The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-08 00:00:00

Extraordinary Suicide in St, Luke's.

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An inquiry was held by Mr Humphreys, Mid;lcscx
coroner, at the Iron Rend Tavern, Chiswell-street, St.
Luke's, on Tuesday night,
Thomas Shaken,
aged 49 years.
Mrs Frances Shackell said that deceased was a hatter,
carrying en business a t
75, respecting the suicide of Mr
desponding because he wished to sell the business, but his
chiawe
landlord would nut accept of any tenant who would buy the
11-street. . He was latterly
treet
stock. Ho was reserved and would not tell witness any-
thing. He slept by himself in the parlour behind the shop.
Witness last saw him on Saturday night. She knocke i fur
him at dinner-time on Sunday, but no answer was given, and
she thought she had gone out. After church in the evening,
however, she became alarmed, and the parlour was broken
open and he was found dead on the sofa.
Mr W. Monroe, a lodger, said when the parlour was
broken open deceased was lying dead, undressed, on the sofa.
There was a cup on the table, by the side of which was a
piece of paper, on which was written " Beware of the poison
is the tea cup on the hob." No doubt he had intended to
place the tea-cup on the hob after he drank some of the
poison; but the action of the drug was too quick. There
was also on the file a letter, which was as follows
You need not open my body. I have taken poison, and
Mr - has been the cause of it. Far I have offered to get
him a tenant who would purchase the stock, fixtures; Sce.;
but he has refused to accept any tenant, for the express pur-
pose to ruin m?•
if Saturday eve, Dec. 3, eleven o'clock p.m.

'6 F. SIIACKLLL,

My last words are—Lo very kind to ono another. As for
me, I die in perfect peace."
The witness said that deceased's shop had been broken
theyto lock himself in, and not
come again, I will be there as
well a s n sayingv es. "" R
into a year ago, antl he had ever since slept in the parlour
Iffe
used
answer his wife. Witness believed he was not of quite sound
mind.
behindisel
Dr. Evan Evans said the deceased had poisoned himself
with cyanide of potassium. A paper of that poison lay on
the table, and the deceased was apparently so anxious that
no one should taste it in mistake that he had pinned on
it a largo label " Poison?' The cyanide of potassium
was used iu the arts, and was at present sold without any
inquiry being made as to what purchasers wanted it for. It
was quite as deadly as prussic acid.
A cdoik to the landlord said that that gentleman was not
in town, and he (the clerk) knew nothing about the refusal
of a tenant. Tho house was let to a Mr Parker, but de.
ceased paid the rent.
The Coroner having summed up,
The Jury returned a verdict of " Suicide while of unsound
mind. ,

THE TRAGYPY ON THE Ilion SEAS.—Captain
Walker and the four men constituting the crew of
the Alciope have hcen arrested end imprisoned. It will be
rereemberi.d that the vessel is queHtion arrived at Queens-
town on Monday, from Demerara, when the captain re•
ported that two Frenchmen, who were in the crew, had,
during the voyage, mutined and murdered the carpenter and
the mate. They then sought the captain's life, but ho foiled
their attempt, and ultimately with the assistanceof the four
remaining members of the crew, secured the mutineers, put-
ting them in irons. While this secured, one of them, it is
reported, beat his brains out against the side of the ship,
and the other died, it was supposed from poison, which ho
administered himself. .Au iequiry will be instituted into
the whale affair.