CHRONICLE. 



21 



wrote up for a Bow-street officer 

 to be sent down, to endeavour to 

 detect the murderer, and Bishop 

 was in consequence dispatched. 

 He found it necessary to detain 

 in custodj', a young; man of the 

 name of John Matthews, a jour- 

 neyman carpenter, who had been 

 suspected previous to his arrival. 

 Mattliews has undergone several 

 examinations before the magis- 

 trates of that district, and on Mon- 

 day he underwent a final exami- 

 nation at Wing, when it apfieared 

 that on the evening of the 21st of 

 February, about twenty minutes 

 before eight o'clock, Mr. Varney 

 •was alive and well in his shop, 

 having served a boy with some 

 candles from behind his counter. 

 A short time after the clock struck 

 tight, a man was passing by Mr. 

 Varney's house, who observing his 

 door open, and hearing some very 

 distressing: groans, he was induced 

 to go into the Red Lion Inn, 

 which is but a few yards distance 

 from Mr. Varney's house, where 

 he related what he had seen and 

 heard, which induced a number of 

 persons to go with him to the 

 house. They found the shop door 

 open, and Mr. Varney, most cruel- 

 ly wounded, behind his counter. 

 A surgeon was sent for, but the 

 old man expired in about 20 mi- 

 nutes. The surgeon on examin- 

 ing him found that he had received 

 severe wounds on his nose, under 

 his eyes, on his temple, and on his 

 skull, which appeared to have been 

 given with a mallet or liammer ; 

 those on his nose ai>pearing to have 

 been given with the claw of a 

 large hammer. It was also ascer- 

 tained, that the house had been 

 robbed, but to what amount could 

 not be then ascertained. Tiic mur- 



der and robbery caused very con- 

 siderable alarm in the village; but 

 it was observed, that John Mat- 

 thews did not appear to take the 

 same interest in what had hap- 

 pened as the generality of the peo- 

 ple did, which was the original 

 ground of suspicion against him. 

 It was proved that he was the last 

 and only person who was seen near 

 the deceased's house. Three wit- 

 nesses said, they saw him close to 

 the deceased's door about eight 

 o'clock, although he denied hav- 

 ing been at the end of the village 

 during that night. One of the 

 witnesses stated, that he had no 

 doubt Matthews was the man 

 whom he saw close to the deceas- 

 ed's door, about eight o'clock, 

 and that he called to him at the 

 time, saying, " Good night, Mas- 

 ter Matiiiews," but received no 

 answer, which he observed to a 

 friend as being an extraordinary 

 circumstance in Matthews's con- 

 duct, as he knew him extremely 

 well. Another witness, who saw 

 him close to the deceased's door, 

 observed to a friend, that he had 

 seen that fellow, who was to be 

 married the following morning, 

 meaning John Matthews, skulk- 

 ing about the door of the deceased, 

 and had also seen him in the same 

 situation on the Sunday night pre- 

 vious, and wondeied what he could 

 want ihtre. Jlatthews denied 

 being at the door of the deceased, 

 but was not able to account for 

 the last half hour of the time when 

 the murder was committed. Un- 

 der these circumstances, it was 

 thought right by the inhabitants 

 to stop his marriage on the follow- 

 ing day, and accordingly when he 

 was walking to the church with 

 his intended wife, an industrious 



