STRANGE STORY OF AFFECTION AND SUICIDE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1766, 14 February 1888, Page 3

STRANGE STORY OF AFFECTION AND SUICIDE.

At V trk v-m.ui,, beforo Lord Chief Jaitioe C< lertdue, a domo-tic torvanr, aavi»nteen years of age, named Oharlott

Oorue, whs Indicted for having thrown herself Into a canal, at Bradford, on the 13th of October last, with intent, to commit fuicidn, and pleaded t_u ty Th i i 1 had bnen committed on a oinr_»e < f tbe murder of her fellow-serv _i\ wh was drowued, but this charg.. '.a. no pr oeeded wiih. Mr Kers> aw, who represented tbo prisoner, said lt w old bh'ipeb'Bs to struggle acainst a verdict on the charge f-f alternating sutoide ; bu* h>*iid h"pn that a mingate * sen. en. c mii_h be passed upon the unfortunate vrirl. The orcumstances of the cuae wore vny extraordinary. A close aflectlon exlste •< netween the prisoner and another an olde' <i'\r\ nnnTMl Sar»h Simpson Both wen employed as d-mestlo s rvanti. Tney were cot m tbo B«mj hoate, bu' thoy n%e«ch i ther frerjuen ly ; and later y ih

prisoner noticed there was -a da i »nd abiding trouble In the mind of her friend. As a matt er of fact, Sarah Sim psor. oas abont to become a mother, but C-trm-w*« perfecly unaware «>f this clrournn ance and wns herself an innocent girl. His lord*hlp ; Was not Code's brother the lover i f this other girl 1 Mr Kershaw replied that so it was add, hut he did not know what truth there was m the statement.

and at any rate the prisoner did not know. On the night previous to th

tragedy m which the prisoner was one of the actors she »-nd R»rah Simpson werr returning to Bradford from Oalverley when the latter seemed to be ln great *rgnleh. At length she said to O.rna, "I can't stand It any longer. Everyone is Pgainot me ; my fritnda areagah si m.; yonr sister is against you ; and I have d«t«'mlned to drown myself" Come thereupon said, "If yon drown yourself 1 feel 1 could not live. I will sco mp»n> y _." Ni thing mora was said that. n*gl,t, nut next morning the unfortunate woman Simpson reminded her trier.d of the promise she had made, and 'ho prleonor said she would abide by it Thay p»saad tbat morning In writing letters to their respective mother"*, saying they wen going to die with eaoh other, as they had lived with and lover) ouch other, and they pxprei-sed a hope that they would bo buried together. In tho evening they went to the play, purely by way, le b«---1 eyed, of passing tho time, and trom there they walked to Bolton Road Bridge. They thm walked down to the water, bnt Oorue's heart failed hor, aud Bh>> begged her c< mpanlon to rccotislder ber .Irexdful rerolve. But Simpson was ob darate. and nucoended m overcoming Corne's fairs. Looked io e«oh other's urtn,, they threw themselves Into the water, 'I bo priiones touched ground witn h«> feet, and frcm thia time forward exerted herself by eoreamlng and struggling to save both her own life .>nd that of her fr;eod A man named Thompson heard rhe cries, and running towards the water stretched forth ho umbrt.Ua The pri i.ener grasped it and was dragval out, bnt hor frioi d was drowted. When the prisoner recovered her senses her thought? niroediately turned to Simpson, whuse fate she learned with g'eat grief. Mr Kershaw concluded by i-u^gestlng to hiL< rdahip that the yt-ung woman who wbb r.ow m the dook had suffered punishment enough, snd that at any rate, lenieno} should be exerched m dealing with her case. Mr Harold Thomas, who appeared wtth Mr ArrpUage for the prosecution, said ha and bis learned ooi league hao deo ded to recommend the prisoner to hu lordship's tnerodnl cona'derati <n. They admitted tbat ahe was led to do what she did by the 1 flueoce of hor companio>i. aud there waa r»ot the alfut-'B'i auggi stint on the part of the proie. ation that th. prlsonpr was m any 'rouble whatev r. Tha trouble was on the part of the r>lde< girl. Hia lordshir agreed that the nltlgu iiigo : renaistano' c were very stooog, tn d he sentenced the prisoner to <>no day'c imprisonment. Tne effect of this sentence wii tbat tb« girl *m$ (t»tn«dl»tely HhmM.