The Sun. — 1835-02-24 (London, England)

SUICIDE OF A BOY.  Yesterday evening, an inquest, which had been adjourned from Wednesday last, was resumed at the vestry-hall of St. John's, Southwark, before Mr. Payne and a respectable Jury, to inquire touching the death of George Austin, a fine lad, aged 15, who committed suicide by throwing himself off London-bridge, arising from circumstances of an extraordinary and peculiarly distressing nature, which were principally set forth in the evidence of a boy, who worked with the deceased at the same manufactory, named William Barstolen.  He knew the deceased, who also worked for the same employer as himself ; witness remembers the Saturday before the deceased was missed ; on that day the deceased was very different in his manner from what he usually was ; be was confused and dull, and the work be undertook to do he was unable to proceed with ; he (deceased) said he was distracted in his mind, and having sharpsned the point of a  large clasp pocket-knife, by the grindstone on the premises he id he shculd stab himself with it before the mer'''' night, or make away with himself somehow, and end 1!i.5 miseries. On ti-;:."nne day (Saturday) deceased told Isl'. !legs, that about three to-,.?.!ks before last Christmas, as ,_ was returning fume in the evoirq from Shoe-lane to his father's house, lie called at his broiLer:in-law's, wheelay him more to drink than he (deceased) was .accustomeper,to on leaving the house be met with a young woman, who suaded him to go home with her, and he stopped at he a shot., some time, and then proceeded home to his father's ; time afterwards he again went to see the girl, and c,1!.1a nued with her all night ; he (deceased) visited her a tt time, when his acquaintance, whose name was Sarah, a female companion with her ; both of them were inteit cated, and danced about .the parlour ; the girl Sarah west r lodgwrgt up stairs, and he (deceased) directly afterwards beguile child scream violently, and then stop of a sudden t t girl Sarah then came down to the room he (deceased)7r the other girl were in, and said that " she had done... the bantling," that she had smothered it in ale ether to by wrapping it up in the same, and then placing' a 1,11: trunk on the bed ; she (the girl Sarah) then went as again, and in less than a minute returned to the rand wja. tb the corpse of the murdered infant in her arms, which as black as a coal. The dreadful sight shocked him ceased) so much that he was nearly fainting, and he ``..l°„: anxious to leave the house, but as a kr;ife was lying en table, he was afraid the girls would murder him if kb,,,re at tempted to quit ; that on the same night the girls `--,,31 the body of the child under the stairs ; that he (deceas 3 was so shocked and alarmed at the murder the Os bh,3e. Perpetrated, that he never *ent to see them again ; su—(l), quently a boy, called the Countryman, met him.(dece39efbe and said that the girls were in the habit of going nit Brown Bear, opposite the London-dock Gate, a;-311 he had met them there, and heard the girl called oig„,. accused of having murdered a child, which she denied, •]6 sorting that a lad named George Austin had committed she deed, and (continued the boy Countryman to the u ile, ceasen j " keep away from them, if you don't wish t° hanged." 7.'!2e !ad Barstolen, in continuation of his,selt Bence, stated that the deceased, in relating all the o'o'3 circumstances to him, exressed the greatest dread oAo horror at the situation he had pieced himself in by his imprudence, and added, that a few days previously, belle ceased) had met the girl Sarah in the street, and beroo he would not accompany her home to her lodgingsA) abused him (deceased), and said, " Then so help I will split about _the murder and get you . sera:aryl/I (hanged); and also threatened, if he did not get hera",j the ,following night, to get him (deceased) apprebenweii immediately ; that he was so alarmed at the threats 11, .04 out, that he ran away, when the girl pursued him, ca out, " Stop thief," but that he succeeded in getting and reached his f'ather's in a state of great distraction. The inquiry was then adjourned for further evidenetd On the Jury re-assembling yesterday evening, the f°' ing additional evidence was taken : 118 Penningion, the policeman, had traced the girl wbo d suspected to be the same alluded to by the deceased, go 'known by him as gb:_rah, and ascertained that she had bed delivered of an infant ahortt the time the deceased aillgt the murder to have taken plod," her name was Lif; on minute inquiry, he had ascertned that the said was in the Foundling Hospital. By a Juror—Was the girl Luff known to the denesse4 and in the habit of frequenting the " Bro‘Yn Bear, o Smithfield ?—Witness : Yes, she did know tNe lad, ty was, with other girls, in the habit of meeting izim " Brown Bear." nib`"f  The witness as yet had not been able to trace allY girls known to the deceased, and in the habit of fretie ing the Brown Bear, except one by the name of Pveo Bet," but no proof had been shown that she had ever  enceinte.  The lad Peake, known by the name of " The ('u i& tryman," denied ever having told the deceased net tenor to the Brown Bear, for fear of being accused of thet,3l,l! der of the infant ; although he admitted being in thei'ad of going to the Brown Bear often with the deceased, there The associating with the worst of characters. Jury commented upon such mere lads frequent such a house ; it necessarily led to ruin. Aftsfe'' Their being no further evidence, the Coroner ad"—otr the Jury at considerable length, observing, that the rious allegation of murder must be left to future inciAoo and they were only to consider their verdict as to the  of the deceased. t!' In ten minutes the Jury returned a verdict of Insgiii  BURIAL OF THE REMAINS ()f