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    the same reason as the detective police ; though perhaps an eschange would not be altogether amiss , for no one could misunderstand the detective envelope and adhesive police , when either a . secret was to be discovered , or a glass of brandy administered . The Postmaster of Bugeley observed the tempting missive . He extracted the contents , lead , and inwardly digested , them , re-fastened the . letter , and then hurried off to Mr . Palmer with the news , who was at that time ill in bed . Nor -was that the first illegal communication between these two , but of that hereafter . On hearing these glad tidings , Palmer sends for George Bate , Esq ., and bids him carry three letters to Stafford . The Esquire does as he is bid . He delivers one epistle to

    ^ almer called and intimated that he was n o longer answerab le for Hr . Duffy ' s expenses . On this hint the dame spake , and asked that gentleman if he could oblige her by settling his little account . He would on the morrow with pleasure , for he expected a large sum of money . It is not possible that he did receive some , as he suddenly disappeared , leaving behind him an old carpet bag full of letters and papers now in the hands of the police . At least one packet of letters was , however , first inspected by mine hostess , who thus discovered that her lodger had long kept up an affectionate correspondence with old Mrs . Palmer , some of whose amatory effusions were rather forcible than elegant . In short , Tenus Victrix had degenerated into Venus Circumvaga .

    the first Tuesday in August . He had no patients out of his own family , and could not have wanted an ounce of such deadly poison for his private practice . However all this will probably transpire at the adjourned inquest , ' and speculation will then give place to positive knowled ge . But , mark all the incidents ot this case . A sawyer and timber-merchant amassing a large fortune , no one knows how , and then suddenly dying of apoplexy : his widow surviving her chastity : one daughter drinking herself to death : one son either doing the same , or poisoned by his own brother : Lt .-Col . Brookes found dead , but no proof that he shot himself : his mistress probably poisoned by her son-inlaw : their daxig hter certainly poisoned by her husband , the sawyer ' s son : perhaps four legitimate children hastened out of the world by their father : perhaps three illegitimate

    children similarly treated : probably a friend poisoned by this same man . five years ago ; certainly an intimate ally poisoned two months ago : the coroner compromised : the postmaster suspended : the telegraph clerk committing an irregularity : the chaplain of th « gaol completely fascinated by the poisoner ; a nurse dreaming of prayer , or a clergyman forgetting his-own fervour : and last , though not least , Eugeley discovered and handed down to posterity in the annals of crime . I 3 y this time our domestic Frenchman must be preparing to return to the rattling dominoes , the eternal chatter , and the saunter on the boulevards , quite ready to renounce English comfort and an English home provide 1 he may be allowed to finish his useless but harmless existence in his beloved Paris ; and there , having lived without regret , die without pleasure .

    ugelet , January 17 , 1856 . p . S . A few last words . At one o ' clock tins afternoon the magistrates met at the Talbot Arms , to prosecute the inquiry into the post-olnce delinquency . Th « Coroner was not present , but sent an apology , pleading the necessity of holding two inquests elsewhere—although it was only last night that he issued the precepts . His clerk , Thomas Addison , produced a letter which his employer received on the Sth of December , from William Palmer , together with a basket of game . This witness subsequently assuredyour correspondent that Mr . Ward was ready to swear that no other letter was ever delivered to him , and that the game had been promised sonie time before , as an acknowledgment of Mr . Ward ' s defence of a young man in the employment of Lord Paget . George Bate positively swears that he gave Mr . Ward two letters from William Palmer . The respective veracity of these witnesses will be tested hereafter .

    There is certainly an air ^ of low cunning about George Bate , Esq ., which does not prepossess one in his favour . The Postmaster at once admitted Iiis offence . He is clearly a man of no decision , utterly destitute of individuality , and satisfied with the last impression , lie is meek and good tempered . His ^ nose'descends in a straight line from the forehead , so that a plummet would rest along the bridge . His arms hang from his shoulders in ; i helpless sort of way . Everybody speaks well of him , and has some obliging act to repeat . In the phrase of th < s country-side , William Palmer used to make him '" compliments . " He would ask him to dinner , or to step over in the evening and play a rubber . On Sunday his carriage was at Mr . C heshire ' s disposal , to take his wife out for an airing ; and he himself Was often driven over tvi races in tlie neighbourhood , and " put up to a thing or two . " lie is much , to be pitied—his organism is chiefly in fault . ^ Nevertheless , he has been bound over to appear at tlie assizes , to take his trial on a charge of misdemeanour . Conviction is certain .

    Hero are a few waifs and strays gathered in this place . Since his wife ' s death , William Palmer has Lad two illegitimate children : Eliza Thanne being confined in his own house . Ho haa lost four legitimate and three illegitimate children . A young woman also died , appealing to Heaven to avenge her wrongs—not a desirable frame of mind , but at least evincing heartiness . Rliss Thornton was not of age when she married William Palmer , con * tjrary to her fmnds' wishes . She was a clever , amiable , pretty , and lovenblo woman , having , moreover , a cleur income of JC 3 O 0 a-yenr : her mother gave her besides a present of £ 700 . William Palmer at that time whs following his profession with some steadiness and prospect of success . His house was furnished with somedegrco of elegance ; ho had a handsome carriage , and wnn not troubled in

    pecuniary matters . At that tuno , lie hnd no connexion with the turf , and , altogether , was fiomctv at of a " catch " iu this dull neighbourhood . And Miss Thornton had already been crossed iu love . Hi * friuiul , John Parsous Cook , was also a groat fuvourito willi all who came near him . Ho is described as a very opoii-hourtod ; unsuspecting , gentlemanly young man . During Ins Ltht illness he was continually anUing after William Palmer , and , seemed to take great plouwuro iu his .-society . Ho now rests in peace beneath a dimple mound , close to two small yew-trees , at tho principal entrance to the churchyard , ami almost oppoaito old Mra . Palmer ' .- ) windows . Had it not been for tho loss of his bolting-book , it is probable that no inquiry would ever have taken place . Ilis n \ op-lather , Mr- Stephens , on hid way down from town , met . William Polmor ut ltugoley , on lib way up . Tho IuMlt at ouc <)

    took n fresh ticket , and returned with him to ltutfuley . A mutual friend having nlao arrived at tho Talbot Anna , Mr . Stophons Bent acroan for Palmer to dine- with thorn ami to tell them how tboir poor friend lmcl died . It wan not until ho had almost reached tho station that a miKpi .-clon flushed across hia mind , nail ho determined to lmvo a pout-mortem examination . But however Htroiipj may bo our moral conviction , there- ia as y < st no legal ovidonco to oondomn tho aocimod . Jt would probably go haul with him , indeed , woro ho to titand hia trio ! at fckufr ' ord , but of Lluo tliuro i « not much clangor , llud the uuuL verdict d-ouQiidori upon tho jurorrt at tho inqucat , ho would have b « on handed , drawn , and quartered , boforo ilia Inquiry waa luxli' terminated . Fortunately , our liver * aro not nfa U » o morcy of tlio pawttionn ami stupidity of auch o court . No man would in tuut cuso

    At first , the sons were willing to connive at their mother ' s exuberance of animal spirits , but when Duffy presumed to aspire to connubial love , they not only turned him the cold shoulder , but caused him to be turned out of the Shoulder of Mutton . But as this Messulina in lorubazine had tastes like Hamlet ' s mother , it was deemed advisable to find her a facile helpmate of proper proportions , wider their own eye . As the present locum tenens is not only an attorney without practice , but also a big powerful fellow—it may be more prudent to suppress his name ; your correspondent respectfully declining the honour of being cow-hided . It may not be improper here to remark , that Mrs . Palmer declares that the bills discounted thr o ugh Mr . Pratt , and purporting to be accepted by herself , are arrant forgeries . Their amount is said to atma ^ A -CIA AAA TW- * . * I >»« ot +- nvAfocfa t-liaf Via lisa VlPATI exceed £ 10000 MrPratt protests that he has been

    .=,. . grossly deceived , and that he frequently communicated with the accepr . rix on the subject of these bills . The vulgar explanation of the mystery is , that these letters were intercepted by Mr . Cheshire , the postmaster , and by him delivered to William Palmer . As this individual is to be examined to-morrow and Pratt next Tuesday , that matter also may be cleared up . Let us now enter the inquest room . At the further end of the table sits the ferrety little Coroner , sharp and shrewd , but a slow penman . On his left sit the jurymen , with open countenances and lips well apart , of average provincial misunderstanding , and no doubt as weighty as any twenty-three men in the kingdom clioseij-at random . Round tbe centre table sit the lawyers . The solicitor for the prosecution , well-meaning and honest , but impar

    conaressus AchillL Achilles shows a strong , physique , congressics AchillL Achilles shows a strong , physique , some humour , and abundant shrewdness . When ho cannot bully the jurors he makes them laugh , and opposition ceases . By his side behold a well-known barrister of the Oxford Circuit , his hair in front bristling up like a cockatoo ' s cre 3 t , that behind wondrously short and curiously crapped ; over-all boots not too polished ,, coming up above the knee ; a gr « y coat demanding nerve to * wear ; barnacles on nose ; a square grin taking liberties with the lips , and exhibiting mossgrown teeth ; and . a very plain % face under a very rough hat . The police stand about the witness-box , pompous and fussy , and looking as if they were about to burst out of their uniforms . At the table on the coroner ' s right band , sit tho reporters , busily plying the pen , and feeding the

    insatiate maw of the public . Those gentlemen near them , in rusty black or brown , with bundles of papers ill their hands , represent various insurance offices . They are very indignant about this case , though they must . always know that when a man insures his neighbour ' s life , ho is laying the odds on that neighbour ' s death . However , they do not thirst for Palmer ' s blood—his life ia insured for . £ 5 , 000 , and , as it has been duly assigned , to secure a loan , the policy naust be paid at his death . The further end of the room is filled with the local chaw-bacons , who stand for hours in " obstruction ' s apathy , '' occasionall y snoring on their legs , laughing consumedly when Mr . Lawyer pokes fun at a witneg ? , cheering riotous !} ' when the jurymen splutter out noisy nonsense about their impartiality and fearlessness in the cause of justice , but looking blank and

    chop-rallen whenever a hitch occurs in the prosecution . Imagine our Frenchman in such an assembly as this . Truly , lie will deem himself a Rip Van Winkle sleeping backwards . He will seem to himself to have gone back four centuries , and to have awakened up among the manants of 14 B 0- As ho listens to the evidence , he may percbance marvol to hear that deaf old crone swear to tho sunae of the beautiful prayer tho minister of God offered up at tho bedside of the dying woman . Tho reverend gentleman denies that he ever prayed at all , ami it ia proved that Mrs . William Palmer waa too feeble to-converse with any one . Did the old beldame mistake her own stcntorous breathing for tho " sough" of the divine as lio wrestled in prayer with tho Angel of Death ? No mutton But mark how still is tho room , how anxious each la

    ce , How subdued the breathing , as that taU , intellectual man , with freniua in hia oyo , and knowledge of mankind on that mocking lip , rises to read bis roport . How chill and droad grow-s every heart as he tolls tu « m that tho body of the deceased lady waa saturated with antimony ; that thoso offarveflciiiK draughts she so much relished when offered by her kind , attentive husbaad , contained imtimony ; that tho tea was poisoned with antimony ; that everything she took during tUat illness wejb impregnated with antimony ; that , day by day , tho poison wau ateadily , unremittingly administered in small , small doses , gradually wasting away the strength , and

    inducing death from sheer exhaustion . Who can bo eafe , when " a nice , pleasant sort of Kentlcmari , " barely thirty years of ago , can go on thus deliberately protending love and proforriog poiaon ? And yet how much is . this worao than tho plying a brother with ardent spirits , keeping ; him in a constant state of brutal intoxication , and finally upsetting tho equilibrium of tho Bystom , and causing a suddon and horrible duatli ? William Pahnor ia dourly provod < o have committed tho former crime . There in every romaon to buliovo that ho has also committed tho latter—not impossibly aggravated , by positive poisoning « t tho lout , Id is shown that ho purchased Homo prusHio acid at Wolvurlimnuton on

    Mr . Glover , who collects Palmer ' s rents , ana leceives tfrom him £ 12 in silver . Then he goes to Mr . Frantz , the dealer ha game , who- says that he is a pheasant slKMt of the order , but will send the other things to George Bate , Esq ., at the Junction Hotel , clo . se to the railway .. The illustrious George re-directs the parcel , and gives a lad 3 d . to carry it to Mt . Ward ' s office . He next goes in search of . this Mr . Ward , who is no other than William Webb Ward , Esq ., coroner for this division of the county , a legal gentleman of considerable shrewdness , but bad memory—at least so say witnesses who expect 2 s . 6 d . per diem for their attendance at inquests . The * coroner was unearthed in the smoking-room of the Dol phiu Inn , which owns th& only billiard-room ia Stafford .

    George having "tipped him a knowing -wink , *' William Webb Ward , Esq ., came out to the foot of the billiard Stairs , and there received the said letter . Thtis was oa Saturday , the 8 th of December . On the following Thursday , George was again wanted to carry a letter to William Web Ward . But by this time he began to open his eyes , and to think that the secret service fund was probably at a tow ebb * At all events , he demurfced ; but eventuallycomplied with all Palmer ' s instructions . In the first instance , having opened a drawer , he found th « re only a £ 50 Bank of England note . This , William Palmer said , Wits too much—in which he probably differed from William Webb Ward—and desired him to step over and borrow £ 5 from " Ben "—our "Ben , " him of the rupture bandages and broken

    poppyheads . " Ben" sent him a £ 5 note of the Bridgworth Bank . Palmer enclosed the same in an envelope , and sent it by George Bate , Esq ., to the aforesaid coroner . This time , he caught William Web Ward intae road between the station and the Juncti-on Hotel , and there slily slipped the note into his hand . Subsequently , he saw him in the smoking-room at the lastnamed-hotel . What does all this mean ? To-morrow , perhaps , will explain , as a formal inquiry is to- be instituted into the conduct of both the coroner and the postmaster . A fearful thing-, indeed , is it to be at the mercy of the past-office . Dr . Taylor stated that he himself received annually , and reported upon , from one hundred to a hundred and fifty confidential cases . He ha . s actually into 580

    gone cases . And this is our boasted Christianity , our refined civilisation , in the purest and most Protestant country in Europe , at the middle of the nineteenth century . Bat » all this time , your correspondent has left his French "traveller at tho erttrance of the town , watching the exhumation of two coffins fron » a vault , commanded by the windows of a certain , red-brick house . Let us rejoin him , and follow those coffins to the back entrance of the Talbot Inn , through a short straight passage , and into the very Smallest room of a small road-side public-hoase . The first Coffin opened vra 3 that of Mrs . Wra . Palmer . Tlie coffin being made of wood , the gases had escaped ; consequently there was little or no effluvium . The fine delicate features atilt retained their symmet ™ . The post-mortem examination being made , it was evident that death had nob been caused by organic disease , and that English cholera had to do with it than

    no . more small-pox or typhus . The intestines and olher parts were th « n carefully put into jars , labelled 1 , 2 , and 3 , and sent off to Dr . Taylor . So far , so well . But no pen can describe tho horrors of pponing . the second coffin , which , being made of Ipad , had confined the gases , and tl > ua produced a more rapid decomposition . O wing to tho stupidity of the police in choosing such a cabin , tho sufferings of tho jurors wero intense , gome fainted , others retch ed violently , all wore prostrated tor the remainder of that day . From tlie post-mortem examination it appeared that Walter Palmer , at the time of hia death , was suffering from congestion of the kidlHsye , and a diseased liver . Ho mi ^ ht or might not , bavo d » ed of apoplexy , While Dr . Taylor is pursuing his analysis , Jet us stroJl together into the town . Standing Jn tho road between Wm . Palmer ' s house * an-d Mm lalbofc Arms , and looking straight forward , the oyo falls upon tho Town Hall , un inconvenient little

    building , intended to take up room in tho market-place , but not to find any within for auy rational purpose whatsoever . A little , to tho right staada a small pot-house , having over the door a daub , supposed to represent a eboulder of mutton pendant between two yollow cabbages . Within , there is a pleasontcr view of two vory swbatantial hams suspended from tho kitchen deling . lAvoiding this public room , you turn sharp off to tho « ft , and discover a tiny bar in tho recess of a bay window . Ho « you will find a garrulous dam © , by no means ave rao to toll you all that she thinks , and a good * ro tlum sho ltn ° wa . She will toll you , that one evening Mx . Georgo Palmer , tho solicitor , called with an a ^ T P !* "' euphoniously stylod a commercial gen-* ft ^? h « * i TCal : 7 what th 0 country people call ^ Scotch pedlar , or ttuumnft dealer in bIio-wIb , scarfs , gonrns , or ftnght olao you . please . For H » l « w ^ rtl . v . iwv

    SSSSVf ^ ST , e 8 p 0 k ? »» PPWV fcod , and breakfast , for SJS * JS « SiJ ^ 7 i !? P f coWkW ** anawomblo . Noxt « K £ « H ST ? *' Hs . W *» Wve > . but After ft . short interval he returned and reminded tlw landlady that hewaa tho Mr 2 tW ^ mer ^/ erhapa ftKJ thaiS Srt ft ir H fl > rtlw Z ™ tiom * «> f that nanHsiMhottad ailed for Melbourne Somo daye olapaed , whon Mr .

    Untitled Article

    54 THE LEADER . [ No . 304 , Saturday ^

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 19, 1856, page 54, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2124/page/6/