Widnes Examiner. — 1887-11-19 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

THE EXAMINER, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1887.  that Mr. Stambridge, who WWI pist about to marry the deceased, declares upon oath .that she told him the evening before her death, she had had a -violent quarrel with her brother, Mr, Derrick; this is denied by the latter, and a counter-charge is brought.by the sister of the deceased against Mr. Stambridge, Who also denies on his Part that he had eny disagreement with the deceased. I leave you, gentlemen of thg jury, to,carefully consider the be'armu of these con! dieting statements:" " Then," went on the Coroner, " we come to the important evidence given .by Eliza Richards-Levidonee all the more important I:cc:Luse it was given unwillingly, and because efforts had been made to' tamper with it by one who ought to have set her a better example," and here the Coroner gave a withering .glance in the direction of Richards, who looked, as some of thelaudience said afterwards, like a hardened old reprobate. "'The deceased was heard to call loudly on her brothes name, arid then imuk(Reidy followed the report of the ,-pistol which caused her death. • Richards, moreover, owns he thought be heard, hiS Master's footsteps hurrying across ilie•farroyard." "I didn't, I tell ye," shouted Richards, to the .horror of everybody. ”Re were miles away 'upon the moor 1" • "Remove that man," said the coroner .in an awful voice, looking at 'Watkins. "I'll go without any removing from that young chap," and Richards stalked across the room to the door. Here Watkins gave the old Man a, gentle push, not officially, sfi much as with a friendly consideration for his welfare, and the door was shut upen him. • Lastly," resumed the Coroner, after Making a Solemn pause to mark his sense of the enormity of Richarthi conduct—"Lastly,and this is a very serious matter, as I need hardly point out to you, gentlemen of the jarv—Mri 'Derrick acknowledges that the revolver with Which the crime was undoubtedly committed—was his own. Mr. Derrick states, moreover, that he was miles away on the moor the evening his sister was shot,. but be is unable to bring forward as a witness any irrson who saw. him there. - It is undoubtedly is terrible thing to imagine that a man, of education and respectable position should be guilty 'of the death of • hia own sister, and we .can hardly conceive any adequate motive for such a crime." Then, with a few words of solemn appeal to the jumthe Coroner dismissed them to their deliberations and they retired to Martin's little smoking-mein across the entrance-hall, to consider their verdict. And now that Martin was publicly accused be. fore them all, and the crowd of neighbours regarded him with indignant horror-stricken looks, and there was a more or less involuntary shrinking away from that very part of the room where he sat, with his face still calm and steadfast, though full of sadness, then Anne no longer feared to draw attention to him by anything she might do or say. They were sitting side by side as before; and with an air which would have been defiant if it had not been for the sweetness of the loyal affection which prompted her, and which beamed from her eyes Anne put Out her hand, took her brother's, and held it in her own. " laiiids of a feather," whispered one farmer to another. . "She knows all about it, bless You." The time seemed an etonity to Anne, but it was barely hall-an-hour before the jury came solemnly trooping back to their places. The moment was come which to the accused and to those who love them must be more like the agony of death than anything else we COAI suffer.' And all I —unhappy soul—it was the second time in her troubled • life that Anne had lone through this torture. She clasped her brother's hand tightly, she could hardly breathe, she could hardly see—but she could hear; and these Were the weeds she heard: "Wilful murder against Martin Derrick." • (To be continued)