The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-12 00:00:00

BESOZZI V. HARRIS.

Mr. Prid.eaux, with whom was Mr. Eldin, ap-
peared for the plaintiff ; Mr. M. Smith, Q.C., and
Mr. Bailey fur the defence.

Mr. Prideaux, in stating the case, said—ln Sep-
tember an excursion trip was announced by a steam
packet to an island in the Bristol Channel, called
the Steep Holmes, and Miss Besozzi accordingly,
on the 17th September, accompanied by a young
lady named Payton and three other ladies, took
places by the packet, on board of which she met a
gentleman named Gully, and his wife and family,
to whom she had previously been known. The
defendant, Mr. Harris, was the only resident on
the Steep Holmes island. He farmed the land there,
and occupied a house which he used as an inn.
The party landed, Miss Payton and the ladies went
on towards the top of the Holmes, and the plain-
tiff and Mr. Gully remained at the house for a few
minutes whilst he ordered dinner. They were
about to leave to rejoin their friends when Miss
Harris, a daughter of defendant, pointed to a door
by which to leave the house, when a large ferocious
bear, which was chained to a kennel, struck Miss
Besozzi a violent blow on the back with his paw,
which knocked her down on her face, seized her
with his mouth, drew her towards him, and so soon
as he had got her within his grasp began to worry
her with his mouth, and passed his fangs through
her person right down to the bone. Miss Besozzi's
screams brought to the spot a Mr. Hazard, who
had an umbrella, and he broke his umbrella to
pieces over the beast, which let go Miss Besozzi,
and Mr. Gully pulled her away. She had to sub-
mit to painful surgical operations ; her nervous
system was completely shaken, and she suffered
from a lameness which it was probable she would
not recover. _ . _

Miss Besozzi, the plaintiff, was called, and con-
firmed substantially the statement of her counsel.
Mr. Charles Gully, Miss Payton, and Mr.
Hazard were called in confirmation.
Mr. Greig, surgeon, described the plaintiff's in-
jurie. Five of the bear's fangs had penetrated,
and the wound was to the bone. _ _

Mr. M. Smith, in addressing the jury for the
defence, said everybody must lament the severe
misfortune which Miss Besozzi had suffered, but it
would be his duty and that of the jury to discard
all sympathy, and, looking calmly at the circum-
stances of the case, to inquire whether, although
Miss Besozzi had suffered, Mr. Harris was answer-
able. The defendant for whom he appeared was a
person in a very humble station. He paid Mr.
Tynte 60/. a-year for the island, which 11,1 farmed ;
he eked out a livelihood by fishing, and he had a
very hard struggle to provide for himself and family.
Mr. Harris, prior to this occurrence, had every
reason to believe that the bear was a quiet animal.
He had had it for three s ears, and. it had gone
about like a dog, playing with the children, run-
ning in and out of the house, going about the island
with defendant's men, and behaving in the most
playful and docile manner.
Samuel Baker, a farmer near Newport, deposed
that the bear was imported by his brother, a cap-
tain, and given to his father. It used to runabout
the farm, eating with the calves and pigs, and wal
always gentle. The children used to ride it, and
cried when it was given to
it followed
in exchange
for a dog. On one occasion followed witness's
gig to mat ket, five miles and back. The bear came
from Russia.
Mr. Edin—Tlien it was a rugged Russian bear ?
Wztvess (indignantly)—No, it was not.
Mr. Edin—Why, you say ho came from Russia.
Witness—But he was not a rough 'un. (Laugh-
ter.)
The Judge—The learned counsel suggests that
he was a ruffian. (Renewed laughter.)
The defendant and his wife and daughter were
likewise called to speak to the gentle character of
Bruin, who (it was observed by Mr. Prideaux)
must have been " a very gem of a bear." Both
Mrs. Harris and her daughter stated that Miss
Besozzi blamed Mr. Gully for taking her so near
the bear, and said she should not have gone had
she not been told it was blind.

The jury, after a brief consultation, returned a
verdict for the plaintiff—Damages 501.
Much surprise was expressed in court at the
smalineas of the award.

CITY OP LONDON SESSIONS.

The April Quarter Sessions for the City of Lon-
don were held on Saturday at Guildhall, before the
Lord Mayor, the Recorder, and a bench of aldermen.

FRACAS ON THE CORN EXCHANGE.

Mr. Alfred Firminger, merchant, 8, Great Win-
chester-street, surrendered in discharge of his
recognisances, to meet a charge of assault upon an
indictment preferred by Mr. W. Muggeridge
(brother of Alderman Sir H. Muggeridge), mer-
chant, of Fowkea'-buildings, Great Tower-street.
Defendant pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Tindal Atkinson appeared for the prosecu-
tion, and Mr. James fur the defence.
Mr. William Muggeridge, upon being sworn, de-
posed that he had known the defendant for some
years, but had not spoken to him for some little
time previously to the 26ih of February, when
defendant sp ,ke to him as he passed on the
Corn Exchange, and asked him if he had ever lent
his (d-fendant's) brother Si. ? Wi ness replied that
he had as he had done so to prevent his children,
nieces and nephews of defendant, from starving.
Defendant then asked if he had said that he (de-
fendant) had swindled him out of 500/. ? Witness
replied in the negative ; and defendant then asked
him to read a let., er, which he banded to him.
Witness said, " What is it all about ?" He had no
time, and turned to go away, upon which defen-
dant struck him in the face with his open hand, at
the same time calling him aswindler and a coward,
and afterwards kicked him, upon which witness
gave him into custody of the market beadle.
Mr. James cross-examined the witness at great
length, and elicited from him that he was intimately
connected with all the movetuents of the Firminger
family, and knew that one of the defendant's sisters
had married an officer in the Belgian niil tary ser-
vice named Louis. Mr. James handed up the copy
of a letter, as being the same which defendant had
questioned witness about on the Corn Exchange,
and particularly inquired whether (the letter having
been sent to the colonel of M. Louis's regiment,
Mr. Edward Firminger) defendant did not eve-
cially call witness's attention to the same passage,
viz. :—" I think I can make you laugh. When
M. Louis got married to my sister, they took apart-
ments, but at the end of a week, not having the
money to pay the rent, they went away in the night,
M. Louis carrying the night-gown and stockings of
his wife under his arm, and like this they had to beg
money of my mother. The poor woman of whom
they had the apartments had nothing else to depend
upon, and she was in the habit of calling M. Louis
That thief of a dragoon.' The truth of all this you
can learn by writing to Mr. Muggeridge, 3,
Fowkes's-buildings, Tower-street, as he told me,
and the woman has been to me about it. It has
also been said that some things were taken away
from the rooms, but this I should not like to say
myself."
Witness did not very clearly remember whether
defendant had called his attention to this particular
passage of the letter, but he distinctly disclaimed
all connexion with its authorship.
Two other witnesses were called upon the part of
the prosecution, both of whom witnessed the assault
but admitted that neither the blow nor the kick
was very violent, and that both seemed to have
been given rather as an insult than with any in-
tent to injure the prosecutor.
Mr. James, upon the part of defendant, said the
character of defendant's sister and her husband
had been basely and cruelly maligned, and that
defendant having rf ason to believe, from the letter
which had been produced, that prosecutor was the
author of the slander, struck him in a moment of
excitement, produced by his refusal to give any ex-
planation upon the point. He admit ed that his
client had acted illegally and intemperately,
and when before the Lord Mayor intimated
his willingness to apologise;--a course wh eh
he (Mr. James) regretted hai been refused by the
other side. Under these citcumstances the court,
no doubt, would deal with tee offence as a very
light one, and not as one which' efleeted upon defen-
dant's moral character.

The R, corder, in .summing up, said there could
be no doubt, that the defendant was guilty of the
offence charged against him, and although he
pleaded excitement in extenuation, it was not to be
forgotten that the Corn Exchange was not a proper
place to ask for explanations upon private and
family matters.
The jury found the defendant Guilty, and the
court sentenced him (0 e outrage being.a very gross
one) to pay a fine of 20!., and 10 enter into his own
recuguislneei to keep the peace for twelve months,
and to be imprisoned until the fine was paid.
The money was paid at once.

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OP SELF-M TIRDER,
AND DESTRUCTION OP A DIVELLIN

The vilisge of Beaufort, South Wales, has been
the scene of one of the most remarkable cases of
self-de-true ion which it has ever fal en to our lot
to record, and a coroner's jury has decided that at
the time of his committing the fatal crime, its per-
petrator was in his right senses, and accountable
for his acts. The deceased, whose name was
George Screech, and who was between 45 and 50
years of ego, was not a native of the principality,
hut earns to the neighl.ourlio ,d of Beaufort from
Somersetshiie four or five years ago, and had since
worked in the mines. At the time of his death he
was residing at the house of a relative of his, a
decent man, who also got his bread as a miner,
named Richard Greenland. During the last few
months he had once or twice said he wished he was
dead, as he was tired of so much hard work,
but nothing in his conduct had induced any
suspieion that his mind was effected. Latterly he
had been out of work, and looked more poorly
than usual, but his appetite continued good,
and no apprehensions were entertained re-
garding him. On the day of his death he was talk-
ing to Mrs. Greenland as usual, and she was work-
ing about tar house performing her u-ual household
duties. Her husband being a miner, he always
kept some kegs of blasting gunpowder in his house,
which, with a view to greater secut ity, he deposited
in an upstairs room. At the time in question there
were quantities in two casks, one of which had the
head out, and the, other a bole bored through the
top. In the course of her duties Mrs. Greenland
had to leave her house for a minute or two. As
she passed the door she noticed the deceased going
hurriedly towards the bottom of the staircase, and
in a minute afterwards an explosion was heard,
which shook the place like an earthquake. The
utmost terror was occasioned, and the affrighted
neighbours ran from their cottages to see what was
the causeeef the alarming occurrence. It was soon
perceived that Greenland's house was shattered to
pieces. The roof was completely blown off, its
fragments being scattered in all directions, the
windows were torn out, the walls shattered, and
the lower rooms filled with a dense suffocating
smoke. On a search being made, Mrs. Greenland's
infant, which she had left in a cradle in a lower
room, was found alive, but the clothes were on fire
and the poor little thing half choked with the
vapour. Screech was found amongst the debris
frightfully burnt and mangled, but sill alive and
conscious. Prior to his death, which occurred some
six or seven hours afterwards, he confessed that
he had himself wilfully caused the explo-
sion, and must have been tempted by the
devil. He siid, being determined to destroy him-
self, he took the tongs, drew a red-hot coal from
the fire, carried it upstairs, and threw it into the
open cask of gunpowder, which was under the bed.
As to the baby, he forgot that she was there. An
inquest was held on the body at the Beaufort Arms
Inn before the deputy-coroner, Mr. E. C. Davies,
and a respectable jury. Tee foregoing particulars
were deposed to, and Mrs. Greenland and a man
named Amos were examined with a view to ascer-
tain the state of his mind. A verdict of felo de se
was returned, and the remains of the unhappy
wan were interred in unconsecrated ground, and
without funeral rites, at ten o'clock at night.
Some of the adjacent houses were much shaken by
the explosion, but were less injured than from its
violence might have been ex.)ec.ed.

Country Mari ets

LEICESTER-APRIL 10.

At our corn market to-day there was a good supply of
wheat, which sold at an advance of 3s to 43 per qr., good
white making 514. and red 508. per quarter. The trade in
barley ruled dull, and Ist week's rates were maintained.
Beans in small supply, and is per quarter dearer. Oata
were scarce and ls higher.