The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-01-11 00:00:00

SHOCKING OCCURRENCE.

On Saturday last, as Sir Daniel 11 illidtrix, the Magistrate of the
day. at the police-office, Whiteeliapel, was ahem leaving the
Bench. an elderly man, residing in !Ave-court, Pettienat-lane,
entered the cattier. and requested his utak° as to what wu to be
done under the following etremnotatices :
He wild tutu an aged titan, resining in the sante house with him,
had been for some days past unheard of. and that none of the
lodgers had seen him pass in or nut as usual. Ile. in emiseeprance
of this, went to his door, where he rapped, and called out several
times, but received no answer. The door was locked, and the key
being on the inside, his suspicioos b came excited. and be ap.
prchentled that the old man had breathed his ; before, how-
ever, he forced the door to ascertain whether hie mitsphtions 'were
well or ill-founded, he wished to have the authority of the
311Fistrate for so doing.
thr 1). NVit.t.tams instantly despatched Dalton, one of the
officers of the establishment- together with Partridge and flanker,
the parish beadle., who'at the time happened to be pre ent, to de-
vehipe, if in their power, the mysterious dimappearace. 1)n ar-
riving at the apartment, they at once forced open the door, when a
most appalling sight presented itself. The wretched man, whose
name was Robert Denris, lay extended upon a mho:able flock-
hid, and) scarce as much covering over him as exelutlid the ex-
ternal air. His live e shit:Ova a most revolting aprontrance, the
greater Part of the left silt being gnawed away, as it' by estx, Had
Its toegue-eaten to the very root. The hotly was at 011• remosiel
to the parish warklionao, and yesterday evening a Jury as-
sembled with Mr. Unwin. the Coroner, at the Committee-room of
that place, to take en irquisitien on view of it.
The follosiog wits the mitlence given on the occasion:—
Jelin Partridge externined-1 am Beadle of the parish of Saint
Mart, Bidwell:ma ; mu Saturday last, by the direction of the
filcgistrate at Lambeth-street, accompanied hy Dalton, n.ie of the
officers of that establisment, we proceeded to the lialginga of the
deceased. On arising there we broke ogen the dour, which we
failed lucked. 0:1 entering his apartment we ditcovertil the
deemed: Ole here described the manner. which is giant above,
in which he was lying.) The tifstimiration of his countenance at
first appeared to um to have been caused rats, but on a further ex-
amination of the apartment we discovered, underneath the bed a
large cat, which I sin nititiimi effected it. Ido not think he died of
want, as there was in the room a basket, containing roast beef,
bread, and red herrings, half a one of which had been gnawed. us
it by the cat. The apartment was in a wretchedly filly state, but
there WPM ill it a good bible and a few other books of a religious
description. The deceased, I hear, waits casual porter at Billings-
gate, and was much attached to the cat, which hail lacerated his
countenance. I have no doubt but he died a natural death. lie
appeared 'to be about 71.1 years of age.
A certificate was here handed in from Mr. Curtis, the parish
surgeon, who had examined the body of the deceived, and Eating
it as his opinion that the deceased died a natured death ; that there
were no marks of violence on the body, except those on the face,
which he h.d no doubt was dene by the cut. -

A veraict of " Natural Dcath"Was then reeonled.
The cat was immediately taken possession of by Plunket the
beadle, who has since destroyed it.

DREADFUL CATASTROPHE OV THE CANAL IN

ST. JAMES'S PARK.

Yesterday, owing to the everity of the front for the last day or
two, the C.msl in the Park yea frozen over, and In consequence
vast numbers of persons of every denomination were assembled
during the day, skating, sliding, and practising other sports. Many
parts of the piece of water were deemed by the men belonging to
the Royal Humane Society to be unsafe, and in order to point out
these places to the skaters, a rope was thrown across the Citd, but
in our oltiniun the whole body of the ice was unsafe, as it most cer-
tainly was too thin to support the number of individuals that were
congregated upon It. However, the skaters continued their sports
till about a quarter past two O'clock, regardless of any danger that
might ensue, when about that period a dreadful shout from the
men, and the shrieking of the females who were assembled nn the
Green, on either side the Canal, announced the dreadful calamity
we are about to record. In • few minutes the throng that were dis-
persed on all parts of the Canal assembled in one body, the ice to a
vast extent, about a third of the distance of the Canal from the end
next the Horse Guards, having given way, and no lees than nine
unfortunate individuals engulfed in the watery element.
The seene that ensued is beyond our power to picture. The cries
of the sufferers were heart-rending in the extreme. Before any effort
could be made to extricate any one, the ice, from their exertions to
escape, cracked, and separated for a considerable distance around
them, and four or five clung to one strong man, who was endea.
vouring to get away by swimming, and brought him down, and the
whole sunk together, but immediately rose to the surface, and sepa.
rated. The bystanders by this time had procured ropes, which were
cast to the struggling persons, and four were drawn out. There
were still five persons in the water, mostly in ail exhausted state,
and clinging to one another ; two of those, by the courage of some
gentlemen, were dragged out, but the ropes breaking, the fate of
the others seemed inevitable. One of them, raising his arms,
rhrieked out. " O God, save me! my poor mother ! my mother !"
and sunk below the ice. This distressing ejaculation seemed to
stimulate to renewed exertion, and several persons ran to the brink
of the broken ice, and grasped at the drowning men, but the Ice
again breaking, they were immersed, and with difficulty escaped.
However, ropes being fastened around three young men, they
plunged in, seised the struggling persons, and rescued one youth,
who was taken ashore in a state of insensibility. The atten-
tion of the throng was at this instant attracted to an elderly
gentleman, dressed in a blue coat, light buckskin pantaloons,
and hessian boots, who, at great personal risk, saved the lives of
two, but in his Mini effort the ice gave way, and he sunk beneath
it, but almost Instantly he extricated himself, and called for waist-
once. Ropes were thrown to him, but the danger was so apparent,
that none would approach to his rescue, and the venerable gentle-
man appeared likely to share the fate of the remaining two, but
the ice being broke:. to the bank, several persons locked their hands
and, advancing into the water, dragged him to the side, to the
great delight of the assembled multitude. This joy was checked in.
stantaneously by the convulsive cry of the two young men, who had
rasped a firm ho:d of each other, as they sunk to rise no more.
Some watermen, in a few minutes, came up with a boat and the
drags, and in about twenty minutes succeeded in bringing from
the bottom the two bodies, which were brought to the bank.
An immediate circle being formed by the crud, some persona
stripped the bodies, and proceeded to use the means recommended
by the Humane Society, for the resuscitation Of drowned persons ;
the bodies were rolled and rubbed for nearly half an hour,
without any appearance of returning animation, when, by the
advice of a surgeon, they were wrapped in great coats, and carried
across the Park out at Story's-gate, to the King's Arms and Prince's
Head public-houses, in Prince's-street, Westminster, where, the
'lndies being properly placed on tables, the usual remedies *ere
used for above an hour, but althongh the chest, feet, and extremi-
ties were exposed to the moot continual rubbing with cloths, re-
animation could not be produced, the vital spark appearing to have
departed a considerable time. One of the dead was attired in a
radar's dress, and his right arm is marked with a blue compass and
square. The other iras very genteelly attired in a blue coat and
dark trousers. They' ere both fine young men, apparently not
aged more than tweoty.one.
Too much praise cannot be bestowed on the persevering courage
of those individuals who it the imminent peril of their lives saved
to their families seven persons, all of whom must have 'peri.hed
had it not been foe their praiseworthy interference. One young
man named Pearce, on seeing the situation of so many of his fellow
creatures jumped in three several times, although warned by the
bystanders of the danger that awaited him, and at each time stn.
ceeded in conveying ropes to the unfortunate persons; and, al-
though drenched to the skin, be afterwards assisted in rubbing ant;
carrying the dead bodies to the above-named houses. It is lament.
able to describe the Infatuation of those persons who could remain
on the Canal skating and sliding after so melancholy an accident
bad taken piste, particularly as the ice in no part was „actually
safe. A number immersions tool: place, and the same exertions
were obliged to be renewed to save those who had by their own
hardihood fallen in. There should be some means adopted to pre-
vent persons assembling on the Canal and Serpentine( which, by the
by, weenie* thronged) when the ice is in such a dangerous state.
Persons were actually employed with eats and horses, breaking
and tarrying it away, which must also tend to weaken the entire
surface.

DISTRESS IN ARRAN.—We are concerned to be obliged
again to revert to the lamentable condition in which the
unfortunate people of Arran are placed. They are indeed
hastening to the very extreme of misery, and many of
them must have recourse to the high-way for subsistence,
or quietly render up their lives. The potato crop has
completely failed with them, and such as have the means
are obliged to have recourse to the county of Clare and the
adjoining coast for food. Even at this early period the
inevitable consequences of their distress are beginning to
manifest themselves,' and a system of plunder is already
acted upon by a population which has been ever proverbial
for the strictest honesty. In the village of Killeny, the
most distressed part of the island, the poor people ire con-
strained to steal potatoes by night, to support their
famishing little children, and some hundreds of thcirr saw
the sun go down on Christmas-day without having once
tasted food. ThiSe melancholy instances are but too rue;
and if the Executive Government will but send a proper
person into the islands to ascertain the existence of them,
it will be found that *c have not by any means exagge-
rated. Of this the public may be certain, that unless a
prompt and vigorous exertion shall be made to relieve
'them,-they must Seek for eubslarenee in Galway, and in all
probability generate such another epidemic as that with
which we were afllieted in 1ft22.--Ceenaught Journal.
A Goow SH oT.--A tailor of 'rhuriaston, in this county,
wanting a little recreation durtog the preient dull and cold
weather, End need, bate his gun, and go intttest of 'the
feathered tribe. Unfortunately, however, on discharging
his Ern Shot at awe 'sparrows perched *Deaf a hay-srack,
the eoutents lodged to the body of a fit sow feeding near
Mr. Gregory's barn door,' Which emitted Its .inintediate
death. The mishap proved rather a dear do r* dfittsiati
fob 'pear' Snip, *lto tram compelled to pap lbwand
ine•
sumer, and walk off witlib bleat, td
WA& ei
consequenceL—Laiecater Wlroni de.