The Sun.
London, England, 1831-10-25 00:00:00

S

1, 1

TRAGEDY IN REAL LIFE.

Some time since an elderly man, named Bentley,
a ship-smith in Lower Smithfield, in consequence
of the death of his wife, employed as housekeeper a
woman past the meridian of life, named Sophia
Westley, and employed a young marred man
, named
John Hughes, who is engaged at Mr. Cox 's chapel
at Hackney, as organist, to anmse his leisure hours
by playing on an organ, to which the housekeeper
sang. The consequence of this was, the young
man and Sophia Westley fell in love with each
other. Mr. Bentley having remarked this gronegrowing
affection, made on one occasion some remarks which
interrupted the harmony of the party. About ten
days ago Mr. Bentley was taken ill, and that so
suddenly, that he conceived an attempt had been
made on his life by poison. The other in-
n
aaninba
ainpsdo,rmfe
rht,itis:ieceliaonut,:oewy.l'ivoer,orechc'etu occupied gar amboeallitlagl: yaanaTioll Cr Mills,
7.dc
youth, received frequent checks and curbs from his
master, which produced nothing but sulkiness and
disobedience of orders : suspicions. fell upon him,
and Mr. Bentley having submitted some tea
in-
tended for use, and a part of which he bad taken,
and made him so ill, to the usual analytical tea:, it
we, found to contain a portion of laudanum, but not
sufficient in quantity to destroy life. ho
ever, was taken before the Maeisteate at the
Thames Police.oflice, and charged on suspicion with
the attempt to poison his master. The Magistrates,
after due deliberation, decided thet the evi-
dence was not sufficiently strong to warrant the
detention of the boy, and he was accordingly die--
charged.
Since the dreadful occurrence which, as will
afterwards appear, lets taken place, strange suspciot
have been entertained, which it may not be 1•-utter
to allude to more particularly. Saturday nigh.. last
Ileghes, the organist, had been in company with Mr.
Bentley and Mrs. Westley, and performed daring
tire Qeening several favourite airs. About ten o'clock
he A up, and having wished Mr. Bentley " good
night," Mrs. Westtey, as was her custom, welt to
let him out and fasten the door. Mlts, Who vr". -
also of the party, went up stairs to bed, and Mr.
Bentley himself retired to rest. Soon after he had
lain down he was aroused by the discharge of fire-
arms, two shots in rapid succession, which was
inerareaneously succeeded by a fall of some heavy
substance on the floor of the room over that in which
he slept. Mr. Bentley hurried up stairs irnmediateh.,
and on opening the door of Mrs. \Vestley'a bei!.
room, perceived Hughes and Mile Westley closely
embraced in each other's arms, both weltering in
their blood, and two pistols, recently discharged,
lying beside them on the floor. Mr. Bentley sent
for medical assistance, and Messrs. Bouverie and
Bloomfield, two surgeons residing in the neighbour-
hood, were speedily in attendance. On their ar-
rival, Mr. Bentley requested them to remove the
female, who had exhibited signs of life by gienming
and asking forgiveness, into bed, and attend to her ;
remarking at the same time that he feared the tin-
fortuna,e man Hughee was quite dead. The words
were scarcely uttered when Hughes, who had not
before shewn the least signs of life, feebly exclaimed
" Oh, no, I'm not dead; but regret I did not do
the business more effectually." On examination
ern-germs ascertained that Hughes was wounded in
the bead, and that a pistol-ball had entered near the
left ear, which took a slanting direction towards the
back of the head. Mrs. Westley had_also received
a precisely similar wound on the left side of her
head; but from the direction which the hall had
taken, she appeared to be in a much more dangerous
state. Both were bleeding copiously, and the balls
having lodged in the back part of the head, the me-
dical gentlemen, after stopping the hemorrhage, re-
commended that both should be taken to the Lon-
don Hospital, and they were, ssithout loge of time,
taken there in a coach. The moat prompt assistance
was rendered, but up to a late hour yesterday it was
understood that neither of the balls had been ex-
tracted. Hughes remains in a precarious state,
owing to the continued agitation of mind under
which he appears to labour ; but with respect to the
ultimate recovery of Mrs. Westley but very faint
hopes are entertained. Both are reported to be per.
feetly conscious of their situation, but without be-
traying anything like a regret for what had taken
place. By the admission of Mrs. We.tley, it ap-
pears that both pistols were fired by the heeds of
Hughes, but with the consent of the unfortunate
woman herself, who, from her master having given
her notice to quit his house in a week, more readily
induced her to enter into the horrible compact sug-
geated by Hughee, that they should commit suicide
iespectively. According to her statement, she ac-
tually made the attempt on Friday night ; but though
she took the pistol in her hand for the purpose, she
had not the courage to pull the trigger ; and then it •
was that Hughes agreed on the following night tr
shoot her and then himself. Hughes is ebot
thirty years of age, and Mrs. Westley is fifty,
least, and is a widow. It is said that Vlughe, a'
mits an illicit intercourse was carr.A on betwen
him and Westley.

•
STATE OF TRADE.—Dispiriting as was the • • • -
market at Bradford, last week, for maunfactu-ed goods,
that of Thursday was still worse—indeed so ..:ark a cloud
was scarcely ever known to lour in the commercial horizon.
For this, there are obviously two causes. These are, the un-
settled and uncertain state oi our domestic affairs, and the
alarming fact of the cholera having conuneneed its ravages
it Hamburg, and us consequence of this calamity, some of
the German, buyers Lave countermanded orient for goods
given tha week preceding. The little business done was
principally in low lastings, on account of the approaching
season for shipments to America. In some instances low
goods were offered at Sd. to (id. per piece less than the
week preeedity4. The attempts to get up wool, it is be-
lieved must now be abandoned.--Halifax Express.
The Duke of NEWCASTLE has, we are in-
formed, 400 yeomanry stationed in Clumber Castle.
These in a very little time consumed fifteen sheep, besides
other eatables in proportions, and emptied his Grace's
cellar of strong beer. Cannon also are p!accd in various
parts of the Castle. How delightfully easy must the ducal
coronet sit upon his brow ! He will not find it quite so
easy to " do as be liked with his own," as he imagined._.
Stamford News,
BURKE, in his " Reflections on the R2volu-
don of France," observes, " Politics and the pulpit are
terms that have little agreement. No pound ought to be
besot in the Church but the heating voice of Christiau
charity. The cause of civil liberty and civil government
gains as little as that of reigion by this confusion of duties.
Chose who quit their proper character, to nsitinie what
does nut belong to them„ are, for the greater part, ignorant
both of the character they leave and of the character tit( y
assume. Wholly unacquainted with the world in wiiieh
they are so fond ot meddling, and inexperienced in all its
affairs, on which they pronounce with so much confidence,
they have nothing of polities but the passions they excite."
The following is extracted from a letter from
Berlin, dated Sept. 30 :—" The cholera has been going on
lucre for the last four weeks, I have been busy studying
it, and now see every day ft number of cakes in one of our
hospitals. I have cot the least doubt that the cholera is.
in this country at least, produced and communicated ex-
tlusivel
andylty contagion, in the ma same way as the stall pox,
measles,
that this contagion does not pro-
duce the disease trrtl2-as it finds a constitulion predisposed
to be acted on ; further, that this pretaispo,ition is gene.
rill), brought on by previous dikarese, particularly diarrhoea
and fever, by cold, fatigue, irregularities in diet, drunken-
ness, and broken healtt.. I shall by and by he able to give
you most satis.%,:rory evidence of these statements, and
show that the doctrine of miasma is quite it recnneiteable
ith the doctrines of general pathology. The results of
.ur treatment are now getting very favourille. Whenever
arty assistance is saitteht, the first attack of the disease is
overcome by txternal beat, acid baths, frictions, but part-
•ularly camphor. The abdominal and particularly-
the cerebral affection which supervenes afterwat dos
affords the greatest difficulty of treatment. Much wet—
ion is paid to the morbid appearances after death, and we
hope to render the knowledge of these appearances rote e
perfect."
among its members. Had
)1, a fart by tio
and
ier of the Literary Union Club.
qowNinlELNoinCdEon‘V,
mess ne
creditable to England that the Travelers' (.tut decii• ed
,h.thbeeecnealtriat,teeddanPoliilmios(l,tiar)o, euti:nits_
tuesiau a tr?—Literazy
giul leu cee in tkia