The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-27 00:00:00

The Frightful Accident at Cremorne.

Yesterday afternoon Mr. James Bird, coroner for
West Middlesex, held an inquest upon the body of
Carlo Valerio, aged 25, who expired in the morning
from the effects of injuries received while perform-
ing on a wire rope at Cremorne-gardens the pre-
vious evening. On Thursday evening, about 8 o'clock,
the gardens were unusually full, and the deceased
mounted the tight wire rope to go through his evo-
lutions. Police-constable Avenel], 224 V, who was
on duty in the gardens, said that when deceased had
reached a point about 10 yards from the end of the
rope, and about 300 feet from where he had started,
something gave way in the tackle of " the fall" at
the end from which he was furthest. The effect was

instantaneous. The wire rope became slack at once,
and the deceased was thrown right off. He fell
headlong to the ground, from a height 9f 40 feet,
and alighted on his head on the gravel of the pro-
menade. Dr. Ree and other medical gentlemen, who
happened to be in the gardens, rushed to his aid.
He was removed to his residence in Stanley-villas,
Chelsea, and died there at 3 o'clock the next morn-
ing. His skull was fractured and his spine was be-
lieved to have been injured. Mr. Thomas Bartlett,
machinist and master carpenter to the gardens, de-
scribed the tackle. The wire rope, which was pro-
vided by the deceased himself, weighed about 5 cwt.
At the end farthest from the ballroom it was made
fast by a " fall," composed of an iron chain and a
strong cable, Ove end of the chain was fastened to
a massive iron hook, fixed to an elm tree. When a
man was on the rope the strain on the hook would
be about 2 tons. The hook was calculated to bear a
strain of 6 tons and the chain of 5 tons. The hook,
however, broke right in two, and the rope of course
fell slack, causing the accident. The witness believed
that in some way the lightning of Wednesday night
had softened or otherwise affected the iron, and
caused it to give way. Mr. M'Cullogh, of the
Cadogan Ironworks, expressed a similar opinion
as to the cause of the accident. The iron in
the hook was of the best quality and manu-
facture. The hook would certainly have been
calculated to bear a strain of 6 tone at least.
Mr. E. T. Smith said that when Carlo Valerio ap-
plied to him for an engagement he declined to allow
him to perform, and it was only after he had been
furnished with proofs as to his great ability and
perfect competence to perform with every prospect
of safety to himself that he would consent. Even
then he informed deceased that he should personally
provide the ropes and tackle, as he would not incur
any responsibility with regard to the matter. He
advanced deceased £5O to buy the wire rope, and
deceased himself borrowed powerful cables from the
Steamboat Company. Nothing, he added, should
ever induce him again to permit a performance of
this kind in the gardene. The jury returned a ver-
dict, that deceased lost his life from injuries from
a fall in Cremorne-gardens, through the giving way
accidentally of a certain iron hook. The proceed-
ings then terminated. The effect of the occurrence
on the crowded audience on Thursday night was a
general feeling of horror and pity. Several persona
fainted, and one lady was so much affected that she
had to be conveyed to St. George's Hospital.