Connecticut western news., 1882-10-18
A LONDON ROMANCE.
The Story Retold ot the " Monster
 who Created such 8 Panic.

The Story Retold ot the " Monster"
 who Created such a Panic.
 To find anything approaching paral- Tel to Dubourque's savage conduct, says the New York World, referring to the crazy Frenchman who ran amuck on Fourteenth street, injuring number of women, we must go back nearly century, in tine history not of New York but of London, to the case, which in some points but in some points only re- sem bles it, of Renwick Williams, known m tradition as ''The Monster" who to- Tss.a the close of the last century kept the British metropolis for nearly two months i'll state of panic. Early in May, 179O, respectable woman walk ing in conspicuous street of London about dusk was suddenly assailed by a man whom she had never seen before, but who rushed upon her with an open knife in his hand, pouring out volley of abuse, and, after striking her once or twice with the knife and infiicting serious wounds, fled away swiftly and disappeared. On the next evening similar attacks were made upon two other women, and from that time forth during the rest of the spring and early summer being the height of the Lon don season-these outrages occurred al- most nightly. The women attacked were always pers ons of respectable ap. pearance and quiet demeanor, strangers to their assailant, and as they were in most cases too much startled and alarmed to describe him accurately, it seemed for time likely that the villain would go unpunished, and general trepidation reigned among the house. holders of London.
 On the night of the Queens birth day, May 19, 179O, Ann Porter, the daughter of a hotel proprietor in St. James's street, wss coming home with her sister Sarah and a friend, Mrs. Miel, about II o'clock, from watching the parade of the coaches and the ar- rival of the fine ladies at St. James's Palace, where birthday ball was going on. They saw 8 man walking before them. A group of chairmen coming along at that moment aud obstructing the street, this man turned upon Sarah Porter and crying out "Ho, ho p struck her violent blow upon the head. As he did so Sarah recognized him as man who had four times before acoosted her upon the street, each time using the
 most violent language. Two other sis ters of hers, Ma1th and Rebecca, had
 been treated by him in the same way.
 As soon as she was struck, therefore.
 Sarah called out, ''The Wretch, the
 Wretch P this being the name by
 which the sisters had spoken of the man
 among themselves, and set off rapidly for home with Mrs. Miel. Ann Porter did not understand clearly what had
 happened, but followed the others swiftly and reached the bottom step of
 her fathers doorway as the others, at
 the top of the steps, were knocking for admission.
 At that instant man came up face to face with her and struck her violent
 blow with knife on the hip. She wore
 the long stays of that period, but for
 which she would probably have been
 killed, her dress and her underclothing
 having been cut through for the length
 of about eighteen inches. As it was,
 she fell from the violence of the blow,
 and when taken into the house was
 found to have received wound some
 ten inches long and four inches deep |, Ann Porter too recognized the man, hay
 ing on several previous occasions beer
 insulted by him as her sisters had been
 Ann Porter had lover, John Coleman
 of Berkeley square, who took the case . up energetically. About week afte the attack upon Ann Porter 6 the mon ) ster" was seen just before dusk passins through St. James's street. Coleman and others set out in pursuit of him but in the confusion arrested an inno , cent person and he escaped. About th' . middle of June two of the Porter sister were walking with MT. Coleman in St : James's Park when "The Monster ) came in sight. He turned and walked t rapidly away. MT. Coleman followed 3 him through several streets, and, hay B ing leaRned lesson from the first mis !, taken arrest, endeavored by walking 3 past him, looking him full in the fac n and otherwise affronting him, to provok s an altercation.
 This Renwick Williams, for he it was v attempted to avoid. He knocked an' , , rang at the doors of several unoccupie' houses, but the pertinacious MT. Cole
 man was not to be shaken off till he ha' finally run him to earth in the house c a certain MT. Smith, where he went in MT. Coleman went up the steps an s entered the house with him, demandin r his address and giving as his reason fo
 his conduct that Williams had insulte 1 some ladies whom he knew. After the, A had separated it occurred to the me thodical and punctilious MT. Colema
 that ne had done wrong in letting hi
 man go, so he pursued him once more
 overlook him and insisted that William o should go with him to the residence ( . the Porters. After making several ot |. iections that the hour was late and s y on, Williams went with him and him - self led the way to the house, saying . :'This is Miss Porter's." Hiss An + Porter tainted on seeing him, but | 'f showed no agitation and merely sai n that ''her behavior was very odd." H y was then and there arrested. At h