The Sun. — 1864-01-05 (London, England)

CHARING CROSS-WESTERN AND NORTHERN EXTENSIONS._  The Western Extension is intended to commence in the parish of Lambeth by a junction with the existing line of the Charing-cross Railway, and to terminate. in Kensington by a junction with the West London Railway. There will then be two branches—ono entirely in the parish of Lambeth, and the other at Kensington. The Northern Extension is to commence in St. Martin-in-the• Fields by a junction with the main line, and terminate with the Great Northern in the parish of St. Pancras. Two branches are to be carried to junctions With the Midland Company's Extension into London, and from St. George, Bloomsbury, to the London and North-Western. The estimated cost of construction is 404,000.  and  Romantic Suicide through Love  Jealousy, at nomerton,,  Yesterday morning Mr. H. Raffles Wal thew, deputy coro • ner, resumed, at the Adam and Eve Tavern, Lower Homerton, an inquiry respecting the death of Esther Austin, aged 19 years, who was alleged to have committed suicide under very painful circumstances. It appeared from the evidence taken on the previous occasion that the deceased was a waitress at Kinsley's Coffeehouse, in Angel-lane, Temple Mills._  George Austin, the father of the deceased, said that she used to return home to his house in Stratford every evening. She was keeping company with a young man named Henry Hoggett, to whom she was deeply attached. She did not return home as usual on the night of last Tuesday week, and he never saw her again until a week afterwards, when her body was found in the river Lea. He heard that she was last in the company of Henry Hoggett. The latter had known her for two years, and he had frequently called upon deceased, especially when she was ill. But latterly he had taken to courting another, aad on the Tuesday night in question deceased called upon him to know about it. They left to walk together, and that was the last that was seen of her. She was a steady, good girl, and was not at all of a suicidal turn. She was of a cheerful disposition.  Henry Hoggett, the young man in question, said that when he and deceased walked out and got as far as the stiles at Homerton-hill, he said, " I must now leave you, as I want to go and see Jane Shrub, who is waiting for me at the top of the hill." She replied, "Mind, wrap her up well ;" and he turned away to go to Jane Shrub. He had not gone far when the deceased said, " Good night—good night !" in a tone that gave him a turn. He looked back and saw her running down the hill. He was at first going to follow her, but seeing a man and a woman driving along the road he thought that they would look after her. He had no doubt that she committed suicide through being so fond of him. He had never promised to marry her, and he had told her about Jane Shrub before. She then said, " See me home at night now, for when you are married you will not be able to walk with me along the lanes." She also said she "would like to creep into a forest and never be seen again by any one." He loved her, but his love was the love of friendship, and nothing more. She was always very jealous of the other young woman. George Austin recalled, said that Hoggett was certainly paying his addresses to deceased. Witness had since said to Hoggett, "If you did not put her to death, you were the cause of it," and he said, " I have no doubt I was." Hoggett said that he could not say that he was the cause of her suicide. She had met Jane Shrub before. There was certainly something strange in the way she left witness when he said he was going to see the other young woman. He only considered her as a friend. He had taken her to a theatre. He had never deceived her or misled her. He did not know whether he would have spent the New Year'sday with his second young woman. John Ting, 383 N, said that last Tuesday some persons came to the station and asked him to drag the river Lea. After an hour and a quarter's dragging he got deceased out. In her pocket was found a portmonnaie containing two sixpences and a part of a tradesman's bill with an address next door to Mr. Kinsley's, in Angel-lane. No doubt she had put it in her pocket in order that it might lead to her identification. Mr. G. Miller, M.R.C.S., said that ho had made a care• ful examination of the body of deceased, and he found no marks of violence. She was perfectly healthy, and had been a virtuous girl. The Coroner said that there was no doubt that the poor girl had been driven almost into a state of madness by the extraordinary conduct of the young man Hoggett. Her feelings on the night when he so abruptly told her he was going straight to meet another were no doubt agonising, and she committed suicide, but of course there was no direct evidence of the fact. The jury returned a verdict that deceased was found drowned in the river Lea, but there was no evidence as to how she came into the water of the said river.