An atrocious Murder has been committed at Glasgow.
Boyd and Law, ship-carpenters, were drinking together
at night; two loose women enticed them into a den
in the New Vennel; there the men were plied with
drugged drink until nearly insensible; then the women
and a man who lived with one of them began to strip
the carpenters of their clothes. Boyd had sufficient
consciousness to know what was going on, and he resisted;
but the wretches succeeded in stripping him. He
threatened to call the police, upon which they dragged
him to the window on the third story, and tossed him
head foremost into the street. He fell on the back
of his head, the skull was fractured, and he died on the
spot. The murderers fled, leaving Law insensible from
the drugged drink. But there had been witnesses of
the crime: two destitute boys were lying under a
bedstead in the room, doubtless forgotten by the murderers;
some women living in the house had also peeped
through a chink in the door, and witnessed the scenes.
The police were quickly informed of the murder, and
the wretches were arrested before they could escape
from the city.

Francis Mead, a shoemaker, in Henry-street,
Marylebone, has been committed for trial on the charge of
having Killed his Wife. At the inquest on her body,
the principal witnesses were the fellow-lodgers of the
deceased and the son of the prisoner, a boy of fourteen.
Mead was in the habit of frequently beating his wife
most brutally. The lodgers, who do not seem to have
been particularly humane, saw fatal violence going on,
but never called in the police, it "not being their business
to interfere in other people's affairs." One day the
man beat his wife until her face, head, and arms, were
bruised and swollen; then kicked her and hurled her
about the room, until he had broken two of her ribs,
which, penetrating her lungs, brought on inflammation
of those organs, of which she died. Mary Wynn, an
acquaintance of deceased, said that she visited her, when
she saw her husband sitting at her bedside. Witness
asked how she met with the injuries. The husband
replied that on Saturday night his wife had been drinking,
and that on running away from him she fell down stairs
and fractured her ribs. He then asked his wife if she
wished to say anything in witness's presence. She
replied, "What do you wish me to say? I forgive you,
and may the Lord forgive you. I have nothing to say;
I die in peace." After a pause, she further said,
"Francis, I am dying: take care of my children, and
don't beat Frank." She requested to see her brother,
whom she most affectionately embraced, and in about
an hour afterwards died. The jury found a verdict of
"Manslaughter " against Francis Mead.

In action in the Brompton County Court to recover
fifteen shillings for Medical Attendance, produced some
amusement lately. The plaintiff, Mr. Gay, is a surgeon,
in old Brompton, and the defendant, Mr. Paine, is an
unmarried gentleman, living at Chelsea. Mr. Gay said
he had supplied the defendant with a mixture and a box
of pills, and had attended him six times, for which visits
he charged half-a-crown each. He had not charged for
the mixture. The defendant's solicitor said that his
client resided with a gentleman at Brompton, who had a
family of beautiful daughters. Mr. Gay, who was a
single man, was anxious to obtain an introduction to the
young ladies, with the view to choose a wife. With this
object he sought the services of Mr. Paine, who very
foolishly pretended to be ill, and accordingly the
professional services of Mr. Gay were sought, to alleviate
the sufferings of the patient. Mr. Paine, on being called,
stated that Mr. Gay informed him of his wish to pay his
attentions to a nice young lady, as he was sick of being
single and he entreated witness to introduce him to one.
He mentioned and recommended the young ladies at
their house; but how to get an introduction was, for
some time, a poser to them. It could only be carried out
by strategem; and it was devised by plaintiff and
himself that he (defendant) should fall ill and write a letter
to Mr. Gay to visit him. He felt unwell, and wrote the
note prosed by Mr. Gay:—"Dear Sir,—I want to see
you immediately. I am alarmingly ill. Yours, &c.—
Postscript Only myself and the Misses——at home,
my boy. Mr. Gay came immediately. There was
nothing whatever the matter with him, and he never
took the stuff that was sent, but threw it to the dogs.
As to the six visits the plaintiff had charged him for, it
was a downright "do." At any rate, five out of the six
visits were paid to the young ladies, and Mr. Gay had
the modesty and impudence to charge him half-a-crown
for each of the wooing visits. Besides that, he was
invited to dine each time. He never had any rash,
saving the rashness of introducing the plaintiff to his
friends. The Judge: I think, if it be a joke, it ought
to be followed out. Fifteen shillings is, perhaps, too
much to pay for it. My judgment will be for ten
shillings, and that is not too much for a joke so rich as
this.

A boy of twelve years old, the son of an agricultural
labourer at Rockbeare, in Devonshire, lately committed
Suicide by hanging himself. He worked for a
neighbouring clergyman, at whose house he frequently slept.
He left his father's cottage in good health and spirits,
taking with him his food for the day. The night passed
over, but the lad did not return. It was imagined that
he was at his master's house; and on the third day the
father made inquiries of one of the servants, but found
that he had not been there. On going to the field where
he had been at work, the boy was found hanging to the
bough of a tree by his handkerchief. There were no
marks of violence on him, and there can be no doubt
that he had committed self destruction. What could
induce a lad of such tender years to commit so rash an
act was the question at the inquest; but no one could
assign any reason for it, as he had not evinced any
distress of mind, and was in good health and spirits when
seen at his work. A few months ago, however, his
brother also committed suicide in the same way, and it
is thought that this produced a morbid effect upon his
mind, which led him to commit a similar act.

             NARRATIVE OF ACCIDENT AND
                              DISASTER.

An American emigrant ship has been Wrecked off the
Bahama Islands, and almost all the passengers have
perished. The William and Mary (a Baltimore vessel)
left Liverpool in March last for New Orleans, with 208
passengers, principally Irish, Scotch, and German
emigrants. On the 3rd of May they entered the dangerous
channels of the Bahamas with the most unfavourable
weather. About seven in the morning the bark passed
"the Hole in the Wall," the most southern point of the
Island of Abaco, so called from one of the most
prominent rocks on the coast being perforated with a large
hole, which is visible from a considerable distance at
sea. Passing this in safety Captain Stinson steered for
Stirrup Key, the weather becoming more clouded and
the wind increasing. Till the afternoon the vessel kept
on her course without accident, but at half-past eight
o'clock she struck on a sunken rock. About fifteen
minutes elapsed before she wore off, but she had scarcely
got clear of this rock when she struck on another, and
began to fill with water so rapidly as to render all labour
at the pumps useless. At midnight the water had
gained so rapidly on the sinking vessel that it was four
feet in the hold, and at four a.m. eight feet. Scarcely
had the day dawned when it was announced that there
was ten feet of water in the hold, and the pumps were
abandoned in despair. The boats were unshipped from
the davits, but of four or five all except two were
swamped. The captain and his crew and about 30
passengers got into these; the remainder, numbering
little less than 200 souls, being left to their fate. There
they stood on the deck, vainly calling for that assistance
which it was impossible to render without risking the
lives of the few who had got into the boats. In a few
minutes after they left the vessel went down, and all on
board, numbering about 170 human beings, perished.
After beating about for some hours, the captain, first
and second mates, and crew, were taken up by
Captain Cobb, of the brig Reuben Carver. The haste
in which they were compelled to leave the vessel
rendered it impossible for them to save any property.
A letter from one of the surviving seamen gives an