Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-12-01
A Bafaed Murder.
From Cassell's Magazine

lhACAii SasSt41 b magazine
About half-past twelve o'clock of tf
| morning of May 81, 1910, the Duke
Cumberland, having dined at Greenwich
and afterwards attended a concert for th
benefit of the Royal Society of Musician.
returned to his apartments in st. Jame
Palace, overlooking Cleveland Row. N
sound more bOdin9 than usual struck upo
the tired mans ear as his carriage rumble
under the old brick archway that opens in
st. James street. The Duke retired to res
about one.
! The sleeping room, which was large ant
lofty, was dimly lighted by lamp, whicl
burnt all night behind screen in the fire
place, which was at the end of the apart
/ ment tarthest from the bed. One by on,
| steps ceased in the corridors, and silenct
and sleep settled down over the palace, on
ly broke at intervals by the tramp of the
sentinels under the windows, and the dul
roll of the wheels of hackney coach il
| Pail Mall. No thought of danger disturb
ed the Dukes dream. The bed stood in &
recess, behind which was a small room
where Neale, the Dukes page, and valet-in
waiting, was accustomed to sleep. On the
| sofa lay the Dukes heavy military sabre
which his favorite valet, Sells, Piedmon
tese, had recently requested leave to clean
| grind and sharpen.
About half-past two in the morning the
Duke was aroused by blow on the head,
! instantly followed by a second.
| His first impression was (hardly yet
awake that bat had got into the room
and was beating about his head The light
from the lamp, glimmering on the blade of
a sabre, and the motion of the blade, awoke
him to a sense of his horrible danger. He
fa1of1 fo1I g ~ L
rope, to alarm Sells and MS valet in the
other room; but to his horror it had been
removed, and he was helpless, and his wits
seemed to leave him in the first agony of
despair. At the third blow he tore down
the curtains, and rushed to the door of the
outer room, pursued by the assassin, who
struck him on the thigh. He heard the
murderer's sword strike splinter from the
door.
The Duke was already wounded in six
places and was bleeding from every CASH
He had been cut on the forehead, and on
the arms, cheek and thigh, and one of his
little fingers was almost severed from his
hand. But his hand was now on the han
die of the Pages room door, and he threw
the doof open, shouting loudly for Neale
The page at once answered the summons
and the assassin, dropping the sabre, fed
into darkness. The Duke and Neale then
alarmed the Palace, called up the fright
ened household, and the sergeants and
soldiers on guard. The Duke at first de-
sired Neale not to leave him, as he feared
there were more assasslns hid in the bed
room, This, however, not appearing to
be the case, the Duke went to the portar's
room, and Neale ran to call Sells,
the Piedmontese valet. The Duke
oil IN h ~;
for this man. Neale went to the door and
shouted The Duke is murdered p but
there was no ansWer-the door was locked,
It was then remembered that there was
another entrance from the chief staircase,
and this being broken open, horrifying
sight awaited them. Sells was found
leaning half undressed upon his bed, with
his throat cut from ear to ear. His coun-
tenance wore rather smiling and composed
expression. On chair near his bedside
lay razor and a basin tinged with blood.
1t was supposed that he was the assassin
and that after his escape from the Dukes
room he rushed back, hoping to wash the
blood from his hand, and get safely into
bed before he could be summoned; but the
instant search for him drove him to this
desperate suicide.
Others suggested that, finding that he
had failed in the assassination, and feeling
detection certain. he Instantly destroyed
himself; while some thought that having
succeeded in &fs revenge, as he thought,
he cared no more for life, and seized his
razor. Sells had hidden himself in
bolster-press, III small closet adjoining
the Duke's bedroom, for his slippers and
the sword scabbard were found there. A
physician who examined the body consid-
cred that the wound in Sells throat had
been inflicted with his right hand, though
Sells was a left-handed person. But op-
posed to this was the fact that the left sleeve
of Sells coat was soaked with blood,
and the blood on the door of the bedroom
was also on the left side. Sells blue coat
was found covered with blood and folded
up on q chair in one corner of the room.
There is no doubt that Sells stole from his
hiding place about half-past two, to the
head Of the Dukes bed. To avoid discov
cry he stood in such way that he had to
strike down on the Dukes head slantinglv,
in consequence of which the curtains and
tassels overhead impeded the blow, and
saved the Dukes life. Several of the tas-
sells were cut of.
The whole edge of the sabre was hacked
and blunted with the force Of the blows,
and the point was bent. The widest ru-
mors soon spread through London, where
the Duke was not popular. It is said tie
Duke described his assailant as a stouter
man than Sells, who was short and feeble
Others declared that Sells had been MUIR
dered by the assassin, to divert suspicion
from the real criminal
The jury which sat on the body of Sells
was composed, Mr. Jesse says, of the prin-
cipal tradesmen of the neighborhood of
Whitehall, most of them dissenters and
radicals, and strongly inclined against the
high tory Duke-the cold, stern, unpopular
man, who, with all the vices of his broth
ers, did not possess their bonhonsie or gen1-
ality, to conceal his real selfshness.
After listening for four hours to the evil
dence, and spending another hour in delib-
Grating upon it, they brought in verdict
of felo-de-se against Sells. The body of
the miserable man was inferred in the
''high-road' in Scotland Yard.
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