The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-03-16
STAIJNTON.

MORE PARTICULARS ABOUT THE ASYLUM POL
sONING--A NEW THEORY-wHO Is RIGlIT!-
BUSINESS OF TIE B0ARD-THE PAUL AND
o'FEREAIL CONTEST-A FATAL CUNNING
ACCIDENT.
Correspondence Of the Richmond Dlspatch.l
MARCH -. 1883.
In connection with the continued lnve--
LEGATIONS made into the POISONING business
at the ASYLUM Tuesday, DR.. X. ;. llamil-
ton. the Superintendent, said he wished to
make a statement IN view OF something
that had gotten into some OF the papers
lmeanmg. suppose. "Chesters" letter in
the Dispatch, in which reference was made
to the bottle Of hyoscyamin which DR..
William Hamilton said he had left there.
The Superintendent said DR.. William
Hamilton who il cousin OF his), before
he left the asylum lat summer, having pro-
nounced bottle OF hyOscyamin he had
| lust ordered rs an inferior article, he had
| taken il 10 his own Office. sealed and locked
| it up IN press, and il was still there I'M
| touched. Therefore both statements were
| correct-Dr Il. ;. Hamilton in saying that
there was no hyoscyamin in the dispcnsaTy,
and Or. William Hamilton in saying that
he had left quite quantity there last sum
mer. The fluid extract and tincture Of
aconite were both in the diSpenSary, but
no aconitine. the form Of the poison which
Professor Mallet believes did the mischief.
Upon inquiry, your correspondent finds
that there is no aconitc in any OF the five
drugstores III this city, except small
quantity. which. after considerable search.
was discovered at Wayt Brothers, and
shown TO the Jury, hut had rot been
opened or used since il WIS purchased
years ago. In fact, it had been there I'M
used so long that the senior member OF the
! firm, DR.. y. Wayt, had forgotten all about
ITS being In the establishment. So the pol
son could not have been procured in this
city by the person who used ii with such
deadly effect.
| DIR. strain, assistant physician at the
Asylum, the medical gentleman who on
| first Observing tine peculiar symptoms OF
the poisoned patients pronounced the agent
aconlte, in conversation with the writer
yesterday referred with emphasis TO the
case OF Mrs. Sarah McAleXander, who ey-
hibited all the characteristic symptoms OF
aconitine poisoning Immediately after eat
ing part OF her dinner. He said she had
Just eaten piece OF bread which had been
brought Immediately from the kitchen,
when she ran 10 the water rs II 10 cool her
burning mouth and throat, and after drink
| ing fe down insensible, and vomited the
same greenish matter which the poisoned
people elected the next day. Ii Is thought
now that the person who was in possession
OF the poison had managed to sprinkle
little of-the deadly poison on the piece OF
bread which this patient had eaten.
ANEW THEORY.
Taking in connection the fact that The
four mugs which contained whiskey were
harmless, with the recognized charac-
teristic Of lunatics, who, with the weeken-
ing OF certain mental faculties develop
singular strength in others, as say sbrewd-
ness or luminosity, it is suggested that il a
patient be the criminal, or whoever he is,
he knew that the other eleven mugs con-
tanned mixture, and some OF them In
gradients OF poisonous nature, while the
wbiskey glasses contained nothing but
whiskey, therefore skipped them and dis
tributed the poison with method, thinking
that II fatal effects followed they would be
attributed to mistake by the druggist Of
oyerdosing, and thus suspicion would be
diverted from the guilty party.
The public, however. may feel assured
that the matter will not be allowed TO rest
here, but that continued and energetic
efforts will be made to trace the mysterious
criminal.
The Asylum Board was I'm session all day
yesterday engaged In revising the bylaws
of the institution and designating fully the
duties Of each officer and employee, this