Last week, a lad only seventeen hanged himself at From*,
after having pawned his clothes and parted with his last shilling to pay his losses at skittle-playing.
Samuel Griffin, a lad of sixteen, and son of a gentleman residing at Hammersmith, met with a dreadful accident on Tuesday afternoon, from an incautious use of fire-arms. It appears that the youth, in company with three other companions, who are on a visit at Mr. Griffin's house during the holydays, proceeded to the vicinity of Worm- wood Scrubbs and Old Dale Common, for the purpose of shooting small birds. Their success not being very great, they relinquished their amusement, and commenced firing at a target, made of a sheet of paper, affixed to a tree. Young Griffin imagined that by putting an /extra charge into the gun he should win the prize. Acuoialegiy, %hen it ern% ed at his tu at, he fired, wIta tie g in burst close to the stuck, csrryil g away the lock and lower p irt of the barrel. The unfortunate youth's hand was dreadfully shattered, and u portion of his nose was blown off. Amputation of the arm must immediately be performed. A powder-mill at Tunbridge blew up on Thursday week, about seven In the morning. The bodies of two men employed in the premises were found shockingly mutilated. It is not known what immediately caused the explosion—the third that has occurred at the same mills within seven years.
An inquest was held on Wednesday week, at Gloucester, on the body of T. Ricketts, eighteen years of age. The deceased and a young man named Harman had a private pique ; and on the previous Tuesday evening, agreeing to decide their dispute by fighting, pro- ceeded to the Mill-field, near Barton Street ; when, after fighting an !tour, the deceased was knocked down and unable to rise. He was removed to a friend's house ; a surgeon was sent for, but he expired soon after. Verdict—" Manslaughter against Harman ; " who was committed for trial at the next Assizes.— Chdtenham Journal.
Mrs. Woods, the wife of a farmer at Westhoughton, was killed on Saturday week, in attempting to cross the Bolton and Manchester Railway, just before the train of carriages. Part of the line passes through Chequer-bank, in the township of Westhoughton, and inter- sects a field belonging to Mr. Woods, from which it is fenced off on each side. There is an inclined plane on this part of the line. About six o'clock on the above evening, Mrs. Woods went to the field in question, carrying her infant daughter, nine months old, in her arms, in order to drive home the cows. She had crossed the Railway, and was standing at the fence on one side of it, as a train of four carriages laden with ashes for the repairs of the road was descending the inclined plane, at the rate of between twenty-five and thirty miles per hour, the engineer being on the third carnage. At this time, a cow in that part of the field which is on the other side of the line was in the act ap- parently of forcing it way through the fence. Mrs. Woods saw this, and she endeavoured to cross the line towards the cow at the very moment that the train was approaching. Of course, to stop the latter was out of the question ; Mrs. Woods was struck by the foremost engine, and hurled a distance of some twenty yards, after which the train passed over her. The child was knocked out of her arms, and alighted a few yards from its unfortunate mother, having escaped the wheels of the carriage ; it however died soon after.
On Tuesday night, the premises of Messrs. Smith, Hill, and Co., Old Millgate, Manchester, were broken into and robbed of property, which was locked up in an iron safe, in the counting-house. There were 500 Sovereigns, and 10/. and Si. Bank of England notes and Manchester notes, amounting in the whole to about 1,5001. A reward of 2001. has been offered to any person who may give such information as may lead to the conviction of the offenders and recovery of the pro- perty, or in proportion to the sum recovered. It is suspected that the robbery was committed by what are called " family men." They en- tered, it is believed, with false keys.
On Saturday morning, a little dog was observed to follow a fellow mimed Wetherell, a carman, in the employ of a farmer near Uxbridge, who was walking by the side of his team, eating some bread and meat with a large clasp knife. By some accident he dropped a piece of the meat, which the hungry animal instantly snapped up and devoured. This so enraged the fellow, that he turned upon the dog and actually _tipped open its bowels with the knife.
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