The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-01-22 00:00:00

coßoyißr INQUESTS.

DIZADFUL Accumers.—On Thursday evening, at nine
o'clock, an Inquest was held at the Half Moon, Clipstone-street,
Mary-la-bonne, before T. STALING, Esq. Coroner, on the body
of Madame Bighicheff, a Siberian lady, known to many foreign-
ers of distinction in this country.
The deceased had been some years in this country, and had first
come here attached to one of the Russian Embassies, and was al-
lowed, by a Nobleman of distinction of that country, for some years,
121. per month ; but owing to some bad conduct of her own, that
was reduced to 71. per month, which she had up to the time of her
death. The following was the evidence given :
Mrs. Mary Anne Wells, landlady of the Half Moon, stated that
she knew the deceased many yearn, and saw her for the last time
alive, about half-past eight o'clock on Tuesday evening; the de.
ceased occupied apartments in witness's house, enjoyed good
health, and appeared between 50 and 60 years of age ; the witness's
son served her with a pint of porter, and one glass of peppermint.
At about half-past eleven o'clock, the witness was going up stairs
to bed, and, as she paned the bed-room of the deceased, she wu
assailed by a strong fetid smell, and immediately burst open the
door, when a volume of smoke and flame burst forth so rapidly,
that she was obliged to run down stairs to save herself ; she gave
an alarm, and her husband ran up, and succeeded in extinguish-
ing the dames, but the deceased was burned to a cinder. The de.
ceased had a monthly income, and always paid her bills regularly.
The witness believes the deceased got inebriated in her room ; she
asked her for a bottle of wine, but was refused • however, a bottle
with some wine was found in her room, which she had bought,
but had not paid for, in the neighbourhood. The deceased was
habitually inclined to intoxication. The bed and bedding were
partly consumed.
Mr. Wells, husband of lut witness, on hearing the alarm, went
up stain, and on entering the deceased's room, saw her lying on
the floor, all her clothes being in flames ; the bed was also on fire;
he threw a rug on her and succeeded in extinguishing the blaze ;
but on looking more closely at the upper part of her body and head,
he was horror-struck at finding her btrned to a, cinder; she was in
other places also frightfully disfigured by the flames ; the witness
found the candle on the table, nearly melted to the end ; the candle.
stick was under the bed ; the witness cannot account for the de-
ceased being in that state or Low it oceured • she might have been
reading and her head caught fire; a medical man said, on being
called In, she had been dead some hours; witness thinks she wanted
the wine to keep a national fast.
The Coroner said it was a very distressing ease, but was clearly
one only of accident, produced by the indiscretion, perhaps inebria-
tion, of the deceased woman.
The Jury found the following verdict :—" The deceased was ac-
cidentally burned to death while in a state of intoxication."
Another Inquest was held at the Middlesex Hospital, on the
body of a young man, named William Hussey. who was acci-
dentally killed by falling front a house in Park-square, Regent-
park, while launching a beans of timber or plate from the back to
the front of the house.
The Jury. found a verdict—" Accidental Death."
Another inquest was yesterday taken at the Hole-in-the-Wall
public-house, Baldwin's-gardens, before THOMAS 6'l.l*u/to,
Esq., Coroner for Middlesex, on view of the body of Bartolomeo
Maratha, a native of Switzerland, who was found dead in his
apartments at the house of A. Molteno, No. 13, Baldwin's-gar-
dens, on Thursday morning. The deceased, it appeared, was out
on his ordinary avocation, as a picture-frame maker, the day pre-
vious to his death, and was in excellent health and spirits when he
came home at night. The next morning, at a rather late hour,
he did not appear asusual, and, the door being opened, deceased was
found lying on his face in the bed, the hands fast clenched, and
quite stiff and cold. A surgeon was procured, but nothing could
he done for him, animation having been entirely suspended long
before. The Jury returned a verdict of—" Died by the visitation
of Clod."

A new census of the people of Turin shows that popula-
tion has increased in that city, in a ratio eclual to that of
London.