The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1871-09-28

was pure, and so used it on his own table.
Not satisfied with poisoning in this way,
the tiends put arseLie in the salt, canthari-
DIES in the pepper, and some other live de-
stroying agent in the water. Under these
combined attacks, Overbury's health be-
gan to fail. and, as he grew weaker he
craved sweet meats and choices dishes Of
game The Jelly was poisoned, and gen
tie Mrs. Turner mangled cantharides with
the sauce of the birds, and sprinkled the
roast pig with lunar caustic. As it was
proved afterward, Overbury took poison
enough, in one way and another, to Kill
twenty men Franklin confessed that in
conjunction with Forman, he had pre-
pared no less than seven different kinds
aouafortis, arsenic, mercury, powder OF
diamons, lunar caustic, great spiders and
canthardes. But the patient, having
youth and a strong constitution on his
side, held out, and u: last Rochester be
came impatient at his friends unaccount-
able reluctance to die. This impatience
was quickened by the fact that Overbury
had begun to suspect Rochester's tidelit5-,
and threatened, unless speedily liberated,
to expose him to the world as a criminal.
In one of his letters passages like these
occur: "Drive me not to eXtremlties, lest
| should say something which both you
and | should repent" wv neither
/ live or die, your shame shall never die,
but ever remain to the world to make YOU
the most odious man living BE
these the fruits of common secrets. COM
mon dangers?n
Fearing lest Overbury would reveal the
int;amies they had shared together, il per
mitted to live any longer, Rochester wrote
to the countess to bring matters to finale.
She sent message to Weston. and on the
18th of September, 1913, 4. dose of corro-
sive sublimatc was administered which
finished the business at once. The same
day the corpse was wrapped in sheet and
buried in hole within the precincts "E the
tower without any ceremony whatever.
Three months later, Rochester, now Earl
of Somerset, was married to the Countess
of ESSEX with great pOmp and circum-
stance and the terrible game which these
two had played appeared to have escaped
all detection. But Nemesis was atloat.
Remorse and anxiety made Somerset grow
pale and moody he ceased to be pleasant
company for his royal patron, and James
discovered another tlatterer and pet in
George Nillers, Duke Of Buckingham.
As Buckingham rose Somerset fell, and
soon the latter was without friends in or
out of court Then it was that the rumor~
concerning the death of Overbury We're
revived, and at last reached the ears Of
the king. Not suspccting, probably, that
| Somerset was ut all implicated in the al-
| fair, he ordered the arrest of Sir .jeryis
/ Elves, and summoning the Judges who
were to try the ease into his presence, he
knelt down in their midst and addressed
them in this curious fashion:
My lords, the Judges. it is lately come
to my hearing that you have nov in eH-
animation 4 business of poisoning. Lord,
in what Il miserable condition Shall this
kingdom be (the only tam0u; nation iol
hospitality in the world) if our table shall
become such snare as that none could
eat without danger of lite, and that Italian
custom should be introduced among Us.
Therefore, my lords, charge You, As You
will answer ut that great and dreadful
day of Judgment, that you examine il
strictly without SAVIOR. affection or partial
ity. And if you shall spare any guilty q
this crime, Gods curse light on YOU anC
your posterrityi and il I spare any that ar
guilty Gods curse light on me- and my
/ PoSLtiltS lOItNti
Weston, Franklin, Mrs Turner, anC
lastly, the earl and countess of Somerset
We're also arrested and brought to the bar
with ELVES. Lord Chief Justice Cok'
presided and charged the jury ''Layin2
open the baseness and coWardicr OF poi,
oners who attempt that secretly again~
which there is no preservation or detrn<,
for It mans life and how rare it wa tC
nni-,r,,ip4r IN,f-rIu,,l IA,
tostHhe it was to Uur nation. But the
devil had taught divers to be cunning il
i. SO that they can poison in what distanc,
of space they please, by consuming the
hUsitllul. culi}uuA on huultotH r0iicuh il
one month, two or three, or more, as they
list-which they in four manner of way
DO execute. viz: h0,tSto. glHls. oHor an,
roJtact1l.n
Weston ELVES, Franklin and Mrs. Tur-
ner, We're all found guilty and eXecutet
between the 10Th of October and the Att
of December, 1913, but the grand trial Q
the Somersets dill not transpre until tn,
following May 1t is evident that the tor
mer ftvorite had some hold upon the king
for he confidently asserted while in prison
that James would never dare bring hin
to trial, and when confronted with the
court, pleaded not guilty, and made 4
stubborn defense He was convicted and
sentenced to death The countess had
less nerve, confessed her guilt and beg
ged for mercy. She, too, was SENTENCED
to the extreme penalty OF the law, and
nothing now remained but for the mon
arch to yindicatc Lis solemn oath. Blu
Somerset knew too much to be allowed t.
make u dying speech from the scafiold
what it was he knew, is one Of those his
torical secrets never likely to be cXplainr,
in this world, but the king dared not take
His life. The earl ami countess wcra sent
to the tower, and remained there five
years; then they We're pardoned, and or
dercd to reside ut a suitable distance from
court. Their estates having been forfeit
ed, the weak and faithless James actually
gave these wrctchcs an annnity of 900
900. With this they sunk into obsrurity
dwelling under the same roof, but hating
each other so intensely that for months TO
gethcr they would not exchange 4 word
50 ends the tragedy Of Sir Thoma>
Ovcrbury. How heavily the violatad oatl
Of James the lst has rested on the Stuart
dynasty history tells The blood of th,
murdered man clung TO the garments o
that hated family.
An Incident.
1t will not be considered impertincnt to
t,I1 10, lDl +Ioh Hail.; n