Northern Weekly Gazette. — 1905-01-28 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

THE MURDER AT COVENT GARDEN.  Proses:atly the people came out of the 'theatre. Mies Ray BOOMS to have parted with her friend the Signora, and was being conduct:ocl to her carriage by a gentleman named MacNamara, with whom she had some alight acquaintance. Tho frantic lover followed them and touched 11.4 as Ray. As she turned round he drew two pistols from his Trekets, fired one at her, the other at himself, and then fell to the ground.  The first shot went home, for the buUsk passed through the poor weinan'a brain, but to make the atory all the more tragic the other bullet failed to take the wretched lde at which it was aim.eJ th the ground Hack:mann beat himself on the heed with the butt of his pistol, and cried out for someono to kill him.  An apothecary, a Mr Alalion, who had come up, wrenched the pistol from his hand, and lie was curried into tho ShakeiSpoare tavern, where his victim's body had already been taken. From thence he was taken to prison. Criminal justice in Oleic days—xliatevee might be said about it—was not halting, and in a few days he waa triad at tlw Old Bailey. The judge who presided was Sir William Blackstone, the author of the fatuous Gammentaries on the Laws of England. flackmann pleaded "Not guilty," bett in no other way did he atteevpl to contest the evidelicr. The principal witness was Mr MacNamara, and other, were a woman named Anderson, who sold applcs io the theatre, and the doctors. Tho prisoner, when called on for his defence, said he had no wish to live or escape the pun. meet which the law preeevibed, but he protested, with the regard to truth that became his situation, that he intenAed destroy himself, but that the will to destroy her who was dearer to him dew life, until a moment of frenzy overcame him end in cloced him to commit the, deed be nov de. plored, was not his. lie ooncluiel h. 'speech with a fervent prayes to Uean fat pardon. _ _ .  The statement made 67 Ilacknann vrce:ld hardly have reduced the crime to manslaughter. Still, Mr Justice Blackstone discussed it so far that he po nted out that the prisoner had provided hirrusett with two loaded pistota.  He was found guilty of win' murder, and sentenced to death.  After his sentence he reoeived a letter which was obviously from Lord Sandwich, though it was not signed. "If," it said, "the murderer of Mi. Ray wishes to live, the man be has meet injured will use all his interest to procure his life." Hackmann reptted So this offer: "The murderer of her whom he preferred, far preferred, to life, suspects the hand from which he has received such an offer, as be neither desires nor deserves. His wishes are for death, not for liis. One w:sh he has—could he be pardoned in this world by the man he has most injured. On, m 7 lord, when I meet her in another world, enable me to tell her—if departed spirits are not ignorant of earthly things—that you forgive us both, and that you will be • father to her dear children."  Miss Ray's children were carefully brought up and well educated, and bore their father's name. °Mid them was Basil Montagu, the well-known literary barrister of the early years of the last century. A