Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-08-10

| Up to the night of Wednesday, May s
no suspicion that the gastro-enteriti:
from which Mr.. Maybrick suffered
had been produced by any other thar
natural causes appears 10 have entered
the minds o. the physicians.
The one little touch OF the woman
n Mrs. Maybrick, the yearning thai
prompted her % turn to the man fol
whom she had sacrificed herself, was
her undoing. But for the letter tc
Brierley, written by her and intrusted
for postage to the hands OF Alice
1app, it is probable that this woman
would never have been brought tc
trial. Alice Yapp swore that she put
the letter in the hands of Mrs. May
bricks baby, and that the baby drop
! ped the letter, which fell into the
mud; that she opened the letter with
the intention Of putting it into a fresh
envelope, that the sight of the first line
caused her to read the rest, to take il
back to the house, and put it in the
hands of Edwin Maybrick. It must be
1 NN>-N SAAStS op ~ Ills IAAllS NO. one NOlU
had been said by the physician as to
the duration Of Maybrick's illness or
to indicate the approach of death.
Assuredly the doctors did not ap-
prehend fatal result. Yet these
were the words of the communication
which aroused all Liverpool and the
north il frenzy of prejudice against
| her:
Dearest did not expect to hear
! from you so soon Since nv re-
turn l have been nursing day and
night. He is sick unto death. The
doctors held consultation yesterday.
and now all depends upon how long
his strength will hold out. I cannot
answer your letter fully today, my
darling, but relieve your mind OF all
fear of discovery now and in the flu
ture.
He has been delirious since Satur-
day, and | know that he is perfectly
ignorant even of the name of the
street. In fact, he believes my state
ment, although he will not admit it..
You must feel that those two letters
OF mine were written under circum-
stances which must excuse their in
justice in your eyes At any
rate, don't leave England until l have
seen you again. Yours ever,
-'Florrie"
From the moment of the discovery
of this letter her fate was sealed DR..
Carter, an eminent physician of Liver
pool, had been called into consultation
by DR.. Humphreys. The letter was
submitted to the physicians by
Michael Maybrick, the we'll known
musical composer. And the doctors,
awakened at last, began to treat their
patient for arsenic poisoning Mrs.
Maybrick was removed from her po-
sition as nurse and mistress of the
household, and in her place three
nurses from the Women's Institute
were put in charge.
The wife was now the object of
suspicion and horror of the entire
household. But it remained for the
night that followed to furnish the
enost striking circumstance OF all.
Mrs. Gore, the night nurse watching
the sick man, saw Mrs. Maybrick
come into the room. On the wash
stand by the side of the bed was bot
tie of Valentines meatjuice, which
had been part of the diet prescribed
by the physicians. The bottle at
that time had not been touched by
any one save Nurse Gore. Mrs May
brick took the bottle from the stand
walked into an inner room with it,
came back after a few minutes, and
stealthily drawing the bottle from be-
hind her dress, slipped it into it's
place on the washstand and left the
room. Mrs. Gore took possession of
the bottle and gave it to Dr. Hum
phreys. In the subsequent analysis
of the food a half-grain Of arsenic was
found.
But no human effort could now save
the victim, and he slowly sank to his
death.
1t is scarcely necessary to go deeply
into the details of the events that fol-
lowed his death. AS every one had
supposed, the autopsy revealed the
presence of arsenic in certain organs,
notably the liver and kidneys. Only
half a grain in all was found, but on
the hypothesis laid down by Prof.
Fowler in the Tawell case, this very
fact would indicate that large
quantity had been taken. Arsenic
was found in various parts of the
house-in the cooking utensils, in the
medicines and medicine bottles hand
led by Mrs. Maybrick during the
period of her charge, in a handker-
chief from which her husband had
sucked cracked ice, administered by
her: and lastly in the pockets of her
dressing gown. The trial mainly re-
and counsel. The individuality of
the prisoner was lost. She had be-
come the silent spectator of a skillful
game played out between counsel,
with her life as the stake. DR.. Hum
| phreys, DR.. Carter and Prof Stevenson
| declared that the deceased had died
| from arsenic poisoning, and based
their views on the main symptoms
principally on the bright red or rosy
blush of the intestines. In direct con-
! tradiction came two of the first pa
| biological authorities of the world, in
the persons Of Prof. H. E. Tidy and
| Prof. Mcnamara, to declare that the
four main characteristics of arsenic
| poisoning were absent, namely, suf-
fusion of the eyes, pains in the calves
of the legs, irritability of eyelids, and
| tho io+nIaro nj Eoh Cir Tor