The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-01-29
a Shooting AGAfr- One woman AZ.
tempts to Efu Another. q

one unmarried and the other widow, both
moving in respectable circles, and one at
least reputed to be wealthy. The parties,
1t appears; were Nrs. Melvina sutcliffe,
wife Of Mr.. Henry r. Sutcliffe, Of Manches-
ter, New Hampshire, and Mrs. Ariadne B.
Mercier, widow, residing at the house Of
Mrs. Bradford Allen, No. 1923 Bread street.
The circumstances connected with the affair
MS far as can be ascertained are as fol-
lows: =.
About eleven years ago an Enelishmar,
named Sutcliffe married a Young lady Of
Manchester, New Hampshire, and shortly,
afterwards came to this city. They had
children, and lived together happily till, It
is alleged, about three years ago o. friend
ship sprung up between Mr.. Sutclife and
Mrs. Ariadne B. Mercier. 3
This appears to have caused q very natu-
raj ill-feeling on Mrs. SATELLITES part to-
wards Mrs. Mercier. About two years ago
Mr. sutcliffe chastised Mrs. SutclifFe for
getting into his carriage when it was wait
ing in front Of the house in which Mrs.
Mercier then, as at present, resided. Mr..
Sutcliffe was then employed as manager at
Butterworth Bleach and Dye Works, on Eddy
| street, and lived on the corner Of Public
and Plane streets, About o year ago he
left the city, and is now employed in cal
leo printing establishment OF Manchester,
New Hampshire. Mrs. Sutcliae states that
last winter she commenced o. suit against
Mrs. Mercier and Mrs. Bradford Allen for
$4,000 damages for breaking up her fam
lily relations. Another suit is said to be
pending for damages for false imprisonment
and defamation of character. Both suits.
are now pending in the Supreme Court, and
will shortly be up for trial. ~
| It does not appear that there has been.
any personal communication between Mr..
Sutcliffe and Mrs. Mercier since his depar-
ture to Manchester, but Mrs. Sutcliffe
asserts that letters have passed between
them. About week ago Mrs. Sutclife
came to this city to attend to her suits, and
has since been stopping in the house of
relative on High street. In her visits to her
friends here since her. arrival she has ex-
pressed her intention to have revenge on
Mrs. Mercier, whose money. she thinks, has
had something to do with delaying the issue
of her suits. Yesterday evening, about
twenty minutes before O'Clock, Mrs. SUIT
cliffe was walking along Broad street when
she met Mrs. MERCER near Mrs. Aliens
house at the corner of Byron and Broad
streets. .......
Whether any words passed between them
is not known, but just as Mrs. Mercier was
opening the gate on Byron street to enter
the yard Of her residence, Mrs. SutclifFe
fred pistol at her, the bullet grazing the
fore-fnger Of Mrs. Mercier's right hand.
The latter entered the yard, when Mrs.
Sutclife, according to her own ,acknowl-
edgment, attempted to discharge another
chamber Of the revolver, but the cap does
not appear even to have snapped. She then
rushed after Mrs. MERCER into the yard,
and they clinched with each other, and had
q regular female skrimmage, in which
Mrs. Suteliffe got the worst, and Mrs. Allen
and male relative coming to the rescue,
her revolver was captured and she was
forced to retreat. She stood outside
the gate about fifteen minutes, large
crowd being attracted by the ARRAY, and
coolly banded epithets with the persons
in the yard. In reply to remarks of the
bystanders she said there were worse
crimes than murder; that she was sorry
she had not shot Mrs. MERCER through the
head +; wanted her revolver, and asked to
be arrested. She then walked up as fer as
Beacon street, crossed over, and walked
down Broad, where she was taken into GUS
tody by officers Baird and Stone, who had
| been sent from the central station to arrest
her, news Of the ARRAY having been carried
there by o very excited young man, who
also brought the captured revolver. She
made no resistance, but walked along
quietly to the station, where she made her
statement to Captain Gross, and was assign
ed to the best accommodation that
could be afforded under the circumstances.
| The revolver with which the firing was
done is new seven-shooter, and had been
purchased in this city this week. All seven
barrels had been loaded, one had been dis
charged, and an attempt had evidently been
made to discharge another.
Although Mrs. SEtelife states that she has
only been in the city about q week, her
relatives say she has been here seven weeks,
YEARLY waiting for her suit to come on and
brooding over her real or fancied wrongs
until she became almost @ monomaniac on
the subject of killing the woman she hated.
Mrs. Sutcliffe is about thirty-fye years
of age, well-formed, and good-looking.
Mrs. Mercier is understood to be some years
older.
Until q thorough investigation of the
affair an opinion can hardly be formed
relative to the degree of censure earned by
any of the parties to this unfortunate oc-
currence. Some who claim to be cognizant
of all the circumstances express the warm
est sympathy for the woman who so recently
had murder in her heart; while others
| allege that she is monomaniac, whose
troubles are chiefly attributable to dis
| eased brain. We give our readers the
benefit of our best information relative to
the circumstances, but express no opinion
relative to the alleged family irregularities.
Providence Journal.
EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA.-The recent
meetings Of the American Colonization So
ciety in Washington were more largely at
tended than for many years. There are
seven hundred applications for passage to
Liberia next May. Of these, four hundred
arc from North Carolina and three hundred
from Louisiana. Many more are anxious
to 60 from the populous island of Barbados
in the West Indies. .---- - -.
Mr.. J. R. W. Pearcy, policeman of Hop
| kinsville, Kentucky, entered drinking sa-
loon in that city some days ago to arrest o
man named Pat Donahue for rictous con-
duct. While endeavoring to make the ar
rest, arms were freely used and several pis-
tolls were fired. Before the arrest could be
made, Donahue drew his pistol and fred OF
Mr.. Pearcy, the ball striking him and taking
effect in vital part. Mr.. Pearcy fell bleed
ing profusely, and died in five minutes after
the fatal shot was fired.