The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-11 00:00:00

REVENGE BY A DISCARDED LOVER.

In the Dundee Circuit Court, before Lords Cowan and
Ardmillan, Annie Douglas, power-loom weaver, Dundee,
was charged with assault, by throwing sulphuric acid, to
the permanent or severe injury of the person, on Friday,
the Bth of November last, on James Main, mason. The
accused pleaded guilty to assault at common law.
The prisoner became acquainted with Main, and about
the month of September he came under a promise to
marry her. In October, after the promise had been made,
he succeeded in overcoming her. She was seized with
remorse, and, being naturally of an excitable and irritable
temper, she was thrown into a state of distraction. Shortly
after her mental excitement was greatly aggravated by a
letter which she received from Main, which was produced
in court, and is as follows : _ _

" Dundee, Oct. 11, 1867.
" Miss Douglas,—i write you this few lines to let you
know my oppinion of you now. you had been at my
lodgings seeking me last night i understand, and you bad
been on Saturday night, but you need not come back, for
realy i think you very imposing, but you need not think
that i am so great fool as would show that you are the fist
one that came to my Lodgings house after me and praying
into my character the way that you have been doing, so i
am not so green as you would take to be, so you will better
be loiking out for another, as i intend being with another
to-night. I have told my Landlady to give you a short
answer, so if i have said or done any wrong i hope i will
be forgiven by a high power, for ido not care for you. so
in hops never to see you again on this earth i remains
your Well Wisher
(Signed) "JAMES MAIN.
" You may write me if you please, but i will never
answer it."

This letter greatly aggravated the state of mind into which
the prisoner had been thrown, and immediately on receipt
of it she went to her clergyman and confided to him the
whole circumstances. When she came to him she was in
a state of frenzy. By a taunt she afterwards received
from a woman on the street, who had become acquainted
with the circumstances, she sought out Main, and up-
braided him for his faithless conduct. The only answer
which she got from him was to go away and not bother
him. That answer was twice repeated, and in a moment
of desperation she committed the crime to which she had
pleaded guilted. She had been already five months in
prison, and was the only support of her aged father and
mother. injuries done to Main were trifling.
Lord Cowan, in passing sentence on the prisoner, said :
There can be no doubt that the man,' whose person you
assaulted in the way described, did commit towards you
the most grievous of all offences that a man can commit
upon a young female. We have every reason to believe
that you were courted by him lawfully and rightly : but he
betrays you, ruins you, and then writes that unfeeling—
I must say brutal letter to you. Under the provocation
that letter naturally created in you, you were not in full
possession of your own mental rectitude. You could not
have thought of committing a crime which, had you not
been in such a state of irritation, your mind would have
rejected as wrong. As you have already suffered five
months' imprisonment, the sentence of the court is
that you be imprisoned for the period of eight calendar
months.