Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-03-30
POISON.

with great misery to me. The period be-
gan Win a tragedy, nut l am glad to say
it ends with II comedy
was drug clerk, but am now free
man. | was apprenticed at the age of IL,
passing several years in the mental duties
of boy of all work BY gradual stages
| rose to be a clerk in the pharmacy and
was intrusted with the compromising OF
prescriptions. | never had diploma in
pharmacy, but know my business.
During the spring season we were tax
ing stock, and many of the drugs in bot
ties, packages and boxes were removed
from places they had occupied for many
years. You will understand that the drug
gist is so familiar with the location of Ger
tain drugs that he can take down the right
bottle or open the proper drawer with per
feet confidence that he is not laundering
Heavens, how well | remember the
night! 1t was raining outside, and the
customers were few, when young wom
an entered. She was poorly attired, as ]
remember her-God knows | never can
forget her-apparently a governess or a
lady's maid. She asked me for one of the
small samples bottles of popular medi
cine given for headaches, and l went at
once to the proper drawer, opened it, reach
wrapped it in paper, handed it to the girl
received her money and resumed the work
of posting up the ledger for the day.
may as we'll confess that my thoughts
were somewhat distracted by letter
had received from Emily. had been en-
gagged to Emily for three years, and moth
ing but the failure of my employer to in
crease my wages-as he had often promis-
ed to do-prevented our union. Young as
| was, had seen enough of life to realize
the necessity of money about house, and
although Emily was quite anxious to
make the mad plunge into matrimony
was averse to taking her from comforta-
BILE home and setting up an esta blishment
or my.own on the small salary of $40 a
week.
Only tkat afternoon had received a let
ter FROM the dear creature that appeared
to me cold and spiteful, and in the post
script | detected Il real sting. 1t contain
ed only the words: "Don't come tonight.
| am going out" Oh, if she could have
known the misery for me in those wretch
ed little sentences If she had not written
them, am quite sure never would have
suffered the agony of mind that has made
me so miserable.
AS | sat writing, there suddenly came
into my head II feeling of indefinable
dread. | felt that something terrible had
occurred or was about to happen. | knew
instinctiVely that it was associated with
my solitary customer and the drug had
given her. | sprang to the drawer, opened
it, to fluid, as had surmised, that its CON
tents had been changed, and that had
given the girl "A bottle of arsenic instead
of the simple and harmless salt of bromide
and magnesia rs had supposed.
Every fiber of my body thrilled with
horror. | realized that l might be respon-
sble for hundred tragedies! The wont
an might be II cook in Il hotel or u child y
nurse and give the deadly salt to an limo
cent infant! She might he ID Respondent
wife, angered by harsh treatment, and
burning with thoughts OF revenge toward
vicious husband; she might be dis
carded sweetheart, bent only on ending her
own sad life; she might he heartless
daughter, goaded to desperation by cruel
stepmothcr's njustices-indeed she might
he all these characters III one 50 far as the
uses to which she could put the deadly
poison were concerned.
rushed out upon the street. | forget
whether locked up the drug store or not
the proprietor aiterwWd declared that
had left it open. llatless, l dashed along
the thUroughfare, seeking woman whose
face ana form were only vaguely known
to me, hoping In detect among the hun
dreds who thrOnged the street Oh that busy
Saturday night the posscssOr of the ounce
of arsenic.
Uncertain as to the identity of the WON.
~ | sc r%y,,,.nv,, every female who had
apaukeSSA in her hands as hurried madly
Il 4
tion. ! stopped each officer encountered
told him IN hurried, broken sentences my
dreadful mistake and put him on his
guard, encouraging him to expect at least
one tragedy within few hours.
reached the station house just before
the q o'clock relief was sent out. The men
were drawn up in line by their sergeant
and instructed regarding their conduct in
the terrible emergency. This is what he
said
at will be your duty, men, to leave no
means untried to find the present possess
or of the ounce of arsenic You will enter
every apartment, house and tenement,
knock at every door and acquaint the resi-
dents of their danger. You will ring the
bell at every private house and insist upon
Ieeing the responsible member of the fam
lily, in order that the information you i'm
part shall reach the ears of people who
will appreciate its gravity and act upon il
at once. / have just wired the informa
ton to police headquarters, and Superin
tendent Byrnes will doubtless act upon il
Immediately"
Superintendent Byrnes sat in his Office
and was just lighting a cigar when his
most trusted sergeant entered with dis
patch that had just been received from the
Tenth precinct, acquainting him with thu
fact that a woman, name unknown, resi-
dence unknown, description unknown, haC
secured possession of an ounce of arsenic
for purposes unknownl
Briefly the dispatch recounted the facts
| without. Of oourae. referring to the ARonI