The Press.
London, England, 1857-07-11 00:00:00

Xaln an Volitt.

THE GLASGOW POISONING CASE.
Ix our last we brought down this extraordinary•
trial to the close of its third day. On Friday the
examination of witnesses for the prosecution was
resumed. Christina Haggart, one of Mr. Smith's

servants, deposed to having frequently seen L'Angelier
at the house. He used to come in by the back gate
about ten o'clock at night. Miss Smith would take
him into the laundry. The door was shut, and
L'Angelier usually remained about Lief an hour. The
night of the 22nd March witness remembered well.
She heard nothing in the course of that night, nor
knew of any stranger being in or about the house.
She left Miss Smith in the dining•room. Charlotte
M'Clean, another servant, went to bed at eleven
o'clock on the night of the 22nd of March, and
heard no noise throughout the night. The constable
on the Blythswood•square beat, who had seen
L'Angelier on the previous occasions in the neigh-
bourhood, saw nothing of him that night. But a
strong point in favour of the prosecution was that
L'Angelier, previous to his death, had expressed
his belief that " he had been poisoned by some cocoa."
Mrs. Towers, a lady living at Glasgow, remembered
L'Angelier visiting her at Portobello, near Edin-
burgh
He dined with us. He talked of his health almost the
whole time. He said he had been given cocoa and coffee,
but after taking them they had disagreed with him, and he
bad been very ill. He said he had not been accustomed
to them. He made the remark that he thought he had
been poisoned. This was after speaking of the coffee and
cocoa. Nothing was said or asked about who had
poisoned him.

kr. Towers gave similar evidence :

He told us he had had a very •iolent bilious attack or
jaundice. He said he had had two attacks after taking
cocoa or coffee. He said he thought himself poisoned after
taking the cocoa and coffee. I remarked who woula
poison him, or what object could there be for that ? but
d o not recollect he made any answer.
Miss Perry, who appears to have been L'Angelier's
most intimate friend, gave stronger evidence upon
this point :

He dined with me on the 17th of February. He told
me then that he expected to see Miss Smith on the Thurs-
day following. I did not see him again till the 2nd of
March. He was then looking extremely ill. We had
some conversation about his illness. He said, "I never
expected to have seen you again, I have been so ill." He
did not tell me he had seen Miss Smith on the 19th of
February. He told me had had a cup of chocolate, which
bad made him ill. It was on the 9th of March he told me
this, when he took tea with me. On the 2nd he said he
could not attribute it to any cause, but on the 9th he said,
" I can't think why I was so unwell after getting tbat coffee
and chocolate from her." I understood him to refer to
two occasions. He was talking of Miss Smith when he
said " her." He did not say if the illness he had on
getting the chocolate was the same illness of which he had
spoken on the 2nd of March, but I did not know of his
having any other illness. On the 9th of March he was
talking of his extreme attachment to Miss Smith. He
said, " It is a perfect infatuation I have for her ; if the
were to poison me I would forgive her." I said, " You
ought not to allow such thoughts to pass through your
mind. What motive could she have to do you any harm ?"
He said, " I don't know that ; perhaps she might not be
sorry to get rid of me." All this was said in earnest. I
interpreted the expression to mean to get rid of her en-
gagement. There seemed to be some suspicion on his
mind as to what Miss Smith had given him, but it was not
a serious suspicion. I never saw him again alive.
Upon Saturday the letters of the prisoner were
read. They were very numerous, very passionate,
and • sufficiently proved the nature of the intimacy
that existed between her and L'Angelier. We will
extract a few passages in support of this assertion.
On the 29th April, 1856, she writes :

Dearest, I must see you. It is fearful never to see you
at all. P. ( papa) has not been a night in town for some
time ; but the first night he is I shall tell you, and we shall
spend a night of bliss. Only C. H. will know.
C. H. stands for Christina Haggett, the servant, and
the confidant in this amour since its commencement.
In a letter without a date, but bearing the postmark
3rd May, 1856, she says :
P. has been unwell for two days, but you CAD come just
the same ; but you had better leave the steamer at Helens•
burgh. Come to the gate; you know it, and wait till I
arrive.

The next letter is on the 7th of May, and she
9 Is :
My own beloved husband,—T trust you got home safe,
and not much the worse of being out. I thank you for
coming so far to see me: Beloved, if we did wrong last
night Yes, beloved, T did truly love you with
my whole soul. Am I notyour wife? Yes, I am, and you
may rest assured, after what has passed, that I cannot be
the wife of any other.
In a letter inclosed in an envelope, the date of
which is illegible, she answers that she never will
marry any one else, and in another letter, which is
inclosed in the same envelope, she sari:—