The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-18 00:00:00

THE ATTEMPT TO MURDER.

TUNBRIDGE-WELlS.—Thomas Cheesman, who was last
week remanded on the charge of cutting the throat of
Frances Sanders, with intent to murder her, was on Saturday
last again brought up for further examination, the young
woman whose life he had attempted, although in a very
weak state, being sufficiently recovered to give evidence.
The evidence taken at the previous examination having
been read,

' Frances Sanders deposed, that she lived fellow-servant
with the prisoner at the Camden Hotel, Tunbridge. wells.
They had lived on good terms with each other till the afternoon
of Sunday, the 7th inst , when she left the.hotel alone, and met
Obed Everest, W. Bull, and Fanny Underdown, opposite the
Beehive beer-shop. They all proceeded along Mount-Ephraim,
in the direction of Rusthall, when the prisoner overtoa them.
He seemed in very good humour, and they all went to
Twort's tan yard, about two miles from Tunbridge-wells,
where the prisoner went in and brought out a quart of cider,
which they drank between them. He then fetched out two
quarts of cider more, one of which he drank himself. They
then returned in the same way they went, through Hurst-
wood, till they came to a stile near Dunnv-bottoni, where
her mother lived. She left them at the stile to go to her
mother's, promising to meet them at the stile again in half-
au-hour. On her return the prisoner sat on the stile asleep :
the others were standing a short distance off. Bull then
went and awoke the prisoner, and they proceeded
through the fields towards the Velle, leaving the pri-
soner at the stile ; but when they had got through
two fields they heard the prisoner calling out to them,
and they stopped for him. When he came up he
began to, cry and to swear, and as he walked along with
them, he said there was one in the company be would " do
for" before that week was out. Witness asked Fanny Un-
derdown if it was she the prisoner meant., when the prisoner
b-, it is you I mean to do for."
Thsaid, "No, you
iadlekr a
bl with d
shteamn
e, e a
fnrdo
mw h
thee n
Ley pi rtai sdo n
proceeded
uead toco
nws
thheimprhisaoczrantrdiedtotldo
place Ish•ohledreofhkeerc,amhuet
Bull catch u p to
ptuhsehme d
andhiin
she to
wkae elkpedh iisn htahned smoidffd.
le
;There eurlel
wwase r eon fihveer
riogfhtthseidme:
and the prisoner on the right side of
swearing, and after proceeding a little furtherßull. hPeriasgonaienr keptsaid
to her, " I will do for you before the week is out; and
shortly afterwards he said to Bull, " It is of no use your
thinking about her, for I will do for her before I sleep to-
night." Bull paid his addresses to her. In about a minute
or two after this the prisoner sprang suddenly forward and
cut her throat on the left side. She knew no more, for she
became insensible. Frances Underdown, William Ball, and
Obed Everest, corroborated the statement of this witness?
and added that when at the stile before alluded to they saw
the prisoner sharpen a knife on a stone which served as one
of the steps to the stile. The knife was similar to the one
with which the deed was committed, but they could not say
it was the same. The prisoner was then fully committed to
take his trial at the next Maidstone assizes on the charge of
cutting the threat of Frances Sanders, with full intent to
take away her life.

MELANCHOLY SUICIDE ill LIVER-

POOL.

(From the Liverpool Courier.)
On Monday, an inquest was held before Ole borough
coroner, on view of the body of George Reed, tt tinplate
worker, residing at No. 3, Dinorben-street, Windsor-
street, who committed suicide under the following ,dis-
tressing circumstances :
It appeared that the deceased, who was in the 21st
year of his age, was only married about five weeks, to a
female about 18. At nine o'clock on the morning of
Monday week, the Bth instant, he complained of his
head being very bad. His sister-in-law, Esther
Stephens, who lodged in the same house, advised him to
bathe it in cold water, which he did, and while doing so
he ground his teeth a good deal. After the bathing he
said he felt a little refreshed ; he ate his breakfast, and,
after having sent out for a sheet of paper, he wrote the
following note to a publican in Mersey-street :
" Sir,—Please to forward by my wife the sovereign I
left with you on Saturday evening.—Yours, &c.
" CALAIS'S TINMAN."
Mr. Calais, it seems, was his employer, and hence the
signature—" Calais's tin-man." He had not left any
sovereign with a publican in Mersey-street, but having
several times ineffectually attempted to send his wife
out of the house the same morning, he adopted this ruse
to accomplish his purpose.
Mrs. Reed having taken the note, he sat down and
wrote, and addressed the following letter to her during
her absence:—

" Dearest Wife,—Ere you arrive, my journey to an.
other world will be begun. Sorry am Ito leave you cn
a wide world. Your brother will protect you. More he
cannot do. Tell him to write to my friends on your
behalf. They will do something now I am no more.
Forget me, my dear Mary, and forgive, though I have
acted as I have. A heart could never beat more true
towards
,you. Farewell ! Prepare to meet your God,
that you may not follow me to that d—d region where
there is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Tell
I had a spark of gratitude left amidst all my vices, and
I felt grateful for your kindness; but let it not be said of
me I cowed in a dismal hour;—on the contrary, I die as
I have lived these last few years. My last thought is on
you, my dear Patty. Farewell, farewell, to all eternity.
" Your husband,

" G. REED."
lie also wrote the following letter to his wife's bro-

11 VT :-

" Dear William,—Take care of my wife. God will re-
ward you if no other person does—l mean to protect
her from insult. It may be a torment to me, one day,
to see you all happy in heaven, while I am in hell, with
d--d spirits, shut up in endless torment.—Your un-
happy brother, G. EEED."
having written the letters, he placed them .in his
pocket, and, without speaking a word to any of the in-
mates, deliberately walked up stairs to his beikroom.
In the course of two minutes after, a report of fire-arms
was heard, and, on entering his room, he was found in
a sitting posture OR the floor, with his back against the
wall. Blood was flowing profusely from his right
temple, and there was a pistol in his right hand. The
same night he was removed to the Infirmary, where he
died on Sunday last. He was somewhat reduced in
circumstances since his marriage ; and the day before
his death he appeared very wild, he complained con-
tantlyof his head, and he beat himself with his hands.

The 'night before (Saturday), on returning home from
work, he was very much depressed ill, spirits, and said
several times "he would do it," but did not add what
he meant to do. His wife had seen the pistol in his
hand on the Thursday prior to his committing the rash
act, and, in reply to her questions, he said he bad been
using it —shooting at a cock through the window of his
shop room.
Mr. Wm. M'Cheane, the house surgeon at the In-
firmary, stated that the deceased had been brought there
on Monday night week, with a lacerated wound of the
right ear, and a fracture of the right temporal bone.
The ear had been nearly blown off. On examining
the wound, a small pebble stone was found in it, which
left no doubt that he bad loaded the pistol with the
pebble, and fired it through his head. A number of
other small pebbles, together with the letters to his wife
and brother-in-law, were found in his pocket after the
act. Upon a post mortem examination, the brain was
very much lacerated; and that laceration, along with the
other injuries, were the immediate cause of death.
The jury returned a verdict to the effect that he com-
mitted the act while labouring under temporary in-
sanity. _ _

The widow of the deceased, a fine young woman, ap-
peared in court, and sobbed very bitterly. She applied
to the court for the letter addressed to her by her
husband, but was informed that it must accompany the
depositions. It was read carefully over to her again,
and at its concluding words she seemed utterly incon-
solable. The coroner kindly promised that he should
have a copy of it written out for her. Her forlorn con-
dition excited the deepest sympathy upon the part of
every gentleman present.