The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-08 00:00:00

raigned, she pleaded " Not Guilty," in an audible and distinct
voice, to the indictments, which charged her with the wilful
murder of Charles Dimond, by administering to him a quan-
tity of daadly poi: on called arsenic.
Mr. Sergeant Kinglake and Mr. Rawlinson conducted the
prosecution. The prisoner was defended by Mr. Stock.
The trial lasted from the sitting of the Court at nine o'clock
till eight at night.
Mr. sergeant, KINGLARE stated the case to the jury. From
his observations we learned that the prisoner was a widow,
and had been since Christmas, 1833. The deceased was her
brother, and had lived with his father, mother, and brother
John, at a cottage situated at Shapwick. The prisoner, who
for some time previously had been living elsewhere, re-
turned to her father's cottage on the 9th of December, in
last year, at which date the real evidence in this case com-
menced. _

The first witness called was a person of the name of Hare.
He stated that in December last he was was living with a
Mr. Varrer, a druggist, at Bridgwater. On the 9th of that
month the prisoner, wham he did not remember to have pre-
viously seen, came to his shop. His master had two shops, the
one of which he was being situated in St. John-street, East-
over. She asked for some arsenic. Witness said he could
not sell her any, as it was a rule in their shop never
to sell poison to one person. She pressed him to
sell her some, and he still refused. He asked her what she
wantel with it, and she replied that it was to kill rats or
mice; witness did not recollect which. He still refused, but
as she still pressed him, he asked her her name, and where
she lived. She replied that her name was Darston, and that
she was a sister to Edmund Darston, who was the son of a
carrier and postman between Bridgwater and Solden-hill, and
well known to witness. Witness hearing, as he supposed,
who she was, consented to let her have the arsenic, and ac-
cordingly weighed her up half an ounce, which he tied up in
two papers, and marked " poison." At the same time he
explsined the deadly nature of the drug, and gave her direc-
tions about taking care of it. The prisoner did not imme-
diately leave the shop, but entered into conversation with
witness, who remarked to her how much her brother was
grown lately, meaning Edmund Darston ; to which the pri-
soner replied that he was. It being a very cold day, wit-
ness asked her to sit down by the stove in the shop and warm
herself, which she consented to do ; and singular to say, re-
mained in the shop more than an hour. Whilst she was
seated by the fire, witness melted over is some hair oil which
had become congealed. Seeing this, the prisoner asked him
to give her a little for a Christmas present, promising to be-
come a customer of his master's when she came into I3ridg-
water. Witness gave her a little of the oil in a bottle, which
she promised to return by Edmund Darston on the next day
—a promise she did not keep, so he never saw the bottle
again. Whilst the prisoner was thus seated and talking by
the fire, the clock struck one, and witness quitted the shop
to go to dinner, leaving the prisoner there with the porter.
On his way to the place where he got his dinner, he met
Edmund Darston, with whom he entered into conversation.

When he returned from dinner the prisoner was gone.
Edmund Darston deposed that he was at Bridgwater on
the 9th. His father was a carrier and postman between that
place and Soldenhill. He met the prisoner in Bridgwater
about nine o'clock on that morning, and made an arrange-
ment with her that she stimuli' ride home in his cart. His
mother was with him. After this he saw Hare, and, in con-
sequence of what he said to him, he wi nt to the shop to see
who had personified his sister, and arriving there he found
the person had left. Shortly after he met the prisoner again
at the Queen's Head, where she sat talking with him for a
long time. In the course of their conversation she told him
she had been to Mr. Varrer's, where she had purchased some
hair-oil, and had passed off as his sister. She said nothing
about the arsenic. She rode as far as Cossington with the
witness, where he was obliged to stay sonic time, in conse-
quence of which the prisoner went on in another cart to her
father's house.
John Dimond said, he was brother to the deceased and the
prisoner. In December his father, mother, and brother
Charles were living with him at Shapwick. On the 9th of
that month his sister came home about eight o'clock, quite
unexpectedly. She cried, and said she was a martyr, or
something of that sort, on hearing them say they did net
know how she could sleep there that nio,ht -How2ver a bed
was made up her in the room where the old people slept, and
she remained. The deceased was not in when site arrived.
and did not come home till after they were all in bed. He
slept with witness. The next morning prisoner was told she
could not remain there. She asked to remain till Saturday,
1 when she said she would go back to Bridgwater and give
herself up to the master of the union. She was permitted to
stay. The next day her mother told her that her brother
Charles did not like her being t iier e, as his master had de
dared, if she remained in the house, Charles should work no
longer for him Deceased had been in his master's employ
for three years and a half. Prisoner said she supposed she
must go On the Sunday following the mother died, an
event which kept the prisoner still in the house. All parties
were now agreeable that she should remain and do for them,
seeing that they had lost their mother ; only Charles did not
like to lose his winter's work, and he therefore desired that
she should go. The deceased was very well till the day
after Christmas-day, the 26th of December. On that day
he slits very well in the morning, when he got up. Witness
did not see him again until the evening, when he found him
very sick and bad. He continued ill from that time until he
died, which he did on Tuesday morning. He got better,
however, towards the end of the week, and on Sunday was
so much better, that he wished to get up. He did get out of
bed and puton his clothes, but did not come down stairs.
On the Sunday night, or towards Monday morning, all his
former symptoms returned, but in a much more violent
manner, and early on Tuesday morning he died. The pri-
soner was the person who, up to Monday, had cooked all his
dinners, prepared his gruel, which he was ordered by the
doctor to take, and tended upon him generally. On the
Monday before his death suspicion had been awakened, and
the prisoner was ordered, by direction of the magistrates in the
neighbourhood, to quit the house, which she did, going to the
house of a neighbour for the night.
Another witness stated that he had met the prisoner on
Monday, and asked her bow she did? She replied, "Pretty
well ; but Charles wants to turn me and Jack out of doors,
that he may bring his wife home, but he shan't ; and if he
does not take care, something shall happen to him before
long to spoil his fun," or words to that effect. The next
day an old man named Walker, went into Dimond's house,
and saw the prisoner there. She was just going to cook the
herring in which it was supposed she administered the first
dose of poison. She again referred to her brother Charles's
wish, that she should leave, saying that lie wanted to turn
her out of doors to bring his wife there ; but she would be
d—d if he should ever bring a wife there ; and then she
added, " I'll take good care of that, I'll take d—d good care
he shan't be here Long himself." When the deceased was
lying ill on the Saturday, he wished to make a will, and
asked a Mr. Martin, who was present, to make one. For
this purpose he desired him to take the key of his box out
of his pocket. Martin searched to do -o, but could find no
key there. The prisoner was called to, and asked if she had
seen it. She admitted that it was on her person, and when
asked what business she had with it, she said she had pos-
sessed herself of it for the purpose of taking out a small
book that was in it. She then went down stairs, leaving
Martin to make the will, which he did, and which was
signed. The prisoner again came into the room and, ad•
dressing her brother, said, ." Charles, you may give away
what you please ; but remember there are two pairs of
trousers in your box which belong to my husband, and I'm
d—d if Ido not have them." She then left. the room, as be-
fore stated. When her brother died on the Tuesday even-
ing, she was in a neighbour's house. When his death was
communicated to her, she said, " Well, I'm sorry for him,
but I can't cry."
To this evidence was added the testimony of the medical
men who had visited the deceased whilst alive, and made a
post mortem examination of the body. They proved that all
the symptoms of the deceased were those that would be sure
to follow the taking of an irritant poison like arsenic; and
that on. the post mortem examination they d 'covered just
those appearances which they should have expected to do
where the parties had died from poison.
Mr. -Herapath. of Bristol was then called—The stom eh
and its rejected contents had been preserved, with a nottle
of gruel found in the house; all of which had been safely
conveyed to Mr. Herapath. He had analysed their re-
spective contents. No peison was found in, the gruel, Ml-
tents of the stomach, or the stomach itself; but in the large
intestine and in the liver arsenic was found; and he had no
hesitation saying that the deceased hac died from the effects
of arsenic
Mr. Justice COLERIDGE summed up, and the jury returned
a verdict of Guilty.
The Learned JUDGE then placed the black cap on hishead,
and, assuring the prisoner that all hope of mercy in this life
was past, and that her days were numbered and few, he
passed upon her the awful sentence of death.
During this time the prisoner was supported by a police-
man in the dock, and appeared several times as if she wished
to speak, When the sentence was over, as they were hand-
ing her away, she turned towards the Judge and said, "Jus-
tice has not been done me; my life has been unfairly taken
away." She was then led from the dock.
Four charges of murder were made against this wretched
woman, one of which was for the murder of her own mother,
on which a true bill was found by the grand jury. The other
two bills were ignored.

THE BIDDULPH yiUltuEß.
EXECUTION OF JOHN BROUGH, THE FRATRI•
CIDE, AT STAFFORD.
STAFFORD, SATURDAY NOON.—This unhappy criminal,
who was found guilty of the murder of his brother Thomas,
at our late assizes, before Mr. Baron Platt, expiated his
dreadful offence on the public gallows this morning, in front
of the county gaol, making the fifth murderer who has suf.
fered the extreme penalty of the law in this town during the
last twelve months. On Friday what is termed the funeral
sermon was preached by the worthy pastor of the prison, during
which the unhappy creature frequently sobbed aloud. He
then, with much composure, received the Sacrament from
the hands of the chaplain. In the course of the evening
he wrote several letters, one more particularly, which
was addressed to his relatives, being couched in the most
affectionate terms. At an early hour he retired to rest,
two turnkeys being in attendance upon him in the con-
demned cell, and about Live o'clock this morning he rose,
and displayed the utmost contrition. ,On the Bev. Mr. Sedge
waiting upon him, soon after six o'clock, he again expressed
his willingness to die, and thanked all the prison authorities
for the kindness they had shown to him during his incarcera-
tion. On the an ival of the sheriffs and others whose presence
was deemed necessary for the fulfilment of the extreme sen-
tence, the doomed being was informed that the awful termi-
nation of his existence was near at hsfid. Within a few
minutes of eight o'clock, the whole of the mournful prepva-
tions being completed, the unhappy culprit was led through
the several passages on to the drop. He seemed not to take
mach heed of the assembled mob, but evidently was occupied
in deep prayer with the reverend chaplain. His stay, how-
ever, on the scaffold was but short, for the rope, cap, &c.,
being speedily adjusted, the signal was given for the with-
drawal of the fatal bolt, and in a rely brief ptriod the
wretched man ceased to exist. The mob was not so great as
bad been the case on previous occasions; in fact, throughout
the whole, a feeling of deep commisseration was felt for the
culprit. The body, after hanging the usual time, was cut
down, and buried alongside the remains of other murderers
in the interior of the prison.

On Saturday the annual general meeting of the
members of the Society of schoolmasters was held in the
apartments of the Literary Fund, Great Russell-street,
Bloomsbury ; the Rev. Dr. Russell in the chair. The
report was read by Octavius Blewitt, Esq. The Secre
Lary stated, that his Majesty the King of the French, who
had been for many years a member of the Society, had
presented this year an additional donation of 101. The.
Association was established in 1798, and daring the first
th•rteen years of its existence, ba.l given to forty tamilies
of distressed schoolmasters the sum of 7,004.. and 5.0001.
in other charitable d,matiotia. The reci ipts since the
last anniversary amounted to 5241, and the expenses to
3801. The report was adopted.
Tun TIECA.TLE MURDER.— It will be satisfac-
tory for the public to know that Thomas Thomas, the
wretched man who has been condemned to death for the
wilful murder of David Lewis at Trm'stle, has at length
confessed his guilt, and has acknowledged that he has been
guilty of other crimes of a serious character. The execution
of the unfortunate but guilty man is definitely fixed to take
place in front of the Brecon County Gaol, on Thursday next,
the 10th instant,— Ireklimun.