The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-04-27

guilty?" perplexed and tormented the
minds of the generations to which they
belonged, and still walk like uneasy
ghosts among the dusty alcoves of the
law Libraries, haunting all aftertime
with the horrible suggestion of judi
cial murder.
No one, for example, will ever lay the
specter of Captain Donellan, which
from the time of his trial in 1871 to the
present day has persistently revisited
the glimpses of the moon and shaken
his CORY locks at every judge and jury
in Christendom before whom any body
has been tried for murder by poisoning
on circumstantial evidence. Impanel
jury of the best lawyers in the United
/ States to-day. read over all the evidence
in the case just as it was recorded 102
/ years ago, and there is not the slight
est earthly chance that they will be
able to agree upon a verdict. Yet Capt
/ Donellan was choked to death by an
English hangman over century ago
on the verdict of jury of his fellow
men and most able judge (Buller),
none of whom had the slightest
"cupO VI LIS uIiO. Ii an
aristocratic aroma about this case.
Burke, the author of the famous book
of the peerage, included it in his book
of famous trials connected with the
British aristocracy. 1t was family
tragedy in high life. Sir Theodosius
Bong hton was young man possessed
of a large landed estate. Captain Do
nellan was his brotherin-law and heir
apparent to the large estate. At the
time Sir Theodosius died Captain Do
nellan was living with him in his coun-
try house and occupied adjoining apart
ments The young man, who was in
delicate health, had sent to an apothe-
cary shop for a draught of medicine
which was sent back to him in an or
binary vial. This draught was pre-
sumed 20 be a composition of rhu ba :,
jalap and lavender water At the
time he took the draught other
walls Of similar size appeared to have
been in his chamber He had only
swallowed the draught few minutes
when he was seized with violent pains
in the stomach, and was soon in con-
WILSON'S and foaming at the mouth.
He expired shortly afterward without
making any statment Suspicion of
poisoning 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 medi-
cine walls to be left untouched. Cap
tain Donellan persis ted, however, in
ir,fo l4 -, o1,-
against the express wishes and strong
protests of the mother, rinsed out the !,
vial from which Sir Theodosius had |
taken his last drink. Lady Boughton |
immediately took up the rinsed vial |
and held it to her nose. At the trial !
she testified that its odor was like that |
of bitter almonds. Several physicians
had testified that a glass which had |
con tanned laurel water. which Is |
a deadly poison, would, after rinsing,
give an odor like that of bitter al
monds. This was the nearest approach
to 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 at the trial He
swore most positively that there was
nothing in the circumstances attending
the death of Sir Theodosius. as de-
scribed by the physicians 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 consis-
tent with the belief that the Young
man died of apoplexy. The autopsy
made on the body by the four phvsi-
clans who testified for the prosecution
was pronounced by Sir John Hunter to
have been so irregularly conducted
that its results could not be trusted.
How, then, was Capt. Donellan con-
victed? In the first place it was shown
that he had a strong motive for poison
ing his brother-in-law in the fact that
he was the next heir to a fine and valu-
able estate. Next it was shown that
in his own apartments, carefully
guarded under lock and KEY. he had a
private distillery with all the appliances
necessary for the distillation of laurel
water. An abundance of laurel leaves
were growing in the garden surround
ng the house. The private still in |
which it was believed the deadly poison
was prepared was found after the death
If Sir Theodosius covered with quick :
ime, which would have effectively re- s
moved all traces of laurel water. assum- '
ng that any had been left in IL. I
,urther, it was proved that Capt Do q
lellan had thrown every posi- BILE OBJ q
tacle in the way of an examination of '
he body, and that il was not until for
.ibie means were taken to overcome his
objections that the body was exhum ed I
nd dlssected. 1t was proved also
hat for many weeks before the death
f his brother-in-law he had taken !
'reat pains TO tell every one in the ,
that he feared the young :
nan would not live long, that he ex- /
ected his death at any moment: while I
% one else in the family had enter ,
aimed such fears His refusal to re- ,
pect Lady Boughton's wish and his g
insing ont of the vial in opposition to c
er earnest circumstances was also held .
Q he a most damaging fact. In short i
was claimed by the government that
rom first to last Captain Donellan's &C I
ion was thoroughly inconsistent with /
is innocence. and that all the facts of 6
he case were applicable on the theory a
his guilt, while on no other hypothe- {;
Is could they be satisfactorily ex- {
iaiued: and SO, upon this tissue OF d
assumptions, without any better proof d
Eat poison Of any sort had been iustrli- g
rental IN the death OF the young man &
nan the recollection Of one woman of L
ne smell of Z rinsed ont glass. this y