The Express.
London, England, 1864-08-30 00:00:00

SEE SINGULAR DEATHS OF TWO IVOMIIIi AT
LILY-SliD.

Some fresh light has been thrown on the above

ercerrenes. It seems that John Beckenham, the husband
of one of these poor lemma, was a letter stamper for
some jean in the Poet-office, but had become
paralysed epee the right aide, it is alleged by some, from his
sesstruit ecoupation of stamping letters, bat more likely as
it appears tow from a stroke of apoplexy. However that
may be, seem years ago, it does not appear bow many, be left
the Post-offioe service, and haring always been a sober and
bedmtrious mac, of quiet and inoffensive habits, he was
awarded a pension of 14e. a week. Unfortunately the wife
wee • drunkard, and for a long time past every farthing of
poor John Beckenham's money seems to have been
spent in gin and beer as soon as it was obtained. Becken-
ham himself was utterly incapable of exercising any con.
trod in the maaagement of his affairs, and it will be seen
from his endows below that he was perfectly helpless,
ease to the extent of being unable to get his food without
the aseistasee of his wife. He seems, however, to have
bees capable of tottering about upon little errands for his
wife, and it appears that they chiefly consisted of visits to
the adjacent public-house for gin or beer, The other
woman whom death is recorded is the widow of a man
named Gribbin, formerly the leader of the bead
at Astley's amphitheatre, and a little over 40
peen of age. Mrs. Gribbin did not ordinarily
live with Beckenham and his wife, but seems to
have bees cm a visit of some days, and according to the &c-
-omet of the neighbours the whole time of that ill-starred
visit was spent by these unfortunate woolen in drinking with
their cronies. According to the statement of one of these
eompaniooa, in the menthe they were not exactly sober
and at night they were always at the corners of public-
houses or in front of the bar. Thai( habits had indeed be-
gone no notorious, and their lives such • scandal to the
model lodging house in which they lived, that poor John
Beckenham had received notice to quit Albert-terrace,
sad it was the circumstance of Mr. Ware, the
manager of the Metropolitan Buildings, being
amble, when he went to enforce the notice, to obtain ad•
mission that led to the discovery of the bodies, and probably
also to the saving of the life of John Beckenham himself.
On Tuesday morning the poor old paralytic tottered down
to a boon companion of his wife's, one Lydia Goozey, whale
puffy white cheeks, glazed eyes, and full habit of body,
gave fearful evidence of her participation in the revels of
lin. Beckenham and Mrs. Gribbin, and asked her to
ge and sit with his wife. According to her
account she found Mrs. Beckenham in a semi-
&stakes state, crooning over the fire, with nothing bat
a gown cc, not a vestige of under-clothing, while Mn,
Oribbin rose from the bed on which she lay and tottered
to a coach, on which, with a blanket over her shoulders.
she sat moaning and groaning all the day. She also was
only " middling sober," not having quite recovered from
the previous eight's debauch. There was not a particle of
food in the house, nor did it occur to either of the three
women to get any. Mrs. Gribbiu was violently vomiting
every now and then and drinking water. About midday
more gin and beer was fetched, end Mrs. Gnbbin, after
partaking of one-third of a quartern of gin,
wanted more, because, she said, it did her good ;
bet a search in her pockets and those of Mrs.
Beckenham for money seemed to have been ineffectual;
sad in the evening Mrs. Lydia Gooz y left the house with
as injunction on Mrs. Beckenham's part to return early
next morn*. That was the lam time, however, that she
sew either of the sisters alive ; but more beer seems to have
bees fetched after she left, because John Beckenham him-
self tuns up at the adjoining Prince of Wales, and after
being refused halt a gallon of beer ma trust, managed to
procure a shilling to pay for it. Next morning Mrs. Lydia
(Mosey, according to promise, makes her appearance at 21,
Albert-tensee, and knocks, but cannot get in. She returned
again and again at differeot times, but always with the
same result. It dose not seem to have °marred to her,
however, to have alarmed the neighbours, notwithstanding
the condition in which she bad left these poor wretched
women the evening before. Probably it was not the first ,
time that she had seen them in such • state. Whether the
women died that day or the next, or both on one day or
not, will sow never be known. The poor old man was so
imbecile, that although he knows he had nothing to
eat on the Friday or Thursday, and thinks he had " some-
thing small ^ on Wednesday, was too far gone in his mind
men to know that hefted. was ill, and on the Friday when
the was lying dead in the same room with her sister, be
thought she was out, and expected her to bring food to him.
The next person who calls at the house is Mr. Ware, the
manager of the Metropolitan-buildings, who goes to
intimate that the tenants cannot be permitted to'
remain any longer. Mr. Ware calla on Thum-
day, but is unable to obtain admission. Oa the
Friday night he returns, but the door is still closedi
spinet him. By this time the attention of the neighbour
km been called to the long-cloried doors, and the absence of
the women at the publichouies is remarked ; a little crowd '
assembles in the street, and, after much consultation end
=soy vague suppositions, Mr. Ware goes to the house of
the husband of another sister a respectable per
▪ named Nicholson who, on report of the cir_ I
cumatincea, proceeds with some friends to the home
and opens the door with a key which be had, sad which
happened to fit the lock. They then discovered the two
women dead, and poor Beckenham under the bed, in the
hat stage of exhaustion, as well he might be. The position
et the bodies is correctly described in the Express of
yesterday. The place, though decently furnished, was
squalid end dirty to the last degree, and what '
Still clothes the wretched women had on were 1,
filled with the most noisome vermin, and the
stench of the place from dirt was intolerable. There
was not a vestige of food in any of the rooms, and it '
is very bard to say when a meal was last eateo there. At
first John Beckenham, who was in a state of semboadity,
was taken to Nicholson's house, but is consequence of
Nichohon's wife being thrown into hysterics, he was after-
wards taken to his brother's house in Bland-etreet,
Southwark, and he appeared at the inquest de-
cently clothed and clean, but his mind was
evidently so gone that the coroner confined himself to ask-
ing one or two simple questions of identity. Of course
rumours were at orce spread abroad of a frightful ;claming
ease, and the very tact of three rumours has prevented the
final clearing up of the mystery. because Dr. Gayton his
declined the responsibility, under the circumstances, of
examistieg the stomachs and portions of the viscera
of the two women, which br..ve been sent for
analyzation to Dr. Letheby. There was no trams
it poison found by Dr. flattop, but be discovered
two things, namely, that the brains of both women smelt
of gin, and that both had what is popularly known as a gin
liver, enlarged in each case to between nine and ten pounds '
in weight, of a bright buff colour, being at the mote time of
the consistence of cream cheese. If poison should be (mad
is the stomach, which is not likely, a full ioquiry will be
made into all thecirennistances of the case. At present the
iequest stands adjourned for some days, for the purpose of I
allowing time for analyeation.