The Sun.
London, England, 1814-08-05 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

An Inquest on the bodies. of M. Foulkes and T.
Taylor, who trfet their death 'On Monday night
fr .ti the unfortunate destruction of the Pagoda,
in Sc. 3ames's Park, bV. fire, IVaSjiChl yesterday
evening, at the King's Head public-house, York-
street ; Westminster, before A. GILL, Es . The
Jury having been sworn, they proceeded to vi eve the:
bodies of the daeased, which were deposited -in
shells, at the Westminter
who had_ Feeipitated 'himself flora the Pagoda,
was -dreadfully bruised* on -the right side 'of the
head. The other man; W. Tavlipr, seemed to
have been 'shockingly scorched. The Jury hay-
ing returned, the Coroner proceeded to inquire
jilt°, the circumstances atten,;ing the death of M.
'Foulkes.
_ _

John Murphy, of Parli-nnent-strect,, depOsed,
that about 12 o'clock on Monday nb.:bt; as _he was,
upon the Lawn .in Si. James's Park, near the.
Bridge over the (anal,' he waS shrpriseil by the
extraordininy. brilliance with which the fire:,works
biant. The diviharge seemed greater than it had,
appeared. at any foriner.part of the evening, and
burst front every part of the Pagoda above the se-
cond or third circle. A(ter, this blaze had sii;),-
sided, he plainly d 4m-erect some of the wood-,
work had taken fire. At first it was thought by
some that it was intended to burn the Pagoda,
but the shoots of the workmen on each side of
the bridge calling for assistance soon proved the
contrary, and the .engines'began to play upon the
building,- which ,was enveloped in !hurts. Wit-
ness then discovered two men towarda the top of
the building.'apparentlyin great diStress. One of
theta ascended to the summit, while the other ap-
peared to make his way tovviirds the bottom. At
that moment a great noise- was heard, and soon
afterwards it yvas understood, that the man 'who'
had been seen to a-seend had jompt.,l off, and had
fallen on a,floatlitg stage, which had been placed'
close to the arch, for the convenience of the lamp-i
lighters, to light the:lamps in that direction.:—He
was picked up from thence, and conveyed to the
Westminster Infirmary.

Mr. J. Watson,_house-surgeon of the Westmin-
ster Infirmary, deposed, -that the deceased had
bcen '1)11-ight to Lim in a state of iushnsibility,
soon after 12. Ile. examined him-, and found that
his skull had been fractured', He endeavoured to
preserve his lite, but without elect, and he died
iu twO hours. The fracture on his skull, lie hoot
no doubt, occasiqued his death. Inquiry w'as next
made into the cause Of the death of J. Taylor.
Alexander Ross said, he was a carpenter,,re-:
•,siding.at Woolwich. On Monday night last, at
the time the firetook place on the Pagoda, he was
on the third story. The-fire-works being refiitecl
On the Second story from the top, the sparksirom
them dropped on those which were on the stairs
beneath,- and which were to- have been filled
•on the third story, and set them on tite, and-
th se set fire to the Pagoda. 'He ran d0.,y0
an.d on reaching
,the. Green, he Saw
John Taylor, who was also a carpenter,. running
down the steps of the bridge all on' tire. Taylor,
he helieved; had been on the attiC.story, and on
reactehig*the battoM, soine, of his' comrades 1.!-
tiriguisbcd the flames which were arouird him.—
Some oil %V is ponied Over, him, and he appeared to.
he itz great- ;wow. He was then laid .npon his
,
0:106 on 'a hJard, and conveyed to the hospital.—
He was quite sensible, and desired the witnes,; to
let his wife know of 411 c accident. The witness
knee.' nothing of Fonlkes, nor did he see kiln in,
the Pagoda. The gas for the gas-lights had not
been turned on at the time of the accident„ The
deceased bad7a-wile and four children, re6ident at
Woolwich.

J. Watson, the stir eon, examined in the
former ell-le, dep scd, that the deceased was
brought to the soon aftcrtwelye. lie
understood he ,had been burnt at the Pagoda in
St. 3:?..tnes's Park. 'Upon examination, he found
that he was dreadfully burnt in 'different parts of
the -body. /lc had recourse to the usual remedies
in such cases, but without effect, as be expired on
Wednesday.
in this case, as in the former, the verdict of the
Jury vv a / D2ath.

The Jury expressed a hope that the family of
th,_! latter ‘vould he provided for by Government..
With respect to M. Fonlkes,,it was some time be-
fore any information could he obtained. Upon
his shirt, however, his name wasascertained, bat
he had not.' ;lee!) employed in any about the
Pagoda, and, it is supposed, ran in feotit among
tiv., crowd when the accident was firSt 'discovered;
and, in the hope of rendering, assistance, rushed
up the Pagoda. It now appears that he was a
bankrupt, and formerly rejded 'in Wood-street,
Cheapside. •At the Custom-house, fire lie had
exerted- himself in an uncommon way, lie was.
a wholesale hosier. His body has Leeo clain4cd by
one of his friends.

1:11E ASSIZES.

MAID TONE, AUGUST 3.

THE liING V. lIBLPH.

'IVs ingetment hgainsi the ileFendiiq
for ',ln assault, with intent to coiitniit,a rape, npoo
Mary Hodson, now :Mary Knight,
,on tlx 2d of
September cause excited a consider:-.
able degree-of interest in the Court, its both par-
ties.were well known at the town
where they resided. The prosecutrix was a young
Lady, who kept a ttellool, and the defendant a St►r-
geon in the town. .Since the alledged attempt, she
had married another 5t..,-geon, resident at Ken-
sington, near London.

itrs.Knight stated, .that on the 2fl of Septem-
ber last she spent the evening at Mrs. Moreton's,
at .111alling. in the course of the evening the de-.
fendant also cane there, and staid supper. After
supper he tlesired.her to take glass of..brandy,
which he said was right after eating pickled sal-.
toot). When she 'u
-as going' away, about eleven
o'cloek.. Mrs:Moreton was about to see, her home;
when Ralph said he would escort her. As
they were.going homewards, the new hops smelt
verysweet.. This prodnced at discourse about them.
Ile said he had gath( red a fine bunch, as he came
along,.. and he had left them a little, way down
Ryash-lane, and he persuaded h'er to go down the
lane with him. He then asked her if she knew the
Way home through Skinner's lane, and said it was
as. tear forthein as going back. They accordingly
went that_ way, and had 4ot as far as the first ac-
commodation gate, when he shut the gate close and
penned her up in a'corner, and began to take 'very
indecent liberties with her. She screamed aloud,
but no one Callle to her assistance. She, however,
escaped, and-bad got half way over the adjoining
field, when he again 'overtook her, forced her
-ag-ainst a bean stack, and' renewed his attempts.
She, however,-resisted;• but after seine struggling,
she fainted. When she recovered, she found Mi.
Ralph suprorting her. He thn. said he was sorry
for what he had done, and :hat he would not do
sr) any more if she would solemnly promise not to
tell anv'tine. This she promised. Ile then went
' with her to her own hale ; but She did not tell any
one what had passed. She wakshhttly afterwardS
taken ill, and becanle delirious, in which delirium
;The raved about what Mr, Ralph
.bad done to

her.
-
On' crass-examination, she stated that she kept
a school, 'which was formerly kept by her mother ;
that she had ;dso lived, in a family,.as_nursery go-
verness ; that she went to see some friends two
days after,Vards at Tunbridge, and was driven there
by a young man of the name of Bromley. She
could not' recollect whether they had a glass of-
gin each at'setting -out ; but she denied that he
took. any liberties with her on the road... She de-
nied that :t men of the name of Cornwall had ever
tai.en any libertes wit;i her, or that she had ever
walked alone with him in. the. Church-yard of
-Mailing; or that she heti ever gone tp, visit Mr.
Vry, an army-surgeon in Barracks, at Chatham.

Mr. Knight, the now husband to the presecu-
trix, stated, that he went down to Mailing .in
eptetnber last. :He Mi,:s Hodson ylfry
and in a state oF high delirium. From her con-
duct and expressions he leant what lira Ralph
had done. Ralph came to the house one day; he
told him he •waS surprised he should conic to any
place where 'Miss Hodson was. Mr. Ralph said,
he.did uot.know why he should not. The wit-
"'less told him his conduct had been most shame-.
Ertl ; that he was a liar when be said that he knew
not for why; that he had attempted to do that,
which, if he had .perpetrated, he would have been
hanged for doing. Mr. Ralph changed colour,
was much affected; and said, if he had-done any
thing to offend Miss nodson, he was ready to
make atonement, and would beg her pardon. The
lyitness told him, he ought to go twon,his knees,
which he consented to do, 'and actually begged
her pardon on his knee, saying, that her conduct
had never warranted the liberty he had taken.
Mrs. Hodson, the mother,-ai Mrs. Moreton, and
a maidkservant, proved his making the same con
cessions, with an humble applOgy for his miscon-
duct.

Mr. Serjeant, BEST,, for the defendant, Conten&
cd, that these concessions arose obly :from the fear
of Having-any accusation made against himovhe-
titer ill or wed founded, as it was the ruin of a
medical man ; and having commented o-tt the con-
duct of a young Lady going down a dark lane
with ,a man, at eleven o'clock at night, to look at

a bunch of hops, the county of 'Kent, he ob-
served was as absurd as if a Newcastle Lady
should go out of her way to admire a riece of c0a1.,.
He theh called evidence.
John Coggar, a schoolmaster at Milling; said
lie was going home to Addington, on the night of
the 2d of September, through the fields from
•.Aralling. In approaching the fir:A accommoda-
tion gate, he saw a man and _a lady standing
there ; they were very very loving; and had their
arm g round each other. When he approached
the lady made way for hiai to pass, and he
thought the roan was Mr. Ralpn ; be heard no.
cry of murder,, and if 'any such cry had been
npade, there was a cottage and inhabitants near

the spot.
John Brumley, a Shoemaker at Mailing.; said,
that on the 4th of 'September last he drove Miss
Hodson from Malting to Tunbridge; ; before they
set out. they bad a quarteruof gin of three out.;
at'the inn door,pand she drank the first glass, but
he denied that he ever kiseed her at all.
Tbotnas Cornwall said, some tune ago he was'
iiktKodaced to P+liss Hodson, by a -person of the
name of Mayne. He asked her to take a walk, to
which she readily consented, lie than detailed a
number of familiarities which.passed— At last, at
3_l o'clock,- he stated, that he hissed her under the
windows of a Mr. Etbrington,, in the street, at
Ethrington, sa grocer at Malling,.confirmed
tins statetnent, as having' seen the- -last witness
bugging her, and lilting her. off her feet.
On this evidence, the Jury expressed thrmsclves
satisfied without going further, and acquitted the
defendant.

A letter has been received from an officer of the
2d biatatien 93d, regiment, announcing the safe
arrival of the regiment at Newfoundland, after a
most perilo►u voyage,