The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-07-03 00:00:00

CORONERS INQUESTS.

An adjourned Inquest was yesterday resumed before Mr. Stirling,
at the Black Horse, Buckeridge-street, St. Giles's, on the body of
Mary Winter, the mind discoloration of whose body had given rise
to a suspicion that she had been poisoned, and it was fur the pur-
pose of having the contents of the stomach analyzed that the Inquest
was &Jimmied from the preceding day. In the mean time, all St.
Giles's was in a state of commoth at, and in every street groups of
people were to be met talking about the deceased, whom they did not
hesitate to assert had been murdered. This belief was confirmed
by the publication of a bill, by a printer, at the Seven Dials,
purporting to be an account of the " horrid catastrophe coin-
ndtted on the body of Mary Winter," and which contained a
most scandalous misrepresentation of the first part of the Inquest,
even going so far as to assert that the dumb girl was brought before
the Coroner, had made signs that the woman was murdered by
Ridley with whom she cohabited, and that he had purchased and
administered to her a dose of arsenic. In consequence of these
reports, the house where the Inquest was held wee surrounded by
an immense number of the inhabitants of that populous district,
whose rears ',ropily proved unfounded, as it appeared from the
testimony of Mr. C. Starkey and three other surgeons, who had
exalt-lined the contents of the stomach, that no reason existed for
believing the woman to have died otherwise than a ratural death.
It appeared she had been drinking on Saturday, anti that she
went to bed in a state of intoxication, and was found dead in her
bed the following morning. Shortly after her death the tongue
swelled, and the body assumed a lived appearance, and it was to
these circumstances that the rumour was to be ascribed.
Verdict—" Died by the visitation df God."
Ridley, who had:been taken into custody the preceding day, was
liberated immediately on the verdict being known.

POISONING.
An Inquest was held at the sign of the Chequers public-house,
Little Saffron.street, Saffron-hill, before T. Stirling, Esq., Coroner,
on the body of Sarah Smith, agei 31, who came by her death
under the following distressing eirenmstaneess—
It appeared in evidence, that the deceased about five years ago
COM! to London, after having absconded front her husband and
I children, who were at Portamouth. On her arrival in London, she-
formed a connexion with a wooden.legged man, named Williams,
who was living with the unfortunate woman under the most dia.
reputable circumstances forthree years-when he became embarassed,
and the deceased was compelled to walk the streets for her living.
In the coarse of her perambulations, she met with an Individual
who proposed terms to live with him, which she intimated to
Williams, who proposed that she should receive the individual, to
whom, he Williams, was to be represented as her brother, and this
being accomplished, the three lived together, until lately, when the
new husband discovered the imposition, and in a few days after.
wards the deceased was round Saul in her bed, (.Lying taken

poison.
The Jury returned a Verdict.—" That the deceased died front
taking too large a quantity of laudanum by mistake."

•
PLAYING AT lIANI:ING.--011 Thursday the 21th ult.
an inquest was taken at Morcott, Rutland, before J. E. Jones, '
Gent. Coroner, on view of the body of Ilenry Manton, about 13
years of age. It appeared in evidence, that the deceasedt a boy of
good sense and of a lively cheerful disposition, went a short time
ago, with many other boys, to witnes; the execution of Dully, at
' Oakliam, which sight seemed to have made a mast extraordinary mi.
presaion upon his mind, lending him frequently to describe minutely
the melancholy scene, and to the introduction amongst bis con-
panions of imitations of executions--boys hanging indifferent situa-
tions by their arms, Ece. • and he had also practised hanging upon
cats in the neighbourhood, contriving what he called a drop for
them. It was further stated, that on iVedneselay morning early,
the boy accompanied his 31aster, 51ralarrow, to Uppingham mar-
ket, and returned home with him about II o'clock, perfectly happy
in appearance ; and after haring partaken of a hearty meal, he was
observed by the parish blacksmith whistling on his way to his
mother's house, where shout an hour afterwards he was observed
hanging, by a neighbour who was accidentally passing. Ile bad
fixed the cord to a beam adjoining the window of the house, so that
no person could have locked in without seeing him suspended by
• it, and this in the most public part of the town. The Jury were of
opinion that he had been practising his favourite prank of hanging,
resting his legs upon the window-seat, and that he became sect-
-1 dentally suffocated.—Stataford Afercurv.
SALTPETRE.—The prices of Saltpetre had lately been
18s. lid. a 11/a.; the quotation to-day in 204. a '-'lls. lt.l. The mar-
ket Is more firm, on account of the East India Company net de-
' daring any fur sale.