The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-10-13 00:00:00

I re..
ATTEMPT TO POISON. •
—or—
We have before had a paragraph on the subject of the follow.
log narrative from the Ewes Herold, but not an full nor eXplani.
Wry :
The bench of Magistrates assembled at the Skire-hall, on Friday
last, had a case before them of this lamentable description, a§ in.
araealtderthwehwichordMr. Bonet
teresting as it was extraordinary, and which occupied their „to.
tion for several hours: the circumstances related, as far as we could
.1)040n, which
collect them, were as follow. Mr. John Hurrell, who reside, am.
' farm called Calvert*, in Boreham, had occasion to use rant iu.seei;
for the destruction of rats, which he carefully put into a cup and
locked in his totreau. On the Ist inst. Mr. Hunch used& pin ,
this arsenic, in the presence of a girl named Eliza Pitilhroog, sboul
nwatshenpmac'ckeet'
placed it an his bureau, locked it, and put the key in his pocket
wasl yeseslegibly of age,prin printed
who,
poi t
On the day following, Sunday, 111ra. 'lnnen, who to an a net. rot.
ward state of pregnancy, and in a very poor state of health, o'n ter
return from !meeting, spoke in presence of the girl of the woman
who recently destroyed herself at Witham, by taking oxalic acid!
On Monday morning Mr. ilurrell put some te. into the pot, and
desired the girl to add a sufficient quantity of water, and carry It is
her mistress, who with a little girl were up stales, which she did
and the teapot was again brought down fur the use of Mr. If until!,
who, on attempting to put water in, observed something white on
the leaves ; it excited his attention, and induced him to taste, which
being so extraordinary, he became alarmed. About this time Sin,
Hurrell had begun to feel the effects of that which afterwards
proved to be poison, and which providentially caused a lions
sickness. It struck Mr. Unreel' to look for the poison, and on en
ing to the bureau, it was missing ; this confirmed him in has sus.
picions, 'and he instantly despatched a little boy, about nine Iwo
of age, named Charles Chose, for some castor oil, as the best anti.
dote he could at the instant suggest; but this little urchin, not on.
derstanding the !importance of his mission, remained so long, than
Mr. Harrell himself ran to the shop, and there found the boy, IN
patently unconcerned, fitting on a smock frock, a delay which eta
afterwards not unfairly construed, other circumstances connected,
as a proof that he was an accessary to the attempt to poison. Mac
H., as soon as her state would allow, taxed the girl with putting
the arsenic into the teapot, promising her that if she confessed she
would forgive her : when she related, that although she knew the
powder would poison rats, she did not know that it would poitos
tier mistress ; that she put into the teapot two pinches, taken be.
tween her finger and thumb (supposed to be a teaspoon full). Hoe
she got the poison out of the bureau was not clearly shown. Ana,
this confession Mr. Hurrell desired one of his men to take her In
her parents (very industrious people, who reside at Latchingdes)
directing the man to call upon Mr. Barnes and deliver a note. er.
plaining the circumstance. At this time Mrs. Hurrell continced
an a very alarming state, and the little girl was also much armed.
Mrs. Hurrell has had every medical assistance, but some fears are
entertained, under all circumstances, of her doing well.
John Perkins, a labourer, fkom his apparent stupidity or anon.
ling manner, gave the lion. Chairman strong reasons for expressirg
his doubt whether he dare " turn round and look an honest mac u
the face ;" but Perkins proved the contrary, and as though et.
lightened by that circumstance, related with much less ambiguity
than heretofore, that which, had it been nue, would have alibis.
ated the boy Chant, who, the girl declared, was worse than herself,
as he put her in mind of poisoning her master and mistress, having
said that " he wished he could get at the stuff (meaning the pa,
son), and he would give his master and mistress a d--O good
dose."

Charles Cheat. who appeared a very interesting child. and who
spoke in • tone and manner which had more the appear of
truth than falsehood, denied what the girl had said, and MEd,
that Eliza Phtlbrook asked him what would be the consequence if
either master or mistress died; that she showed him the powder in
the pnt, but he was not aware it was poison ; that after she had put
the water in the pot on the Monday morning, she made an attempt
.to go to the kitchen door to empty it, but on observing her master,
she exclaimed, "Lord, there is my master;" that he did not know
but what it was whiting in the pot, scraped from the wall by setting
the tea-pot agcinst it ; and as to his not making haste from the
shop, he did not understand that it was necessary.
Mr. W. Baker, chymist, of Chemlaford, and hill assistant, Mr.
Smith, proved that there was a quantity of arsenic in the water
poured from the tea-leaves, but the leaves had not undergone the
same test, which the Court requested might be made.
Eliza Philbrook had, upon her examrn•tioo, made a confession
that she had been guilty of putting the poison into the pot, and
persisted in the boy Cheat being accessary before the fact ; that At
showed the little girl the powder in the pot (who, rpon being
called, acknowledged that circumstance); but she appeared to ig.
norant of the tribunal before which she has yet to appear, not even
understanding what was meant by her trial, that it was thought
best not to allow her to sign what she had confessed. On the pri.
soner's way to the Shire' Halt, she asked the matron of the gaol
whether she thought that she should be hung?
The boy Choat was released, and the girl committed •for the
felony, to take her trial at the next Assizes. The Court was
crowded to excess.

CORN EXCII4NGE, WIDNIIIDAY, OCT. 12.
The supplies of all Grain fresh up this week are short. Then
wu but little doing on our market to-day. Prates rule much use
Monday.

COAL MARKET, OCT. 12.
Air as Market. Ships Sold. Plot.
41 Kea castle . . 34e - - 1144 Od to 42a 04
1 Sunderland . . 171 . . 34a Od to 42. 01
1 Stone Coal - - 1 . . 32a Od to —a 04
1 Splint - - - 1 . -37 s Od to —a Od
1 Small Coal - - U - - ...II Oct to ...II Od

The church plate belonging to the parish of Genelon,
near Malmesbury, and which consists of a silver (gallon)
flagon, two silver (quart) chalices, and a silver salver, was
for many years kept in a box deposited in a lumber-closet
in an old. mansion. There was an idle tale told in the vil-
lage, that a ghost had formerly been laid in the box. This
story was, perhaps, as useful as a double lock, since a
superstitious dread of disturbing the ghost effectually de-
terred many from indulging their curiosity by scrutinising
the contents of the box. Having understood from an old
man that many years back it was reported there was some
communion-plate at the great house the clergyman took an
opportunity to make inquiry about it. To the utter sur-
prise of the people of the house, on opening the lid of the
box (for the first time, perhaps, for upwanls of a century),
instead of seeing a ghost jump out, this valuable service of
tarnished plate presented itself ; and it was immediately
taken to the vicarage-house.—Country Paper.
A young child having fallen into a draw weJl in Alph,
a hue and cry was raised, and a great crowd assembled,
but no one was foul il of sufficient courage to attempt a
rescue. The confusion and lamentation was great, and
the saving of the child's life hopeless, when a young man,
the servant of a lady who resides in the neighbourhood,
who had been attracted to the spot by the clamour and the
crowd, volunteered to descend into the well head foremost,
if two stout men would suspend him by the heels. It was
done; and in this extraordinary manner the child's life
was saved by the young man, at a loss to himself of four
shillings and twopence, which dropped from his pocket
Draw wells, the wretched remains of an unscientific sod
barbarous age, ought to be prohibited by an Act of the
legislature. The substitute—a pump of the simplest kind
—costs little, and that little is more than compensated by
the diminution of labour ; putting out of question alto-
gether the loss of human life which those traps occuien.--
Caldonian Mercury.

BIRTHS.
On the Ilth inst. 'at Denmark-hill, the lady Of C. D. Dotio:.
Esq. of &daughter.
On the Ist inst. the lady of the Res. T. W. Simpaon,of Thurs.
we Hall, in the county of York, of twins. The infants bob
on the day of their birth.
On the Bth inst. at Etnharn Hall, Norfolk, the Hon. Aire. Hirot
of a daughter.
On the 11th inst. in Hunter-street, Brunswick-squaw, theist!,
of Henry de la Chaumette, Esq. of • ion.
At Edinburgh, on the 7th inst. the Lady Julian WarreD46.
of a son.

On the 6th inst. at the Ambassador's Chapel, in Paris, (bees
Delves Broughton, Esq. fourth surviving son of the late Sir They
Broughton, Bart. of Doddington Hall, Cheshire, to Caroline.
eond daughter of the late Colonel William Greene, 51ilitsrI
ditor-General at Bengal.
On the 10th inst. at St. Nicholas Church, Rochester, P. t
Lewis, Esq. surgeon, to Maria, eldest daughter of the late 31r. W.
Clarke, of the same place.
DIED.
At Frederick Town, New Brunswick, ou the 25th August, Mal
John Hewett late of the 52d Reement Light Infantry, vox'
ion of General Sir George Hewett, Bart. G.C.8., of Preen ,
Southampton.
On the 29th May last, on his passage from India, s- -
Ca
Alexander John Robertson, Esq. 11I.D. on the East India fem.
pan Y's Medical Establishment of Bombay, and son of the late
William Robertson, Esq. of Demerara.
In North.street, on it last, in the 75th year of her she.
Jane, the wife of Robert Sadleir Moody Esq.
On the 10th inst. in London, the Rev. Arthur Crichton, of
Badlesmere, Kent.
Thomas asthe rot
ti.nsttasqn.t,
oaft
county of Northampton.
On the lit inst. at Baggrave Hall, Leicestershire, Edwr
Andrew Burnaby, Esq. eldest son of the late very venerable the
uOyadnendleattirso.uSseara, hanlitcluxit,rtehke:liticttbeof
Archdeacon of Leicester,and one of the Gentlemen of his 11ajest1
Honourable Privy Chamber.

-- ---
MOH WATER AT LONDON BRIDOS THIS DAY.
Morning, 62 min. Air 2. Evening. II min. aftee_...l.

Printed at TILE BRITISH PRESS Office, by J. W. CARLTOY,
181, Strand; and published by R. CAN x os, same place.