The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-20 00:00:00

LOVE AND SUICIDE.

A most painful enquiry took place on Monday, before Mr
Wakley, the coroner, at the University College Hospital,
respecting the death of Caroline Hobbs, aged 19, who
poisoned herself under the following melancholy circum-
stances .—The deceased had formerly been in the service of
a gentleman's family, whose name was given, in Burlington •
gardens, and by whose wife she was greatly esteoned. A
connection between her and some young man, a former
acquaintance, arose, which ended in most unfortunate
results. In order to bide her shame she left her situation,
and took lodgings in the house of a Mr. Maskell, at 5,
Augusta-street, Regent's-park. As she was a very well-
conducted young woman, Mrs. Maskell also became
interested in her. She had no visitor of any kind, except
an elder sister, durirg the time she lodged there. On
Tuesday morning last, between nine and Ken O'clock, this
sister was with her, arid she was then verytlow in spirits,
and said she could never live separated from him. She
went out afterwards, and returned at half-past eleven
o'clock, when she cooked some beef steak, and ate a portion.
Between half-past one er two Mrs. Maskell heard a moaning,
f dlowed by a heavy fall on the floor of the deceased's room,
and upon running up to a=certain the cause, found her lying
iaseusible, and frothing at the mouth. Two small bottles,
labelled respectively Laudanum--Poison," and " Essential
Oil of Bitter Almonds," together with a wine glass which
had recently been used, were found upon the table. A
medical man was at once sent for, and by his directions she
was rern,ved to University College Hospital, where she
arrived in articulo mortis. Mr. Price Jones, the resident
surgeon, examined her, and, finding whet she had taken,
and that she had lived more Ulan forty-five minutes after
swallowing the prussic acid, at once concluded that • the
opium had retaraed its action, thereby offering a chance of
recovery. On this account, and from the weak state she
was in, he was afraid to use the stomach pump lest he
should produce esphyxia and destroy the only hope left.
Other remedies were applied, but. she died at ten minutes
before four o'clock. A post mortem showed that, in abeut
ten weeks, the poor unfortunate creature must have become
a mother, and this it was that impelled her to terminate her
existence. Shortly before she swallowed the poison she
wrote two letters, addressed to her mother, and Mrs
Maskell. The letter to Mrs. Maskell said :—" lam greatly
obli4ed to you for your kindness to me since I have been
with you. God will reward you and your children. If
you will go to my mother, at 6, Polygon Clarendon-square,she will tell you what to do with ma. I have been driven
to deep sir ! My sister will be up at five o'clock." The
letter to her mother began by saying that her case was a
fearful one, '‘ For you don't know half my sufferings . . . .
Don't fret for me -I will go before and be ready to reelive
you. Give my love to my father and brother, and I hope
they will be goad to you. I hope my poor dear sister wili
be well provided for. I beg you will not scold my dear
Harry; it is not his fault, and I love every hair of his head.
Write to him and he will pay my funeral expenses. Pray
doe% wrong him fur my sake. Don't scold him. I could
not die happy if I thought you would do so. My dear Jane
(her sister) will give my love to Mrs.—, and tell her all
about it . . . . I am not yet nineteen years of age, and
don't forget my birthday (the 26th of December). Tell my
Harry I love him, and can't bear to be separated from him."
She then alludes to some one who has spoken against her
to a former employer, but does not intend to retaliate, as it
would "do her no good," and she would " not hurt a hair
of anybody's bead but my own." and thus concludes :—" I
have put all my things right for you to lay me out in, which
you will see, and I have sent him my likeness. I have only
my clothes to leave you ; I wish I hal more. Good bye !
God bless you I—Your affectionate daughter, " CAROLINE."
There was scarcely a dry eye in the room on the reading of
this letter, and deceased's sis' er fainted away. The Coroner
said he had rarely met with a more melancholy case, and
the jury returned a verdict of death from swallowing poison,
bat leaving the state of the deceased's mind an open
question.

SHOCKING DEATH OF A NATIVE OF GLASGOW

IN CANADA.

We find the following in the Spirit of the Times, of Oct.
29th, published at Woodstock, Western Canada :—On Mon-
day evening last, an inquest was held at Bird's Tavern, East
Woodstock, on view of the body of Alexander Bell, a native of
Glasgow, Scotland, who came by his death in a manner which
I should serve as a warning to all persons addicted to the exces-
sive use of ardent liquors. The jury, empanelled before Die
Laycock, coroner, was composed of gentlemen residing in the
neighbourhood. The witnesses examined on the occasion,
were----Mr. Robert Bird, (proprietor of the tavern,) his son,
Mr. Robert Bird, jnre, and Dr. John Turquand. The
coroner, also, made several important additions to the chain of
evidence, which, beginning with the unfortunate man's first
arrival in Bird's house, terminated with an account of his
death, which took place that morning. From the evidence of
the witnesses, we learned the following.:—Deceased first came
to Mr. Bird's tavern on Sunday, the sth instant, where he
remained until the morning of the Tuesday following. Ho
returned, however, about six o'clock in the evening of the
same day (7th), and shortly after went to bed. On the. fol-
lowing morning he came down stairs about seven o'clock, and
proceeded to the bar room. Ho asked for breakfast, and subse-
quently for drink, both of which Mr. Bird refused to give him,
on account of him owing tin co dollars already. Mr. Bird, being
called to breakfast, thou retired to a back room, leaving de-
ceased sitting alone in the bar-room. When Mr Bird had
breakfasted he returned to the har-room, which he found bad
been vacated by the deceased, and lie naturally concluded that
Bell had left the house. A few minutes after, the younger
Mr. Bird entered the travellers' sitting-corm which he found
partially filled with smoke. He at once ran up stairs to see
whether anything was wrong in that quarter, and on arriving
on the lobby adjoining deceased's room he encountered a dense
and offensive smoke emanating therefrom. Looking in he
saw deceased lying on the bed, and the bedclothes as well as
the victim's own clothing burning. An alarm was given, water
procured, the flames extinguished, and then was discovered
the cause of the catastrophe—the deceased's pipe, which he
had been smoking when he lay down, was still filled with
smouldering tobacco, and laying upon his bosom, it having
fallen from his mouth, while the wretched creature himself,
notwithstanding the dreadful injuries he had sustained, lay in
a state of stupefaction, occasioned, as it seemed, by his having
drank an immoderate quantity of spirits. A messenger was
instantly despatched for Dr. Turquand, and in the meantime
the bar-room was examined, when it was discovered that two
decanters which Mr. Bird had that morning filled with spirits
were nearly emptited of their contents. The sufferer was
not neglected, however, for in the interval which elapsed
before the arrival of a medical man, Mr. Bird, aided by
members of his family, applied linseed oil, and other emol-
lients to the weunds of the deceased. Dr. Turquand was
not at home when the messenger arrived at his house, but
Dr. Laycock, having heard of the off sir, hastened with speed to
attend to the suffering stranger. On Dr. Laycock's arrival the
sufferer was awaking from the stupor into which the liquor had
thrown him, so that the doctor had to witness the distressing
sight of a human being burned within a hair's breadth of his
life yet in a state of furious drunkenness. When Dr. Tur-
quand saw his patient in the evening, delirium tremens had set
in—hence his first effort, in connection with Dr. Laycock, was
to avert the consequences of that dreadful result of Bell's
intemperance. The immediate danger arising from this cause
was successfully baffled, but notwithstanding the most unre-
mitting care on the part of Dr. Turquand, and his assistant Mr.
McLaren, as well as of Mr, Bird and his family, the unfortu-
nate man was unable to bear up against the results of the inju-
ries he had received, and he sunk beneath them, as above
stated, after nineteen days of severe suffering. The view we
obtained of the wretched man's wounds was sickening beyond
description. The utmost praise is due to all parties coheerned
in this case ; and it is to be hoped that those of the deceased's
friends in Scotland who may read this melancholy acconnt,will
not suffer Mr. Bird, nor Dr. Turquand, nor arty others who
would have nobly done their best by personal exertions and
liberal contributions, to avert the final catastrephe, to be " out
of pocket" longer than is absolutely unavoidable ; for they, no
doubt, are aware, that in Canada there is no legal provision for
the relief of the poor and unfortunate. The deceased was
extremely reserved during his suffering, but under a promise
that Dr. Turquand would not divulge the following communi-
cation, unless ho died, he stated that his name was Alexander
Bell ; that his wife kept a butcher's shop at No. 3, Govan
street, Glasgow, and that she haul six children to support. The
jury returned the following verdict :—" We find that deceased
came to Isis death fron the effects of a severe burn received
when in a state of intoxica.ion.'

THE ROYAL BRITISH BANY..—A rule has been granted by
the Court of Common Pleas, calling upon one of the share,
holders to show cause why execution should not issue against
him,

HOW TO MEET A GAROTTE ROBBER.-1-The following
appears in the columns of a London daily cotemporary :
" Some few years since I held the situation of chief warder
at a northern county prison, and had charge of several
fellows convicted of the crime of garotting, or, as the slang
phrase of that county termed it, 'Putting on the Hang.'
The London cant phrase is, Clapping on the Flimp."
Having heard some of the younger bands speak with
enthusiasm of the wonderful dextrrity displayed by one of
their number, an adept at his business, determined to
put his powers to the test. Having informed him that I
was desirous of ascertaining whether I could not release
myself from his grasp (hy which I was assured he could
hold the most powerful man), and having another warder
with me to see that he did not ' hang' me in earnest, in the
event of my plan not succeeding, I turned my back towards
him, and was instantly seizul by his right arm round the
throat, and held back in such a manner that convinced me
no man could escape by the usual instinctive means of raising
the hands, grasping his arm ant endeavouring to break
his hold. The moment I Lit myself ' gripped,' I passed
my right band rapidly behind me, and grasped a portion of
my assailant's body ;—with an agonising shriek he not only
released me, but also fell fainting on the floor of the cell.
This, then, is say mode of defence in the event of a garotte
attack, the efficacy of which I have proved in several
instances,