The Sun.
London, England, 1869-10-30 00:00:00

SUSPICIOUS DEATH IN A LUNATIC
ASYLUM.

The inquest on Santi Nistri, a pauper lunatic, at the
Lunatic Asylum, Hanwell, before Dr. Diplock, one of the
Coroners for Middlesex, has been concluded. From the
facts elicited, it appears that the deceased, who was a
tailor, thirty-eight years of age, was removed from the
Westminster Union on the 11th of October to the asylum
at Hanwell in a lunatic state, and that a few days after his
admission he became worse and died. After his death it
was found that his breast-bone was crushed in, and nine
ribs were broken. No one knew anything of his having
met with an accident, but, on inquiry, two other inmates
of the asylum stated that they had seen him trip over a
mat and fall against some iron railings.
The Coroner, in summing up, said : It appears to me
that what we have to do is to trace back the evidence from
the time of the man's death to when the change took place.
The man died on Thursday, the 21st, and, tracing it back-
wards, there seems little doubt that the injuries were
inflicted on the Sunday. On that day, as well as on the
Monday and the Tuesday, he was unable to get out or
about. On Tuesday evening we hear that he was placed
in an easy chair to be carried to the padded room. On
Monday evening he had to be carried part of the
way. On the Sunday Sutton says that he had a
shivering fit. There is a difficulty in defining the
date of the injury exactly; even the medical men
who made the post mortem cannot tell you exactly
the age of the injuries. Dr. Hawks says they might have
been received four days previous to the death. That
brings you to the Sunday. .As regards the bruise, he said
it might be a few hours or four days old. That is indefinite;
but the fact is, a deep bruise comes to the surface some time
later than ono which is more superficial ; therefore, though
the bruise did not show until Wednesday, it does not follow
it was caused on the. Wednesday. Sutton tells you the
patient used to walked in the yard with him, that he could
not walk fast, and used to hold his arm, up to the Satur-
day, but not altos wards. On the Sunday, when being
dressed, he resisted, and seemed to be suffering, for he
put his hands to his chest, and seemed as if his chest
caused him great pain. One of the other attendants
speaks of the bruise on Wednesday, not as if it were a
new bruise, but as if it had come out more. Dr. Hawks
tells you that with such an injury it was not probable the
man could live more than three or four days. That also
brings you back to Sunday as the date of the injury. I
was particular to ask Sutton as to the degree of restraint
which was exercised on this patient in dressing him on
Sunday morning, and he says that Pilo laid down by
the side of him, and held his hands. If Pile had knelt
down by the side of him, and the patient was
resisting, scratching, and biting, Pile, instead of putting
his hand to hold him down, might put his knee to hold
him down. That is the reason I asked the position of Pile
while holding him down. But you hear that he let go of
the patient while he got up himself, and that then the two
men raised him up on to his feet. I do not think, therefore,
that there is any evidence that the injury was caused
then; but you heard what was stated, and you must form
your own opinion. The other point to consider is the
fall against the railings and on the stone floor. I asked
Dr. Hawks whether he thought it possible the bones
were more brittle than ordinary; but he said they were in
the ordinary condition, but somewhat unprotected from
the man being so thin. He thought it was possible, but
very improbable, that the injuries could I,,ve been caused
by the fall. The injuries seemed to have been caused on
the Sunday morning, and the point is whether they were
caused by the attendants dressing him. I inquiredparticu-
iarly as to that point, and my impression is that the evi-
dence does not bear it out, and that it is more likely it was
caused by the fall.
The jury, after a brief consultation, returned a verdict
the effect that the death of the deceased had resulted,
from the injuries received, but how they were received
there was no evidence to shew ; but they believed them to
have been caused after admission to the Hanwell Lunatic
Asylum.

The Queen sent a telegram from Balmoral to
Eaton-square, in the course of Friday, inquiring as to tha
health of Mr. Peabody. Her Majesty will leave for Windsor
on Wednesday.

Last week we were induced to state, upon what
we believed to' be good authority, that ➢ir. Liddon had
been offered the Bishopric of Exeter. We have now to
contradict that statement in unqualified terms. On
authority which we cannot doubt we learn that neither
the Bishopric of Exeter nor any other preferment has
ever been offered by the Premier to Mr. Liddon.—Churce
Review.

A FAMILY PITZZLE.—Apropos of the report that
M. Lesseps and his son—who are referred to as "MM.
X. pore et file "—are about to marry two sisters, the Rappel
suggests the following complications as likely to arise
from these double espousals :—To begin with, M.X., the
the son, will be the brother in-law of his father, and his wife
will become the sister-in-law of her own sister. If M. X.
!senior has a son, and M. X. junior, a daughter, and they
should marry, the daughter of X. junior, will become the
sister-in-law of her father; and the son of X. senior will
be the son-in-law of his brother and of his sister-in-law.
If there should be a child of this second marriage, it will
have two grandfathers, MM. X. senior and junior, whence
it follows that X. senior will become the brother of his
.wn son. Mote than that, if a boy, he will be the brother
of his own mother, since he and his mother are alike
grandchildren of X. senior; and as a mother's brother is
an uncle, he will be in the anomalous position of being his
own uncle.

RAsrAiL.-31. Raspail, the red Republican of
Paris, has, it is said, amassed a fortune of over £OO,OOO by
the sale of a popular medicine. He is a hale and hearty
man of 75, living like a perfect hermit in an old chAteau
-:ew miles from Paris, surrounded by a park. He is almost
inaccessible, and neither gives nor receives invitations. A
member of the very opposite party, however, recently in-,
varied his retreat, and was hospitably received. He came
'away much impressed with the beauty and luxury of the
place, declaring that, whatever M. Raspail's political
orofessions, the owner of such a retreat must is
his heart be a conserrateur. M. Raspail was originally
intended for the Church by a pious mother, who had
dreams of her son wearing a mitre. He actually studied
in an ecclesiastical seminary for several years. His own
account of his severance from Mother Church Is, to say
the least, characteristic. Ire sought out his bishop, and
said, "My Lord, I cannot stay—l do not believe a word of
what lam required to teach !" The bishop NiallOdi and
1114(10 PAEMOra " Neitlicz do I ; but ao is lama