The Sun.
London, England, 1835-12-05 00:00:00

LAMBETH. STREET.

Yesterday, Susannah Blake, a middle-aged female, who
has been in custody for the last week on a charge of having
made a most desperate attempt to murder her mistress,
Miss M. Scott, a lady of considerable propertv, residing on
Stepney Green, was brought before :Messrs. *ARTON and
NORTON for final examination.

Miss Scott, who bore several marks of the prisoner's
violent attack upon her, stated that on the evening of
Thursday week she went to hear a lecture at the chapel of
the Rev. Mr. Fletcher, leaving the prisoner at home. On
her return, shortly after eight o'clock, she proceeded to the
kitchen, and asked the prisoner how she had got on with
her work, she being making some caps. The prisoner held
the cap up to show her, upon which she (Miss Scott) ob-
served that she would not go to bed so early as usual on
Chet-sigittomi would sit down and do some of the needle
work. She accordingly sat down and commenced working.
The prisoner asked if she was to do any more, and she
(witness) replied she might if she liked. The prisoner at
the moment got up from her seat, went towards the dresser,
and, in an instant, she felt her pulling her by the hair of
her head backwards, and she• then dashed a carving knife
which she held in her other hand into her mouth. Wit-
ness screamed out " murder " several times, and how she
reached the street door she did not know, but she recol-
lected having unbolted it, and some person forcing it open
and coming to her assistance.
Mr. WALKER—Can you account in any way for the
prisoner's attack upon you ? Miss Scott—Not at all, Sir,
except madness. The prisoner has conducted herself in a
very strange manner for upwards of a twelvemonth, and I
had been frequently advised by my friends to get rid of
her lest she should attack and murder me ; but I never
supposed for a moment that she could entertain such a
thought towards me, and, believing that her delusions and
eccentricity of manner were perfectly harmless, this, toge-
ther with her having been nearly twelve years in our ser-
vice, induced me to treat their advice with indifference, and
retain her.

Mr. Laux, a cooper, of Stepney-green, on the night in
question, shortly after eight o'clock; heard loud screams of
"murder," and on going to the house of Miss Scott, from
whence they proceeded, he found the door partially open,
and could see Miss Scott endeavouring to pull it open, and
the prisoner in the act of dragging her from it into the
passage by the hair of the head. Witness put his foot
between the threshold and the door, and, by great exer-
tion, forced it open. On entering the passage, he found
Miss Scott covered with blood and the prisoner still drag-
ging her by the hair. After some difficulty he extricated
the prosecutrix from the prisoner's grasp, and the latter
was taken by a policeman to the station-house.
Inspector Ham, on examining three large trunks be-
longing to the prisoner, found in them a great variety of
property belonging to the prosecutrix—such as tea, sugar,
coffee, candles, &c. He also found a largo rattle and a new
tinder-box, containing a large quantity of tinder, which
had evidently been recently made, and which was not neces-
sary for the use of the house, as there was another tinder-
box. He had also found the following extraordinary docu-
ment, which the prisoner admitted was in her own hand-
writing, and which was carefully folded up in a piece of
paper, on the outside of which was written the word
Anecdote :"

" Mr. Chant, senior, stockbroker, of the. letter S.—Please
to pay Susannah Blake, or more generally known as the
daughter of Zion,_the interest of her ladyship's property, Mrs.
E. Scott, lately received by Miss Mildred Scott; also the in-
terest of her Ladyship Mrs. Georgiana Gagen's property,
which is a portion of the above-named property ; but if it is not
divided in the bank books I must trust to your honour and ho-
nesty to deliver to me the interest of the whole, for I am not
furnished with an account of the exact sum. I, therefore, be-
seech you to deal fairly with me, by paying into my hands the
same sum that was lately received by Miss Mildred Scott, for
I am authorised thus to plead for it by the free will and com-
mand of my Lord, Mr. George Reader Gegen, who is the only
surviving son, by the union of marriage, of her Ladyship, Mrs.
Elizabeth Scott; but if this account is not believed by the
Gentleman who is the stockbroker, I am wining to wait until7a
Messenger is sent to -My own residence, No. 5, Cross.:row,
Stepney-green, Mile-End Old Town, and also my Lord:s
residence, that himself and family now occupy, No. 11, Row-
laud's-row, Stepney-green, Mile-End Old Town, thus to
prove that I am in very deed the same person whom my
Lord bath, with the joint consent of his Lady, Mrs. Geor-
giana Gagen, been graciously pleased to give me the power,
first to pay into his Lady's hands her own private property,
and the remainder for my own. use. I have, therefore, pre-
sented my own person, and as a witness to my Lord's word,
" SUSANNAH BLAKE."

Mr. G. R. Gagen, the brother-in-law of Miss Scott, in
explanation of the above extraordinary document, said that
Mr. Chant was the stockbroker, who generally managed
the property left to Miss Scott and her sister, Mr. Gagen's
wife, by their late mother, and the prisoner's object, no
doubt, was to get possession of it in case she had succeeded
in her diabolical project. There were one or two circum-
stances connected with the case which went a great way
to prove the prisoners dreadful intention. The first was,
that at the time of the murder of the Mars in Wapping,
some years ago, and which excited considerable alarm in
the minds of many families, particularly at that part of the
town, Miss Scott had provided herself with the rattles
now produced, and placed them in a small closet in hei'
chamber, close to her bedside, to give an alarm in case of
any attack being made upon her. These the prisoner had
removed and locked them up in her box, where they had
been found by the officer, no doubt to prevent her mis-
tress giving any alarm in the event of the prisoner attack-
ing 'her. Another circumstance was, that the prisoner had'
some time ago carried up and heaped alarge quantity of
wood in the upper rooms ; but this being perceived she Was
obliged to take it down again.
Mr.- ALKER—Then do you think it was her intention.
to set fire to the hoUse after she had committed the murder?-
Mr. Gagen—lt is of course impossible for me to state po-
sitively ; but it certainly looks very suspicions.
sorer could give no satisfactory reason for taking the wood,
there.

In reply to a question from Mr. WALKER, Mr. Gagen ;
said the prisoner was generally in. the habit of addressing
•
him " My Lord," and her mistress, " My Lady."
The prisoner could not account for the attack, and thA
it was quite-accidental. She begged her mistress would
forgive her, and, thinking the suffering she had already en-
dured sufficient for her offence, addressing the Magistrates,
she said, " I hope, my Lords, you will remember mercy in
the midst of judgment."
The MAGIsTRATEs were of opinion that the prisoner
Lad a long time meditated the act of murdering her tois- •
tress ; but had fortunately attempted it at the wrong time
to succeed in her purpose. They accordingly committed
her :to Newgate to take her trial for the capital offence Of '
assaulting with intent to murder.

CHURCII PATRONACE.—There /ITC five or sig':
living's vacant, in consequence of the death of the late
Bishop of Cloync, who held theta in compiendam.
Lanark has distinguished itself by abolishing, of:its.;
own r,ccord, the exclusive privileges of incorporated trades.
The sooner other burghs follow the example the better.—
Scots Times.

A few day-s ago, a
married woman of incorrigibly
intemperate habits, in a fit of intoxiation committed suicide
by swallowing a quantity of laudanum, in her own hOuse• ip
High-street, Glasgow.
At Paisley, the Cart was raiscd by the flood of
turday night to a greater extent than it has been for some'
time past. About midnight the foot of Causeveide wa4
quite impassable;and considerable damage was done by the
water entering a dye work at the lower end of tha town.
A young woman of the name of Campbell was lost in the
Lspedair Burn, which, in proportion to its depth, was More
swollen than the river. A considerable piece of a ten foot
garden wall was carried off by the same stream in rather a
singular manner. At a spot near Causevside, where the
burn winds round the garden in question, the water got into
the garden at the upper side, and after accumulating to a
depth of from three to four feet, its pressure was so greet
that it carried several yards of the wall fairly across the,
burn, and so completely was the breach made in mass that
had the shock of the •wall against the opposite banknOt:
broken off that part of it above the bank of the stream,' r
would have stood entire about four or five feet from its
former position.—Ayr Observer.