The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-26 00:00:00

THE .WINDHA M LUNACY CASE.

The inquiry into the alleged lunacy of William
Frederick Windham, Esq., of Fellbrigg Hall, Nor-
folk, was brought to a conclusion on Saturday.
The alleged lunatic is a young gentleman of vast
property, the next heir to which is his uncle,
Major-General Charles Ashe Windham. With this
uncle and other relatives young Mr. Windham was
not on the best of terms, and he accordingly
executed a deed, barring the entail, in order to
prevent any of the property from passing into
their hands. The proceedings before the Lords
Justices originated in a petition signed by Major-
General Charles Ashe Windham, Captain Wind-
ham or Cromer, the Marquis of Bristol, Lord Alfred
Harvey, M.P., Lady Listowell, and others, pray-
ing that a writ de lunatico inquirendo might issue
against Mr. Windham. The case was conducted
with closed doors, but a contemporary gives the
following as the substance of the affidavits :—" Gen.
Windham, Lord Alfred Harvey, and other relatives,
alleged a variety of harum-scarum boyish pranks on
the part of Mr. Windham. A great many particu-
lars respecting the extravagant life he led in town
were also entered into, and great stress was laid
upon the marriage he had contracted. The facts
respecting this unfortunate alliance are, we believe,
as follows :—Mr. Windham, upon coming into his
immense fortune, was led into society by no
means fit for a gentleman of his station of life.
Among his acquaintances was a lady named
Agnes Ann Rogers, better known by the name of
Agnes Willoughby, whom he accidentally saw
riding in Hyde-park. Of this lady Mr. Windham
became deeply enamoured, and made her a proposal
of marriage. She consented to change her name
from Rogers to Windham, on condition that £BOO
per annum should be at once settled upon her for
her separate use, and that her husband, on attain-
ing 28 years of age, should increase this sum to
£1,500. This was done, and the marriage was
solemnised on Aug. 30 last. It turned out a most -
unhappy one, and at the expiration of about a
month they parted ; not however, before the
fair bride had been presented by her hus-
band with jewellery to the value of £14,000.
She returned in a short time, and has resided
with him at intervals until a few days ago,
when she again left him. These circumstances
are now alleged against Mr. Windham, as
tending to show that he is of unsound mind, and
incapable of conductiug his own affairs. Other
allegations state that he cut down a large number
of trees on his estate, that he was of dirty habits
with regard to his person, that he was guilty of
cruelty to animals, and that he was in the habit of
driving a locomotive engine, attired in the costume
of a railway guard. The statements of the medical
gentlemen concerned for the petitioners were rather
vague and unsatisfactory. Indeed, one doctor did
not even venture to assert Mr. Windham was insane,
but contented himself with expressing an opinion
that it was extremely improbable that he would be
capable of managing his affairs. To rebut these
charges, a mass of medical testimony was brought
forward tending to show that Mr. Windham had con-
ducted his affairs in a manner which precluded all
idea of insanity, and that his puerile freaks and ex-
pensive habits were only what might be expected
from a young gentleman whose education had been
neglected, and who had a large sum of money at
his command. It was affirmed that, with the ex-
ception of the purchase of jewels for his wife, he had
invariably acted in a way which clearly showed
that he knew the value of money, and was not too
ready to part with it. The allegations that he ne-
glected personal cleanliness and:that he was guilty
contradiction.
Several of cruelty to animals met with a flat diction
Several gentlemen who visited him at Fellbrigg
.
Hall
in September last, asserted that he then behaved in
a perfectly rational manner, and exhibited no sign
whatever of aberration of intellect. The Lords
Justices, after hearing the affidavits on either side,
considered that a prima facie case had been made
out.—A commission of lunacy will therefore be
issued, and a jury impanelled to try the question.

THE GALE.—CHATUAM,Monday Evening, 8 p.m.
—Since 4 o'clock this afternoon it his been blowing a fierce
gale of wind from the south-west, with every appearance of
its continuing through the night. The barometer indicates
29.4, and the mercury is still falling. All the vessels in
harbour have been made snug, most of them with an addi-
tional anchc,r down. Up to the hour of forwarding this
despatch no casualties had occurred.

UNUSUAL DEGREE OF COLD.—A correspondent
at Clifton says :—The temperature of the air having been
remarkably cold for the season, I beg to send you the fol-
lowing meteorological results for the week ending Nov. 23 :
—Means: Pressure, reduced to sea-level, 30.024 inches;
temperature, 37.4 deg ; cloud, 3.4 ; ozone, 2.8. Extremes :
Maximum temperature, 51.6, on the 21st; minimum tem-
perature, 20.1, on the 19th; minimum on grass, 19b2, on
the 19th; amount of rain, 0.628 inch. The minimum (20'1)
is the lowest temperature at four feet above the ground.
My situation is by no means the coldest in the neighbour-
hood. My records do not contain another instance of sl
lovr a temperature 139 early as Nov. lt.