The Sun.
London, England, 1840-05-15 00:00:00

BO TV-STREET,

THF MURDER OF LORD WILLIAM RUSSELL.
RE-EXAMINATION OF COURVOISIER.
The Court, and all the approaches to it, were crowded
from an early hour yesterday morning by persons anxious to
catch a glimpse of the valet of the late lamented Noble-
man, who stands charged ivi•h the wilful murder of his
niviter, and who was remanded on Monday last to this day.
Among those prescut in the Court we observed, his
Serene Highness: the Duke of Brunswick, who seemed
very attentive to the whole of the proceedings ; Count
Alton, his Equerry ; the Earl of Essex ; Slr W. W.
Wynnci Sir G. Beaumont ; Mr. Murray.
Mr. Ilatt., the Chief MagisAratc, took his scat on the
Bencl., shortly before two o'clock, and almost immediately
ate% wards,
Francois Bet,jarnin Courvoisicr was placed at the bar. lb.;
appeared collected.
Mr. Hobler conducted the prosecution, and Mr.F:lorw
itp4x,ared for the prisoner. Mr. Wing, the solieio etor
the Duke of Bedford, was also in attendance.
Mr. Hobler said that on the former occasion he bad
merely given the evidence of Pearce ; he would now f,o
through the case from the beginning, and call
Sarah Mancell.—l was housemaid to the late Lord
William Ilussrll. lie resided at 14, Norfolk-street, Park-
lane. I had been in his service three years the
last of this month. I was in his service on
Tuesday, the sth of May. His establishment
consisted of a valet, a cook, and myself, residing in the
'house. The prisoner is the valet. His Lord:hip had two
out-door servants, a coachman and groom. On Tuesday,
sth May, I just saw his Lordship coming down stairs
before breakfast, a little before half-past niar. Ile rc-
mai-sled iu the dining room a quarter ut an hour. He left
the house the same day a few minutes before one. Ills
Lordship hail then bre-akfasted. I after that saw the pri-
soner. He Insd been in attendance on his Lordship at
breakfast. The prisoner came up into my bedroom, pa,-,.5-ing
ing through his own. I asked if his Lordship was gone
out; lie said yes. lie said " his Lordship has given me
five
messages, and I ern afraid I shall forget some."
One of his messages was regarding the carriage. He sUid
hisn Lordship has ordered the carriage at five at Brookes's.
He asked ire what it was, and I told him a club. He
said if his Lordship had told him that he should have
known what it wrs. Nothing else ss d at that time Myself and the prisoner dined together P-e aboutdl a .quaortnee
of his messages r.
past one. The prisoner left the houseafter
was to Messrs. Jarvis and Jones, nnfeCr.enduit-
street. The prisoner said there was a message oeat shout his
Lordship's hat. The prisoner said if i.he men
came to do
the bell in his Lordship's room, would I go upwith him
He went out after dinner, and returned a little before fiv..
I was in the dining-room is hen prisoner came in. He came
to me there and spoke to me, but said nothing parti-
cular. A few minutes after he said be must lay
his Lordship's things out to dress for dinner. He then
left me. I was in the kitchen, and there came a ring
at the bell; the prisoner answered it, and said it was the
upholsterer's man ; this was about five o'clock. I aftf,r_
wards saw the oplio/sterer'i mart teh^u he emu down
stairs; he lett the house by the front door I think, We

then had tea. Whilst the prisoner and the upholsterer
were up stairs there came a ring at the bell. I went into
the area to see, and it was a friend of the valet's, named
Carr. He asked to see the prisoner, and I asked him to come
down ;he ultimately did so. I had seen Carr tiler • be-
fore ; he had come to visit the prisoner on former ecca-
:•ions. In a few minutes after the prisoner came into the
kitchen. We all remained in the kitchen together.
His Lordship returned at twenty minutes to six, in a cab.
Whilst we were at tea the coachman came; he came down
the area steps. 1 asked the prisoner if he had ordered the
carriage, he said no, he had forgotten it. I said to the
coachman you were ordered to Brook's at five, and ought
to have been there, and the prisoner repeated the same
thing. The coachman did not remain, he only asked the
valet if he had been to Jarvis and Jones, and went with
the carriage. The prisoner said he should tell his Lord-
ship
he ordered the carriage at half-past five. I told him ,
he bad better tell his Lordship the truth, as his Lordship
would sooner forgive his forgetting the carriage than tell-
ing a falsehood. Hu said his Lordship was very for-
getful, and must pay for his forgetfulness. Carr told
the prisoner he had better tell the truth. After we
had done tea, Carr and the prisoner went into the
passage. When his Lordship came hcme I went to the
pantry, and Courvoisier said his Lordship was obliged to
come home in a cab. He went up to his Lordship ; he
then returned to the pantry. His Lordship then rang the
bell again. Courvoisier went up, and came down into the
pantry with a letter, and said he was going to the stables
with it by desire of his Lordship. He told me in his pan-
try when he came back that his Lordship had said " I
thought I ordered my carriage at five." lie said " No,
half-past." His Lordship —" I thought it was five," and
he said ' No, my Lord, half-past five." He said his
Lordship appeared rather angry at first, but after that
he became quite good-tempered. Hs Lordship had a
largo dog, and when prisoner returned from the
stables, he told witness he was going up stairs to
let the dog in. The dog was a large white one.
The dog came into the house every morning and evening.
His Lordship then went out; this was about six o'clock.
His Lordship returned from his walk shortly after six. I
did not see his Lordship go out. Prisoner tcld me his
Lordship was gone out again. I said, suppose his Lord-
ship should meet William with the carriage; he said he
had left word at the stables to tell William that his Lord-
ship was come home. His Lordship was absent about
half an hour, when he returned. The prisoner then made
preparation for his Lordship's dinner. I was in the dining-
room when the prisoner came up with the table-cloth.
After that I went up in my bed-room. The bell-hanger
came again about this time. The valet rang the bell ; I
I came down, and the valet asked me to go with the bell-
hanger, to see him put a bell cn the dour; it was on his
Lordship's bed-room door. I said I would, and went with
him. I was upsteirs till 8 o'clock. When I came down I found
the prisoner in the pantry. Iso v the man tighten the bell-
wire in his Lordship's bed-room, and then he left, taking
with him the handle of the door. The bell is placed at
the head of the bed, near the window, so that a person
can ring it lying in bed. No one was with the prisoner in
the pantry. The coachman came in to fetch the dog a
little before nine, he came by the area steps, through the
kitchen, into the pantry. He remained a little more than
a quarter of an hour, and then he fetched the dog. It
was usual for him to do so. He went to the drawing-room
for the dog. It was his Lordship's custom to have the dog
with him from dinner time until he had coffee. Theb
coachman took the dog away. I was in the pantry,
and Courvoisier said they were going to have coffee
made, and asked the coachman to have some. He said
he could not stop. The cook was out. The prisoner
and myself were [left alone. We supped together.
We conversed together about a new servant coming, and
Courvoisier said if his Lordship did not take his friend he
should not stay ; that he wished he had not come into the
place, as he did not like it so well as he thought he should.
He said his Lordship was fidgetty, and he thought not
pleased with him, and that he was cross and peevish. I said
nonsense. He has at other times used similar expressions.
I recollect his Lordship going to Richmond about a week
before this, where he stayed a short time. The prisoner
accompanied him. He complained shortly after their
return of his Lordship's conduct to him. Ho said his
Lordship had been very cross and peevish at Richmond,
and that he had changed his room three times. He said
he did not think he should be able to stay long wi.h his
Lordship. I told him the changing his room had made
his Lordship cross. The cook returned on Tuesday even-
ing, shortly after six. I was in the kitchen. The prisoner
let her in. He said all the ale was gone, but he would fetch
her more ; he did so ; he went by the area gate. There
is a lock, the key is kept in the kitchen. I heard him
take the key when he went to fetch the beer ; the gate
had been locked at nine. I did not see him bring it back.
In a quarter of an hour after I went to light his Lordship's
bed-room fire. The room was then in order, and I then
went to bed immediately ; this was at half-past ten. The
prisoner's bed-room is on the same floor with mine, at the
back of the house; the room where I and the cook sleep
i 3 in front. His Lordship's room is under my room. The
cook came up to bed about a quarter of an hour after I
did. His Lordship did not go out of the house after he
had dined. When I went up to bed his Lordship was in
the back drawing-room ;he had just rang the bell. I met
the prisoner on the stairs. After we were gone to bed, the
only persons left up in the house would be his Lord-
ship and the prisoner. His Lordship retired to rest gene-
rally at twelve o'clock. It was the valet's duty to sit up
until his Lordship had retired to rest. I did not quit my
room during the night. I awoke about half-past six the
next morning, Wednesday, May 6 ; and got up and went
down about a quarter to seven. I was accustomed to
knock at the prisoner's door as I went down. I did so
that morning. I did not see him then. I cannot say
foul
Lordship's custom
performed by
tere before,
place.
properinghis Lord.
then into the
sa.lttisihhiontli head:hei
f-,rstatpsvhi.aa.
bed-room
nl
e: reddhat
Ihlii
nysreppdiorbnaaofgsvisnms,doesehanwndiettc.doraitriirhienmsoesodt
enofe.
ededti
Lordship'scoho:laeosr
ndae.r dbsei dtan It Ih not
:ato 1
twtlwrberoarlhaovoosseopaomamshamnrni
aoa,s, hdtadai
Ijnmeuonadf
duty
t yn
found
went
a wdaor
mw i:
back drawing-room, and drew the blinds. I saw his
Lordship's writing desk turned round, the drawers open,
and the top jammed up with some papers. His keys were
lying on the top drawer, and some of his papers. A screw-
driver was lying on his chair. I had seen the screw-driver
before in the valet's pantry, a few days before. I then went
into the front room and opened the shutters, but observed
nothing particular. I then went down stairs, and at the
bottom of the staircase I saw a number of things against the
front door. I saw his Lordship's large blue cloak, his opera
glass, and a little trinket box lying on the top of the cloak,
close to the street door. I saw a number of things tied up
in a napkin, and in the folds were his Lordship's gold pen.
cil-case and his tooth-pick tipped with gold, all lying in the
same passage. I looked into the napkin, and saw a
a silver sugar dredger, a pair of his Lordship's spectacles,
a little silver caddy spoon, a silver top of a salt•dredger,
and a silver thimble, and also a silver dish cover. The
spectacles were mounted with tortoise-shell. It was the
same, it appears, his Lordship had the day before at
dinner, and he used it twice. I had last seen it in the
drawer in the pantry. This was in the afternoon before
his Lordship's dinner. The sugar-dredger was kept in
the pantry, the caddy-spoon, the cover, and the top of the
salt were also kept in tto pantry. Ido not know where
the spectacles were kept. The tooth-pick and gold
pencil were continually laid on a little table in his Lord-
ship's bed-room, covered with a white cloth. His
Lordship had two cloaks, and they were generally placed
on the last chair in the dining-room. His Lordship
had not used that cloak for a fortnight before. I went up
to the street-door and examined it. I found it unbolted,
unlocked, and unchained, with no other fastening than
the latch. I went into the front drawing-room, and saw
something on the floor. I felt alarmed, and set the door
open, and opened the shutters. I saw all the drawers
opened, and the knives and silver lying on the floor scat-
tered about the room. I felt dreadfully alarmed, and west
up stairs—the silver consisted of the candlesticks, the
snuffers, and the bottoms of the dish-covers and other
articles. I went up to call the cook ; she was in bed in
my room. I opened the door and asked her if she
knew if anything had been the matter last night, and de-
scribed to her the state I had seen the room in. She said
" Call Courvoisier." I did so. I said, Courvoisier, do
you know if any thing has been the matter last night ? He
said, No. I said, All your silver things are about. He came
to the door immediately, He was dressed all but his coat.
He ran down stairs, and took the warming-pan with him.
I told him what I had told the cook. lie looked pale and
agitated. He was not usually so quick when he was called.
Not more than five minutes elapsed front the time I first
went down until I returned. I am sure it was not ten
minutes. He would sometimes be nearly an hour after
he was called before he came down dressed. Sometimes
half an hour or 20 minutes. I never knew bins dress in a
quarter of an hour. His time varied from half an hour to an
hour. He washed and dressed him,elfgenerally in his pantry
There was a basin and eater- jug in his room. I fol-
lowed him down stairs ; he went first to the dining-room
arid laid the pan down ; he then proceeded to the pantry. ,
He said something, which I do not recollect, when he came
into the dining-room. I went with him to the pantry and
observed the cupboard door and drawers open, and several
things on a bench there. He made his way to the drawers
and said, " Oh, my God, sonic one hes robbed us." I
11 said, let us go up stairs ; we went. On goiag up I said,
' For God's sake go aid see , here his Lordship :s." He
went up and opened his Lordship's bed-room door. I
was close to him. The door has a spring ; 1 opened it
instantly, and went in after hire. I saw the prisoner in
the act of opening the shutters of the middle win-
dow. I had got as far as the foot of the bed.
The curtains were open. I saw blood on the pillow.
Li ooritllsyl 1 iypa.
and screamed end ran out. I do not think I saw his
right aide, with hisifnaebeeali
~,,
the
i)%enderally
.14 on the side nee the window
He
I.s.towards,Lordship t
ile
window,generally
Il
haveay on
often the
tiele]nedh hit.
rkericiaPrnesciintghe bed anti,h(Llrfawn the curtains at the side
ii: that way. The night before
the same state I had left thi;in.ot
leudiitiains ; they were in
next the door, and a little
eoncr city anything. I ran out and leftnioutni hearthe
itch,
tphreil;
went cut and gave the alarm to the I Itsafew minutes I
servants of a neigh-
bour. The door was on the latch.
returned, and met the cook in the pascal c
of the stairs. I saw the prisoner sitting in :
t >
chair
bottom
front dining-room. There was a large bookuroni3 ttil'ine
table, and he was writing on a piece of paper in the
i book. He wrote two words. I said "What the devil
are you sitting here for ; why don't you go and sec for zome
one, or fur a doctor ?" He said he must write to Mr.
Russell ; and I said some one must go. He went out on
the step of the trout door and beckoned to a labouring man
passing. I said, don't call such a man as that. He then I
came back into the house. Mr. Cutler's man shortly after I
came in, and others also. Mr. Latham's butler and his
Lordship's coachman were the first who went into his
Lordship': room, before the police came. I accompanied
them, as did my fellow-servant tho cook. I did not see
the prisoner. I do not recollect that he went with
us. I did not go into the room then, but ran down stairs,
when I heard Mr. Latbam's butler ask for a doctor.
I went down stairs, and sent for ore. The police came
in about ten minutes, and. then I went into the room with
them. I went to the foot of the bed, and sew his Lord-
shtp'4 face. (The witness was much affected while giv-
ing this part of her evidtpeti.) I went to the dressing-