The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-08-18

What can he IA by comment to
the unnatural ia b Of this story
Was there ever chastity picture
Of every feeling OF uT1 reversed, and
every instinct tutn black, deadly and
cold, where all " "a be brightness,
warmth and litef lninnticide is la
mentally commQn, be none, probably,
ever imagined that fn that baTbaroUs
crime would Be d. ted with such a
repulSiVe aspect aS q story reveals.
There is cold bar ~ about the sug-
gcstiOu Of the muir {, It's cOntempla-
tion for nearly IN months, and the
cireumstantiaI and dsiness-like man.
ner in which II iS 4 hnged and accom-
plished, which sea for the first time
TO clothe such crii In It's native hid
eousness. Even the nst and most sat
isfactOry scene OF be tragedy - the
mothers circun1st III confessional
Of itself u spectacle 9Oltihg enough,
bur il is the appr0p close TO such Il
history. Horribl8 Il Is, the story Is
not hard to unde ind. The girl is
buTtlGned with = who - az once
an expense and dil 70. .lleF, aud the
.diaboiicul, sugge = ai woman
Wipsar or inlytl 81
.Cilll u IMP 3 u With
fho ehnnea of an.d fa nom further
froufle. she IS aire ~ sliiiit tent y de-
.ndYqlIsed to liStels th0ugh with fear,
10 such d suggestion; she "doea not
want the child to lio done away with" "
and vet she wants to be rid of II, and
she viii not ask too mnny questions If
the bold, bad woman, her accomplice,
will cut tho deadly knot for her. But
when the deed is done, and tho burden
of the child removed, the maternal in
stinrt returns and rOUses loud re-
morse, and perhaps resentment against
the woman who had pushed her so inr,
There is nothing eNtrHVagant in the
mothers case. II il but the accident Of
a bold, vicious Accomplice which drives
the criminal impulse to the utmost de-
velopment.
But what is said Of this woman, who
seems to have made u trade of child
murder Mt 20 II head, and to have
thought no more of barbarously slNugh-
terlng an innocent child than OF crush
ing nOxiOus insect with her foot ?
Tint horrible, cold catalogue Of infant
murder with which she overpowCrcd
the faint moral sense that remained in
tho younger woman, makes every other
series of murders that we have heard Of
seem pale. Ofwhnt mora horrors could
not this womnn tell us II she would but
declare her whole hlstoTy? But there
IL another thought which such story
suggests, more Horrible still, ii thnt be
possible. Is it likely that Charlotte
WinsOr Is n solitary criminal? II *
likely that the crime can hive been
thus fiimilinr, not only to her, but to
the mothers Of her victims, ifit were so
very unusual? She speaks Of girls
writing to her in anticipation of their
requiring her Internal aid. How many
more such agents Of death nre there In
England? The statistics of inianticide
compel us to believe TINT such crimes
are by no means uncommon, and that,
moreover, in the case Of Legitimate as
well ns Of illegitIInnte children. II
seems as if there were dark abysses in
human. nature ull around us, but cOV-
and II such crimes as these raised but
for Z. moment q corner Of tiie Vaiti and
give us glimpse Of the blackness
within. There wns no reason Whatever
for disbelieving the woman Harris
statement; and WinsOr accordingly
was convicted and sentenced to death,
the Judge warning her TINT she must
not entertain the slightest expectation
of her life being spared. Harris Is, no
doubt, also guilty Of murder; but If
she escapes her due punishment by be-
ing accepted as Queens evidence, there
will be no doubt that justice has been
done us etIectunlly as was practicable
IN such case. Winsor, with her din-
bolisnl mercilessness, Is infinitely the
more guilty, and If she alone suffers,
the crime will have been avenged on
the greater and more responsible crimi-
nal.