The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-09-23
4 ! adv A,SiSnrcr.

| - ady Prisoner.
| ire trial OF Christiana Edmunds, the
| al}cGcd poisoner. was In progress at Bri2h-
ion 10y last accounts. On September new
and grave cyidcuce was heard. Since the
opening proceedings, some of the analvtl-
cal chemists have sent in their reports.
| Prof. Rogers found in the cake examined
| by him "a dangerous quantity OF arse
nic." This cake was one Of those which
! the prisoner is accused Of sending to the
| deceased. ana the testimony showing that
| Il short time before she had become pos
seSsed of arsenic is feartully strong. 1t
should be uuderSto God that the unsussess-
full attempts on the life of Mrs. Beard and
others are not the only crimes with which
Miss EdmundS is charged. Certain facts
| have TUNED up that seem to point to the
| conclusion that late discoveries are only
| the climax oil long train 0! cold-blooGed
atrocities.
| 4 child named Barker was visiting
| Brighton This summer in company with his
parents. Suddenly and unexpectedly the
little fellow died. 1t was proved that he
! had pGrtaken OF some chocolate creams,
bought at the shop OF one Maynard, II con-
! fectiGner. y coroner's jury sat, Il caution
wa, administered to Maynard, ard here the
! matter badc fair to blow over. The yer dict
| oi The jury was, however, unsatisfactory TO
some people, and there was not little un-
easy comment. AT This iuncturc Miss Ed
munds came forward and complained that
| she. too. had been made i'll by eating choc-
, olatc creams bought at Maynard's. Our
readers will remember that, more rccGntiy,
! when the excitement and exposure arose
| about the poisoned SNcctmeats, Miss Ed
mundS prolcSSed that she, too, had received
such anonymous off rings, and brought for
ward IN pi oof the articles themselves. NoW
! the theory OF the prosecution IS that the
chocolate creams sold by MAYNARD, and
which killed the boy, We're really poisoned
| 10y Miss EdlnunQS. Dir. Stuckcy. the pub
lie prosecutor for Brighton, in his opening
speech oil the day named above, asserted
tiat he should DC able to show that certain
chocolate crcltus had passed through the
han,is of the accused. They wee first
lmadc ly Maynard. Miss EGmund> had
sent for and then returned them, on the
ground o. bcin. diss itistiGd with them.
! While III her possession she had mixed the
arsenic with the creams. Maynard, in due
fcoUrsc OF trade, bad SOLD the same things
TO the boy, and The boy died. The motive
for a deed 80 moNstrouS would be obscure
| in the absence Of later developments. TO
poison an unknown and unotieuding per-
son, or perhaps several Of them. would he
IN act too diabolcal for belief. But if it is
supposed that the prisoner was coolly eN-
pciimcnting, ut once 10 see what mixture
| would be eilcctual to destroy life, and to
construct in advance a plausible theory
such rs III the sequel should implIcate 9th
eGs and save herself. the matter becomes
| intelligible.
/! Two other curious points were elucidated
at this last examination. One was that the
same lad. Adam May, who was formerly
| shown TO have been sent by Miss kdmunds
to tho chemist 10 buy poison, was likewise
sert by her to May nara's to buy the
| creams. This is surprisingly ut variance
with the cunning exhibited by the accused
, in other matters, but hardly more so than
her sending anonymous letters, rs the pros
| cvu,ion have undertaken to prove. to the
! father OF the poisoned child, Barker, urg-
| ing him to insist on further investigate ION OF
| the affair, and assuring him OF the sympathy
and assistance Of influential residents. The
| theory here, we presume, is that Miss Ed
munds, steadily contemplating the destruc-
ton Of Mrs. Beard in fhe future, desired 10
prepare the public and the authorities more
readily to accept the obvious hypothesis
OF a rCpeated catastrophe. She bad deter
mined to poison Mrs. Beard, and she pre-
posed to do it through machinery which,
| having operated in the same way before,
might furnish complete explanation OF
| the casualty. That it would seem ODD, not
TO say fatuOus, lOT hF. may uuu w Seo
about numbering his customers III this pro-
miscuouS way, does not seem to have sug-
geSted any intellectual difficulties. Accl-
dent, or some sinister hand unknown,
| would be responsible, and not Chrst!ana
: dmunds. 10 facilitate this suppositlon,
the accused carried out her plans in the
most deliberate manner. She was AFRAID OF
OVERRIDING the matter, and so, in her 1nltla-
tory experiments, there appears gradua-
ted increase oil deIicacy and adroltnesS. Dr.
Lctheby testified that in only twenty grams
| OF cream he found a full grain of strych-
nine, and that half grain Of that poison
has killed; and other analyses of the noX-
ious sweetmeats show larger relative guam
titles OF arsenic and strychnine.
Now that the case against Miss EdmundS
has grown so strong, the idea OF insanity
| will Of course be brought prominently for
ward. That she will escape through such
plea is less likely. Her extensive nc.
ulaintance Tor many years among educated
and refined people, and the total absence
so far rs has hitherto appeared, Of any sug-
geStion OF mental weakuess-the contrary,
indeed, beng more likely to be establish
ed-wiil tell severely against her; and the
calm. impIacable reconciliation of her
crimes-if she is indeed guilty-will almost
surely deprive her of all mercy or sympa-
thy from her tcliow-beings. -NeD York
Times.