The Sun. — 1824-01-02 (London, England)

SUICIDE OF BARON E. DE GRAFFENVIED.  About five o'clock yesterday evening an Inquest was held in the Committee Room, St. James's Workhouse, before Mr. HIGGS, Coroner, on the body of Le Baron Edouard Degraffenvied, a German Nobleman, who put an end to his existence by shooting himself with a-pistol. Mr. Thomas Alcock, Surgeon, 11, New Burlington-street, was called upon at eleven o'clock on Wednesday night, and found the deceased at No. 48, in a passage, St. James's-market, lying on his back on the floor ; the head was dreadfully shattered—there was a wound on the left temple, and another opposite below the right temple, apparently as if a pistol ball had passed. Life was totally extinct; the left hand was blackened, and smelled of gunpowder, probably by holding the weapon. F. Avis, 48, Haymarket.—The deceased lodged at our house two months; he was a native of Switzerland ; he dined with us that day, and was very much dejected during the evening. He went out about eight o'clock ' • he returned again to inquire if the Count de Capotaine was at home; he was informed in the negative; returned again and asked for a glass of negus, in the coffee-room, and inquired for another gentleman, who was not at home, and then he wrote a letter for him, which he put in his pocket ; he then left the coffee-room in great haste, but again returned ; he sat and sighed very hard. A letter was presented to him by the servant of Mr. Hawkins; at first he would not take it, but again took it and began to tear it : he then stepped out, and in a moment the report of a pistol was heard, and he was found dead in the passage leading to the market. He had taken the pistol out of another gentleman's room. Mr. F. J. Morri, of Savoy, a merchant, through the medium of an interpreter, deposed he had only known the deceased at the said Coffee-house; he knew his family to be of noble extraction, and he travelled about the town with him : he considered him insane. The letter before stated was addressed to witness ; it was now handed to him to read, but lie said he could make no sense of it, except that it related to a debt of 1/. 10s. he owed to witness, and his bill in the house. Prince de Capotaine, of Milan, said he first became acquainted with the deceased three months ago in Gibraltar, and they came together to England in the ship Grace, Captain Blackmore. During the quarantine they stopped at Cokehaven, where the deceased cut his arm to bleed himself to death ; sometimes he would seize the Captain by the throat, and attempted to strangle him, as he said, because he put them on short allowance ; they paid 401. for their passage, the Captain to find them in food : but he only gave theni junk, hard biscuit, and rotten water. Witness considered the deceased to be insane. Whenever he would be in trouble he talked of destroying himself. The pistol with which he committed the deed belonged to witness. Verdict—" Destroyed himself with a pistol whilst in a state of temporary derangement." ANOTHER SUlClDE.—Yesterday afternoon an Inquisition was held before THOMAS STIRLING, Esq. at the Duke of York, in York-street, Portman-square, on the body of James Clark. a servant, who was found drowned in a cistern. It appeared in evidence, that the deceased had thrown hiniselfinto the cistern in a temporary state of derangement, fcr which no cause could be assigned by his fellow-servants. Verdict— Temporary mental derangement."