The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1876-06-16

what . Medical student Onercd.
One of the most singular GASES IN
criminal records has just been brought
IN lisht in the Bow Street court, IN Lon
don. By the merest chance of mis-
carried letter, O plot was discovered TO
take the life Of person by the q IS de
l;herate and careful means, In which
Mot the person whose life was to be
taken is believed to have taken promi-
nent il not the leading part. The facts,
"a far az developed, are these 1t seems
that a letter was returned uncalled for,
and found its way into the Dead Letter
Office at st. Martins le, Grand. The
clerk who read the letter found rs con.
tents so extraordinary that ne deemed IL
his duty 10 communicate 1t 70 ms chiei.
II proved to be written by young medi-
cal student named Vance. After saying
that "there is risk of discovery In what
ever mode of DEATH" Vance went ON
10 explain at length device by which
the desired death might be accom-
plished. and at the same time the aveng-
ing steps of Justice arrested. The IN
strument of death was to be calloral,
and, with GOODNESS which would be
amusing were it not SO CHASTITY, he re-
marked that the prisoners Pritchard and
Palmer were, indeed, detected, but that
they lived before these chloral times.
Death having ensued, suspicious cir
cumstances were to be admitted when
the case came before the coroner, In the
hope that no real clew would be found,
and that verdict of " death by misad-
venture" might be obtained. Consid-
ering that this letter was, in all proba-
bility, written to the very person upon
whom the experiment was to be at
tempted, young DIR. Vance's sugges-
tons are nothing less than amazing.
He says eff you like, chloral might
be administered to dog or cat, or
you might try, yourself, an ordinary
dose, and be thereby cognizant of the
bona fides of the agent" He then tells
his correspondent that he wishes an
early meeting, " to have it of my mind,
which is natural and human !" and, very
luckily for the police, proceeds to give
the correct address of the Office in which
he was at work, and where, as he says,
by the way, he has access to the drugs,
bottles, and labels +"
Young DIR. Vance was thus easily
found at one end of the string; and the
devices of the police soon discovered
that d woman was at the other end. Let
tiers came asking for the miscarried let
ter, and by responding to these and
watching for the person who asked for
the responses, a woman named HeIen
Since was duly caught and arrested.
Meanwhile, Vance himself delivered into
the hands of the police letter presum-
ably written by her, which evidently in
dicated that Helen Since was the person
whose life was to be sacrificed. - l am
tired of lfe," she said in this letter.
CT could do great deal of good to q
person am interested in by leaving the
world just now; and one way or another.
am resolved to do SO: but, if possible,
1 should prefer not to wound the feel
ings of the person who will gain most
by my death by allowing it to be sup
posed voluntary" The arrest of Helen
Since to certain degree cleared up the
mystery. She had advertised for the
assistance of a medical man, and Vance
had answered the advertisement. Her
proposal to him was that, to accomplish
her object of putting an end, as it would
now appear, to her own existence, sine
would pay f100; and, as an installment,
she had in fact RENTED him two guineas.
She had admitted that she had already
received "some drug in paper and
some stuff in a bottle" from Vance, but
had not had the courage to take them,
Gas they smelled SO horrible" 1t would
also appear that she either wished to die
in order that, by her will, she might
benefit some unknown person, perhaps
lover, or that she was trying to learn
the secrets of toxicology, under this pre-
tense, in order to do murder. In either
view her conduct is most extraordinary,
and, whatever may be said of her motive
or criminal intent, no epithet could be
too severe for the medical student who,
for paltry hundred pounds, could enter
so coolly and deliberately into a muir.
derous conspiracy.