The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-02-19 00:00:00

MARRIAGE OF LADY BURDETT-
COUTTS.

The long-talked-of marriage of the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts with Mr. W. Ashmead-Bartlett was
celebrated in London at Christ Church, Mayfair, on
Saturday morning. For obvious reasons the time
fixed upon for the wedding was not disclosed till a
few hours before. The ceremony was even then
treated as strictly private, none but the nearest rela-
tives and a few confidential friends being prevent on
the occasion. The bridegroom, accompanied by Mr.
Lacaita as his best man, arriving at the church pre-
cisely at half-past eleven, and was shortly after-
wards followed by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts,
who on her arrival was received by Sir Francis
Burdett, her cousin and nearest male relative, and
her three bridesmaids, the Misses Burdett, daughters
of Sir Francis, and Miss Maria Keppel, daughter of
Admiral the Hon. Sir Henry and Lady Keppel. The
baroness wore a robe of ivory-white satin, her head
being covered by a lace veil, and the bridesmaids wore
pretty cream-white dresses. The ceremony was per-
fonned by the Rev. William Cardall, M.A., the in-
cumbent, assisted by the Rev Henry White, M.A.,
chaplain of the Chapel Royal, Savoy, and Chaplain
in Ordinary to the Queen. Sir Francis Burdett
gave his cousin away. After the marriage the
wedding party adjourned to the residence of
Mrs. Trevanion, elder sister of the baroness, 10,
Chester - square, for the breakfast, which was
limited to a small circle, Mrs. Trevanion being
confined to her room by indisposition. Among those
present were Sir Francis and Lady Burdett and Misses
Burdett, Lady Sarah Lindsay and Miss Lindsay,
Admiral the Hon. Sir Henry and Lady Keppel and
Miss Keppel, Sir Algernon Borthwick, Admiral and
Mrs. Gorden, Mr. E. Ashmead-Bartlett, M.P., Mr.
Lacaita, the Rev. W. 011.611, and the Rev. Henry
White. Early in the afternoon Mr. Ashmead-Bartlett
and the Baroness Burdett-Coutts left Charing-cross
station by special train for Headcorn, on their way to
Myledon, Admiral Gordon's residence in Kent, where
they purpose spending a short time in retirement.—
Monday's Times.

The London Gazette of Tuesday contains the follow-
ing :—" The Queen has been pleased to grant unto
William Lehman Ashrnead Bartlett, of Piccadilly, in
the parish of St. George, Hanover-square, in the
county of Middlesex, Master of Arts of the University
of Oxford, her Royal licence and authority that he
may, in compliance with clauses contained in two in-
dentures dated respectively the 28th day of January
last and made between the Right Hon. Angela
Georgina, Baroness Burdett-Coutts, of the first part,
the said William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett,
of the second part, Frederick Willis Faryer and
William Joseph Jarrett, both of Lincoln'-
inn-fields, in the said county of Middlesex, Esquires,
of the third part, assume, take, and use the surname
of Burdett-Coutts, in addition to and before that of
Bartlett, and that he nay bear the arms of Burdett-
Coutts quarterly with those of his own family (the
names of Burdett and Coutts having respectively
been derived from the paternal and maternal ancestors
of the said Baroness Burdett-Coutts) ; such arms being
first duly exemplified according to the laww of arms
and recorded in the College of Arms, otherwise the
said Royal licence and permission to be void and of
none effect; and to command that the said Royal con-
cession and declaration be recorded in Her Majesty's
said College of Arms."

SUPPOSED MURDER AT CHATHAM.
A supposed death by violence has occurred at the
School of Militlry Engineering at Chatham. On
Friday night, the 11th inst., Lielfzenant Percy L. 0.
Roper, Royal Engineers, had dined at the mess with
his brother officers, and left shortly after eight to go
to his quarters to write some letters to his friends.
He was under orders to leave Chatham and report
hin:self to the Deputy-Adjutant-General of Royal
Engineers at the War Office on Monday. Nothing
more was seen of him until nearly nine o clock, whet
he was found lying on the stairs leading to his quarters
with a pistol shot through his lungs. He was alive
at the time, but unconscious. Medical assistance was
quickly obtained, hut he died in less than an hour. It is
believed that he met his death by foul play, as there
were evidences of a struggle. A six-chambered re-
volver with only one chamber discharged was found
some distance from him, and a poker, which had been
taken from his quarters, was also found upon the
landing, as well as a cartridge-box and some loose
cartridges. The revolver and cartridges had been
taken from the quarters of two other officers. It is
supposed that when he entered his quarters he found
a thief there, that a struggle took place in the room,
that the deceased officer afterwards left the room to
prevent the thief escaping from the quarters until as-
sistance, came, and that he thief then shot him down
to clear the way. No clue lias been obtained of the
supposed murderer.
At a post mortem examination, held by request of
the coroner, all the medical officers (fivei
n number)
were unanimously of opinion that the shot which caused
the death of Lieutenant Roper must have been tired
by an assailant.--Monday's Times.

The Daily Netts of Monday gives the following parti-
culars respecting the affair :
On Friday evening Lieutenant Roper dined with the
other officers at the mess inßrompton Barracks, which
he left at about a .arter to nine, returning at once to
his quarters in No. t House at the Barracks. All
accounts agree that I e was then in his usual health
and spirits. A few minutes after his return from the
mess the deceased was found lying on the stairs, just
outside his room, mortally wounded from a pistol-
shot, from the effects of which he expired in about an
hour, having never once regained consciousness. The
block of buildings in which the deceased's quarters
were situated are occupied exclusively by officers, all
of whom were absent at the time, either at mess or en-
gaged at their respective duties. The only persons on the
premises at the time of the occurrence were a man
named Gallaghen, who was an officers' servant, his
wife, and one or two other persons who-were employed
by the officers. The first person who discovered the
deceased was a woman named Gerside, the wife of
James Gerside, who is servant to Lieutenant H. K.
Stotherd, occupying quarters in the same buildings.
Some dogs belonging to Lieutenant Vidal being heard
to bark violently, Mrs. Gerside went up to let them in,
and she then discovered the de ::eased lying on the stairs
groaning. She immediately called William Gallagher,
a pensioned sergeant of the Royal Marines, the de-
ceased's servant, who was below changing the clothes
which lie had worn in waiting at mess, from
which he had just returned. With the assist-
ance of his wife and some other persons, Gal-
lagher removed the deceased into his room, and
medical assistance was immediately summoned.
On the arrival of Dr. Weekes, of Brompton, an
examination of the deceased led to the discovery that
he had received a pistol-shot, and in about an hour
afterwards he expired, all the attempts to restore con-
sciousness proving futile. After the deceased had
been conveyed into his room, a search was instituted,
when a six-chambered revolver was found by Mrs.
Gerside lying on the top stair, together with a case,
and a poker. There was also a watch in a case to-
gether with some coats and a cap lying on the win-
dow ledge. Near the revolver five or six cartridges
were picked up. On the revolver being examined five
of the chambers were found to be loaded, the sixth
cartridge having evidently been fired. An examination
of Lieutenant Roper's room resulted in nothing being

missed ; but two of the drawers in the room were open.
The extraordinary part of the affair is that the re-
vOlver by which the deceased met his death was one
belonging to Lieutenant Stothert, and had been taken
out of his room, where it was safely stored the same
day. This revolver, which was almost new, had never
been loaded since it wasin Lieutenant Stothert's posses-
sion, and there were no cartridgas with it. This fact
is spoken to strongly by Lieutenant Stothert's servant,
James Gerside, the husband of the woman who first
discovered Lieutenant Roper, and he states most posi-
tively that he was in the constant habit of cleaning
the revolver, but never once saw it loaded, and had
never seen any cartridges belonging to it. The sup-
position, therefore, h that the person by whom the
murder was committed must have taken the revolver
from Lieutenant Stothert's room, and after loading
the six chambers must have gone to Lieutenant
Roper's for the purpose of robbery, when he was dis-
turbed by the unexpected return of the deceased.
This supposition receives force from the fact of de-
ceased's watch being found outside the room on the
stairs; the poker, also discovered lying on the top
stair, being probably that which Lieutenant Roper
' seized with which to attack his assailant, who then
shot him in the left breast, throwing down the
revolver—which, as stated, was found close to the
deceased—and effecting his escape. A further extra-
ordinary circumstance in connection with what is a
most mysterious affair is the fact that on the night in
question, when at that time there are but few persons
about the barracks, and any one dressed in private
clothes would be soon observed, not a single person
was seen, either by the sentries or others near that
portion of the barracks where the, supposed murder
was perpetrated, and that after the occurrence no one
was seen near the spot. Another remarkable fact, too,
is the cirannstance that neither any of the servants in
the building at the time the murder was committed or
the sentries outside heard the report of a revolver ;
but this perhaps may be accounted for by the revolver
touching the deceased when it was fired. James
Sharp, the sentry on duty close to the deceased's quar-
ters, states that he heard "a kind of crack," fol-
lowed by the barking of some dogs. The window in
that part of the building from which the sound came
was up, and he afterwards saw a light there. He sub-
sequently heard a groaning noise, but heard no voices,
neither did he see any person leave the building, which
he must have done had any one left. Another sentry,
Adam Cragg, who, was on duty in front of the
officers' mess, and I.nose beat was within thirty paces
of the passage leading to deceased's room, states that
he neither saw nor heard anything to excite his atten-
tion. The only person in private clothes he saw pass
the spot, besides the servants of the officers, was the
billiard-marker, and he came direct from another por-
tion of the bcwra,cks. Another sentry, who was on duty
in front of the guard-room, states that about the
time of the occurrence he heard a noise like the break-
ing of china, the sound coming from the quarters occu-
pied by Colonel Duff, next to those of the deceased.
The night was light and clear, but he saw no one near
the spot. The wife of Gallagher, deceased's servant,
also states that she was in Lieutenant Roper's room
between a quarter and half-past eight, when every-
thing was then safe. Within about a quarter of an
hour afterwards, Lieutenant Roper was found lying
on the stairs as described, so that the murderer must
have gained access to the room in the interval. It
is never the practice of the officers to fasten the
doors of their rooms, which are generally left un-
locked both by day and night, no persons being
allowed in barracks but those having business there. A
post-mortem examination of the deceased was made on
Saturday, when the ball from which he met his death
was found to have penetrated the heart and lungs
From the upward appearance of the wound
caused by the shot, it was evident, that the person
firing it must have stood below him on the stair. It
was considered a most extraordinary circumstance that
the deceased should have survived nearly an hour after
receiving the contents of the revolver. The deceased
officer was to have left Chatham on Monday, on a
lengthened leave of absence, to visit his relatives in
fGoeurnmdainnyh,
iasfridooamf t,ewr
hhiis ehdieleathhadatel
vuindfiennshed letter
tilybe
enwritna
writing
mmediately before the attack was made on him.
Further investigations made on Sunday lead to the
supposition that the deceased, on finding the drawers
in his room in disorder, and seeing the thief carrying
off his watch and other property, must have attacked
him on the stairs with the poker, and have been fired
at. The revolver with which the murder was com-
mitted was a prize one given to Lieutenant Stotherd,
and during the time he had it had never before been
fired. The caatridges found were evidently brought
by the person who committed the murder. The
deceased's father, who resides in Germany, was made
acquainted with the sad occurrence by telegraph.

On Monday Mr. W. J. Harris, one of the coroners
for Kent, opened an inquest at the Royal Engineer
Barracks, Chatham, upon the body of Lieutenant
Roper. The inquest excited considerable interest, and
the lecture theatre, in which the inquiry was held,
was filled by military men and civilians. Mr.
Blanchard Wontner, solicitor, watched the case on
the part of the family of the deceased.
Lieutenant-Colonel R. W. Duff said that he was
dining at the officers' mess on Friday evening, the 11th
of February. The deceased also dined there. The
majority of the officers left about half-past eight, but
witness did not leave until about a quarter to nine.
He lived in the next house to the deceased. In going
home he met Lieutenant Roper's servant, who, with
great emotion, said "Oh, Sir, my master! Some one
has stabbed him." Witness at once proceeded to
Lieutenant Roper's quarters. The deceased was bleed-
ing from a wound hi the chest, and was quite un-
conscious. Witness at once sent for a doctor. The
wife of one of the servants living in the same house
brought a revolver case, some cartridges, and then a
revolver. One chamber of the revolver had been dis-
charged ; the others were loaded. The witness, in
going out of the room on to the landing, kicked
against what proved to be Lieutenant Roper's purse,
which contained only a few shillings and some stamps.
The servant of the deceased, named Gallaher, pointed
out some clothes that were on the landing.
William Gallagher, the servant, said he saw the
deceased in the mess at about 25 minutes past
eight. Witness afterwards went to his quarters,
which are in the same house as the deceased lived
in. While taking off his livery he heard a noise as
if one of the baths had fallen clown on the landing.
He proceeded to get his supper beer, when, in con-
sequence of what the wife of one of other servants
told him, he went upstairs. The deceased was lying
ON the stairs with his face inclined towards the
railings. Witness asked him what was the matter,
but got no reply. The deceased was unconscious,
and moaning very much. Witness, finding a quantity
of blood under his master's waistcoat, ran for assist-
ance.

The Coroner said he did not intend to further exa-
mine the witness that day. The case was not ripe
for full inquiry, but the doctor's evidence might be
given at once.
Dr. Henry Weekes said he was sent for to see the
deceased about ten minutes to nine on Friday night.
The deceased was perfectly unconscious. He had a
punctured wound on the left side between the fifth
and sixth ribs. He lived about an hour and ten
minutes, but was unconscious the whole time. On
Saturday witness made a post-mortem examination, in
company with Drs. Blood, Hinkson, Butler, and
Barnes. The wound he had received was the cause
of death. His waistcoat, shirt, and merino :vest
had charred holes through them. The skin, on the
body was also charred above the wound. From the
course the bullet took, witness was of opinion that
the wound was not self-inflicted. From the charred
marks the weapon must have been fired close to the.
body. The deceased could not have inflicted the
wound with the right hand, and it was highly
improbable that he could have done it with his left
hand.

The Coroner then adjourned the inquiry until
Monday next at twelve o'clock, and said that in the
interim he should forward the depositions he had
taken to the Public Prosecutor.

The deceased was an officer of high attainments,
and obtained a high place when passing out of the
Royal Military Academy. Of an engaging and
amiable disposition, he was much liked by his brother
officers, who are deeply concerned at his death, and
the circumstances connected with it.