Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-03-25
From the New York Express, March II
The washington Mystery.

The dreadful result of the rat poisoning at the
National Hotel, Wsshington-the death OF at least
one of the persons who boarding at the house
at the time. aud the dangerous illness of host Of
others, including sundry persons of distinction,
(among them President Buchapan) -bave excited
an interest in the public mind, and given rise to
mors which are not confined to the city Of Wash
ington. Horrible suspicious are whispered which
it Is difficult to entertain yet what are we to infer
from letter, said to have been written by one Of
the proprietors of the National Hotel TO friend 10
this city on Saturday in which he states that there
as not one Word of truth az the story that poisoned
rats ioere found IN the mater at that housed Tie
reason he gives for not denying this before s, that
he thought il too absurd to notice.
1t is said further--bnt with how much truth we
cannot say-that the first manifestations Of the
sickness at the hotel was far back as the 2nd or
Sd Of February ast-that as the proprietor then had
a chemical analysis of the water, which discovered
mineral substance, which might have produced
the distemper, the spring tanks were closed, and
water thereafter was brought into their house from
the Capitol fountain. But the distemper, never
theless, kept on necessarily. Further analyses
made-analyses now OF milk, soup, vegetables, in
short, every thing that eaten drank-yet iii
now positively asserted that up TO this time no
clue has been discovered TO the mysterious poison.
The rat theory, then, being rejected, and no del
eterious material having been discovered in tho
food there are who believe that the poison
was secretly administered by human hands, 10
complish some Internal scheme which the imagna-
ton can only guess ct This belief is based chief
ly upon the fact that the post mortem examination
OF Mrs. Adams shows that arsenic was taken into
the stomach in sufficient quantities 10 produce her
sckns and DEATH and the physicians In this city,
who have patients from the National, say that oil
the symptoms are those Of poison:
The Day Book, which seems to have been at
special pains to investigate this very strange affair,
! gives prominence to these facts, and adds:
| Horace h. Day, Esq, is now lying very low in
| this city. He was boarder there, and, no doubt,
is affected precisely as Mrs. Adams. daughter OF
Senator James is also very sick, aud under the
| charge of Dr. Marcy. DR.. Leon has several pa
tients, including child OF the writer, who Is very
low. Tha. we have all been poisoned BY some
substances daily administered TO in the food at
the National Hotel, Is beyond question. What
that substance was, bow or by whom administered,
remains mystery. The proprietors OF the house,
| We satisfied, have used every effort and means
In their pawer TO ind out the cause Of tl!s wide
spread infection, but in vain. To them it is as
| profound mystery TO any 10 the land.
| We know ourselves of some other parties here
who returned from Washington few days since,
laboring under the same disorder-contTaeted while
at the National
The whole transaction is one suggestive OF spS-
cfes OF cline which Is haprh! new 10 THIS country
but species which We may be importing, with
other crimes, from Continental Europe, where SO
cres murder by poison--wholessle and reIail-is,
and for centuries has been, OF the finest VI the
Fine Arts. We have all read Of the poisoners Of
Venice, Of Rome aud Padua-but poisoners 10
Washington Is something entirely new.
The Washington correspondent Of the n. Y.
"cOxxERcrL" wit 81
The City Councils have taken up the subject Of
tie National Hotel efi ieinic They are determined
10 ao4te the nuisal &C. Dr.. Miller's statement 10
the Council OF which be Is member shows that
the morbid cause has been very active and that Il
must srtcnd its influence, II not removed, there
can be 20 doubt Is Is alleged that the cause Of
tie naali. ahieh infscis the place. Is 20 be iOaad
10 The ,llsing Of The openings which formerly gave
vent to The g~sses evolved in the main drain, run
mg through the Pennsylvania avenue No chin
NY was provided Zoe the escape Of the gasses aad
ths Nstiobal note communicating, by foor open
ngs, with this main drain &c eived the escaped gas
ses. The fault lies NOT with the city aushorities,
but with the Government, wtich has entire and ex-
elusive eonsrol Of the asennts
~ IA Extrnsivs Highway Robbery took place