DARING OUTRAGE.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5319, 13 April 1878, Page 1 (Supplement)

DARING OUTRAGE.

(From the Sydney Town and Country Journal.) A daring outrage was committed at Clopee, Potts’ Point, the residence of Mr. Archibald Thompson, J.P., early on Sunday morning, and it would certainly appear from the particulars furnished us that the i-eal design of the offender was not larceny hut murder. Mr. Thompson’s family retired to rest at about midnight on Saturday, aud at that time there was uothiug whatever to indicate the presence of a stranger, though doubtless the burglar was then upon the premises awaiting opportunity for his work. ■Nothing disturbed the quiet of the house till, towards morning, the footsteps of a man awakened cue of Mr. Thompson’s daughters, who were asleep in au adjoining room. The elder of the two observed a man enter the open doorway, aud approach with revolver in hand to their bedside. Partly from fear, and from a noble regard for the safety of . her father—for at the slightest noise he would have rushed out upon the revolver—she remained silent. The burglar retreated to tbe door. His slipper then fell off, and in again putting it on he had occasion to slightly raise a cowl that he wore, and a glance at his features was obtained, which may yet lead to his conviction. He next looked at his revolver as if in expectation that he would soon use it, and entered the room again, whereupon the daughters, now both awake, screamed and fled by way of tbe balcony to their father’s room, Mr. Thompson instantly grasped his revolver, and with little concern for his own safety went in search of the burglar. He found him. hiding beneath a curtain in tbe bathroom, but his demand for a surrender was met with a shot from a revolver, which fortunately did not take effect. Mr. Thompson replied at once, scattering the mortar about the burglar’s ears, aud again calling on him to surrender. He refused, however, to do this, and sought to make his escape ; but, in descending the stairs, to which unfortunately he had free access, ihe turned and fired steadily at Mr. Thompson, who distinctly heard the ball whiz past his ear and lodge in the wall, 3 feet behind him. Mr. Thompson replied, but again missed, whereupon the burglar responded in a reckless manner, endeavoring now by all means to get away from so dangerous an adversary. But Mr. Thompson was successful in his last shot to hit the scoundrel, as when reaching the foot of the stairs he swerved and nearly fell, indicating that the bullet bad gone home, but under cover of the darkness he managed to escape. The neighborhood was alarmed at the sound of the revolvers, aud two young ladies—the Misses Gilder—observed the burglar escaping, whereupon they cried out, as a person was passing in another direction, “Will no one arrest that man; he has committed murder,” which was of course a slight exaggeration on the part of those young ladies, but which is quite excusable under the circumstances. The burglar, who was seen to put his hand to his side as if much hurt, defiantly exclaimed, with a flourish of the revolver, “I'd like to see the man who’d arrest me,” and then disappeared in the gloom. The police have gut a pretty fair description of him, and hope soon to have him in their hands. Two of the bullets fired by Mr. Thompson were fouud in the walls of the house near where the burglar stood at the time, but the third has doubtless much against his will been taken away by the desperado. Two of the bullets fired at Mr. Thompson have been discovered ; the third remains bidden. It is evident from our examination of the premises that several articles in tbe shape of jewellery and gold watches, which came under the burglar’s hands,'were not taken, which shows that the object was not theft. The way in which he examined his revolver, when nothing had occurred to indicate resistance to his nefarious work, would seem to demonstrate a design on Mr. Thompson’s life, which was happily frustrated. •