The Wake of the Widow M guire,

Southland Times, Issue 16059, 10 June 1902, Page 4

The Wake of the Widow M quire,

Bastwick Street, St. Luke's, London, is notorious for its disorderly brawl*, but it eclipsed itself on ihe last Sum day in March in tbe shocking Bcene that may be desoriben as 'the wakeot the Widow Magaire.' Bridget Maguire, aged sevemy, ana her bhnu eon Thomas, lived in one room a' 13 Basivnck Street, and eked out a mueiabie existeaca by Belling penny bandkerct icfs in pub-lic-houses. Mr* Maguire'B husbmd was » Melbourne merchant who, after poking a fortune in Australia, lost it all, and died there eight yflara ago. At eight o'olook on Saturday morning tbe blind man was awakened by a uoise, and groping about the floor fouud hie mother, lying face downwaide, dead from an attack of apoplexy. He Called for help, and the othtr lodgers arrived. Upset by the bereavement, they turned to the brandy bottle 10 atßnage ibeir grief. Before long the relatives and the sympathetic neighbours were all gloriously and pugnaciou^y drank. There was the blind man druok ; the deceased 5 !) niece in the same condition ; a Mr Jones (a Covent Garden porter) auo his wife, a Mrs Hutton, and nearly a dozcu of fuddled friende. From we pin j? they tell to fighting, and when B-rrett, one corontr'o officer, arrived ab.ut 7 p m , afiee tight foi the possession of the corpse waß in progress, eight of the combatants being women. Mr Jones and the blind eon were rolling on top of the corpse together, and the corpse wa. knocked off the bed on to ibe fljor. Bcrrett parted the two men, and then the women commenced quarrelling. When anoher woman named Mrs Hutton arrived, she also fell down on top of the corpse. Berretb waß afraid that the lamp would be overturned and the place eet on fire. Tbe language of the whole lob was j-imply fearful— e»tn for Bastwiok Street. Daring the melee Jones AUd the blind son felt on the corpse twice. Berrett tried for three-quarters of en hour to obtain particulars of the case, but gave it op at Uet, and he could not ijear himself apeak on account of the drunken din. Thert appeared to be a dispute as to the possession of the oorpse, so Herrett got an undertaker to remove it to the mortuary. The jury r» - tnrned a verdiob of death from natural causes, censuring the witnesses who had taken part in the disgraceful melee, and called the attention i.f the Borough Connoil to the beastliness of Bastwiok Street.