Two murders of interest are reported this week. In the
first case, a Mr. Britten, a farmer living near Fronae, murdered his wife and burnt her body, carrying it to a malthouse near his own pre- mises, and then setting the building on fire. On his arrest he con- fessed, assigning jealousy as the cause, and stating that he should have killed himself but for two reasons. He feared lest his son should find the two bodies suddenly, and so go mad, and thought that though God might pardon a murder, he never would a suicide, the idea in his mind evidently being that a suicide must die un- repentant. The second tragedy occurred at St. Helen's, where a respectable old man named Mather had his throat cut merely for inquiring of a burglar what he did there. The burglar seems to have been actuated by a true blood thirst, for he could easily have escaped, and after he was out of the house he stabbed the victim's wife, who was running away to seek shelter.
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