The Sun.
London, England, 1842-10-19 00:00:00

Price One Shilling.
RETROSPECTIVE, Oil SCATTERED ME,
MORTALS of CALAIS.
Sold by Batchelor, King's Arms Library, Dover; and On.
whyn, Catharine-street, Strand.
N. B. A gentleman thus speaks of this little pamphlet :
" The numerous anecdotes and biographical incidents it re.
cords, are truly interesting, and will richly repay its perusal."

CORONER'S INQUEST,
HORRIBLE DEPRAVITY.

Yesterday, at 12 o'clock, an inquiry was instituted
before Mr. Wakley, M.P., at the Crown Tavern,
Ed,geware-road, on view of the body of Elizabeth
Bell Woodroffe, aged 32, who committed suicide by
taking poison, under the circumstances subjoined :
Mr. Richard Keene, surgeon and chemist, No. 17,
Crawford-street, Bryanston-square, deposed to being
called, and having found the deceased lying in bed,
her extremities quite cold, and she evidently in a
dying state. She had been vomiting very much, and
was almost beyond the power of speech. Witness
asked her if she had taken poison, to which she made
no reply ; but on his again putting the question and
whether it was arsenic, she by a movement of her
head signified in the affirmative. Witness then ad-
ministered to her two scruples of sulphate of zinc ;
but she never rallied, and died in less than 20minutes.
He had since made a post mortem examination of the
body, and found the whole internal surface of the
stomach discoloured with red patches, indicating that
she had taken arsenic, which, by subsequently using
tests, he had proved beyond doubt to be the fact;
the arsenic he had ascertained to have been purchased
at his shop by the deceased.
William Woodroffe stated that the deceased was
his wife. On Saturday morning last she placed a
cup out of which she had been drinking on the table,
and throwing down a piece of paper, said, " There,
that's poison. I have done it." Witness said you are
always up to some of your tricks, and taking up the
paper, threw it 'into the fire. About half an hour
hour afterwards she began vomiting, when witness
fetched her half a quartern of gin, part of which she
only drank. Subsequently getting worse, Mr. Keene
was sent for, shortly after whose arrival she died.
Sarah Blanchard (who cohabited with the husband
under the same roof) corroborated this statement.
A respectable-looking mechanic here stepped for-
ward, and stated to the Jury that he was acquainted
with the deceased, who was of very respectable fa-
mily. She had been married for some years, and had
had a family of eleven children, all of whom with the
exception of one (who was living with her up to the
time of her death) were dead. About two years ago
her husband, who was a zinc-plate worker, deserted
her, leaving her in Yorkshire entirely destitute. She
had since lived on the bounty of her family and
friends, who at length, being wearied out with her
importunities, refused her any further assistance. She
then sought fter her husband, whom she at length
found living as described. She was at first repulsed,
but refusing to quit the place without him, an offer
was made to her to lodge with them, to which truly
revolting proposition she was induced, through fear
of actual starvation of herself and child, to accede.
Since then she had been subjected to constant ill-
usage from her husband, for protection against whom
she had more than once applied to a Magistrate ; and
while he and the female Blanchard occupied tlae bed,
she had been forced to submit to lie on a piece of old
carpet on the floor.
Mr. WAKLEY remarked that the case was one which '
_ _

disclosed facts of a disgraceful and immoral nature,
and one which could not have been supposed to exist
in the present enlightened age. The Jury, however,
had only met fur the purpose of inquiring into the
cause of the death of the deceased ; and although the
conduct of certain parties might have led her to com-
mit self-murder, such parties were not answerable
there for the manner in which they had acted.
The Jury, after some consultation, returned a ver-
dict, "That the deceased had destroyed herself while
in a state of temporary insanity," at the same time
expressing their opinion that she was driven to the
commission of the crime by the base and cruel treat-
ment of her husband William Woodroffe.
On the husband of the deceased making his ap-
pearance in the street after the inquiry he was greeted
with the groans and hisses of about 100 women, who
had assembled round the house, and who would, had
it not been for the protection afforded him by the
police, have proceeded to the infliction of personal
chastisement.

....PRINTERS' PENSION SOCIETY.—Last evening a
benefit for this Society took place at the Grecian
Saloon, Eagle Tavern, City-road. The evening's
entertainment commenced with a performance of
music, from the works of Mozart and other cele-
brated composers, after which the whole vocal talent
of the company was brought forward. This was fol-
lowed by the opera of Guy Manneriy, or the Gipsy's
Prophecy. Mr. Fraser took the part of Dandie Din-
moat, and Miss Forde enacted Lucy Bertram. In
the course of the evening Mr. Morgan, the celebrated
Irish vocalist, sang some of his best songs. The ballet
of the Cobbler and Tailor, an amusing piece, ended
the performance, which amused and delighted the
audience. This Society is in every respect deserving
public sympathy and support; and we are happy to
state, that notwithstanding the inauspicious state of
the weather, there was both in number and respecta-
bility an excellent audience, the result of which, it is
hoped, may have the effect of adding amply to the
funds of the Society.
INTENDED FEAT OF MOUNTJOY TIIE PEDES-
TRIAN.—It is Mountjoy's intention to perform the
almost incredible feat in one hour, at the Victoria
Cricket-ground, Woodhouse moor, on Monday next,
of which the following are the particulars :—Run one
mile—walk one mile forward, and one mile back-
, ward—trundle a hoop half a mile—wheel a barrow
half a mile—hop upon one leg 200 yards—run
backwards 200 yards—pick up 40 eggs with his
mouth, placed a yard apart, without his knees touch •
ing the ground, or his hand touching the eggs, and
bring each egg in his mouth, and deposit it in a
bucket of water without breaking, and then leap over
20 hurdles placed 10 yards apart. After the conclu-
sion of this feat, he purposes to rest half an hour, and
then proceed to another hour's task of running seven
miles, and leaping over 80 hurdles at an elevation of
nearly four feet. We understand that Colonel Mark-
ham, of the 32d Infantry, has kindly promised that
his band shall be in attendance; and that Mountjoy
is to have the Colonel's patronage, and that of the
other officers of the regiment on the occasion,—Le?4
211-cicury.