npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1836-06-29 (London, England)

EXTRAORDINARY ATTEMPT AT SUICIDE.-Al.),..‘ut eleven o'clock on Saturday morning, a gontlettian who is high7v connected entered the cigar divan of Mr. Romaine, cut sti in a state of great excitement. fitting personally known to the proprietor, he was advised, as he op. peared unwell,. to .'etirO to the garden that is fitted up in the summer months for the' reoeption of visitors. He did so, and having ordered some refr,.sh.mont, took a scat at the extremity of the shrubbery. His agitafic.; was so great as to render hint y the water to nearly inarticulate, inarticulate, but this wasattn: muted b briation : and as he was seated where .e could bei no annoy_ attendants retired into the 200. rt of a pistol 'ance to the visitors of the coffee-room, tn.' and left him alone. In a few minutes the r, was heard. On the proprietor of the divan runn'r'i .before garden, he found the unfortunate gentleman tren. glint violently, holding . a discharged pistol in his hand, an. 4 with a paper, enclosing some mineral substance, on the table. before him. He said he always carried pistols for his pers,lnal security, and that the one in his hand had been discharged accidentally. He was then asked what was in the paper, and he replied they were " salts." The word " poison," how.' ever, was written upon titt. paper, and on the contents being taken to a chemist, they were r9nounced to be oxalic acid. The bullet struck a tree behind a seat occupied by the gentleman, from which it is conjectured that he ::!kd pointed it at himself, but from his extreme agitatioit had discrged it over his shoulder. Under all the circumstances, Mr. R. dete7mined on detaining him until his friends could be apprised of his situation. gb tai lengthr (u) rvi,s.tasi n accordinglyto tears, aursl e nmte ;ot iro. n e dN et ha relyntar,m This he resisted, and demanded to be liberat.'d; oehoofti:  before this relation was found, and then the unfortunate geotleman Was conveyed away in a close carriage. He ap. pearci in a dreadful state of nervous debility, conversed in. coherently, and was frequently in tears. The only motive that can be imagined for the rash attempt is the effect of some po-1:tioal ditTerenees with his relatives. Mr. R., of course, searched the unfortunate gentleman, to ascertain if he had upon his person any other means of destruction, and in so doing saw his purse and pocket book, the state of which precludes the possibility of distress having induced the rash attempt.
The Sun. — 1836-06-29 (London, England)

SINGULAR CIRCUMSTANCE.—AiI inquest of no interest, held on Saturday before Mr. Stirling, the'va,:rthy Coroner was asked by a surgeon if, when a person bad corn.lnited suicide by shooting himself, or cutting his throat, it wouk' be advisable to keep the body in the same posture and conditio,' as it was found after the commission of the fatal act, until the inquest sat to investigate the circumstances attending the death. Mr. Stirling said that step would be proper in all such cases, as a Jury could then more speedily determine whe ther the deceased died by his own hand. Of the folly of undressing and laying out his body, under such circumstances, he would instance one very remarkable case, and it would be seen that a murderer would have escaped, had it not been for the keen eye of one of the jury. Many years ago an elderly lady, living in Clement's Inn, was found one • morning with her throat cut, and quite dead, and from the evidence taken before the Coroner, it appeared very evident that the unfortunate woman had murdered herself. The Juiy had made up their minds to return a verdict to that effect ; but, before coming to their conclusion, they, as is customary, went to view the corpse. Ali the Jury but one had performed that sad office, and be had lingered behind, and when sent for to the jury-room, requested the Coroner and other persons upon the investigation to come to him. They did return, and what was the surprise of all to lice that Juryman exclaim, " Some one has killed this woman l" to convince them that such was the case, he held up the deceasedfy hands, in which were firmly eraspe4 some red Wit's, and lie she,7ed them the left arm of the poor old crcatare, 'there there were :.he marks of thumb and fingers visibly imprinted en Ow flesh of the :aft hand. Of course, the Jury knsw that the decrand could not prcgs her !eft hand upon her left afin ; and these fitcis leading them to r; consider the matter, they ultimately discovered that the deceased ana'.l been murdered by her charwoman, who had red hair, and she sdOi afterwards suffered for it at Newgate. Before her execution, she said that she had a desperate struggle with the old lady, who held tightly by her hair, before she succeeded in cutting her throat. The Jury expressed much astonishment at the CireutTmlanee, •  MR.
The Sun. — 1836-12-28 (London, England)

CORONERS INQUEST.  LAMENTABLE SUICIDE BY PRUSSIC AClD.—Monday afternoon, an inquest was held at the Prince of Wales, Great Barlow-street, Marylebone, before Mr. Stirling and a respectable Jury, on view of the body of Mr. Samuel Richard Anthony, aged 50, who committed suicide by taking prussic acid, under circumstances of a very determined and afflicting nature.  Mr. William Saunders, of No. 49, Mornington-place, Hampstead-road, deposed, that the deceased had been in his service as butler for the last 35 years, during which period he (deceased) had invariably conducted himself as a worthy respectable man. Witness never discovered any failing in his disposition, but an extraordinary irritability, which at times produced such violent excitement as to cause him to commit the most extravagant absurdities. Within the last two months witness had observed so marked an alteration in his conduct and manners, as to lead him (witness) to the impression, that the mind of the unfortunate man was disordered. Witness saw him last alive between 8 and 9 o'clock on Friday night last, when he appeared in a very abstracted and dejected state. On the following day witness was made acquainted with the melancholy death of the poor man by swallowing prussic acid. By the Coroner—The mind of the deceased, I have heard, has recently been much disturbed in consequence of a connexion which he had formed. He has had a family of children by my housekeeper ; but I cannot positively state whether they were married. Redding, the beadle, said that the deceased had about five or six weeks since married a young woman named Ellen Smith, who resided with her parents at No. 25, in Great Barlow-street, and where the deceased took the poison. A respectably dressed man, a friend of the deceased, was present at the marriage ceremony between the deceased and Ellen Smith about six weeks back, at St. Martin's church. The Beadle said, that the deceased's wife was in attendance if she was required. The jury considered it necessary to examine her. She gave her name as Ellen Anthony, widow of the deceased. Since her marriage the deceased had acted like a man deranged in his intellects. Witness a few weeks back had knocked a cup of poison out of his hand which he was about to swallow. He had frequently of late showed her pistols and razors, at the same time threatening self-destruction. On Friday night, about 9 o'clock he came from Mornington-place to where witness resided. He was in a very excited state. He took a phial out of his pocket and drank the contents before witness could prevent him. Mr. Davidson, surgeon, was sent for, but he (deceased) expired in two minutes after he took the poison. The phial was labelled, " prussic acid—poison." After other evidence was heard, confirming the state of the deceased's mind, the jury returned a verdict of " Temporary Derangement."  Lord Prudhoe has arrived at his scat, Stanwick Park, near Darlington, on his way to Alnwiek Castle.
The Sun. — 1836-10-07 (London, England)

ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY.—TiIe secret system which was developed, even in the heathen initiations, displays some faint traces of those important observances that were practised in the infancy of the world, before man apostatized from his Maker, and offered up his devotions to fictitious beings and material substances. But in the system observed by the Essenes, who were pious worshippers of the Great Jehovah, we find more unequivocal tokens of the presence of that sublime art which animated the devotion of the ancient patriarchs, and kept their hearts in sweet communion with their heavenly Father. The institutions of this celerated sect displayed, in the clearest manner, the sublime purity of Freemasonry and though some of its favourite dogmata were evidently the offspring of superstition, yet they sprang from a true principle of piety, and a desire to avoid that overwhelming deluge of false faith and defective practice which universally prevailed, even amongst " God's own people," and rendered the advent of the Messiah so necessary to purify the world from its pollutions.—Freenwson's Quarterly Review.  Yesterday afternoon a Coroner's Inquest was taken before Mr. Baker, at the Cock and Magpie, on the body of Thomas Hughes, aged.6o, who committed suicide in a cell at Worship-street Office, by nearly severing his head from his body with a razor. Thomas Eagles, an officer of Worshipstreet establishment, about five o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, was assisting Tilt to secure his prisoners, vi hen he heard a sudden fall in the cell where the deceased was, and on turning round he observed two streams of blood flowing from the cell. On opening the door he found the deceased laying on the floor, weltering in his blood, and unable to speak. He was quite dead, and there was a dreadful gash across his throat. A razor was in his right hand, which witness took away*. 11, had been taken before the Maoistrate in the morning, charged with being drunk, when' Mr. Grove fined him five shillings ; but he would have been discharged at eight o'clock. He was in Temporary miserableoray r Isotasaten,itayn.d” had no money about him. Verdict, An American paper, the Philadelphian, in an advertisement, offering a reward of thirty dollars for the discovery of a runaway apprentice, says, His name is Daniel Murphy, about sti feet high, heavy eyebrows, and large crooked teeth. He is lately from the county of Longford, Ireland, which is evident from his broad accent, and a bare spot on the back of his head."
The Sun. — 1836-08-22 (London, England)

INSOLVENT COURT.-THIS DAY.  IN RE LE GROS.  Me. CRESWELL applied fora rule, calling on the assignee of the insolvent to' show cause why he should not pay a second dividend to Messrs. Bassett, Crawford, Colville, and Co. Mr. Commissioner REYNOLDS thought he could not grant the rule, as the affidavit in support of the motion did not state specifically that an application had been made for the payment of the dividend which had been refused ; but at the same time he was of opinion, that if the parties showed satisfactorily they had attended the meeting of the creditors, had tendered proof of their debt, and had been refused, they had a right to bring the parties before the Court without making any motion on the subject at all. The Com'', after hearing a few applications of no public interest, rose till the 21st of September.  SUlClDE.—Yesterday, about 12 o'clock, the neighbourhood of Pimlico-terrace and Arabella-row, was thrown into considerable consternation by the report that one of the persons in the employment of Mr. Higgs, the ale-brewer, had committed suicide. Police constable B 132, who was at the time on duty at the spot, was called in, and having forced the privy door open found the unfortunate deceased suspended from a beam in the roof, apparently lifeless. He immediately cut him down. The deceased was rubbed over with brandy, and his clothes loosened ; but the surgeon, upon examination of the body, at once pronounced that the vital spat k had already become extinct. The deceased, Joseph Biggs, was between 45 and 50 years of age, a married man, with a grown-up family of three children, and had been for a considerable length of time in the confidential employment of Mr. Higgs. No reason car► be assigned fur his commission of so rash an act. The body remains on the premises, awaiting a Coroner's inquest.  . The Bishop of London, who is now sojourning at Malvern for the benefit of his health, visited Worcester on Thursday, accompanied by his lady and family. Harvest has commenced in the neighbourhood of Stockton.
The Sun. — 1836-09-16 (London, England)

CORONER'S INQUEST.  On Tuesday night an inquest was held before Mr. BAKER, Coroner, at the White Horse public-house, Ratcliffe, on the body of Mr. George Otter, jun., aged 31 years, who was supposed to have committed suicide. George Shilcock, clerk to the deceased, said his late master was an auctioneer, broker, and rent collector, and resided in Broad-street. He had been in his employ 13 months. On the evening of Monday, the sth instant, he was sent by his master with a receipt for 6/., which he wrote in his presence, to receive that amount of rent. He observed nothing remarkable in Mr. Otter's conduct at the time. He returned in about two hours to the house, and rung the bell several times, but obtaining no answer, he became alarmed and got in at the window, by means of a ladder. On proceeding up stairs into his master's bed-room he found him lying dressed on his bed, and his face covered with blood. He asked the deceased what was the matter with him, and he said he had been wounded with a pistol; there was a candle and candlestick on the floor—the light appeared to have been extinguished. He instantly left the house to procure assistance and returned with Mr. Hunter, an auctioneer of Limehouse, who was staying at a neighbouring house. There was a great quantity of blood on the floor when he entered the apartment. He saw no pistol at that time, but one was soon afterwards found on the bed which appeared to have been recently discharged. The deceased, who conversed in the most rational manlier, said he was about to fire the pistol into the yard, when he heard the bell ring, and was about to lay the pistol down, when his foot slipped and it went off accidentally. The wound was on the right temple, which appeared to have been perforated with a pistol shot. The witness underwent a long examination by the Coroner and Jury as to the state of the deceased's mind. He said he never observed any thing extraordinary in Mr. Otter's conduct, or any indication of a disordered mind. He had met with no losses in business whatever. .  The
The Sun. — 1836-10-22 (London, England)

SINGULARLY ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.—The following case of attempted self-destruction has caused considerable excitement in the neighbourhood of IpsWich. Mr. William Wilson retired early on Monday morning to his back premises, and discharged the contents of a singlebarrelled gun, loaded with swan-shot, at his own head. It appears that the muzzle was placed under his chin, but either from the stock slipping, or that at the moment he touched the trigger, be jerked his head backwards, the charge took an oblique direction, and instead of penetrating the brain, the jaw-bones, the mouth, the tongue, and part of the nose were frightfully shattered. Having committed the dreadful act, he quietly walked into his house, and composedly seated himself until the arrival of two surgeons, who found his pulse perfectly regular. So dreadfully shattered was the lower jaw, that it was deemed necessary to remove a part of it by a surgical operation. There are no apprehensions at present entertained of a fatal result ; but without a lower jaw, a tongue, and a nose, he must remain a speechless and horrible spectacle to the end of his days. Nourishment is administered to him by means of a flexible tube, and he communicates his wishes by writing. A pistol loaded with slugs was found on his person, which seems as if he had intended to complete his purpose effectually had the gun missed fire ; but the failure of his first attempt, though it had no effect upon his nervous system, evidentli awakened within him a desire to live. Mr. Wilson was about to quit his occupation ; and the sale of his farming stock and furniture, by auction, took place on the same day. He is a married man, and, we regret to say, has a family of eight children.—Suffolk Herald. A duel was fought on Wednesday morning early, in a field near the eighth-mile stone on the Uxbridge road, be tween two gentlemen unknown, one of whom was dressed in a naval uniform, and the other in a loose drab coat. The parties had travelled to the place of action in London chaises, one of which took up in Gloucester-place, and the other in the City. The combatants exchanged their shots, when the person dressed in the loose coat appeared to have been wounded, and he was lead to the chaise by two of his companions, when the postboy drove off the contrary way for town. The parties first alighted at Wormwood Scrcbs' to settle their disputes, but they were, it SCOW, apprehen, sive of being molested, and travelled on.
The Sun. — 1836-12-24 (London, England)

TON-GARDEN. Yesterday Elizabeth Bin.g.hain, a well-looking, female, about twenty-four years of age, was brought from the station-house in the custody of Inspector Penny and Court, 52, G division, charged with having attempted to commit suicide. Yesterday morning about ten o'clock the prisoner was observed by a gentleman climbling over the railings of the New River, adjacent to Sadler's Wells Theatre, for the purpose of throwing herself in, when he prevented her ; and on questioning her she said she had been living as servant at an improper house in Thomas-street, near the spot, but she had been turned out. Ile informed Court of the circumstance, and they took her to the house, where they refused to receive her, and she was taken to the stationhouse, and locked up. In about an hour and a-half afterwards Inspector Penny, as is his usual custom, visited the cells, in order to see that all was safe ; and on entering that in which the prisoner was confined he found her lying on the floor in a state of insensibility, she having tied the ribbons of her bonnet round her neck, and nearly strangled herself, and being apparently dead. He immediately cut the ribbon, which had caused an indentation in the neck, about an inch in depth, and he procured medical assistance, when she was restored to her senses. She was then allowed to sit by the fire until the morning, uad every humane attention was afforded her ; but she maintained a silence until the morning, when she was brought before Mr. Roogas, who questioned her, but nothing could be elicited from her but that she had been seduced, and had been following a life of depravity, and that her parents resided at No. 5, Howard'sgreen, City-road. Mr. ROGERS mildly remonstrated with her on the impropriety of her conduct, and she cried bitterly, and he ordered her to be detained until Court inquired after her friends, and in a short time he returned with her mother, a respectable-looking woman, who was much affected. Court said that he had made inquiries, and ascertained that the prisoner's mother was a respectable honest woman, residing at No. 5, Howard's-green, City-road. The mother stated that about five years ago she obtained a situation for the prisoner, when she was seduced under a promise of marriage, and deserted by her seducer, which affected her mind, and she subsequently quitted her home, and pursued an abandoned course of life. She had several times received her back, but she returned to her 'old courses, and she had been absent from her for a considerable time, and did not know what had become of her until she received information that she had made an attempt on her life. Inspector Perry said she certainly would have been a dead woman had he been a few moments later in his visit to the cell.  Mr. ROGERS asked her what she had to say for herself? Prisoner (convulsed with grief)—l am very sorry, your worship. Mr. Roues—You see to what a state of misery you
The Sun. — 1836-11-16 (London, England)

GRATITUDE.—A son of the late Major Watson (who unhappily lost his life during the fire in the citadel of Plymouth, and for whose family a large subscription was most liberally made), who has recently received an appointment to a small situation under Government at HaMx, Nova Scotia, having observed by the papers that a poor family in Plymouth has recently been rendered destitute by their cottage and property being destroyed by fire, has generously forwarded to the mayor of that town a donation to be applied to their use.  We regret to hear from the agricultural districts that the prospect of the crops is very unfavourable, and that much suffering to the poor is anticipated as the result.  We understand arrangements have been made to pay 17 per cent. to the creditors of the Spanish Government on account of debts due for supplies from this country, for which acceptances have been given.—Morning Post. Thursday morning the tenants of a back land in Argyll-street felt the smell of burning proceeding from the house of an elderly widow who resided in the low flat, and on obtaining entrance into the house they found the poor old woman burned to death, having, it is thought, gone too near the fire last night when under the influence of liquor.—Glasgow Paper. We have had a week of most disastrous weather for grain, some yet uncut, and some standing in the shock. The mountain-tops were in the early part of the week thickly clad with snow, but in the lower grounds we have not bad so much frost as in the preceding week, and consequently more favourable to the potatoes yet in ground.— Westmoreland Gazette.  A meeting for the re-formation of a Meteorological Society was held yesterday evening at the Mechanics' Institution, Holborn. Dr. Birkbeck, F.G.S., Presio..ent, in the Chair. Several scientific papers were rea!,3, and, after an interesting conversation, the meeting aAjourned till the second Tuesday in December. • Such is the depression in the, market for the sale of printing cloths, that several of the large manufacturers of calico in Stockport have commenced working four days a week, rather than resort to the other alternative of reducing the wages of their weavers.—Macclesfield courier. Mr. Graham made a second ascent from the Gaolyard, Gloucester, on Thursday last. On this occasion he was accompanied by Mr. R. Spinney, of the Gas Works. They descended safely at Kineton-hill, aboat 23 miles from Gloucester, having effected the journey in forty minutes.— Gloucester journal. The lion. W. C. Jarvis, late speaker of the Massachusetts Assembly, committed suicide on the 3d instant, by shooting himself through the heart with a pistol while in a state of mental alienation.