The Warrington Examiner. — 1871-06-24 (Warrington, Cheshire, England)

SUICIDE AT BOWDON.  On Tuesday an inquest was held by W. J. R. Dunstan, Esq., at the Griffin Inn, Bowdon, on the body of a man named Darbyshire, of Bowdon Vale, a milk seller and potato dealer.—Ellen Darbyshire, the wife of the decased, said: I live in Vicarage-lane, Bowdon. The deceased was my husband, and was a milk seller and potato dealer. :Ever since I knew him he has had at times sulky fits, during which he would not speak to me, and did not eat unless I persuaded him to do so; at these times he would be very vicious. The fits would last for a few days, and on one occasion one lasted for a fortnight. On Wednesday he went round with his milk in his usual manner, and on his return he would not speak to me. He had exchanged his pony and cart and harness whilst he had been out, at the Cheshire Midland Hotel, with a man named John Holdford, of Hale Barnes. I was not angry with him, and we had no "words" about it. We had some " words " at Christmas, but never since. On Thursday and Friday he was quiet and not cheerful, but he answered me when I asked him any questions about the business; he wbuld not enter into any conversation, and would , give me no information in reference to the exchange. It was a very bad bargain on his part. On Saturday his manner was much the same. He left the house about four o'clock in the afternoon to go go his usual round with the milk, and returned about eight o'clock. He only came to the yard, and did not enter the house. The milk boy took the pony from him and drove it to the field. The boy then came to me in the scullery, and I sent him to tell the deceased to come in; he replied that he would come directly, but he did not do so. After finishing the churning on which I was engaged, I got the supper ready. I knew he was in the stable, because a young man who was in the house, named George Shaw, and cousin to the deceased, went for some bread, and found the stable door fastened. This was about ten o'clock. He called out to the deceased telling him to come in to his supper, but got no answer. As the deceased had not come in at a quarter-past eleven, I and Elizabeth Higginson, who was in the house, and George Shaw, went to the stable, and found the door was still fastened. I called to the deceased, but received no answer. Shaw burst open the door, and I then saw part of the deceased's body, the feet being off the ground. Ho was hanging near the ladder to the hay loft. I went away a few yards and fell to the ground. Deceased was 36 years of age. We have not lived -very comfortably together, but since Christmas I have let him do pretty much as he liked. He used to neglect his business, and I would then get angry with him. In reply to questions, witness further said that the angry words she and the deceased had at Christmas were in reference to his staying so much at the Cheshire Midland Hotel playing at bagatelle. When in a sullen temper he was unkind to the children and on Thursday evening he kicked one of them. He was not a drunken man, but used to play bagatelle a great deal, and up to three months ago he lived near the hotel named. He had stayed from home all night on se N eral occasions. She once struck him with a poker on the head at the hotel, causing a small wound, and he was taken to a doctor. On another occasion she took a poker from home with the intention of either making him go home or disabling him so that he could not play, by hitting him on the arms. (The Coroner here censured the witness for this conduct.) They were very happy before he commenced to play bagatelle.—Evidence was given as to the cutting down of the deceased by two neighbours, and one of them, Edward Boothby, said he had noticed that the deceased appeared not to be in his usual manner latterly, and did not answer questions until they were repeated.—The Coroner having summed up the evidence, the jury returned a verdict of suicide whilst in a state of temporary insanity. Although the jury did not append to their verdict any further opinion, there was a general feeling that the wife of the deceased had not treated him very kindly.