The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-10-17 00:00:00

THE GUNPOWDER EXPLOSION IN
LONDON.

"C. C. H." wrung to Land and Water, describes what
happened from the explosioa to the Aviary, and what might
have been W effect on the serpents;—

"It may interest your readers to know that of the 16
or IS birds that escaped from the western aviary at
the Zoological Garden on Friday morning, in conse-
quence of the damage done to the glass by the explosion,
nearly half have been recaptured. A Baltimore on is
came back to the aviary of its own accord; a beautiful
bronze-winged pigeon was brought in from the park on
Saturday; a white-winged Whydah bird was caught
close at hand on Sunday; and a young node starling,
hatched in the Society's gardens this year' probably
owes its life to the vigilance of the Oakley square
gardener. The bird, a purple.headed glossy starling
( Lamprocolius auratus ) of West Africa, was observed
in the enclosure here, and fed by Mr. Edwards on
Saturday, and, but for the over-much zeal of sundry
small boys, might have been secured there and then.
Dusk overtaking him, the gardener was compelled to
leave the wanderer to his fate, and Sunday bringing
heavy rain, the starling was presumably safe in the
tree near the lodge which he had chosen for his home
and shelter. He was eventually taken in a trap by
one of the Zoological Gardens keepers. Among the
still missing birds are two scarce weavers; two long-
tailed bird-of-paradise whydahs ; and two cut-throat
finohes, besides a green dove ( Chalcopluips Indica
from Japan. Some of these, it is to be feared, must
fall victims to the late wet, ungenial weather, and the
loss of their accustomed care.

"Among the many providential circumstances to be
recorded in connexion with this terrible explosion so
near to the Gardens is the fact that the immense squares
of glass in front of the reptile cages escaped fracture.
There are now not far short of a hundred snakes,
with, perhaps, 50 other reptiles, including saurians,
batrachians, Sic. Imagine the naUe of escaped carni-
we's ! What a spectacle to greet the eyes of Mr.
Holland, their keeper, on his arrival! Friday is their
feeding day, too ; the reptiles, one and all, were ready
for their weekly repast. The three huge pythons from
West Africa, approaching 20ft. in length and a
foot and a half in circumference, and cannibals by
nature would have made short work of their lesser
brethren, while the crocodiles would have snapped up
the small fry by the dozen, and the venomous snakes
would have dealt deadly havoc with their poison fangs.
Fight of the latter kind are among the present inha-
bitants of the gardens—viz., two rattlesnakes, a puff
adder, a nose-horned viper, and three American water
vipers, all deadly, besides a young puff adder in the
nursery, and an t nglish adder scarcely to be enumerated
among the dangerous Ones. The last remaining cobra,
and a fine rattlesnake, 'lied lately. For the comfort of
the timid, we may add that the supposition of such a
catastrophe in no way daunts the intelligent keeper,
who knows his charge and how to manage them as a
shepherd his sheep. What would you have done?'
we naturally asked. 'lt would not be hard to catch
them,' he coolly tells us. An excessive and cowardly
timidity is the characteristic of most of the poisonous
snakes. With bags for the purpose at the ens! of long
sticks like huge butterfly traps, and with iron rods
and other appurtenances provided, the more dangerous
creatures would be quickly imprisoned. A tarpaulin,
or some other heavy covering, thrown over the pythons,
would lull their sluggish nature, and the smaller
reptiles are fearlessly handled. It is not, however,
,ine of the least of the mercies that these creatures,
many of which are at once so costly and so dangerous,
Were not thus set free by broken glass on a day of all
others when they could and would have done most
harm by being most hungry. The skylight only was
injured ; the creatures unharmed."

The British Medial! Journal writes, with regard to
the effects of the explosion

"In the Hospital for Diseases of the Nervous System, a
woman, under the care of Dr. Meryon, suffering from a
profound hysterical disturbance of the nervous system,
combined with epileptiforrn seizures, was at first quite still
and depressed, and continued so for twenty-four hours, but
afterwards became exceedingly violent, and had to be held
by three people. She has since been sent to a lunatic
asylum. A girl, aged fourteen, suffering from epilepsy,
under the care of the same physician, has been in a state
of stupor since the explosion. She did not answer ques-
tions, refused food, and kept staring at the ceiling in a state
of utter bewilderment. At the time of writing (Wednesday
afternoon) the stupor is less, she has Liken food, and she
hesitatingly answers questions when they are repeated two or
three times. Two children, under the care of Dr. Althans,
One of whom, a boy aged fidir years, suffers from the effects of
an attack of cerebral haemorrhage, and the other, agirl aged 13,
from a congenital semi-paralytic condition of all four extremi-
ties, owing to the imperfect development of the cerebro.spinal
nervous centres, were excessively frightened, but received no
proximate or subsequent injury. A woman, suffering from
partial paralysis, under the care of Dr. Lockhart Clarke, has
complained of her memory being much affected by the shock.

The matron and servants of the institution received no
injury whatever. On prescribing for his out-patients on
Monday attemoon, or. althaus noticed that a number Of
those who reside in the neighbourhood of the hospital, and
even a few who live at a distance, as at Ilighbury, had their
symptoms considerably aggravated '[he most striking care
of this kind was one of paralysis agitans. This patient had
been improving, but ever since the explosion the shaking
had increased to a most fearful extent, and what had re-
mained of voluntary power, more especially in the upper ex-
tremities, appeared to be almost completely annihilated"

EXECUTION OF THE CAMBERWELL
MURDERER.
John Walter Coppen, aged 37, a coffee-shop keeper,
who had reaided in Church-row, Camberwell, London,
and who was convicted at the Central Criminal Court
of the murder of his wife, Emma Skevington Coppen,
3 4years of age, was executed on Tueaday morning at
nine o'clock, within the walla of the Surrey County
Prison, Horsemonger-lane, in the preaence of Mr.
John Keene, the governor; Mr. Whitely, Mr. Sim,
and Captain Scovell, three of the county magistrates;
and Mr. C. Abbott, the under-sheriff of the county.

The culprit was addicted to drinking to excess, and
he returned home drunk on the night previous to the
murder, His wife, in consequence of his condition,
stayed during the night with her sister, who was
living in the house. On the following morning she
came down stairs, dressed, and was in the act of leav•
ing the house, when the culprit rushed at her, and
inflicted a wound with a butcher's knife, which he had
borrowed the same morning of a butcher named
Bowles, who lived opposite. The woman died almost
immediately. but before her death she made a statement
to the effect that she had aggravated him to do it.
There did not, however, appear to be the slightest
ground for believing that this was the case. Strenuous
exertions were made by Mr. Ody, the prisoner's
solicitor, and other parties to induce the Home Secre-
tary to recommend the prisoner to the mercy of the
Crown, but on Monday, when Mr. Keene, the
governor, and Mr. Abbott, the underaheriff went to
the Home Office to ascertain the result, they were
informed that Mr. Cross declined to interfere, and
that the sentence must be carried out. Whilst the
culprit was in custody he conducted himself in a
becoming manner, and he never at any time
seemed to have any hope that he should escape. He
was most attentive to the ministrations of the Rev.
Mr. Jessopp, the chaplain of the prison, who expresses an
opinion that he was sincerely penitent for his crime.
He frequently spoke in terms of deep affection for his
wife, and said drink was the cause of his crime.
The prisoner was visited on Monday by his sister iwho
WM one of the witnesses at the trial), his aunt, and a
cousin. The interview was most affecting, and, before
they left, at the request of the prisoner, they all knelt
down, and the rev, chaplain offered up an appropriate
prayer. Later in the day the culprit wrote a letter,
thanking the Rev. Mr..Tessopp for his kind manifesta-
tions, which he said had brought him to a true sense
of his condition.

The Standard gives the following account of the execu-
tion:—
" Coppen retired to rest on Monday night at nine
o'clock. At five o'clock on Tuesday morning he rose,
and at eight breakfasted. The chaplain was the last
person whom he saw at night, and the first in the
morning. The prisoner is described as sleeping soundly
all night, and he ate his breakfast with appetite. For
about an hour before the execution small parties
of men, women, and children commenced to
gather in the streets skirting the outside of the
gaol. The numbers continued to swell every minute,
until, towards the doomed hour, they had increased
to several thousands. They lined every point of
vantage, discussing the question in all its bearings,
peering with an idle curiosity at the flagstaff on the
roof of the gaol, and watching the figure of the offiier
whose duty it was to hoist the sombre banner when
the signal was given that the soul of the condemned
man had been launched into eternity. It is not sur-
prising that so many people assembled on this occa-
sion, for the murder and all the circumstances remotely
or immediately connected with it have formed the
chief topica wherewith the majority of the inhabitants
of Camberwell have e.ercised their minds and tongues
lln the weeks that have intervened since it was com-
mitted.