40 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813, 



poker. The pillow of his bed lay 

 at his feet completelj' dyed in 

 blood. The manly athletic person 

 of Mr. Bonar — for though ad- 

 vanced in life he seems to have 

 been a powerful man — gave an 

 increase of horror to this afflicting 

 sight. The view of Mrs. Bonar, 

 though equally distressing, excited 

 more pity than terror : though her 

 head had been fractured in a dread- 

 ful manner, yet there was a calm 

 softness in her countenance, more 

 resembling a healthy sleep than a 

 violent death ; it might have been 

 supposed that her life had parted 

 from her without one painful effort. 

 The linen and pillow of the bed in 

 •which she lay were covered with 

 blood, as was also the bed of Mr. 

 Bonar. They slept in small sepa- 

 rate beds, but placed so close to- 

 gether that there was scarce room 

 for a person to pass between 

 them. The interval of floor be- 

 tween the beds was almost a stream 

 of blood. 



The examinations that took 

 place relative to this shocking 

 transaction soon threw a suspicion 

 upon Philip Nicholson, footman to 

 the deceased, an Irishman by birth, 

 who had obtained his discharge 

 from the dragoons, and had, for no 

 long time, lived with Mr. Bonar. 

 During the investigation before the 

 coroner, he confirmed the suspicion 

 by taking the opportunity of cut- 

 ting his throat with a razor. The 

 wound was, however, sewed up and 

 the coroner's jury having brought 

 in a verdict of wilful murder 

 against him, he was committed 

 to prison, and secured and closely 

 watched, that he night not repeat 

 the attempt on his life. He per- 

 sisted for some time in denying 

 the fact ; but at length, his mind 

 being softened, he begged pardon 



with tears of Mr. Bonar, son of the 

 deceased, and expressed a desire 

 of making a confession, which was 

 to the following purpose. 



He stated, that on Sunday night, 

 after the groom left him, he fell 

 asleep upon a form in the ser- 

 vant's hall, the room where he 

 was accustomed to lie ; that he 

 awoke at three o'clock by dropping 

 from the form ; he jumped up, and 

 was instantly seized with an idea, 

 which he could not resist, that he 

 would murder his master and mis- 

 tress ; he was at this time half un- 

 dressed, he threw off his waist- 

 coat, and pulled a sheet from his 

 bed, with which he wrapped him- 

 self up ; he then snatched a poker 

 from the grate of the servant's hall 

 and rushed up stairs to his master's 

 room : he made directly to his mis- 

 tress's bed, and struck her two 

 blows on the head ; she neither 

 spoke nor moved : he then went 

 round to his master's bed, and 

 struck him once across the face ; 

 Mr. Bonar was roused, and from 

 the confusion produced by the 

 stunning violence of the blow, 

 imagined that Mrs. Bonar was 

 then coming to bed, and spoke to 

 that effect ; that when he im- 

 mediately repeated the blow, 

 Mr. Bonar sprung out of bed, and 

 grappled with him for fifteen 

 minutes, and at one time was 

 nearly getting the better of him; 

 but being exhausted by loss of 

 blood, he was at length overpower- 

 ed ; Nicholson then left him groan- '' 

 ing on the floor. He went down 

 stairs, stripped himself naked, and L 

 washed himself all over with a f 

 sponge, at the sink in the butler's 

 pantry. He next went and opened 

 the windows of the drawing-room, 

 that it might be supposed some per- 

 son hadentcred the house that way: 



