The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-28 00:00:00

FULL OF EXCUSES.

An odd customer—an aged man too—has been
enlightening the magistrates at Poole as to the in-
dducements which lead some men to be drunk an
disorderly at any season of festivity. The delinquent
was placed in the dock, and, in reply to the charge,
he began his story. He had, he said, the misfor-
tune to chop a sixpence into the river,
and getting low-spirited about it he im-
bibed a pint. Being still out of sorts because his boots
required mending, and not having the money to pay
for the job, he ordered another pint. Then an in-
formant brought the bad news that he had lost a
good job of work which had been promised him, and
a third pint became absolutely indispensable to
enable him to bear the misfortune; but he had
scarcely polished it off ere he learned that the intelli-
gence was false, and that the job was still obtainable,
whereupon he became so glad that he could do no
less than have another drink. This led to a fourth
pint being indulged in, and ultimately he lost
balance, and fell into the hands of the police.

A SCENE IN CONGRESS.

The proceedings in the Washington House of
Representatives have been enlivened by an epiande
partly personal and partly political, which resulted

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HER MAJESTY.

OSBORNE, Dec. 27.

The Queen went out walking yesterday afternoon, at-
tended by Lady Waterpark ; and her Majesty walked
oat,this morning,laccorapanied by Princess Louise.
Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold, 'and Princess Beatrice
also went out. •

TIIE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT AT BEAR-
WOOD.

On Monday morning an inquest was held at Bearwood
by Mr. Weedon, the Berkshire coroner, upon the re-
mains of Mr. John Walter, jun.; whose lamentable and
untimely death on the ice we have already recorded. The
Rev. Sir John William Hayes was chosen foreman of the
jury. The first witness called was George Webb, a car-
penter employed on the estate. About twenty
minutes to four on the previous Saturday he
was near the lake in front of Bearwood, when
he saw Master Thomas Walter, who was skating
with a chair in which his cousin, Master Richard
Walter, was seated, fall into the water with his cousin,
the ice having given way. The deceased, Mr. John Walter,
immediately went to the rescue, but the ice gave way
under him, and he went in too. The deceased, while in
the water, kept the two younger ones from sinking for about
three minutes. Witness told Rackley, the fisherman, who
was on the ice, about it, and he went to the rescue. He
stooped on the edge of the ice and put the rope round
the body of one, and the other younger one clung to him,
and they were both pulled out. Mr. JoheWalter,
however, sank.. He only saw these three And Rackley, and
one other, either Captain Walter or Mr. Henry Walter, he
was not sure which, on the ice at the time. He saw Mr.
Walter, and told him of the occurrence, and he went to
within ten feet of the edge of the ice, but Mr. John Walter
jun., was then gone. He saw the party skating at half-
past 2 upon the ice, and they might have been there before.
James Rackley said he was a fisherman in the employ of
Mr. Walter. Between 3 and 4 o'clock on Saturday last, as
he was going across the ice he met George Webb. who told
him that three or four of the skating party had fallen
through the ice. He went at once towards the spot, and
Master Henry told him to lie flat on his belly, which he
did, and grasped the first he could reach—he did not kniw
whether it was Master Tom or Master Richard, Captain
Walter's son ; and he pulled the two out, the second
one clinging to the first he had grasped. When he first
came up he saw three in the water, but the third had
disappeared when he had pulled the two out. He had no
rope, but he pulled them out with his hands, and if he had
had help he could have saved the other. He was afraid
that the two would have overpowered him, and if they had
no one would have been saved. He was obliged to tell
Mr. Henry Walter to hold his legs, as he could
get no one to come near him. Mr. Arthur Walter
went for some ropes, and lie came up with them
just as he get the two out. The poor old man added that
he would have lost his own life to save Mr. John Walter's.
The water where the deceased fell in is between 20 and
30 feet deep. James Dance, a gentleman's servant out of
employ, in dragging for the body in the evening, dis-
covered it near the opening where the young man fell in.
The jury were satisfied with this evidence, the coroner
considerately abstaining from calling any member of
the bereaved family as a witness. A verdict
of "Accidental Death" was instantly recorded. The
foreman afterwards requested the incumbent of
Bearwood (the Rev. Dalton Paul) to convey the jury's
expression of deep sympathy with the bereaved family on
the death of Mr. John Walter, in his attempt to save the
lives of his brother and cousin. The. Rev. J. T. Brown
added that the sad event was felt in every home and by
every heart in the district.