The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-22 00:00:00

forward them to me wherever I may be. His address j
is, ' Mr. Hobson, bookseller, Commercial-road East,
London.' This with my name will find me, and I shall
either call every day at the shop for my letters, or he
will send them to me. If there be anything of import-
ance requiring my consideration, you may mention it,
and I shall make as little delay over it as possible.
"In haste, yours truly, ,"J. C. BELANEY."
The next letter was on the 6th, and that stated that the
prisoner's wife was unwell, and attended by two medical
men, who apprehended that the same thing would occur
that had occurred before, namely, a miscarriage. There
were then two letters addressed to Mrs. Bell, they were
dated the Bth and 9th of June, which he would read to
the jury*, first making the observation that the letter of
the Bth must have been posted either after five o'clock on
Saturday evening, or on Monday morning, Mrs. Belaney,
it being recollected, dying on the Saturday morning be-
fore eight o'clock. The letter was as follows:
" London, June 8, 1844.
" Dear Mr. Bell,—l have little else to write to the
north about at present than to give you (who, I know,
are all interested in it) a very unhappy account of Rachel's
state. I have had her removed from the hotel to private
lodgings, where, with two medical attendants, she re-
mains dangerously ill. Symptoms of :premature labour
came on a few days ago ; but, what is still worse, one of
th&medical men pronounces the heart to be diseased. Of
this I have had some dread myself. This will alter my
plans greatly ; but, if she be spared, that will be every-
thing. Hoping you are well, I must in haste conclude,
yours sincerely, " J. C. BELANEY.
" No letters have yet arrived.
" Mr. G. G. Bell, North Sunderland, Belford, Nor-
thumberland."
It would be for the jury by and by to say what the mo •
lives were that could induce the prisoner to write that
letter. On the 9th of June another letter is sent by the
prisoner, which was posted before five o'clock in the
afternoon of that day, and before the prisoner was aware
of the result of the post modem examination :
" London, June 9, 1844.
" Dear Mr. Bell,—The worst that could be dreaded
has come to pass. Rachel is no more. You shall know
all. Put the men off work at the new house. As such
could not be done at the quarry and lime works without
great inconvenience to the partnership, I shall not desire
the same there. lam hardly able to sit up ; but hope
to be able to write to-morrow more particulars. As her
death has occurred chiefly amongst strangers, and so
suddenly, an inquest and post mortem examination will
be held. This has been mentioned to me. Of course I
do not object to it.—Yours sincerely,
" J. C. BELANEY."

There was another letter to Mr. Bell, which did not
contain any date, but merely June, 1844 :
"My Dear Mr. Bell,—By the time this reaches you,
you will have learned from Hall's letter and my com-
munication yesterday, the awful cause of my loss ; and
you, well I know, can and will feel for me. 0, God !
what a visitation came upon me, like a thunderbolt
shot down upon me in the midst of my happiness !
Alas ! where are all my summer arrangements gone
with my dear Rachel ? But I cannot write. You shall
hear from me immediately. To meet the next pay-
ments, go to Thew for the price of the wheat. I
will arrange fur your supplies. Let no one interrupt you
in your usual course. I have legal advice to direct and
go through the case for me. I wrote a few lines for
Captain Clarke to direct him to write you, giving in-
struction for you to go on with the business as usual,
and where to apply to for money to meet the pay. I did
not think of writing you at that time ; but now have
done so. Besides several other friends who are
coming up, and who have known me for some time, I
should like to see Mr. Hunt of Belford. Do go and tell
him what has happened, and that I should like him to
come up immediately to say what he knows of me. Mr.
Hancock and several others have arrived. Tell him, for
God's sake, to come off immediately. I will pay all ex-
penses. I must have a few respectable friends to come
forward to establish my character and say what they
know of me. Oh, God ! I know not -what lam doing
or saying. Tell him I shall pay every expense. When
he comes he must call at Hobson's, bookseller, Commer-
rial-road East, London, or at 17, King-street, Stepney,
London, at Mr. Clarke's. Yours, ever,
ELANEY
Bin haste,
."
Pray put the men upon the partnership on their
work again when required, if they are not already on."
The next letter was one to Mr. Hall, and was in these

terms :

" London, June, 1844.

" Dear IIall,—Oh! I am distracted. I cannot write nor
do anything. I have lost my dear Rachel; and, what
makes the loss so much the worse, it was caused by my
own neglect, from leaving some medicine, which I myself
had been taking a portion of for my stomach, in a tum-
bler on the top of the drawers at the opposite end of the
room where she was. She had gone for the tumbler, and
poured some water into it without observing an thing in
it, the medicine being only a small portion of liquid in
the bottom of the glass, and clear as the glass or water;
then she had drank it. Oh! my God, I know not what.
to do. My dear Rachel is gone, gone for ever from
me. You, and all of you, know how happy we were
together. I had just gone, leaving her in bed, out of the
room for a minute or so, into the other room, in search
of another bottle to put the medicine in, for I had broken
the one it was in, and got a tumbler in the meantime to
secure the contents in ; and she had got out of bed to
use the and take some salts, which were on the
table by her bedside, and wishing to take some water
after the salts, and supposing the glass an empty and clean
one, she had gone to the other end of the room. un-
knowingly poured water into it, and, oh God I have
mercy upon us all, she drank a portion of it. I heard
her cry for me in the other room. I flew to her; but, oh
God! it was all over in a few minutes, and I am now in
a state ®f mind bordering on utter misery and madness.
In the suddan shock I knew not what to do or say. I
called for immediate assistance. It was brought, but it
was of no use. The awful occurrence having taken place
in a situation where I am entirely unknown, all are
strangers around, and the people being much inclined to
doubt my statement that she was my wife, and every-
thing else I said, I am in a terrible situation. The
law has a right to suspect me, and as yet I have
not a creature found to prove my marriage, or what I
am, or who I am. I have nothing to prove anything as
yet. The solicitor whom I have employed will either
have to come down to establish my character, and prove
how we lived, and that we were married, or else he will
require a few of my friends who have known me and
her also, to come up and testify what they know of me.
I know you will all do what is required for me. What
I now regret the most next to the accident, in my
confusion and half-stunned state is, I did not say what
had caused her death. I knew not what I was doing or
saying, and, of course, horror-struck and shocked at my
infatuaty in having left such medicine there, though it
was only for a minute, and the poor dear Rachel was in
bed and, knowing well that the world would blame me
perhaps too severely for my carelessness in leaving
such a dangerous medicine where it was in danger of
doing such evil, I did not, until after I became a little
more collected, say what had happened. This, though
very natural at such an awful juncture, is con-
sidered as against me. Oh, God ! I know not what to
do or say. It came upon me like a thunderbolt. If I were
able I would write to you all—l mean most of my friends ;
but at present I cannot. Go to Mr. Bell and William
Wilson, and Alexander Wilson, and who you think fit,
and state the melancholy contents of this to them, be-
cause I cannot acquaint them all. As poor Mrs. Stobbs
is now the only memorial of dear Rachel I know, go to
her and give her my respects. and tell her that I have
lost my beloved Rachel ; and, although there was not
much friendship existing between them for some time
past, I hope better will now exist between us, and that
I shall always regard her for dear Rachel's sake. I
must now stop ; for I am bewildered, as if in an uncon-
scious dream.—Yours ever, " J. C. BELANEY."
" I wish William Wilson could give you Mr. Tewart's
address in London. He is one who knows me, and would
say something for me. Go to Mrs. Stobbs immediately ;
for, as a relative, it is my duty t) acquaint her. Zell
Mrs. Patrick and all others you think well of. Oh, lam
gone. I hope the Lord will support me under such
trouble. If I can write to Mr. Simpson, who is the mi-
nister of the parish, I will ; but at present I cannot."
- -

The last letter he would trouble the jury with was an
other to Air. Bell :

" London, June, 1844,
"Dear Mr. Bell,--I intended writing to you an ac--
count of what had happened to my dear Rachel, through
my;_infatuity or inadvertency, and to myself ; but at
present am unable to do so. I have written Hall
a sort of account of it, which I wish you to go
immediately to peruse, and consult with him what to
do. Oh ! what is this come upon me like a thunder-
bolt ? I did not mention the cause of her death to you
before, through a desire to bury the shame and avoid
the public reproach for my fatal neglect. Yet I know
well you can account for it under such circumstances ;
but, oh God!! I can never forgive myself. I would like
you to call upon Mr. Simpson, and give him the parti-
culars of what I have given of the awful occurrence.
Lose not a moment in getting from Mr. Dornel testimony
of my marriage from Bamborough, and post it to Mr.
Clarke, 17, King-street, Stepney, London."

Ile believed that he had now stated in detail all the cir-
cumstances of this painful case. He would forbear mak-
ing any comments on the facts which would be detailed
in evidence, because it would be for the jury to form a
calm, deliberate, and impartial judgment upon them. If
the jury from those facts were satisfied nothing was made
out against the prisoner, they would, of course, acquit
him of this grave charge ; but if the facts proved irre-
sistibly led them to a different conclusion, the public jus-
tice of the country demanded from them, however pain-
ful it might be, that they should find the prisoner guilty.
With these observations he committed with confidence
the result of this important case into the hands of the
jury.
The following witnesses were then called :
Mrs. Matilda Heppingstall examined by Mr. BODKIN—
My husband lives in Green-street, Mile-end Old Town.
On the 4th of June last, prisoner came to our house, at
one. Mrs. Belaney was with him. They agreed to take
the front and back parlours of our house for one week.
They came at half-past four the day after. Mr. Belaney
dined by himself. Mrs. Belaney did not dine. They
took tea and had company with them—Capt. Clarke and
Mr. Hobson. Mr. and Mrs. Belany went, as I under-
stood, to the theatre, and returned a little after twelve.
i glanesyl3;lear. Ipv Eepaesared very well. On the following
a sicskte. for
s. ih-u morning (Wednesday) my servant fetched a black
d
Belaney. Shortly r a
Iti
ad
uafterring
tMrs.ie
day.Belaneys
h
wasre
did not get up. I saw her at night on the couch in the
, afternoon.morning, She
appearedcapt.
parlour.a poorly. Prisoner went out that
, Clarke and d a evening.li d Mrs.m He ea wasaei y outcl
.1 all
ed
idtnhe3;he evening, and saw her. On the ollowing morning
(Thursday), they took breakfast, and went out early
together. They remained out until five in the
afternoon. I did not see her that day. They
had fresh ham with their tea. Captain Clarke
spent the evening with them. Clarke and prisoner went
out together, and purchased pickled salmon for supper.