The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-27 00:00:00

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2 )-
7

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.£lO ; Sir John Musgrove, 110 10s. ; Mr. J. Far
£10; E. P., £lO ; Mr. R. Bosanquet, £lO ; Spinster
Lady, late C.V., £10; Mr. W. C. Gosling, £1o;
Messrs. D. Hyams & Co., £lO lOs ; Messrs. Foster,
Porter, and Co., £lO 10s., and Admiral Sir Wm.
Bowles, £lO. There were besides many donations
of smaller amount, all of which will be duly ackno-w.
ledged by the Mansion House authorities.

Murder of Two Children and Suicide of
the Mother.

Yesterday morning a terrible tragedy took place
at Lower Edmonton. It appears that for some years
past a coachsinith named IVi!limn Gudgeon and his
wife, a very quiet hardworking woman, Anne Gud-
geon, have occupied a six-roomed house opposite the
Great Eastern Railway Station at Lower Edmon-
ton. They had five children, the eldest of them
being a girl of 14 years of age. On Christmas_
day the mother of the children complained to
her husband of being unwell, and she went to bed at
7 o'clock in the evening. At 11 o'clock at night she
got up and went down stairs and joined her husband
and children. They remained together for an hour,
and then the whole family retired to rest. The hus-
band states that he and his wife slept in a bed in the
front top room of the house, and that in a corner of
the same room a bed was made up for three of the
lo
etarseasidin tmoyheeryeshus;
put it
children. When the woman was going to bed she
tinadleshs
oTkhe
ed veryght wf
ti
hl e ,
candle
out." He did so, and he then fell asleep. At that
time the youngest child, a baby aged six months,
was alive, and was lying asleep in the father's beA.
At 2 o'clock yesterday morning one of the children,
Selina, aged 10 years, was awoke by a quantity, of
blood being squirted over her face. She stags that
when she opened her eyes she was horrified, at seeing
her mother kneeling upon the dead body of her little
brother, Timothy George, who had been lying asleep
alongside her sister, Sarah Anne. The little boy's,
throat was cut in a most fearful manner, and blood
eras gushing-front the wound. Tlxvinother looted
very excited, and she held an open razor covered
with blood in her sight hand. When Ashc.saw that
she had awoke the girl Selinashe leaned over towards
her and caught hold of her. The girl screamed, and
a fearful struggle then. ensued. Selina, for the pur-
pose of protecting her throat, Caught hold of the
bed clothes and held them over it. She cried out,
" Oh, mother, why do you not put that razor down?
You have killed Timothy, and now you want to
murder us. Why do you want to cut our throats ?"
The girl then wriggled and slid out of the bed, ran
through the doorway, and rushed down the stairs,
followed by her mother, who continued to hold the
open razor in her hand. When the girl reached the
bottom of the stairs she ran into the lower front
room. Her mother rushed past her, and ran to the
fireplace. The little girl felt in the dark and found a
match box lying on the table. She struck a light, and
then she saw her mother by the light of the match
cutting her throat, and the blood flowing from
the wound. The girl gave a loud scream, and she
says that the light then went out, and she heard her
mother fall upon the floor. The girl then ran up-
stairs, and went into her father's room. Her father
was in a sound sleep, and by his side lay the dead
body of the little baby, six ninths old. The child's
throat was cut from ear to ear. Selina caught hold
of her father and shook him violently. She had
nearly to pull him out of bed before she could awake
him. The girl than quickly told him that her
mother had murdered two of her brothers. The
father became most excited, and hurriedly dressing
ran out of the house and called in a hlrs.Robertson,
the wife of a railway employe, who lived near.
While he was thus engaged the girl ran to another
room in the house, where two of her uncles slept
and awoke them. One, Thomas Gudgeon, instantly
went to the police-station. Sergeant Howlett, who
was on duty there, instantly accompanied him to
the scene of the tragedy. When they entered the
front parlour they found the dead body of the
wretched mother lying near the fireplace. Her
head rested on the fender, and there was an open
black-handled razor lying on her breast. There
was a severe gash across her throat. An iron pail,
partly filled with blood, lay near her head. Dr.
O'Brien, of Church-street, Edmonton, who was
called in at the time, said that the wound was self-
innitgett, aLU Luau 1G tuuc6 1..wr0 usuaeU a111t.51
stantaneous death. The police and the doctor then
went Upstairs, and in the front bed-room they found
the dead bodies of the two children. The doctor
examined the bodies, which were lying in pools of
blood. In the bed, in the corner, which was di-
rectly facing the street lamp, they found Timothy
George Gudgeon, a boy aged four years, lying dead.
His throat had been cut, and it was the opinion of
the doctor that his death must have been in-
stantaneous. The little baby had been killed in
a similar manner. The police then questioned
Selina Gudgeon, and then she gave the account
of the dreadful occurrence which we have nar-
rated. When the father returned, he said that
he had neither heard nor seen anything before
he was awoke by his daughter. It was the opinion
of several persons that if the little girl had not
been accidentally awoke by her brother's blood
falling upon her face, all in the house would have
been murdered by her mother. The family have
very respectable connections in the locality, and the
father of the deceased, who was a coach-smith, had
His wife was a very sober
a workshop of his own.
person, but the habits of her husband may be judged
from the fact that, yesterday afternoon, he fell drunk
on the railway platform. The deceased woman was
and she was under the care of a
latterly very ill, a
doctor. Some short time ago a brother-in-law of
the deceased woman died, and he left a widow and
five children, and the fact that they were badly off,
and that she could not do as much as she desired to
do for them, preyed very much upon the deceased's
mind.

SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY.-EXETER HALL.
The thirty-fifth annual Christmas performance of the
"Messiah" takes place on Friday evening next, the 28th
inst., when Mr. Sims Reeves will re-appear for the first
time since his recent severe illness.

TAUNTON AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION.—The
annual meeting and dinner of the members of the
above association took place on Saturday, under ,the pre-
sidency of Mr. E. A. Sandford. At the dinner the chair-
man was supported by Sir Alex. Hood, Bart., M.P., and
Mr. W. Gore Langton, M.P. After the loyal and constitu-
tional toasts, the chairman proposed " The Members of the
Western Division of the County of Somerset." Sir Alex.
Hood, in responding, expressed the satisfaction he felt
that, although they had not that day the usual attraction
of a cattle show in Taunton, Somerset had distinguished
itself at the Smithfield Club Cattle Show, and that Mr.
Farthing, a tenant of his father-in-law, had brought home
with him five prizes. The present Government were taking
every precaution against the disease being reimported, and
the agriculturists of England must be contented to bear those
restrictions which were so necessary:at the present moment
to eradicate the disease. Ho rejoiced to see that the
ovents of the present moment were bringing mon of mode-
rato opinion,: together, and he hoped that junction would
continue to be formed. Sir Alexander next alluded to
the overthrow of Austria by Prussia, which has led to a,
united Italy and a united Germany, and which, in its re-
sult, more nearly balanced power, which afforded an ad-
ditional security to the peace of Europe. It would not do,
however, for England not to take a lesson from what had
occurred. She should be prepared, in case of sudden at-
tack, to hold her own, without trusting to the friendly
interference of other nations. Besides, looking to the
military and naval forces of the country, there was ono
thing of paramount importance, viz., that they should be a
united, contented, and loyal people. Ho trusted that the
question which had excited so much interest in some parts
of England would be treated in the next session of Parlia-
ment in a large, wide, and liberal spirit, such as would be
consistent with the best, interests of the country. Ho did
not himself think that the present Parliament would last
long, perhaps not after next autumn. In conclusion, Sir
Alexander intimated that at the next election it was not
his intention to ask for a renewal of that confidence now
reposed in him by his constituency, an announcement that
was quite unexpected, and created some surprise. Mr
Langton, M.P., also briefly responded.
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