The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-08 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

On Saturday an inquest was held before William
Carter, Esq., the Coroner for Surrey, at the Kentish
Drovers, Old Kent-road, respecting the death of Mr.
Thomas Atkins, one of the inmates of the Licensed
Victuallers' Asylum. The deceased had arrived at the
advanced age of ninety-four years, and the circumstances
of the case were very extraordinary.
Mr. James Seaward stated that he had been a licensed
victualler, but now resided at No. 54, in the
The deceased lived at No. 53. On Monday night wit-
ness went to bed at eleven o'clock-, ana soon after he
of a chair. Instantly
afterwards
a
wards noisehe
heardlikethe
dr fali
dreadful groans, and they seemed
to have come from some one who was in an adjoining
room. Ile and his wifo got up, and were soon alarmed
by Mrs. Grafts, one of the inmates, knocking at
the door, and calling out, " For God's sake
come down, there is something the matter, and I
believe it is Atkins." They instantly went to his house,
and could not find him either in the parlour or bed-
room. Witness, upon looking round, discovered that the
window was open, and he again distinctly heard groan-
ing. Before looking out of it he saw the deceased lying
on the pavement and moaning bitterly. lie went down
to his assistance, but the deceased said, " Let me alone 4
Witness, with the assistance of his wife, conveyed him to
his house, and Mr. Ward, the surgeon of the Institution,
having been sent for, most promptly attetidett There
was a severe wound on the temple. lie
and witness was with him-for konie.,tu'i.- ' •
By the CORONER—In • consequence'' of thti Aee@t(Ws
advanced age the Governors had directed'a ntntsi teicon
stantly attend him.
The ConON E e—ln what-way do 'nit actoittie fdr Whit.
you saw ? Mr. Seaward—The deceased Eras tinder,
delusion that at some • time a carriage would run over
him, and I think that under this impreSSien; and tai W
the imaginary danger, he jumped from the windo.
The CORONER-11 ad he his clothes on ? SeaWardL-
No ; nothing but his shirt, and when I-nrent 'td• himn fie
said, " Take me away, take me away, the earriatre Will
run over me."

Mr. Ward, the surgeon, was next examined, and stated
'fall; `there ~wits
he found the deceased covered with.,blood, and his
hair was completely matted with ft. • 'l'he blood was
flowing profusely from a wound on the teMple. ' 'lle4aS`
at that time quite insensible. Witness attended 'liiin•trip.
to the time of his death. Ile was not labouring. under'
a
aitnhactauosfedoldbyattee. Ile 'died' from:.
e
no fracture of the scull or dislocation of the linibs.•-" "-'
any infirmity
itoyf the exceptbr
Mr. Ward here stated that a year ago the deceased'
gave his son a sovereign to buy his little necessaries,but
instead of doing so, he never came to see his ftither'thitir
Saturday last. The daughter called at .witaess's liouse,
and was told the dangerous state her father was in, but
she said she must go home to Kensington. jie prevailed
upon her to stop, but sho went home the next morning
without having seen her father.
The CORONER observed that it was cruel and most un-
natural treatment.
The nurse was called in, and fully proved that every
possible
attention was paid to the deceased, whowa)
I • • a s,
she said, appeared in full of 1 • .
possession his mental facul-
ties. On the Monday night she placed a bottle of warm
water at his feet, and gave him a glass of wine and water.
Ile was then perfectly coherent in his manner.
The Jury, after a short deliberation, returned a ver-
dict of " Accidental Death."

•
• -
WORTH KNOWING.--A chimney, On. fire iii
It
the followingd was: enadsya)- toi dr et':p-edslinticoe, efl'ectua,llt;il the firstt
place, a large piteherful of water was thrown into the:
grate, which, of course, generated a considerable quart
ely of steam. A sheet was then fastened up in front of
the fireplace, in such a manner as to prevent a current of
air from ascending the chimney, and in less than five
minutes all signs of blaze or fire in the Chimney had en-
tirely disappeared.
The Earl of -Lauderdale has been appointed
Lieutenant and Sheriff Principal of Berwickshire, in the
room of the late Earl of Home.