The Express.
London, England, 1861-07-29 00:00:00

SMOCKING DEATH.

An inquest was held on Saturday, at the reel.
deuce of Dr. Headhunt, 20, Grarvenoratreet, by Mr. Lan-
ham, deputy coroner for Westminster, upon the body of
Mrs. Elizabeth Brodhunt. Dr. Brodhurst said that deceased
was his wife, and her age was thirty-tyro. Last Tuesday
evening they both dined together, after which be went out
to attend • meeting. On his eturn, about 10 at night,
he found his wife in the drawing-room writing • letter.
lie sat with her for a short time, when she told him the
purport of the note, and was writing another to • friend,
when he left her to go up to his own room to change
his coat. Just as he was getting to his room be heard
loud cries of " I'm on fire." He rushed dows, and
found his wife in the middle of the drawing-room en.
'eloped in names. Her clothes were entirely consumed.
and the furniture near her was on tire. She bad on •
white muslin dress. She did not seem to have leek
her presence of mind, for she requested the rug to be
rolled round her and the bell to be rung for the servants,
which he did, and extinguished the names about the ;mow
part of her person. Immediately the bell was rang three
servants rushed in, and he believed the reason of their being
so near the door was because his wife had rung the bell be-
fore for prayers. Unfortunately she had on one of those
crinolines made of steel hoops. Every moans were tried
to extinguish the fire about and under the hoops with the
sofa cushions and other things at head. He also knelt on
and tried to compress and break them for the put,
pose of putting the fire out, but all without &veil, and
they had to be cut off before it could be extinguished. She
had been writing with a candle by her aide which had burnt
down in the socket, and he believed that she bad tried to
reach an envelope from the ease, when the light canght her
muslin sleeve. She died about 5 o'clock the following day.
Thomas Glasgow, the butler, confirmed his master's evidence,
as also did Ellen Fletcher, the nursemaid, who deposed to the
difficulty in putting the fire out, owing to the hoops. Dr.
Gull, of 25, Brook-street, Grosvenorsquare, deposed so
seeing the deceased lady in her bedroom. She was conscious
although suffering greatly. She was buret very much on
the left arm, also on the right arm and about the beset,
face' and back. She was must extensively burnt about the
legs. The deceased Jody never rallied, as the shock to her
system was so peat, and she died from the effects of the in-
juries received. lie wished to say one word with respect
to the getting up of these light dresses. If the laundress
in preparing those dreams would put a small portion
of sulphate of salt or sulphate of soda into the march
it would render them perfectly incombustible, at the
cost of about one-tenth of a ferthiog per drier.
He hoped the press would notice this. He had
seen the experiment tried on two pieces of linen, ONO
prepared with the sulphate and other not. The one that
was prepared was held over a candle, and the flame had no
aect"wc consumed. suMed In these cur of the othera
it:
but directly
aeieoce
be considered it was shameful that something of this sort
was not done tore pvent these arid occurrences. lie.
ceand
overu hsld
it a
Gull said, so sudden was the combustion that the figurer'
of the muslin dress were left on the floor unhurnt. The
Coroner, in summing up, said the suggestion made by
the doctor was • valuable one, and he, too, hoped it would
be noticed by the press. He hoped there things would be
noticed by laundresses ; for if. iu the present case, some-
thing of the sulphate had been put into the starch,: the
deceased lady's life might have been spared. If it bad
rot beep for the crinoline, too, her life might have been
saved. lie thought that she was another victim of the pre•
railing costume among ladies. Tho jury returned a ye.
diet • That deceased died from injuries received by sod'
dental burning."

THE DI/MENTHES AND THE CITY ELECTION.-
A dommeat, under the band of Mr. Apeley Pellutt in
chairman, formerly member for Southwark, has been
made public, stating that at • meeting of the com-
mittee of deputies of the three denominations of pees-
byteriane, independents, and baptists, held at the
Otuldhall Hotel on Friday, it was resolved, after bearing
the report of the deputation appointed to confer with Mr.
Western Wood, to tbe effect that be was not prepared to
vote for the total abolition of church rates, the committee
do not feel themselves justified in recommending their con-
stituent+ to support Mr. Wood as • candidate to represent
the city of London in parliament

MORPITH EutcrtoN.—The Mayor of Morpeth
has received the writ to fill up the vacaocy caused in ail
borough by Sir George Grey going to the Home-office. HIS
worabip has fixed IPrialsy, the 2nd of Augtut, for the
elnotion.

OXFORD, SUNDAY.—It is rumoured thin morning
that the conservative party intend bringing forward a our
didete in opposition to Mr. Outlive% and that tomorrow
his name will be announced. It is generally surmised by
those not in the nerd that a county gentleman of ability,
business habits, and connected with a large banking MAY'
lisbrnent in London, is the favoured individual.
The measure known as the Appropriation Bill,
which is always ;timecard of a speedy suspension of the
labours of parliament, was introduced in the House of Cams' i
moos and read a first time on Saturday.