The Sun. — 1836-08-24 (London, England)

MELANCHOLY SUICIDE OF A YOUNG GENTLEMAN.— Last evening, at eight o'clock, an inquisition was taken before Mr. Payne, the Coroner for the jurisdiction of the city of London, and a respectable Jury, assembled at the. Duke of Clarence Tavern, London-road, Southwark, on view of the body of a young gentleman, named John Squire Carey, a youth of very promising abilities, who terminated his existence by shooting himself through the head with a horse pistol. Miss Ann Watts, spinster, stated that she was living with her father, who kept the house, N 0.9, in the London.road. The deceased and his mother had occupied apart-_ ments there for several years past. Ile was seventeen years of age .on Saturday last. Ile generally occupied his time in literary pursuits, of which he seemed to be particularly fond. He was generally regular in his habits. Between twelve and one o'clock on Monday morning last witness saw him-come down into the garden and fetch some water. Nothing unusual then appeared to be the matter with him. In about a quarter of an hour afterwards witness had occasion to go up stairs, and saw the deceased on the landing of the second floor, by the door of his sittingloom. • He had a large pistol in his hand, and said to witness, " Ann, shall I shoot myself?" and directly raising his arm to his head a smoke in an instant spouted out against his face, accompanied by a loud report,-and he fell on the floor. Witness looked at him for a moment when she saw the blood streaming from his head, and directly ran down stairs and informed her mother what had- occurred. The pistol he shot himself with was one that belonged to his father.  The pistol was here produced to the Jury. It was a large brass-barrelled horse-pistol, with a spring bayonet. Mr. Thomas Watts, the uncle of the last witness, deposed that for the last month he had observed a wildness in the look and manner of the deceased. His conduct on many occasions had been unaccountably strange ; he had thrown up the window of his apartment at night, and called out " Fire—murder—police," and seemed pleased with the alarm he created. His conduct did not appear to be the result of any vicious propensity, but of a weakness of intellect that had lately come upon him. He had held a situation at the King's printing-office, from which he was discharged some time ago. Mr. W. Leddymain, a next-door neighbour of the deceased, stated on hearing of the dreadful occurrence he went up stairs, and saw the deceased lying on the floor quite dead. On the mantelpiece was a paper, inscribed, in the hand-writing of the .deceased, " My dear mother ; I intend to shoot myself." The deceased was a. young man of great literary attainments,, and was .the son of Dr. Carey, editor of the last edition of " Ainsworth's Dictionary," the " Gradus ad Parnassuin," &c. He was of reserved and studious habits, and not, like other boys, fond of the sports of youth. The CORONER briefly summed up,' when the Jury returned a verdict of " Temporary Insanity." An inquest was held last night, at the Rising Sun, Charles-street, Grosvenor-square, before Mr. Moos, on the body of Charles Bowers, aged 17, who was drowned while bathing, on Monday evening, in the Serpentine river. Henry Dunn, of No. 1, Wigmore-street, aged fifteen, stated that on Monday evening, about half-past eight o'clock, he went to bathe in the Serpentine, at the part on the Knights-bridge side, near the railings at the Hyde Parkcorner end. Witness met the deceased there. . They were total strangers, but as both had come for the same purpose, they got into talk, and he learnt deceased could not swim—witness could. Witness swam into deep water ; and; on diving, while under water, struck his head against something 'which he at first supposed to be a post, but found it was deceased, who was then struggling under water. The boys on the bank called to him what was the matter, and shouted for the boats. The place where he struck against the deceased is ten feet deep. The boats came immediately. In less than a quarter of an hour the deceased was got to the receiving-house, where two surgeons were in attendance. • Mr. Woolley, surgeon, stated that it was impossible -to restore animation. Application had been made to the Government to have the river drained and levelled for the protection of bathers and skaiters. . Verdict " Accidental death."