The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-09 00:00:00

THE LATE MR STRIAGHT.

An inquest was held yesterday by Mr. Brent,
the deputy-coroner for Middlesex, upon the body
of this unfortunate gentleman, at his late residence,
No. 13, Harley-street, Cavendish-square. The Coro-
ner having briefly opened the proceedings, Mr. A.
A. Douglas, the brothersin-law of the deceased, was
examined, and he stated that he had been recently
residing. in the house with his sister and the
deceased, it being thought advisable by the medi-
cal attendant that he should do so. The deceased
had been recently very depressed in spirits, and
had been influenced by the most extraordinary
delusions as to certain litigation in which he had
been'some years engaged. Witness spent a portion
of the evening of Thursday, the 3d inst., in the
library with the deceased, and he expressed a wish
to sit up all night, but witness dissuaded him from
doing so, and they both retired to bed about twelve
o'clock at night, and he parted with the deceased at
his bedroom door. About half-past eight o'clock
the following morning. witness was called by one
of the female servants, who said that she had been
unable to make her master hear, and that she
thought he must be ill. Witness immediately
proceeded to the bedroom of the deceased, and find.
ing some obstruction against the door, het forced
it open, and discovered the body of the deceased,
quite cold and rigid, suspended from an iron peg to
the door. Witness immediately summoned medical
aid, which promptly arrived, but the deceased had
evidently been dead for several hours. Sarah
Millar, a domestic servant of the deceased, de-
posed that she went to call him at the usual
hour, and receiving no reply she called on Mr.
Douglas. She said that she had observed that her
master had been recently very desponding, and ap-
parently unhappy, but she had never heard him
threaten to do himself or any other person injury.
Dr. Forbes Winslow deposed that in March last he
was Called in to attend upon the deceased, and found
him suffering under melancholia and delusions, and
his mind was clearly diseased. He was impressed
with an idea that he had done something which
would render him odious to every one who knew
him. He also considered that it was absolutely
necessary that he should throw up all his appoint-
ments, and that he would be reduced to beggary and
should die a pauper. Witness prescribed a curative
course, and recommended that the deceased should
never be left by himself. Several friends of the unfor-
tunate gentleman were then examined, and they
gave such information to the jury as to leave no
doubt whatever upon their minds that the deceased
had destroyed himself while in an unsound state
of mind, and they accordingly returned a verdict
to that effect, accompanying it with an expression of
their opinion that the family and friends of the un-
happy gentleman had taken all the precaution
which under the circumstances could possibly have
been expected.. It appeared that the unhappy de-
ceased had been hourly expected at Hastings,
where he had been staying with his wife, and had
left- her behind. He had, it appeared, come to
town to attend to his duties at the Central Criminal
Court, and he had despatched a telegram'to his
wife the day previous to the sad event, apprising
iier of his intention to rejoin her on the day when
he came to so melancholy an end,