The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-26 00:00:00

gation by Mr. Wainwrght you s till entertained these sus-
picions ?
Mr. Ruek—Yes. I said wbr ,n I o')tained satisfactory in-
formation that such things b ad not occurred I would be

satisfied.
The Commissioner—When did Mr. Wainwright com-
municate to you the result of) ;is investigation ?
Witness—On the 14th of J
The Commissioner—Then what did you mean by your
observations on Sunday week as to the supposed drover?
Mr. Ruck—We went into a b ouse at Southall to get a
glass of ale after a long walk. !Two men came in. One of
them said he was going to Welchpool, and I thought it had
something to do with my case. I winked at the fellow who
was with me, and said that if the man had touched on my
case I would send him out of the room, for I knew Dr.
Stillwell had the pull over the man.
The Commissioner—When did you last see Miss Jones ?
Mr. Ruck—The last time we A in my own house.
The Commissioner—You are the father of several children
by her ?

Mr. Reek—l am.
The Commissioner—Where are they new ?
Mr. Ruck—l don't know. I have never seen them.
The Commissioner—You have never seen them! Do you
think they are living ?
Mr. Ruck—l suppose they are.
The Commissioner—What was your motive for locking her
up in the room ?
Mr. Ruck—Because she was drunk.
The Commissioner—When did you first discover any cir-
cumstance which led you to entertain suspicions of your
wife's fidelity?
Mr. Ruck—l never discovered any circumstance to prove
she was unfaithful to me ; but on one occasion she threatened
that she would do by men as I had done by women.
The Commissioner—But you never, in point of fact, did
discover any proof of her infidelity.
Mr. Ruck—Oh, never.
The Commissioner—But you have accused her of infidelity
with more than one man.
Mr. Ruck—l can only say that what I did say has en-
tirely escaped my mind.
The Commissioner—Why, since your mind has been dis-
abused, did you not seek to see her ?
Mr. Ruck—l can only state that I wrote her an affec-
tionate letter on the second day after I was at Moorecroft,
and two or three afterwards she promised to come to see
me, but did not. I saw it was perfectly useless to seek to
see her. My wife wa3 willing to come, but the doctors
would not allow her. I had no previous notice of this
inquiry, which I consider most cruel, for everything might
have been suppressed which has now gone before the public.
The Commissioner—Do you recollect anything about
poisoning your dogs ?
Mr. Ruck—Yes; I put strychnine in the eye of a rabbit,
which I had shot, to poison wild foxes, which abound in
Wales. They would not touch it, and I told the man to
take it away. He thought I said to the boiler. He gave
it to the dogs in their food. Two of the dogs had died.
The Commissioner—ls it nut true that you struck and
kicked Mr. Thurston?
Mr. Rock—lt is not true.
The Commissioner—Was he not one of those with whom
you suspected your wife was unfaithful ?
Mr. Ruck—No, I never did. He came to the house on
one occasion, and I requested my wife not to see him ; but
she did not comply with my request. I bad no idea there
was anything improper between them.
The Commissioner—The persons whom you did suspect
were strangers—persons on the road—drovers ?
Mr. Ruck—Yes.
The Commissioner—But your suspicions are entirely dis-
pelled ?
Mr. Ruck—Yes.
A Juryman—Are you sorry for having caused your wife
so much pain ?
Mr. Ruck—Well, I have expressed my great regret for it.
The Commissioner—Will you inform the jury what were
your suspicions about your wife ?
Mr. Ruck—l had a general suspicion that she was un-
faithful to me.
The Commissioner—With a great many ?
Mr. Ruck—l never said so; she might have been un-
faithful with any one, or with a great many.
The Commissioner—How many did you suspect?
Mr. Rock—l cannot say. If she had connection with one
man, she might have had connection with a great many. I
say now there is no evidence to establish one tittle of my
suspicions.
The Commissioner—Why are ysu more satisfied with the
investigation by Mr. Wainwright than with the explana-
tions of Mr. Fisher ?
Mr. Ruck—Well, I am a rather positive sort of a gentle-
man, and I wished to have some proofs.
The Commissioner—What did you drive about the country
for
Mr. Ruck--I had no one in the house to cook my dinner ;
no one but a Welshman and his wife, and I went out a great
deal for my amusement. Then, as to crossing over the
river, there was not the least danger. Where we crossed
was a ford, and the water was not two feet deep.
The Commissioner—But there is a bit of immorality of
which we have heard—your offer to that p9st-boy about his
wife.

Mr. Ruck—Oh, he is a notorious liar.
The Commissioner—What is the amount of your pro.
perty ?
Mr. Ruck—l have about £1,500 a-year. I have made
same good investments in land.
The Commissioner—Out of the savings of your income ?
Mr. Ruck—Yes; and by the sale of some laud.
The Commissioner—You were under the impression that
there were valuable mines on your estate ?
Mr. Ruck said he had been, but bad net acted without
the advice of competent persons, and handed in some
opinions in support of his assertions.
The Commissioner—One of the jury wishes me to put this
question—Can you guarantee that these suspicions will
never be revived ?
Mr. Ruck—Most decidedly.
The Commission er—On what terms were you with your
wife before you became possessed of these suspicions?
Mr. Ruck—Always en unhappy terms. I can only say
was wretched for years. She drove me to drink; she re-
fused to have any intercourse with me.
The Commissioner—You wish to be separated from her.
Mr. Ruck—Yes.
The Commissioner—Why ?
Mr. Ruck—My wife has no desire to live with me.
At the desire of Mr. James, Mr. Rack explained with
regard to his alleged aversion to red petticoats. He s,dd
that on one occasion he saw some ladies near Moorecroft
Asylum, and not wishing to meet them went another way,
but nothing like two miles round. He added—As to my
objection to red petticoats, I may remark, now that I am
asked, my objection to them is that Welsh cows are very
much frightened by them.
Mr. Ruck's examination being concluded, a short adjourn-
ment took place ; and on the re-assembling of the Court,
Dr. Alexander John Sutherland was called and examined
by Mr. Chambers. He said—l am a dector of medicine,
and a member of the College of Physicians. I have paid
great tvtention to mental disease. I saw Mr. Ruck in May
and June. I had been furnished with the history of his de-
lusions. On the first occasion he refused to commtnicate
with me as a stranger. Oe the second occasion he said " You
must hear my story." He said he thought Mary Jones bad
murdered the two illegitimate children she had by him, for
when she was sleeping in the next room will' a commercial
traveller he heard him say, " If you don't pacify him you
will swing for it," on which she came to his room, lay
down by his side, and said, " Dearest Lawrence." He said
that on one occasion he heard Mr. Lloyd go to his wife's room,
and say, "Will you have me?" and she refused him very de-
cidedly. He said two attendants had been employed to
watch him, and that on one occasion he beard his wife's step
come along the passage, and she then had connection with
the tall attendant. He said that Mr. Barnet accom-
panied them to Reading. Hesaid that Mr. Barnet had tried
while in the railway carriage to put his foot on Mrs. Ruck,
across his (Mr. Ruck's) If gs. He said that so notorious
was Mrs. Ruck's infidelity that, on the journey, he heard
people saying, " How strange; is it possible ! there goes
the lady who has bilked her husband." He said there were
some drovers en the platform, when one of them made a
remark about Mrs. Ruck, which it is impossible fir
us to give. On another occasion he said that
came
ee
upwatolkhiniagwibfey
anthdesaridive,r, at
W—."inlg' a gentleman
asked him if he
did not resent it. He said no, it was too notorious. lie
said that on one occasion, while at his house, Mr. Barnet
and his wife drank sherry and he was passed a half bottle of
port. When he tasted it he thought they intended to poison
him, and be left the house. Mr. Barnet and he had a row
in the street, and Mr. Ruck charged him at the station-
his wine, and a policeman was
sheonuts eto with
tastedrugging
it, but
said there was nothing the matter with
it. Mr. Ruck said the wine had been changed. He said
that he thought Mary Jones had murdered the children she
had by him, and that be was determined to Investigate it.
From the conversation I bad with him, I had no doubt he
was of unsound mind. With regard to the present state of
his mind, having heard the whole of the evidence, I think
he is much better than when I saw him in June, but I
don't think he is well. I do not think it would be
very long safe to let him go as a free agent. One of the
facts on which I rely is his denial with respect to the
alleged intimacy of Mr. Barnet and his wife, and his stating
that he had not torn up his clothes, but that Mary Jones
had.
Cross-examined by Mr. James—l first saw Mr. Ruck at
the request of Dr. Stillwell. Dr. Stillwell told me he had
delusions about the value of his property, but I do not now
think that was a delusion. I think that intemperance has a
goad deal to do with Mr. Ruck's insanity. That is a disease
the most curable, but the most liable to relax.
Mr. James—l ask you, is it a proper course of treatment
to keep a man who has delusions in his mind, the result
of intemperance, for months in a lunatic acylum without
giving him an opportunity of an investigation ?
Witness—l think it would have been better if the inquiry
had taken place sooner.
tehgea regard o his
children.
Re-examined—He made this statement to me volun-
tarily. He said he would make his statement before a jury
both
wife'slo o rinfidelitysnlnudm
ex-
cellent is
establishment. No cruelties whatever are practised
there. aaryraJcaotnes's
Dr. Winslow ex
Mr. Wi'li ' arotaed—l went down to Moorecroft 'at
ems s request, to see Mr. Ruck, the 9th of May
last. on
last. I said I was sorry there
was any
c estrangement be-
tween him and his wife. He said her dinfamous,
and his impressions as to her characteron u conduct was
h a
he could never live with her again. He w
aearid e such
had
been guilty
.of gross infidelity to him. He alluded to