The Central Glamorgan Gazette, and General, Commercial, and Agricultural Advertiser. — 1867-01-04 (Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales)

FIRE AND PRESUMED SUICIDE.  An inquest was held on Monday at Grant/shoats; near Cambridge, before Froderiak Grain, Esq., deputy-ooroner, on view of the body of a poor 0.1 named Annie Smith, who would have been aged sixteen years on the day of the inquest. The cirun stances adduced nod others diseloeed the facto that Edward and Sarah Golden, man and wife, kept public and lodging house by the etyle of the Rose and Crown, at Grautchester, and the decemed sated as servant to them. Golden's house wee full of lodgers, no less than eight coprolite diggers being accommodated on the premises; two of these slept in a lower room next the road, and the others upstairs, four in one room and two in another. Golden and his wife slept upstairs, and in consequence of the fulness of the house the deorased was compelled to sleep on a sofa or serials in the bar. This was the usual stare of things up to Friday night last, when Mrs. Golden, being unwell, retired to bed about half-past nine, and the deceased accompanied her upstairs, bade her good night, and wished her better. The deceased then asked leave to sit up and mend her stays. Her mistress gave her leave, and trusted her with part of a candle in stall, old.fashioned candlestick, but warned her to go to bed directly she had finished, and epeni dly not to sit up in bed for the purpose. At ten o'clock the landlord retired to bed, leaving the girl up. The candle was then on a table, a yard or more off a window with some netted curtains attachol. He also warned her to be careful of fire, and left her arparently mending her stays. He locked off communication between the bar and the house, but left on the girl's id a communioation with the street open to her by the use of a key. About three o'clock on Saturday morning last an alarm of fire was raised ; the inside of the bar, and other lower parts of the premises were then all ablaze, and Golden, his family, and the lodgers were rescued with dldiculty. The fire burned futiomly, and finally can.nmed the whole promisee, and it was thonght the deceased wan burned, until her boots were found by the river aide, about 400 yards from the Rose and Crown. A search resulted in the discovery of the body of the girl in the river, attired only in a print dress, a red petticoat, and a shift, but of coerce minus boots and stockings. There were no marks of violenCe, burning, or pregnancy on the body, and the question of course arose as to whether the girl had committed suicide or no. It was elicited that she bore a very high character, and was muoli est,tmed by her em. ployers. The only evidence touching upon her having been seen after the discovery of the fire by the neigh. hours and inmetea Wl.s that of Robert Clark, a labourer, who d po,ed that on reaching the scene of the fire, he passed the pump clone to the Rose and Crown, and there saw a female, whom he thinks was the decoaeea, standing against the bowling alley. The female had a shawl over her head, but he could not positively identify her. When be heard a quarter of an hour afterwards that the servant was burnt, he said, "Why, if I didn't see her just now, I saw some one just like her." When the body was got out of the river, there were no marks of burning on the dream, flesh, or hair. It appears that some time ago the d-cea,ed upset some of the contents of a frying. pan into the fire to the danger of igniting the chimney, and that her mistre.s then told her, partly in jest, but partly as a caution, that if she did that again she would he transported. These were the oirourustances for conaideration, and after a lucid summing up of the coroner, leaving the different phases' of the question to the jury, the latter returned a verdict of found drowned. . _ _  The poor diggers and the landlord were uninsured; they have lost their little all.