About four o'clock on Monday afternoon, several passengers observ- ing
a blaze of light in the lower front room of No. 15, East Road, City Road, and hearing screams of " murder ! " and " fire ! " burst open the front door. Qv entering the room they beheld a woman standing.enveloped in flames. The inmates of the house had previ- ously endeavoured to extinguish the flames by rolling a coat and other things round her, but without effect ; and they now returned with pails of water, with which they at length subdued the fire. The poor suf- ferer sunk apparently lifeless on the flour; and Mr. Kinnear, surgeon, on being called in, gave no hopes of her recovery. She is eighty five years of age ; and it is supposed that during the absence of her daugh- ter, Mrs. Goodwin, she had attempted to reach something from the mantelpiece, when the fire caught her clothes.
An inquest was held at the White Hart, Tottenham, on Tuesday, on the body of Mr. Samuel Whitbread, a gentleman of high respectability, who had resided in that neighbourhood for many years. He was dis- covered lying in bed on Sunday morning, with his head nearly severed from his body, a razor in his right }mad, aad a bottle of laudanum nearly emptied lying near him. He had been extensively engaged in farming pursuits ; but, owing to some misunderstanding with his family, left this country and resided for nearly five years on the Continent. He returned about six months since : and soon afterwards married, against the consent of the lady's father. Ile also lost a considerable sum of money by a lawsuit, and was said to have been certainly insane for the last three months. The Jury found a verdict of "insanity."
An inquest was held on Wednesday evening, at the Cumberland's Head Tavern, City Road, on the body of Mr. John Smith, an artist of considerable wealth, who resided at Smith's Buildings : he was fifty- eight years old. Erom the evidence of Mr. W. Smith, brother of the deceased, it appeared that on Wednesday the 3d instant, his brother appeared unwell, and talked " rather queer." By desire of a Mr. Stirling, a friend who lodged in the house, he slept with the deceased, and Mr. Stirling remained in the room till five o'clock in the morning. Shortly after, the deceased got up, and said he was certain there were thieves in the garden, and he went down stairs to see if the doors were secured. On his return, he threw up the window, saying he wanted air; and in a few minutes the witness saw him sitting on the outside 'sill of the window, from which he immediately rolled into the yard, a distance of nearly eighteen feet. The witness called up Mr. Stirling, and they found the deceased groaning and bleeding from the left car; he died on Sunday evening. He had been "hurried" by a letter which he had received from his son-in-law, a Mr. Stone, relative to some property which his daughter, Stone's wife, had taken away with her to her father's house, where she appeared to be living with " the friend," Mr. Stirling, instead of her husband. The Jury found a verdict of " Temporary insanity."
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