The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-08 00:00:00

POISONING BY STRI CHNINE.

On Thursday Mr. Reed, the coroner for South
Northumberland, held an adjourned inquest in the
Town-hall, North Shields, on the body of Mrs.
Jane Gilhespie, wife of Martin Gilhespie, a mariner.
It appeared that the deceased, for some three weeks
before her death, had been suffering from disease of
the lungs, and had attended the surgery of Dr.
Fenwick, who had prescribed for her. She had
taken two bottles of medicine, and on the 10th of
October had procured a third. The day following
she began her usual household work, and between
9 and and 10 o'clock in the forenoon she took two
spoonsful of the medicine from this bottle. She was
immediately attacked by an alarming illness. Her
hands became clinched, and her tees were also drawn
up upon the soles of her feet, and her back became
bent. She appeared to be in great agony, and died
within an hour and a quarter of her first attack.
Dr. Fenwick and his partner, Dr. Peart, made sub-
sequently a post mortem examination of the body ;
Dr. Fenwick making out a certificate for the Re-
gister of Deaths afterwards that the deceased had
died of an attack of bronchitis and congestion of
the lungs. After the funeral of his wife, how-
ever, Gilhespie hld submitted a portion of the
contents of the last bottle of medicines
alleged to have been proved at Dr. Fenwicl's
surgery, to Mr. Pattison, a chymist at New-
castle-on-Tyne, and that gentleman, after analyz-
ing it, gave a certificate that it contained one
grain and a quarter of strychnine to the fluid ounce.
Having received this certificate, the Coroner gave
an order for the disinterment of the body and a
second post mortem examination. It was exhumed
in the presence of Dr. Newton, of Newcastle, and
several other medical men, who made a second post
mortem examination. The body was found to be
tolerably healthy, with the exception of the brain
and a portion of the spinal cord. Portions of the
viscera were placed in jars and sealed, and delivered
to Mr. Pattison. Some of the medicine was conse-
quently administered to two rabbits, half an ounce
to one, and about 40 drops to the other. The first
died of tetanic convulsions in two minutes, and the
other in a similar manner in five minutes, and a drop
of an acidulated solution of the residue from the
stomach and duodenum brought in contact with, the
skin of a young frog produced violent convulsions.
Three or four additional drops were applied, with
intermissions, and it died at the expiration of half
an hour. As the result of the amaysis, experiments
with portions of the stomach and duodenum of the
deceased showed the strychnine colours distinctly.
Dr. Newton made an elaborate report to the coroner's
court. He said he was of opinion that deceased had
died from the effects of strychnine. Dr. Wm. Murray,
demonstrator of anatomy at Neville Hall, Newcastle,
expressed the same opinion. Dr, Fenwick made a
lengthened statement on oath to show that the
appearance of the lungs was such as to warrant
him in giving the certificate that the deceased had
died from the effects of congestion of the lungs. If
the death of Mrs.Gilhespie had arisen from strych-
nine from a bottle, sent by mistake from his sur-
gery,he said he could only account for it by the fact
that one of his dispensers must have mistaken a
bottle containing that poison in solution for a bottle
containing a solution of antimony. Both bottles
were marked " poison." The prescription Dr. Fen-
wick sent to the surgery to be made up for Mrs.
Gilhespie OD the 10th of October was as follows :-
2 grains of tartar emetic, loz. of Epsom, salts, suffi-
cient spirit colour to colour the mixture, and Boz. of
water.

AN HOUR AT THE POST.

A SCENE IN THE HOUGHTON.

_ .
" Where will you go now ?" " Well, let us drive down
and see the start for this Selling Handicap, over the last
half of the Abingdon Mile."

And we drive down accordingly in good time to witness
a tolerably fair sample of what such a scurry really is, if
not precisely what it should be. There is a field of nearly
20 for it, with lots of light weights of course, and two or
three of the older jockeys to give them countenance—Ford-
ham, in the scarlet jacket of Mr. Thellusson ; Challoner, as
quiet as usual; and Bullock, humming a nigger melody,
on the good-looking game Bolero, who appears to take
matters quite as easily as his jockey. Then there is that
wonderful lad Grimshaw, sitting so firmly on Buck, and
about to ask him a question? with others of the feathers
creeping up, and Adams amongst them on one of Mr.
Wyndham's, that Sam Rogers himself owns to hardly
being able to hold. The time for "departure-2,15,"
as they say on the line, is just up, and iil‘George essays
to marshal them into something like a line. Vain
hope that it is I There is one young gentleman who would
seem to think it only a duty to keep "forward," while the
animal ridden by another evinces extraordinary instinct,
becoming noticeably restive and fractious if not suffered t 9
be about 50 lengths in advance of her fellows. There is
much manifest working of hands and kicking of heels on
the part of her jockey, but she will not come to any closer
quarters, and so the others, having got into something like
a body, proceed, amidst sundry remonstrances of " No, no,"
to start themselves. The Flower Safety is pretty well
home before she is stopped, while Buck I thanks to the rare
handling of his rider, comes round in a half circle at pretty
well full speed up to the post again. Once more do they
gather together, always with the exception of the youth
who will be in front, and the fractious filly which stops
so strangely at the starter's orders to " Come back I" Still
some do fall in, and amidst further cries of "No, no," of
they go again, thoroughly heedless of the starter and his
behests. Buck takes another turn ; and the Flower Safety,
who does not appear by any means to carry out her title, is
lost in the distance, as she wends her way to the top of the
town. Let us say that this amusement has continued for
upwards of half an hour or more, and that a great accession
of visitors has gradually joined us at the post, one and all
seeing that it is next impossible to get such disorderlies as
these off on anything like equal terms. At length down
comes the Admiral, and " Take them back, sir, two hun-
dred yards or more 1" is his instant order to the hapless
starter; while his eye nest rests on the sagacious but res-
tive filly. "And you, sir, take your horse to the others,
and if I see you this side of the post again I'll fine you five
pounds I" Strange, indeed, is the instinct of that
noble animal, the horse I for no sooner does the filly
hear this threat uttered, than she calmly proceeds to
join the rest of the field, and is never again seen
past the post until they are off in another false start!
Bolero takes it as coolly as usual, and is pulled up by the
fine horseman on him in a few strides, and Fordham is not
far away ; but Buck has another "once round" to himself,
Ind the glasses are up to see what that is careering in the
hazy distance, some two miles on. It is The Flower
Safety, of course, and Woolcott rides up to Lord Coventry
to say they need not wait any longer for his mare, as 110
thinks she has had about enough of it; and we think so too I
Still there is plenty of time, my good sir, and after another
scamper or two he Flower Safety comes trotting back
with a bigger lad on her back,and her jockey riding a pony
by her side. However, he is definitely ordered off, as the
Admiral apostrophises the others as a something lot of
young fools,"and angrily inquires of M'George if he " ever
means to start them P There is something more in an
undertone, and then, " Give me the flag, sir, and let me do
it I" The hapless man lowers his flag instanter, the one in
front does the same, and amidst roars of " No I no"—‘, It's
A start I"—" It's not I"—" Yes I"—" No I" they are off at
last—or,at least, some of them,in the most wretched scramb-
ling way, and we hear shouts proclaiming afar that " the
pots" are upset afterall,while a kindof telegram comes oozing
jacketis first, with
rather not echo the
dtwowenntythteatenteheaglaadinsitnhtihme. dirtyivwhite
e hed
bit of recrimination which follows at the post, but we will
try and draw some deduction from the fifty odd minutes
man could fairly have started that
we have spent here, No
field of horses until the Admiral came down, fter some of
the jockeys took no heed whatever of the starter. if these
light weights and half mile spins are to be continued,--and
here is the great source of all evil—let a steward be
atthepost to see fair, but on no pretence what-
everwith the duty of the starter any more
h
would with that of the judge. Moreover, let
tth ea than
alwaystohe
most interfere
stringent measures be adopted. Fines are of
litle use, as they are generally paid by those who
order the lads to get " well off." The rather let a horse,
whose jockey is proved to have taken, or attempted to take,
an unfair advantage of the others at starting, be as certainly
disqualified as if he had crossed or jostled in the race itself.
This would spoil the betting on "pots," as bets would go,
with stakes, and thus do away with the great incentive for
the evil. An offender might thus be ordered away from the.
post, or objected to when the race was over ; while,
course, the chief evidence against him would be that 4:2,r
the starter and the steward in attendance. One thing 14,
very palpable, that the former must be supported andeiV
bullied, or the little lads will only follow the example, _
put their tongues in their cheeks and laugh at him. F in
all we witnessed on Thursday afternoon they must " reforot
it altogether," or no man can long hold so thankless a
office.

LAMBETH BRIDGE.—The opening of this neW
bridge for public traffic is to take place on Monday next, by
which time the whole will be completed. The workmen
are at work upon the roadway and footway, the former
being paved with blocks of wood, and the latter with t labs
of Portland stone sawn from blocks which once formed
part of the old Westminster-bridge. The cost of the bridge,
including land, &Q.; will be under £40,000,