The Sun.
London, England, 1825-03-08 00:00:00

SUICIDE.

INQUEST on the BODY of the HON. J. H. STANHOPE.
On Saturday night some of the most respect-
able families in the neighbourhood of Hampstead and High-
gate were thrown into great agitation by the intelligence that
Colonel STANHOPE had been found hanging from a beam in
one of the outhouses at Caen Wood, the seat of the Earl of
MasrsriELD. Numerous inquiries were made into the cir-
cumstances of the death of the Colonel, but no information
could be obtained. A Coroner's Jury was summoned with re-
markable haste to meet at ten o'clock yesterday morning, at
the Fox-under-the-Hill public-house, Highgate.
The Jury, upon being sworn, proceeded to view the pre-
mises where the body of the Colonel was found suspended. It
is an outhouse in Caen Wood, at a considerable distance from
the family mansion, where cattle are sheltered. The beam
from which the body was cut down was about seven feet from
the ground, and there lay across it a pair of braces by which
he had suspended himself. The Jury, after inspecting this
spot, were conducted to the nearest lodge, where they viewed
the body, which was laid out on a bed. The deceased was
dressed in a common walking dress with boots ; his top coat
was pulled down over the shoulders, his cravat was off, and
there was a livid mark in the throat : a silk handkerchief which
he had tied to the braces and fastened round his throat was ex-
hibited. There were no other marks of violence on the body
than that just described.
The first witness called was William Wright, groom of the
Earl of Mansfield. He stated, that towards 10 o'clock on Sa-
turday night, in consequence of very great alarm which pre-
vailed in the mansion, he went, with several others of the ser-
vants, to search about the wood. He, as well as the rest, were
apprehensive that something might have happened to the
Colonel. After having searched several places, they went into
the shed which the Jury had inspected. Witness was the first
that entered the shed, and he started back on finding the Colonel
suspended from a beam. Witness's fellow-servants cut down
the corpse immediately. The extremities were quite cold.—
They immediately conveyed it to the nearest lodge, but life was
quite extinct.
The next witness was J. Wheeler, who appeared to be in
extreme grief while giving his testimony. He stated that
he had ben valet to the deceased upwards of seventeen
years, and had attended upon his master as usual on Satur-
day morning. The family usually dined at seven o'clock,
and a little before that time the bell rang to dress for dinner.
Witness went to attend his master, but was greatly surprised
at not finding him, according to custom, about to dress. The
deceased was then sought after in various directions, but no in-
telligence was gained respecting his unaccountable absence. The
dinner passed over without his attendance, when fresh inquiries
were made respecting him. There was an arrangement about
the purchase of a house, in the disposal of which the Colonel
was concerned, to be concluded on the Saturday, and Lord
Mansfield, who was at home, conjectured that the Colonel
might have gone to town for the purpose of settling the business.
For the purpose of ascertaining whether this was the case, and
from a feeling of uneasiness on the subject, his Lordship order-
ed out the carriage, and drove to town ; made inquiries at every
place in which he thought his relative might have been detain-
ed, but returned without having obtained any tidings about
him. The apprehensions of the family increased. Inquiries
were made as to the last time he was seen upon the grounds.
—lt was reported, that about ten minutes after four o'clock, he
was seen going in a particular direction in the wood. The wood
was scoured round; as it was feared the Colonel might have
been seized with some paroxysm. The deceased had received a
wound at the storming of St. Sebastian, in the Peninsular war.
A shot had passed through the thin part of the shoulder blade
—that wound had never been cured, and occasionally gave him
great pain. About two years ago his wife, the eldest daughter
of Lord Mansfield, died, and his grief at the loss of her was very
great. Of late, witness hart observed that the deceased was very
abstracted, was in the habit of sitting along time as if in a state
of stupor, and then he would suddenly start up as if from
sleep or upon an alarm. Within a few days he had complain-
ed very much that he could get no sleep in consequence of the
pain he endured. The deceased was in general very sedate in
his manner.

James Alexander, an under-gardener in the service of Lord
Mansfield, deposed that he was at work in the grounds, when,
at about 20 minutes past 4 o'clock, he observed the deceased
going towards the wood, in which the outhouse where he was
afterwards found suspended was situated. Wi,ness thought
that the step of the deceased in going towards this place was re-
markably hurried.
Dr. Gilman, of Highgate, stated that he was called in on Sa-
turday night to the house of Lord Mansfield. He found the
body of the deceased not quite cold, but life was entirely gone.
He took the usual course adopted in cases of that nature, but
with no effect. He judged that the body had been suspended
several hours, and death was no doubt caused by suffocation.
Witness had attended the family. The deceased had received
a shot in the scapula of the left shoulder. Frequent exfolia-
tions of the bone had taken place, and there was rather a co-
pious issue. He believed that the spine was affected. In such
cases, paroxysms of pain might produce temporary derange.
merit. He mentioned one instance known to some of the jury,
of Mr. Mitchell, an attorney, who, by a fall from a gig, injured
a particular nerve, and was frequently taken with a fit of run-
ning several yards. The pain and nervous irritation created by
the wound, acted upon by mental causes, might have induced
temporary insanity. There was little doubt that the Colonel
had laboured under considerable nervous irritation.
The CorroxErt summed up the evidence, and the Jury re.
turned a verdict to the effect, that the deceased had destroyed
himself whilst labouring under a fit of temporary insanity..
The Colonel was held in the highest esteem by all in the
neighbourhood who knew him, and the unaffected sorrow of the
domestics who gave evidence before the jury, bore testimony to
his worth as a master. He was remarkably pious, although
from his early youth in the army, and he paid the highest atten-
tion to religious duties. He was in his 39th year, and was
Member of Parliament for Dartmouth. We understand that
he was about to be married to a young lady who was on a visit
at Caen 'Wood at the time the dreadful event took place. The
Colonel gave up his establishment after the death of his wife,
I by whom he had one son, who is now living.

BIRTHS.tatIp
On Thursday, the 3d inst.,
pon-bouSe, Berkshire, the
lady of J. liraite, Esq., of a son.
On Saturday, the sth inst., the lady of the Rev. W. F. Cobb,
of Nettlestead, Kent, of a daughter.

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