Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1873-04-05
MODERN RORGaAS.

The recent case of Lydia Sherman and
her poisonings is fairly matched by the
developements made in the West Auck-
land poisoning cases, now on trial in
Eug and, in which one Mary Cotton
stands charged with the murder of her
stepson, a healthy child OFT years, who
required more care and attention than
his stepmother was willing to confer up.
on him Being anxious1or more lncra
tive work, she rid herself of the respon-
sbilty of waiting upon him by admin
isterlng arsenic. In the progress OF the
trial, many other murders have been in
cidentally developed, including husbands
alnl children, for, like Lydia Sherman,
Mary Cotton had been many times Mar
ried, and, as it there was some indetina-
BILE, mysterious connection between muir
der and marriage sthe minds of these
Borgas, no sooner had she assumed the
respons,b lities OF wedlock than she pro-
ceeded to free herselftrom hem 10y means
of poison. Like Lydia Sherman, also,
but, on The othershapd, scontessedA them
With perfect freedom, and even glofled
in the confession, as if she had perform
| ed some praisworthy decd
In studying the annals oimurdcrs COM
mitted by women, there are two singular
feature to be noticed., The first of tn 'se
| is the fact that when Ia woman sets Out
upon a wholesale career of murder, she al
most invariably chooses poison for the
agency ofdestruction, aud has prefer
ence for arsenic. Men, commit murder
with the pistol. 'tbe Knife or the biudg-
con ; rarely with poison. Women scare
elyIeyey use eithdr,one OF these three
agencies, except in cases where they are
act uated by sudden or ungoveruable i'm
pulses, aud seizes the first weapon which
comes TO hand In cases, bowsrer swhen
a woman coolly and deliberately makes
lte,longbusiness OF murder, she inver-
iably selects poison. Notwithstanding
the ingenious attempts of amodcrn mag
azine- writer to whitewash the character
OF Lucreziaa Borgia,F ,Fand make her mod.
ell of womanly innocence and virtue, the
burden OF historical proof establishes the
tact that she " as the poisoner. Of all her
lpolitical enemies with whom she came
IN contact, as well as Of thoseswho gave
Z her personal offense. The Marchioness
do Brnvilliers was one of the shrewdest
Of bOissfers. and has made the name lol
Rfinvilliers odious the world over. The
: German poisoner, Anna Maria Zwanziyer
was one of the most audacious OF pois
oners, aud literally planted arsenic IN ev
. cry direction, where il might reach ser
wants aud children against whom she ha'
no animosity whatever. Another Eng
. lish murderess, Mrs. Holroyd, used arse
! mic without the least compunction, ant
. at one, time achieved. considerable5srepu
o iation by her success in prophesying TN
n deaths of her vietims.A Our reader
a will remember the case of The woman
who, not long ago, distributed poisoned
= sweetmeats among all her friends IN oi
!, der toreach certain man against WHOM
C. she eni aimed dislike. In our ow
country, the cases of lydia Sherman
y Mrs. Wharton, Mrs. Grinder, Mrs. Var
;. Ness, and others Are stilf fresh in III
~ memory of our readers. Every countr,
in intact, lhaslits living aud vita histories
y female poisoners. who have scattere
&, death far and wide, aud almost ever
, towHaadd village can name some woma
who has committed sing murder 10
L the uss. of po,sops. How are we to. O.
ID ee,lat fer this universal use Of poisons b
women H Ia there. any other scmtlon,
h, the question than the, assumption thi
even female murderers have the qualli
ID ofrffnemept and dslicacy, the afersie
q to-scenes Of suffering and torture and q
peculiar shrinking fepm brutality al
M blood, which, .aistfngdistf women as
. class fromumen2 Pnison lis a more qni
r. 4; but equally effectjye inst trument Of deaf
* II involvsshno physical struggling,
'1i osi violent endeaYors % question of streng,
y The chances of eseepe, aud The, oppogri
Ted than in other forms Of mnrder.. The WON
5 who should kin her first victim with pis
,.H or knifs would attract such stss9sien, sqd I