The Potteries Examiner : — 1872-10-26 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

MYSTERIOUS TRAGEDY IN LONDON. A melancholy and fatal oocurrence has just been . _  brought to light. in Golden-equare. It appears that on Thursday a respectablydressed lady and gentle. man took apartments at No. 18, stating they had arrived from the Continent, and required the room for a week only. They slept there on Thursday night, had their breakfast in the house on Friday morning, dined at a restaurant in It gent-street, and returned home at ten o'clock p.m. Nothing was afterwards heard or seen of them until eleven : o'clock on Saturday morning, when Mrs. Cunningham, the landlady, went up-stairs to cleau the rooms, and on coming to the door of tho apartments of her new lodgers she was much startled to find it locked, and the key tied to the handle outside. On entering the room she saw the lady seated in an arm chair, with a railway rug partly over her face, and the gentleman stretched on the floor tightly clenching what afterwards proved to be a Bible in his hands. She instantly gave an alarm, when Dr. Slight, of Brewer-street, was called in, and he discovered that the bodice had been dead some time. On the arrival of the inspector of police, a close search was made, and it was then found that each of the deceased persons had a Bible clasped in their hands close to their chests, that the lady load her head tied up with a white handkerchief, and the gentleman hail a strap passing under the chin, and fastened tightly on the top of the head, the object being apparently to prevent the jaws falling after death. A phial was found by the gentleman's side, and also a note, apparently in his handwriting, stating that they blamed no one for their deaths, asking forgiveness for what they had done, and saying that they had poisoned themselves by strychnine. It stated that .125 would be found upon the table to bury them with, that it was to be done as quietly as possible; that was to be given to Mrs. Cunningham for her kindness to them, and what remained in their trunks besides. The letter eon. tamed a scripture quotation, not, however, relevant to the act which was in contemplation. Though £5 wan mentioned in the note, which was without any signature, only -£3 was found upon the table, much to the chagrin of Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham, who are worthy, respectable people, and who, suffering annoyance from such an act having been committed in their house, seemed now to have the additional mortification of a shade of suspicion being cast on their hone-ty. On further search, however, .22 was found in the gentleman's pocket, and a purse containing 13s. in one of the boxes belonging to the lady. Nothing was found in their luggage to give any clue to their identification, and a quantity of paper ashes in the grate left no doubt that they must have carefully burned all atters and documents likely to give the information. The wearing apparel is of foreign make, some quilted petticoats being apparently German ; but, from , their pronunciation, Mrs. Cunningham thought the deceased persons were French, and their appearance rather favoured that supmaition. Although the unhappy pair had taken the utmost precaution to destroy all evidence of identity by burning every document in their possession and by cutting out the names or initials from their linen and handkerchief., a single blue and white necktie had been overlooked, and on this there have been found the letters " A D." written in marking ink. The reasonable presumption that these were the initials of the deceased gentleman receives support from another and more important circumstance. Examination of the body revealed the fart that the man had been somewhat extensively tattooed on the right forearm between the wrist and elbow. A device of a crown, done in red lines as contradistinguished from the violet colour of ordinary tattooing, surmounted the initials "AD.," and the date "1812," and beneath these were two cannon crossed supporting on the left side the numeral "5," and on the right a sysabol resembling a rudely. formed "T " or "5.,, Naturally the "AD.," taken in connection with the date, was supposed to signify " Anno Domini ; " but, when looked at in conjunction with the initials on the necktie, there is little room loft for doubt that these were the first letters of the deceased man's some. Both the ' victims were healthy and strongly-built persons, the woman particularly, being robust and well-developed. No inquiry respecting them has been received either at their late lodgings or at the police station, nor has any description been given of persons missing which at all answers that of the unhappy suicides. Officials I who are best qualified to form a judgment in affairs of this kind are therefore of opinion that the causes which led to this fearful act of self destruction will, as well as the ,identity of the individuals, for ever remain a 1, mystery.