Swansea and Glamorgan Herald, and South Wales Free Press. — 1862-06-04 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

MURDER AND ATTEMPTED  SUICIDE IN LONDON.  Our London contemporaries report a frightful tragedy. Mrs. Vyse, a person carrying on an extensive business as a bonnet maker and seller, of 32, Lu Igate-hill, attempted, on Thursday week,to destroy herself by cutting her throat with a razor, after having killed her two children by administering poison to them. Shortly after four o'clock, Mrs. Vyse gave inetructions to her servant girl to go to the shop of Mr. Keatiug, a chemist and druggist, in St. Paul's Churchyard, a few doors from her own residence, for some poisonous powders, telling her that they were to be similar to those she had in the morning, and which she obtained upon the assurance that they were for the purpose of destroying rats. With these she was served, and, on returning with them to her mistress's bedroom, where she had a few minutes before left her, she knocked at the door, and, receiving no answer, endeavoured to open it. Finding it fastened, she went downstairs, and told Mrs. Vyse's sister, who was in the habit of assisting in the business. They went upstairs together, and, being unable to obtain any answer, they forced open the door, when a frightful sight met their view. There was Mrs. Vyse sitting on a chair, a open and blood-stained razor in her right hand, her head bent forward, and a torrent of blood gushing from a broad out in her throat into a basin placed beneath it. The two women at once stopped the hemorrhage, when Mr. Vyse, finding that she was interrupted in the consummation of self-murder, pointing to another room, feebly uttered the words, " Oh, there; go there; there are my children." One of the women hastened to the place indicated, and there found the dead bodies of two of Mrs. Vyse's children—girls, one four and the other seven years of age. Upon their persons, however, there was no mark of violence, and, as they had but half an hour before been seen lull of life and • animation, there could be no other opinion than that death had been occasioned by poison. Mrs. Vyse, who is about 32 years of age, was allowed to remain in her own house, as it was deemed unsafe to remove her, in her exhausted state, to the hospital. On Thursday night, she betrayed an inclination to re-open her wound and so cemplete the work of eelf-rh.etrtietion, enrl eh" was. therefore, strapped down upon a bed. It is thought sbe will untimately recover. The Globe says —"It: is stated that since the Manchester murder, Mrs. Vyse has been extremely reserved and thoughtful, and it is not improbable that that sad event made a deep impression on her mind, especially as she lost a favourite child some months ago. A correspondent who has enquired into the circumstances, writes as follows: Mrs. Vyse is the daughter of a chemist, and to that fact may be attributed her knowledge of the poisonous nature of the vermin powders. On Thursday morning she entered the; shop of Messrs. Keating, where she has been a customer for some years, and, in a cheerful manner asked to be shown some perfumes. She chose out of those that were offered her a bottle of violet extract, and poured some of it on her hankercbief. Then, on the act of leaving, she said, as if on the impulse of the moment; Oh ! by the bye, we are infested with mice, and we have just had to pay £5 for the repair of the mischief they ' nave done in the shop. They are so impudent now that they keep us awake at night, running overthe floor. Let me have some prussic acid till I get rid of them.' The assistant replied that he could not sell prussio acid for such a purpose, but he recommended Beard's wheat as a safe means of effecting her object. She stated that she had tried that, and that it was of no use, and asked for a package of Battle's vermin destroyer, which was given to her, and she went away perfectly self-possessed. In the afternoon Mrs. Vyse sent out the servant for another package of the powder, and it is presumed that she had then the intention of poisoning herself, both her unhappy I children being dead from the effects of the first package. Some slight delay, however, appears to have occured, and she made the attempt on her own life with a razor, which she found on the mantel-shelf of the bedroom."  The Express says :—"The only conceivable motive for the dreadful tragedy appears to have been jealousy of her husband, for which there is stated to have been not the least foundation. The family were in comfortable and even affluent circumstances, Mr. Vyse keeping a handsome country house in the neighbourhood of Kingstonupon-Thames. This melancholy occurrence has had a most serious effect upon the health of Mr. Vyse, and his state has caused some anxiety to his medical advisers." The inquest was opened on Monday.