The wife of Mr Shelton

The wife of Mr. Shelton, a tea dealer in Green-street, Grosvenor Square, put a period to her existence in a hay-field near Weybridge, in Surrey. She was on a visit to the family of Mr. Bennett, near Weybridge. On the preceding morning, after partaking of a hearty breakfast, she observed to the family that she would take a short walk, being of opinion it would do her good, and with unusual earnestness bid them “good bye!” but returned shortly, and shaking them by the hands, said, “God bless you! God bless you!” Expecting her return, the family waited with the utmost anxiety for the space of two hours; but not returning, they sent messengers after her. After a long search, she was found on the following morning sitting upright in a ditch, with her throat cut from ear to ear, and a pen-knife lying by her side, which she generally carried in her pocket. A coroner’s inquest was summoned, and the evidence adduced proved these facts, with the addition, that the whole of the day on which she disappeared was spent in a hay field, where the hay-makers observed her walking backwards and forwards. The jury returned a verdict of lunacy. She was near 70 years old, and the mother of several children.