The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-07 00:00:00

written on black-bordered paper, and in an enve-
lope of the same kind. The letter was as follows :
"January 31.
"Dear John,—l was glad to receive your kind letter
this morning, though I must say 1 was disappointed that
you did not come to-day. I long to hear the romancing
stories you have to tell me, and to talk to you about our
future prospects. I have not time to write to day, so
shall only say that I wish you very much to come by
the one o'clock train from Paddington next Wednesday,
3d of February ; it gets here at half-past five, and I
will meet you at a quarter before seven at the Bristol
and Birmingham station. As I said before, the trains on
Sunday will be ill convenient, and they may be altered
in February, so you must inquire about that ; and, be-
sides, next Sunday all the Isaacs will be at home, but on
Wednesday next they will drive into the circus, and
won't be back in the c mntry before 12. I can come with
them and return by the' train I told you of, and we can
have a chat to ourselves over all we have gone through
since we last mot. If you wish you can get something
at the hotel by the station. Dear John, as you don't
say anything about marriage, and you know we have had
a great many troubles before, I shall be glad if you
would bring my letters with you, and we wi lat once
settle it one way or the other, as we must nob trifle any
more. You will get this to-morrow. Write directly,
and I shall get it cn Wednesday, as before.—Yours ever
affectionate, in baste, a s.
I wrote a reply to that letter, and addressed it as
before and put it in the post. I stated I would go
.by the train at 1 o'clock from Paddington, and
would be at the Bristol and Birmingham station at
the time appointed. I came to Bristol by the 1
o'clock down train oa Wednesday, the 3d of Feb-
ruary, and arrived at Bristol at 5 p.m. I brought
with me an umbrella and small parcel. I went to
the Bristol and Birmingham station about 20
minutes or a quarter to 7. When I had been ou
the platform about five minutes I saw a gentleman
go into the waiting room, who I thought was very
mach like the person who had been pointed out to
me as Mr. Smith. After waiting a few minutes I
saw Mrs. Smith. When I saw her she was coming
up the stairs to the platform, and I was looking
over the top. The window of the waiting-room
looks towards the stairs. The platform can ba seen
from the waiting-room. Mrs. Smith was dressed
in a dark grey shawl, and with widow's weeds. She
was dressed as a widow with a grey shawl over her
dress. I went part of the way down the steps to
meet her. We then came back to the platform.
Aft, r asking after her health, for I thought she
looked very unwell, I asked her how long
Mr. Smith had been dead. She said, "Six
weeks. ' I said, "It is very s'range. While I was
waiting on the platform, I saw a gentleman go into
the room who I thought was so much like what I
remembered of Mr. Smith." She ,aid, " How could
you think that ? He has been dead six weeks."
Her face was open. I don't remember seeing a veil.
Her face could be plainly seen. I asked her where
I was to get tickets for, when she said, "Yate." I
had never been is Bristol before. When she said
"Pate," I went and got two first-class tickets for
Yate. I left her on the platform, and was away,
I should think, five minutes. I was waiting fot
the tickets, and she came down and sto )d near the
bottom of the stairs. I then went with her into
one of the first-class cat sieges. The train
went to Tate without stoppage. After leaving
the carriage, I was following the rest of the
passengers. There were several others got out.
Mrs. Smith was with me. I passed out with her
through a gate where the other people were going.
When she got out I was going the same way as the
other persons, and she said there was another
gate she wanted to go through. There was a fri 'nd
named bases coming to meet her, in case I did not
come by the train as was expected. We went to
find the gate, but could not find it, for it was very
dark. We had got close to it when the station-
master brought a light. She had net then said
anything about the common. When the station-
master came up he said it would be impossible to
cross that way across the common on so dark a
night. I asked if there was no conveyance there
we could get. I asked them both. Mrs. Smith
said she was sure she could find her way ac oss the
common, and expected a friend. She said she should
know her way by a bridge, which was a little dis-
tance. The stationmaster showed- his light till,we
got on the common. He then left us and went
back. I continued to go on with her along a com-
mon. It was very dark indeed. It was not
raining, but very dark. We had not gone I
should think more than 150 yard, woen
something occurred. I several times asked if she
could find her way, and she said she could
as soon as she could find the hedge. When
we had got aboat 150 yards she called out,
" We're lost." At that time I was feeling for the
hedge with nay umbrella in front of me. I heard
another voice, a man's, say, "I am lost, too."
When I heard that I just turne I my head half
round, and could see the shadow of some one ap-
proaching. When he came near me I received a
very heavy blow on the back of nay head. I saw
the man, but not his features. I saw something of
rather a light colour in his hand about 15 or 18
inches in length. It was as thick as my wrist. I
also received two or three blows on the front and
other pa' to of my head with the same instrument.
(The witness here exhibited several scars, one on
his forehead, and the others on other parts of his
head.) My hat got off, but I don't know how. It
was not marked. The largest cut was the first.
When I received the blows I closed with him, and
caught him by the collar with my left hand, and his
left wrist with my right. The last time I
saw Mrs. Smith, before I was attacked, she
was three or four yards off. When I
closed we both fell ; he was undermost and I fell
upon him. I kept my hold upon him, with my
left hand on his collar, and I held his left band out
straight with my right. At that time I noticed
something in his left hand. I supposed at the time
what he held in his hand was the bludgeon I was
struck with. I called out " Murder," and " Help,"
and two or three men came from the station. Two
lights were brought. Ore of the men lilted me off
the prisoner. When the man was going away the
light was going away, and my impression was that
it was the same person whom I bad seen go in'o the
waiting-room at Bristol. I cannot tell what Mrs.
Smith was doing at the time I was attacked. I
believe the man to have been the male prisoner,
but I will not swear.

Mr. Huddleston said there could bo no question
about the identity of tin. prisoner.
Examinaticn continued—When I was lifted up I
could not stand. The blood was flowing from me.
The man got up and went away almost directly.
I said, " Stop that man ; he has nearly killed me."
I saw him go to the woman, and put his hand
to her back, as if he pushed her •, and they went
away off the common. At the time I had
the parc?l with me, and lost it at the time of the
struggle. I have since seen the articles which it
contained in the possession of the policeman Wind-
mill. I have got the umbrella still. I dropped it
in the struggle, but found it afterwards with the
handle broken. I was afterwards attended by a
surgeon for these wounds. I was taken to the Rail-
way Inn, at Pate, and remained there under medi-
cal treatment about eight days. I was ordered to
keep my clothes on, and did so till the next day.
Cross-examined by Mr. Huddlestan—l walked
to the spot on Friday to look at the place. I did
not go out on the Teurslay. I was engaged to my
wife abDut 15 months before I was married to her.
I can't tell when I was first engaged to he married
to her. I should think it was about 1845. I first
knew Sarah Mills (Mrs. Smith), I bel eve, in Dec.,
1846. She was not a young creature of 10 at that
time. I believe she was 17. I was three years
older. It was a week or a fortnight before I went
to Canterbury that I wrote to her. I believe I
put both the rt lanes (Mills and Smito) in the
letter, but I will not be sure. She proposed Can-
terbury as the place of meeting. It was she, not
I, who proposed to go to Whitstable. I was not
known at Canterbury, but she was. Her broth-r's
wife was with her. It was at Canterbury she told
me her husband had left her. I went to a private
house at Whirwable. I went. oat fur a walk with
Mrs. Smith. I are not sure whether I took a return
ticket. I might have C:)2-114 home from the walk too
late for the last train to Canterbury. We spent
that night in the house. I shall decline to answer
the question whether I had intercourse with her. I
do debline. I have no particular reason, but Ido
not wish to do so. I might have said that I would
marry her at the end of seven years if she had no-
thing more to do with her husband. I don't re-
member saying it. I was as likely to say it at
Canterbury as while I was on the walk. I will not
swear I did not say it, hot I don't remember the
conversation. This was in August. About a
month or two after I met her in London. I went
to her brother's house,
a p )licerc.an. She came
out and met rue
several times about that
time. She went down with me once to my
house at Shirley to tea. My father and mother
were present. I could not tell how many times I
met her in October. I did not have intercourse
with her there (at Shirley). I shall decline answer-
ing whether I had intercourse with her in London.
(SQnsa,tion.) Her fat!ier lived at Waltham, about
four miles from Canterbury..

Re-examined by Mr. Skinner—These matters
about which I have declined answering took place
in 1849. When I wrote to her at Canterbury I
did not know she was married. Ido not know it
now.

Thomas Suffolk, tie station master at Yale, was
called, and stated that the prisoner's father was
formerly Vicar of Sudbury, and that the male pri
Boner Smith had long lived in the neighbourhood.
The witness confirmed the evidence given by the
prosecutor as to the arrival of the parties at Yate ;
tar, as it was not disputed that the prisoners were
but 1h re, and the only question was with what
intent the, prisoner struck the
.blows, itis unuecei:-