INQUEST
An inquest was held on Monday evening at the “Two Brewers,” West Mills, before Dr. Watson, J.P. Borough Coroner, on the body of Sarah Ann Humphreys, aged nine weeks. Mr. George Golding was chosen foreman of the jury, and the body having been viewed, the following evidence was adduced:

Sarah Humphreys said that the child was born on February 2nd and had been quite well up to this present. She had been living at Winchester lately, and came to Newbury on Saturday. Her husband was in Asia Minor. She now lived with her mother-in-law at West-fields. In the night the child cried out, but was soon quiet again. About 3 o’clock in the morning she woke up and found the child lying on its side quite dead. She slept with the child in her arm in the usual way, and could not have lain on it in that position. In answer to the Coroner, she said that no medicine whatever had been given to the child since she left Winchester. She gave the child some medicines for a cough some time back, when she was living at Winchester.

Mr. Robert Birch, surgeon, who examined the body of the child, by order of the Coroner, sad he found it to be well nourished, and there were no external marks of violence. There was a validity of the right arm and face and of the back of both legs. There was some froth about the mouth, and the fingers were pressed on the thumbs. The tongue was not protruding. He thought the child was overlain, but from the evidence of the mother it could not have been so. He had no reason to doubt but that the child had died from natural causes, but he could not say whether from convulsions or not. There was no indication that the child had suffered from foul play.

In answer to the Coroner, P.C. Gamble said when he saw the child the tongue was protruding a little. The bed was a narrow one.

The Jury returned a verdict of “Death from natural causes.”