The Sun. — 1870-08-25 (London, England)

THE MURDER AND SUICIDE AT BA.TII.  The following full particulars of the tragedy at Bath have reached us. The scene of the melancholy affair was No 1, Spencer's Bellevue, Bath—a house which for some little time past has been occupied by a person named Prankard as a collegiate school for junior boys. It appeared that some little time ago Mr. Prankard lost his wife, which greatly affected him, and it is currently stated that in consequence he had greatly given way to intemperate habits. On Monday he appears to have reached the climax of his mental depression. Miss Minnie Prankard, one of the daughters of Mr. Prankard, was about to leave home for a situation on the Continent ; the packing incidental to the removal was being proceeded with on Monday, and in the course of the afternoon the servant overheard some high words between Mr. Prankard and this daughter in the schoolroom, a younger daughter being also present. The subject of the quarrel was the young lady's journey, to which her father strongly objected. About three o'clock in the afternoon the unfortunate man went into the schoolroom, in which were his two daughters, with a revolver concealed under a pocket-handkerchief which he carried in his hand, and instantly fired twice at his elder daughter a handsome young lady of 21 years of age, striking 'her in the right ear with one bullet, and in the left temple with the other, and causing her instantaneous death. He then seems to have turned round on his younger daughter, and also fired two shots at her, wounding her in such a dreadful manner that she was left by him for dead. Having satisfied himself that his deadly work was done, he immediately locked the door on them and rushed upstairs to his own bedroom, where, after securely bolting himself in, he destroyed himself by a dose of prussic acid. Shortly af: er being left the youngest daughter recovered her consciousness, and gathering up her strength as well as she could, hastened to the window, which overlooked the garden, and by means of the roofs of some outhouses succeeded in getting from the parlour floor into the erden, and thence into the adjoining house, which is occupied by the Rev. J. H. Way, minister of Christ Church, Montpelier. The poor girl left sad traces of the way by which she made her escape, the window frame, window sill, and the roofs of the outhouses being covered with blood. The room in which the tragic scene occurred presented a fearful spectacle, the long school desk on which the younger girl had fallen being literally- surrounded with blood. On reaching , the next house she was instantly. attended to, and medical assistance was promptly obtained ; but she was so exhausted by loss of blood as to be unable to give any lengthened account of the transaction. The house where the tragedy occurred was at once taken possession of by the police, who were unable, however, for a long time to find the revolver h which body of the murd father the erous work had been d wit th e one. On found over £5 in cash, but he seems to have left no statement as to the cause of his rash act. An inquest was held on the bodies on Tuesday evening, when the above facts were deposed to, and the younger girl, though not well enough to be present, was enabled to make a statement to the medical attendant, Mr. Mason. The verdict of the jury was that the deceased man had committed the murder while in a temporary state of A later dispatch says that a third daughter is insanity. missing.  It is reported at Constantinople that immediately after the outbreak of the Sultan offered to conclude an offensive and defensive alliance with the Emperor Napoleon, but the proposal was declined.—Eastern Budget. The Church Herald expresses much satisfaction that Bishop Harris, of Gibraltar, has refused in any way to help a party of Spaniards who wished to leave the Church of Rome and become Anglicans. The .Record deplores the circumstance. There is reason to believe that a compromise will shortly be effected between the Austrian Government and the opponents of the new Constitution. A conference with this object has been held between the President of the Vienna Ministry and the leaders of the opposition in Bohemia, Moravia, S tyria, and the Tyrol.—Eastern Budget.  On Tuesday, at Leeds, four persons were summoned before the magistrates for refusing to have their children vaccinated. One of the defendants, a chemist, named Toulson, was summoned for the thirteenth time. All the defendants were ordered to comply with the Act, and to pay costs.