The Sun. — 1866-02-09 (London, England)

REMARKABLE NARRATIVE OF A WIFE'S LOSS. Yesterday afternoon Mr. J. Payne, coroner, resumed the inquiry at the Essex Head Tavern, Essex-street, Strand, relative to the discovery of the skeleton of a gentleman in the bed of the river near Waterloo-bridge. A Chubb's key, found with the skeleton, had been identified by Mr. Chubb as having been made by him in 1839 for one of the offices of the War Department, and the Dentological Society had photographed the artificial teeth of the skeleton, and were about to publish a photograph and particulars in their Journal. Inquiries at the War-office and at the various barracks had been made, but no one missing corresponded with the skeleton. At this stage of the proceedings a tall lady, of middle age, dressed in deep mourning, and whose features were much careworn, entered the court and expressed a wish to make a statement. Having been sworn, she stated that her name was Harriet Elizabeth Clephan, that she resided at No. 160, Goswell-street, and that in the year 1851 her husband, to whom she had been married 13 months, suddenly disappeared, and from that time down to the present she (had never received any tidings of him. Ho was an architect and surveyor, and ho had chambers in Duke-street, St. James's. He was last seen in Blackfriars-road, and consequently he would have had to cross some one of the bridges to get to his chambers. He was in good health, but very desponding. He was architect to Earl De Grey, and when he disappeared she communicated with his lordship, and he was of opinion that her husband had committed suicide. At the time of his disappearance she hada baby only a fortnight old. During their marriage she did not see him very often—sometimes once a month - for she resided in the country principally. He used to carry a pencil-case with a letter-weight. Witness, however, could not swear to the pencil-case, nor to the artificial teeth. She did not know, she said, whether her husband wore artificial teeth or not. The glasses produced were not such as he used to wear. He had a high Roman nose, corresponding with the skeleton. During the examination of the witness she was very much affected, and it was incidentally mentioned by her that property had been left to her on two or three occasions since her husband's disappearance, but that she could not get it owing to the fact that no tidings had ever been obtained as to whether he was dead or alive. The Coroner, in summing up, said that of the thousands of cases which had come before him he had never had one which excited so general an interest as the present. He had received a great number of letters from all parts of the country. The Government departments and the Commissioners of Police had given him every aid, and done all that possibly could be done to clear up the mystery. With respect to Mrs. Clephan, it would be observed that the unfortunate lady had not clearly identified any of the things, and that she knew nothing about the teeth. The Jury, [after some discussion, returned a verdict— " That the remains in question were found in the bed of the river Thames, but how they came there, or how death had been caused, there was no evidence to show ;" and appended their thanks to the Government departments and the Dentological Society for the aid given to the jury in the endeavour to elucidate the mystery attaching to the case.