Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-12
\ TERRIBLE TRAGEDY.
a Sensation in Society Circles i'm En-;
lish High Life.

- ''~AA''t'ACH - e7NNANAJ NAANACs III A1llE-
lish High Life.
LONDON, May IA terrible tragedy in
high life is reported to-day from Devon
shire. Mr.. Hugh Shorthand, a rich barris-
ter from Australia, had been spending the
past few months in that county, enjoying
a vacation from the labors of his profess
sion. He made the acquaintance of a
Miss Dimes, the daughter of a wealthy
country gentleman, and connected with
some of the most aristocratic families,
and proposed marriage to her. Mr.. Dimes,
however, objected to Shortland's atten-
tIOns to his daughter, having heard some
dlsreputable stories about the barrister's
habits, which Mr.. Dimes had been con-
WINGED were too much those of a dissipate
and protligate. Shorthand, being clever
in address and skilled in in
trigue, managed to induce Mr..
Dimes to postpone final
decision until he could be convinced that
his impressions were erroneous, and thus
maintained his entree at the residence.
Taking advantage of the opportunities
offered by his probation, the Australian
pressed his suit with the young lady, and
finally induced her to el0pe with him, and
they were duly married. Soon after the
elopement the young lady's dead body
was found in pool on her fathers estate.
The head was battered in a way that
might have been caused by a violent sui
cidal plunge into the pond, or by single
heavy blow by blunt board instrument
in the hands of another person. At about
the time the body was discovered, Short
land, it was reported, left Devonshire,
having told several persons before the dis
cOVery that mis- professional engagements
made it necessary for him to re-
turn at once to Australia. 1t was
generally, supposed, therefore, that Mrs.
Shorthand had become morbid by brOOding
over her estrangement from her father,
and the long prospective absence of her
husband efter so brief ar experience of
married life, and had committed suicide
in fit of dependency. This view was
confirmed by letter which was received
from Shorthand soon after the finding of
the body. 1t was dated at BIindisi, Italy.
where European VOyagers take the
Oriental Navigation COmpany's steamers
for the Leyant, the Suez canal and Aus
tralia. The letter was full of loving mes
sages to Mrs. Shorthand, and stated that
the writer had had "A successful voyage
thus far, and was then just about to en-
bark from Brindisi for Australia. This
letter completely lulled all suspicious
which might have been entertained, and
a Coroner's jury found verdict that Mrs.
Shorthand had come to her death by sui
eide.
To-day, however, Mr.. Shorthand was re-
cognlzed at Plymouth, and, as it was evi-
dent that he could not possibly have re-
turned from Australia if he had sailed at
the time he had stated in his Brindisi let
ter, an investigation was begun. 1t was
soon ascertained that he had never left
England at all since his marriage to Miss
Dimes, and that he had written the Brin-
disi letter at Plymouth, and sent it under
cover to a friend at Brindisi, having it
mailed there in order to cover his tracks.
Shorthand was promptly arrested on the
charge of having murdered his wife and
taken back to DevOnshire, where his trial
promises to be one of the most sensational
in English criminal records, All efforts
to lind reason for the murder have thus
far failed, and Shorthand refuses to make
any utterance upon the subject