The Bessemer indicator., 1893-10-14
WERE THEY POIsONERs7
NOTED CASES WHICH LEFT
DOUBTS TO MANY.
Did Captain Donsiian Murder His Broth
sr-in-Lsw7 - Tho Noted Tragedy of
Eliza FsnninE, JudiciAlly Murdered BY
the Recorder of London.

One Of the most famous poisoning
cases in England WAS that OF Captain
Donellan, who was hanged a century
ago for the murder OF his brother-in-
law. 1t was u family tragedy in high
lie. Sir Theodosius BUushtoh was
q young man possessed OF large
landed estate. Captain Donellan
was his brother-in-law and hoir-ap-
parent to tho large estate. AT the
time Sir Theodosius died Captain
Donellan was living with him in hiz
country house and occupied adjoin,
ing apartments. The young man,
who was in delicate health, had sent
to an apothecary shop for q draught
OF medicine. which was sent back to
him in an ordinary vial. This draught
was presumed to be composition OF
rhubarb, jalap and lavender water.
At the time he took the draugh.
other vials of n similar size appeared
to have been in his chamber. He
had only swallowed the draught a
few minutes when he was seized
with violent pains in the stomach,
and was soon in convulsions and
foamlng at the mouth. He expired
shortly afterwards without making
any statement. Suspicion Of poison
Ing was Immediately awakened In
the mind OF the young mans mother.
who was present at the death scene,
and she Immediately ordered every
thing in the room, including the
medicine vlals, to be left untouched.
Captain Donellau persisted, how
ever, in going into the death cham
Der, and, against the express wishes
and strong protests of the mother,
rinsed out the vial from which Sir
Thcodosius had taken his last drink
Lady Boughton Immediately took up
the rinscd vial and held it to her
nose. At the trial she testified that
the odor was like that of bitter al
monds. Several physicians had testi-
fed that glass which had contained
laurel water, which is u deadly poi
son, would, after rinsing. give an
odor like that of bitter almonds.
This was the nearest approach tc
evidence that was offered to the jury
to show that Sir Theodosius had, in,
fact, taken drink of the deadly
laurel water. Sir John Hunter was
the most eminent English physician
of the time and he was witness a,
the trial. He swore most positively
that there was nothing in the clrcum.
stances attending the death of Sir
Theodosius, as described by tho ply
sicians who were called in at the
time, to warrant the assertion that
his death was caused by poisoning.
All the symptoms described were,
Dr. Hunter said. entirely consistent
with the belief that the young man
died of apoplexy. Nevertheless, be-
cause Captain Donellan was the next
heir ard "had a motive" he was
promptly executed.
Eliza Fenning was executed in
1915. She was domestic in fam
lily in Chancery lane. The family
had undoubtedly been poisoned by
eating dumplings made by this hap
less girl, but she had herself eaten
OF the same dish and suffered in the
same degree as the other members OF
the household. She had not made
the slightest attempt to remove the
evidence of her guilt, If guilty she
was. She had left the poison-bea
ing dish unwashed. 1t is hardly con.
ceivable that. such being the evi-
dence, she should have been con-
victed. But the recorder of Lond on,
who presided at the trial, seemed to
be very prejudiced against her and
charged the jury strongly for convic-
tion. The only motive ascribed her
was that she had had slight quarrel
with her mistress and had deter
mined to poison the entire family by
way OF revenge. After conviction
petitions signed by thousands prayed
the mercy of the king, but the re-
corder fiercely fought the movement
for pardon. The girls master
relented and would have signed the
petition for a pardon. but the record
er persuaded him not to do so. A
tremendous demonstration was made
at her funeral Six young girls, clad
in white, led the way, and 10000
people followed her body in mourn
full silence through the streets to the
cemetery of St George the martyr,
the windows being veiled and drapcd
in mourning and every housetop
thronged with weeping people.
DIR. Pritchard was Scotch physi-
clan who slowly poisoned his wife and
her mother by antimony. He was
convicted on circumstantial evidence
and executed at Glasgow in 1865,
after fully confessing his crimes.
Seven years later, in 1872, came the
famous case of Mary Anne Cotton,
the child poisoner, believed to have
poisoned at least sixteen children,
and hanged at Durham.
In the case OF DIR. George Henry
Lamson, there is still some reason to
doubt the Justice of the verdict In
1882 he was convicted of poisoning
his brother-iD-law, Percy Malcolm
John, to gain for his wife an inheri-
tance of several thousand pounds. 1t
in evidence that John was
an invalid, and DIR. Lamson. his at
tending physician, prescribed certain
pills which the prosecution contended
were poisonous. The defense asserted
that even if the pills contained poison
it was used as medical agent and
did not cause, nor was it intended to
cause death. Nevertheless. the jury
brought in verdict Of guilty.
Tho Winner.
A late archbishop of Dublin, noted