Swansea and Glamorgan Herald, and South Wales Free Press. — 1867-07-13 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

CURIOUS CASE.  A girl about eighteen years of age, giving the name of Kate Brcreton, but retusing her address. was thought before the magistrate at the Greenwich police-court in London, on Monday, on the charge of getting admission into a boys school by wearing men's clothes.  Mr. Mitzell, of 6, Emerson-terrace, Forest-hill, Sydenham, is the proprietor of a boarding school, and on Tuesday last a well-dressed man called at his house with the prisoner, whom he represented as an orphan and his nephew, recently arrived from America, and whose education had been neglected. An agreement was entered into by which the prisoner was admitted a pupil and boarder, and she arrived at the house on the evening of the same day and remained until Sunday. Suspicion was aroused respecting her, and on being challenged she confessed that she was a girl, but declined to give any account of herself, or to say where her friends were to be found, and she was given into custody. In answer to the charge she now denied that she had any: felonious intention in being admitted to and remaining in the house, the proceeding being nothing but an act of folly upon her part. She asked that two letters whidi had been addressed to her through the post and received that morning might be given up to her, as she wished to read them. The magistrate said, as the prisoner declined to give any account of herself, or to name any one who would become bail for her appearance, he should have to keep her in custody until the necessary inquiries were made concerning her. The letters might be given up to her to read in the presence of a police inspector, and then be detained until the next inquiry. The prisoner was remanded, and it was afterwards stated that one of the letters contained a post-office order for 205., and that the prisoner was expected to arrive by an afternoon train that day from London to Portsmouth to meet the writer.  whom the letter was addressed, to supply him with the account of the expenses of the interment, and he would take the earliest opportunity of remitting the sum due. A letter from the Chief Constable of Scarborough showed that the young lady was in Scarborough in the latter part of March last, when she stated het name was Julia Thompson, and that her mother and sister resided at Brighton. She also spoke of being badly treated by some person, but she did not mention the name. She never stayed at No. 3, Alma-terrace, Scarborough, nor was she known there, except by hearsay. The letter went on to state that Ensign Bell was at Manchester at the end of March, and immediately after his return to Scarborough the deceased was first seen in that town, and slept at the Bell Hotel there with him, representing herself to be his wife. She removed from Scarborough to Filey, and stayed there with a person named Richardson. Evidence was adduced to show that the deceased and Ensign Bell were at York for three weeks in April last, and lived together as man and wife. The deceased had been for some time in a very uneasy and restless state, and often hysterical. Occasionally she was very depressed in mind. It was clear that the deceased had committed suicide by taking a large quantity of the essential oil of almonds. Verdict—Temporary insanity.