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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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12 l 6 T HE L E ADEB . [ No . 300 , Saturday ,
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"No , I will not have any nioro until you have drunk yours ; " and Mr . Cook , rejoining ' ,. "Oh , I will drink mine , " took up the glass , and drank off the contents . Immediately after , he exclaimed , "There is something in it—it burns my throat awfully ! " Mr . Palmer roae from his seat , went across the room , took hold of the glass , in -which a teaapoonful of the liquid was left , drank' it , and observed , " There is nothing in it . " He then pushed the glass over to Mr . Fisher , asking , " Do you think there is anything ' in it ? " Mr . Cook left the room ; returned in about ten minutes ; called Mr . Fisher aside , and went * with him into that gentleman ' s sitting-room . Here he said that he had been dreadfully sick , and that he believed Mr . Palmer had " dosed" him , for that the stuff had burned his throat . He gave Mr . Fiaher his money ( amounting to between Beven and eight hundred pounds ) to take care of , adding that he believed he had been " dosed" for the sake of the amount . Again he was seized with sickness , and was obliged to send for a medical man . The next morning he was better , and he told Mr . Fisher that he had taxed Mr . Palmer with putting something into his brandy-andwater , and that Mr . Palmer denied it ; to which Mr . Cook added , speaking to Mr . Fisher , " I suppose he did not do it . " Mr . Fisher then returned Mr . Cook his money . On the morning of Thursday , November 15 th , Mr . Cook , who seemed to be then recovered , was in the sitting-room of another friend staying at the Raven Hotel , a Mr . Herring ; and , in answer to a question from that gentleman about the brandy-and-water , replied , " Oh , that villain did me ! " " You mean Palmer ? " interrogated Mr . Herring . " Yea , " replied Mr . Cook . Mr . Herring remarked , " It is a very curious thing to accuse a gentleman of such an act . What could be his motive ? " Mr . Cook , in a sorrowful tone , replied , "You don't know all ; " and then turned the conversation to racing matters in general . But Mr . Herring interrupted him , exclaiming , " Good God ! if you suspect this man of such a thing , how can you go back and breakfast with him ? " Mr . Cook again replied , but in an absent manner , "Ah , you don't know all ; " and left the room . On the Wednesday morning following the afternoon -when Mr . Cook vomited from the effects of the brandy-and-water , Mr . Herring had been very ill from diarrhoea and pains in the stomach ; and other persons in the town , but all strangers and . connected with the turf , had been similarly affected . ¦ Mr . Herring returned to London ; and , on the following Monday , he saw Mr . Palmer at 8 , Beaufortbuildings , Strand , in compliance with a letter which he received the same morning from him . In answer to an inquiry about Mr . Cook , Mr . Palmer said , " Oh , he is all right ; the physician has given him some calomel , and recommended him not to go out ; " and he added , producing a document , " What I want to see you about is settling his account . " Mr . Herring rose slightly to take the document , when Mr . Palmer said , " You had better take it down , " handing over some paper , pens , and ink . " What I have here , " he added , " will be a check against you . " It appears that from various persons Mr . Herring was to receive sums amounting to about . £ 1 , 000 , out of which he was to pay himself £ 200 on account of an overdue bill of exchange , £ 450 to a Mr . Pratt , and £ 350 to a Mr . Padwick ; but , only receiving £ 890 , he did not pay Mr . Padwick ' s account , but retained in his hands the balance of £ 210 . Having advised Mr . Cook , who was then with Mr . Palmer , of this , he received a telegraphic message from Rugeley , asking him to furnish the £ 120 deficient to make up Padwick's account , which , however , he refused to do . Mr . Herring suspected that the £ 850 to Padwick was not Mr . Cook ' s bet , but Mr . Palmer ' s ; and on the inquest various witnesses were examined to prove that the telegraphic message to Mr . Herring was not sent by Mr . Cook , but by Mr . Palmer . The original copy of the message was asked for ; but it appeared that Mr . Palmer had Bent for it two or throe days before , and it had been given up . Notwithstanding that , on Monday , the 19 th of November , Mr . Palmer had told Mr . Herring that Mr . Cook was going on well , he had , on Saturday , the 17 th , sent for Mr . William Bamford , surgeon , of Rugeley , to attend on him ; and that gentleman twice on Saturday prescribed and made up medicines , which Mr . Palmer took away with him , previous to which he had himself administered some pills . Mr . Cook was very sick , and was violently purged . On Sunday , Mr . Palmer sent for Mr . Jones , a surgeon , living at Lutterworth , Leicestershire , and a Mend of Mr . Cook , saying that Mr . Cook had been taken ill at Shrewsbury , and that ho "thought it advisablo for Mr . Jones to come and see him as soon aa possible . " Mr . Jones went , arriving on Tuesday , the 20 th , and was told by Mr . Palmer that the patient had had a violent bilious and diarrhoea attack ; but the symptoms did not confirm this . Mr . Bamford thought mattora were going on favourably ; and the three medical men left the sick room to arrange what should be given during the night . Mr . Palmer and Mr . Bamford agreed that the morphine pillo should bo repeated , the former
/ POISOST ON " THE TURF . " Altf inquesb , extending over three days , has been held qii Rugeley , and has revealed a frightful story of nystematio poisoning . The inquiry had referenoe to the death of Mr . John Parsons Cook , and it has terminated in the arrest of Mr . Palmer , a medical man , who had attended the deceased . Mr . Cook was a gentleman of independent property , of about eiglit-and-twenty years of age , and largely interested in horse-raoing transactions . Mr . Palmer was a friend of his , and they frequently joined in bets . Both attended the Shrewsbury races about the middle of last November ; and on Tuesday , the 13 th , a horso called Poleatar , bolonging to Mr . Cook , ( ran and won . Mr . Cook was excited at this , but not bo as to require medical treatment . He and some friends , after the result , drove down from the racecourse to the Raven Hotel , whore they dined ; and Mr . Bfclnior was of the party . After dinner , while they were all in Mr . Cook ' B altting-room , Mr . Fisher , & friend of Mr . Cook ' s , entered the room , and sat down , though to some extent deterred by an expree-Bion on the face of Mr . Palmer , whioh seemed to indioate dissatisfaction , at his presence . However , he remained . The party were drinking grog , Mr . Cook ' s glass was fUll , and he said to Mr . Palmer , " Palmer , you'll have Borne more grog ? " Mr . Palmer replied ,
suggesting that Mr . Cook should not know what the pills contained , as he strongly objected to them on the previous night , saying that they made him ill . Mr . Palmer , having made the pills , gave them to Mr . Cook , who protested against them , and , immediately after swallowing- them , vomited . Mr . Jones and Mr . Palmer searched for the pills , and could not find them . At Mr . Cook ' s request , Mr . Jones slept with him ; but , shortly after the medical man got into bed , the patient exclaimed , "Doctor , get up ; I am going to be ill . Ring the bell for Mr . Palmer . " He called to the chambermaid , "Fetch Mr . Palmer directly . " Mr . Palmer came in about two minutes , saying he had never dressed so quickly in his life before , and gave Mr . Cook two pills , on taking which the patient , uttering loud screams , threw himself back on the bed , in very strong convulsions . He then requested to be raised up , saying , "I shall be suffocated . " The medical men endeavoured to raise him , but he was so stiffened out with spasms that they could not . Ha cried , " Turn me over ! " and Mr . Jones turned him on his right side . The action of the heart then gradually ceased , and he expired . The body , after death , rested on the heels and head , the intermediate parts being drawn inwards like a bow . On the previous night , a similar scene , with the exception of the fatal termination , had taken place . The chambermaid was roused , and ordered to go for Mr . Palmer . Having sent for that gentleman , who was stopping over the way , she returned to the room , and found Mr . Cook looking very wild with his eyes , screaming , and rolling bis head , about convulsively . He' beat about the bed with his arms , which subsequently became perfectly straight , and so did his legs ; and he observed that his illness was in consequence of some pills he had taken . To Mr . Palmer ( who quickly arrived ) he observed , " Oh , doctor , I shall die ! " Mr . Palmer replied , " Oh , no , my lad , you won't ! " and , leaving the room , fetched two pills and some mixture of a dark , thick kind , smelling like opium . These the patient took , and immediately vomited the potion , but the . pills could not be found " . After the death of Mr . Cook , the chambermaid found Mr . Palmer ( in the absence of Mr . Jones ) feeling in the pockets of the dead man ' s coat , and . looking under the pillow . He afterwards said to Mr . Jones , " You , as his nearest friend , had better search his pockets , and take possession of what there may be in them . " Mr . Jones searched , and only found five guineas in money . A betting-book which Mr . Cook had had with him was missed ; but Mr . Palmer said that all the bets were void , and that the book was of no us © to any one . The book has not since been found . Several m « dical witnesses were brought forward at the inquest , and , speaking from an examination of the hody , were unable to assign tire cause of death . Dr . Taylor , of the College of Physicians , \ . ho made a post-mortem investigation of the stomach , liver , &c , said be came to the following conclusions : — " 1 . That antimony , derived from some antimonial preparation taken during life , was present in the body of the deceased . 2 . That it had been absorbed and carried into the blood , and deposited in the various parts in which it was found . 3 . That the quantities found were small , and might be the residue of a large dose , or of various smaller doses taken some- hours or days before death . 4 . That the quantity actually taken by the deceased cannot be inferred from the small quantities found in the body , or from the appearances of the stomach and intestines . 5 . The antimony , under the form of tartaric emetic , may produce nausea , violent vomitings , purging , and other symptoms and irritation of the stomach and bowels . There was also another symptom produced by tartaric emetic , arsenic , or mercury , viz ., restriction of the throat or a sense of choking . 6 . That the viscera of the deceased , so far as they were examined by us , presented no appearance whatever to account for death from natural causes . 7 . And lastly , that tartario emetic may be used as a safe and innocent medicine , or as a poison , according to circumstances . We have no evidence before us to enable us to form a judgment as to the oiroumstancoa under which it was taken by or administered to the deceased , or to ouablo us to say in this case whether it was or was not tho oause of death ; therefore , the result is , that wo iounil antimony in the body , which must have boon takon while living , but there were no causes of death . Dr . Reea , who made tho analysis with me , fully concur * in these conclusions . Dr . Bees is assistant phynioitm to Guy ' s Hospital . Convulsions would prooedo death by antimony if the doses wore largo . " Replying to questions by tho ooroner , Dr . Taylor said that ho believed death was caused by tetanus , and that the pills administered on Monday and Tuesday tuffxta oontained strychnine—a poison ao soon absorbed into tho blood that its presence cannot be detected , in oorroboration of this opinion , the assistant to a chemist at Rugeley stated that , on tho 20 bh of November , he sold bIx grains of atryohnino to Mr . Pftlmor , together with two drachma of prussio acid , and two of Batley ' a solution of opium . Tho coroner sent ft
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the partof the gentleman , had been ^^ J ^*^ odorous and romantic cognomen of Pine-apple ) now c ^ Led ; and Mrs . Te ^ was left to mourn . But , on the ^ ine-merchanfs return , the lady ^ ived a tetter , appointing her to meet him at the Great WXrnRailway Hotel ; she went , and thefaithless wine-merchant introduced the proprietor of the hotel , and assured him that Mrs . Pew was " an infamous bad woman , " who had come there to extort money from him . This conduct caused Mrs . Pew , according to her own account , to be " excited , " and she determined to be revenged . All correspondence , of course , was at an end ; but , on the trial , the fair plaintiff stated that the " pine-appleing" ( which must be understood as a Bynonym for letter-writing ) had continued up to the tone of the rupture . The revenge was carried out in the usual way under such circumstances . The lady haunted the counting-house of Mr . Rosenthal dayafter day ; " kicked up rows , " according to the ver-- nacular expression of the German wine-merchant ; tracked him to hotels ; threatened , in the hearing of his clerks , that she would " expose" him ; and introduced herself to his friends . At length she was told by one of the clerks that Mr . Rosenthal would be obliged to send for a policeman to take her into custody ; upon which she valorously replied , " That ' s the very thing I want , and then I shall be able to expose him , " adding that Bhe was quite willing to be taken before a just judge . She was therefore given in custody , but was discharged by Alderman Hunter . She now brought her action for the debt and the false imprisonment . Mr . Rosenthal contended that he had paid the debt , and that he was justified in giving his tormentor into custody . In cross-examination , Mrs . Pew was shown two receipts of hers for the joint sum of £ 62 ; but she swore that she had not received that money , and that she had sent the receipts at the same time that she had requested loans to that amount , because she knew that she could not have got the money otherwise . Being asked by Mr . James , counsel for Mr . Rosenthal ., whether she would swear that she paid the household expenses at Brighton , she replied , " To be sure I will . Don't talk your nonsense to me , Mr . James ! I used to give nine shillings a brace for partridges . " Mr . James pressed for the name of one of the trade 3-¦ men ; to which the fair plaintiff replied that she could have given the names of twenty . She was told one would do ; whereupon she burst out with "Oh , how can I recollect their names now ? " and pleaded that her brain had been turned since her imprisonment . She then indulged in criticisms on Mr . Rosenthal , whom she described as " not a man at all . " " He i 3 a pine-apple , I suppose , " suggested Mr . James . The lady also revealed a tender declaration made , after his return from . Germany , by the enamoured wine-merchant , who , calling at the hoiiBe of his divinity , said that he would not leave the place ; that he was " ironed" to the spot ( Mr . James observed that he ought to have added . —" and mangled too" ); and that he loved no other woman than the fair Pew . ¦ "In one respect , " remarked Mr . James , "Mr . Rosenthal is fortunate : he is a Bingle man , and there will be no account to settle with Mrs . Rosenthal when he gets home . " A suggestion was made by the Chief Baron that the matter had better be compromised ; to which Mr . . JameB was willing to assent , but the counsel for Mrs . Pew would not agree . Ultimately the jury retired , butj could not come to a decision , eleven being in favour of a verdict with forty shillings damages , whilje tho twelfth stood out for granting no more than one farthing . At length , however , he gave way , and a verdict for Mrs . Pew , with forty shillings damages , ¦ was r | eturned . i
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 22, 1855, page 1216, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2120/page/4/
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