Broadside entitled 'Barbarous Murder'

Transcription

A full Account of the barbarous   

   M U R D E R

That was committed on the body of MARY FRAZER, alias Adam, at
the West Port of Edinburgh in her own house, and who died on
Sunday the 3d day of July 1791, of the strokes she had received
the Monday before, from John Saxton and his three sisters in law,
who are now confined in Edinbrugh Jail

THE following melancholly accident ought to put people upon their guard to bridle their
passion, and not to suffer it' to overcome them, for passion is nothing else but a sort of
temporary madness, and one who give it the least indulgence, will work to themselves or those
who are so unlucky as to be their neighbours vexation and trouble.         

Rage and anger should always be avoided; it can be of no service to those who enjoy the
greatest share of it; many, alas too many; pride themselves in flying into passions, giving to their
fellow creatures oprobrious names and abusive language, from which they proceed to blows,
which often ends in wounding, maiming, and too often is the occasion of either of the parties
death.

All them that are any ways addicted to quarrelling, or given to wrangling, should carefully
avoid drinking spiritous liquors, for a great number of the lower class of the people are very
much given to this abominable practise, intoxicating themselves, and afterwards casting out with
their neighbours, giving and receiving the most abusive names to each other, from which they
proceed to blows, and ten to one but murder is committed before they give themselves the least
time to think what they are acting or what they are about.

This melancholy accident which we are now going to relate, appears to be nearly allied to the
above description; for what else but drink or something worse than madness, could ever have
rempted a whole family to have fallen to beat and bruise one poor woman in the manner they
did.

It appears the deceased had some girls , and one of them having a childish quarrel with one
of saxton's children, the deceased came to her door and calling her daughter to come in, asked
her what it Was that the girl Saxton said to her; the said, she called my father a beggar man,
when the decesed said, you might have called her the pig-wife's daughter.

Saxton and his family living immediately above the deceased, and over-hearing what she said,
came rushing down stairs upon her, when several bad words passed on both sides, when, it seems,
Saxton and his three sisters-in-law, who are of the name of Menzie, fell a beating the deceased
in a most unmerciful manner.                           

Not satisfied with what they had given her at this time, it appears that they again returned
and forced open the deceased's door, and again fell a beating and bruising her in a more cruel
end shocking manner than before.

The deceased lingered for a few days, vomiting blood at different times, and even thought
that she would have got the better of it ; but on Sunday last, after having thrown up a good deal
of blood, she expired. And on Monday morning John Saxton, an out pensioner in Chelsea hos-
pital, and his three sisters in-law were apprehended and put in confinement in the Weft Port un-
til yesterday, when they were examined, and afterwards transmitted to Edinburgh jail, where
they now remain. Before the body was interred the Doctors opened and searched the body,
but what their opinion has been we have not been able exactly to learn, but it appears that it

has not been favourable to the prisoners,                     

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