A dog touched his gun

As Dr. Saunders, of Blundeston, Suffolk, was shooting on the premises of Thomas Fowler, esq. a dog which he was caressing for bringing him a bird touched his gun, which was on the full cock, and shot him under the arm: he was carried home, and amputation was the consequence, but without good effect, for he died immediately.

Accidentally shot

An inquest sat on the body of Mr. James Clement, of Mere, Wilts, who was killed by a most melancholy accident. It appeared that the deceased went shooting the day before with Mr. James Glover of Mere, and that while pursuing their sport, Glover fell into some deep water, and called to his friend Clement to assist him, who immediately took hold of the muzzle of Glover's gun, in order to pull him out of the water; but while in the act of this assistance, the gun went off, and its contents entered Clement's left breast, who instantly fell, exclaiming "Lord, have mercy upon me!" and died in about five minutes. He has left a widow and two children.

The jury brought in a verdict - Accidentally shot.

Eaten to death by maggots

A coroner's inquisition was taken on Monday last, at Osbournby, near Falkingham, on the body of a man named Page, who had died under circumstances of peculiar horror. The deceased was a pauper, belonging to the parish of Silk Willoughby, but not choosing to stay in the workhouse, he was in the habit of strolling about from town to town, subsisting upon the provision which he begged.

It was his custom to deposit what he procured in this way beyond the immediate cravings of nature, within his shirt next to his body; and having considerable store of meat and bread so placed, he, in the early part of last week, it is supposed, feeling unwell, laid himself down in a field in the parish of Scredington, to sleep. The meat, from the heat of the weather and of the man's body, soon becoming putrid, was struck by flies; and in a short time the maggots which were so occasioned, not only preyed upon the inanimate pieces of flesh, but began literally to consume the living substance.

Favoured by the drowsiness and sloth of the wretched man, these vermin made such havoc in his body, that when, on Tuesday, he was found by some persons who were accidentally passing in the field, he presented a sight disgusting in the extreme. White maggots, of an enormous size, were crawling in and upon his body, and the removal of the outer ones only served to show hundreds of others, which had penetrated so deeply, that it was clear the very vitals of the miserable man were invaded by them.

Page was conveyed to Osbournby, and a surgeon was immediately procured, who dressed the parts affected; but the sufferer died in a few hours after.

The jury returned a verdict to the effect that the deceased was "eaten to death by maggots!"

Shrapnel shells

The company of flying artillery, under the command of captain Smith, passed through Brighton, from Lewes, for Hive, for the purpose of practising with shot and shells, at a target, on the beach, nearly fronting that place. Several of the Shrapnel shells, loaded with musket-bullets, which were not intended for use that day, had been fixed, in boxes, to the carriages of the field-pieces, for the inspection of the general; and to one of these boxes, containing four shells, a spark, by some means, found its way, when three of the four shells were presently exploded, and their destructive contents dispersed in all directions. Major-general Hamond had his lip cut through; lieutenant T. Blaker, of the local militia, was stunned by a fragment of the gun-carriage striking him on the back part of the head; and two of the artillerymen were severely hurt, though neither had any bones broken.

Female courage

The following story of female courage is related in a foreign journal of the 2nd instant.

"Yesterday afternoon, two robbers, taking advantage of the occasion when people were at church, got into a detached house, situate between Vasiore and Vantoux, two villages near Metz. They got over a hedge, and were making their arrangements for breaking in the door of the house, when a little girl, ten years of age, who was the only person remaining in the house, having perceived them from a window, ascended to the garrett, in order to call for assistance, and afterwards placed herself in another window over the door. She then raised with difficulty a pick-axe, and let it fall, but the ruffians evaded the blow; and arming themselves with the pick-axe, burst open the door.

The girl, by no means disconcerted at this, seized two pistols, which the proprietor of the house had left in his cabinet, and killed on the spot the first robber who presented himself. The other took to flight, and diligent search is making after him."

Liberated from the tiger

A person viewing the royal menagerie at the Tower, on Thursday, imprudently ventured to touch the paw of one of the tigers, who instantly seized his arm with his mouth, and drew him close to the den, notwithstanding the assistance of two or three other men.

He was at length liberated from the tiger, by a person's succeeding in forcing a stick down the throat of the beast. He was carried to a surgeon, with his arm dreadfully lacerated.

In order to conceal himself

A dreadful accident happened last week to a son of William Davis, of Bourne, Lincolnshire.

A new threshing machine, which had been lately erected in the neighbourhood, excited the curiosity of several people to see it work; among others, the above lad (contrary to the injunction of his father) went for that purpose; the father happened to go also; and the boy perceiving him come, crept under part of the machine, in order to conceal himself, when one of the wheels caught his clothes, and drawing him among the works, broke his collar-bone, one of his arms in three places, both his thighs, both his legs, and cut his head in a dreadful manner.

A leg of mutton

A most horrid attempt was made by a man who resides near Dockhead, on Friday last, to poison his wife and three children.

He took a leg of mutton home, and ordered it to be roasted for dinner. His wife accordingly roasted it, and got it ready by the time he appointed. He did not come home to dinner, and the wife and children made their dinners from some provisions that were in the house, and did not cut the leg of mutton.

The husband did not arrive till supper-time, and made an excuse for not coming to dinner. His wife offered him some of the leg of mutton for his supper, but he declined it, saying he had brought home some fish, which he wished to have fried.

His wife fried them with the dripping produced from the roasting of the leg of mutton, and he ate heartily of the fish. In the night he was taken extremely ill, and has continued in the most excruciating torture since.

He inquired how the fish had been cooked, and being informed, and also that none of his family had partaken of the mutton, he acknowledged his guilt by saying, the deadly and diabolical scheme he had laid of poisoning the whole of them had fallen upon himself, having laid the leg of mutton in a quantity of arsenic for a considerable time, and also having rubbed it into the meat.

The miserable wretch is languishing in the greatest torture of body and mind.

So dreadfully injured

On Monday se'nnight, while Mr. Dowle, jun. of Oxenham, Gloucestershire, an officer in the local militia, was out shooting, in passing through a hedge, with the but-end of his gun advanced before him, something caught the trigger, when the piece exploded, and the whole of the charge entered his breast, some of it passing through the back part of his shoulder. Although so dreadfully injured, he contrived to walk home, where surgical assistance was procured, and he underwent a very painful operation for the extraction of the shot. He lingered, however, in excruciating pain till Friday evening, when he expired.