The Portland daily press., 1871-12-07
The Fatal Dose.
TERRIBLE VARYING TO GIRLS WHO ARE
DISSATISFIED WITH WHAT NATURE

A TERRIBLE VARYING TO GIRLS WHO ARE
DISSATISFIED WITH WHAT NATURE
HAS DONE FOB THEM.
From the San Francisco Chronicle, Nov 22.]
On Wednesday morning last young girl
named Elenor Vondy took strychuine at the
residence of Henry Mess, No. 20 John street,
from the effects of which she died. 1t ap-
pears that the unfortunate girl had been in
the habit of eating chalk, taking solution of
arsenic and other drugs for the purpose of
clearing and beautifying her complexion, and
at the same time stated she took dose of
strychnine under the impression that it was
the drug which she had been in the habit of
taking.
Deceased was native of England, aged
twenty-three years. About one year ago she
same to this city from England in the COM
pany of Marion Deary, who is now employed
as domestic in the family of Mrs. Captain
Lapidge, at the Brevoort House, on Fourth
street. The latter formerly held the position
ofladies' maid in the family of Lord Bate
man in Norwich, England, and it was during
the shooting season that she met Elenor at
| Douglass, Isle of Man, where Lord Bateman's
| country seat is located. The father of Elenor
Vondy held the position of Superintendent of
Wherries, and is well known throughout the
country. The two girls became fast friends
and finally resolved to come to California
who were on their way to Victory. In due
time they arrived in this city, and Marion OBJ
tanned the situation which she holds at pres
ent. After remaining at a servant girls
boarding house on Fremont street for several
days, ElenOr succeeded in obtaining situa-
tion in the family of Judge Lorenzo Sawyer
through the exertions of Mrs. Lapridge, who
it seems took warm interest in her. But
she did not keep this long, and afterwards
wes N.aAflAyAd by Mrs. Henry Mess.
Her complexion was not very clear bees,.-
tiful, but nevertheless she was not bad look
ing. When visiting her friend Marion she
constantly talked about her complexion and
expressed wish to get hold of some solution
of arsenic that beauties the skin On last
Tuesday evening Mrs. Mess visited an apothe-
cary's shop and purchased the strychnine for
the purpose of killing rats, as she stated to
the drug clerk. Mrs. Mess asked the clerk
''if it would kill two legged rat" aud the
clerk replied that it would kill almost any,
thing. Elenor was in the company of Mrs.
| Mess when the purchase was made. On Sun
| day evening previous to her death Elenor
called upon her friend and they had a long
conversation. She seemed very much de-
pressed, and once after long silence, broke
| OUT WIFI. suppose ciIOuu uio,
would you go in mourning for me?' She al
so remarked during the evening that she had
arranged all her letters so that her aff"irs
would be straight if she died suddenly. These
facts seem to show that the girl had some
idea of the approaching death, or that she
was meditating suicide. Whether such was
really the case or not will probably never be
known. On Wednesday she took the bottle
ofstrychnine that was ostensibly purchased
to kill rats, and took on the point of a pen
knife small portion oft the deadly drug-the
most terrible in its effects on the human sys-
tenn of all poisons. Immediately she was
thrown into violent spasms and convulsions,
and for three hours she suffered the torments
OF the damned, when physician(Dr. WILSON,
came to her relief. But it was too late, and
death soon put an end to her fearful agones,
leaving her body swollen and her features
contorted in frghtful manner. Inc usuai
inquest was held by the Coroner, ana tne Ver-
dict was to the effect that ner deatn was
caused by an overdose of strychnne.
MYSTERIES OF A HAIR BRUsH.-A writer
in the american Journal Of Microscopy has
been exploring the forests of bristles in hair
| brush surreptitiously purloined from lady's
toilet stand, and though it contained nothing
which we are accustomed to regard with un
qualified horror the results of his investiga
tions prove that there are mysteries ordinari
" undreamed of in this simple appliance o
the toilet.
There are concealed in the damp lint of hal
brushes, unless kept clean by the use of bi