The Sun.
London, England, 1865-11-22 00:00:00

flight of hurdles side by side with the two, Antoinette
landing slightly in advance, but half way the latter gave
way to Benazet, who won, with hands down, by three parts
of a length. Equinox finished a bad third, Cutler was fourth,
Ace of Hearts fifth, True Heart sixth, and Castle Hill next.
The last lot were Cartouche, Camillus, and Brown Bess.

For this he received the usual thanks and honours
of the Humane Society, and the Duke of Cambridge
also expressed his approbation of the brave conduct
of Mr. Large.
The following appointments have been made at
the Admiralty :—Sub-Lieut. Francis F. Liardet, to
the Defence ; Mr. John S. Harper, to be naval and
victualling storekeeper and accountant at Trincoma7
lee, vice Cooper, appointed to Chatham ; James
Trimble, assist.-surg., to the Oberon ; Valentine D.
J. Rickcord, assist.-paymaster in charge, to the
Supply ; Robert Dillon, engineer, to the Oberon ;
John Mather, engineer, to the Fisgard, for the
Vixen ; and Frank Scott, first-class assist.-engi-
neer, to the Oberon.

The Charge of Poisoning at Clyst Honiton

The adjourned inquisition respecting the death of
Wm. Ashford, a master boot and shoemaker, who
resided at Clyst Honiton, near Exeter, was resumed
on Monday by Mr. Deputy Coroner Brent, in a
large room at the Duke of York Inn, Clyst Honi-
ton. Mary Ann Ashford, the wife of the deceased,
who was in custody charged with having poisoned
her husband, was present, and evinced great inte-
rest in the proceedings, though she maintained com-
parative composure. Mr. Gerald De Courcy, chief
constable, and Mr. Maxwell, deputy chief constable,
represented the police authorities on the part of the
prosecution, and Mr. Friend, of Exeter, watched
the case on behalf of the prisoner. A large number
of persons occupied the lower end of the room. The
prisoner appeared pale and weak on her entrance,
and was assisted to her seat.

William Pratt, journeyman shoemaker, who has
been pointed out as the paramour of the pri-
soner, stated that the letters marked 1 and 2
(these have already been published) were in his
handwriting, and that of the accused respectively.
Witness also stated that No. 3 letter was in his
handwriting. It was sent to Mrs. Ashford, and
was of the same amusing character as the previous
letters. Another letter was handed to witness
marked No. 5, which he admitted was sent to him
by the prisoner, and was in her handwriting :

" Clist Honiton.

"My Dear frank, this comes with my keind love to you
and I was so glad to hear from you and I hope you will
soon get better to come home again. lam almost broken
hart. I should like to see you My deer frank. I thought
you had quit forgototon me in not wrighting to mee before
I have shaed manny tears since you been home then for
meney yers and no one to tell my troble to your in my
mind all the day long and I hope you will right to me as
soon as you cann and tell me how you are Getteing on lc r
I shall want to know I am in so much troble a bout you.
My Deer frank when you right to me derick to Mrs.
Cowley and I shall be all right.—M. A. ABIEFORD.—You
will laugh at my righten."
The Coroner here cautioned the witness not to
criminate himself in his answers, as the court ex-
pected him to answer the questions put to him. In
letter No. 1 what did you mean by "I hope he will
not die, as you were speaking to me about the old
man ?"

Witness—l do not recollect anything about that,
nor do I know what it means.

By the Coroner—Did you ever have any com-
munication about Mr. Ashford dying ?
Witness—Yes ; a day or two previous to Mr.
Ashford's death I said, in answer to Mrs. Ash-
ford, " If master lives over to-night I think he will
recover." Mrs. Ashford replied, "No, Frank, he
is very ill indeed.' The witness here stated that
he had assisted in getting the deceased into bed
once or twice during his last illness, having been sent
for to do so. On one occasion he said he could not
go, as his master looked so fierce, and he did not
like to see him. He had bad some conversation with
a lad, aged 14 years, named Blackmore, who said
to him, when talking about his master, " Oh, he'll
never live to die." He did not notice anything par-
ticular in the expression. When he heard of Mr.
Ashford's death he was frightened, and stopped
work. He was a journeyman shoemaker, not an
apprentice, and had worked for the deceased more
than four years. His wages were Bs. a week with
board in the house. He went to live at Dawlish at
Christmas, 1863, and stopped there foreight months.
Whilst staying at Dawlish he visited Clyst Honiton
two or three times, and stayed at his late master's
house, and did so by invitation. Deceased had called
upon him three times at Dawlish. Was alone once
with two young men named John Reynolds and Ar-
thur Pearce, and once with Mrs. Ashford. On all oc-
casions witness and deceased asked him to return to
Clyst Honiton. Mrs. Ashford also asked him to come
back ; but witness replied to both that he had a very
good situation where he was and the work was
lighter. Witness refused to return as long as Mr.
Ashford lived in the same house, when deceased
replied he would change houses if witness
would go and live with him. On one occasion witness
replied he did not like to return as things had been
said about him and Mrs. Ashford. Deceased replied
" Never mind, Frank, if you come back with me
people may say what they like, it shall make no
difference to you. You may come with me, and I'll
behave as a father to you, and you may live with
me for life if you like, Frank." (The witness here
became affected.) He was always on good terms
with the deceased, and never bad three angry words
with him during the four years. During the past
few months he had not been on such good terms
with Mrs. Ashford as he had been some time previ-
ously, as she objected to his keeping company with
a young woman. (Sensation.) He did not like to
name the person. He broke off correspondence
with Mrs. Ashford in consequence. Mrs. Ashford
had quarrelled with him about his courting, but wit-
ness said it did not alter his determination. He had
never heard the deceased and the prisoner quarrel
about him, but within the past few months he had
heard them disagree between themselves about a will
that was drawn up unnkown to Mrs. Ashford, for
Thomas Ashford, a brother of his master, and
Nicholas Ashford, the father. He believed each
one had a will. Since that time deceased made
another will, which was in favour of Mrs. Ashford.
He had never heard Mr. and Mrs. Ashford threaten
each other.
By the Jury--Did Mrs. Ashford alone ever visit
you at Dawlish ?
Witness—Never.
By the Coroner—Did you ever visit Mrs. Ashford
at Clyst Honiton when her husband was not at
home ?
Witness—Not that I am aware of, sir.
Agnes Ashford, widow, sister-in-law to the
deceased, described the symptoms of the deceased
when suffering from the fits on the 4th instant.
His eyes, she said, appeared wild, his head was
thrown back, and his hands were clenched. He
took very small quantities of gin and brandy
and water to wet his lips. Mrs. Ashford prepared
the gin and water in the bed room. When deceased
had no fits he complained of great pain.
Mary Brewer, a widow, employed as a nurse by
the prisoner during the deceased's illness, described
the symptoms she noticed, which were similar to
those noticed by Mrs. Butt, related at the previous
inquiry.

Selina Ann Ponsford, a little girl, nine years of
age, deposed to fetching, on two different occasions,
some jalap for the prisoner about a week before the
deceased was taken ill.

The inquiry was here adjourned for half an hour.
William Herapath, sen., professor of chemistry
and toxicology, residing at Bristol, stated that on
Nov. 8 he received portions of the remains of Wm.
Ashford for chemical analysis, which he was in-
structed to make by the Secretary of State for the
Home Department. He found the stomach tied at
the two extremities. There was but a small quan-
tity of contents, which were mostly of a bloody
character. The stomach itself was in the highest
state of inflammation. He cut out a portion of it,
washed it, and put it on a piece of glass. The ap-
pearance shOwed him he had to seek for an irritant
poison. He first sought for arsenic by Jtiensch's
process, and discovered it to be present; a specimen
of the deposit he now produced. He described
various tests he applied to the solution to prove the
presence of the poison. He also tried Marsh's test,
which also showed a deposit of metallic arsenic.
Supposing it to be possible that the irritant now
more frequently resorted to, strychnine, might be
present, he tried strychnia, and by tests which he
applied to the fluid contents of the stomach he saw
unmistakeable indications of strychnia. He had,

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 22. 1865.

therefore, no doubt from the inflamed state of the
stomach that the person died from the effects of one
or more irritant poisons. (Sensation.) Arsenic and
strychnia were the poisons in this case. He could not
bring the proofs, of the presence of strychnia, owing
to the colour of the tests being of a vanishing
character. Having found poison in the stomach,
lie wished to discover whether it had entered
the system. He therefore took from jar No. 3 a
portion of one of the lobes of the liver. He treated
for arsenic, and found undoubted proofs of it. He
took a larger portion of the lobe, and treated for
strychnia, and found undoubted evidence of that
poison. As he therefore had found both poisons in
the stomach and in the liver, he did not think it
necessary to analyse the smaller intestines or the
kidney. He then proceeded to analyse the last vomit,
and in the sediment he found arsenic, and on eva-
porating it downfoundstrychnia. In No. 6, marked
" Hunter's vermin powder," on which was a printed
label describing it as poison, he found starch and
strychnia, slightly coloured with Prussian blue.
The next packet contained the sediment from a wine
glass in deceased's bed-room. The sediment he found
to be white arsenic with a small quantity of black
colouring matter. The next packet was the bed'
sheet, which he did not analyse, as he thought it
unnecessary. The packet No. 5 contained some
powder given to constable Butt by Mrs. Butt. The
powder contained a very small quantity of white
arsenic coloured by Prussian blue. Another parcel,
no number,was composed of white arsenic and Prus-
sian blue. The other packets were numbered in a
fresh series. The first was a purse taken from Mrs.
Ashford's pocket by constable Butt. Under the
catch he saw a little dust, andthemicroscope showed
him the starch grains of the same character as he
afterwards found in the pocket. The next packet
contained a pocket and a pocket-handkerchief, but
nothing could be seen on the surface of either. On
introducing each separately into a conical glass con-
taining water, and allowing deposition to take place,
he found in the sediments arsenic and strychnia.
After describing other articles which had been for-
warded to him, but on which he found nothing
suspicious, Mr. Herapath said that No. 8 contained
four pills of about a grain each, in which he
found a metal that he could not yet identify, but
certainly it was not arsenic. No. 9 was marked
" Found in Mrs. Ashford's house." In the packet
he found a vermin powder, composed of strychnia,
starch, and a black powder. The other package was
sent by post from the police authorities, and con-
tained the powder that Mrs. Butt found in the room
of the deceased on Nov. 10. It was marked outside
by a printed label " poison," and was entirely white
arsenic, coloured with Prussian blue.

By the Coroner—Did you find enough poison to
destroy life ?
Witness—That is another matter; in all the cases
I have had I have not found enough poison to de-
stroy life, but the effects of poison. lam confident
that the man died from an. irritant poison. The
symptoms described by Agnes Ashford and Mrs.
Brewer are those attendant upon poisoning by arsenic
and strychnia.
Police-constable Butt, who resides at Clyst Honi-
ton, gave evidence of various conversations which he
had had with the accused concerning the illness of
her husband.

The Coroner having carefully summed up,
The Jury retired, and on returning into court,
after a quarter of an hour's consultation, said that
they had decided unanimously to return a verdict of
" Wilful Murder against Mrs. Ashford."
The prisoneron hearingthis announcement fainted
away.