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    January ^6 , 1856.1 TJHj: LELAP.ES. 79

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    The Rug-Elej Poisonings. {From Our Speci...

    wwfauaBJiigf ? Br . » feri 8 « tfr , *^» e-T «> tnig laays guaE < 3 i 8 S ^ xto n ^ 0 Ubt ! -dedaaU 3 ti & ti < 8 nlLct be demanded ) from a 3 i «^ lffeoHfici » ftte . 'ae * L No . doubt Miss TJiornton teamed toM & tniiim : the "dBaitte of Prague" on the p i £ awji « HdO ( TOas i aq [ ual 5 yfakSled ia ; the niceties of oiacittal'tiBttagi No doiifot » she- waltzed ! to ^ perfection , andjfegfiaedfliliyskaolced :: tlircragb the evolutions of '< the lately / iiinporfced > polka . No doubt she was curioufciin . embroidery , 'and . ia the knitting of silk , ^ pteses < r ami-. . hair wafceb » guards . Ifo doubt , also , * £ ae ikaew something of English history , the geaguapbacal ; position of metropolitan towns * the r « fe flfrftaiaree-. in * arithmetic , enough Freneh to deeyp & OT- " Gheuies 3 OL , * ranxl the . various denomination * dflstStah . frtora ' « herringbone" upwards . All this she tnayr & avec learned , and , j much mote—in short ,

    everythiiig ^ that vpertaiiiB < to . a ' ^ genteel education . " But , in all human probability , she had been taught no sOttiaUdntyy -aothiag that « ouldifit her for the realities oflife ; ^ thaosametime that : she ^ asmade painfully jwra re ' -of'lier oroa ; & 3 se . position as an illegitimate cMld " , ; . and < habituated- to look ; upon * herself as ^ an outeaet , ^ Kb « dng-of aaitiaiferior order , one-who should ba damplyigcat efcil to . iany' . man wJio would bestow his name * ttpon- a creature- unrecognised by the laws , and tfadatdtb vfeoaa -her Birth . Then , her first love was unjiropifckms ,, as ; happily- it usually is . But the fountainsiofthat great deep , a woman ' s heart , had been broken ^ up . The ark . o £ her ; existence now drifted to ami f & oy recklesBnesa ab the helm , and hope in ttre < 'hold , until the waters of disappointment de ~ cresssed ; and the keel grated on the strand . Her moxiri $ am ,. o £ Ararat- < v « ds William . ' Palmer .

    TheneefottBtiheiwas her polarstar . To mm she implicitly yielded in-all things . She only lived that life might beiiSweet to him . At times , indeed , her woman ' s infttmct'shru'nfk'from 3 m sporting companions . Kind , geaei-ofus , and- , hospitable to = all others , she would iccvtinfc « v thousand excuses to s-prevent his racing friends from sleeping in the house . 'Compelled to lodge in the humble liostelries of Rugeley they soon taofe their departure , and the true English wife smiled in- her heart at her own iuhospitality . ¦ %

    c & nct at idle time when the alleged forgery was * perpetrated , Mrs . William -Palmer bore in her womb a . jladgerof their mutual loye . 'Ehree babes already reposed beneath tlie green turf of the churchyardi Percfcanee , that summer ' s * evening they had strolled forth together into the pleasant garden behind the house . The flowers of an English July offered up their ev-en-song of sweetest fragrance ; the birds on the topmost boughs were twittering themselves to rest : the mumaiur of . the distant naill-dani , the hushed sounds of human life sinking into sleep , came borne upon the

    breeze that sighed beneath even this light burden ; the moon smiled , clear and sad , like an aged matron upon , youthful ' lovers , as husband and wife stepped forth upon thergravel walk and bowed to the genius of the . hour . Perchance , he gently alluded to their bereavements , tenderly hoped that yet another babe might be given to gladden their latter days , then darkly , shadowed forth , bis fears for the future , hinted something of present embarrassment , suggested that extrication , was . easy— ' -but it rested with her alone , and he knew she would not consent , Alass ! there -was

    ao Ithui-iel ' s spear at- hand to make the vile teniptatiou assume its own loathsome form . There was no te Voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day " to : make , them ashamed and cattae all evil thoughts to hide themselves ia fear . Who shall blante the poor deludred ' Wife ., if then she fell ? "Who would not rather slied a tear to think that as she laid ill ia bed , dying of poison , her last hour may lxave been embittered by thei awakening jjuapioion that she hod erred that summer ' s eve , when she seated herself at th . it side table in the room below ? But did « . he commit that crime ? Her husband has sworn to the fact . Villain as he may b « , he ia too calm and . self-collected to waato

    A cwme . There was nothing to gain by tho acousixtion . If Jiis wife < lid forgo ffts mother ¦ a signature , it was I > y his direction and for his benefit . His own position'was in no way improved . Indeed , ho would nave dono far better to have taken the guilt upon himself , A reaction had already sot iu iu his favour . People-said , " This man is ruu down by envy and malice—he is the scapegoat of tho neighbourhood sent forth into the-wildernosa of society . " Thoro wore Some , too , who flippantly declared that he hnd

    well-Mgu roaoomoa otnor onmcB by tlio great moral lesson ho had vend to mothers-in-law who -would B ° } ° tliom 9 olYOB upon ^ lOir daughters' husbands . And then , as i £ to extenuate thob ; gratitude , they doolared that old Mrs . Thornton had died of disoaso , and appealed to their neighbours whether nho hud not boon , long ailing before her romovul to llugcloy . But now all arc united in ono common outburst of execration . Thoy wjM not believe him upon tho most solemn adjuration . Thoy any that hin own handwriting was small and foniiumo , attel that it would havo'bben no arduous tuslc for him . to imitate hia mofchor ' s signature . It k not your oorronpoml < mt * H dftty to decide ou suoh n , difficult point—ho merely tma thtftalo an it wma told to him . - ^^ Hugclcy , Jan . 23 . William : Palmer has boon found guilty of tho wilful

    murder tffBis"bTotfoOT * -Waiter . 7 EMriB are tmTli-ver ^ diet passed against him . Two successive coroner ' s juries affirm upon , oath their deliberate conviction that he has * poisoned hie friend , his wife , and ; hi 3 brother— all within the space of fifteen months . The chemical analysis of the viscera , & c , of-John-Parsons Cook' failed ' to discover any vestiges of poison . But the'serv-ant-girl who attended him in- hss last illness deposed to screams and convulsive spasms , which medical men 6 f the highest eminence pronounce'tobe the 1 result of stryehnine . Venei ^ lble Dr . Batnfordhad presci-ib « d nothing more fatal than morphine , and that ' in at quantity utterly innocuous . And he displayed bottles' still more venerable and ' patched ; upMAtan ' himself' tojahow 1 that he could not have made an j

    accidental mistake of the drugs . Then , ' t & eie was a motive for Cook's destruction . He haid reeeiv « d ^ 6700 at Shrewsbury , he was entitled to £ 1 , 000 more in London . What has become of this money ? The London settlements were effected : by William Palmer , but the Shrewsbury payments still remain amystery . Moved "b y the strange suddenness of Cook's death , the positive evidence of Dr . Taylor as to the administration of poison , and Palmer ' s interest in his removal , a coroner ' s jury brought in a very l'easonaole verdict against the latter .

    Suspicions being thus roused , the bodies of his wife and brother were exhumed , opened , and examined . In the former case death was shown to be the result of saturation by antimony . This medicine had been improperly exhibited . Of that there could be no doubt ; but who was to blame ? Might itjiot have been an . error of judgment ? BothDrs . Bamford and Knight had been called in—both honourable men , both above eighty . These patriarchs of the healing art ordered saline mixtures and other harmless abominations but their patient escaped from their hands . Anne Palmer died , and William Palmer took the sacrament . He seemed " much put about , " says the nurse ; " he seduced me / ' says the maid-servant . Certainly , nine months afterwards she was confined in her master ' s house ; his last note , one of the Bank of

    England for ^ £ 50 , he forced into her hand as the police were haling him to prison ; and she is again expecting to be a mother . But there vvas ^ a far stronger motive for des 5 ring his wife's death than . mere satiety . Her life was insured in his favour for < £ 13 , 000 , which has since been paid to him . And he now further declai'es that she had forged his mother ' s acceptance for .= £ 2 , 000 , of which , sum only a moiety has yet been paid . It is possible that by misrepresentations , threats , and cajolery , he may have induced her to commit this crime , or she m . a . y have been innocently tricked into attempting the imitation on a blank piece of paper . But , assuredly , nothing would ev ^ er have induced her to forswear herself ; and thus an intractable witness has be « n disposed of . On these grounds a second jury brought iu a verdict of wilful murder against William Palmer .

    The third case presented greater difficulties . His brother Walter was a confirmed drunkard . So far back as 1852 lie had been , under medical treatment ; and again , in 1854 , he was suffering from enlargement of the liver ^ and extreme irritability of the stomach , together with dropsy iu the legs , and inflanunatiou of the right ldduey ' . ' He had also at one time a severe attack of delirium tremens , under the influence of which ho attempted to cut liis own throat . Notwithstanding all this , satisfactory certificates wero given by medical : practifcioners of good standing , and insurance offices were induced by present greed and hope of future immunity to grant a policy ou his life . Tho amount was i'l 3 , 000 , to which no objection appears to have been made , though professedly intended to cover an advance of

    only £ 400 . From this period it is not easy to speak with any defjroo of certainty . It in clear tliat a fellow named YValkaden was nt leafift permitted to iuoite Walter Palmer to indulge in alcoholic spirits , which everybody must have seen would terminate in tho death of tho latter . Walkeden himself avowed , without hesitation , that ho had always supplied his master with as much gin as lie chose to order . On no occasion does ho protend even to have remonstrated with him . After tho second day of the Wolverhampbou races , Walter Palmer is Rtatod to have drauk inordinately for about six and thirty hours , when ho was suddenly seized with apoplexy , and in twoiaty minutea afterwards wntf'n corpse . Hih brother William opportunely ixrrived to close his oyoa . Walked on affirms that ha had not been in tho house

    boforo , biuco Saturday or S \ inday ; his own diary reports a daily visit to " Walter , who was -voiy ill . " A modical gontloxnan , nurnod Day , who hail attended him . for sonxo littlo timo pa ^ t , was called in , but arrived too lato to do inoro than certify thftt his patient died from apoplexy . A post-mortem examination , at a later period , confirmed thin viow of tho ensa , and all Dr . Taylor'n unnguino hIuII failed to dotocfc tho proscuco of poiHon . Thus far tho oviilonco wont no further thnn to prove death by _ apoplexy , produced by oxoosbjvo drinking . Tho insurances might OMcapo , but tho ulterior onrts of justice would not bo vindicated . Then Mi-h . "Walter Palmor dopoaod tluvt William had assured nor that hor lumband had

    iJtrrsfraHitoOTHnBBsel rafter -several days' delii-ium , * aacl tha * his . corpse was too horrible to behold . Tlua loofcefl auspioiQus , coupled with the fact that tlia body was inclosed in a lead coffin withoutany apparent reason for the'deviation from ordinany ¦ practice , © ne Myatfc . now appears on the stage , —the poppy-headed "Boots" atrtbBf Junction Hotel , Stafford . This lout , who has much the appearance of a certain hybrid ptfiplevtop turnip , coloured engravings of which

    illustrate ! our railway stations , —pretends , that he never Sleeps , that' sleep makes him ill . He never was awake . His mother slept while he was born ; he was born asleep . He is himself « , rustic Morpheus . He vrho looks himin the face straightway grows drowsy , calls , for : ah ' pperSj . and begins to nod . Every five minutes in'the day , every three minutes in the night , a train arrives at . Stafford or departs therefrom . "Boots " was never known to miss one . He somnambu *

    lakes from-the station to the inn , from the inn to the station . In the house he has ever a pair of slippers , on o £ - & hoes * in his hand ; on the roaol his legs only appeac from beneath < a load of carpet-bags , railway rugs , and umbrellas . To this strange being- Win . Palmer entrusted two bottles of medicine , which he carefully sfcoweel away in his clothes box . After a time Palmer asked for them , and withdrawing the cork from one , poured in something from a very tiny phial . This operation was also observed by Mr . Lloyd , the landlord , a worthy in a ; permanent state of astonishment ; otherwise apparelled in black , with a shh * t frill projecting in front , and having altogether the air of a very indifferent butler . He saw Palmer in the act of pouring a colourless liquid out of an almost invisible bottle , and then shake up the mixture . This was previous to

    Walker's death . . . Soon after that event , Mr . Deane-, the solicitor , and Field , the un-detective , came down to Stafford and made some inquiries as to Walier ' s death , and also touching Gteorge Bate 3 , Esq . This came to William Palmer ' s ears , and . he forthwith interrogated the sleepless One as to what had passed between him and the strangers . A sn-ore being ; the only response , he offered his humble friend a glass of Mr . Lloyd ' s best British cognac . "Boots" drank of it , and "Sfas sick unto death . He attributed his illness to the B . B , —or rather to something introduced into it : probably , he had not witnessed . the tragic exit of " Dinah" on the boards of the " Hayanaiket , " ironx similar indulgence . But whence came that invisible bottle with the colourless liquid ? The curtain inow rises Upon another debutant in this eventful drama .

    In the market-town of Wolvernanipton there d . vyells one George Whyman , an apothecary ' s apprentice . This youth once heard a Scotch , drover , who bad picked , up a smattering of . " Humanity" at ^ village school in A . berdeenshire , declaiming about a certain philosopher who fired an ancient fane as his passport to the temple of fame ; nor did he . forget to name that other blockhead who leaped into the burning crater . < 3 eorge himself had seen a fly in amber-. From that moment he was possessed of a fixed idea . He too would be a fly iu amber— -at least , his statue in wax should be erected in Madame T ussaud ' sgallery of Contemporary Notorieties . Fortune smiled upon

    his ambition . AVilliam Palmer bought prussic acid of George Whyman . George quietly divulged the secret . It spread abroad . George was summoned to give evidence to hang his customer , who had paid hint Is . 9 d . Alas ! the excitement proved too much for . George . He grievously contradicted himself- He did not remember whether Palmer came to him hi the race week or the week before , but lie was certain , that it was tho race week . He had never mentioned the circumstance to any one , but he had told it to Mr .

    Doverell , of ths Pack-horse , two months ago . He had not even hinted the thing to his employers , Messrs . Mcuider and Weaver , but lie had informed Mr . Maudor . " You may go dowin , " said Mr . Smith , sternly . " Go to J" cry Messrs . Tuasaud , scornfully . Poor George will neither be embalmed iu amber nor made n man of wax . But the jury were nevertheless satisfied of tho general correctness of hia statement ; for tho books record tho sale of tho poison to William Palmor on tho second day of tho Wolvorhampton Races .

    Dr . Taylor now modified ban former statement . He much doubted if apoplexy would prove fatal in so short a apneo of time aa twenty initiates , unless thore wore some disease of tho heart . A modomto doee of prussic acid , Ray half a tenspoohful in two tablespoonfuls of- brandy , would not be porooptiblo to th-o sense of smell , but would cause cloath witlun half-an-hour Brandy hnd been fulminiptorod to tho docoasod , for Mr . Day was BQneublo of tho odour ubont 1 ub mouth . Hud nnieaio mid boon mixed iu this ? "Berhapa

    Wrtlkodon could toll ? Hut will' he ' ( Dr . R « ob wan rtomowhnt moro guarded than hia colleague . Perhaps ho ontortaiuH a moro favourable view of mankind , and Ihwj no ploiiisuro ia detecting poison . Tho jury began to look moro benignant . There was at lust Homo ohanco of a conviction . Let a motive bo nhowiv foi Willinm Palmer's disposal ot his brother . An hysto rioal lawyer , crcdite ponteri , in now put in ' . o thi witncBB-box . Clasping hia hood , burying hi » f « co in his hands , with t « arn striving to i » smo from Iiin oyott and a gasping voioo , he' iaxploron tU « good ( jonfclomou

    January ^6 , 1856.1 Tjhj: Lelap.Es. 79

    January ^ 6 , 1856 . 1 TJHj : LELAP . ES . 79

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 26, 1856, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26011856/page/7/