Daily national Democrat., 1858-10-28
DAILY DEMOCRAT
RevengIng a sIsters's Wrongs.

The neighborhood of the Fourth avenue
and Iwenty-seventh street was thrown into a
state of great excitement about 64 o'clock
last evening in consequence of an attempt
having been made to shoot man by the
name of Robert Stephens, an employee in
the omnibus and carriage manufaetory of Mr..
John Stephenson, in Twenty-seventh street.
The assailant was yonng man by the name
of Robert Bell, who pursued his intended
victim through the street toward Second
avenue, followed by a large crowd of per.
sons, anxious to ascertain the cause and re.
suit of the affray
Officer Jennis, of the 2lst Ward, being ap-
prised of what had occurred, took Bell into
custody. AT the same moment officer Arm
strong of the Mayors squad, who happened
to be in the vicinity, rendered his assistance
in conducting the prisoner to the 2lst Ward
Station House, where, in answer to the aues-
tions of Capt Spreight. he made a strange
statement relative to the cause which led him
to commit the offense charged against him.
He said that he was born in the county of
Cavan, Ireland, of respectable parents, who
gave him good education and Subsequent
ly placed him in commercial house in Dub
lin, where he has, until his recent departure
for this city, remained foa a period of nine
years. Receiving information or an ntima.
tion that one of his sisters had lleen sed ced.
or in some other manner deeply wronged by
Stephens, he came to this country without
the knowledge of his parents to avenge her
1t seems that an aunt of young Bells This
fathers sister) married Stephens. About six
or seven years ago Miss Sophia Bell, one of
young Bells ten sisters, came to this country
to reside with her aunt, and did so until last
fall or winter-about which period her aunt
died with suspicious suddenness, as was no.
ticed at the time by persons in the neighbor-
hood, and as it is now alleged by young Bell,
in consequence of laudanum having been ad-
ministered to her, with view of removing
all obstacles in the way of Stephens marry
ing his niece. No sooner was the aunt out of
the way than Stephens importuned his niece
to marry him, but she refused, as she had an
admirer of more suitable age, young dry
goods merchant, doing business in the Third
avenue, to whom she was about to be mar
ried
Stephens with view of creating breach
between the lovers, and of preventing the
proposed marriage, wrote live letters to
the dry goods dealer, intimating that his in.
tended was anything but what She ought to
be. One of them was, in substance, as fol-
lows:
&C. | am astonished that you should think
of marrying Sophia, who is as much my wife
to day as she can be yours, if you marry her
tomorrow"
Notwithstanding the receipt of these in.
famous insinuations, c., although the we'd
ding was postponed for short time, continu-
ed to visit the young lady at the house of
Stephens, until the latter one day seized him
by the throat and committed an aggravated
assault upon him Miss Bell and sister, Miss
Fanny, who had also come to this country
about the same time that their aunt died, left
Stephens house and engaged board else
where, when Miss Sophia was married and
removed into the country to reside.
Whatever the conduct of the uncle (Ste-
phens) may have been toward his nieces, their
communication on the ubiect of their wrongs
to their brother had the effect of inducing
him to hasten hilhcr to avenge them, and last
evening he undertook to carry his design
into effect by discharging heavily loaded
pistol at Stephens as he was leaving the car
riage yard for home. The ball passed through
the lapeIof Stephens coat Young Bell as
serts that he is prepared to prove that Mrs
stephens was poisoned and that her husband
ruined his sister. He processes to be very
sorry that he did not succeed in killing him.
and hopes yet to accomplish his design ~
Y Tribune, Sept 18Th.