A Young Man Blows Out His Brains. Hamilton, September 20,

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 222, 1 October 1887, Page 3

A Young Man Blows Out His Brains. Hamilton, September 20,

News of a most determined case of suicide has just been received in Hamilton, from which it appears that a young man named Stevens, a son of Mr Ingham Stevens, of Auckland, blew his brains out afc Taupo by placing the muzzle of the gun to his chin. It is not known when the rash deed was committed, as the deceased lived in the oiKce used by Mr Clayton at Taupo. On Monday Mr W. Cussen went into the office and noticed a man sitting in the coiner of the room. Thinking ho was asleep, he went over to him, but was horrified to find that he was dead, the whole side of his face having been blown away. The deceased, who was aboub 23 years of age, had been lately working with Mr Claytons .jurvey party, but for the past two months had not been doing anything. For some time deceased had a mate, who resided with him, but he had gone away a few days previous to the occurrence. A man who lives near the building states that he heard a shot in the night, but was unable to tell whether ifc was on Sunday or Monday, as there was no other evidence to fix the day. Close to the body was found a piece of paper which had beon written by deceased, stating that the rash act was done by his own hands, and that he left a letter for Mr Clayton eivingr his reason. Judging from the position in which the body was found, theunfoxtunote man must have sat down in the corner of the room, tied a string to the trigger, then fastened it to his toe, and, placing the gun to his chin, pulled the trigo-er. Death must have been instan taneous.

Snails, it appears, are the latest delicacy in Now York. The fashion was set by Jay Gould, who has a quantity sent over by each French mail steamer from Havre. The snails are first boiled, then slightly roasted, and then eaten after the fashion of periwinkles. Mrs Campbell-Praed, in a new novel, re| presents Australian society as . " brutal, coarse, and drunken." Her old-time acauaintancea in Brisbane will doubblc* fcfeel attercd.