Star.
London, England, 1822-10-10 00:00:00

SWALLOWING CLASP KNIVES

The following singular case is abridged from the
account drawn up by Dr. Mance?. and inserted in
the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, for October :
. In June, 1799, 'John Cummings, an American
sailor, aged about 23, being with his ship on the
coast of France, and having gone on shore with some
of his shipmates, about two miles from Havre-de-
Grace, he and his party directed their course to-
wards a tent which they saw in a held, with a crowd
of people round it. They found within the tent a
man, who was entertaining the audience by pretend-
ing to swallow clap-knives. They returned on board
and spoke of what they had seen ; when Cummings,
who had been drinking freely, boasted that he could
swallow knives as well as the Frenchman. Ile was
challenged to do it. Thus pressed, and though, as
he afterwards acknowledged, not particularly anxi-
ous to take the job in hand, he did not like to go
against his word, and having a good supply of grog
inwardly, he took his own pocket-knife, and on trying
to swallow it, it slipped down his throat with great
ease, and by the assistance of some drink, and the
weight of the knife, it was conveyed into his stomach.'
1 he spectators, however, were not satisfied with
one experiment, and asked the operator—whether he
could swallow more ? His answer was—all the
knives on board the ship ; upon which three knives
were immediately produced, which were swallowed in
the same way as the former ; and by this bold at-
tempt of a drunken man (to use his own expressions)
the company was well entertained for that night.
The next day he passed one of the knives, which was
not the one he swallowed first ; and the day after-
wards he passed two knives at once, one of them being
that which he first swallowed. The other, according
to his knowledge, remained in the stomach, but be
never felt any inconvenience from it. After this ex-
traordinary performance, he thought no more of
swallowing knives for the next six years.
In March, 1805, being then at Boston, in Ame-
rica, he was one day tempted, while drinking with
a party of sailors, to boast of his former exploits,
adding, that he was the same man still, and ready to
repeat his performance. A small knife was there-
upon produced, which he instantly swallowed. In
the course of the evening he swallowed fire more.—
The next morning crowds of visitors came to see
him ; and in the course of that day he was induced
to swallow eight knives more, making in all fourteen!
He, however, paid dearly for this frolic. He was
seized with constant vomiting and pain in his sto-
mach ; but, as' he related, between that time and the
28th of the following month, he got rid of the whole
of his cargo. At Spithead, December 4, in the same,
year, he was challenged to repeat his feats, and" dis-
daining to be worse than his word," in the course of
the evening he swallowed five knives. The ship's
company, next 'morning, expressed a great desire to
see him repeat the performance, and he complied
with his usual readiness ; and " by the encourage-
ment of the people, and the assistance of good grog,
she swallowed that day, as he distinctly recollects,l
tune clasp-knives, some of which were vet), large;
and he was afterwards assured by the spectators that'
he had swallowed four more; which, however, he
declared-he 'knew nothing about, being, no doubt,
at this period of the business too much intoxicated
to have any recollection of what was passing.—'
This, however, is the last performance recorded ; it
made at least a total of thirty7five knives swallowed
at different limes; and the last attempt, ultimately,
put an end to his existence. On the following fith of
I December be became much indisposed, aad aftc;

'various applications, aboot *nor Thandis afterwards,
he.filt, as he expressed hiniselt, the kfilves."duipping
down his bowels." He continued dreadfully m. In
1807 be was in Gay's Hospital, under Di. Babington ;
and he there continued, intervals excepted, ender Dr.
Babington and afterwards under Dr. Curry, until
March,lBo9. After having gradually and miserably
sunk under his suffering, he, then died, in a state of
extreme emaciation.
The account is followed by a letter from Surgeon
Lana, who was on board the vessel where Cummings
performed his last feat, and by Cummings'own nar-
rative, drawn up in Guy's Hospital. Many knives
and fragments of knives left this extraordinary cha-
racter in the course of 1807. Dr. Marcet's account
does not state whether the body was opened.

CORO.VERg INQUESTS.

An Inquest was held last night, at seven o'clock,
at Guy's Hovital, beforeT. SuEttoN, Esq. Coroner,
on the body of Frederick Reynolds, a boy about fif-
teen years of age.
It appeared that the deceased bad on Sunday last
'gone with his master, Mr. Young, stock-broker, of
Lancaster-street, Burton-crescent, to whom he was
groom, to Vauxhall-bridge, to take back a horse that
Mr. Young had rode thither, to his father-in-law's;
and on delivery of the horse to the boy to take back,
Mr. Young gave him bis spurs, and charged him not
to put them on. He however did, and gored the i
horse's sides so severely, that they were covered with
blood, and the horse ran away. Several persons were
standing on 131ack friars-bridge, and saw the horse
coming towards it in full speed, and the boy pulling
the reins with all the force he was master of to stop
the horse, but could not; and on its arrival .at the
bridge, the boy hallooed out " Stop the horse !" and
some persons immediately got in the road and turned
it on the flag-stones; in consequence of which the
horse fell, and threw the boy. He was immediately
taken up and Conveyed to the nearest surgeon. There
appeared a compression of the brain, and the usual
remedies were applied; he was then taken to Guy's
Hospital, and died on Monday.
The Jury returned a verdict—" Died by accident;
deodand ss. on the horse."

Another Inquest was held at the same time and
place before Mr. SHELTON, Coroner, on the body of
Thomas Yeates, a boy about eleven years of age.
Mr. John Poulton, Hermes-cottage, Pentonville,
stated, he was passing Leadenhall-street, about three
o'clock on the Ist of October, and saw a coach pass-
ing along near the end of Gracechurch-street, at a
moderate pace. He saw nothing of the deceased until
he was under the horses' feet ; nor did he observe the
fore wheel of the coach pass over the boy. The hind
wheel passed over his hat. He does not think it
touched his head; it might. The deceased was taken
up and conveyed to Mr. Griffith's, surgeon, in Leaden-
hall-street, and from thence to Guy's Hospital. .He
bled very profusely, and vomited blood while at Mr.
Griffith's. The coachman appeared truly sorry, and
he verily thought it an accident.
Mr. David Major, surgeon, said he saw the de-
ceased on the Ist of October ; his head was severely
hurt ; every remedy requisite .vas used, but to no
avail. The deceased died on the Saturday following.
Verdict—" Accident." Deodand Ss. on the coach.

Last evening au Inquest was held at the Turf Tap,
in Tattersall's yard, Grosvenor-place, on the body of
Sarah Gray. James Gray, of Roehampton, Surrey,
stated that the deceased was his daughter; she was
thirteen years of age. On Tuesday four weeks, he
(witness) was at work at the Earl of Bristol's, near
Roehampton, and was informed that his daughter
was on fire; he ran home and found a great number
of persons there. His child was lying on the be,d,
her clothes had been burnt entirely.off her body. She
was sensible. He was• in the habit of going out to
work during the day, as was his wife, who went •to
assist at Lady Caroline Kingston's, and the deceased
and the younger-children were in consequence left at
home by themselves. Mr. Shilletoe, surgeon, of Put-
ney, was applied to; he did not come, but sent a
bottle of lotion, with directions how it was to be used.
It was applied by some of the neighbours. Mr. Shil-
letoe's assistant being at Lord Clifton's, at Roehamp-
ton, and hearing of the accident, came and rendered
every assistance, as did Mr. Shilletoe himself subse-
quently. On the second day after the accident, he
(witness) removed the deceased to St. George's Hos-
pital in a spring-cart lest him, belonging to the Mar-
quis of Downshire; and Lady Caroline Kingston was
so kind as to give him a letter of admission for the
child into the Hospital. The girl, prior to her death,
told him she was taking a kettle off the fire, when
her apron was drawn.between the bars of the grate,
and she was enveloped in flames instantly; she ran
into the street, and the neighbours extinguished the
flames.—Mr. John Banner, surgeon of St. George's
Hospital, stated, that the deceased was brought into
the Hospital on the 12th of September, and died on
the 6th of October. She was badly burnt on the
breast, the back, and the lower part of the abdomen.
She died of exhaustion produced by the burning.—
Verdict, co Accidentally burnt to death.".
Another Inquest was held at the same place, and
before the same Coroner and Jury, on the body of
James Baker, aged 45.
Cesar Henry. Hawkins, surgeon at St. George's
Hospital, stated that the deceased was brought into
the Hospital on the 23d of September, with a severe
injury on the ancle joint of the left leg. It being a
compound fracture, it was thought necessary to have
the leg immediately amputated. He was very unwell
when brought to the Hospital, exclusive of the injury
of the leg, and the shock to his constitution, caused
by the injury, produced his death on the 7th October.
James Grice, milkman, of No. 2, Charlton street,
Somers' Town, stated, that. on the 23d of September,
in the afternoon, the deceased was an a horse in Park-
lane, riding behind his (witness's) cart, at a distance
of about six yards, when he fell off his horse. A wo-
man exclaimed, 4, lie had killed hiniselfr He (wit-
ness) looked round, and saw the deceased-was thrown.
from his horse against the Park wall. • The man was
quits sensible. He said to him (witness) that his leg
was bioken, and that it was caused by a coachman,
who sent him out to ride the horse against his incli-
nation, and he (deceased) told him some accident
would happen. The deceased was a poor, ragged
fellow, and was a helper in a stable. The horse was
a very ,spirited one. • Ile (witness) put the man into
his cart, and carried him to the Hospital.
George Nurui, coachman to Dr. Warren, 31, Lower

Brook-street, stated, that the 'clecrxied *is helper to
him in the stables. He sent thedecensed oat on Mon-
day fortnight, with one of Dr. Warren's horses, to
exercise it, between three and four o'clock in the
afternoon. It was a bay horse,' and was at the pre.
seat time in Dr. Warren's possession. It was a re.
toarkably well-disposed horse. The deceased was
very timid with horses, though he could ride very
well: He never had any objection to ride that horse,
but was very fond of it. It had been two days in the
stable when the deceased took him out, and was then
very fresh. He (witness) had rode the horse many
times, had had him under his care three yeas, and
never knew him to have the least vice whatsoever..
The deceased never said, when he took the horse out,
that he was fearful, and did not like to rideit, as
tome accident would happen, nor anything to that
effect. The horse had no saddle on ;it had a horse.
cloth and a roller.
CORONER.—The deceased, on being taken to the
Hospital, told a witness that 6, he was sent out with
the horse by the coachman, against his will, and it
was the fault of the coachman that the accident had
occurred."
, Witness.—Then he said what was not true, a child
might have rode the horse.
The witness Grice was again called in and re•ex•
amined. He stated that he was sure the deceased told
him that the coachman, and his master also, wished
him to take out the horse, and that he was fearful an
aecident would happen, as the horse was vicious.
The Jury consulted for some time, and said there
was no evidence to crimipate the coachman, as the
words of the deceased were not evidence, unless he
believed he was in a dying state at the time, and the
words imputed to him were completely negatived by
the coachman himself.

Several of the Jury thought that a deodand should
be pat on the horse, as it ought not to have been sent
out in a " fresh" date without a saddle.

Verdict—" Accidentally killed by being thrown
from a horse—deodand £2."

Saturday morning, a man of the name of Washer,
a huckster, who attends Brighton market, was taken
ill in his cart, and expired before he reached the town.
His wife, who was riding in the cart with him, and
on whose shoulder he leaned; thought that he onlr
slept, till their arrival proved the sad reverse, and the
poor woman found herself a widow. A Cut' ner's
Jury has returned a verdict of—" Died by the viii-
cation of GOD."

Thursday, a singular marriage took place at Maid-
! stone Church, between a well-known character, named
Garwood, and his housekeeper, named Sutton. The
bridegroom is 65 years of age, and the hide aboat
60. The former is a great cripple, and was tira:.va to
Church in a hand cart, attended by a number of per-
sons. On reaching the Church he alighted from his
carriage and repaired to the altar on crutches, where
the happy knot was tied, the bridegroom at the time
frankly confessing that he married more for the sake
of having a nurse than a wife.
About ten o'clock on Tuesday forenoon the neigh-
bourhood of Black-wall was thrown into consideras
confusion, in consequence of a very alarming fire
breaking out in the extensive starch manufactory of
Messrs. Moants and CONSTABLE, dose to Sauter:
GREEN'S dock-yard. The buildings, which were yelp
large, were composed for the chief part of wood. and
had been only a fortnight erected. An Excise offi-
cer, who had been on the premises in the morning,
remarked that the steam-engine, by the aid of ‘t hich
the starch was dried, was above heat, and this rersca
had hardly quitted the manufactory when the Hares
burst forth with alarming fury, from the heat of the
engine having ignited some portion of the wood in
the drying-room., All efforts to save any part of the
manufactory were abortive, all was reiuced to a
heap of smoking ruins. The flames communicated
to the Old Hole public-house, to Mi. KINGSALCS,
plumber and glazier, and to the premises of Mr.
GROVES, live stock feeder, all of which were mate-
rially damaged. Thb wind was very high at the time
and drove some of the embers to SQC!RE 6REEN'i
dock-yard, on the opposite side of the way, winch set
on fire, and shortly destroyed a shed time, and did
a good deal of damage to the foreman's dwelling-
house, and would in all probability have destroyed
not oily the whole yard, but immediate neighbour-
hood, had not the wind shifted from that direction
about eleven o'clock. The greatest praise is due to
the firemen and neighbours for their exertions. The
proprietors bf the starch manufactory were not' in-
sured, and the loss sustained by them is very great.