The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-23 00:00:00

CASE OF MRS. GILMOUR

We have not for years had any subject before us of
so exciting a local influence as the trial of Mrs. Gil-
mour, or rather Christina Cochran, for the murder of
her husband. Perhaps a greater romance in real life
than the circumstances connected with the fate of
this extraordinary woman never occurred ; and to a
certainty all the inventions of fiction never promul-
gated circumstances so very uncommon as those which
have taken place between the subject of our notice
and her affianced bridegroom, after they had been
united as one by the ceremony of marriage. From
statements which have already gone the round of the
press, most readers will be aware that Mrs. Gilmour
and her husband were the son and daughter respec-
tively of two neighbouring wealthy and comfortable
farmers. Both of the farms on which this young
couple were brought up are situate in the parish of
Dunlop, Ayrshire; and both of the unfortunate indi-
viduals had little more than entered on life, which they
did with the fairest prospects. For nearly five years
before her unfortunate marriage with Gilmour, Miss
Cochran had formed a warm and devoted attach-
ment to another young farmer in the neighbour-
hood, referred to in evidence—John Anderson. The
attachment was reciprocated on his part, and he had
got settled on a farm of his own close to her father's,
but circumstances intervened which prevented him
from marrying Miss Cochran for a time. In the in-
terim Miss Cochran's young neighbour, John Gil-
mour, got most devotedly attached to her without
having the satisfaction of his love being returned, and
he having resolved to settle in life, first took the farm
called the town of Inchinnan, and then used every in-
fluence in his power to secure her as his wife, both by
exercising the warmest persuasion with herself, and by
craving the assistance of her parents in his favour.
Under these circumstances we are assured by the most
creditable authority that the parents, in accordance
with the solicitation of Gilmour, urged the marriage
on their daughter, notwithstanding her most deter-
mined opposition. Before the union took place,
she frequently urged her parents to let her live
as he was. She even begged of them to permit
her to live single for life. She never could
be attached to Gilmour, she said, while her
heart was with another. A short time before
the marriage took place, Miss Cochran and Ander-
son formally declared their attachment to each
other, and, we are assured, separated both deeply
bathed in tears at the cruel fate which awaited her,
and which neither of them seemed to have the power
to avert. The occurrences that took place with the
young couple after the unhappy marriage will be
found fully detailed in evidence, but in addition we
have unquestionable authority for stating, that though
they lived together for six weeks, and regularly re-
tired to the same bedroom, Mrs. Gilmour never un-
dressed during the whole time. She was frequently
found bathed in tears by her husband during the day,
and when spoken to about grief by him, she generally
endeavoured to compose herself, and assured him she
would redeem her promise—she would live with him,
and work with him as a servant, but she was unable to
do anything more. In her demeanour Mrs. Gilmour
is mild even to simplicity; her manner-is_ as unaf-
fected as a child, and under all the difficult positions
she has been placed in prior to her being placed at
the bar, nothing ruffled her countenance ; and she
was always to be found the most cool and unaffected
person present, or who took any part of the proceed-
ings.—Renfrewshire Reformer.