The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-18 00:00:00

THE REV. MR. SPEKE.

A correspondent of the Telegraph, writes :—" Assuming
the case to have been one of murder, and taking the facts I
already known as a basis for further opinion, the following
seems to me the most probable interpretation of the
mystery. The known facts are as follows : Ist. Mr.
Speke when last seen was on his way to West-
minster. 2nd. He had scarcely sufficient time to go
there on foot, and keep his appointment at 6.30 in
Eccleston-square. 3rd. His hat was picked up in
Birdcage-walk, near to the residence of his sister.
What, then, is the inference to be drawn from these
facts? The hat being found near to the residence of Mr.
Speke's sister may be taken as evidence of the direction
in which he was going. At any rate it disposes of the
supposition that it was designedly placed there 'as a
blind,' for unless the missing gentleman had placed it there
himself with this object, it is highly improbable that any
other person would accidentally have produced this sin-
gular coincidence. Thus I think we may fairly infer
that, notwithstanding Mr. Speke's knowledge of his sister's
absence, he was on his way to her house. Now we
come to the next point. We have evidence that he
was pressed for time, and the usual course with gentle-
men in such a case is to hail the first hansom. Whether
Mr. Spoke did this can, of course, only be surmised ; but
certainly it is highly probable, and, seeing what has hap-
pened, it is -equally improbable that he took a ' four-
Wheeler,' for, in the latter case, the driver must have had
a confederate inside, an arrangement which no gentle-
man taking a cab would submit to. Upon the
supposition, therefore, that Mr. Speke took a hansom,
let us consider what may possibly have occurred. He
would desire the driver to put him down at the nearest
point to Queen-square, which from Pimlico would be iu
Birdcage-walk. Now the evening was foggy, and it was
getting dark. Upon reaching the point where the hat
was found, circumstances may have been favourable to
crime, and it may have been Mr. Speke's misfortune to
have fallen in with a driver not only contemplating such,
but prepared to take advantage of the opportunity. This
being the supposed position of Mr. Speke, we come now
to the question—Could a murder be committed under
these conditions? Now, it occurs to me that the trap-
door on the roof of a hansom might assist such evil pur-
pose, the head of the victim being immediately beneath it.
The actual instrument or method employed, whether a
life-preserver, air-gun, pistol, or other weapon, can only
be guessed flit, neither is it very material to the inquiry,

but it is highly probable that a short struggle would ensue—
the hat of the sufferer would be knocked off, and roll out
of a hansom. All this may appear to you very visionary,
but I submit that it is not an impossible course of events,
It explains the finding of the hat, and it accounts for the
entire disappearance of the body. Of course, if it
can be shewn that by no known means could murder, or
even stupefaction, be thus produced, that part of my theory
falls to the ground ; but let it be remembered that the
only part of the deed attended with chance of failure, and
consequent risk of detection, would be the work of a
minute. The after-proceeding would present very little
difficulty. For instance, the murderer would let down the
glass front of his cab, take up a confederate upon the step
behind, and proceed, unsuspected and unchallenged, to the
nearest and most favourable suburb of London, there com-
pleting his diabolical deed, plundering his victim, and die.
posing of the body."

A FARMER CHOKED BY AN OYSTER.—On Satur-
day night Mr. Richard Marshall, farmer, of Wysall,
near Nottingham, went to an oyster stall in the Market-
place, Nottingham, and ordered some oysters to be opened.
The first handed to him was a very large one, and stuck
in his throat. He was unable to dislodge it, fell to the
ground, gasping for breath, and was carried at once to the
hospital, but died on his way thither. The deceased was a
married man, had a large family, and owned an extensive
farm.

The Society of Arts having presented to her
Majesty the book containing the copy of the reports made
by the working men sent to the Exhibition in Paris
through the instrumentality of the society last year, her
Majesty has been graciously pleased to send Mr. Le Neve
Foster, the secretary, a letter accepting the volume, and
expressing her gratification at having received it. The
secretary has also been honoured by a letter from his
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales thanking the society
for the presentation of a copy of the same work.

THE LONDON IRISH ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN.—
Mr. Digby Seymour has received the following communi-
cation from the Home Secretary :-" Whitehall, Feb. 15.
Sir, I have had great satisfaction in laying before the
Queen the loyal and dutiful address of her Majesty's Irish
subjects residing in London and its vicinity, which you,
accompanied by a large deputation, placed in my hands;
and I have the honour to inform you that her Majesty
has been pleased to receive the same most graciously.—
I am, sir, your obedient servant, GATIIORNE HARDY.—
Mr.W. Digby Seymour, Q.C.
A LUNATIC MOTHER COMMITTED FOR MURDER.
—A poor woman named Fletcher has been committed to
the county gaol at Gloucester for trial. for the wilful mur-
der of her child. The circumstances are of a very sad
nature. The prisoner is the wife of a rural postman, living
at Se venhampton, six mile 3 from Cheltenham. A few
years ago she was in a lunatic asylum, and lately her mind
had again become affected, through the over-suckling of
a baby a few months old. On New Year's Day she tried
to cut her own throat. She was very fond of the infant,
which was her only child living. A day or two ago she
put the child into a pan of dirty water and suffocated it.
When the neighbours went into the cottage they saw the
mother looking wild and ghastly, and the child dead and
naked. The poor demented creature begged her friends
not to touch the child, because he would be back presently.
She has since often inquired for the child. There is no
doubt of her insanity, and the case in all respects is a
melancholy one.

MURDERING A SWEETHEART. —The Court of
Assizes of the Seine et Marne has just been engaged on an
extraordinary trial for murder. The accused was a young
man named Deldtain, aged 19, and the deceased, Alexan-
drine Rousselet, was aged 17 only. They b )th resided in
the commune of Verdelot, and appeared to have been on
terms of improper intimacy. Deldtain had wished to
marry her, but her parents, who were not aware that she
had been seduced by the accused, opposed such a union, as
Deldtain was not only somewhat beneath her in position,
but was addicted to intemperance. On the 9th December
last the two young people were both at the wedding ball
of a neighbour ; the deceased departed with the accused at
about:midnight, and was not seen again until the following
day, when her body was found in a wood with a part of the
skull blown away by a pistol shot. Deldtain then came
forward with a slight Wound in his face, and pretended
that, as there had been an obstacle to their marriage, they
had agreed to commit suicide ; that the young girl had
first fired the pistol at him as they were seated together at
the foot of a tree, and had then blown out her own brains.
This story was manifestly untrue. The pistol had been
borrowed by Deldtain from the curd of the commune under
some pretext, and both barrels were then loaded with
powder and shot. Several points of circumstantial evi-
dence showed that the pistol could only have been fired by
the accused; that the young girl had been murdered, and
that Deldtain had inflicted upon himself a slight wound
to support his fabrication. Jealousy was the motive of
the crime. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and
the court condemned the prisoner to twenty years' hard
labour.

SIR CHARLES WHEATSTONE.—The following is a
eopy of the letter addressed to Sir Charles Wheatstone
by the President of the Italian Scientific Society of
"Forty," announcing that Sir Charles had been appointed
a member of that society in the place of the late Pro-
fessor Faraday, and that a gold medal had been
awarded to him. The president, in his letter, says :
" I will not here pass in review the various memoirs
in physici which you have published in the Philo-
sophical Transactions,' since all carry the impres-
sion of the inventive genius which ever distinguishes
all that you have done. I cannot, however, refrain from
calling to mind that to you we owe the discovery of the
method, as ingenious as it is original, for measuring the
velocity of electric currents and the duration of the spark.
The applications of the principle of the rotating mirror are
so important and so various,that this discovery roust be con-
sidered as one of those which have most contributed in
these latter times to the progress of experimental physics.
No less ingeniois was the invention of the stereoscope and
of the modes by which binocular vision is effected, which
enable us to obtain the perception of relief from the
simultaneous observation of two plane images. Also the
xi:lei:noir on the measure of elc ctr.c currents, and all ques-
tions which relate thereto, and to the laws of ohm, has
powerfully contributed to spread among physicists the
knom ledge of those facts, and the mode of measuring
them with an accuracy and simplicity which before we
did not possess. All physicists know how many re-
searches have since been undertaken with your rheostal,*
and with the so-called Wheatstone's bridge,' and how
usefully those instruments have been applied to the
measurement of electric currents, of the resistance
of circuits, and of electro-motive forces. And here
it would be impossible to leave out of view that to you
IrveealiPsraitniocinpa ofli ythoeweelectthreicptreatr pical,linNF,len. alncllvotuhled calltrue
to mind your recent researches ont.he aunglUULtation of the
force of a magnet by the reaction w.iich its own induced
currents exert upon it. All these
eat acquisitions, pro-
physical
Society
e,ggreat
render you
ocuf rtehdisbdiy
sytoinuettio
nphf y.osinic atl science,
ItalianhseofSciences.
well worthy
Preserve yourself in health and activity,
and
your country
and all your admirers and friends are certain to
findco
intt?e7
discoveries still to be added while you continue to work
some compensation for that immense and irreparable loss
which natural philosoPhy has received by the decith cof
Fax
.9#7,7,

TilE TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPE.

The public ear is not always the fittest re-
ceptacle for the troubles of the spirit. Never-
theless, we sincerely wish that the mental facul-
ties of Mr. Capes may have been relieved by
his six consecutive weekly disgorgements in
the columns of the Guardian, more, it is to be
feared, to the liking than the edification of its
general class of readers. Patiently and unin-
terruptedly have we followed him through the
whole, and, now that no seventh appears, we
may, perhaps, be allowed to point out that he
has been laboriously attempting to erect a
Spanish castle on a foundation less solid than
the air.

His papers are entitled, " The Influence of
the Temporal Power of the Papacy on the
Inner Life of the Roman Church," and he
proclaims his unconsciousness of any ill-
feeling which can bias his testimony, since
he has, for a long time, been living in " isola-
tion from all existing communions, through
an inability to accept the dogmatic creeds do-
minant both in Rome and England, except on
principles of interpretation repudiated by their
ecclesiastical authorities." Having no necessity
of being taught his religion like other mortals,
he is, of course, peculiarly fitted to judge, and
to pronounce a judgment. He never forgets
the elevated position of his isolation, and he
preserves a calmness of language which befits
it :

I am a blessed glendoveer,
'Tis mine to speak and yours to hear.
Of course he disclaims any such intention, and
(we say it sincerely of a man from whom
better things might be expected) we are quite
ready to believe that he is unconscious of it.

A- recently published History of Ireland
for children observes that "it is surely very
wrong for the Irish people to be discontented,
since the Queen would do all she could to make
them happy." With a simplicity equally de-
lightful, Mr. Capes informs us that, hitherto, it
has been assumed that the Pope and Cardinals
knew best what was for their own interests,
and that the guarantee of spiritual indepen-
dence offered by Victor Emmanuel has been
treated as valueless. He adds, with equal
naivete, that the Spiritual Power of the Papacy
was as free as ever when Pope Pius VII.
was a prisoner at Fontainebleau. The capti-
vity or death of a Pope are mere trifles in
the eyes of such reasoners.
Mr. Capes is of opinion that the secular
offices attached to the Temporal Power, the
highest of which are filled by ecclesiastics,
afford so great a temptation, as to lead many
a poor youth to seek the priesthood from the
worldly motive of attaining to them. Thus,
he says, worldliness and idleness are predomi-
nant among the ecclesiastics of Rome, and this
tends to propagate a " low and self-aggrandiz-
ing spirit throughout the entire Roman Catho-
lic body." In reply to this, we have simply
to point to the fact that the secular offices
connected with the Roman Court, which can
only be filled by ecclesiastics, are very few,
and, in general, not at all prominent, with
the exception of the Secretary of State. The
splendour of the Roman Court is derived from
its spiritual duties, which necessarily involve
spiritual offices, such as those of the cardinals,
the members of the different congregations for
transacting the business of the Universal
Church, the Nuncios, and the rest, all of which
must necessarily exist and remain for the work
of the Church alone, even though the Temporal
Power were overthrown to-morrow. The im-
putation of worldliness and idleness deserves
no other answer than—Go to Rome and see!
not merely what is external, but inform your-
self as to the details of the real daily life of
these men whom you so ignorantly calumniate !
We are now speaking of the Roman Court in
general. We do not deny that some falling
short of zeal may have existed amongst num-
bers of the inferior clergy and religious, and
rendered desirable the calling in of French
and Belgian religious to assist in the prisons
and elsewhere, which was accordingly done.
But this has nothing to do with the Temporal
Power.. Nor can the utmost ingenuity accuse
the Temporal Power as being the cause of that
vis inertice which Mr. Capes asserts has tram-
melled the Pope's efforts to improve the con-
dition of " the great religious orders." We
may remind him, moreover, of the marvellous
restoration of ancient discipline which has
taken place amongst the Dominicans, and been
promoted by the Pope.
It would involve as many papers as his even,
e fffeoellwtoswAhir Mr.
e. Chhaep
owf'ertehe ill-effects
eesoinnstiod
earlsl tthhee details
Tem-
poral Power and Italian influence to have pro-
idnucEenladgupnd ;
upon the Church at large, and especially
how Italian finesse has brought
about a spirit of secresy, so that bishops make
their arrangements without the knowledge of
the inferior clergy and laity, and enforce them
as their masters ; how " against the laity as
a body, the bishops are officially secret and de-
spotic," but still, with all their efforts, how the
" English Roman Catholic clergy are among
the most gossipping and indiscreet of men,"
only " half-hearted imitators of Italian in-
trigues." He tells us that, considering Italian
influence, and the priesthood's rejection of the
idea of responsibility, it is a favourable testi-
mony to " Northern public opinion ;" " that
the Roman Catholic clergy are not more unjust
in their dealings than they are in fact."
But, then the Italian Puritanism !—look at
its effects ! Why, Mr. Capes remembers the
day when, if one went to visit a convent, one
might dine with the chaplain and be waited
on by the nuns, and have a pleasant chat with
them between the courses, whereas a horrid
" Italian grating now separates " them from
their visitors !

All through the Temporal Power !
Nay ! Mr. Capes was once asked by a nun
to recommend some good novels for the elder
girls in her convent-schools. Now, perhaps,
like the Turkish ladies, bewailed by Byron—
poor things !—nobody.
have they to show 'em
That charming passage in the last new poem.
All through the Temporal Power !
Mr. Capes, however, says that he once knew
some friars who really read newspapers and
played chess, and drew and sang ! Yet all the
time they were living so strictly that a visitor
came from Rome to see if they were not in-
juring their health. Was this through the Tem-
poral Power ? It is too bad of Mr. Capes,
however, to forget the two excellent Italian
fathers whom we happen to remember as at
that time belonging to the justly-praised com-
munity, which we are sure he must have in
mind.

Mr. Capes thinks that Protestants might
learn a lesson from the fear of Catholics to in-
jure their neighbour's reputation in conversa-
tion. Nevertheless, this sometimes becomes
very inconvenient ; nor is it wholly the effect
of charity, but it arises partly from a "deficient
sense of the value of strict truth and justice,
which they imbibe from Italian communica-
tions." Then, again, think of Italian super-
stitions towards the saints, and Italian ways
of praying, and Frederick William Faber, whose
practices and spiritual books we are told "were
and are severally condemned by many of the
more reasonable of the bishops and clergy!"
Really that Temporal Power does a great
amount of harm !

But the queer thing is that in bygone days,
when George 111. was King, and Mr. Capes
used to be waited on by nuns, and recom-
mend novels for their schools, the Temporal
Power was fully as strong as it is now. Nay,
he even prefers the monastic spirit of St.
Bernard, which he says paid more regard to
natural feeling than does that of the present
day. But was that Temporal Power less active
in the days of St. Bernard than it is at pre-
sent ?

Then, again, what on earth has the Tem-
poral Power to do with the spread of Italian
ideas ? We have not space to discuss the
merits of those ideas. We will not stop to
contend with Mr. Capes whether it is better
for nuns to stop behind their grating, or to
wait and chat with him at table. Nor yet
whether it is a superstition to ask St. Anthony