was punished with 5 years' impri-
sonment with hard labour ; the other punishments
varied from 6 to 2 months' imprisonment.
A NEW BURIAL GROUND FOR HOLBORN.—At the
usual weekly meeting of the Board of Guardians of the
Holborn Union, Mr. J. S. S. Hopwood, the chairman,
read a letter from the Rev. J. J. Toogood, the rector of
St. Andrew's, Holborn, suggesting that measures be
adopted for providing a new burial ground for the parish,
the churchyard being ordered to be closed in July, 1854,
and stating that " the number of funerals in our ground
from November 24, 1850, to Nov. 21, 1853, has been
1,042. At present the independent poor bury at small
cost in our ground, but when that is closed the expense
will be much increased, and many funerals now paid
for by the friends will fall on the rates." The board,
on the motion of Mr. Sandland, resolved to appoint a
committee to confer with other parochial bodies on pro-
viding a new burial ground.
FALL OF Two HOUSES IN PIMLICO.—On Saturday
morning an alarming accident, which, had it occurred
an hour later, would inevitably have caused an immense
sacrifice of human life, took place in Denbigh-street,
Pimlico. Between four and five in the morning the
neighbourhood around Denbigh-street was greatly
alarmed at hearing a noise like the discharge of a great
number of guns, the alarm being felt especially by those
families residing at Nos. 53, 55, and 57, Lupus-street ;
for, concurrently with the noise, the conservatories
at the rear of their premises, their washhouses, win-
dows, and back walls were smashed in, great damage
being thereby occasioned. Upon several persons making
their way to the spot from which the sound appeared to
have proceeded, it was found to have been can sed by the
falling in of two large newly-built houses in Denbigh-
street, and which were then a mass of ruins, the only
portion left standing being a part of the back walls,
which, however, were found to be in such a dangerous
condition that they were pulled down during the after-
noon. All the materials used in the construct ion of the
buildings were broken into fragments, and mast of them
are rendered useless. The accident is attributed by some
to the weather having caused the foundations to sink,
and by others to the bursting of the party walls. It is
exceedingly fortunate that the accident happened when
it did, as in another hour 20 or 30 men would have been
at work on the premises, which were not quite com-
pleted, and no doubt in that case a great sacrifice of
life would have been the consequence.
FIRE AT WINDSOR CHURCH.—The night after the de-
parture of her Majesty and the royal family for their
autumnal visit to the Isle of Wight, a fire occurred at
Windsor Parish Church. It appears that when the
church was built, some thirty years ago, two large stoves
were placed in the eastern and western aisles respec-
tively, with brisk tunnels to convey the heat around
the building. Saturday night was the first tii ne these
stoves had been used during the present sewon, and
the first time also that the business of lightii ig them
had been entrusted to the under-sexton, a ma n named
Batt, who had made too large a fire in ea ch, and
the consequence was the ignition of the we
beneath which the connecting tunnel runs. 'his was
soon put out, and the damage was trifling; bi it about
midnight another and more alarming fire broke out near
to the second stove, and had Batt and his assistant left
the church after the first fire, the edifice must in evitably
have been burnt down. As it was, the same al4sistance
was rendered as on the first occasion, with the :like suc-
cessful effect. Considerable damage has been done to
the wood-work beneath the open seats, and the accident
will probably lead to a new and improved nr ethod of
heating the church, but the cost of restorat ion will
happily be very trifling. The church is insured, at its
full value, in the Phoenix Fire-office. f