The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-08-28
The sultan's plan Of II form.
BRIDGET DURGAN.
The Approaching ExecutiOn-A Visit to
the Condemned WOman-She COnfesses


her Guilt.
NEW BRUNSWICK. N. j., August 27.-The APP
Friday next is to be hanged for the murder of
Mrs. Corlell is the absorbing topic in this com
munity whenever two or three chance to come
together. The Sheriff is beset with applicants
for tickets of admission to the jail.yard TO wit
ness the final scene in tn Iite of this miserable
woman. Between 400 and 500 tickets have been
issued. The Jail is daily visited by great many
persons, most OF them ladles, anxious 10 see
Bridget The turnkey informs me that to-day
he turned away as many as 200 persons from The
Jail door. visited Bridget to-day. She seemed
in excellent spirits, or anxious to appear
so, She laughed nervously very frequently
during the interview, and convulsivey clasped
the bars of the grated door She said she was
tired of being there and she was glad that she
was so near her death. She spoke without agi-
tation oil her approaching execution, and said
raj books, among them Bible and prayer
books. She said, laughingy, that her Bible
than the Protestant Bible and seemed anxious
to provoke a discussion on the subject. She
has made a confession and alluded to IL, saying
that she wanted the person to whom she made
it to reveal 1t to your correspondent She
jects, as If with a view TO diverting her mind
from contemplation of her doom. She urged
me, laugningly, TO go and see Mary Gilroy- the
girl confined in the same Jail on suspicion that
she was accessory to the murder.
The conduct of The criminal in Jail during
the past week or two has been variable. Gen
orally she is very cheerful, but she mas on one
two occasions lost her spirits and cried
aloud, so that she could be heard outside the
walls of the prison Last Friday two women OF
bad character were arrested for drunkenness,
and brought 10 jail. One of them asserted that
she had a young child, and pleaded for her re
lease that she might go and attend to it.
Bridget in the early part of the evening took
merry, and on her way to her cell, seeing
negro who is confined in an adjacent cell
lying on his back asleep, she threw q
cupful of water on, him, laughing loudly
at the same time. Soon after she reached her
cell; When 1 all had retired & for the night, the
absence OF her infant, crying, "Oh, my poor
child"-nearly the very words that Mrs. Coriell
was heard to utter on the night OF the murder.
Bridget heard the words, and she began to
scream as loud as she could, and continued for
some time to utter a loud wailing sound like
that she gave voice to on the day that she was
sentenced to death. 1t was long time before
she was qu1eted.
neanor since saw her last, soon after the
trial, except that she is somewhat paler than
she was then. She is frequently visited by
Father Rodgers, with whom she unites in reli-
gious services with apparent fervor
Bridget confehses that she alone murdered
Mrs. Corlell She says that her motive was not,
as has been supposed, robbery, but a desire to
supplakt her mistress in the affections OF her
husband. She relates In detail the occurrences
of the night of the murder, and her statement
generally corroborates the received theory with
regard TO the commission of the crime and
varies only in some minor points from that
educed from the strong and almost perfect
chain of circumstantial evidence which secured
her conviction. II her statements are true,
Mrs. Coriell defended herself heroically and
struggled hard for her life. Bridget says Mary
OlIrOy knew nOJnlng OF the murder before Its
commission. She denies that the murder was
committed with the knife that was exhibited
at the trial.
Another strong effort has been made to secure
reprieve for her, but has signally failed. There
was an endeavor on the part of those interested
in her behalf to get up a story that she had
become enciente since she entered the jail. She
was examined by Drs. Morough, Voorhies, and
Baldwin, who found no evidences that she was
in such a condition. Judge Vredenberg was
to have held Court here to-day, ana It was anti
clpateo that her counsel would move for post
ponement of the execution, but the Judge was
not here, and the Court was adjourned till
autumn. Mr.. Herbert, the District Attorney,
hearing that movement to secure a reprteve
was in progress, addressed a note to Governor
liability Of further delay in her case. The fol
lowing letter from the Governor, which was re-
celved yesterday, sets the matter at rest:-
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT., TRENTON, August 27,
le67-My Dear Bir:-Ihe case of Bridget Durgan came
up before the Court of PardOns at It's last session In
July, 1867 and the Court unanimously refseq 10 ln-
terfeTe. No other action has Deen had Ia the case.
The Court OF Pardons has not been called together 70
consider this or any other case. ,.-, a..
The action of the Court was INTENDED % 70 be hnal;
Yours, very truly, MARCUS L. WARD
@. NJ. II ERBERT
The execution will take place without fail on
Friday morning, between the hours OF 10 A. Nj.
and 2P. M, as enJoined by the sentence of the
court. The same gallows on Whlcn tne colored
ing in the iail yard and will be used In eXecut-
lag Bridget Durgan. She has expressed the
desire to the jail-keeper that no post-mortem
examination be made In her case. The body OF
Williams was dissected ia the jail-yard imme-
| diately after it was cut down from the gallows,
! and hi was because she was aware of this fact
that she made the requesJ.-N. Y. Times.
|
The National Game.
! THE MUTUAL CLUB. OF NEW YORK, DEFEATED
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