Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN 1 
 
 
 -
 
 THE 
 
 POWER OF CONSCIENCE 
 
 EXEMPLIFIED IN THE GENUINE AND EXTRAORDINARY 
 
 CONFESSION 
 
 OF THOMAS BEDWORTH; 
 
 DELIVERED TO CUE OF THE PRINCIPAL OFFICERS OF JJEWGATE, THE 
 NIGHT BEFORE HIS EXECUTION, ON SEPTEMBER 18, 1815, FOR THE 
 
 OF ELIZABETH BEESMORE, 
 
 IN DRURY LANE. 
 
 RELATING HIS HORRIBLE SUFFERINGS 
 
 VNTIL COMPELLED TOSURRENDERTO PUBLIC JUSTICE BY THE CONSTANT 
 
 SUPERNATURAL VISITATIONS 
 
 OTTHE MURDERED WOMAN, AND THE FREQUENT APPEARANCE OF HER 
 
 APPARITION. 
 
 FROM THE ORIGINAL PAPER, 
 
 NOW IN THE POSSESSION OF THE PUBLISHER. 
 
 Including interesting Particulars of BEDWORTH's former Life, Ins 
 
 behaviour before Execution, and an original and full Report of the 
 
 Common Serjeant's Address ou passing Sentence. 
 
 LONDON .- 
 PRINTED FOR WM. HONE, 55, FLEET STREET 
 
 By J. Swan, 76, Fleet Street. 
 
 PRICE SIXPENCE. 
 
 1815.
 
 
 aoll*V 
 
 ttt *?-J."jrJ^ 
 !9iM. , 
 
 
 ".- ' .
 
 URL 
 
 THE 
 
 EXTRAORDINARY 
 
 LIFE AND CONFESSION 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 AS RELATED BY HIMSELF, BEFORE GOING ON 
 THE SCAFFOLD. 
 
 THE following brief statement of the life of an almost obscure indi- 
 ridual, drawn up from his own lips, is published not from any wish 
 to diminish the just indignation and natural horror excited by the 
 dreadful crime of murder, of which he was found guilty by his own 
 confession, as well as by the Verdict of the Jury, but from an 
 anxious desire to develop such particulars as exemplify the sad 
 consequences of ungoverned passion and depraved pursuit. How- 
 ever different from all rational views that extraordinary portion of 
 his relation may be which details the frequent horrible appearance 
 of the murdered woman, there is no more reason to doubt his so- 
 lemn belief of the reality of the TERRIBLE APPARITION 
 than of any other part of his edifying Narrative. The criminal 
 related the whole himself, in compliance with the wishes of one qf 
 the principal officers of the prison, whose humanity and atten- 
 tion he gratefully acknowledged, and who had long expressed a 
 desire to know his melancholy story. He commenced his relation 
 about midnight before his execution. He solemnly and earnestly, 
 as a dying man and in the presence of Almighty God, protested 
 the truth of every circumstance, and the whole is here faithfully 
 given as he delivered it. Although scrupulously examined upon 
 the supernatural appearance, which was reasonably conjectured 
 to be the effect* of his disturbed imagination and wqund.ed con- 
 
 A
 
 _ 
 
 science, he eagerly, positively, and repeatedly asseverated it to. }<? 
 a fact as certain as that he was then in the cell, to die that morn- 
 ing. This his full confession upon the brink of his falling into 
 the grave, was taken down in writing in the presence of and by the 
 direction of the officer before mentioned, and the original paper 
 
 is now in the possession of the publisher, and is as follows : 
 
 r r " -' 
 
 THOMAS BEDWORTH'S CONFESSION. 
 
 - ':. '- JT3*)U>J .I -'lif;. 
 
 THOMAS BEDWORTH was born in the year 1764, in the 
 parish of Bloxidge, Staffordshire. His parents were of honest re- 
 putation and industrious habits, and could well afford to instil into 
 his mind the principles of a good education ; but to this he wa 
 obstinately averse, and they not being firm in their purpose, he suc- 
 cessfully opposed every attempt that was made to furnish him with 
 that knowledge of good and evil, without which he fell a sacrifice 
 to the consequences of sensual indulgence, and expiated a crime, 
 conceived in jealousy and stimulated by intoxication, on the scaf- 
 
 * tj r XT 
 
 fold of Newgate. 
 
 3 -r ; 
 
 Arriving at the age of fourteen years, he was placed as an ap- 
 
 prentice in the town of Walsall, in Staffordshire, near Birming- 
 ham, to learn, with a respectable tradesman there, the art of bridle, 
 bit, and stirrup making. In the year 1782, his father having died, 
 and the term of his apprenticeship being expired, he went to Bir- 
 mingham, where he was employed a considerable time. Being of 
 an unsettled disposition, however, he left that place, and went to 
 London, where he soon afterwards obtained employment in ths 
 manufactory of Mr. Rowley, of Prince's Street, Drury Lane, whera 
 he remained until the year 1795. 
 
 At this period, and during his residence in London, Thomas 
 Bedworth was united in marriage, to Mary, the daughter of Mr. 
 Bainer, a respectable tradesman in St. Anne's, Soho, but, again 
 becoming restless in his mind, he left London, and having gone a 
 distance into the country, he, in an unguarded moment, enlisted in- 
 to the Fifeshire Fencibles, then commanded by Colonel J&mes
 
 Durham. With this regiment, he visited most parts of Ireland 
 aud cotland, as well as (his country, but final U left the regiment 
 in 1->03. ID the course of this period his wife continued with him, 
 and they had three children. 
 
 After Bedworth's discharge from the army, he left his wife with 
 his friends, at Walsali.and went to Birmingham, whither, however, 
 she followed him In a short time Bedwurth went to London, in 
 search of work, and entreated his wife to remain i.i the country, 
 and there await his success. She consented, and he had not arri- 
 ved many days in town, when he obtained employment from Mr. 
 Birch, of Rupert Street, Haymarket. Here, however, he had not 
 long been engaged, when, unfortunately for liedwcrth, his em- 
 ployer failed, and he immediately formed the resolution of going to 
 sea. 
 
 In the year 1804 he entered the Navy, and in the course of his 
 service suffered many hardships, and was in several severe and 
 celebrated engagements with the enemy. But, however the last san- 
 guinary act of his checquered life may have stained his character, 
 he had at least the reputation of being a good seaman, aud it was 
 also his pride, at the moment of his narrating these facts, that he 
 had faithfully performed his duty to his country. He continued ia 
 the service until the year 1813, and at that period received his 
 discharge, and was made an out-pensioner of Greenwich Hospital. 
 
 It was now his melancholy fate to learn, that, instead of joining 
 his long-absent partner, and spending the remnant of his days in 
 domestic peace, a widely different lot awaited him. His wife, the 
 partner of his bed and the parent of his caildren, had, during his 
 absence, formed an illicit acquaintance with another man, to whom 
 she was actually married, and had three children during her un- 
 lawful union. 
 
 Bedworth's horrid reflections, in consequence of this discovery 
 
 of his wife's unfaithfulness, distracted his mind; and the very means 
 
 ke adopted as a consolation, became a train of circumstances teud- 
 
 ing to the commission of the crime, which, with bitter tears, he re- 
 
 y peirted, and atoned for by an ignominious death. 
 
 In time, his mind became m re calm, and .,e seriously he thought 
 himself of settling into regular habits, which a seafaring life li:ui
 
 deranged, and subsisting upon his pension, and by his industry. 
 He once more, therefore, obtained employment in his own trade, 
 'but, to his irretrievable mishap, became acquainted -with fclizabetk 
 Beesmore. This unfortunate woman, who was also married, was 
 the sister of his mm wife. Her husband, John Beesmore, had 
 grossly neglected her, as well as a child, which remained in her 
 care: he had not only denied her and her infant the necessaries of 
 life, but had also declared his determination of never more residing 
 with her, or even in the neighbourhood -where she might be. Her 
 case naturally excited the unhappy Bedworth's commiseration, 
 and he took advantage to complain of the conjugal infidelity and 
 baseness which his own wife, her sister, had manifested towards 
 kirns c/f. The similarity of their situations induced a sympathy in 
 Bedworth's mind; common acquaintance ripened into a kinder 
 intimacy, and he ultimately became attached to her. Bedworth 
 then proposed that she should place herself and her child 
 under his protection, and that they should consider each other as a 
 wedded couple. With this offer she complied, and, while she So- 
 lemnly swore to unite her fate with his, arid never to hold commu- 
 nication with her husband, but to be faithful to Bedworth, as his 
 vife, he as sacredly pledged himself to be a husband to her. 
 
 Thomas Bedicorth and Elizabeth Beesmore, thus connected, 
 lived together until the month of April, in the present year, 1315, 
 teing a space of about two years and two months. At this period, 
 John Beesmore, the woman's husband, who had hitherto been 
 employed in the town of Wedgbury, in Staffordshire, came to 
 London. He discovered the retreat of his discarded wife, and 
 contrived to communicate to her and Bedworlh, a repetition of his 
 formerly -expressed determination not to cohabit with his wife, and 
 also an assurance that he would not disturb the connection which 
 she had formed with Bcdicortk. She also, at this critical period, 
 took occasion to renew her vows of attachment and fidelity to 
 Bedworlh, whom she justly represented as having saved heelf 
 and child from starvation. 
 
 In a short time, however, the affairs of John Eee&mort, the 
 husband, became unfavourable ; he was wit of employment, and he 
 applied to his wife to afford him pecuniary assistance from the
 
 earnings of Bedworth. This, after some hesitation OH- her part, 
 he complied with, and Bedworth made the discovery, that his 
 little property was daily wasting upon a man, whose neglected wife 
 and child he had supported, whom she herself bad most solemnly 
 renounced, and in whose fortunes or misfortunes, she had sworn 
 never to interest herself. 
 
 Here commenced a dreadful spirit of jealous bickering, and hate 
 between the unhappy Bedworth and Elizabeth Beesmore. Ufl- 
 able to endure the insults offered to his feelings, by the renewed 
 acquaintance of Beesmare and his wife, Bedworth determined no 
 longer to be the means of her husband's support. He abandoned 
 the society of the deceased, and took a private lodging. His heart 
 was agonized, his mind distracted, and Elizabeth Beesmore dis- 
 covered him in his retreat, in this state, and visited him. She 
 herself was in a very distressed condition she renewed her sen- 
 timents of affection towards him, and trusted he would yield her 
 some assistance. A multitude of conflicting thoughts now agitated 
 his mind at this meeting. It is difficult to say whether pity, 
 jealousy, or indignation, was most predominant. At length he 
 took compassion on her. She had some refreshment with him, he 
 gave her some money, and she departed. Her renewed protesta- 
 tions of regard towards him, he considered as the mere affectation 
 of attachment: his mind became hourly more unhappy, and he at 
 length flew for relief to that source of treaclierous consolation, the 
 gin-shop. For many days he remained in an unsettled state of 
 mind, neglecting his work, and occasionally visiting Elizabeth 
 Beesmore, in a state of intoxication. ,3igy0<>ib aH noi^J 
 
 On the 19th of June, he called on Elizabeth Beesmore, at an 
 early hour in the morning, but not much in liquor. On this occa- 
 sion she received him not only with coolness, but contempt. .She 
 informed him, tauntingly, that she was about to live again with her 
 lawful husband, and desired that he would not again come tor-dis- 
 turb her, or the house in which she was. He answered her coolly, 
 that it was not his intention to disturb her, he only wished to dis- 
 turb himself, and would immediately leave her, and proceed to the 
 only enjoyment he had left, namely liquor. He then took his 
 leave, and, haying drank to exce^ retired to his lodging^, and 
 went to bed.
 
 On awaking the next morning, the 20th of June, hib mind waa oa 
 the rack: besides, tiie powerful effects of the former day '> .i,ii'>.\ica- 
 tion, jealousy, and indignation deprived him of reason. In tbia 
 state of distraction, he walked up and down his room, and at length 
 formed the horr.ibie resolution of murdering Elizabeth Btesvwre, 
 the cause of his distress. With this intention, having furnished 
 himself with a shoemaker's knife, which he found in the house 
 where he resided, he put it in his pocket, and proceeded to her 
 lodging*, in Short's Gardens, Drury Lane. On his way thither, 
 he met with a woman, who worked at her needle with the deceased, 
 aad they went to a public-house, and drank gin together After 
 parting; with her, he went elsewhere and drank a quantity of beer, 
 so that, by the time lie reached Elizabeth Beesmore's apartments^ 
 fee was iu a state of inebriety She, upon his arrival, perceiving 
 h.is situation, prevailed upon him to go to bed, aad, during the 
 time he lay there, she seat for gin several times, of which he drank 
 fredy. In the course of the moraing, her son came into the room 
 and struck and insulted him several times, while on the bed, which 
 aggravating Bedworth exceediugly, she ordered her son to quit 
 the room. Soon after he had gone, Bedwurtli rose with an inten- 
 tion of leaving the house, but found that his coat and shoes had 
 been taken away while he was asleep. These fae asked for, but 
 she refused to let him have them, and he left the house without 
 them, and went to an adjoining public house and had more 
 gin. He soon returned to her apartments, aud she prevailed 
 upon him to drink some tea, into which also she infused some if iw. 
 
 At this period, fcedworik's mind was dreadfully unsettled, and 
 fee once more laid down upon the bed, but the irritation of his 
 feelings would not let iiim rest. In a short time he again rose aud 
 peremptorily demanded his shoes and coat. These Elizabeth 
 Beeauwrc gave him, and strongly advised him to go home without 
 delay, and go to bed, in order to attend work the following 
 morning. He left the room, and she followed him down stairs, 
 ^rheie they had some conversation, fche returned up stairs, fur 
 the purple of- bringing him an apron and a handkerchief, and, 
 upon her again descending the stairs, he told her he wished to 
 p*ak wita her in the kitchen. She replied, she must first put on
 
 I 
 
 his han<flcerchief, which, having done, they retired to the kitchen. 
 Each rem lined for a moment ii mute anxiety. The u ihar>nv wo- 
 man, however, broke t'=e pause, by das ing her right arm round 
 his neck and embracing him, at the same time saving, with mudi 
 agitation, " O my dear Beduwrth!" These were her last words, 
 uttered in the last minute of her life. She kissed him during his 
 conflict between jealous passion and strong affection: his injured 
 regard and her perfidy rushed upon his mind ; her deceptive em- 
 brace maddened him: whilst her kiss was \\arm upon his cheek, he 
 suddenly drew the knife from his right hand Docket, and, as he 
 supported her head with his left arm, he, by one rapid anrl deter- 
 mined cut, across her throat, nearly severed her head from her 
 body! She fell lifeless, to the ground, without a groan! 
 
 Scarcely had he raised his hand from the bloody deed, when 
 remorse seized him. He instantly meditated self-destruction, but 
 is instantly, imagining a possibility of escape, he abandoned that 
 intention. " Thanks be to God," said the unhappy criminal, as 
 he related the intention that he had momentarily indulged, " I was 
 not permitted to do this, and thereby deprive just vengeance of its 
 retribution." He put thebloody knife in bis pocket, whilst helooked 
 at the blood rushing from her throat, and <|<iitted the house. 
 
 Bedworth's first steps ef Jiigkt were directed into Spa-fields, 
 
 where he remained until dark, and then returned into town. 
 
 Passing over London Bridge, he, for the first time, bethought 
 himself, that s'>me of the blood of his victim might be upon -his 
 clothes. He therefore examined his dress, but found that all parts 
 had escaped, except his apr n, which he pulled off, and tossed 
 through the balustrades of the bridge, into the Thames. He titen 
 wandered through thfe Borongk. over Jltackfriars Bridge, and 
 afterwards ove Westminster Bridge, and thus roving aboot, he, 
 by day -light, the foil wins: mornin- , reached tlm Rege t's Park, 
 where he threw the knife into the Canal. From the -Regent's 
 Park he pursued his way to Hatnpstearl, where he passed the 
 whole of that day about tne fields, and where lie also determined 
 tt> pass the night About eleven o'clock, while in a hay-field, 
 where he had betaken himself to rest, he was sii.i.leuly disturbed 
 by the deep groaning of one, as ia great agony, whose voice was
 
 10 
 
 xceedingly like that of the deceased, and he passed the remainder 
 of the night in much disquietude and alarm. 
 
 Early on the following morning, he pursued his route toward 
 St. Albans, and thus spent the remainder of the day. At night 
 he once more fled, for a hiding and resting place, to tiie fields, 
 where having laid down, he was disturbed by a dreadful noise, 
 similar to that which he had heard the night before. This 
 was now accompanied by the voice of the murdered woman, 
 who emphatically said, " Oh Bedworth.' Bedworth.' what have 
 you done '<?" The address was followed by other expressions, 
 complaining bitterly of having been hurried into another world, and 
 particularly these words : " You have deprived me of all the hap- 
 piness of this life." He was so far persuaded of the reality oi 
 this visitation, that, " in the name of GOD," he entreated the 
 horrible phantom " rt> go to rest and leave him .'" Unable to 
 sleep, he arose at an early hour, still wandering, and returned to- 
 wards London. 
 
 It was the time of the general illuminations for the kte battles, 
 and Bedworth, entering the city about nine o'clock in the evening, 
 traversed the streets, to divert his distracted imagination, by 
 gazing at the lights. Thus wandering about, he retired to Smith- 
 field, in order to pass the night in one of the sheep-pens. Here, 
 however, he had scarcely laid himself down, when the murdered 
 woman appeared to him with a dreadful noise, and bitter exclama* 
 tions! His entreaties and prayers were, on this occasion also, 
 most earnest, that she would " commit herself to rest, and cease 
 to torment him !" 
 
 Unable to rest, he arose from the earth, left the sheep-pen, and 
 walked towards Islington, in which place, and at Highgate, he 
 spent his time until the following evening, and once more returned 
 to London, again viewed the illuminations in the city, and again 
 wandered about, until half-past twelve o'clock, when he directed 
 liis course once more towards Islington and Highgate. No new 
 scene, however, or course which he pursued, could lighten the load 
 of his crime, or chase away the guilty horrors which pursued him. 
 On this night, while walking up Highgate Hill, the murdered 
 woman again stood before him ! Imagination may paint, if ft
 
 11 
 
 can, .the horrible feelings of Bed worth at this moment. She walk* 
 ed icith him, side by side, until they reached the other side of the 
 hill, and then taking the hand of the miserable man, placed it 
 upon, her severed throat, and groaned and mourned deeply ! 
 Driven to despair, he fled intoayte/t/, where he threw himself down 
 upon his face on some hay, hoping to elude at least the sight of his 
 ghostly pursuer. Such, however, was the consequence of guilt, 
 that he felt her lying by his side and crouching against him ! 
 
 After spending the whole of the last-mentioned day and the 
 next night in indescribable horror, without being able to leave this 
 situation, he again came into London, on the following morning; 
 and it would be incredible, if it were not true he actually ap- 
 plied at the Justice Room, Guildhall, for a " walking pass" 'to 
 Wolv-Thainpton ! Such was the fact, nd being told, upon appli- 
 cation, that he must come the next day, he retired for that night 
 into the fields near Islington, where his rest was rather less dis- 
 turbed than before. The next morning he again applied at Guild- 
 hall for a pass, but, after a strict examination, as to who he was, 
 and where he last slept, he was ordered to go before the Magis- 
 trates at the Public Office, Queen Square. This he instantly 
 did, and having there undergone the usual enquiries, lie actually 
 succeeded hi obtaining a pass! At the moment the whole town was 
 in alarm at the atrocity of the murder, when Police Officers were 
 in pursuit of him, and placards were posted in every direction, descri- 
 bing his person and dress minutely, and offering. a reward for his 
 apprehension ; at this moment he applied to the Police Office for 
 his pass, and obtained it from the Magistrates themselves, without 
 being suspected ! 
 
 Possessed of his pass, Bedworth set out for his native country, 
 lit; slept -the first night in Kentish Town, and the next morning 
 pursued his journey towards Coventry, receiving at each town, 
 through which he went, the relief to which his pass entitled him. 
 H^f-arrived in Coventry, on Monday, the 3d of July, and slept 
 thfere the same night. The following morning he pursued hie 
 route to Meridan, about twelve miles from Coventry and six from 
 Birmingham. From thence he went back to Coventry, where he 
 ag.ain sjept, ami,, oil the 5th arrived at Horseley. 
 
 B
 
 12 
 
 During these travels and retravels, conscience was still crying 
 vengeance, and though he, for a while, flattered himself, that he 
 could familiarise himself with the horrors of his mind, if not even- 
 tually stifle them, he still anticipated the dreadful expiation of his 
 life, for the murder he had committed. Terror, shame, and re- 
 morse were the conflicting passions which accompanied him in his 
 escape ; but the violence of these having in a great measure sub- 
 sided, reflection assumed a more rational seat in his breast, and 
 now it was that he began to look with a steadier eye upon the 
 deed he had perpetrated. 
 
 From Horseley, Bedworth once more returned, on the 5th July, 
 io Coventry, but his compunctions, while on his way to the latter 
 place, had become so alarming and irresistible, that he finally rs- 
 solved to surrender himself to justice. 
 
 For this purpose, on the morning of the 6th, he went before the 
 Mayor of Coventry, and made a full confession of his guilt. The 
 candour and ingenuousness with which he related his horrible tale, 
 occasioned doubts of its truth in the mind of the Magistrate, who, 
 with much humanity, supposed it might be the imagined story of a 
 perverted intellect. He was, however, put into confinement, and, 
 proper enquiries being made, was forwarded, in custody, to Lon- 
 don, and arrived at the Bow Street Police Office, on the llth of 
 July. Here he confessed, fully, before Mr. NARES, the Magis- 
 trate, the murder of which he had been accused, and, in the pre- 
 sence of others, signed his confession. 
 
 In concluding his narrative, which has been related with the 
 strictest accuracy, from his own lips, the unfortunate culprit added, 
 " I have now been most justly condemned, for this foul and barba- 
 rous murder, and after surrendering my forfeited life t > publicjus- 
 tice, I have only to look to that awful moment, when I shall meet 
 my Heavenh Judge, whose merciful pardon I hope for and implore, 
 through the merits of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. Amen !" 
 
 - 
 
 The TRIAL of Thomas Bedworth took place on Friday morning, 
 the 15th of September. Mr. JUSTICE HEATH, SirS. LE BLANC,
 
 IS 
 
 Mr. JUSTICE BAILEY, and the COMMON SERJEANT were on the 
 Bench. 
 
 The facts which were adduced in evidence were not so strong, 
 although they in some measure confirmed the truth of the foregoing 
 confession. The hest evidence that could be given by the few 
 witnesses who were examined, went to a presumption that Bedwort k 
 effect d the bloody deed with a razor, and it was so stated in the 
 indictment. This, however, did not prove to be true; but Mr. 
 JUSTICE HEATH, in summing up, observed, that this was imma- 
 terial, in point of law; the charge implied being, that the prisoner 
 had done the act with a cutting or sharp instrument. 
 
 Throughout the trial Bedworth manifested a good deal of agi- 
 tation ; but this the Editor ascert ains to have arisen in consequence 
 of tiie evidence of two women, who made, as he supposed, some 
 misstatemements, as to time, on the day whereon the murder had 
 be: n committed. Ind ed, sucli was the effect of these trivial 
 inaccuracies upon his mind, that he twice solemnly addressed the 
 court, calling upon God to witness, that the women had forsworn 
 themselves in this respect. This conduct was mistaken, by the 
 court, as an attempt to deny his guilt. But the fact was otherwise, 
 and the whole tenor of his conduct in prison, from the time of his 
 surrender, in July, as well as his confession, furnish the best proofs 
 to t!>-' contrary. 
 
 The '.rial did not last an hour, and Mr JUSTICE HEATH having 
 chained the Jury, the latter almost unhesitatingly returned a ver- 
 dict of GUILI Y. 
 
 The wretched man was then asked by the clerk of the peace, 
 what he had to offer in an arrest of judgment by the court to die 
 according to law. 
 
 The prisoner replied, in much agitation, " nothing beyond the 
 false swearing of the women." 
 
 The RECORDER being absent, a short explanation then took 
 place upon the bencii, as to the passing of the sentence. \fr. 
 JUSTICE HEATH, who tried the prisoner, d 'dining to jierform that 
 duty, and the COMMON SERJEANT expressing a wish to evade 
 the i>ainful task, never havin before been called upon to execute 
 it. It was however, at length, settled that the COMMON SERJEANT
 
 14 
 
 c'tiould pronounce the sentence of death, and, in doin? so, he ad- 
 dressed the prisoner to the following effect: 
 
 ' Thomas Bedivorth, After a ^ainfi'l investigation of the 
 crime which has bee-- laid to your charge, a humane and impartial 
 jury ot your country, hearing the evidence adduced against you, as 
 well as your own voluntary confession, have thought it their duty 
 to find you GDILTY < f the horrid crime of MURDER! 
 
 " We see thai, in all ages of the world, a terror lias been held out 
 against those persons whose ferocious and unbridled passions have 
 led to the shedding of innocent blood, and that the life of the guilty 
 has been demanded in retribution a retribution however which 
 sc. rcelv atones for the foul deed. This is exactly the situation in 
 which you are at present awfully p aced, but it is sincerely to be 
 hoped, that the motive which induced \outo make a full and un- 
 reserved confession of your guilt, arose from devout and serious re- 
 flections upon that eternity to which you are fast .astenin?-. Your 
 appearance in this court, to day, before the bar of man, m;iy have 
 for a moment drawn you aside from that truth you had hitherto 
 asserted, and induced you to attempt a denial of it, yet I do most 
 charitably hope, that as you had b* en led to disclose the weight of 
 your sin and guilt, as read to us this day, so- you will now reflect 
 upon the dreadful consequences of that confession, and turn, with 
 full purpose of heart, to serious repentance and prayer. And let 
 me inform you, that the repentance you are called upon to evince, 
 is not a mere sorrow for the consequence that would await , our 
 crime, but a sincere and hearty sorrow tor this and other crimes 
 whicn you have committed, and for which you must shortly give 
 an account; 
 
 " It is now my painful duty to acquaint you, that your time 
 in this wond is of very s,.ort duration, but you have the consola- 
 tion to know, that it is not toe short, or too late for repentance, 
 and for curing out sour soul, to your Maker, in supplication and 
 pra er, before you are called to a;i ear at his awful tribunal f he 
 inercy that is thus held out to you, you ill deserve, as, in a moment 
 of jealous rage, you hurled into quick eternity, the wretched vic- 
 fim of your assion and lust sent her to her >!read account, ith- 
 put a moment for repentance of her numerous sins without even
 
 15 
 
 time to implore the mercy of her God, for the base and guilty con 
 nection she had formed with yon ! 
 
 fHrrr i he prisoner lifted his eyes towards Heaven, str'tcit 
 the bar with his hand, and, bursting i.ito tears, boiced assent to 
 the remark. ) 
 
 " I liave now only to beseech you that, as soon as you leave 
 that bar, you fall before God, on your bended knees, and, with 
 thorough sorrow and conviction, implore that mercy you so much 
 require. In your prayers you will be assisted by a pious man, who 
 will zealously aid your applications to Heaven. Fly to him tor his 
 advice, his assistance, and prayers you need them all and let 
 the conduct of your future hours, in this lite, be so devoted, as to 
 pre >are you, through the mercy of the Redeemer, for that awful 
 eternity which shall shortl receive you. 
 
 " There is now nothing left for me, but to pronounce upon you 
 the dreadful sentence of that law, which you have so grossly vio- 
 late.), which is : hat you, THOMAS BEDWORTH, be taken 
 
 from hence, to the place from whence yon came, and from thence, 
 on Monday morning next, to a place of execution, ichere you 
 shall he hanged by the neck until you are dead. Your budy 
 will then be delivered over to the surgeons, for dissecting and 
 anatomising, according to the statute. And may the Lord God 
 Almighty, through the merits and intercession of the Redeemer, 
 have mercy upon your soul !" 
 
 The prisoner heard his sentence with great firmness, but, at the 
 conclusion, seemed deeply affected, and wept bitterly. After re- 
 maining a moment silent at the bar, he assumed an air of resigna- 
 tion and, respectfully bowing to the Court, retired. 
 
 He cordially snook hands with some females and others, as he 
 passed to one of the condemned cells, where he evinced a resi-na- 
 tion and calmness, in every respect suitable to the death lie was to 
 die Soon afterwards the tiev. Mr Cotton, t e ordinary in vir- 
 tue of his office, visited him, and in the evenin . he was calle on 
 by one or two religious characters, wi:o had serious conferences 
 wit, m. He c mtinue I constant and fervent m prayer through- 
 out the night, except at those times when, exhausted by weakness
 
 16 
 
 aud strong feeling, he sunk occasionally to rest. At intervals he 
 related some extraordiiiai y circumstances oi uis varied ate, which 
 were taken dowu in writing from liis lips. He was asked to give 
 a full relation by the respectable officer of the prison, to whom lie 
 afterwards completely detailed it, but he for the present excused 
 himself, by saying tuat the number of persons, reluious and other- 
 wise, who were visiting him, prevented iiim from delivering it, then, 
 as he wished. 
 
 Saturday was spent by him chiefly in devotional exercises, and 
 in receivi ig the kind and charitable visits of religious characters. 
 Throughout the whole of tins day and i.igiit, lie displayed _reat 
 pielv, a repentant disposition, and strong faith in the mercy of 
 Heaven. 
 
 On Sunday morning, Bedworth sent a message to the ordi- 
 nary, entreating permission for the ' convict school hoys'' to 
 come near his cell, ami join him in singing a hymn. This was 
 ef course complied with, and they repeated their sin-ing, at 
 his request, on Sunday evening, when he joined the chiiuren, and 
 expressed himself much happier by tins social act of devotion. 
 TLe uunaber of youths who united their voices in these gloomy 
 vaults amounted to about thirty, and such sounds, floati.ig through 
 the dreary passages, might well have b> en supposed to impress, 
 not only the criminal, but the children themselves, with edityiug 
 thoughts. The tiec. Mr- Cotton remained several hours with 
 Btuworth, on Sunuay evening, and his labours were succeeded by 
 two gentlemen, who were dissenters, one of whom remained with 
 him throughout the night. On this occasion ae was return .td of 
 his promise to completely detai. his narrative and confession, pre- 
 viously given in these pages, which he did with perfect composure, 
 with an apparently entire recollection of the events of his life. Ha- 
 ving done this, he continued incessantly in prayer and religious 
 conversation. He sang with his c.iin, amou two or three u > inns, 
 and ue repeated, and sang with great fervour, the Hymn begin* 
 ning, 
 
 " Jesu, lover of my soul, 
 
 " Let me to thy bosom fly," &c.
 
 17 
 
 As the morning- dawned, Bedworth conversed with much anima- 
 tion, and amongst other things, asked his friend, whether he thought 
 the populace would assemble in any great number to witness his 
 ignominious death? Being answered that it was likely there would 
 be m;my, he remarked, " / would that the poor creatures would 
 remain at home, and prat/ for ME, if not for THEMSELVES." 
 
 At six o'clock on Monday morning, the ordinary again attended 
 Bedworth in his cell, and continued with him in prayer, until iialf- 
 past seven, when one of the sheriffs also visited him. After remain- 
 ing with him some moments, the latter retired to assist in the neces- 
 ary preparations, and Bedworth was again left in prayer with his 
 companion. The crowd, now assembled to witness tiie execution, 
 was very considerable; though certainly it did not amount to half, 
 perhaps not one-thir<i of the number collected upon the occasion of 
 the extraordinary execution of the unfortunate Elizabeth Fenning. 
 
 At about three minutes before eight o'clock, Mr. Newman ar- 
 rived at the. Justice room, in the Old Bailey, to announce the time. 
 The High Sheriff, Mr. Leigh, and the two Under Sheriffs, 
 Messrs Leigh and liooke, proceeded to the cell of the criminal. 
 Bedworth walked forth with uncommon firmness and resignation, 
 and, with a countenance open and serene, advanced towards Mr. 
 Sheriff Leigh, whom he cordially shook by the hand He very 
 much facilitated, by his activity and presence of mind, in knocking 
 off his own irons, after which he walked with composure towards 
 the executioner, who hound his arms, and tied his halter round his 
 body. He then requested one of the officers to give to a fellow- 
 prisoner, his pair of leggings, or leathers, to protect the flesh from 
 excoriation by the fetters, and with them his remembrance and 
 prayers. After expressing his deep sense of his sinful life, and 
 the crime for which he was about to die, and expressing strong 
 Lopes of mercy and pardon hereafter, the dead bell tolled, and he 
 moved on, in the customary procession, to the scaffold. The or- 
 dinai,f prayed with him whilst they passed through the dreary 
 avenues, Bedworth walking with a firm, undaunted step, and bow- 
 ing, in silence, to all whom he observed within the dreary passage. 
 On the scaffold, he manifested the same firmness, but directed
 
 IS 
 
 his eyes imploringly towards heaven, while the executioner made 
 his fatal preparations: the ordinary continued a few moments in 
 prayer with him, and, the awful signal being given, he was launched 
 ff, in the act of fervent supplication. 
 
 Just Published by W. HONE, 55, Fleet Street, 
 
 La Pie Voleuse. Price Sixpence. 
 
 THE NARRATIVE of THE MAGPIE; or the Maid of 
 Palaiseau, being the History of THE MAID AND THE 
 MAGPIE, founded upon the circumstance of an unfortunate 
 Female having been unjustly sentenced to Death, on strong 
 PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE. With a PREFACE, and curious 
 
 ANECDOTES. 
 
 $*% This most interesting Story, as it is dramatised, has been pat into 
 Narrative. On the performance of the MAID and the MAGPIE at the 
 Theatres, it was represented amidst unanimous and repeated shouts of ap- 
 plause, and, " many incidents were seized on by the audieuce, who thought 
 proper to apply them to the case of ELIZA PENNING." Anti-GalHe** 
 Monitor , September 3, 1815. 
 
 J. Swan, Printer, 76, Fleet Street, London-
 
 AN AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT 
 
 OF 
 
 Mr. WhitbreacTs 
 LATTER DAYS AND DEATH, 
 
 ( Price Eighteen Pence.)
 
 
 -
 
 M? 
 
 Fa c- Simile of 
 
 
 X ^ ^ t^/r^ 
 
 x 
 
 r /C*r- rpL. 'i 
 
 X
 
 AN 
 
 AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 Mr. WHITBREAD. 
 
 CONSISTING OF 
 
 FACTS & ANECDOTES 
 
 RELATING TO HIS 
 
 LATTER DAYS AND DEATH, 
 
 DEVELOPING THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO THAT 
 
 DEPLORABLE EVENT. 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 Genuine Report of the Inquest, 
 
 NOW FIRST PUBLISHED TAKEN IN SHORT-HAND 
 
 BY FRANCIS PHIPPEN, 
 
 TIIE ONLY REPORTER PRESENT AT THE SITTING OF THE INQUEST IIRJ.Tt 
 IN MR. WHITBREAD'S 1IQUSE. 
 
 INCLUDING A BRIEF 
 
 MEMOIR OF HIS LIFE. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY A FAC-SIM1LE ENGRAVING OF HIS HAND 
 
 WRITING AND AUTOGRAPH, FROM A DOCUMENT IN 
 
 THE POSSESSION OF THE PUBLISHER. 
 
 THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR WILLIAM HONE, 55, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1815. 
 
 (Price Eighteen Pence J
 
 & : 2rafc 
 
 FRINTtll BY JAMES sWA.V, ' O, FLEfcT STKLET, I.OJJDON
 
 TO THE READER. 
 
 IT is unnecessary to apologize for putting an 
 anxious Public in possession of genuine and authen- 
 tic information respecting the latter days of that 
 eminent public character, Mr. Whltbread. 
 
 The facts in these sheets are from authoritative 
 sources, and will satisfy the most scrupulous in*- 
 quirer of the circumstances which occasioned his de- 
 plorable decease. 
 
 It was natural, very natural, that Mr. Whit- 
 bread's friends, in the overwhelming distraction of 
 their grief, should wish to confine the manner of 
 his death to the knowledge of his near and dear as- 
 sociates, from whom it could not, of necessity, be 
 concealed. But this was impossible. It became 
 imperative that the case should be submitted to a 
 Coroner's Jury. Still precautions were adopted to 
 avoid injury to private feeling, by giving a useless 
 publicity to the details. Notwithstanding this, a 
 respectable Sunday Newspaper printed an Account 
 of the Inquest, from such sources as could be re- 
 sorted to in the course of a few hours; and that 
 account, having been compiled without the means 
 of reference to the short hand writer's notes, was
 
 VI 
 
 copied into several Morning Papers, on the follow- 
 ing day, with all its .^perfections the errors and 
 omissions inseparable from hasty inquiry. The 
 public press having thus become the vehicle of mis- 
 information to the public, there not only no longer 
 existed grounds for withholding the real facts, de- 
 posed to upon the melancholy occasion, but the 
 disclosure of them became absolutely necessary, 
 in justice to the memory of the deceased. Mr. 
 PHIPPEN being the only gentleman who could fur- 
 nish a Genuine Report of the proceedings of the 
 Coroner's Inquest, has been applied to for it, and 
 it is here given verbatim. 
 
 A Brief Memoir of the political Life of Mr. 
 Whitbread is added, with some other particulars, 
 by one who venerates the memory of that eminent 
 statesman and patriot, whom, in common with the 
 most enlightened and virtuous of his countrymen, 
 he respected and honoured when living, 
 
 It was intended to have adverted here, some- 
 what at length, to the infamous reports, assign- 
 ing, as the cause of Mr. W/ritbread's death, 
 his consciousness of having been detected in 
 the committal of crimes against his country! 
 that country which he loved so well and served so 
 faithfully ! But these brutal attacks upon his me- 
 mory, originating in no common malice, aiming 
 alike at his fame, and the reputation of some of 
 the most eminent and virtuous men living, and re- 
 peated with no common industry, have been pro-
 
 Vll 
 
 perly appreciated by the thinking part of the na- 
 tion. The frantic ravings of guilty desperation 
 the mewlings of second childishness, are passing 
 into mere oblivion. " Whatever difference of opi- 
 nion," said the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when 
 the Marquis of Tavistock moved a new writ for 
 Bedford, in Mr. Whitbread's room, " whatever 
 difference of opinion might exist," said he, " on 
 political questions, there was no one who did not 
 do justice to the virtues and talents of the object of 
 their regret, or who, for a moment, supposed that 
 he was actuated in his public conduct by any other 
 motive than a conviction of public duty." 
 
 %* THE PUBLISHER is requested to state, that 
 MR. PHIPPEN has supplied nothing more to the 
 " AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT," than the Report of 
 the Inquest, and is wholly unconnected with the 
 
 Publication. 
 

 
 JUST PUBLISHED, 
 
 BY 
 
 W. HONE, 55, FLEET STREET, 
 
 Neatly and closely printed, uniformly with the present Pamphlet, 
 as a Sequel to it, 
 
 '. 
 
 [PRICE ONE SHILLING.] 
 
 TRIBUTES 
 
 OF 
 
 THE PUBLIC PRESS, 
 
 TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE 
 
 Mr. WHITBREAD. 
 
 Being the MEMORIALS and CHARACTERS of that eminent 
 Man, which have appeared in the different Journals since his la- 
 mented death. Viz. the 
 
 STAR, 
 
 STATESMAN. 
 TIM1S, lit. 
 
 The above are, for the most part, able and elo- 
 quent compositions, liberally and proudly estima- 
 ting Mr. Whitbread's talents and virtues; and, 
 being the spontaneous and grateful tributes of the 
 Public Press, are presented to the world in an em- 
 bodied form, as a monument, alike worthy of the 
 man, and of the country which he adorned. 
 
 ANTI-GALLICAN. 
 
 COURIER. 
 
 M. CHRONIC 
 
 BRITISH PRESS. 
 
 DAY. 
 
 M. HERALD. 
 
 CHAMPION. 
 
 EXAMINER. 
 
 M. POST. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 M. ADVERTISER. 
 
 OBSERVER.
 
 AUTHENTIC PARTICULARS, 
 
 ,1~, KCi "* 
 
 * !< - - '-, i ,-. 
 
 CAUSES 
 
 WHICH LED TO 
 
 Mr. WHITBREAUS DEATH. 
 
 SOMETIMES there are circumstances, in relation to 
 the character of an individual, which, social justice 
 may require to be explicitly stated, and generally 
 explained. Such appear to be those facts that pri- 
 vate feelings would endeavour to partially conceal ; 
 though, by so doing, it would involve them in that 
 species of mystery which incites idle curiosity, while 
 it favours the speculations of malignant hearts ! Ac- 
 cordingly, the world comprehending the thousands 
 who have leisure to .listen to the Surmises of the day, 
 with no capacity, or even disposition to investigate 
 from whence they proceed the world, who batten 
 upon rumour, and prey upon the offal of scandal > 
 this very world has treated the death of Mr. Whit- 
 bread as though it were actually involved in mystery. 
 And why does it spread this hint ? Because the public 
 have not been properly put in the possession of facts -, 
 because there was an apprehension of a desire to keep 
 down certain points, and suppress them j an inten- 
 tion, however produced, hostile to the common
 
 interest of man, and directly repugnant to that ge- 
 nerous principle so long asserted by Mr. Whitbread 
 himself, throughout his career, with unabated zeal, 
 that honesty is the best policy. 
 
 It consisted with this policy, then, that every 
 fact, deposed to before the Coroner, respecting the 
 death of Mr. Whitbread, should have been com- 
 municated fully to the world. The announcement 
 of his death, in a few lines, was therefore so far from 
 being felt satisfactory, that nothing but speculation 
 took place ; and money jobbers and adventurers 
 in defamation were every where preparing to cir- 
 culate the most villanous insinuations as to the cau- 
 ses which led to Mr. Whitbread' s death 1 Certain 
 it is, indeed, that an event, which, when known, 
 acted like a thunderbolt on the public mind, was 
 naturally felt difficult to be accounted for j but the 
 attentive examiner of the following statements will, 
 as certainly, be led to impute the melancholy termi- 
 nation of the existence of Mr. Whitbread to no- 
 thing that could derogate from the public or private 
 respectability of his character. 
 
 Not more than three weeks before Mr. Whit- 
 bread's death^ at the last meeting of the British and 
 Foreign School Society, when the Rev. Mr. Tracy, 
 who happened to sit next Mr. Whitbread on the 
 hustings, begged of him to speak on the occasion, 
 as the persons present would be generally disap-
 
 pointed if he did not ; Mr. Whitbread, on his part, 
 replied, that he was oppressed with an intolerable 
 headache, which almost drove him out of his senses ! 
 He added, that nothing but his ardent zeal for the 
 great cause of universal education had induced him 
 to attend at all, since he wished to bring Lady 
 Elizabeth there, who, together with the Marchioness 
 of Tavistock v and the other patronesses, had pro- 
 mised to hold a plate at the dooF. 
 
 Among such particulars as related to the conduct 
 of Mr. WHITBREAD, previous to his decease, may 
 be added the following facts, corroborative of his 
 mental incapacity. 
 
 A short time since, being met by an artist of 
 considerable repute, Mr. Whitbread, in seeming 
 importance of consideration, addressed him rela- 
 tive to some alterations he had meditated with re- 
 gard to Drury La?ie Theatre. The result of their 
 conference was, that the artist should prepare and 
 wait upon Mr. Whitbread with certain designs. 
 The former attended at the house of the deceased, 
 according to appointment ; where, after waiting a 
 considerable time, he was informed that Mr. Whit- 
 bread was unwell, and could not be seen ! The 
 artist, observing Mr. Whitbread in the street, in 
 apparent good health, on the same day, reiterated 
 his call, in Dover street, on the following morning. 
 His reception was, however, on this occasion, the 
 same as that which he experienced on his first visit.
 
 Conceiving himself rather indifferently treated, he 
 stated to the attendant of Mr. Whitbread the full 
 nature of his business; observing that, as it was of 
 a public nature, and deserved more attention, .he 
 would call once more, at a certain hour on a future 
 day. This he accordingly did: Mr. Whitbread 
 was at home, and the visit of the artist was announ- 
 ced. The latter was kept in considerable suspense, 
 for some time in an antiroom; when, at length, he 
 was hastily dismissed by the vociferation of Mr. 
 Whitbread, who violently burst open the door of 
 his study, and exclaimed " Tell that fellow, who 
 has come to embarrass me \\\\h public business, that 
 I shall have nothing to say to him. Public business 
 was once a concern in which I took a part; but 
 he knows my incapacity, and that I have given it 
 
 A few days antecedent to the decease of this la- 
 mented character, he observed, to a confidential 
 friend, with whom he was walking, that he had 
 noticed " the community of late laughing, sneer- 
 ing, and staring at him, as he passed!" His 
 friend replied, that he was certainly mistaken as 
 to the first conclusion; but as to the latter, he 
 must expect to be looked at as a great public cha- 
 racter. Mr. Whitbread however rejoined, " Ay, 
 but the looks of the public now upon me are wide- 
 ly different from those which I was once accus- 
 tomed to perceive. Nothing but distrust, scorn,
 
 and even revenge now seem to sit upon the coun- 
 tenance of those who look upon me /" 
 
 Drury Lane Theatre had long perplexed his 
 mind almost to madness. It was the opinion of 
 his friend, Mr. Peter Moore, one of the members 
 for Coventry, that Mr. Whitbread had never been 
 the same man after the last meeting of the Pro- 
 prietors of that house. Insinuations were then 
 thrown out concerning the misappropriation of 
 the money derived from the Private Boxes, and 
 which was designed to be devoted to repairs and 
 alterations. Mr. Whitbread, however, had been 
 prevailed with to apply the same to certain more 
 pressing demands on the house. Confident of his 
 own opinion on this head, he could not brook the 
 contradiction and remarks he met with ; and was 
 even much offended with his very old friend, Mr, 
 Sheridan, who, at a particular interview, ventured 
 to intimate his suspicion of the result of Mr. Whit- 
 bread's management of the concern. " We are all 
 wrong," observed Mr. Sheridan; " even you are 
 wrong."" What," retorted Mr. Whitbread, " do 
 you say so too?" Sheridan was still right, how- 
 ever, and his friend erroneous. 
 
 Upon the faith of Mr. Whitbread s known in- 
 tegrity, it appears that many of his particular 
 friends had embarked their capital in the new 
 Drury Lane House ; and such was the influence 
 of his character, that several, in the more humble
 
 10 
 
 walks of life, had invested portions of their savings 
 in the common stock. 
 
 How keen was his disappointment, when he 
 found himself at length compelled to acknowledge 
 the impossibility of realizing those dividends he an- 
 ticipated ! 
 
 The alteration of the house, by removing the 
 pillars, &c. from the stage, was a favourite project 
 of Mr. Whitbread; he persevered in it against 
 the opinion of others interested in the concern, 
 who thought those improvements might have been 
 postponed till the treasury was better able to bear 
 such expences ; but it was no unusual thing to con- 
 cede to Mr. Whitbread, and he carried his point 
 without benefiting the concern. Tradesman on 
 tradesman was pressing for his undoubted claims, 
 till Mr. Whitbread, from a high sense of duty, 
 individually assured several claimants of their 
 debts. In one particular case, he is believed to 
 have arranged the payment of a debt of some 
 thousand pounds, due to a carpenter, employed in 
 the concern. 
 
 The writer of the pamphlet, . entitled "A New 
 Way to Pay Old Debts," teo plainly proved the 
 incompetency of the system which Mr. Whitbread 
 and the Committee were pursuing, in 1812, with 
 regard to Drury Lane Housej and society has now 
 to. regret that his opinions were not attended to.
 
 11 
 
 EXTRACTS from A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS ; or, 
 Observations on the Reports made to the Subscribers to the 
 rebuilding of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane" 8vo. 2s. 
 Sherwood, 1812. 
 
 In the Report of the Committee is a statement of income of 
 the Theatre before the fire, viz. 
 
 Fruit Offices - ' . - : ' 600 
 
 Vaults, &c. - - - ; - 600 
 
 Private Boxes - - 5,700 
 
 Door Money - - 52,000 
 
 From this are to be deducted the Fruit Offices; 
 fornotwithstandiug the whole of the concern was, 
 as stated in Mr. Sheridan's petition, under an 
 order of the Court of Chancery given up to the 
 creditors, &c. this money was used by Mr. She- 
 ridan himself ... $,- 
 
 Thus the utmost they could receive was, per ann. 
 Against this there is to be charged, 
 Rent l,700 
 
 Taxes - SOO 
 
 Wardrobe, coals, candles, lamps, pain- 
 ters, carpenters, smiths, authors, mana- 
 gers, performers, servants, and an almost 
 endless set of &c. &c. which would be 
 cheaply purchased at - 45,000 
 
 58,900 
 
 600 
 
 58,300 
 
 Leaving only the sum of 10,800 
 
 applicable to the payment of a rent charge of j?7,500 per an- 
 num, and of probably more than 200,000 due to tradesmen 
 and others j a sum which alone would require the whole net in- 
 
 * The annual expeaces upon the average of the last six years preceding 
 the fire, were &\,3l8l. \3t.4d. It was not t*rr thirds th size of the 
 Drury Theatre, and was, besides, carefully managed.
 
 of the concern for eighteen years, without interest and with- 
 out paying a single shilling either of the rent charge or to the 
 holders of the remaining property, amounting, by their own state- 
 ment, to at least ^235,000. Let it however be supposed (although 
 in fact, it was impossible) that the whole of the claimants, trades- 
 men, performers and all, had consented to sink their claims 
 and to receive an annual interest of five per cent, only, this 
 would require an income of at least j30,000 per annum, leaving 
 an annual deficiency of 19,200; and it is probable, that 
 what with law expences, and the notorious mismanagement, 
 the actual deficiency was even much greater ; for, by what 
 other means could the claims have amounted to upwards of half 
 a million of pounds sterling ? Surely the persons named in the 
 seventh section of the act would never have allowed this asser- 
 tion, of " a successful progress towards liquidating the claims," 
 had they ever given the subject a second thought. Indeed the 
 committee and the projectors of the bill deserve the severest re- 
 prehension; and it may be worth the consideration of the Re- 
 porter [Mr. fVhitbread] whether, in his attempts to serve his 
 friend, he may not have committed a fraud upon himself and a 
 deception on the public. 
 
 Whoever takes the trouble to go through the Reports, and 
 select the different items of the accounts, will find that the 
 claims and admissions amount .to upwards of 652,000, to 
 which ought to be added a sum sufficient to have " completed 
 the surrounding buildings and improvements ;" and this would 
 not have b icn so litt'e as 50,000: thus the claims exceeded 
 700,0000, nearly three quarters of a million sterling : for al- 
 though the landlord alFawed the ground to remain uncovered 
 under the old management, it by no means follows that Jlis 
 Grace Should feel himself at all justified in again allowing it 
 so to remain when the concern has become a mere trading com- 
 pany, with a specific act of parliament compelling them to 
 build. 
 
 The committee have had a tery complicated and difficult 
 business, requiring much diligence and attention: but they have
 
 13 
 
 laboured to a wrong end, and would, were it possible for them 
 to proceed upon the plan they have adopted, merely shift the 
 burden from one set of people to another, principally, and almost 
 wholly, for the benefit of the three proprietors*, and the ge- 
 nerous unknowns, who have so kindly and so modestly stepped 
 forward to ease the subscribers from the heavy load of their su- 
 perfluous cash. 
 
 If, however, contrary to all reasoning, to all appearance, and 
 to all possibility, the claimants should be finally satisfied by 
 .150,000, and the remaining 150,000 be sufficient to cover 
 all the expences of erecting and furnishing the Theatre, and 
 even of the surrounding buildings, what would be the situ- 
 ation of the subsbribers ? Let the COMMITTEE answer for 
 themselves. 
 
 Income. 
 
 Rent of Fruit Offices and Vaults l$W 
 
 Kent of detached Houses and Site of Tavern 700 
 Private Boxes (query, how estimated, and 
 
 how many ?) - - 5,600 
 
 Door Money, with advanced prices - 57,000 
 Suppressed Admissions (These are re* 
 
 newed, and now sell per annum for 3,100. Nothing 
 
 64,600 
 
 Expenditure. 
 
 Rent, Taxe*, and Rent Charge 5,750 
 
 Expenditure (supposed like Covent Garden) 51,818 
 
 57,068 
 
 Leaving a balance of 7,532 
 
 to pay the subscribers for the advance of ^300,000, or 2\ per 
 
 * The three proprietors Mr. Sheridan, Mr. T. Sheridan, and Mu- She- 
 ridan. Mr Sheridan himself, as principal proprietor, in his petition to the 
 King in Council, in March 1810, says, " that under an order of the Conrt 
 of Chancery in the year 180-2, the proprietors made over, for the benefit of 
 the creditors, all interests and profits in the concern, reserving only an annual 
 allowance of 500 guineas for each quarter share allotted them by the Lord 
 Chancellor ! 
 
 c
 
 14 
 
 cent; leaving their property uninsured. This would cost them 
 5 7s. 6d. being an actual luss of 2 17s. 6d. per annum upon 
 their advance during the lease, and a TOTAL ANNIHILATION 
 OF CAPITAL at its expiration ! 
 
 Notwithstanding the waywardness of his mind, 
 Mr. Whitbread 1 s love of justice, one of the leading 
 features of his masculine character, was exemplified 
 a few days before his death, by a trifling incident. 
 He walked into the Soda Water room, (late Pianca's) 
 at the corner of Exeter 'Change, as he had often 
 done before, and requested a glass. It was presented 
 to him not quite filled. He looked sternly and sig- 
 nificantly at the man, who readily comprehended 
 his strong allusion to the deficiency of quantity, and 
 said, " Sir, if you will please to drink it off, we 
 \rill settle that afterwards." Mr. Whitbread did so, 
 and a small quantity more was filled, which he like- 
 wise drank, and withdrew pleasantly, satisfied that, 
 at length, full measure was meted out to him. 
 
 An evening or two before the fatal transaction, a 
 friend and he dined together. Mr. Whitbread was 
 in excellent health, and conducted himself in his 
 usual clear and energetic way. After dinner, how- 
 ever, his great mind at once forsook him, and he 
 Commenced a most idle and ridiculous argument. 
 He expatiated with as much warmth, as though it 
 was a great national question. His friend endea- 
 voured to restore his reason, and pointed out to him 
 the absurdity as well as improbability of his state"
 
 15 
 
 ments. Mr. Whitbread, however, persisted in his 
 phrensied declarations ; and, among othetf things, 
 stated that charges of a serious nature were exhi- 
 bited against him* as well by the public voice, as 
 by communications ; this was also resisted as erro- 
 neous by his friend. Mr. Whitbread, however, 
 with much warmth, undertook to prove it by his 
 secretary, who, he said, could produce documents 
 to the fact. The secretary being in the house, was 
 instantly called, and confronted with him, when 
 the whole of what he, Mr. Whitbread, had stated, 
 turned out to be a mere figment of the imagination. 
 His reason seemed restored for a short time, and 
 he bowed in silent admission of his error. 
 i_- 
 
 Every one acquainted with the House of Com- 
 mons had noticed a marked alteration in Mr. 
 Whitbread' s deportment. For several weeks pre- 
 vious to his death, although he continued his 
 speaking, there was about him a species of slug- 
 gishness quite alien to him, and a disposition to 
 despondency that had never before been observed to 
 oppress him. Sometimes, he was remarked nod- 
 ding on the bench where he sat, and at all times 
 as lowered in his spirits. His legs and ancles were 
 swollen, and his countenance often varied without 
 apparent cause. ^ 
 
 Speculations on the causes of Mr. Wbitbread's 
 death, whether as intellectual or physical, ought
 
 16 
 
 wot vainly to be indulged in, when the evidence of 
 facts is before us, and the peculiar temperament of 
 his character is well considered. The brain, as it 
 was long since observed, and will admit of repe- 
 tition in this place, too finely wrought, 
 
 " Preys on itself, and is destroyed by thought!" 
 
 Ardent minds enter with energy on whatever they 
 ^purp6se to do j and Mr. Whitbread's death may 
 fairly be traced to that seriousness and impetuosity 
 with which he incessantly prosecuted the objects 
 that interested his feelings, in the discharge of 
 what he conceived to be his duty. 
 
 He latterly complained of apoplectic affection 
 a fulness of blood towards the head. He was 
 drowsy, lethargic, irritable. Cupping gave tem- 
 porary relief, but the cause of the disorder remain- 
 ed. The unfortunate concerns of the theatre the 
 business of the brewery -multifarious private mat- 
 ters and incessant attention to public affairs, 
 too greatly excited his mental powers. Thought 
 rushed upon thought, and prevented sleep ; weari- 
 ness and debility of the faculties succeeded to over 
 exertion ; the finer arteries of the brain obtained 
 an increased velocity, and at length the skill of 
 the * leech ' was exerted in vain. It was requisite 
 that the patient should minister to himself: alas ! 
 the written troubles of the brain were too deeply 
 impressed. Mr. Whitbread had lost the power of 
 comrouling his own energies, and his dearest con-
 
 17 
 
 nections beheld in grief and in the silence of de- 
 spair, the breaking up of his noble mind. " The 
 lion who," to adopt the expression of a Member 
 of Parliament, long opposed to him, " roused our 
 senate from its slumbers," was suddenly to be 
 heard no more. Universally is it felt, that in Mr. 
 Whitbread his country has lost a most valuable 
 man, and one whose loss appears to be at this time 
 irreparable. But he is gone to his place of rest, 
 (t with kings and counsellors of the earth there 
 the prisoners rest together ; they hear not the voice 
 of the oppressor j the small and great are there, 
 and the servant is free from his master." Peace 
 be with him ! 
 
 -v " >ijui Jauolr 
 
 * ;" bfi 
 
 3 atsffHrtcftncf ttffi 
 
 >om 
 
 bi^j t jfj- 
 
 Z 23iJiilOfil ?fJJ tO yiliKlbb 
 ;do fllld 3llt to 8' f 
 
 .m 2jjw il ofliuv in 
 
 : / ^,i.
 
 FULL & AUTHENTIC REPORT, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 , *O i'^'.Jitf 
 
 INQUEST ON MR. WHITE READ, 
 
 TAKEN, IN SHORT HAND, IN THE INQUEST ROOM AT MR. 
 WHITBREAD'S HOUSE, 
 
 BY FRANCIS PHIPPEN, 
 THE ONLY REPORTER PRESENT. 
 
 TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 HAVING been the only Reporter present at the Coroner'* 
 Inquest, on the late Mr. Whitbread, in order to satisfy the 
 Public, I here present what has not before appeared, a 
 FULL AND FAITHFUL ACCOUNT OF THE PRO- 
 CEEDINGS. I relate nothing but what took place, I 
 conceal nothing that occurred. What I state is the truth 
 the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 
 
 The facts connected with my taking the Report, are as 
 follow : 
 
 On the evening of Thursday, the 6th inst. the day of Mr. 
 WHITBREAD'S deplorable decease, I went to his house in 
 Dover Street, and was introduced to the room where the 
 Court was to be held ; I bad no sooner taken my seat, than I 
 was questioned as to my motives for remaining there ; I did 
 not feel inclined to satisfy the curiosity of the servants, ami I
 
 19 
 
 left the house, knowing that, if my presence was not conceded, 
 of courtesy, I could demand admission as a matter of right. 
 
 A few minutes after eight o'clock I returned to the house, 
 and found that JOHN HENRY GELL, Esq. who officiated as 
 CORON ER, had just arrived ; I addressed a note to him, which 
 he very kindly answered, by ordering that I should be admit- 
 ted, observing, at the same time, that " it was not in the pro- 
 " vince of a Coroner to hold his Court privately, it was a 
 " Public Court, and the Public expected to be informed of 
 " its proceedings." I then commenced to take the proceed- 
 ings at length, and continued to do so, without interruption, 
 until the close of the Inquest. I recorded the whole of the 
 evidence in short hand I did not omit a single circumstance 
 which presented itself during the time the Inquest was held, 
 and I here print the whole as I copied it, -verbatim. 
 
 FRA. PHIPPEN. 
 
 REPORT, c. 
 
 '*n i ,y?ldk' 
 
 The deplorable death of SAMUEL \VH I THREAD, 
 Esq. on Thursday, the 6th of July, 1815, having 
 been intimated to the Coroner, an inquest was 
 summoned, and Jo UN HENRY GELL, Esq. arrived 
 at Mr. Wkitbrcad's house, No. 35, Dover Street, 
 Piccadilly, at a few minutes past eight o'clock the 
 same evening. The Jury were assembled in a 
 large dining-room on the right hand side ; the 
 shutters of the windows were closed, and the room 
 was lighted with candles. Profound silence was 
 observed until the Coroner opened the court in the 
 usual manner. The oath was administered to the 
 twelve persons who formed .the following
 
 INQUEST. 
 
 MR* B> ASHMEAD, 
 the Foreman. 
 B. HANSON, 
 JOHN PEACOCK, 
 WALTER SMITH, 
 I. TOMBLING, 
 R. ATKINS, 
 
 MR. J. DOGGETT, 
 JAMES BROWN, 
 JOHN WOOD, 
 JOHN WALKER, 
 P. M'NAUGHTON, 
 
 and 
 
 T. TURNER. 
 
 Upon the proposal of the Coroner that the body 
 should be viewed, MR. WEIR, the butler, pro- 
 ceeded to the chamber where it lay, followed by 
 Wm> Dean, the constable who summoned the 
 Jury, and the servants of the house with wax 
 lights. The Coroner went next, and then the 
 Jury, who were principally dressed in black, two by 
 two. They passed through the hall where the 
 busts of many great military and political charac- 
 ters were arranged. The study on the ground floor 
 contained the remains of the deceased. On reach- 
 ing the door, there was a pause of considerable 
 length : the butler, who held the key in his hand, 
 looked round upon the assembly, as if to assure them 
 of the horrors they were to behold. The door was 
 opened, and the first object that presented itself 
 to the eye, was a white sheet, which covered a num- 
 ber of chairs the body lay between them, in the 
 posture in which life had left it. There was some 
 hesitation as to the removal of the sheet, during 
 which not a word was spoken. At length, one 
 of the Jury gently withdrew it, and the silence 
 was interrupted by a general exclamatk>n. Mr. 
 Whitbreadwas lying on his back, his arms and legs 
 extended, with a deep incision in his throat, from 
 ear to ear, with the remarkable exception of a 
 small part at the front. A looking glass was op- 
 posite to him; from which circumstance it is
 
 21 
 
 presumed that he went. to. the glass, under the 
 irmr^ssion that his sight would assist him in ef- 
 fectuailv. >.cx,e#Bting his frenzied purpose.. JJi? 
 ap arel apd the floor were covered..' with .blood. 
 He was dressed in a yellow striped morning .gown, 
 trovvst'us of the same kind, a flannel, ^hirt, and a 
 coUou shirt, unbuttoned at the .oollar., From each 
 side of his mouth, a small; stream of blood had pro- 
 ceeded.-.- .One of the Jury, upon looking around, 
 fou (I the razor with which the fatal act was com- 
 mitted* near the fice-.place, where a servant 
 had thrown it in the morning tbe. servant had 
 ,1 ihe instrument close to the right hand of J&e 
 deceased, which was partially clenched. Th< Jury 
 remained in the room for some time, and then re- 
 tired in silence toithat in which the court .had been 
 opened, where they heard the following 
 
 
 JOHN WEIR, Sutler to MR. "Writt BftEA&j 
 SWOUX-Dcpostfas ^fe^h 
 
 I am butler to Mr. Wkitbread* About ten mi- t 
 nutes. before ten this morning, in my uswal way^ 
 knocked at the door of his dress ing-roojao. J liud 
 not HC -ennhtm before tbat period. No answer being 
 gwn to. the knock, I tried to open- the^door, bu^ 
 ibund it bolted in the inside. I then w^nt ^,wa^ 
 and stopped .nbout ten minutes, and returned tQ 
 the door, supposing that my master had been \\\ 
 the water-closet at the time I knocked .at the door r 
 1 knocked and tried to open the <loor butstiU^buaid 
 it bdted in the inside. On my return, fro?n the 
 door I met -Samuel .Reiftwlds-y his secretary, who 
 was tlieo. cowaing up stairs ; he told me that he had 
 also been knock in? at the door, several times. 1
 
 22 
 
 then began to suspect all was not right, and, in 
 consequence of my suspicions, I went round to the 
 window, threw it up, and perceived my master, 
 the deceased, in the state in which he has been 
 seen by the Jury, with blood all about him. I 
 then went in at the window into the room, and saw 
 that his throat was cut, and a razor was lying on 
 the carpet close to his right hand, and he was quite 
 dead. I had not seen him since last night, about 
 twenty minutes past twelve o'clock, at which time 
 I took him his night shirt as usual. He did not 
 speak to me then, nor had I seen him until this 
 morning, when I found him dead. I have lived 
 with the deceased twenty-seven years, and I 
 usually called him about seven o'clock in the 
 morning. I called him at eight this morning, and 
 he said " very well." He was not out after dinner 
 yesterday. I don't think I have omitted to call 
 him more than two or three times. For three or 
 four weeks past I have seen in him a particular de- 
 jection of spirits, and have told my wife of that 
 circumstance of his not being in his usual spirits. 
 No incoherency was perceptible in his conduct, 
 for he gave his orders with his accustomed preci- 
 sion. The impression upon my mind is, that the 
 depression or dejection was brought on by over ap- 
 plication to his public pursuits. Mr. IVillshiere 
 and Lady Elizabeth Whitbrcad dined with him at 
 eight o'clock last night, and he appeared tolerably 
 cheerful, but did not talk much. He lived per- 
 fectly happy with his family. I was in the habit of 
 shaving him every day, but did not shave him this 
 morning. He did not get up until about half past 
 nine o'clock. I believe Samuel Reynolds, the se- 
 cretary, was with me when I got in at the window, 
 but I am not positive, as I was in great agitation. 
 [MR. REYNOLD?, standing behind the Coroner,
 
 safd he believed they entered at the window much 
 about the same time.] About five or six years since, 
 I had occasion to go into the country upon a veiy 
 melancholy business ; I was absent a week, and 
 on my return some of the servants told me that my 
 master had been labouring under a temporary de- 
 pression of spirits, and that he talked incoherently 
 to himself. 
 
 Questio?is from Jurors. 
 
 Q. Do you know if any of the servants who 
 made this communication to you are now in the 
 house ? 
 
 A. I believe not: Indeed I cannot distinctly re- 
 collect which of them it was that made the com- 
 munication to me. My master (the deceased) has 
 appeared deep in thought for several weeks, or as 
 I would say, talking aloud. 
 
 Q. Was he much in the habit of attending to 
 business at the Brewery counting-house ? 
 
 A. He has not been to the Brewery for a con- 
 siderable time, but has had communication with it 
 almost daily. 
 
 LAUNCELOT HOLLAND, of Dartmouth- 
 Street, Westminster, ESQ. Magistrate for the 
 County of Surry* and occasionally residing a$ 
 Epsom, 
 
 SWORN deposed as follows : 
 I have been intimately acquainted with Mr. 
 Whitbread, the deceased, for twenty years past. 
 l ; or the last four or five weeks past I have had 
 much intercourse with him ; I have perceived that 
 during that time he has been in a very depressed 
 ^tate of spirits, which had lately increased to a 
 very alarming degree for the last fortnight I have 
 not thought him competent to go through the 
 business he was accustomed to ; and I have feh.
 
 that at times, when talking on particular subjects, 
 he was totally bereft of his reason He had told 
 me within that period, that at times he had not the 
 command of his intellect these were Mr. W hit- 
 bread's own ivords. A short time since a strange 
 alteration in his conduct was evident, and he ap- 
 peared much distressed upon ^articular subjects, 
 which he generally introduced himself. I endea- 
 voured to divert his attention by adverting to other 
 subjects unconnected with those that appeared to 
 cause his melancholy. Upon those topics he would 
 converse with his usual firmness, but, immediately 
 an opportunity offered, he would recur to the ori- 
 ginal subjects. I concluded that it was the result 
 of intense application to public pursuits, and ha- 
 ving consulted Lady Elizabeth., resolved upon try- 
 ing to prevail on him to spend a week at my house 
 at Epsom. After considerable persuasion, I indu- 
 ced him to accompany me, and I was in hopes 
 that a change of scene and air would divert his 
 mind from the melancholy stupor in which he was. 
 The morning after our arrival at my seat, I asked 
 him how he had slept? he answered me, " I have 
 not had more than half an hour's sleep during the 
 night." Early the second morning I heard a 
 noise proceeding from the room in which he slept, 
 and on going to it, Mr. Whitbread was lying on 
 his back in a state of nudity, thumping his breast. 
 I asked him what was the cause of his uneasiness, 
 and he answered me in a very incoherent manner, 
 that " the devils were after him !" The next day 
 he determined to return to town, I endeavoured to 
 dissuade him from it, but he persisted in it, saying, 
 that there was business of great importance to be 
 done, and he must do it j he accordingly came to 
 to\vn. I have consulted him whenever any diffi- 
 culties have presented themselves to me, and there
 
 does not exist a man to whose counsel I would so 
 readily submit myself in the most trying difficul- 
 ties, when he has been in a sound state of mind ; 
 but, upon the oath I have taken, he is the last man 
 in the world that I should have asked advice from 
 under any circumstances during the last fortnight. 
 He and I were at Drury Lane Theatre yesterday, 
 attending a Committee for the election of a Member 
 in the room of the Honourable Cavendish Bradshaic ; 
 he was called to the chair, but, what was unusual, 
 did not take any part in the discussion. It was his 
 usual custom to dictate to the Secretary the man- 
 ner in which the minutes of the proceedings of a 
 Committee should be entered, but on this occasion 
 he did not say a word, but sat in the chair, staring 
 vacantly, and playing with his fingers. I walked 
 home with him about three o'clock, and, while 
 passing down Piccadilly, he muttered incoherent 
 expressions. Among several were the following, 
 '* The world will point and scoff at me" and " the 
 populace will pull down my house" 
 
 At this period of the investigation, some of the 
 Jurors expressed their entire satisfaction with the 
 evidence of Mr. Holland, which they thought 
 clear and conclusive, as to the insanity of Mr. 
 Whitbread at the time of his lamentable decease. 
 
 MR. JOHN HENRY GELL, who officiated as 
 Coroner, observed, that were he to give an opinion, 
 he should certainly consider that nothing could 
 tend more clearly towards establishing the fact of 
 insanity than the testimony of Mr. Holland, at 
 the same time he was ready to take any deposi- 
 tions that might be required by the Jury. Mr. 
 WlLLSHlERE being present, came forward and sta- 
 ted, that he was ready to corroborate the greater 
 part of Mr. Holland's evidence, as far as regarded 
 Mr. Whitbread' s state of mind, if the jury thought 
 proper to receive it.
 
 26 
 
 After an exchange of a few words between the 
 jurors, it was agreed that Mr. Willshiere's evidence 
 should be taken. 
 
 WILLIAM WlLLSHlERE, of Hitchin, in the 
 County of Hertford, ESQ. 
 
 Deposed asfollozvs : 
 
 I have been intimately acquainted with Mr. 
 Whitbread for a great number of years. I came to 
 see him in consequence of an application made to 
 me by Lady Elizabeth, on account of the depressed 
 state in which Mr. Whitbread had for a consider- 
 able time appeared, thinking that I might, from our 
 Jong acquaintance and reciprocal friendship, be 
 able to relieve the melancholy derangement of his 
 mind. 
 
 Mr. WlLLSHlERE then proceeded to describe 
 Mr. Whitbread 's conduct up to twelve oYiock, 
 the preceding niuht, nearly in the same words as 
 Mr. Holland's, whose evidence he corroborated as 
 far as regarded Mr. Whitbread' s state of mind. He 
 added that Mr. Whitbread appeared bereft of rea- 
 son in the matters he introduced. He certainly 
 was not in possession of his sound mind. 
 
 Mr. WlLLSHlERE concluded his evidence with 
 these words " I had important business to settle 
 with him yesterday morning, but did not broach it 
 to him, not considering him in a competent state 
 of mind to transact any business." 
 
 The jury being of opinion, that the fact of insa- 
 nity was indisputably established, after a moment's 
 deliberation, returned as their verdict, at past ten 
 o'clock, "'that ike deceased, SAMUEL WHITBREAD, 
 Esq. 'ied by his own hand, but that he was in a DE- 
 RANGE STATE OF MIND, at the time the fatal act 
 icas committed."
 
 BRIEF MEMOIR 
 
 T -? T f>"lf? 
 
 \, ^ 
 
 OF 
 
 M *bJ-m v fl6iicof!qq* ffjs ?<> 9. ner p- - 
 
 MR. WHITBREAD. 
 
 THE personal merits of this eminent man could derive no ad- 
 ditional lustre from a long line of distinguished ancestry, they 
 were of that sterling kind which every family of distinction 
 would be proud to contemplate in its founder. He was the 
 only son of SAMUEL WHITBREAD, Esq. member for the bo- 
 rough of LJedford, by his second wife, Mary, third daughter of 
 Earl Curntcallis, and was born in the jnear 1758. At a veiy 
 early age h was sent to Eton, and was contemporary there 
 with the present Earl Grey, and many other persons of birth 
 and talents, who have since shone in public life. His private tu- 
 tor was Dr. Heath, afterwards head master at that seminary- 
 At a proper season he repaired to Oxford, and was entered of 
 (Jhristchurch, but soon removed to St. John's. On finishing 
 his academical studies, he visited many parts of his native coun- 
 try, and then prepared to make the tour of the continent. The 
 companion selected for him by his father, was a gentleman ( t 
 acknowledged talents and acquirement?, the Rev. William 
 Core, A.M. F.R.S. who has, by several works of great ability 
 and research, illnstrated the modern history of Europe. After 
 visiting France, Switzerland, and Italy, he returned to Eng- 
 land, and commenced his parliamentary career, in the eventful 
 period of 1790, having been elected, at the close of a contest of 
 some duration, representative of the borough of Bedford. 
 
 The debate in which Mr. Whitbread first spoke, it is said, 
 was <'ii he cjues'ion of H rupture with Spain; but it was on the 
 Russian armament, <n 1792, that tie iir.-i distinguished himself. 
 Hi-> speech on this occasion was characterised by that forcible
 
 28 
 
 reasoning anJ manly eloquence, for which he ha^ ever since 
 been celebrated. 
 
 During the scarcity in 1793, Mr. fVhitbread called the at- 
 tention of Parliament to the hards. >i ,s to which the labouring 
 and manufacturing classes were subjected. He observed tlrat 
 the maximum, or highest price of agricultural labour was deter- 
 nuti.tb'e by t;.e magistrate, but not the minimum, or lowest, 
 1,1(1 he brought in a bill, to authorise justices of the peace U> 
 regulate, still further, the prices of labour at every quarter ses 
 iion, which was negatived. . r i& 
 
 Mr Whitbread was evjer the friend of peace. He had 
 strongly condemned the principles on which the war with 
 France had been carried on; and had urged that the earliest 
 opportunity should be embraced of terminating, safely and ho- 
 nourably, a system of ruinous expenditure. 
 
 in 180Q, when Buonaparte, on becoming first consuJ of 
 France, made overtures to this country, Mr IVhitbread, on a 
 motion or' Mr. Dundas, for an address to the throne, after the 
 rejection of those overtures, made a very energetic speech on 
 the impolicy of that measure; alleging that Buonaparte's dis- 
 regard of ueaties, if paralleled by the conduct of the allies m 
 the division of Poland, ought not to operate as a bar to pacm- 
 cttion; that the conduct or' the Bourbons toward this country, 
 during the : Amencan war, though stigmatized at the time as 
 perfidious, had been since overlooked; that there .did not ap- 
 pear'any* point of union between tne allies, and that under aH 
 ircamstances, the proposal of Buonaparte, for a general pacifi- 
 cation, ought not to be refused. The view which Mr IVkit- 
 4r**d then took of the state of Europe, may be estirmi cd by 
 reteTtnee to events that shortly afterwards occurred, and which 
 o the peace of Amiens. 
 
 The talents and steady uprightness of Mr. Whitbretui , 
 *br the welfare of his country, aud his indefatigable - xir- 
 u>r the reform, of existing abuses, rendered hiui ju-tU po- 
 pular. All ptr.xms >vti'i had a just claim on the cu^^ramif 
 of Parliament, either for protection or redress, found iu hira^. 
 firm, judicious, and incorruptible advocate. The same activity 
 and vigilance which he-displayed in- ihe oiumefious in<iiviiu*} 
 cases of this kind that came before him, he a Isc. exercised in 
 the great concerns of the nation-. One of the nxost important 
 of these was, the mquiry into ll\e abuses which had existed in 
 'the naval department. The tenth report of th commis 
 ^ppoimed to t'^is iaquiry, javpliuated t-he cun<iuct of the 
 Hon. Henry Dundas, then Lord Melville. On the 
 April, 1805, Mr. Whitbread brought this report, before. the 
 'House of Commons It i^ inuieces^Ai y, in-tbis pUee, to. et^r 
 into a minute uttait of transactions >viiich strongty engaged* -JK 
 ^he'lrmf, the attention of- the whole nation, and the remem-
 
 29 
 
 brance of which is still fresh in the public mind. Suffice it to 
 say, that in conducting a charge of this serious nature, against 
 a man who had held so many high and important offices, Mr. 
 Wtvilbread acted with uhdeviating moderation and temper, but 
 at the same time; with an undaunted firmness and perseverance 
 becoming the importance of the subject. He moved twelve re- 
 solutions, importing, among other matters, that the noble lord 
 in question, while treasurer of the navy, " having been privy 
 to the illegal application of public money, and having connived 
 at it, had been guilty of a gross violation of the law; that 
 large sums of the public money, set apart for the uses of the 
 navy, had been applied to other services, for which no docu- 
 mems or vouchers were in existence; and that Lord Melville, 
 in so applying the public money, had acted in a manner incon- 
 sistent with his duty, incompatible with the regulations of that 
 house, and in direct violation of the act regulating his conduct." 
 
 On these resolutions a division took place, when the numbers 
 proved exactly equal, there being two hundred and sixteen on 
 each side; but the minister's amendment, which had been de- 
 signed to put an end to all enquiry, was negatived by the 
 speaker's casting vote. On this, Mr. Whitbread moved an ad- 
 dress to his Majesty, " for removing Lord Melville from his 
 councils." The motion was adjourned at the instance of Mr. 
 Pitt, who, a few days after, announced that Lord Melville had 
 tendered his resignation, as first lord of the Admiralty, which 
 his Majesty had been graciously pleased to accept. Hi* Lord- 
 ship was afterwards struck out of the list of privy counselors. 
 
 On the llth of June, 1805, Lord Melville repaired to the 
 House of Commons, and, having been accommodated with a 
 chair in the body of the House, entered into an elaborate de- 
 fence of his conduct. When he had withdrawn, Mr. Wkit- 
 bread look a most luminous view of the whole case, and conclu- 
 ded by moving that Lord Melville should be impeached for 
 high crimes and misdemeanours. Mr. Bond's amendment, " that 
 the Attorney General be directed to prosecute Lord Melville, 
 was carried by a majority of nine, at an adjourned debate on 
 the J3th of June ; but on Tuesday, the 25th, the House, on the 
 motion of Mr. Leycester, agreed to proceed by impeachment, 
 as originally proposed. 
 
 On the next day, Mr. Wkitbread, accompanied by Lord 
 Temple on his right, and Mr. Grey, now Earl Grey, on his left 
 hand, followed by nearly one hundred members, carried up the 
 resolution for an impeachment to the House of Lords. On bis 
 return to the House of Commons, a Committee of twenty-one 
 members was appointed, to prepare and manage the articles. 
 The articles were brought up on the 4th of July, and afterwards 
 presented, in due form, to the Houe of Peers, in the name of the 
 Commons of England. The trial commenced oa the 29th of 
 
 E
 
 April, 1806, in Westminster Hall. The trial lasted sixteen days, 
 and terminated in the acquittal of Lord Melville. 
 
 Throughout the whole of his arduous and difficult course, as 
 a public accuser on this occasion, Mr. Whitbread conducted 
 himself in a manner, which won the approbation of all parties. 
 No former impeachment, on record, was conducted with so much 
 dignified moderation. He abstained from all personal invec- 
 tive; he adverted, with due respect, to the rank, offices, and 
 tried ability of the accused; he paid a feeling tribute of his 
 virtues of his son, the present Lord Melville, and spoke to the 
 late colleague, Mr. Pitt, with becoming regard for his eminent 
 qualities, and with regret for his loss. Though he had been 
 the political opponent of that Minister, he passed over his faults 
 with the most generous forbearance and dwelt on his merits ; 
 particularly on that trait in his character, which was most appo- 
 site to the question at issue " it was that unsullied purity in 
 the management of public money, which malice could never 
 presume to asperse." 
 
 In the following session, this indefatigable Statesman was 
 engaged in an undertaking, more congenial, it must be presu- 
 med, to his active, benevolent mind ; it was a revision of the 
 poor laws. His object was to simplify this branch of absurd 
 and vexatious legislation, but, though he recommended the esta- 
 blishment of banks of deposit for the earnings of the poor, there 
 is much reason to believe, from some very extraordinary clauses 
 in the Bill, that he had not possessed himself of that informa- 
 tion which parliamentary interference required. 
 
 Mr. Whitbread was a sincere and powerful advocate for the 
 Abolition of the Slave Trade, both in Parliament and out of it: 
 his feelings, indeed, on this subject, might be said to be heredi- 
 tary, for at a very early period, when persons interested in the 
 continuance of that detestable traffic, endeavoured to stifle en- 
 quiry by persecuting the witnesses, and when Mr. Clarkson, 
 who was engaged to bring them forward, felt his means inade- 
 quate to their supplications and wants, Mr. Whitbread, the 
 elder, generously undertook to make good all injuries out of 
 his own purse, which should arise to individuals from such per- 
 secution. This noble act of generosity may show, that the sub- 
 ject of this memoir was stimulated by the most interesting of 
 motives, that of paternal example, in his unwearied exertions 
 for the abolition of the abominable traffic in human flesh. 
 <r,In 1808, Mr. Whitbread published a letter to Lord Hol- 
 land on the situation of Spain, On the invasion of that coun- 
 try by the French, he had thought that government should 
 be left free and unbiassed in its deliberations on this weighty 
 subject. The appearance of the case, however, was soon chan- 
 ged. All over Spain an unexampled spirit of resistance to the 
 enemy burst forth. He argued that we should aid the Spaniards
 
 31 
 
 with all the means in our power, and augured the most complete 
 success to such united efforts, and, ever consistent in his manly 
 and virtuous endeavours, to obtain for this country an honour- 
 able peace, he deemed the period in question a fit moment for 
 negociation. 
 
 "If Mr. Fox were alive," he observes, "and had power commen- 
 surate with his ability,Iseeabare possibility that his genius might 
 turn this crisis to such great account* Nothing should be done 
 but in concert with the: Spaniards, and the complete evacuation 
 of Spain by the French armies, the abstinence from all interfe- 
 rence in her internal arrangements, the freedom of the royal 
 family might be the conditions of the negociation. There is no 
 humiliation in such a proposal. I should be desirous of con- 
 veying these terms to the court at Bayonne, and of proclaiming 
 them to the world. If they should be accepted, is there a states- 
 man who could doubt of their propriety, of their justice, of their 
 fconour ? If rejected, is there a free spirit in the universe that 
 would not join in applauding the justice and moderation of 
 Great Britain in condemning the violence, the injustice and 
 ambition of the Emperor of the French ?" 
 
 These were his views in 1808, and, on reverting to them, no 
 one can doubt that, however eager he might be to procure the 
 blessings of peace, he would have spurned at any negociationi 
 which in the slightest degree compromised the honour and best 
 interests of his country. 
 
 The firmness with which he constantly asserted the necessity 
 of parliamentary reform is another feature in his political con- 
 duct, which will ndear him to all friends of rational liberty. 
 Among the numerous and forcible speeches which he delivered 
 when this became the question of debate, we may notice that 
 on Mr. Brand's motion, on the 21st May, 1810. Adverting W 
 the doctrine maintained by Mr. Giddy, that " PEERS were th 
 rirtual representatives of the people, 3 ' he called on him to re- 
 collect how much the Peers had increased of late years. He 
 supposed the case of a man of great county and borough inter* 
 <-st, \vho, being capable of commanding six or seven votes in the 
 House ot Commons, and thereby enabled very much to annoy 
 the Minister, should be induced to be made a Peer; such a man 
 could gain his point whenever he pleased, and thus get himself 
 transferred among the Honourable Gentleman's virtual repre- 
 sentatives of the people : but was this such a representative of 
 the people in the House of Commons, as the people themselves, 
 or any reasonable and impartial man would think iair ? Such 
 a case had happened and might occur again, and he thought it 
 a disgraceful blot in the representation, and in the constitution 
 of that House. There was another grievous circumstance at- 
 tending the nomination by Peers to seats in that House ; whea 
 A Member is returned or nominated by a Nobleman, he must on
 
 32 
 
 all occasions, vole as his patron desired, or resign his seat; He 
 thought that the House, by acceding to reform, would be taking 
 the part which would keep us clear of dreadful evils, lit- did 
 not rest solely upon his own opinion and judgment, he called to 
 his aid authorities from the dead ; he appealed to the doctrines 
 of the great Lord Chatham, Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Fox, who had 
 ail declared, that a reform in the representation of the people, 
 in the Commons House of Parliament, was absolutely necessary 
 for the welfare and salvation of the country j and Mr. Pitt, in 
 particular, had declared that, without it, no honest Minister could 
 continue in office. 
 
 . In the investigation into the conduct of H. R. H. the Com- 
 mander in Chief, and in those enquiries connected with r, which 
 led to the discovery of many public abuses, Mr. Whit bread 
 bore an active and a very important part. No Member ot Opv 
 position ever displayed more consistency and independence of 
 principle, more acute penetration and more constant assiduity 
 in the public cause, than did Mr. Whitbread during the labori- 
 ous session of 1809. Though the principal delinquents concern- 
 ed in the abuses above-mentioned escaped punishment, yet to 
 his exertions it was owing, in a great degree, that the evil itself 
 was in some measure remedied, by the enactment of a bill for 
 preventing the sale of seats, and for preserving the purity of 
 Parliament. 
 
 The failure of the expedition to IValcheren, and the conse- 
 quent disputes in the Cabinet, soon afterwards produced another 
 Inquiry, in which Mr. Whitbread showed, that the object of 
 that expedition did not justify the employment of such mighty 
 means, and that its ruinous consequences were less attributable 
 to the conduct of the naval and military commanders, than to 
 the imbecility and want of union prevailing among those who 
 appointed them. 
 
 , - On the great question of the Regency, he voted for the mode 
 of proceeding by address instead of by bill, as being more com- 
 plete and effectual. He argued against the restrictions insisted 
 on by the supporters of the opposite measure, and, adverting to 
 the unhappy state into which Sweden was brought, after the 
 death of Charles XII. by an attempt to abridge the power of 
 his successors, insisted that too much caution could not'be used, 
 to prevent establishing a precedent to this country, of a similar 
 degredation of the Royal Authority. 
 
 The course which this great Statesmen subsequently pursued, 
 on every measure of, foreign'or domestic policy, which came be- 
 fore the consideration of Parliament, is marked with the same 
 rectitude of principle and consistency of action, which distin- 
 guishfl his earlier career. He repeatedly urged the expediency 
 of embracing every opportunity aUbrcled by the reverses of the 
 enemy, for proposing or accepting an advantageous negociatioa
 
 33 
 
 for peace; he constantly supported the cause of parliamentary 
 reform, and of rigorous economy in the national expenditure ; -. 
 on many trying occasions he zealously asserted and vindicated 
 the freedom of the press, and used his best exertions for the 
 maintenance and extension of civil and religious liberty. Ac- 
 tuated by these enlightened views, he steadily recommended 
 the adoption ef that plan of national education which embraced 
 all sects and denominations, in preference to the one which 
 was formed on a principle of exclusion, for the propagation of 
 particular tenets. uoaJrt? .'Sia t> 
 
 Jt was not to parliamentary duties alone that Mr. W hi bread's 
 benevolent and disinterested labours were devoted. There was 
 an undertaking which, though it may be supposed uncongenial 
 to his general habits of life, and incompatible with the leisure 
 and relaxation so necessary to him, he engaged in, with his ac- 
 customed activity and perseverance. This was the rebuilding 
 of Drury Lane Theatre, a work, which, until he took it up, the 
 public despaired of ever seeing accomplished. Owing in a 
 great measure to his exertions and influence, that edifice was 
 opened on the 10th of October, 1812. Mr. Whitbread, as 
 chairman of the committee entrusted with this establishment, 
 continued to watch over its concerns, and took great interest in 
 its welfare; but he soon found that he had accepted a charge in 
 which there were many conflicting interests to reconcile, and 
 that he had been invested with the perplexing duties of an um- 
 pire in disputes of the most intricate nature. The multiplicity 
 of applications made to him in this capacity, served only to dis- 
 tract him in the impartial exercise of his judgment. Hence, in 
 a great measure, arose that anxious despondency which preyed 
 upon his spirits, and clouded his enlightened mind. 
 
 Meantime the events which took place in the political world 
 were of a nature to engross all the attention of a man ever 
 anxious for the liberties of mankind. The overthrow of Buona- 
 parte's government and the prospect of a re-establishment of the 
 balance of power in Europe, by a congress of its sovereigns, 
 could not but excite the most gratifying hopes in the breast of 
 Mr. Whitbread. But these hopes were disappointed by the 
 proceedings of that Congress, and soon after the return of Lord 
 Castlereagh, in March, 1815, he brought the whole subject be- 
 fore the House of Commons, on which occasion, he particularly 
 animadverted on the conduct of Austria, respecting Naples, of 
 Prussia respecting Saxony, and on the transference of Genoa to 
 the King of Sardinia. He alluded, also, to the recent landing of 
 Buonaparte in France, and observed, that if he should again be 
 seated on the throne of that country, it would be ascribed, in 
 no small degree, to the misconduct of the Allied Powers. On 
 the 3d of April, Buonaparte having succeeded in reinvesting 
 himself with the imperial dignity, Mr. Whitbread, obserring on
 
 ft 
 
 the consequent change in the posture of European affairs, 
 strongly censured the declaration issued respecting him, with the 
 signatures of the principal Ministers of the Allied Powers form- 
 ing the Congress. He considered it as recommending assassi- 
 nation, but Ministers declared that nothing could be construed 
 from it to enforce such a detestable principle. 
 
 On the 7th of April, Lord Castlereagh having moved an ad- 
 dress on the Regent's Message, recommending an augmentation 
 of the land and sea forces, Mr. Whitbread strongly deprecated 
 another war of aggression, and took occasion to quote a remark, 
 once made by Mr. Sheridan, that " one HALF of our NATIONAL 
 DEBT had been contracted in REPRESSING THE AMBITION OP 
 THE BOURBONS, and the OTHER HALF in endeavouring to 
 REPLACE THEM ON THE THRONE." He moved an amend- 
 ment, earnestly recommending his Royal Highness to etfert 
 every endeavour to preserve the blessing of peace, so long as 
 it could be maintained with safety to his Majesty's crown and 
 dominions, and security to his Allies. In a subsequent debate, 
 on the return of the message, be censured Lord Castlereagh for 
 having shown a disposition to strengthen Prussia by accession* 
 from the Saxon dominions, and argued that this, and similar 
 acts of Congress, were incompatible with the restoration of the 
 balance of power. 
 
 A treaty having been published, from the German Papers, in 
 this month, purporting to have been concluded on the 25th of 
 March, between Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Great Britain, by 
 which the contracting parties engaged, among other stipulations, 
 not to lay down their arms until the principles of the treaty of 
 Chaumcnt should be carried into effect, and until Buonaparte 
 should be wholly and completely deprived of the power of exci- 
 ting disturbances, and of being able to renew his attempts to 
 obtain the chief power in France, Mr. Whitbread brought it 
 before the notice of the House of Commons, by enquiring of 
 Lard Castlereagh if it were genuine. His Lordship admitted 
 that a treaty was signed at Vienna, on the 25th of March, and 
 thai the newspaper alluded to, contained, with some inaccura- 
 cies, the substance of that treaty. Not being able to obtain a 
 statement of these inaccuracies, Mr. Whitbread proposed an ad- 
 journment until the genuine document should be produced, and 
 conceived it to be his duty, in a constitutional and parliament- 
 ary manner, to prevent the supplies from being granted, until 
 he knew the situation in which the country stood. After a long 
 debate, it was conceded, by Lord Castlereagh, that the part of 
 the published treaty, which stated that the Allies would bring 
 to justice ail such persons as should have joined, or might there- 
 after join, the party of Napoleon, was inaccurate. The sub- 
 stance of the treaty in question was laid before Parliament OH 
 the 25th of April.
 
 On the 38th, Mr. Whitbread moved an address to the Prince 
 Regan t, praying that he would be pleased to take such mea- 
 sures as might be necessary to prevent this country from being 
 involved in war, on the ground that the executive power of 
 France was vested in the hands of any particular person. This 
 motion, after a long debate, was negatived. 
 
 A debate took place on the 2d of May, on the motion of Mr. 
 Homer, that there be laid before the House, an account of all 
 negociations between this country and the government of Na- 
 ples, with a view to an armistice last year, for an. immediate co- 
 operation against France, and also for any communications 
 prior to the hostilities just commenced between that govern- 
 ment and Austria. At the close of this debate, Lord Castle- 
 reagh said, that he had no objection to produce the papers 
 moved for. He was desirous to cleat himself from the charges 
 and aspersions made against him. " The information of the 
 honourable gentleman, who made those charges, appeared to 
 have been drawn from the secret official sources of other coun- 
 tries, which were not the most creditable ; and he hoped it 
 would prove a salutary lesson to the honourable members, OB 
 that side the house, which would make them, in future, more 
 cautious of bringing forward accusations to calumniate the Go- 
 vernment on authority so weak and inefficient, and abstain from 
 their attacks on Ministers until they could fairly try the ques- 
 tion." 
 
 Mr. Whitbread, in allusion to the important question 
 respecting Naples, observed, that the noble lord had opened a 
 scene of 'diplomatic treachery and baseness, which he, for on, 
 could wish had no existence but in imagination. 
 
 Mr. Ponsonby, in reply to the intimation, that a question had 
 been unfairly raised on information which must have been de- 
 rived directly, or circuitoosly from the enemy, said, that it was 
 wholly false. Neither he, (Mr. P.) nor any other man, on that 
 side of the house, would have any communication with the 
 agents of any foreign power to the prejudice of this country, 
 and it was a base insinuation on the part of the noble lord, to 
 intimate any thing to the contrary. 
 
 Lord, Castlereagh desired to know how the right honourable 
 gentleman intended to apply the words " false" and " base in- 
 sinuation." 
 
 Mr. Ponsonby. " I understood the noble lord to have 
 changed this side of the house with obtaining information, indi- 
 rectly and circuitously, from agents to foreign powers. This, 
 I conceive to be a severe accusation; and, as my feelings were 
 strong, I expressed them with warmth. I am sorry for using 
 words offensive or unparliamentary; but I must repeat, that the 
 charge was false, and the insinuation a base one. If what I 
 supposed to have been uttered, did fall from the noble lord, I
 
 36 
 
 must rr pel the imputation conveyed, by the words which I 
 hare used." 
 
 Lord Castlereagk. " I have spoken of the information con- 
 tained in the papers, which had appeared, having been derived, 
 directly or indirectly, from the agents of Murat. I have heard 
 that an honourable member had received information, transmit- 
 ted to him from Genoa. On that knowledge I felt myself justi* 
 lied in making the observation. I did not say there was any 
 thing criminal in thus obtaining intelligence, but I must con- 
 tend for the principle, that on information of individuals, thus 
 procured, the government ought not prematurely to be called 
 upon to explain the grounds or their public acts/' 
 
 Mr. Whitbread. " I am extremely happy to have an oppor- 
 tunity of stating, publicly, to the house, the information to 
 which the noble lord alludes, to show how ridiculous is the 
 charge now preferred against us. Several documents had ap- 
 peared in the public prints, not sent there by me, but on which 
 I proposed several questions in this house. Among them was a 
 paper relative to Genoa, a copy of which I received a few days 
 after, in a letter, purporting to come from Genoa, and bearing 
 date six weeks back. I did not answer this letter, but simply 
 acknowledged its receipt to the person from whom I had it. / 
 mentioned this to the noble lord, in the lobby of this house, on the 
 day when that question was debated. The noble lord observed, 
 with his usual urbanity and good humour, that communications, 
 so made, were not worthy of credit, as the persons from whom 
 they came were too interested to tell truth, or something to that 
 effect. This was the only instance of any information .being 
 obtained by me from a foreign source. But at the same time 
 I must observe, that I consider myself justified in obtaining any 
 such information, and exercising my own discretion as to the 
 use I may make of it. I have received many communications 
 from correspondents, some of whom I know, and others I do not 
 know. I exercise my discretion in what I do receive, and I 
 consider that I have a right so to do." 
 
 Mr. Ponsonby declared, upon his honour, that he never re- 
 ceived any communications from the agents of foreign powers; 
 nor did he know of any other member having received suck 
 communications. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh conceived communications with foreign 
 powers, and any indirect sources of information, to be unconsti- 
 tutional. 
 
 Mr. Whitbread enquired if he meant to attach any harsh in- 
 terpretation to that word " unconstitutional," or meant to imply 
 any thing of a treasonable correspondence. " If so/' added h, 
 " let him charge us openly with such conduct. But if no such 
 charge was made by the noble lord, his right honourable friend 
 could have no objection to explain an expression k used in the
 
 57 
 
 J'l.iiponby, 
 
 The next important question <>M whicli Mr. Wh.i'br-^.d sp<;!c" ; , 
 * that of subsidies, in a committee of the \vh<>!e house, on'the 
 20th of May. He f!i>ap?>rovr-<l uf tilt w.r mo*t strongly. 
 rtlb more so, because it was 'his- decided jrfcfgm'eht, thjjt r this orjt 
 feot wa>; not so mich to remove liuon-Hpartf , as to restore the 
 B.'jr'irtn<. as t^fc <*hject of it-ijualitieil, was ro dictn'e a govern - 
 rneftt to- France." ffc 1 could not see that the destruction of R-in- 
 nctparte-ucould jtttf an end to the v:ar ; for, who'conld say th'a't- 
 the French annie^, or the French people, would therefore sub- 
 mit to the K(Hirbon<r and, considering' the conduct of-f.*/e Allis-, 
 at the Congress of Vienna, particularly with felaticn to Saxojiy, 
 d his resulunon to vote against the grant of any Bri- 
 iftft mohey to'JttcA j.o\-,ers. 
 
 the question of a grant to the Duke of HWlitetdV, :t\ 
 (pstim.sny of the' rfvuional gratitude for the victory of Water' 1 
 
 Mr; Whltbread expressed his hearty approbation of that 'IT%-< 
 s"ae/and, in conclusion observed, that the conch/ct of Ministers 
 in 'the 1 prosecution of this war, waving for the moment all con- 
 sideration of ifs necessity or policy, wa3 such as extorted hi^ 
 a^p'lausej-'arffl he had Tio hesitation in saying, that e'very de- 
 partfnent of government mast have exerted if^elf, to give that 
 efficiencytb"aM the component parts of the army, which ena- 
 W0 pV the gc-nins of the ])ukc of Wellington, aided by sucli 
 rritans, to accnmpli>li the wonderful victory hie had achieved. 
 
 On the 28th of June, Mr. WMtbread gave his support to" the* 
 vtrtk'of credit for six niUlions, hoping thai peace'would be' re- 
 stored before 't he next session?. Events ha'd not changed hi^ 
 si'entiments with respect .to the' pretended Jujrfic<? of tlie \varf 
 - - 
 
 parliament, was in. the debate respecting a motion m 
 J. Marjoribanks, on Tuesday, the 4'h o!' July/ that t 
 
 vs ere 
 
 n which this lamented statesman spoke 
 
 the: thanks 
 
 of the house be given to his Royal Highness the Duke of York, 
 for his effectual aAd "unreiflittin^ attention to the "duties of his 
 otfice dyfing a petipi) of more than twenty y-ears. As it niay be 
 int^Testing to the reaijer to dwell on the last public accents of a 
 senator, Who^e v(iicr, it was hoped, would long continue to be 
 raised, in the couuciU of his countify, they are here given i'ror.i 
 the best report that could be obtained. Sir. IVhitbread allowed 
 _:;-eat weight in what had fallen I'tom an honour- 
 able member [Mr. Western J , that strictly ~\ vote of thanks was 
 uo iiHu'tj ilue to the Duke of Yurk, than to any other member 
 of the "administration.. 'it 
 
 Wferfe turtc^ded 
 
 F
 
 have been alluded to, as an addition to the ample allowance al- 
 ready given to the commander in chief. The principal cau^c 
 operating in the minds of many gentlemen, was, undoubtedly, 
 the enthusiasm at present existing in the minds of all classes, 
 which outstripped all precedent. It was to be regretted that 
 the brother of the Duke of Wellington (Mr. Wellesley Pole) 
 had thought fit to take so high and so loud a tone upon this 
 subject, as if the house would be deficient in its duty, if it did 
 not concur in the motion before it, since it was unquestionably 
 a subject that admitted a doubt. Even if it could not be said 
 that the proposition was not altogether improper, it was a mo- 
 tion in which many members, and he for one, would rather 
 concur than object, from the general warmth of feeling exis-ting 
 in consequence of successes procured by the efficiency givn 
 to the army by the Duke of York. When he saw the tribute 
 in praise of our troops, extorted from the enemy, he thought 
 it would be. too rigid, eren after the injudicious speech of Mr. 
 Wellesley Pole, to refuse assent to the motion. 
 
 Here terminated, to the astonishment and grief of the whole 
 nation, the career of this upright, active, and conscientious 
 statesman ; for, on the morning of the Thursday he was no more ! 
 The particulars of his death, and the unhappy state of intellect 
 which preceded and occasioned it, are detailed and testified in 
 the foregoing particulars, and the Report of the Inquest with 
 the evidence adduced ; a report which no Englishman, of right 
 feeling can peruse, without emotions of the deepest sorrow and 
 commiseration. How general were those emotions among all 
 parties in this country, will be proved by the tributes paid to 
 the memory of the deceased patriot, which have been collected 
 and printed in a separate form, as a sequel to the present pub- 
 lication. 
 
 The voice of parliament alone was wanting to complete 
 this national consecration of the memory of Mr. Whitbread. 
 That high sanction was cordially given, on the eleventh <>f 
 July, when a new writ was ordered tor a representative of the 
 borough of Bedford. 
 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS, July 11, 1815. 
 
 The Marquis of TAVISTOCK rose, evidently under th stron- 
 gest emotion, and addressed the Speaker to the following ef- 
 fect : 
 
 SIR, I am persuaded that it must be quite unnecessary for me t 
 say, that I am at this moment labouring under feelings of the most 
 painful and afflicting nature (hear ! hear .' hear ! ) 1 wish, how- 
 ever, shortly to state to the House the reasons which induce me 
 to depart from the usual practice in moving for a new writ, in 
 order that I may pay a humble but sincere tribute of affection 
 to the memory of my departed friend. Sir, it is net on any
 
 39 
 
 - . 
 
 consideration of private friendship itis not on any contemplation 
 of his many virtues as a private individual it is on the reflection 
 of the great space which he occupied in this House it is on 
 the recollection of his splendid abilities it is on the conviction 
 which we, who thought with him on political subjects, entertain 
 iof the advantage which the country derived from his exertions, 
 that I found my excuse for this address that 1 even claim the 
 concurrence of all those who hear me in the feelings which 
 agitate me at the present moment (hear! hear! hearij. I 
 am well aware, Sir, that a great majority of this House thought 
 his opinions erroneous. But I speak it with confidence I am 
 sure that there is not one of his political opponents who will not 
 lay his hand on his heart and say, that he always found him a 
 manly antagonist (hear ! htar ! hear.'J. The House of Com- 
 mons will, I am persuaded, ever do justice to the good inten- 
 tions of those who honestly dissent from the sentiments of trie 
 majority. Accustomed to defend his opinions with earnestness 
 and warmth, the energies of his admirable and comprehensive 
 mind would never permit the least approach to tameness or in/- 
 difference. But no particle of animosity ever found a place in 
 his breast, and, to use his own words on another melancholy 
 occasion [the death of Mr. Perceval] " ha never carried his 
 political enmity beyond the threshold of this House" (hear, 
 hear, hear ! ) . It was his uniform practice to do justice to the 
 motives of his political opponents; and I am happy to feel, that 
 the same justice is done to his motives by them {hear, hear, 
 hear !). To those, Sir, who weie more immediately acquainted 
 with his exalted character who knew the directness of his 
 mind, his zeal for truth, his unshaken love of his country, the 
 ardour and boldness of his disposition incapable of dismay, his 
 unaffected humanity, and his other various and excellent quali- 
 ties, his loss is irreparable (hear, hear, hear !). But most of 
 all will it be felt by the poor in his neighbourhood. Truly 
 might he be called " the poor man's friend." Only those who 
 like myself have had the opportunity of observing his conduct 
 nearly can be aware of his unabating zeal in promoting the 
 happiness of all around him (tiear, hear, hear !J. Thousands 
 of individuals have benefited by the generosity of his heart ; 
 and the county, the principal town of which he represented, 
 contains imperishable records of his active philanthropy, as 
 well as that 'of the good man who went before him (hear, h,ear, 
 hear ! ) . His eloquent appeals in this House in favour of the 
 unfortunate appeals exhibiting the frankness and honesty of 
 the true English character will adorn the pages of the histo- 
 rian; although at the present moment they aiibrd a subject of 
 melancholy retrospect to those who have formerly dwelt with 
 delight on the benevolence of a heart which always beat, and, 
 on the vigour of an intellect which was always employed for the
 
 40 
 
 benefit of his fellow-creatures (hear, hear, hear !). .Sir, I am 
 'conscious that I need not entreat pardon of the House at large 
 for thus indulging in the praise of my lamented friend ; but I 
 owe an apology to those who loved him for the feeblenesv with 
 \vhich it has bep.n bestowed (hear, hear, hear !J. I move, Sir, 
 that the Speaker do issue his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, 
 to make out a new writ for the election of a burgess, to' serve in 
 the present Parliament, for the borough of Bedford, jn the room 
 of Samuel Whitbread, Esq. deceased. 
 
 Mr. WILBERFORCE expressed the gratification he felt at the 
 pathetic speech ot the Noble Marquis, which afforded an addi- 
 tional proof that the best eloquence was that of the heart (hear, 
 hear, hear ! ) . lie wished to add his testimony to the excellent 
 tjualities of the lamented individual whose death had rendered 
 the present motion necessary; and, in doing so, he could with 
 truth declare, that he was only one of many thousands, rich as well 
 ss poor, hy whom his character had been mo<t highly estimated. 
 Well had it been termed by the Noble Marquis, "a truly Eng- 
 lish character.'' Even its defects, trifling as they were (and 
 Avhat character was altogether without defect?), were those 
 xvhich belonged to the English character Never had there ex- 
 isted a more complete ENGLISHMAN (hear, hear, hear ! ).. All 
 who knew him must recollect the indefatigable earnestness and 
 perseverance with which, during the course of his life, he di- 
 rected his talents and the whole of his time to the public inter- 
 est; and although he (Mr. Wilberforce) undoubtedly differed 
 from him on many occasions, yet he ahvays did full justice to 
 Ju's public spirit and love of his country (hear, hear, hear ! ) 
 He was capable (as had been seen at various times) of control- 
 ling the strongest feelings of personal attachment, when he 
 thought that his duty to the public compelled him to do .so 
 (hear, hear, hear !J . It was a melancholy satisfaction to those 
 tvho loved him, to see that those who had differed from him on 
 many political questions, nevertheless considered him as one of 
 those public treasures, the loss of which must by all parties be 
 deeply lamented (hear, hear, hear ! ). For himself, he (Mr. 
 V/ilherforce) could never forget the important assistance which 
 he derived from his zeal and ability in the great cause which he 
 liad so long advocated^ in that House. On every occasion, in- 
 deed, in which the condition of human beings was concerned 
 and the lower their state, the stronger their recommendation 
 to his favour no one was more anxious to apply his great 
 powers to increase the happiness of mankind (hear, hear, 
 hear !). 
 
 The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated, that it was far 
 from hi? \vish to detain the House after the address, replete with 
 feeli. c and propriety, which they had heard from the Noble 
 Marquis ( hear, hear, hear !) and. after the excellent observa-
 
 41 
 
 tjons of his Hon. Friend (hear, hear, hear /J. All that he de- 
 sired to say was, that it must be some consolation to the Noble 
 Marquis, and to the whole House, to feel, that whatever difference 
 of opinion might exist on political questions, there was no one 
 who did not do justice to the virtues and talents of the object of 
 their regret, or who for a moment supposed that he was actua- 
 ted in his public conduct by any other motive than a conviction 
 of public duty (hear, hear, hear !j 
 
 In addition to the sketch of Mr. WHITBREAD?S political life, 
 in the preceding pages, it may be proper, in this place, to give 
 a few short notices respecting himself, his family, and con- 
 nections. 
 
 Mr. Whitbread was married on the 27th of January, 1788, 
 to his truly excellent and amiable lady, Elizabeth, the eldest 
 daughter of the late Earl Grey (then Sir Charles Grey, Bart.), 
 father of the present earl. The issue of this marriage has been 
 five children. 
 
 William Charles, born 1789, who died in infancy. 
 
 Elizabeth, born on the 20th of December, 1T91, who was, 
 on the 10th of August, 1812, married to the Hon. William 
 Waldegrave, brother to the present Earl Waldegrave. 
 
 William Henry, born on the 4th of February, 1794. 
 
 Samuel diaries, born on the 16th of February, 1795; 
 
 And Emma Laura, born on the 19th of January, 1798. 
 
 The sister of Mr. Whilbread was married to Commissioner 
 Sir George Grey, the brother of the present Earl Grey, and 
 thus the two families were united by double ties of affinity. 
 
 William Henry, the elder surviving son of Mr. Whitbread, 
 nearly of age, is heir to the landed estates, full 20,0001. per 
 annum. 
 
 Mr. Wlutbread had just completed his magnificent mansion, 
 and nearly so hia extensive plantations around it, at Southwell, 
 in Bedfordshire, at a cost of 120,0001, He died possessed of 
 five-eighths of the brewery; the former Mr. Whitbread, his 
 lather, having made'it compulsory on him, by a clause of his 
 will, to retain a majority of shares of that property in his own 
 hands. The funded property, and the capital vested in the 
 brewery, from whence the fortune of the family was derived, 
 are expected to be apportioned for the junior children. 
 
 In all the relations and duties of social life, Mr. Whitbread 
 was correct, amiable, and exemplary. His charities were of 
 the noblest kind, for they were dispensed with that judicious 
 discretion, which aimed to render the benefits resulting from 
 them permanent. He seems to have adopted the maxim, hat
 
 42 
 
 . no money does so much good as that which is earned ; tie loved 
 to encourage industry, and to excite in those whom he relieved, 
 that independent feeling which springs from a consciousness of 
 being useful. Born to affluence, and to a rank in which the 
 temptations to luxurious indolence are manifold, he laboured in- 
 cessantly for the public good ; the suspension of parliamentary 
 duties was to him not an occasion of repose, but a change of 
 occupation. He studied, with a view to their improvement, all 
 the useful institutions of his country, he was a promoter of agri- 
 culture, and a patron of the arts. He carried the example of 
 public-spirited exertions among those who moved in the same 
 .exalted sphere with himself; and if any thing can tend to com- 
 pensate the heavy loss which society has sustained in his death, 
 it is the hope that such example will stimulate his survivors to 
 be equally ardent and persevering in the discharge of those 
 duties which their station imposes on them. 
 
 REPORT OF THE EXAMINATION OF THE 
 HEAD OF THE LATE SAMUEL WHITBREAD, 
 ESQ. BY SIR HENRY HALFORD, BART. AND 
 HENRY CLINE, ESQ. 
 
 On removing the upper part of the skull, it was observed 
 that the dura mater had become thickened and ossified to the 
 extent of a quarter of an inch in length, and an eighth of an 
 inch in breadth on the left side of the longitudinal sinus, not 
 far from the lambdoidal suture. 
 
 The vessels of the pia mater were considerably distended 
 with blood, and this membrane was thickened and opaque 
 near to the ossified part of the dura mater. 
 
 The ventricles of the brain contained more fluid than usual, 
 by one third at least, and the pia mater, covering the cerebel- 
 ij was thicker than is usual. 
 
 (Signed) HENRY HALFORD. 
 
 HENRY CLINE. 
 July 8, 1815. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by J. Su-on, 76, plttt Strett, London.
 
 JUST PUBLISHED, 
 By WILLIAM HONE, 55, Fleet Street. 
 
 SENTIMENTS OF RESPECT to the Memory of Mr. WHITBREAD. 
 Bv the EDITORS OF FOURTEEN LONDON NEWSPAPERS.- 
 PRICE TWO PENCE. 
 
 THE KING'S STATUE, AT GUILDHALL, or FRENCH COLOURS 
 AND FRENCH PRINCIPLES PUT DOWN ; a Serio-Comic Dialogue, 
 between Mr. FORESIGHT, Citizen and Spectacle-Maker, and Mr. CON- 
 TRACT, Citizen and Long-Bow-string Maker. Disclosing various Au- 
 thentic Anecdotes of Secret and Curious Occurrences at the OPENING 
 OF THE STATUE OF HIS MAJESTY, in the Council Chamber, 
 on Saturday, the 3d day of June, 1815; when sundry King's 
 Ministers, and other Official, Noble, and Honourable Visiters, together 
 with the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of London, and certain Worshipful 
 Aldermen, Common Councilmen, and other Members of the Corporation, 
 assisted in trampling on the French National Flag, spread on the Floor, 
 for the occasion. By Order of SIR WILLIAM CURTIS Published 
 for the instruction and amusement of all his Majesty's peaceable and well- 
 disposed Subjects throughout the Realm and for the peculiar gratifica- 
 tion of the high-minded Friends and Admirers of the Worthy ALDER- 
 MAX, the said SIR WILLIAM CURTIS, Baronet; Citizen and Draper; 
 one of the Representatives of the City of London, in Parliament; Chair- 
 man of the Statue Committee ; the never-to-be-forgotten Colonel of a late 
 City Volunteer Corps; Private in the Ancient and Honourable Lumber 
 Troop ; Banker ; Biscuit Baker; Naval Commander in the Expedition to 
 Walcheren ; a Codger ; a Septennial Visiter at Jacob's Well ; a Coun- 
 sellor under the Cauliflower; an Easy John; and a Governor of Bedlam. 
 Printed on fine JDraicing Paper, hotpressed, and Embellished with a 
 humorous Satirical Print, by CRUIKSHANK. Price, with the Faces and 
 Flags tinted, Is. Cd. ; or, fully and handsomely COLOURED, 2s. 
 
 BUONAPARTE-PHOBIA, or CURSING MADE EASY TO THE 
 MEANEST CAPACITY : A Dialogue between the EDITOR of " THR 
 TIMES" DOCTOR SLOP, MY UNCLE TOBY, and MY FATHER ; em- 
 bracing, The Times Vocabulary of Easy Epithets, and Choice Curses, 
 against Buonaparte from his leaving Elba; showing how to Nickname 
 and Curse Napoleon, to the best advantage, on all occasions; being the 
 approved terms regularly served up for some time past, in many respect- 
 able Families, with the Breakfast apparatus : (Designed for the Usejof 
 Men, Women, and Children, of "all Ranks and Conditions," throughout 
 his Majesty's Dominions of England and Wales, and the Town of Ber- 
 wick upon Tweed) 
 
 BY THE EDITOR OF "THE TIMES:" 
 
 Exhibiting the elegant Phraseology of that Eminent leader of Public 
 opinion, -and Embellished with the PORTRAIT OF NAPOLEON AS HE 
 is.-PHiCE ONE SHILLING.
 
 REMARKABLE INTERPRETATIONS of the SURPRISING PRO- 
 PHECIES, in the Revelation of St. John, respecting THE TIMES NOW 
 f'ASSING, showing, amongst other events, the Restoration i.f ihe Impe- 
 rial Dignity in France, and its duration until the year 1866, notwith- 
 standing the return of LOUIS XVIII. PRICE THREE PENCE. 
 
 FRENCH PRINCIPLES. THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, by 
 the National Convention, in 1793: the Declaration of Rights, by the 
 Chamber of Representatives, in July, 1815 : the Proclamation of the Pro- 
 visional Government to the Natirtn : and other Remarkable Documents, 
 illustrative of the Principles and Views of the French Representatives 
 and Government, dissolved by LOUIS XVIif. on his Re-entry into Paris, 
 in July, 1815, &c. &c. PRICE SIXPENCE. 
 
 THE PORTRAIT OF NAPOLEON AS HE NOW IS, from the Ori- 
 ginal Picture, painted by DAVID, Engraved by J. Kennerrey. -'PROOF' 
 IMPRESSIONS, Price Is. 6d. each. 
 
 THE PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM NORRIS, an Insane American, 
 RIVETTED ALIVE IN IRON, and many years confined, in thai state, 
 by chains 12 inches long, to an upright massive bar, in a cell in BETH- 
 LEM. Sketched from the Life, in Bethlem, by G. Arnald, Esq. A. R. A. 
 and etched by G. CruikshanJc, from the original Drawing, exhibited to 
 the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Madhouses, by whom 
 Norm's Case was investigated, in June, 1815. Price ONE SHILLING. 
 
 THE DUKE'S WEDDING, A NEW BALLAD, IN SUITABLE 
 DOGGREL VERSE : Showing, how His Royal Highness got a strange 
 Wife abroad, and came home to tell the Prince Regent he wanted Money, 
 to keep her; and how the Prince Regent, whatever he might think of 
 t.fce Duke for getting married, sent a Message to the lion. House of Com- 
 mons, to grant jg6000 a year, to enable the Duke and Duchess to live 5 
 and how the House did not see any necessity for it though,' it is said, 
 the Duke promised they would live in a foreign Country ; >and how the. 
 celebrated Lord Castlereagh, not being able to stay till the House threw 
 out the Bill, set oil' to catch Buonaparte alive, for the purpose, it is belie- 
 ved, of hanging him till he is dead, and how it is supposed that the 
 said Bill was thrown out, because Lord Cochrane gave somebody a Thou- 
 sand Pound Bank Note, that Morning, in a very strange way; and because 
 the Speaker, notwithstanding he did not shake hands with Lord Cochrane, 
 could not prevent his paying Two Shillings and taking his Seat in the 
 said Honourable House, and voting against the Duke's Bill the same Af- 
 ternoon : and it is therefore supposed, that the said Royal Duke, who is 
 to be married over again, and the German Princess his Duchess, and 
 Lord Cochrane, and the said Lord Castlereagh, and H. R. H. tire Prince 
 Regent, and the Hon. House of Commons, have some misunderstanding- 
 between them which Time alone Can tell. Tune " It is a strange 
 Story," &c. PRICE THREEPENCE. . 
 
 W. HONE, Bookseller, 55, FLEET STREET, executes Orders, 
 for the various Daily and Sunday. NEWSPAPERS, in Town and 
 Country. 
 
 
 

 
 THE 
 
 IMPORTANT RESULTS 
 
 OF AN 
 
 ELABORATE INVESTIGATION 
 
 INTO THE 
 
 Case c 
 
 or 
 
 BEING A 
 
 DETAIL OF EXTRAORDINARY FACTS 
 
 DISCOVERED SINCE HER EXECUTION, 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 THE OFFICIAL, 
 
 OF HER 
 
 NOW FIRST PUBLISHED, 
 
 AND COPIOUS NOTES THEREON. 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 NUMEROUS AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS; AN ARGUMENT ON 
 
 HER CASE; A MEMORIAL TO H. R. H. THE PRINCE 
 
 REGENT; & STRICTURES ON A LATE PAMPHLET 
 
 OF THE PROSECUTORS' APOTHECARY; 
 
 BY JOHN WATKINS, LL.D. 
 
 WITH 
 
 THIRTY ORIGINAL LETTERS, WRITTEN BY THE UNFORTU- 
 NATE GIRL WHILE IN PRISON ; AN APPENDIX, AND 
 AN APPROPRIATE DEDICATION. 
 
 *' If imputation and strong circumstances, 
 " Which lead directly to the door of truth, 
 " Will give you satisfaction, you may have it." 
 
 SlIAKSPEAP.E. 
 
 : 
 
 Lontion : 
 
 fRINTED FOR WILLIAM HONE, 55, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1815. 
 PRICE Six SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE.
 
 Printed by J. Moyts, GrerUIe Street, London.
 
 TO 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 THE LORD MAYOR, 
 
 TO 
 
 THE WORSHIPFUL 
 
 THE ALDERMEN, 
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 THE COMMON COUNCIL, 
 
 AND TO 
 
 THE WORTHY 
 
 LIVERYMEN AND CITIZENS, 
 
 OF 
 
 THE CITY OF LONDON, 
 
 THE ENSUING 
 
 REPORT 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FATAL PROCEEDINGS 
 
 BEFORE 
 
 Qtytiv ftecotfter, 
 
 IN THE CASE OF 
 
 ELIZABETH PENNING, 
 
 AND OTHER 
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH, 
 
 IS 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE EDITOR.
 
 
 .. 
 
 - - 
 
 10 -mem 
 
 HJO-MB fMifi ! 
 
 r Jjid":-NmmM< 
 
 -J . r)vii3 ' t nofearn'jq irf flitw ,sie mdW 
 
 AfGmiis^ r %c]j'ta e m"?6t ill'/ oii<Ji. |l! i J - u ^ ^^'*^ *>* 
 
 -
 
 PREFACE. xiii 
 
 picious circumstances alone are to be combined into a 
 charge that shall affect his character or his life. 
 
 21st October, 1815. 
 
 P. S. The Editor has to acknowledge the favour of 
 many liberal and unsolicited communications while en- 
 gaged in this painful inquiry : but the Letters of Dr. 
 Watkins are, with his permission, given entire ; and of 
 their value the Public will form a proper estimate.
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 FURTHER information respecting the Case of Elizabeth 
 Fcnning is respectfully solicited, and will be thankrullj 
 received, by the Publisher. 
 
 15, Fleet Street, 21 October, 181*. 
 
 , 
 
 J3 
 
 ITAH.THUJ.fi 
 
 8d . 
 
 iioqu Aoi wait klo 8JojIl3 
 
 j E'OJIIVIH.^ Erraa^xna avA8 OT 
 
 f oj ismJ 
 
 J 
 
 iiw 
 
 P& 
 
 6v X 
 
 ,..: ,tM u99-rj9d war 
 iMno^;. 

 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PREFACE v 
 
 IMPORTANT RESULTS, &c. 
 
 Brief Account of the Parents of Elizabeth Penning ... 1 
 THE TRIAL, 
 
 Including the numerous Questions omitted in the Sessions' Paper 
 Report, and particularly including Mrs. Charlotte Turner's Cross- 
 Examination, omitted ~in the Sessions' Paper Report ; and also 
 the whole of Sarah Peer's Cross-Examination, likewise omitted 
 in the Sessions' Paper Report ; on which two Cross-Examinations 
 both those Witnesses swore that a circumstance, in favour of the 
 Prisoner, did not happen, which since the Execution it has been 
 ascertained did happen. With copious NOTES . . . 5 50 
 
 PROCEEDINGS ON THE TRIAL, NOT REPORTED. 
 
 Evidence of Five Witnesses for Elizabeth Penning . . .51 
 Evidence of JoA Smith, rejected by the RECORDER . . . 52 
 
 John Smith's Affidavit 53 
 
 Statement of Elizabeth Fenn ing's Father shown to the RECORDER 
 in Court ........... 55 
 
 Refusal of the RECORDER to hear Elizabeth Fenning's Father . 66 
 
 The RECORDER'S CHARGE to the Jury 57 
 
 Correct List of the Jury, with their Additions . . . .59 
 Incorrect List of the Jury, published in the Sessions' Paper (Note) ib. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE EVIDENCE. 
 
 Observations on the Trial sent to the Secretary of State . 61 70 
 
 Effects of Arsenick upon Yeast Dough 68 
 
 Effects of Arsenick upon the Knives ...... 69 
 
 MEANS TAKEN TO SAVE ELIZABETH FENNING'S LIFE. 
 
 Her Petition to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent . .71 
 Her Petition to the Lord Chancellor .-.'.'. . . . 72 
 Her Letter to Lord Sidmouth . ."' . ' . . . .74 
 
 Her Letter to Mr. Turner 75 
 
 Remarkable Interview with Mr. Turner and Mr. Marshall . . 76 
 Extraordinary Interview with the RECORDER at Mr. Turner's . 77 
 The RECORDER'S Request to Mr. Turner not to sign a Petition 
 
 for Mercy . . . -. . . . . . .78 
 
 Interview between Mr. and Mrs. Turner, &c., and Elizabeth Fen- 
 
 ning, at Newgate, on Monday before her Execution . . .79 
 
 (See also p. 153.) 
 Letter of Corbyn Lloyd, Esq., of Lombard Street, Banker, relating 
 
 his Extraordinary Interview with the RECORDER respecting a 
 
 Respite- . . . .69
 
 vi CONTENTS; 
 
 Page 
 
 Observations on the RECORDER'S Remarks to Mr. Corbyn Lloyd 81 
 Remarkable Opinion of Lord Chief Justice Kenyan respecting Im- 
 proper Conduct in a Judge (Note) . . , . . . ib. 
 Letter of Basil Montagu, Esq., Barrister at Law, stating the RE- 
 CORDER'S Extraordinary Answer to his Personal Application 
 
 for a Respite 82 
 
 Letter of Mr. J. M. Richardson to Mr. Montagu (Note) . . 83 
 Extraordinary Circumstances stated to Mr. Becket and the RE- 
 CORDER, the Night before the Execution, concerning one of the 
 Prosecutors, who, previous to the Poisoning, had threatened to 
 destroy himself and his Family J 4 >_/ {^n>.,if J __ . .84 
 
 PARTICULARS RELATIVE TO ELIZABETH FENNING'S 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 Her general Conduct from being first in Custody . . . .86 
 
 Her Behaviour after the Report came down ib. 
 
 Note, requesting Prayers for her (Note) ..... ib. 
 
 Her Dislike of die Ordinary 88 
 
 The Ordinary's strange Remarks on her Case in the condemned 
 
 Sermon (Note) ib. 
 
 Her Farewell Partings with her Parents . . . . .89 
 
 Books read by her in Newgate (Note) ...... ib. 
 
 Her Behavior on the Morning of Execution . . . . .90 
 
 Her most Astonishing Fortitude . 91 
 
 Her Asseverations of Innocence ....... 92 
 
 Her Conduct on the Scaffold, when attended by the Rev. Mr. Vazie 93 
 
 Her Death 95 
 
 Singular Promise she obtained from the Ordinary (Nate) . . ib. 
 Demand made of her Father at Newgate before her Body was deli- 
 vered ........... ib. 
 
 Copy of the Bill paid by her Father for her dead Body . . . 96 
 
 Her Bequest to her Mother (Note) . . . . . . ib. 
 
 Conduct of the Police Officers at her Father's . . . . 97 
 
 Her Funeral .......... ib. 
 
 Precautions of an eminent Anatomist respecting her Corpse (Note) 98 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS. 
 
 S. B. J.'s Letter in consequence of her unexpected Execution, after 
 
 he had interested himself in her Behalf . . . . .99 
 A Letter on the same Occasion by another Gentleman . . . , 102 
 
 Affidavit of Samuel Davis, the Turnkey 105 
 
 Mr. Turner's Conduct on that Occasion . . . . . ib. 
 
 Her Fathers Conduct' , . . 106 
 
 Refusal of a Magistrate to swear the Father's Affidavit . . . ib. 
 
 The like Refusal at Hat ton Garden Office ib. 
 
 Copy of her Father's Affidavit, sworn at the Mansion House, not 
 
 before published . . . . . . . . 107 
 
 Copy of the Affidavit published . . . . . . 109 
 
 The 1 'urnkey's Letter in Explanation . . . . . .111 
 
 Applications to the Magistuiles and Clerk of the Arraigns for 
 
 Copies of the Depositions, and Refusals 112 
 
 Applications at the Secretary of Slate's Office for a Return of the 
 
 Papers, See. left there, and Refusals. 114
 
 CONTENTS. vii 
 
 Page 
 
 Singular Intimation, the Night before the Execution, to a legal Gen- 
 
 tleman who interested himself in her Case 114 
 
 Interview with Mr. Banner, who burned her Character in Mr. Tur- 
 ner's Hand-writing . .. , ...; -. , , : , . . . 115 
 Interview with Mr. Ogifoy, the Surgeon . . . . .116 
 Particulars, not before published, respecting her Exam in at ions before 
 
 the Magistrates J-v . . . . 117 
 
 Offer of the Magistrates to take 50l. Bail for her . . . .121 
 
 The Power of her Prosecutors, and her Helplessness . . . ib. 
 Proofs obtained, after the Execution, that Mrs. Charlotte Turner 
 and Sarah Peer swore what was not true on the Trial, respecting 
 the Coals, their erroneous Evidence respecting which was wholly 
 omitted in the Sessions' Paper ....... 122 
 
 Mr. Turner's Introduction of a Woman to Elizabeth Fen?iing in 
 
 Newgate, whose Name he afterwards refused to disclose . . 126 
 Elizabeth Penning visited by the Woman's Husband . . . ib. 
 Mr. Turner's repeated positive Refusals to sign a Petition for Mercy 127 
 Mr. Turner's Refusal to pay her Wages ..... 128 
 
 Proofs of her Integrity of Conduct and extreme Care whilst in Mr. 
 Turner's Sen-ice . . . % . . . . . . ib. 
 
 Testimonies to her Character 130 
 
 Copies of her Character, and Testimonials to her Father's Charac- 
 ter (Note) ' . ' , . '.'... ^., - 1" .'.''."" ''. ' . ib. 
 The Prejudice raised against her ....... 132 
 
 An interesting Relation of the Mode by which a false Report of her 
 
 twice attempting to poison Mr. Hardy's Family was traced . 133 
 Interview with Mr. King, who acquainted Mr. Turner with that 
 
 Report , V-.J . . . . 134 
 
 Interview with Mr. Hickson, of the Strand, implicated in that Report 136 
 Circumstantial Narrative of an extraordinary Interview with Mr. 
 
 Hardy, the Grocer, of Portugal Street, and his Wife . . . 137 
 Statement of Mr. Redit, Solicitor, of Kings' Road, respecting Mr. 
 
 Hardy 144 
 
 Mr. Turner's strange Use of a Congratulatory Letter from Mr. Shuler, 
 of Cursitor Street, Attorney at Law, reporting, amongst other 
 Facts, that Elizabeth Fenning had cut the Throat of Mrs. Wil- 
 liams, of Gray's Inn 146 
 
 Singular Interview with Mr. Shuter himself, who surrendered his 
 
 Barber as his Authority , ^ . ib. 
 
 Subsequent Interview with Mr. Shuter's Barber .... 147 
 Consequent Interview with Mrs. Williams ..... 148 
 
 Mysterious Conduct of Mr. Turner 149 
 
 Intellectual Endowments of Elizabet h Fenning . . . ib. 
 Parallel between her and Mr. Hardy, the Grocer .... 150 
 Enumeration of her peculiar Misfortunes by the Conduct of her Pro- 
 secutors and the RECORDER .151 
 
 Interview in Newgate, the Monday before her Execution, between- 
 her and Mrs. Charlotte Turner and Thomas King . . . 152 
 
 (See also p. 790 
 
 Strange Visit of the RECORDER to the Shop of Mr. Cornish, the 
 Baker ........... 153 
 
 Anonymous Letters to the RECORDER (Note) . . . .154
 
 viii CONTENTS. 
 
 THREE LETTERS FROM DR. WATKINS TO THE & * 
 PUBLISHER. 
 
 LETTER I. On the Evidence adduced on the Trial . . . 155 
 Dr. Watkins's Memorial to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent 1C? 
 
 LETTER IT. On the Two Apothecaries' Declaration Testimony 
 on the Trial The Turnkey's Affidavit Right of Discussion on 
 Cases like the present Dr. Isaac Barrow. Postscript On the 
 Trial being before the RECORDER, without a Judge Duty of 
 the Executive to inquire concerning Criminals reported, inde- 
 pendent of die Report of the Person Trying .... 165 
 
 LETTER III. On the Pamphlet of the Prosecutor's Apothecary 
 How Professional Men should give Evidence The Apothecary's 
 'Testimony Conduct of the Court Two Apothecaries and no 
 Physician called in Thomas King not a Witness Contrivance 
 of the Prosecution Extraordinary Exclamation ascribed to the 
 Recorder A Judge ought not to become an Advocate except far 
 the Prisoner Indignation at the Exclamation ascribed to the 
 Records) The Apothecary not entitled to Credit for more than 
 he can prove -The Indecent Book Parallel between the Apo- 
 thecary and the Turnkey Dr. W. Hunter's Opinion on the Tes- 
 timony of Professional Men . . . >j , , . .181 
 
 SUBSCRIPTION for the Parents of the late Elizabeth Penning . 193 
 
 THIRTY LETTERS, written whilst in Confinement, and under 
 Sentence of Death, by the late ELIZABETH PENNING, illus- 
 trative of her Mind and Feelings . . . . . 1 ?(T 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 FABRICATIONS OF THE OBSERVER" SUNDAY NEWS- 
 PAPER, AND OTHER FALSEHOODS RESPECTING 
 HER CASE . . ." 21 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 P. 28. To Question 70 the following words are omitted, " used for Sir ? " 
 P. 60. A slight transposition is required. The last name in the LIST OF THE JURY 
 hould read thus: " EDWARD BEESLEY, of Charles Street, Bottle Dealer, who waa 
 DEAF, and obliged to luite part of the EVIDENCE which he COULD SOT HEAR, 
 related to Aim by his brother Jurymen*" 
 
 
 
 .
 
 I 
 .OT -; v :-:Of!-i 
 
 THE extraordinary interest taken by the Public in the very 
 peculiar and affecting Case which constitutes the subject 
 of these sheets, is at least an honourable proof, that, how- 
 ever lax may be the practice of virtue, the principle still 
 continues to be the National Character. A more striking 
 evidence of this can hardly be adduced than the sponta- 
 neous movement occasioned by the prosecution, condemna- 
 tion, and execution, of the unfortunate young woman, in 
 whose lamentable fate all classes and descriptions of per- 
 sons seemed to be animated by a common feeling of pity 
 and indignation. It is observable, that the sensibility thus 
 excited did not break forth into a strong expression of 
 compassion and resentment, merely from that ordinary 
 spring of humanity which is apt to commiserate even the 
 wretchedness of the guilty ; but the sentimental tide which 
 flowed on this occasion arose from the purest of all sources, 
 a lively perception of the hardships of the Case, and a 
 jealousy lest that which has hitherto been our bulwark 
 and our pride, should be converted into an engine of op- 
 pression, and an instrument of vengeance. 
 
 The reflection, that all the Institutions of man are liable 
 to abuse, operates as a standing lesson to make us watchful 
 over the forms of law and the proceedings of Courts ; that 
 what was established by the integrity and wisdom of our
 
 x PREFACE. 
 
 Ancestors, may not be injured by our folly, or perverted 
 to an evil through our remissness. There is a blind con- 
 fidence which infects the best minds, and induces them to 
 rely so much upon the intrinsic excellence of legal insti- 
 tutes, and the solemnity of judicial proceedings, as to think 
 that they are secure from corruption, though occasionally 
 liable to suffer from the infirmity of erroneous administra- 
 tion. But, this yielding to official authority, and trusting 
 to the abstract purity of venerated establishments, has a 
 very dangerous tendency ; inasmuch as it puts those arms, 
 which were designed for the use of the virtuous, and the 
 protection of the helpless, into the hands of the crafty and 
 vindictive. Whenever, therefore, this indifference to the 
 privileges which belong alike to every man, shall become 
 general among a People, the decay of that State has begun, 
 and the period is not distant when its degradation will be 
 completed ; for, Quid cum illis agas ; qui nequejus, neque 
 bonum out aquum sciunt ? Meliiis, pejus, prosit, obsit, nil 
 vident nisi quod lubent. " What can you do with those 
 who are totally ignorant of justice, goodness, or equity ? 
 Right or wrong equally influences them, since they dis- 
 tinguish nothing but as they are pleased." It is, there- 
 fore, a mark of providential care, that instances now and 
 then occur to rouse men's fears, and to awaken in them 
 some regard to their rights and their duties. The suffer- 
 ings of the innocent, and the insolence of the, oppressor, 
 may be productive of good, if they shall bring those to 
 think who have hitherto been supine with respect to the 
 trust reposed in them, and shall animate the most efficient 
 to adopt the means best calculated to remove existing 
 grievances, and to prevent the recurrence of the evils 
 which have occasioned inquiry.
 
 PREFACE. xf 
 
 No greater folly can be committed by men, than to rest 
 satisfied with a general complaint against public abuses, 
 without endeavouring to prevent their increase, and to 
 expose their pernicious influence. When attention has 
 been once excited, and the reality of great enormities has 
 been sufficiently proved, an obligation is imposed on every 
 member of society to pursue investigation with keenness, 
 and to call upon others for their assistance. Amidst the 
 habits of luxury, the cares of business, and the spirit of cu- 
 riosity, ever inquisitive after novelties, cases of the most 
 urgent import, and abuses of the most flagrant nature, are too 
 often suffered to pass unheeded or uncorrected. A remark- 
 able instance of cruelty, perhaps, chances to bring a train of 
 grievances to view which the world at large never thought 
 had an existence. Conversation then becomes general and 
 loud upon the subject for a few weeks, but at length some- 
 thing new arises to engage public attention, and, in a little 
 time, that which was considered as of universal import, and 
 calling for immediate redress, is either totally forgotten, or 
 remembered only as a tale that was told. 
 
 To guard, as far as possible, against this common weak- 
 ness, by which practical reform is so often frustrated, is 
 the design of the present Publication ; wherein are ex- 
 hibited the details of one of the most extraordinary Cases 
 that ever happened in a civilized State ; and if human life 
 be worth protection, or laws are to be considered as the 
 equal right of the poor and the rich, it is one that sensibly 
 touches the national interest and the national honour. The 
 . circumstances here recorded shew, beyond all doubt, how 
 liable the best things are to be perverted, and that while 
 we have every 'reason to make our boast of a Constitution
 
 xii PREFACE. 
 
 intrinsically excellent, and of a body of jurisprudence as 
 valuable as human wisdom and experience can digest, 
 errors in practice do much oftener arise from the bad 
 passions of the powerful acting upon the carelessness of 
 the community, than the most virtuous and enlightened 
 could easily bring themselves to imagine. 
 
 This Collection, therefore, must be considered as a me- 
 mento, to draw the fixed attention of every individual to the 
 administration of those laws in which he has an interest, and 
 upon which in some capacity or other, either as a witness 
 or a juror, he may be called to act according to the dis- 
 charge of his conscience and his judgment. Let no man 
 say that the Case, though melancholy, is now irremediable, 
 and therefore should be forgotten : on the contrary, the 
 perusal of all the facts must convince those who have any 
 sense of moral feeling, that though the fate of the unfor- 
 tunate girl has been decided, her History should not be 
 forgotten. Every part of the Narrative rings an alarm to 
 the present, no less than a warning to future genera- 
 tions, not to trust to presumptive evidence, and to put 
 little confidence in the reasonings of fallible Magistrates, 
 who have grown old in the ministration of death, or in the 
 testimony of Witnesses who are actuated by their preju- 
 dices. 
 
 Though the Publication has been retarded by a variety 
 of causes, it is hoped that Truth and Justice have gained 
 by the delay ; and that something more beneficial will be 
 produced by it, than the gratification of a momentary 
 curiosity that every individual in the community, from 
 the highest to the lowest, will be impressed with a sense 
 of the dangers to which he would be exposed, if us-
 
 , 
 
 
 important Kesult* 
 
 To #*;*:". *-itM*| 
 
 ON 
 
 AN ELABORATE INVESTIGATION 
 
 ogft* ,.'CO :id 3HOf!I , 
 
 .-HiTO 
 
 v=br* J 
 ftik>>J Jc&' "-wfo 
 
 ELIZABETH PENNING, 
 
 ) j i *TO>,(<JI, ' jr,iM>,' .".^ "< 
 
 3?u 
 
 WILLIAM PENNING was born the 27th ofMarch,1753, 
 in Angel Street, Hadleigh, in Suffolk, of Protestant parents. 
 His father, THOMAS PENNING, who has been dead about 
 twelve years, was a gardener: his mother, MARY PEN- 
 NING, is living, and resides at Hadleigh Green. At seven- 
 teen years of age he became a soldier in the 15th regiment 
 of foot ; a detachment of which was recruiting at Hadleigh. 
 He joined the regiment at Beverly, in Yorkshire. On the 
 6th of May, 1787, the regiment being quartered at Cork, he 
 there married, by license, MARY SWAYNE, a Protestant, 
 who was born there, and baptized at Christ Church ; 
 and whose mother, MARY SWAYXE, had died about a year \ 
 before, having been left a widow about three months from 
 the time of her daughter's birth. GEORGE SWAYNE, the 
 father of WILLIAM FENNING'S wife, was a slater in Cork, ( 
 and son of Mr. SWAYNE, a respectable silversmith in the 
 Strand. WILLIAM PENNING and his wife, whose parents 
 were both English, and Protestants, were married at
 
 St. Finbarry's Church, by the Rev. Mr. THOMPSON. In 
 1790 he sailed with the regiment from the Cove of Cork 
 for Barbadoes, and from thence to the Island of Dominica, 
 where their daughter, ELIZABETH PENNING*, the 
 subject of the present publication, was born on the 10th of 
 June, 1793. She was christened at Rousseau, in that 
 island, by the Rev. Mr. MARGARET, the Protestant Mi- 
 nister; where, at about a year and a half old, in the 
 middle of the night, whilst her mother was sleeping, she 
 pulled the rushlight from the bedside, which setting fire 
 to herself and the bedclothes, awakened the poor woman 
 just time enough to save herself and her daughter from 
 the misfortune that threatened them t. In 1796, or 1797, 
 WILLIAM PENNING came home with the regiment to 
 Portsmouth. The skeleton that arrived consisted of about 
 fifty, including officers, subalterns, and privates. Mrs. 
 PENNING was one of seven women who returned to Eng- 
 land, out of one hundred and two women who went out 
 with the regiment. After recruiting in various places 
 in England and Scotland, the regiment was quartered at 
 Dublin, where, in 1802, WILLIAM PENNING solicited 
 and obtained his discharge with the following Certificates : 
 
 M}'i rtrtVj/. //ft 
 
 ( OPY.) 
 
 " By Lieutenant-Colonel BARRY, commanding his Majesty's 
 1st battalion of the 15th regiment of infantry, whereof General 
 HENRY WATSON POWELL is colonel, These are to certify, that 
 the bearer hereof, WILLIAM FENNING, has served in the afore- 
 said regiment for the space of twenty years and four months, is^ for 
 
 * She has usually been called Eliza Fanning ; her baptismal name 
 was Elizabeth. 
 
 t From this incident arose the Report that Eliza Penning had set fire 
 to her mother's bed, as she lay in it, with the intention of burning her 
 mother alive. This report has been most gravely used as an instance of 
 her early depravity.
 
 the reason below mentioned, discharged from the said regiment, 
 he having received his pay, arrears of pay, clothing of all sorts, 
 and all other just demands, from the time of enlisting into the said 
 regiment to the day of his discharge; and by order of the com- 
 mander of the forces he is discharged at his own request. And to 
 prevent any ill use that may be made of this discharge, by its fall- 
 ing into the hands of any other person whatever, here follows a 
 description of the above-said WILLIAM PENNING : he is aged 
 about 38 years, five feet six inches high, of a dark complexion, 
 hazle eyes, round visage, and black hair ; born in the parish of 
 Hadleigh, in the county of Suffolk ; by trade a labourer. 
 
 " Given under my hand and the regimental seal, at Dublin, the 
 2 1st of March, 1802. 
 
 , " H. G. BARRY, Lieut.-Col. 15th Foot." 
 
 MI}] ;1 / / >>' . : 
 
 
 (Copy.) 
 
 " To all concerned, Serjeant W. PENNING served in the 
 15th Foot for upwards of twenty years. He was for some time 
 MASTER OF THE BAND; is a good musician, and always conducted 
 himself as a steady, honest, and sober good man. 
 
 " H. G. BARRY, Lieut.-Col. Commandant, 1 5th Foof. . 
 
 " Dublin, March 26, 1802." 
 : isT: >^i;.bt:iL M k>dUiKio itfr.1 
 
 In a few weeks after receiving his discharge, PENNING 
 and his family arrived at Bristol, from whence they de- 
 parted in the London waggon, and stopped at Bath* for 
 one night on their journey. 
 
 Arriving in London, WILLIAM PENNING went into 
 the service of his brother, a potatoe dealer, at No. 15, 
 Red Lion Street, Holborn, with whom he remained up- 
 wards of three years, and has been ever since servant at 
 the potatoe warehouse, No. 18, Red Lion Passage ; the 
 business of which house has in that time passed into the 
 hands of three successive persons, in whose different em- 
 
 * This was the only time that Elizabeth Penning was at Bath.
 
 4 
 
 ployments WILLIAM PENNING has conducted himself 
 honestly and diligently, to the satisfaction of his masters. 
 
 His wife has, for the last five years, worked as uphol- 
 stery woman for Mr. N ORRIS, upholsterer, No. 55, High 
 Holborn. 
 
 From the age of about fourteen years their daughter, 
 ELIZABETH PENNING, has been out in servitude; 
 and in the latter end of January, 1815, being hired 'as 
 cook into the family of Mr. ORI IBAR TURNER, at No. 68, 
 Chancery Lane, in about seven weeks from that lime 
 the circumstances unhappily arose which led to the unfor- 
 tunate creature's being charged with an attempt to murder 
 Mr TURNER'S family. 
 
 The following is a Correct Copy of the COPIOUS RE- 
 PORT of ELIZABETH FENNING'S Trial ^ from the notes 
 of the shorthand writer* to the Corporation of London. 
 It differs most materially from the SESSIONS' PAPER 
 REPORT ; which, although the fullest hitherto pub- 
 lished, is not only much shorter, but is garbled essentially 
 in the Evidence. A corresponding Copy of the present 
 official Report is in the possession of the Right Hon. th 
 Secretary of State for the Home Department. 
 ^ ot eaoBS bib ad Jjsdj t \wu<O Woo^. 
 
 u! * Mf. Job Sibly, the Reporter, is since deadS** 
 
 bos tei 9f fir 
 
 -mas 3d of ^Dflafto odl gnrgiarh /frto . 
 
 WUOD .isrbonfi bos 
 
 IBW .Togii
 
 rrnpv 1 
 
 
 THE KING ^ PROCEEDINGS on the 
 
 versus C TRIAL of this Indict" 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. > mM Qf Justke UM 
 
 r\u r> / z, r */ 
 O/a Bailey, before the 
 j ' j 
 
 HONOURABLE ME. 
 RECORDER, Tues- 
 day, April 11, 1815. - 
 
 j V* *' V/|OV> t-) JtjC.,- ;i V, , 
 
 ELIZA PENNING* was indicted for that she, 
 on the 21st day of March, feloniously and unlawfully 
 did administer to, and cause to be administered to 
 ORLIBAR TURNER, ROBERT GREGSON TURNER, 
 and CHARLOTTE TURNER his wife, certain deadly 
 poison (to wit arsenick), with intent the said persons 
 to kill and murder. 
 
 Second Count, that she did cause to be taken by 
 the same persons, arsenick with intent to kill and 
 murder them. 
 
 Third and Fourth Counts, as in the first and 
 second counts, only charging the offence to be com- 
 mitted against ROBERT GREGSON TURNER only, 
 and another count against CHARLOTTE TURNER 
 only. 
 
 The Case was stated by Mr. GURNET. 
 
 * Although the Prisoner's baptismal name was ELIZABITH, 
 she was indicted, it appears, by the name of Eliza.
 
 Mrs. CHARLOTTE TURNER Sworn. 
 Examined by Mr. GURNET. 
 
 1. Q. You are the wife of Mr. Robert Gregson 
 Turner ? 
 
 A. I am. 
 
 2. Q. He is a law stationer, in Chancery Lane ? 
 A. He is, sir. 
 
 3. Q. I believe, madam, your husband's father, 
 Mr. Orlibar, is a partner? he lives at Lambeth? 
 
 A. He does. 
 
 4. Q. At what time did the prisoner come into 
 your service? 
 
 A. About seven weeks before the accident, as 
 cook. 
 
 5. Q. Had you occasion to reprove her ? 
 A. I had, about three weeks after she came. 
 
 6. Q. What was the occasion that you reproved 
 
 her? 
 
 lUpiM ftautoftf 
 
 .,.,-, 
 
 Q. 1. The mischievous practice of putting words into the wit- 
 nesses' mouths; or, in technical language, putting leading questions, 
 appears to have been exercised without restraint, during the whole 
 of this extraordinary trial. 
 
 Q. 5. The first question put for the purpose of obtaining proof 
 of the prisoner's presumed motive for her alleged poisoning. Mrs. 
 C. Turner's answer assigns the period about a month before the 
 affair, but she does not state one angry word between her and the 
 prisoner afterwards; on the contrary, the witness admits, on her 
 cross-examination, that she had no other cause of complaint 
 except that she forgave her. It is to be remarked, that neither of 
 the other persons, who, according to Mrs. C. Turner's testimony, 
 must have been present on the occasion of the girl's fault, were 
 examined as to that point. 
 
 Q. 6. If Mrs. C. Turner saw the prisoner go into the young 
 men's room, was she not watching? What was the motive for 
 Mrs. C. Turner, from her chamber on the second floor, watching 
 the servant on the attic. If she was watching, was there no other 
 cause for Mr. Robert Turner's wife's vigilance, than ordinary
 
 7 
 
 A. I observed her one night go into the young 
 men's room partly undressed ; it was very indecent of 
 her to go into the young men's room thus undressed. 
 
 7. Q. What age were the young men ? 
 
 A. I suppose seventeen or eighteen years old. 
 
 8. Court. Two of them, were they ? 
 
 A. Two ; I reproved her severely the next morning 
 for her conduct ; the excuse was, that she was going to 
 fetch the candle. I threatened to discharge her, and 
 gave her warning to quit ; but she shewed contrition. 
 I forgave her for it, and retained her. That passed 
 over. 
 
 9- Q. What was her deportment after that, for 
 the remaining month ? 
 
 A. I observed that she failed in the respect that she 
 before paid me, and appeared extremely sullen. 
 
 curiosity, as to the conduct of the girl with the boys? Lastly, if 
 she saw the prisoner go into the boys' room, why did she not 
 instantly inquire into the circumstances? 
 
 Q. 8. [In the SESSIONS' PAPER REPORT of this Trial 
 Mrs. Turner's account of the Prisoner's ExcusE^/br going to the 
 boys' room is wholly OMITTED] 
 
 Q. 9- The witness's attempt is to prove the continuation of the 
 prisoner's motive. Her failure in respect to Mrs. C. Turner for a 
 whole month, and her " extreme sullenness" during that time, must 
 have been observed by Mr. R. Turner, Mr. O. Turner, Mrs. M. 
 Turner, Roger Gadsden, and Sarah Peer, or some or one of them ; 
 yet not one of these witnesses was examined in corroboration of 
 Mrs. C. Turner's evidence upon this point. THOMAS KING, 
 who was NOT a Witness, could probably have deposed somewhat 
 upon this head. If, however, the prisoner had a grudge against 
 the family, it is extraordinary that she did not execute her purpose 
 of poisoning immediately whilst her supposed resentment was 
 strong upon her. The means were as much within her reach 
 then as at any subsequent period. But would she have remained 
 in Mr. Turner's service for a whole month, for the purpose of 
 poisoning a family that she might have quitted at any time that she 
 pleased '?
 
 m 
 
 10. Q. Did she, after this, say any thing to yod 
 tipon the subject of yeast dumplings ? 
 
 A. She did, a fortnight before the transaction ; she 
 requested me to let her make some yeast dumplings, 
 professing herself to be a capital hand. That request 
 was frequently repeated. 
 
 11. Q. On Monday, the 20th of March, was any 
 thing said to you upon the subject of yeast ? 
 
 A. She came up into the dining-room, and said 
 the brewer had brought some veast. ^iiiJ ; 
 
 */ 
 
 12. Q. Had you given any orders to the brewer 
 to bring any yeast ? 
 
 A. Oh no ! I told her I did not wish to trouble the 
 man ; that was not the way I had them made; I 
 generally had the dough from the baker's ; that saved 
 the cook a great deal of trouble, and was also con- 
 sidered the best. Having this yeast, I said it was of 
 no consequence, as the man had brought a little, the 
 
 'j -.,[; ; - , \; . j K.J,., ,,j oj / 
 
 . Q. 10. The prisoner's request to be allowed to make yeast 
 dumplings, as sworn to by Mrs. C. -Turner, tends to impress the 
 jury with the idea that the prisoner had, for a whole fortnight, 
 determined to mix poison with yeast dumplings. But were not 
 the Turners accustomed to have yeast dumplings? and had they not 
 been talked about, so as to induce in the prisoner a wish to show 
 her skill in that kind of cookery ? If she had resolved to commit 
 the crime, how strange that she should have selected yeast dumplings 
 as the best medium of poisoning with arsenick; and have deferred 
 the criminal purpose/or a whole fort night, whilst, as cook, she had 
 so many other readier and more secret means of effecting it. It 
 is remarkable, by the bye, that the prisoner made this request in 
 the middle of the remaining month of alleged sullenness, " pro- 
 fessing herself," as Mrs. C. Turner swears, " to be a capital hand, 
 and that that request was frequently made." A capital hand ! 
 Is this the language of sullenness ? 
 
 Q. 1 2, Mrs. Charlotte Turner swears that she did not wish the 
 girl to leave the kitchen ; that she did not wish her to leave the . 
 dough. Some explanation is here requisite. Of the reason for 
 this wish there is no information whatever. What necessity could
 
 9 
 
 next day she might make some, I told her. On 
 Tuesday morning, I, as usual, went iato the kitchen. 
 I told her she might make some; but, before she 
 made the dumplings, to make a beef steak pie for, 
 dinner for the young men. As she would have to. 
 leave the kitchen to get the steaks, I did not wish her 
 to leave the kitchen after the dumplings were made. 
 I told her I should wish the dough to be mixed with 
 rnilk and water. She said she would do them as I 
 desired her; this was about half past eleven. She 
 carried the pie to the baker's before kneading the 
 dous;h commenced. I told her I wished her not to 
 
 o 
 
 leave the dough, that she might carry the pie to the 
 baker's. 
 
 iw-Wfe tedJ ; suited aifc moii ibuuij tii) iu;a y^j:*no3 
 exist for it ? What were the motives for these strongly expressed, 
 and peculiar wishes of Mrs.Charlotte Turner, concerning these yeast 
 dumplings? As Mrs. C. Turner usually had the common baker's 
 dough for yeast dumplings, what could have occasioned her ex- 
 traordinary solicitude, and repeated cautions, that after this dough 
 was to be made, it should never be left by the particular person 
 who was to make it? The operation of fermentation or rising, as 
 it is called, is spontaneous, and requires very little attention : 
 the preparation for it is technically termed by bakers setting 
 sponge, which, when done, they go to sleep, and leave the rising 
 wholly to itself. Why, after she had told the girl that as the man 
 had brought the yeast she might make some dumplings the next 
 day, did Mrs. Charlotte Turner go into the kitchen the next day, 
 and again tell her she might make some ; but, instead of allowing 
 the girl to try her professed " capital hand" at these yeast dump^ 
 lings, herselj 'step in, and assume the direction of their manufac- 
 ture, ordering milk and -water to be used in their mixture? What was 
 there peculiar in the management of these yeast dumplings, that 
 Mrs. Charlotte Turner should not only deem her own presence and 
 superintendence requisite, but the absence of the prisoner impro- 
 per, and make precise arrangements to prevent it, as she considered, 
 during the whole process? What, connected with these dumplings, 
 occasioned such extraordinary precaution and caution? In particu- 
 lar, whv did Charlotte Turner not wish the girl to leave th 
 kitchen a% ? WHT ? WHY 1
 
 10 
 
 13. Q. At about what time did she carry the pie 
 to the baker's ? 
 
 A. I suppose near twelve. 
 
 14. Q. How soon after twelve did you g6 into the 
 kitchen again, after she had been to the baker's ? 
 
 A. I gave her directions about making the dough. 
 I said, I suppose there was no occasion for me stop- 
 ping. She said, Oh no, she knew very well how to 
 do it ; and then I went up stairs. 
 
 1 5. Q. How soon after that did you go into the 
 kitchen again? 
 
 A. Not more than half an hour. I then found the 
 dough made : it was set before the fire to rise. 
 
 16. Q. What other servant had you ? 
 
 A. We have one more, a house-maid, Sarah Peer. 
 
 17. Q. Where was she at the time the dough was 
 made r 
 
 A. I had given Sarah Peer orders to go into the 
 bed-room, to repair a counterpane. 
 
 18. Q. Then during the time that the dough was 
 made, was any person in the kitchen but the prisoner ? 
 
 A. I am certain there could be no body. 
 
 '\>'n ion <5i 
 
 i JjVP I 4 
 Q. 13. Mrs. C. Turner swears, that at " near twelve the 
 
 prisoner took the pie to the baker's : did not this absence afford op- 
 portunity for any person in the house to adulterate the flour with 
 arsenick without her knowing the circumstance ? 
 
 Q. 17. Mrs. Turner swears she gave Sarah Peer orders to " go 
 " into the bed-room, and mend a counterpane." Sarah Peer, on 
 her examination, swears that she went up stairs " to make the 
 " beds." (See Q. 106.) Is it usual for a house-maid to be employed 
 at that time of the day at her needle? 
 
 Q. 18. Mrs. Turner swears that she is certain there could be 
 no body in the kitchen but the prisoner during the time the dough 
 was made; although, in answer to Q: 14, she swears that she 
 went upstairs: and it appears by her answer to Q. 15, that slit: 
 was absent half an hour. How could she be certain that no
 
 19. Q- This was about half past twelve ?-';< 
 
 A. I suppose it might be half past twelve. We 
 dine at three, the young men at two. 
 
 20. Q. In the interval between half past twelve 
 and three, were you again in the kitchen ? 
 
 A. I was in the kitchen two or three times, until 
 the dough was made up into dumplings. 
 
 21. Q. Where was the dough ? 
 
 A. That remained in a pan before the fire for the 
 purpose of rising, but I observed the dough never did 
 rise. 
 jriJ bnuol nsifJ I /ftrort'fwVfi 
 
 person but the prisoner was in the kitchen, two stories below, 
 during the time ; when either of the family on the ground floor 
 could have gone into the kitchen without her knowing any thing 
 about it, unless Mrs. Turner was watching the staircase and door ; 
 and if she was watching, why did she watch ? 
 
 Q. 20. In the interval between half past twelve and three, she 
 swears she was in the kitchen two or three times; hence she must 
 have been absent as many times; and, if so, for how long? During 
 these times, if the prisoner was occasionally absent, might not the 
 dough have been strewed or sprinkled with arsenick ; and, in that 
 state, as arsenick is of the colour of flour, have been divided by her 
 into dumplings? 
 
 Q. 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24. What could be the motive for Mrs. 
 Turner's minute and frequent examination of the dougli 1 her 
 remarks upon " its not rising," its singular shape, its singular 
 position, her confident assertion of its not having been meddhd 
 with ? What could be her reasons for this extraordinary peering 
 into the dough dish, and repeatedly observing the heaviness and 
 position of the dough ? Had Mrs. Turner any suspicion that all 
 was not right? If she had, why did she not send the girl away 
 whilst she examined ? Yet what else could be Mrs. Turutr s 
 motive ? (See Q. 35.) 
 
 Mrs. Turner swears the shape of the dough was singular until 
 
 the last, until divided into dumplings, not rising at all, and is con- 
 
 Jident it never was meddled with. In her answers to Q. 24 and 
 
 25, she also swears to the time the dumplings were divided, although 
 
 she was not present when they were divided, nor had she seen the 
 
 dough within half an hour of the time. 
 
 us 
 
 <ju 
 
 J ",'tL . . Q
 
 22. Q. Did^ou take off the cloth to look at it? 
 A. I did ; my observation was, that it did not rise : 
 
 and it was in a very singular position, in which posi- 
 tion it remained until it was divided into dumplings ; 
 it was not put into the pan, as I have observed dough ; 
 its shape was singular ; it retained the shape till the 
 last. 
 
 23. Q. It remained heavy all the time ? 
 
 A. Yes, not rising at all. I am confident it never 
 was meddled with, after it was put there.1 .p 
 
 24. Q. At about what time was the dividing of the 
 dumplings to put them into the pot ? 
 
 A. About twenty minutes before twelve. I was 
 
 J 
 
 not in the kitchen at the time. 
 
 ;\-\ IfJSft toil hfnori* TW't(^ -\M 
 
 v.fl 'to'ltBq rislt no 'rmuT 9tlol 
 
 Mrs. C. Turner's confidence is so remarkable, that it excites asto- 
 nishment. She has so much confidence, that even the prisoners 
 counsel has not ventured to put a question as to the features, coun- 
 tenance, or general likeness of the face of the dough, at which Mrs. 
 C TurntT lo< krd so much, and swore to: yet il cannot be too often 
 inquired, how it is possible that she could swear confidently to the 
 dough not having been meddled with, after it was put down to 
 the tire to rise? Did not Sarah Peer, before she went to fetch the 
 milk, dine in the kitchen -with the prisoner? (See Q. 103.) 
 
 Q. 24. The time mentioned in the answer to this question 
 might almost be taken for a mistake, were it not for other glaring 
 inconsistencies in the evidence. 
 
 Taking these answers together, and coupling them with 
 the answers to Q. 13, 14, and 15, it may be asked, with re- 
 ference to the different periods of time spoken of, how such 
 direct contradictions, and glaring inconsistencies, can be recon- 
 ciled with that established principle of watchfulness and jea- 
 lousy, which usually does, and always should, attend the con- 
 nexion of presumptive evidence in its most minute points; it 
 being clearly held, that the least break in that chain which is to 
 connect the evidence, shall throw discredit on the whole mass. 
 Was there not in these answers alone enough of defect to have 
 
 induced an anticipation of such a result ? 
 
 j ia 
 
 [fflfcfa xia trtai fobwL
 
 25. Q. How late before had you seen it? 
 
 A. About half an hour of that time. 
 
 2tf. One of the Jury. Did you remark to her the 
 singular appearance of the dough ? 
 
 A. I did not remark to her the singular appearance. 
 I told her it had never risen. The prisoner said it 
 would rise before she wanted it. 
 
 27. Q. How many dumplings would there be? 
 A. Six. 
 
 28. Q. It was afterwards divided into six dump- 
 lings ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 The oftener these answers are read, and the closer they are 
 examined, the more surprising does it appear that the counsel for 
 the prisoner should not have rigidly cross-examined Mrs. Char- 
 lotte Turner on this part of her evidence. 
 
 Q. 25. The times respectively mentioned in the answers to the 
 present question, and Q. 13, 14, 15, and 24, are strangely 
 irreconcileable. 
 
 Q. 26. Why did not Mrs. C. Turner remark to the prisoner 
 the singular appearance of the dough, which so much attracted her 
 notice and curiosity, as to induce her repeatedly to lift up the 
 cloth to look at it ? for the dough was covered with a cloth, (see 
 Q. 22.) and every time Mrs. C. Turner saw it, she must have 
 removed the cloth, on purpose to see it. It must have been some 
 time before the dividing of the dough that Mrs. C. Turner re- 
 marked to the girl, that it had not rwe, because the girl answer- 
 ed, it would rise before she wanted it ? How long before the 
 dividing, were this remark and answer made? i tow many 
 times, after the girl gave this answer, did Mrs. C. Turner 'again 
 lift the cloth, and again see the singular appearance without 
 remarking it to Elizabeth Fcnuing, the principal person interested 
 in the dumplings looking well : What was there so particular in 
 this dinner that required Mrs. C. Turner's particular and uure- 
 mitted attention to it 1 It was a dinner of beef steaks and dump- 
 lings for three. u;f , t t , tljl j .| 1Bt ,h am'*! 
 
 Q- 27, 28. Mrs. Turner swears that the dough was divided 
 
 .into six dumplings. v h. was not present when it was divided. 
 
 (See Q. 2-1.) How then did she ascertain the number, to enable 
 
 her to state to the jury, upon oath, of her own knowledge, that it 
 
 was divided into six dumplings ?
 
 29- Q- About three o'clock did you sit down to 
 dinner ? 
 
 A. I did : these six dumplings were brought upon 
 the table. 
 
 30. Q. Did you make any observation upon their 
 appearance ? 
 
 A. I did. I told the other servant they were black 
 and heavy, instead of being white and light. 
 
 31. Q. Who sat down to dinner with you ? 
 
 A. My husband, Robert Gregson Turner ; his father, 
 
 Q. 30. Where was Sarah Peer when Mrs. C. Turner mentioned 
 to her the blackness of the dumplings? Mrs. C. Turner's answers 
 are to prove that the dough was heavy and did not rise, and seem 
 to have been considered as also proving that arsenick was in the 
 dough, and made it black, and prevented it from rising. Why 
 were not the medical men who attended the family examined as to 
 the effects of arseuick upon dough? Were they not able to have cor- 
 rected the ignorance that prevailed on this point? Yeast dump- 
 lings that do not rise, no matter from what cause, are always blac/cisA, 
 as well as heavy. Could the Turner family have been in commu- 
 nication with Mr. Marshall, their regular medical attendant, from 
 the time of the poisoning, without having often adverted in his 
 presence to the heaviness of the dough, and its not rising, as facts, 
 proving, in their estimation, that arsenick was in the dumplings? 
 Was it not the duty of the Recorder to have corrected the 
 ignorance of the counsel and witness who exhibited such evidence 
 of the presence of arsenick ? Ought any chemical effect to have 
 been taken as granted, from persons obviously wholly unacquainted 
 \viih the nature of chemical combinations and affinities? The 
 heaviness of the dough might have been occasioned by a very 
 simple accident, that of what is called scalding the yeast; that is, 
 by using water in the mixing too much warmed, which will so 
 effectually destroy the fermenting power of yeast, that dough 
 made therewith will not rise. To this circumstance, perhaps, 
 may be attributed the heaviness of the dough on the day of the 
 poisoning; which being made of the same flour and yeast as that 
 of the night before, when the dumplings were white and light, 
 ought to have produced dumplings of equal goodness. However, 
 whether caused by the scalding of the yeast, or not, the heaviness 
 could not have been occasioned by arsenide. 
 
 Q. 31, 32. A lady in a mixed party may suddenly get up 
 from table without speaking, and, agreeably to propriety of man-
 
 Orlibar Turner. I helped them to some dumplings, 
 and took a small piece myself. 
 
 32. Q. How soon afterwards did you find yourself 
 ill? 
 
 A, I found myself affected in a few minutes after I 
 had eaten. I did not eat a quarter of a dumpling. 
 I felt myself very faint, and an excruciating pain ; 
 an extreme violent pain, which increased every minute. 
 It came so bad, I was obliged to leave the table. I 
 went up stairs. 
 
 33. Q. I believe you ate nothing else ? 
 A. Yes, I ate a bit of rump steak. 
 
 34. Q. Who had cooked that ? 
 
 A. Eliza. When I was up stairs I perceived my 
 sickness increased, and I perceived my head was 
 swollen extremely. I reached very violent. 
 
 ners, withdraw unnoticed ; but that Mrs. C. Turner in a few 
 minutes after eating a small piece of dumpling should be 
 " affected" " feel very faint'' " an excruciating pain" " an 
 extreme violent pain" " feel it increasing every minute" become 
 " so bad as to be obliged to leave the table :" that Mrs. C. 
 Turner, far advanced in pregnancy, should rise in such extremity, 
 and go up stairs without saying any thing to the two persons whom 
 she was dining with, and helping, two such near relatives as her 
 husband, and father-in-law, is a marvellous circumstance. 
 
 Q. 34, 35. That Mrs. C. Turner should in silence go up stairs, 
 <: perceive her sickness increase" " perceive her head swollen 
 extremely" " retch very violently" remain there half an hour 
 wondering that no body came to her assistance, is very marvel- 
 lous : that she should continue retching and swelling for half 
 an hour, without alarming her husband, or father-in-law, who 
 remained eating the poisoned dinner, in the room below, for some 
 time afterwards; that she should not ring her bed-room bell, or, it 
 there was no bell, that she should not call or cry out, or stamp 
 with her foot: that she should wonder nobody came, without 
 being alarmed; that she could have expected assistance, without 
 having intimated, either before she went up stairs, or whilst she 
 remained there, that she was indisposed, is astonishingly marvel- 
 lous.
 
 16 
 
 35. Q. How soon after you had been up stairs 
 did you find any of your family ill ? 
 
 A. I was half an hour alone, and wondered they 
 did not come to my assistance. I found my husband 
 and father very ill, both of them. I was very ill from 
 half past three, until about nine ; very sick and ill, 
 retching from three till nine. The violence abated, 
 but did not cease. My head was swollen, and hiy 
 tongue and chest were swollen. "We called in a gen- 
 tleman who was near, and afterwards Mr. Marshall, 
 the surgeon. 
 
 Q. 35: If the arsenick was mixed with the flour previously to, 
 or at the time of making the dough, the poison would be pretty 
 fairly intermixed ; and, in that case, the quantity of poison taken 
 would be in proportion to the quantity of dumpling eaten : but it 
 is remarkable that Mrs. Turner should have been affected so 
 seriously in the space of a " few minutes/' by eating only " a 
 small piece," not " a quarter of a dumpling," and that her hus- 
 band, and Mr. Robert Turner, who ate " a dumpling and a half," 
 or sir t imcs that quantity, were not affected until half au hour 
 afterwards. The usual operation of this most active and deadly 
 poison appears, on this occasion, to have been reversed. According 
 to its customary operation, Mr. R. Turner, A ho was previously 
 helped by his wife, Mrs. C. Turner, to six times as much dump- 
 ling as she ate herself, it is natural to expect would have been 
 affected much sooner than she was. 
 
 Mrs. Turner's extreme anxiety respecting the dough, 
 whilst it was before the fire, is wholly unaccounted for. Did it 
 arise from suspicion at the time of making tbe'dough that the 
 prisoner was poisoning it ? If it did not, what was Mrs. Turner's 
 reason for so repeatedly looking at it ? so minutely remarking 
 ii? But surely Mrs. Turner did not suspect the prisoner, or she 
 would not have eaten any herself; she would not have helped 
 her husband and his father; or, having done so and gone up 
 stairs, upon becoming ill, she would not have remained there for 
 half au hour, getting worse, without apprising them of what had 
 been her suspicions. And yet it does appear unaccounlable that 
 Mrs. Turner should so anxiously visit and revisit the dough at 
 the lire, and note its singular position, having previously, as she 
 says, provided against the prisoner being out of the kitchen, 
 during the whole time. ({This remark should have appeared to 
 
 y< V'iI")ICIAHTKO j i\Wt4a >M t .1
 
 17 
 
 > 1 1 ,\j vC 
 
 36. Q. You applied for the nearest assistance you 
 
 could get? 
 
 A - Yes - until 
 
 Cross-examined by Mr. ALLEY. 
 
 37. Q. This happened about six weeks after the 
 girl came to live with you ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 38. Q. You had no other cause of complaint 
 except that you forgave her ? 
 
 A. No. " 
 
 39- Q. On that day the coals had been delivered, 
 
 had they not? 
 
 . '* 
 
 A. I do not think it was that day ; the girl is here 
 
 . 'j ' i\-t'.> tt 
 
 Q. 36. Mrs. C. Turner says, we called in a gentleman who was 
 near, and afterwards Mr. Marshall the surgeon. Why not name 
 the gentleman ? Did she not recollect his name ? Mr. Gurney 
 puts an easy colloquial kind of question, implying, " Ay ! Ay ! 
 we know that." Mr. Gurney politely and familiarly says, " You. 
 applied for the nearest assistance you could get?" and the lady of 
 course, as was true, answers, " Yes." But why did not Mr. 
 Gurney inquire the name? Had the learned counsel no instruction 
 that would have enabled him to say to Mrs. Turner, " You called 
 in your neighbour, Mr. Ogilvy, the surgeon, of No. 23, Southamp- 
 ton Buildings?" 
 
 Q. 38. Mrs. C. Turner swears that she had no other cause of 
 complaint, except that which occurred four weeks before the 21st 
 of March, and which was forgiven on the following day : what 
 then becomes of the girl's alleged failure in respect for that month, 
 and appearing " extremely sullen" during that time ? Were these 
 not causes of complaint ? 
 
 Q. 39. MRS. TURNER swears that THE COALS 'WERE 
 NOT DELIVERED THAT DAY: she says, " It could not be 
 that day." Why? Why could it uot be that day ? Why does 
 she go on to say that the prisoner " had no occasion to receive 
 the coals?" Mrs. Turner was not asked if the prisoner had occa- 
 sion to receive them. What inference did Mrs. Turner imagine 
 would be drawn from the supposition, if it existed, that the pri- 
 soner might hai-e had occasion to receive them? Why did she 
 volunteer u remark extraneous to the question? ft is a serious 
 tmd confirmed FACT, to the absolute CONTRADICTION of
 
 18 
 
 that received them : it could not be that day, she 
 had no occasion to receive the coals. 
 
 Mrs. Turner, as also of Sarah Peer, her hotisemaid, (See Q. 1 10.) 
 that THE COALS WERE DELIVERED ON THAT DAY; con- 
 sequently neither Mr*. Turner nor Sarah Peer spoke true upon 
 their oaths. In proof of this are subjoined copies of Mr. Wood's 
 Coal Account, against Mr. Turner, for 1815, and of the Coal 
 Meters' Ticket. 
 
 {_ ; uiilft i 3/Siijvj 1 *f~ 
 
 EXTRACT from the Ledger of Mr. WOOD, of Eaton Street, 
 Pimlico, Coal Merchant, which is in conformity to his Day- 
 Book. , pJblOT* 9{iT 
 
 rC0y.i 
 
 ^r/v.ii/- .0* .9 
 
 MR. ORLIBAR TURNER. 
 
 1815. . s. d. 
 
 Feby. 1 4. I Chaldron Coals at 65s. 3 5 : &r 
 
 Shooting and Meting ...... o 111 
 
 MARCH 521. 1 Chaldron Coals at 65s. 3 5 <,0j | 9 
 
 Shooting and Meting ...... 1 11 
 
 Jurb -April 25. 3 Chaldron Coals at 65s 9 15, r 0v!no 
 
 Meting Is. 6d. Shooting 4s. 3<l. 5 $ \jrfg 
 
 July 29. 5 Chaldron Coals at 60s.- 15 ;r tt o 
 
 Meting 2s.6d. Shooting 7s.ld. 097 
 
 , 
 sM to V>- 
 
 [Copy.] 
 
 S/A^I TAQ^l'^'iL k n^ ^L r^ rk 
 
 WESTMINSTER LAND COAL-METERS' OFFICE, 
 
 ) ' 
 
 Northumberland Street, Strand. 
 
 JOHN BAKER, ^ 
 
 AND J PRINCIPAL METERS. 
 
 ALEXANDER TULLOCK, > 
 
 THIS is to certify, that the under-mentioned Quantity of 
 Coals are entered iu the Books of this Office, and were measured 
 under the Inspection of the sworn labouring Land Coal-Meter, 
 whose name is under-written. 
 
 1815. Coals Meted for Mr. J. Wood. 
 To Mr. Turner. 
 
 March 21st, Twelve Sacks. 
 
 %T*\8? j ' E * wards - 
 
 Meter, William Brown. 
 
 .Examined at the Office the 2Sth August, 1815, by John 
 Brookes.
 
 19 
 
 40. Q. The prisoner herself was taken very ill, was 
 not she r 
 
 A. I have heard so. 
 
 1 ' ! ',-- ' '' ' ''' ' ''i'i' >t '>"" I .*${ 
 
 ORLIBAR TURNER Sworn. 
 
 iVO^W Wt\ S'AtHU 'tV"i c \ fov*?/'KVK 'i'jK-'.'lT 'f^J ' "V-J 
 
 41. Q. You are the father of Mr. Robert 
 
 Gregson ? 
 
 o 
 
 A. I believe I am. 
 
 3 'io ,aooW,il/I lo -v^VivV >*!? ;nu-.'t i j/ ? 
 
 The words printed in Italics in the above Copy of the COAL 
 METERS' TICKET, are written with ink in the original. 
 
 Q. 40. Mrs. C. Turner, when asked if the prisoner herself was 
 not taken very ill, answers, " I have heard so." A most curious 
 answer from such a witness as Mrs. Charlotte Turner, who could 
 swear positively in two instances as to "what was going on in the kitch- 
 en whilst she was up stairs, when those answers tended to criminate 
 the prisoner ; but now, when a positive answer would have been 
 favourable to the unhappy girl at the bar, Mrs. C. Turner can 
 only say, " I have heard so." To be sure, she does not swear that 
 she did not know so; but if she did know so, she did not give 
 the prisoner the benefit of her knowledge when she was asked if 
 she did know : and it is not easy to conceive, without Mrs. Turner's 
 explanation, how she could have avoided knowing, as well as 
 hearing, that the prisoner was ill; was, in fact, as ill as the 
 rest. 
 
 Q. 37 to 40. [In the SESSIONS' PAPER REPORT these 
 Questions and Answers, being THE WHOLE OF MRS. TURNER'S 
 CROSS-EXAMINATION, and including the remarkable Inquiry respect- 
 ing the COALS, are entirely OMITTED. The WHOLE or 
 SARAH PEER'S CROSS-EXAMINATION, including her CORRO- 
 BORATIVE TESTIMONY of Mrs. Turner's Evidence as to the 
 COALS, is also OMITTED in the SESSIONS' PAPER RE- 
 PORT. (SeeQ. 110, &c.)] 
 
 Q. 41. The first question Mr. Orlibar Turner is asked is, ''if 
 he is the father of Mr. Robert Gregson Turner ? and he answefs, 
 " I BELIEVE 1 AM." A most remarkable answer of a prosecutor 
 on the trial of a prisoner arraigned at his instance on a charge of 
 attempting to murder him and his son, another prosecutor, the 
 object of the question. It is often said, that it is a wise child' who 
 knows his own father; but here Mr. Orlibar Turner does not pre- 
 tend to the knowledge of his reputed sop being his own child ! It 
 might have been a drolling accord-ing to the dull pleasantries of 
 
 .
 
 - 42. Q. On Tuesday, the 2 1 st day of March, were 
 you at your son's house in Chancery Lane ? 
 A. I was ; I dined there. 
 
 43. Q. Your dinner consisted of yeast dumplings, 
 beef steaks, and potatoes ? 
 
 A. It did. Jawl Q[[ juaT r,m ; 
 
 44. Q. After some time, did Mrs. Turner leave 
 the room indisposed r 
 
 A. She did, sir. n^nib 
 
 45. Q. After she was gone up stairs you did not 
 know that she was ill ? , 
 
 A. Not at the time that she left the room. 
 
 . , , , . .. .,, ., , 4 , ?afl faflfl ch&nq}> 
 
 pot-bouse parlance ; but it ill suited the awful solemnities of a 
 
 court of criminal justice, sitting on a trial for the life or death of a 
 Iniinun being. The answer either indicated great levity, a sport- 
 ing with the sacred considerations of an oath, as odious and dis- 
 gusting as it was unfeeling, or it was a most strict, an extraordi- 
 narily strict attention to the nature and obligations of the most 
 awful appeal to the Almighty in the power of man to make ! 
 
 [In the SESSIONS' PAPER REPORT, Mr. Turner is made 
 to swear positively that he is his Son's Father the Answer to the 
 question is, & there reported, " YES." Why was he there made to 
 PLUMP his Answer if he really swore CAUTIOUSLY?] 
 
 Q. 44. Mr. Orlibar Turner appears to have deposed to the in- 
 disposition of Mrs. C. Turner on leaving the room, and after, her 
 being up stairs, without having just then that strict view of the 
 question and the oath which it is presumed he had, when he a 
 minute before swore only as to his belief of his being the father of 
 his own son. 
 
 Mrs. C.Turner swears (Q. 35.) that she found her husband and 
 father sick and ill, without saying where they met; nor does Mr. 
 O. Turner's evidence at all state where the meeting took place, nor 
 whether she sought them, or they her. 
 
 Q. 45. Mrs. C. Turner helped her husband and his father to 
 " some dumplings," of course before she helped herself to the 
 " small piece," " not a quarter of a dumpling," which occasioned 
 her to leave the table a few minutes after she had eaten it. Not- 
 withstanding, however, that Mr. O. Turner and his son ate so 
 much more of these dumplings than Mrs. C. Turner, and ate be- 
 fore she began her dinner at all, they were not taken ill until 
 some time after she had retired, not until some time after they had 
 ihemselvesjinished dinner. (See Q. 95.)
 
 21 
 
 46. Q. Some time afterwards did your son leave 
 the room and go down stairs? 
 
 A. He did, sir ; and I followed him very shortly. 
 I had gone into my parlour below, I came into the 
 passage. I met my son in the passage, at the foot of 
 the stairs ; he told me that he had been very sick, and 
 had brought up his dinner. I found his eyes exceedingly 
 swollen; very much indeed. I said I thought it very 
 extraordinary. I was taken ill myself in less than 
 three minutes afterwards. The effect was so violent, 
 I had hardly time to go into my back yard before my 
 dinner came up. I felt considerable heat across my 
 stomach and chest, and pain. 
 
 47. Q. Was the vomiting of the common kind ? 
 A. I never experienced any before like it ; for vio* 
 
 lence before : it was terrible indeed. 
 
 48. Q. How soon after did you observe any other 
 
 r . i r M MI 1 
 
 of the family ill? ^ K ^,. 
 
 A. It was not more than a quarter of an hour when 
 my apprentice, Roger Gadsden, was very ill, m' 
 similar way to myself. 
 
 49. Q. Was your son sick also ? 
 
 .A V T-I 
 
 A. tie was. bomr/aw, . .1 bn$ 
 
 . 
 lo isrfjfi} grfj gnisd iri lobtbd atrf ol 2 vino /te/;g sictad eJ 
 
 * ->'rf 
 
 Q. 4-S. Mr. O. Turner's evidence, that Roger Gadsden, in a 
 quarter of an hour afterwards " was very ill in a way similar to 
 himself," is not consistent with Roger Gadsden's evidence, who was 
 not so bad as to prevent his being sent to Lambeth for Airs. Orli- 
 bar Turner, and did not vomit until after he left the house. 
 Where was the apprentice THOMAS KING, who being the only 
 one of the family who had not eaten of the dumplings, and who, not 
 being ill, seemed most eligible as a messenger ? Why was Gads 
 den, who was ill, selected to go for Mrs. O. Turner, in preference 
 to Tkonlas King ? How long wa it before he was despatched on 
 his errand ; it appearing by the answer to Q. 50, as if he was for a 
 long time at least in the kilchtn f 
 
 ue>p
 
 0. Q. And while you and your sdri w&e r skk, 
 and Gadsden were sick, where were you ? 
 
 A. I was repeatedly in the parlour and the back 
 yard. My son was up and down stairs at intervals-. 
 Gadsden, I believe, was in the kitchen below. 
 
 51. Q. Did you observe the prisoner ? Did she 
 give you any assistance ? 
 
 A x . Not the smallest. We were all together alarm* 
 ed. It was discovered that she did not appear con- 
 cerned at our situation. 
 
 52. Q. I need not ask you whether the appear- 
 ance of you and your son, and all of you, 'must not be 
 most distressing ? 
 
 A. It was ; more so than ever I witnessed in my 
 life 
 
 ' ' V 
 
 S\ r, HT /~ ^ it. L . *. r {*>.!. 
 
 Q. 51. Mr. O. Turner swears that " it teas discovered the 
 prisoner did not appear concerned at our situation." Who disco- 
 vered it? What evidence is there of it iu the whole trial? Why 
 was such an answer suffered to go to the jury without animadver- 
 sion or caution ? The witness in effect swore, that he knew nothing 
 of the prisoner's indifference, but that some other person did. It 
 would not have been irregular, if the witness, when he talked of 
 the discovery, had added, that it was likewise discovered that the 
 girl herself was as bad as the rest of the family. Did not the 
 witness's answer tend to impress the jury with a belief that the 
 girl herself was not ill, and that her not attending to them was the 
 result of her own mil, and not of her inability? " Did you observe 
 the prisoner? did she give you any assistance?" was the counsel's 
 question. Would not the fair charitable answer have been, '** I 
 did not observe the prisoner ; l^could not observe the prisoner; 
 I understood she was as bad as the rest." 
 
 Q. 52. A most lack-a-daisical question and answer mere gos- 
 sip a sort of aside condolence well adapted for effect. 
 
 [In the SESSIONS' PAPER REPORT, the above, as Mr. 
 Gurney deems it, NEEDLESS Question, and the Witness's EVI- 
 DENCE thereby obtained,, are OMITTED Surely they -were p 
 
 readable as hearable.l 
 
 ;,. iqfliub flri 
 
 - ' r
 
 53. Q. Did you observe the prisoner eat any of 
 the dumplings that she had made ? 
 
 A. I did not. 
 
 54. Q. I take it for granted that you had sus- 
 picion of arsenick ? 
 
 A. I had ; I made a search the next morning. 
 
 55. Court. Q. You expected it was poison ? 
 A. I did. 
 
 56. MR. GURNEY. Q. Did you observe the 
 brown dish or pan in which the dumplings had been 
 mixed ? 
 
 A. I did on the next morning, on the Wednesday 
 morning. 
 
 , 57. Q. Did you find any thing remaining in that 
 pan that appeared to be the leavings of the dum- 
 plings ? 
 
 Q. 53. What a question! Never let it escape recollection! 
 " Did YOU OBSERVE the prisoner eat any of the dumplings thaf- 
 she had made?" Now read the answer. " I DID NOT!!! 
 Could such a question have been put: could such an answer 
 have been given, without remark by the Recorder? And yet 
 what inference was sought to have been established by this ques- 
 tion and answer? Was it to disguise the fact of the girl having 
 herself partaken, largely partaken of the poisoned food ? There is 
 no evidence whatever that Mr. O. Turner was in the kitchen at all, 
 and yet he is asked if he observed the prisoner eat of the dump- 
 lings ? and Mr. Orlibar Turner, the prosecutor of a fellow crea- 
 ture standing within a few feet of him, whose life depended upon 
 the event of this trial, has the nerve to answer the question nakedly 
 in the negative, without stating the impossibility of his observing 
 whether she ate of them or not. Unless the prisoner had been ac- 
 customed to take her meals in the witness's presence, or he had 
 followed the remains of the dish of dumplings down stairs into the 
 
 kitchen, both question and answer were of the most horrible ten- 
 , * 
 
 dency. 
 
 Q. 56. How long was it before Mr. Turner took the pan in 
 
 . which the poisoned dumplings were made, into his possession ? 
 
 AVas there not sufficient opportunity from the time of the making 
 
 of the dumplings till he found it, for the girl, if she was guilty, to 
 
 have washed it ? Had no one tampered with it in the interval ?
 
 fa, I did : it sticked round the pan. I put some 
 water into the pan, and stirred it up with a spoon, 
 wi'th a view to form a liquid of the whole. I found, 
 upon the pan being set down for a moment or two, or 
 half a minute, upon taking it slowly and in a slanting 
 direction I discovered a white powder at the bottom 
 of it. I showed it to several persons in the house. I L! 
 kept it in my custody. , Q ^ 
 
 58. Q. Did you show it to Mr. Marshall?, 3 | .^. 
 A. I kept it in my own custody for that purpose. 
 
 I locked it up until Mr. Marshall came. No person 
 
 had access to it. ^v/ib iudr ol 1'io%*>i Jrijfrri ad3 ,A. 
 
 59. Q. Had any arsenick been kept in any office 
 in the house? 
 
 A. It had. 
 
 60. Q. In what place ? til jj tl9 v9ijsiiw 
 
 A. In a drawer in the office, fronting the fire-place 
 in the office. ,M .^ft ,p 
 
 61. Q. What was it in'iknr.' 
 
 AT i- J J liL3i f L>Vti 
 
 A. In two wrappers, tied round very tight : the 
 words " Arsenick, deadly poison," wrote upon it. 
 
 62. Q. Do you happen to know whether the.Jjpjfcy.^ 
 soner can read ? > C) j nodsoj/p K b*oi(B -//nd nuoU 
 
 A. I believe she can 
 
 C. 
 
 ,nu 
 
 Q. -58. Mr. O. Turner only proves that no person' had the ves- 
 sel from the time he found it till he showed it to Mr. Marshall ; 
 but it does not prove that some person might not have put arse- 
 nicfc into it after the making, and before he took possession of ii. 
 Was not the dish shown to Mr.Ogilvy? If it was, why is his 
 name concealed ? If it was not shown to him, why was it not ? 
 
 Q. 59, 60, 6l. Is it pretended, that because Mr. Turner care- 
 lessly put a paper with arsenick in a drawer in his office opposite 
 the fire-place, that the person whose duty it was to light the fire 
 
 , i ' i "\**:>r irr *ili if* *T iJ %flt( t 4 fni I 1 .7" r,t) ft J i 
 
 was the culprit ? ; T n " , t - (W 
 
 Q. 62, 63. Mr. Turner swears to his belief, and Mrs. Turne^ ^ 
 swears positively, that the prisoner could read and write very well ;
 
 '63. Q. [To Mrs. Turner.] Is that so, Mrs. 
 Turner ? 
 .A. Yes, she can read and writd : v Veil/ 
 
 64. Q. Mr. Turner, was that drawer locked 
 ? fii bn; i grfbto noqr.f 9i 
 
 f ip ^vrv" rr "i'>i 
 
 A. It has always remained open : any person 
 
 might have access to it. 
 
 65. Q. Who lit the fire, do you know ? ;' 
 A. It was the prisoner's duty to do sd. " 
 
 66. Q. Would she probably resort to there for 
 paper to light the fire with ? 
 
 A. She might resort to that drawer for loose paper 
 that was kept in that drawer: she might properly 
 resort to it to light a fire. 
 
 but there is no proof whatever, that she ever saw the paper in 
 which the arsenick was enclosed with the inscription " Arsenick 
 deadly poison" upon it. 
 
 Q. 64,. Mr. O. Turner swears, that " the drawer in which the 
 arsenick was kept had always remained open, any person might 
 have access to it." What wanton, wicked, criminal negligence! 
 
 Q. 66. Probably this is a question unmatched in the history of 
 English jurisprudence. Mr. X-Jurney is made to have asked Mr. 
 O. Turner if the prisoner " would probably resort to the drawer (in? 
 which the arsenick was kept) for paper to light the fire with?" 
 Could the Court have allowed a question to elicit the witness^ 
 opinion of a probability against the prisoner standing upon her trial 
 for life or death, to have been put and answered. Surely such a 
 question has never been suffered to be put by a counsel, and an* 
 swered by a witness, since the period when Judge Jeffcrics was Re- -. 
 corder of London. 
 
 Mr. Turner says that the prisoner " might resort to that drawer 
 for loose paper that was kept in the drawer:" but how was it 
 proved, except by the extraordinary and uncorroborated answer of 
 Gadsden, to the question put by the Recorder, (See Q. 141,) that 
 the prisoner cfrd go to the drawer ? Who informed the prisoner that 
 the drawer was a waste paper drawer ? If she had been informed, 
 it was very easy of proof '. Did either of the prosecutors, who were 
 witnesses? or Gadsden, or Sarah Peer, who were also witnesses ? 
 or Thomas King, who was not a witness, inform her? The prob*
 
 26 
 
 6*7. Q. Had that parcel of arsenick been missed 
 before that time ? 
 
 A. I had seen it there on the 7th of March : not 
 since that time. Before the 2 1 st of March, I heard of 
 its being missed about a fortnight. 
 
 it? rtdun^fwbcM.jfid} fltiv/ 
 
 bility of the prisoner resorting to the drawer is all that is sworn to, 
 excepting by Gadsden. But is it probable that a servant would go to 
 a drawer in an office for waste paper, without being informed that it 
 was a proper place for her to go to ? Could Thomas King have 
 sworn this? Why was not THOMAS KING examined on the 
 trial 1 Surely the Case was not so superabundant in proof, that the 
 c-ddence of a credible witness would have been rejected. Did 
 Thomas King really witness any of the circumstances ? As Gadsden 
 swears afterwards that Thomas King actually saw the prisoner go 
 to the drawer many times, his seeing her was known before the 
 trial, and apparently he was a desirable witness for the prosecution. 
 Is it pretended that feelings of tenderness to the prisoner prevented 
 the prosecutors from producing Thomas King as a witness? The 
 prisoner herself appearing to have expected him there, earnestly 
 begged he might he called, in order that he might give evidence 
 
 for her. Why was not THOMAS KING a witness! Would his 
 evidence have been in favour of the prisoner? Considering how 
 PECULIARLY this young man was circumstanced as to the rest 
 of the family on the 21st of March, it surely requires some expla- 
 nation, Why THOMAS KING was not a WITNESS? 
 
 Q. 67. Mr. O. Turner swears that he had seen the arsenick there 
 on the seventh of March, not since that time; before the twenty-first 
 of March he heard of it being missed about a fortnight. What 
 reason has Mr. O. Turner to recollect that he saw the arsenick on 
 that particular day ? Roger Gadsden swears (Q. 75,) that he 
 also saw it on that day. How came both these witnesses to 
 recollect that they each saw it on the same day ? Did they both 
 swear to seeing it on that day, when before the magistrates? Upon 
 the extraordinary circumstance of the arsenick being missed, did 
 Mr. O. Turner inquire what became of it? Did he inquire of his 
 clerks in the office where it was kept? of his apprentice, R. Gads- 
 den, who was a witness on the trial ? of the apprentice Thomas 
 King, who was not a witness on the trial ? of the witness Sarah Peer, 
 the housemaid ? of the prosecutor his son, Robert Gregson Turner ? 
 of the other prosecutor, Charlotte Turner, his son's wife? of the 
 prisoner, Elizabeth Penning ? If he did inquire of them, what was. 
 
 ..- their respective answers ? If he did not inquire of all of them, whom 
 did he omit to inquire of? and why? If Mr. O. Turner did not
 
 27 
 
 68. Q. Did you make any observation about the 
 appearance of the knives and forks ? 
 
 A. I did, which we ate the dumplings with. I 
 have two of them in my pocket now, to show ; they 
 have been in my custody ever since. I saw them 
 with that blackness upon them the next day : it ap- 
 peared upon them then : there is some little rust upon 
 them now. : 
 
 inquire of all these persons, was it from his attaching no import- 
 ance to the sudden disappearance of a paper of deadly poison, 
 which he kept loose in a drawer, " that had always remained open, 
 and to which any person might have access ? !" or if he omitted to 
 inquire at all, and not for that reason, for what other ? But, was 
 Mr. Orlibar Turner able to state, on his examination at Hatton 
 Garden, that he had seen the arsenick since the prisoner had come 
 to reside with the family ? 
 
 Q. 68. Mr. O. Turner is asked, " Did you make any observa- 
 tion .about the appearance of the knives and forks ?" He answers, 
 " I did, uhich we ate the dumplings with. I have two of them 
 in my pocket now, to show; they have been in my custody ever 
 since. I saw them with that blackness upon them the next day; it 
 appeared upon them then; there is some little rust upon them now." 
 This answer is materially defective. Ever since -when were they 
 in Mr. Turner's custody ? How long time elapsed before he took 
 them into his custody ? Is he sure that they were the knives used to 
 eat the dumplings with ? If they were, might they not have been 
 used between the dinner time, and the time of his finding them? 
 There were three persons up stairs at dinner, why diil he not pro- 
 duce the three knives ? NVhf. used the knife that was not produced?- 
 liad that knife no blackness upon it, like the other two? Was it 
 the , knife used by Mrs. 7'urner, who ate " only a small piece," 
 " not a quarter of a dumpling r" or the knife tised by her husband, 
 Mr. Robert Turner, who had " eaten a yeast dumpling and a half," 
 without sauce? Were the knives used to eat the dumplings with. 
 used to eat the rump-steaks with afterwards? If so, was there no 
 made-gravy to these steaks? no catchup? no walnut liquor? or 
 other sauce compounded with acid ? Was not the sauce used with 
 the dumplings svcet sauce? made with sugar; and, if so, does noL 
 Mr. Turner know that there is an acid in sugar? But the question 
 should be unequivocally answered, whose knife was that which Mr. 
 O. Turner did not produce in court? was there any appearance 
 ot blackness on it? why did he not produce? it? if"'
 
 28 
 
 69- Q. Did you, either on the day that this took 
 place, or afterwards, speak to the prisoner about these 
 yeast dumplings what they were made with ? 
 
 A. I did the next day. I asked the prisoner how 
 she came to introduce ingredients that had been so 
 prejudicial to us? She replied, it was not in the dump- 
 lings, but it was in the milk that Sarah Peer brought 
 in. I had several discourses with her that day upon 
 this subject ; during the whole of which she persisted 
 that it was in the milk, as before described. :,^\m hed 
 
 70. Q. What had that milk been ? ton bib I .A 
 A. The sauce only. The prisoner made the dump- 
 lings with the refuse of the milk that had been left 
 for breakfast. 
 
 71. Q. Did the prisoner tell you what use had 
 
 Q. 69. When Mr. O.Turner asked the prisoner the next day 
 how she came to introduce ingredients so prejudicial, what did 
 he mean? did he not name the ingredients to her? if he did, he 
 ought to have stated what he said? Did he mean the arsenick that 
 was missed between the 7tb and 21st of March ? The girl's reply 
 that it was not in the dumplings, but it was in the milk that Sarah 
 Peer brought in, and her persisting in the several discourses that 
 he had \\ith her that day, that it was in the milk, amount to 
 nothing more than a consistent persistence in her denial of having 
 introduced the poisonous substance into the dumplings, and an 
 attempt to account for its being in them at all. 
 
 Q. 70. Mr! O. Turner swears that" that milk had been used 
 for the sauce only; the prisoner made the dumplings with the 
 refuse of the milk that had been left for breakfast." Why, how 
 could he possibly know any thing about what either the refuse milk 
 or the fetched milk was used for ? He, who if Mrs. C. Turner 
 swore true, could not have been in the kitchen at all, during the 
 making of the dough. Yet this is the witness who, only a few 
 minutes before, swore, with such extremity of tenderness, merely 
 to his belief of his being the father of his own son ! If, however, Mr. 
 O. Turner really did see to what uses the two milks had been 
 respectively applied, what becomes of the evidence of Mrs. C. 
 Turner? (S^Q. 18.) 
 
 Q. 71. " Did the prisoner fetf you what use had been made of
 
 29 
 
 been made of the milk that had been fetched by Sarah 
 Peer ? 
 
 A. She did not. I asked her if any person but 
 herself had mingled or had any thing to do with the 
 dumplings? She expressly said, no*/^ < 
 -qrno'b odJ rrrJon ?.BW tt .bsr'qsi f>rl2 -en ot ifihu:j;rnq 
 
 tA^TMmmq^m MB - ALLEY - 
 
 7U Q. In the conversation you had with the pri- 
 soner, did not you tell her that two months before you 
 had missed the poison ? 
 
 A. I did not. 
 
 73. Q. You say it was her duty to light the fire in 
 the office ; did the clerks keep the door locked when 
 they were not there? 
 
 A. I do not know. 
 
 MEGGER GADSDEN 
 
 fatb Junw .>JB'3'QUL'* lc f OB j^sviUmfim ,'jDi/boTJm ol jiii0 -3ric wort 
 
 9li 74l b Q. You are an apprentice to Mr. Turner? 
 
 jfirii. j 
 
 A. I am. vdrml/no J2l$ bne df \ adJ naawi^d b^iioi uttr 
 t/;iU AiitM od) m .duw ji jtfd 8gaiiqmub 3iil ni jon */ Ji JfirfJ 
 
 ifidj >d sdj cu jjnuLii*iaa xd bhf>_jjc uj'Miii'tcl toaHL 
 
 the milk that had been fetched by Sarah Peer?" Mr, 0. Turner's 
 
 plump assertion to the last answer, seems to have induced this 
 cautionary question from his learned counsel, which Mr. O. 
 Turner thus answers : " She did not ;" and then goes on to say, 
 *\ I asked her if any person but herself had mingled, or had any- 
 thing to do with the dumplings, she expressly said no !" This-. 
 answer of the girl's rather implies innocence than guilt; the 
 guilty are usually more cautious than to make such sweeping 
 admissions : she evinces no wish to implicate any one in the. 
 making of the dumplings, nor to soften any suspicion that might. 
 have attached to herself in consequence of her making them. Her 
 admission is even too unguarded. When she was present, she 
 might speak with every thing but positive certainty ; yet, even then, 
 so short a time would have been necessary to mix or strew the 
 arsenick, that if her back was turned for a moment, it might have 
 
 V .CT .dTZ/i K) .,33l9DlV9 3flJ . <:..-, . 
 
 been done. But when she was away, was there no opportunity? 
 sai uoatl bad $&u Jfidw uo \bi wno*n o/(J hid * ~.l^ .p
 
 75. Q. Do you remember seeing in a drawer in 
 the office a paper with arsenick ? 
 
 A. I do, with "Arsenick, Deadly poison, "upon it. 
 The last day I saw it was on the 7th of March. I 
 
 / 
 
 missed it in a day or two after. 
 
 76. Q. Did you mention it in the office that you 
 had missed it ? 
 
 A. I did, sir. .-booa on 
 
 77. Q. On Tuesday, the 21st of March, did you 
 between three and four go into the kitchen ?;j 
 
 A. I did, sir. I had dined at two. 
 
 Q. 75. Roger Gadsden is asked if he remembers seeing the paper 
 of arsenick ? He says he does, and that " the last day he saw it was 
 on the 7th of March he missed it in a day or two after," yet he 
 states no reason for his recollecting that it was on that day more 
 than any other day, nor is he asked. It should be observed, that 
 the witnesses were in court during the trial ; that this boy heard his 
 master depose to seeing the arsenick on the 7th of March, and that 
 he himself is so eager to make his own statement about the 7th of 
 March, that, without waiting for the question, he volunteers the 
 assertion, which is admitted without further inquiry, that he last 
 saw it on that day. (See Q. 67.) 
 
 The examination of -witnesses in the presence, or hearing of each 
 ethr, cannot be too much reprobated. 
 
 Q. 76. He says, " he mentioned it in the office that he missed 
 the arsenick." To whom did he mention it ? It is a mere assertion, 
 upon oath it is true, but unsupported by corroborative testimony 
 upon oath, which it was capable of receiving, if he swore truly. 
 Did he mention it to his fellow-apprentice, Thomas King, who 
 was not a witness on the trial ? 
 
 Q. 77> 78. Gadsden says, that " when he went into the kitchen, 
 he Observed a dumpling and a half in a plate; he took a knife and 
 fork up, and was going to cut it to eat of it, the prisoner exclaimed, 
 * Gadsden, do not eat that, it is cold and heavy, it will do you no 
 good.' He ate a piece about as big as a walnut, or bigger. There 
 was a small quantity of sauce in the boat ; he took a bit of bread 
 and sopped it in it, and ate that. This might be 20 minutes after 
 3." The girl's expression to this liquorish lad, considered alone, 
 was very natural, amounting to no more than the common admo- 
 nition of all the <jood mothers, wives, and nurses in the kingdom,
 
 31 
 
 78. Q. When you went into the kitchen did you 
 observe any thing there that came from the parlour 
 table? 
 
 A. I observed a plate there ; in it was a dumpling 
 and a half I took a knite and fork up, and was 
 going to cut it, to eat of it. The prisoner exclaimed, 
 Gadsden, do not eat that ; it is cold and heavy ; it 
 will do you no good. I ate a piece about as big as a 
 walnut, or bigger. There was a small quantity of 
 sauce in the boat : I took a bit 'of bread and sopped 
 it in it, and ate that. This might be twenty minuteg 
 after three. 
 
 . , 
 
 on the well-known bad effects of eating cold dumplings. To make 
 any thing more of it there should have been shown that something 
 beyond these mere words of course had been used to prevent him 
 from eating; such, at least, as the removal of the dish and dump- 
 lings. But if the girl's persuasion had been ever so strong, it could 
 not, in charity, have been interpreted against her: for yeast dump- 
 lings, when properly made, if not eaten quite hot, are considered 
 every way disagreeable; and, when cold, are always heavy; b,ut 
 these yeast dumplings, which Mrs. C. Turner described as being 
 black and heavy when hot, (Q. 30,) must have been very bad eating 
 indeed when cold; and, therefore, the girl's caution might have pro- 
 ceeded from mere good nature. But was not the girl herself ac- 
 tually suffering from the effect of the poison in her own stomach when 
 Gadsden came into the kitchen? At the examination at Hatton 
 Garden, Mrs. C. Turner was stating to the magistrate that the girl 
 told Gadsden if he ate the dumplings it would make him sick. 
 This the girl herself corrected, by appealing to Gadsden, who 
 was in the office, if she had ever used the words, and whether 
 \vhcn he was going to take some, she did not tell him that 
 he had better not eat them, for that they were cold and heavy, 
 and that they did not agree with herself . Gadsden admitted that 
 she did say so. It likewise appeared, on the same examination, 
 that two dumplings and a piece went down from table to the kitchen. 
 If Gadsden, when he went into the kitchen, saw only a dumpling 
 and a half in the dish, what became of the other dumpling, if the 
 prisoner had not eaten it? It also appeared that, alter the 
 girl herself was taken ill, the dumpling and a half still remained, 
 consequently she must have eaten the poisoned dumpling, that oc- 
 casioned her own illness, before Gadsden went down into the 
 kitchen.
 
 /"V &.> 
 
 79- Q. How soon after that time did any of the 
 family become ill ? 
 
 A. I went into the office. Mr. Robert Turner 
 came into the office about ten minutes after, and said 
 he was very ill. They were all up stairs in the par- 
 lour. Not the least alarm of any body being ill then. 
 
 80. Q. How soon were you taken ill ? 
 
 A. About ten minutes after that : but not so 
 ill as to vomit. In consequence of the distress of the 
 family, I was sent off for Mr. Turner's mother. I was 
 very sick going and coming back. I thought I should 
 die. 
 
 Q. 79- After corning from the kitchen, Gadsden went into the 
 office. " Mr. R. Turner came into the office ten minutes after, 
 and said he was very ill" " they were all up stairs in the parlour." 
 Who were? and how could he possibly know it ? " Not the least 
 alarm of any body being ill then." When? This is incomprehen- 
 sible, and not reconcileable with the evidence of Mrs. C. Turner, 
 <Q. 35.) and Mr. O. Turner, (Q. 46.) 
 
 Q. 80. Gadsden swears he was " taken ill, but not so ill as to 
 vomit, until after he set off to Lambeth." This does not agree with 
 Mr. O. Turner's evidence, who was taken so violent, that he " had 
 hardly time to go into his back yard, before his dinner came up," 
 (Q. 46.) who swears that Gadsden " was very ill in a way similar 
 to himself" (Q. 48.} and that he believed Gadsden was in the 
 kitchen below. (50.) Who sent Gadsden to Lambeth ? At what 
 time did he go ? Where was the other apprentice, THOMAS KING ? 
 Why was not Thomas King sent? It does not appear that Thomas 
 King ate any of the dumplings ; who sent Gads-den, who was ill, in 
 preference to Thomas King, who was well? Was not Thomas King 
 the only person in the family who did not eat of the dumplings, 
 except Sarah Peer who was out ? Did Thomas King offer to go, 
 or to stay, or what did he do? What was the reason for retaining 
 Thomas King at home, who was wtll, in preference to Gadsden 
 who was very ill, and was sent, id as he was, to Lambeth ? Every 
 Witness as to the early indisposition of the family was a party poi- 
 soned, except Thomas King, who was not ill, and was not a wit- 
 ness. If at home, Thomas King could have deposed to the situation 
 of the persons poisoned. Mr. Gurney could have asked Thomas 
 King whether the appearance of the family was not most distressing ? 
 (See Q. 52.) Where was Thomas King when the family was first 
 taken ill? Was it Thomas King who discovered that the prisoner did
 
 81. Q. Hag 1 the prisoner made any yeast dump- 
 lings for you the night before ? 
 
 A. She had, for supper. I, and, the other maid, 
 and herself, partook of them : they were quite differ- 
 ent from these dumplings in point of colour and weight, 
 and very good. 
 
 82. Q. [By one of the Jury.] When the poison 
 was missed, did you make any inquiry about it of the 
 prisoner.-' ..... 
 
 Idldnot ' ' 
 
 ' -tj\ '" *' ' y -< 
 
 not appear concerned at their situation ? (See Q. 51.) Did not 
 Thomas King eat, the night before, of the " icry good?' dumplings 
 made bv the prisoner, though he did nut tat of the poisoned 
 dumplings? Why was not Thomas King a witness ? Were THO- 
 MAS KING, and Mr. OGILVT, the Surgeon, vho uere 
 NOT WITNESSES on the Trial, EXAMINED BEFORE 
 THE PRIVY COUNCIL ? 
 
 Q. 81. Gadsden says the dumplings the prisoner made the 
 night before were tery good, they differed in colour and weight 
 from those of the next day. This bears her out in her previous 
 recommendation of herself as a " capital hand" at making them, 
 when left to herself. Did not Thomas King, the other apprentice, 
 partake of these " very good" dumplings? If he did, why was he 
 not named by the witness ? 
 
 Q. 82. A very proper question. Gadsden admits that when 
 the poison was missed he did not inquire of the prisoner respecting 
 it. He does not appear to have been more indifferent to the loss 
 of it than his master. (See Q. 67.) But if the prisoner " would 
 probably resort to the drawer, in which the poison was kept, for 
 waste paper :" (See Q. 66.) if" her going to that drawer would 
 not strike tlu: witness as any thing extraordinary :" (See Q. 86.) 
 if Gadsden, " and his fellow-apprentice, THOMAS KING, who 
 was NOT A WITNESS," had seen her go to that drawer many 
 times, (See Q. 1-41.) why did he not mention to the prisoner the 
 extraordinary circumstance of the loss of the arsenick from that 
 drawer ? 
 
 [/ the SESSIONS' PAPER REPORT the abore very 
 IMPORTANT QUESTION by one of the JURY, and the 
 Answer, arc OMITTED.] 
 
 **& Me 
 
 tn^ifc tarfi fcnmMib4pr ytril tawoAt .
 
 34 
 
 Cross-examined by MR. ALLE : Y. ^ 
 
 83. Q. Do you usually keep the door locked when 
 you are out of the office ? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 84. By MR. GURNET. Q. Who made the fire 
 
 j 
 
 in the office ? 
 
 r V.JJ /I !: ilJ t 
 
 A. The prisoner. No person could go into the 
 office until I did. Any person might go in and out, in 
 the day. At night it was locked. 
 
 85. Q. What was kept in that drawer in which 
 the arsenick was kept? 
 
 A. Paper. 
 
 86. Q. Court. Then your seeing her go to that 
 drawer it would not strike you as any thing ex- 
 traordinary ? 
 
 A. No. I should not watch her, to see what sh 
 did there. 
 
 o rnaaoK 
 
 MARGARET TURNER Sworn., ^ 
 
 87. Q. Upon this melancholy occasion you was 
 sent for? 
 
 A. I was. 
 
 88. Q. When you arrived, you found your husband, 
 son, and daughter, extremely ill, did you not ? 
 
 A. I found them extremely ill. 
 
 89. Q. I believe, madam, you found the prisoner 
 vomiting? ^ 
 
 A. Very soon after I was thejce she was ill. 
 
 . 
 
 Q. 83. As the office door was not>ept locked when the office 
 was unoccupied, during the day, any person might have got at the 
 
 7 
 
 arsenick. 
 
 - if.* 

 
 35 
 
 90. Q. Did you say any thing to her while you 
 were there that day respecting the dumplings ? 
 
 A. I exclaimed to her, Oh these devilish dump- 
 lings! supposing they had done the mischief. She 
 said, " Not the dumplings, but the milk^ madam." I 
 asked her, "What milk?" She said, " The half-penny 
 worth of milk that Sally had fetched, to make the 
 
 #1. Q. Did she say who had made the sauce ? 
 
 A. My daughter. I said, that cannot be, it could 
 not be the sauce. She said, " Yes, Gadsden ate a 
 very little bit of dumpling, not bigger than a nut, t>ut' 
 licked up three parts of a boat of sauce with a bit of 
 bread." 
 
 92. Q. [To Mrs. TURNER, Junr.] Was any 
 sauce made with'the milk that Sarah Peer fetched? 
 
 311 A* It was. I mixed it, and left it for her to make. 
 
 ROBERT GREGSON TURNER Sworn. 
 
 93. Q. Did you partake of the dumplings at 
 dinner ? /V .) 
 
 A. Yes I did. 
 
 Q. 90, 91- The prisoner's answers, referring the mischief to the 
 milk which composed the sauce, and imputing the illness of 
 Gadsden to the " three parts of a boat of sauce that he had 
 licked up," are strictly consistent with the girl's answer to Orlibar 
 Turner, (see Q. ,69.) as it was natural for her to conclude that, as 
 Gadsden had eaten so small a quantity of dumpling, and so large 
 a proportion -of sauce, that the poison was in the sauce, and not 
 in the dumpling. (See Q. 69-) The extreme illness of Gadsdep, 
 may easily be accounted for, notwithstanding he ate so small a 
 quantity of dumpling, from the circumstance of his not receiving 
 any medical assistance, until after his return from Lambeth, there- 
 by affording time for the poison to operate on the coats of his sto- 
 mach. But, after all, might not the poison Be TO th* milk, as nidi as 
 the dumplings ?
 
 36 
 
 iiJ t' 1 Wfimfirn *ril if~l OA r 
 
 94. Q. Did you eat any of the sauce ? 
 A. Not any portion of that whatever. 
 
 95. Q. Were you taken ill, sir? 
 
 A. Soon after dinner I was, sir. I first felt an in- 
 clination to be sick : I then felt a strong heat across 
 my chest. I was extremely sick. 
 
 96- Q- Did it produce any swelling in you? 
 
 A. I was exactly as my father and wife were, except 
 stronger symptoms. I had eaten a dumpling and a 
 half. I suffered more than any person. 
 
 97. Q. Were your symptoms, and that of the 
 others, such as could be produced by poison ? 
 
 A. I should presume so : all taken in the same 
 way, and pretty near the same time. 
 
 SARAH PEER Sworn. 
 
 98. Q. You are a servant to Mrs. Turner? 
 A. Yes. 
 
 99. Q. How long have you lived in the family? 
 A. Near eleven months. 
 
 1 00. Q. Do you recollect the circumstance of 
 warning being given to the prisoner some time after 
 she came ? 
 
 ATI 
 
 A. 1 do, sir. 
 
 101. Q. Did you hear her say any thing after that 
 respecting your mistress ? 
 
 A. I heard her say that she should not like Mr. or 
 Mrs. Robert Turner any more. 
 
 Q. 94. Mr. Robert Gregson Turner swears that he ate " not 
 any portion of the sauce whatever'' with the dumpling and a half. 
 
 Q. 96. A yeast dumpling and a half without sauce ! a dry 
 morsel this, and more than some people can swallow ! 
 
 Q. 101. When did Sarah Peer hear the prisoner say she should 
 not like Mr. or Mrs. Robert Turner any more? upon \\hat
 
 37 
 
 102. On the morning of the twenty-first of March 
 did you go for any milk ? 
 
 A. Yes, after two o'clock : after I had dined. 
 
 1 03. Q. What had you eaten for dinner ? 
 
 A. Beef-steak pie. I had dined with the pri- 
 
 IOU .Itj'i. ft t{<l f(')d) I 
 
 soner. 
 
 104. Q. Had you any concern whatever in making 
 the dough for the dumplings ? 
 
 A. N^o sir. 
 
 105. Q. Or the sauce? 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 1 06. Q. Were you in the kitchen when the dough 
 
 was made? 
 
 aril m (13-Aftf (Jfi, iQz -aiHuedi tout* i 
 
 sion ? how long after the affair of the prisoner and the boys r 
 was it not the same day ? was it not before the reconciliation on the 
 same day ? Where is the corroboration of Mrs. C. Turner's evi- 
 dence of the girl's extreme sullenness for a month? did that wit- 
 ness's testimony need no corroboralion ?. If it could have been 
 corroborated, why was not the prisoner's fellow-servant, the witness 
 Sarah Peer, examined in corroboration? Could it have been, corro- 
 borated ? Was the prisoner extremely sullen to her mistress for a 
 month, without a single complaint made by her mistress ? 
 
 Q. 102. Sarah Peer swears that she went for the milk'" after 
 two o'clock." after she had dined with- the prisoner. WHERE 
 13j$d Sarah Peer dine with the Prisoner? As the family did not 
 dine until three o'clock, and as yeast dumplings do not take more 
 than ten minutes or a quarter of an hour's boiling, THE DOUGH 
 MUST HAVE BE1-N AT THE FIRE when Sarah Peer dined 
 with, the Primmer. If Sarah Peer, therefore, dined with'rhe Pri- 
 soner in the kitchen, did nut SHE hirce acccsd to the dough as well 
 as the Prisoner? For how long time, before and after dinner, was 
 Sarah I'cer in the kitrlion ? 
 
 ! XJ. 1 03. Sarah Pwr proves that she 'ih<t< 'ttftiipAsontr dined 
 together at 2 o'clock ; consequently she would hare had a good 
 excuse to have avoided partaking of the poisoned dumplings. But 
 ion th- pri^orit-r did < al of them, and if she ate of them, knowing them 
 3l&cto be poisoned, and that a whole dumpling at the lea-t, sne must 
 ^ibhttvc had motives lor poUoning herself as well as the family: 
 
 what malice- could she have had against herself? 
 feJuorfaQ* 106'. If barah l^er had stopped after her direct negative 
 
 ;j <( ,,M J0 ,-ilyj jj{ ,
 
 A. No, sir. I never meddled with it, or put any 
 thing to it. I never was in the kitchen until I went 
 up to make the beds, a quarter after eleven, until I 
 came down again. 
 
 107. Q. YOUJ I believe, had permission <tf your 
 mistress to go out that afternoon ? 
 
 A. It vras directly after I took up the dumplings, 
 and then I went out directly. I came home at 
 nine o'clock exactly. I ate none of the dumplings 
 myself. 
 
 ? 
 
 of being in the kitchen, her evidence would have been conclusive 
 upon that point ; but she afterwards proceeds to state, what, 
 according to the short-hand writer's notes, is whimsically inconsist- 
 ent. It would appear that she was in the kitchen while she made 
 the beds; and afterwards that she was not in the kitchen from 
 the time she left it until the time she came back again ! implying 
 that she was never in the kitchen before a quarter after eleven 
 o'clock ! 
 
 Q. 107. It appears that the apprentices dined -at two o'clock, 
 and therefore need not have partaken of the dumplings ; that the 
 witness, Gadsden, happening to see them in the kitchen, ate a 
 piece of dumpling, and largely of the sauce ; and that the other 
 apprentice, THOMAS KING, who was NOT a witness on the 
 Trial, did not eat oftfiem at all. It further appears that there were 
 six dumplings, and that four dumplings and a half were eaten pre- 
 vious to Gadsden's beginning to eat. Robert G. Turner deposes 
 that he ate a dumpling and a half, and Charlotte Turner deposes 
 that she ate a small piece, not a quarter of a dumpling, which leave 
 tic* dumplings and three quarters to have been eaten by Orlibar 
 Turner and Elizabeth Fenuing. If, therefore, neither of them 
 spared in eating their share of the dumplings, Orlibar Turner and 
 Elizabeth Penning ate one dumpling and three eighths of a dumpling 
 each, which is within one eighth of a dumphng of the quantity 
 deposed to have been eaten by Robert Gregson Turner, whose wife, 
 Mrs. C. Turner, consequently did not eat ant fifth of the quantity 
 eaten by either of the others, Gadsdcu e.xcepted. If any unfavour- 
 able inference, therefore, was to be drawn from either of the parties 
 abstaining from eating the dumplings, there could be- none of that 
 sort AGAINST THE PRISONER, 
 
 -
 
 39 
 
 108. Q. In eating of the beef-steak pie had you 
 partaken of any of the crust ? ,->t omd i 
 
 A. Yes. I was not at all ill. I had eaten some 
 dumplings she had made the night before. I never 
 tasted any better. They were all made out of the 
 same flour. 
 
 109. Q. Had you had any difference with your 
 mistress anyjtime? 
 
 *' No. 
 
 Cross-examined by MR. ALLEY. 
 
 110. Q. Was not the coals delivered in the house 
 that day? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. 108. Sarah Peer appears to have deposed with eagerness. 
 She is asked if she ate any of the pie crust ; and is not content 
 with simply answering, Yes, and that she was not ill, but she goes 
 on to say that she ate some of the dumplings the prisoner made 
 the night before, which she was not asked ; and further, that she 
 never tasted any better. It is very true, that having been sworn 
 to declare the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, she 
 was not only justifiable, but praiseworthy, if she proceeded with 
 her evidence from a due sense of the nature and obligation of the 
 oath she took. It, however, happens that she goes on still further, 
 and swears that " they were all made of the same flour." All! 
 All what? If she means the dumplings that disagreed with the 
 family, it must be recollected that, in her last answer but one, she 
 swore she was not in the kitchen when the dough was made, and 
 therefore could net possibly KNOW any thing about the matter. 
 Now this is the witness who CORROBORATES her mistress's 
 testimony, that the COALS were not delivered that day, when it is 
 shown (See Q. 39.) that they actually were delivered that day. 
 Hence the reader will judge whether she swore more or less than 
 the whole truth, and whether she swore nothing but the troth ! 
 
 Q. 110. Sarah Peer swears that the Coals were not delivered 
 that day. This is in corroboratwn of HER MISTRESS, who 
 swore to the same effect. BOTH MISTRESS AND MAID 
 SWORE TO WHAT WAS NOT TRUE. (See Q. 39-) It must
 
 40 
 
 111. Q. Then it is not true that you were set to 
 watch the coals coming in ?>jsH JB .vswifr y\f. 
 
 Jior A. No. 
 
 112. Q. As the dumplings were taken out of the 
 pot you went out ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 113. Q. Had the prisoner and you been upon 
 good terms ? 
 
 in - A. At times, sir. 
 
 114. Q. When was the last quarrel? 
 
 A. Two or three days before she had taken some- 
 thing out of my drawer for a duster. I said, I did not 
 dfilike to lead that life, without she altered her temper. 
 
 115. Q. How long before that had you quarrelled 
 with her ? 
 
 A. About a week, or a week and a half. 
 
 116. Q. What might that quarrel be about ? 
 A. I cannot say. 
 
 117- Q. Was it the habit of your house for the 
 arf jservants to take it turn about to go out of a Sunday ? 
 A. Yes, 
 
 be again repeated, that these witnesses were in Court and heard 
 each other give evidence. 
 
 Q. 112. Who took the dumplings up stairs to table if Sarah 
 Peer went out as soon as the dumplings were taken out of the 
 pot? When and where did Mrs. Turner tell Sarah Peer the 
 dumplings were black and heavy ? (See Q. 30.) Did Sarah Peer 
 inform the prisoner what her mistress said 1 If she did, what was 
 the prisoner's answer? If she did not, what was her reason for 
 not doing it, her duty being to have informed the prisoner if 
 there was any complaint ? But tchcre and when was Mrs. Tur- 
 ner's complaint made? 
 
 Q. 114. Sarah Peer's tvldence as to the quarrels between her 
 and Elizabeth Penning, certainly proves that Sarah Peer might 
 have had malice against Elizabeth Penning, but by no means, 
 proves that Elizabeth Penning had malice against Sarah Peer.
 
 41 
 
 118. Q. Who did you go to visit on Tuesday ? 
 A. My sister, at Hackney. 
 
 119. Q. When had you been to your sister's before 
 that? 
 
 A. About a month. 
 
 120. Q. Whose turn was it to go out before this 
 Tuesday? 
 
 A. Mine. 
 
 121. Q. The prisoner lived seventeen weeks in 
 your master's house. Did it happen that you ever 
 went to visit your sister but on a Sunday? 
 
 A. Never, except on that day. 
 
 122. Q. I suppose you occasionally went into the 
 office where these young men were ? 
 
 A. Very seldom. 
 
 123. Q. You knew the waste paper was kept in 
 the office ? 
 
 A. Yes: but mistress always kept it up stairs in 
 the dining-room for my use. 
 
 124. Q. You knew there were waste paper in the 
 office? 
 
 A. No, sir. I never touched any there. I did not 
 know it for a certainty. There might be waste paper 
 
 1 IT 11- -^IV- >"-'' 'Vfr 
 
 there, but 1 never touched it. 
 
 125. Q. Did you not know there was poison kept 
 
 , 
 
 I 
 
 
 Q. 123. Sarah Peer, when asked " if she knew the waste 
 paper was kept in the office ?" says " YES :" " but," says she, 
 " my mistress always kept it up stairs in the dining-room for my 
 use." 
 
 Q. 124. On the question being immediately repeated, " You 
 knew there was waste paper in the office?" she swears " NO. I 
 never touched any there," &c. The negative in this being a 
 direct contradiction to the affirmative in her last answer.
 
 A. No. I never went to the drawer in tfie office, 
 nor never knew there was poison kept there to kill rats 
 and mice. 
 
 126. Q. MR. GURNEY. You went to see your 
 sister, that lived at Hackney ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 127. Q. And the reason you went away as soon as 
 you took the dumplings up was to arrive there and see 
 your sister in time ? 
 
 A. Yes. M-<>- ; 
 
 128. Q. Was the yeast dumplings made the night 
 before different or not ? 
 
 A. Very different, and good, and of a different 
 shape. 
 
 MR. ORLIBAR TURNER. 
 
 bfjd ^ ^ . " fn-taf^ifH.-; i;trt $ W6a,sda 
 
 129- Q. Did you keep this arsenick to poison the 
 
 mice, that infested the office ? 
 
 A. Yes : it was only to be used in the office to de- 
 
 - ')iit 
 
 stroy the mice, and for no other purpose. This, [ 
 poison had not been used before for a year and a half. 
 
 .& iJliliOIf ei JL J'ttj- ft 
 'ni, -nil has ; no . 
 
 Q. 128. The mistress, in her evidence, takes exception to the 
 shape of the dough, before it was divided into dumplings ; but her 
 housemaid and fellow-witness, Sarah Peer, takes exception to 
 the shape of the dumplings ! 
 
 Q. 110 to 128. [In the SESSIONS' PAPER REPORT . 
 these Questions and their Answers, being Sarah Peer's entire 
 CRObS EXAMINATION, including, of course, her quarrels with 
 the. prisoner, a>td for CORROBORATIVE TESTIMONY of ni 
 HER MISTRESS'S Evidence as to the COALS, are WHOLLY 
 OMITTED. Mrs. Turner's Evidence as to the COALS was 
 LIKEWISE OMITTED in the Sessions Paper. See Q. 39-] 
 
 Q. 129. Mr. O. Turner keeps this araemck " only to poison rats 
 and mice," and it was so seldom in use, ihat " it had not been 
 used for a year and a half!" Its remaining in the open waste paper 
 drawer unused for that length of time, and accessible to every per 
 son in the house, is a negligence of the most unpardonable kind.
 
 43 
 
 WILLIAM THISSELTON Sworn. 
 
 I am an officer of Hatton Garden Office. 
 
 130. Q. Did you take the prisoner into custody? 
 
 A. I did, on the 23d of March, the day before 
 Good Friday. 
 
 J 3 1 . Q. While she was sitting in the room in the 
 office, did she say any thing respecting the poison or 
 the yeast? - 
 
 A. I asked her whether she suspected the flour? 
 She said she had made a beef-steak pie of the flour 
 that she made the dumplings with ; that her, and 
 her fellow-servants, and one of the apprentices, had 
 dined off the pie. I then .observed, if there was any 
 thing bad in that flour, it must have hurt them as well 
 as her. She said, she thought it was in the yeast ; 
 
 she saw a red settlement in the yeast after she had 
 
 , . 
 
 usedlt r boiWmi ibm.^n 
 
 The mind is never so prone to mischief as when unemployed ; and 
 the vacations between the terms,afford a law-stationer's office many 
 long days, and even weeks of leisure. To the apprentice, whose daily 
 industry is interrupted by frequent and tedious hours of idleness, a. 
 paper of arsenick is neither an agreeable nor a useful subject for 
 contemplation ; and the master deserves something more than mere 
 reproach, who could expose half-employed and thoughtless youth 
 to the temptation of untying a paper of deadly poison, and exa- 
 mining, playing, and making experiments with its contents. To 
 the mischievous it presented facilities which are too dreadfully 
 obvious from the circumstances which gave rise to this trial. 
 
 Q. 131. Tliisselton, the officer who took the prisoner into 
 custody, swears that she told him she saw a " red" settlement 
 in the yeast. Did he not swear before the magistrate that she 
 told him it was " WHITE?" Thisselton's conversation, however, 
 with his prisoner, even as stated by himself, tends to exculpate 
 her from all appearance of guilt. Her answers seem simple and 
 natural, and have the semblance of ingenuousness. But was it 
 necessary to the strength of the prosecutor's case that this man 
 should have been put up into the witnesses' box ? That a tktef- 
 taker should have been transformed into an evidence?
 
 JOSEPH PENSON 
 
 132. Q. You are a servant to Mr. Edmonds the 
 
 .rj 1 1 Fn^y/^i 3fl L. f ft ) f1O*)0"fY^ P ni ft I 
 
 brewer in Gray's Inn Lane ? 
 
 A AT 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 1 33. Q. Were you in the habit of leaving table beer 
 
 * vr T '3 
 at Mr. I timers? 
 
 A V 
 
 I 9^tt^9flKvxi tJ j , -h// Tefiuii'igsii I nofmri/a 
 134. Q. Had the prisoner made any application 
 
 to you respecting yeast ? 
 
 fl2ifei v u ! j TI ; V ( -* & *3B*u 
 
 A. Yes ; she asked me on I hursday. I told her, 
 
 if I came that way on Saturday, I would bring her a 
 
 s f i f >j 1 J -J kiiif> rn A 
 
 bit ; if not. on Monday. I brought the yeast on 
 '--.' - . 
 
 Monday morning. I took it out of the stilliards where 
 
 3 
 
 the casks lay ; out of the yeast what the bakers have. 
 
 tioomUf.H lo -, . 7 i^jufj }; tub woSI \gt 
 
 *r. Cross-examined by MR. ALLEY. 
 
 J, 1 1 35. Q. When you brought the yeast to the hou^e, 
 
 you gave it to the last witness, not to the prisoner ? 
 **" A. I gave it to the house-maid : she brought me a 
 
 & . a 90!f;0sd 
 
 pot, I put the yeast into it. fj .M .-,1/1 . Hej .9 
 
 'imoT ^ili rbui*/ D "t jjnsjj^it^ ,iisnob ^dt "\o 
 
 SARAH PEER. * 1S '*' 
 
 ~ ^ * 
 
 ^^ '136. Q. What did you do with the yeast ? 
 
 A. I emptied it into a white basin. I told Eliza 
 that the brewer had brought the yeast. She took the 
 
 saw no more of it. 
 
 He-Rfric ' 41 
 
 /igi-w ji' 
 
 Q. ]32. Mr. Edmonds's yeast is celebrated amongst bakersfor 
 its superior quality to that of other brewers' yeast. How this supe- 
 riority is acquired is a secret. Probably some other ingredient 
 being chemically combined with yeast contributes to its improve- 
 ment. Bakers seem to think that its better quality is owing to its 
 scientific management. Mr. Edmonds's yeast, as well as other 
 yeast, deposits a red sediment. 
 dJ6i> ad) o; l8u\>t uoUict 03 t Niit& 9m; guil
 
 45 
 
 3fft sbnocpfvl i^iiJ'HOji CX.-.S'?! 
 
 137. I am a surgeon. On the evening of Tuesday, 
 
 the 21st of March, I was sent for to Mr. Turner's 
 family. I got there about a quarter before nine 
 o'clock. All the symptoms attending the family were 
 produced by arsenick. I have no doubt of it, by the 
 
 symptoms. The prisoner was also ill, by the same I 
 , . . fio-uq :>rli rififi. "V icl 
 
 have no doubt. 
 
 t4>'/ T -n!( - yiq?'T' ioy ot 
 
 138. Q. Did Mr. Orlibar Turner show you a dish 
 
 the next morning? 
 
 ' : & f ' . i ' ' 
 
 A. He did. I examined it. I washed it with a 
 tea-kettle of warm water. I first stirred it, and let 
 it subside. I decanted it off. I found half a tea- 
 
 Q. 137- How did it happen that Mr. Marshall, of Half moon 
 Street, Piccadilly, the only medical man whom it was deemed 
 proper to examine on this most important trial, should not have 
 seen the family till five or six hours after the affair? How did it 
 happen that Mr. Ogilvy, of Southampton Buildings, Chancery 
 Laue, the only medical man who saw the family as soon as they 
 became indisposed, was not a witness on the trial? 
 
 Q. 138. Mr. Marshall deposes, that there was in the remains 
 of the dough, sticking round the dish in which the Turners' 
 dumplings were made, half a tea-spoonful of arsenick. If the 
 arsenick was mixed with the flour at the time of making the 
 dough, it -was doubtless spread and incorporated throughout the 
 wbple mass ,in uniform proportion. Every one in the habit of 
 going into the kitchen, knows about how much dough is left in a 
 di-?h after making dumplings; if collected, it would scarcely 
 exceed the size of a walnut, or one eighth of a dumpling. .If, 
 therefore, there was in that quantity half a tea-spoonful of arse- 
 nirk, which it has been ascertained would weigh at least 50 
 grains, there would have been, in the four dumplings and a half 
 actually eaten, a quantity of'arseuick weighing 1,800 grains. 
 Now, as five grains of ar*nii k would destroy any human being 
 who swallowed it, the quantity in Mrs. Turner's quarter of a 
 dumpling was equal lo the death of 10 Arsons; that in her 
 bu->i>.uul'.s dumpling iiml a half \vould have killed 120; and, if 
 Mr. O. Turner and Elizabeth Pennine's proportions of dump- 
 ling were alike, each of theirs held a portion equal to the death
 
 46 
 
 spoonful of white powder. I washed it the second 
 time. I decidedly found it to be arsenick. 
 
 rrOitejdaubflttttiifcJr.A 
 
 of 110 persons; so that the quantity of arsenick in the four 
 dumplings and a half would have destroyed 360 people ! The 
 large portion of arsenick, therefore, in the small quantity of 
 dough remaining in the dish after the making of the dumplings, 
 is only to be accounted for by supposing that a portion of arse- 
 nick was sprinkled or strewed upon the surface of the dough 
 whilst in the pan or dish before the fire; in which case, upon 
 making the dough into dumplings, although the greater quantity 
 would be incorporated, yet a considerable portion would fall off 
 into the dish. But, after all, was it not possible for any person 
 to have put arsenick into the dish after the boiling of the dump- 
 lings, previous to the finding of the dish by Mr. Turner? 
 
 Mr. Marshall says he " examined the dish the next morning ; 
 he washed it with a tea-kettle of warm water. He first stirred it 
 and let it subside: he decanted it off: he found half a tea-spoon- 
 ful of white powder. He washed it the second time. He de- 
 cidedly found it to be arsenick," but he has not stated how he 
 knew it to be so ? Did Mr. Marshall, by mere inspection, find it 
 to be sot or did he find it to be so upon the authority of any 
 other person ? Did he test it ? and when 1 What tests did he use 1 
 What became of the arsenick ? Why did he not produce it in 
 Court? Did he think it might net to have been produced in 
 Court? Or was it because he had parted with it out of his own 
 possession, and could not identity it? Was the dish the only 
 vessel, except the flour-tub and yeast-basin, that Mr, Marshall 
 examined ? Did it not occur to him to examine the pot in which 
 the dumplings were boiled? What became of the water they 
 were boiled in ? Was there any more arsenick held in solution in 
 that water, after a quarter of an hour's boiling of the dumplings, 
 than would have escaped from them ? Did Mr. Marshall inquire 
 where the water was got from that the dumplings were mixed 
 with, and did he inspect the vessel it was fetched in ? Did he 
 examine the milkcan, that hnng in ttte kitchen? and the salt 
 vessel, from which the salt was taken for the dumplings? Did he 
 examine the SAUCE ? a'lUiteifil/; 
 
 Mr. Marshall does not say one word about arseuick in the 
 dumplings ; all that he deposed to was the presence of arsenick 
 in the remainder of the dough in the dish the dumplings had 
 been made in. What experiments did he use to discover that 
 there was poison in the dumplings ? Was any of the remaining 
 dumpling and a half given to a cat or dog, or other animal I 
 Were the contents discharged from the stomachs of any of the 
 family given to an animal, examined, or analized? THERE Iff
 
 47 
 
 139- Q- Will arsenick, cut with a knife, produce 
 the appearance of blackness upon the knife ? 
 A. I have no doubt of it. 
 140. Q. Did you examine the remains of the 
 
 T i ^Iqo5q OW w$rt9b 9VKfl Wito-h lf*-d i 
 yeast r,. :jj ., IJRms Mill ni ,yo1:mil 
 
 A. Yes : there was not a grain of arsenick there ; 
 and I examined the flour tub, there was no arsenick 
 there. 
 
 Mr. GURNEY. That is the case on the part of 
 the prosecution. 
 
 i. UK <!> i> 'n fifth ifll olni 'J(~>\i\ 
 
 NOT THE LEAST EVIDENCE, THROUGHOUT THE 
 WHOLE TRIAL, THAT ARSENICK, OR ANY OTHER 
 POISON, WAS IN THE DUMPLINGS ! In vain is such 
 proof looked for from the first to the last witness the medical 
 man. 
 
 Q. 139. Mr. Marshall is asked, If arsenick, cut with a knife, 
 will produce the appearance of blackness upon the knife ? He 
 immediately answers, " I have no doubt of it." Was Mr. Mar- 
 shall aware that he was giving evidence and opinions upon oath, 
 which from him, as a professional man, the jury would assume as 
 true ; but which, if they had been uttered by a man not profes- 
 sional, would have had no weight with them ? Did not Mr. Mar- 
 shall know, when he swore he had no doubt arsenick would tarn 
 a knife black, that the jury would believe upon that oath that 
 ar.senick would turn a knife black ? 
 
 Mr. Marshall's notion that arsenick would turn a knife black, is 
 destitute of that experimental proof which the ingenious chemist, 
 whom that gentleman is known to have consulted upon other mat- 
 ters connected with this affair, would probably have considered 
 it required, if Mr. Marshall had mentioned it to him before he gave 
 his notion as evidence on the unfortunate girl's trial. IT IS NOT 
 TRUE that arsenick will produce the effect of BLACKNESS 
 upon a knife; it will not, it CANNOT produce it. And yet, 
 upon Mr. Marshall's swearing ALONE, the PRESUMPTION 
 appears to have rested of ARSENICK having been m tfo 
 DUMPLINGS with which the fatnily were poisoned. 
 
 Q, 140. Mr, Marshall swore, that " ALL THE SYMPTOMS 
 attending the family WERE PRODUCED BY ARSENICK: 
 he had no doubt of it BY THE SYMPTOMS!" (Q. 137.) 
 He likewise swore that the white powder in the dish he decidedly 
 FOUND to be ARSEMCK ; and he also swore that he bad 
 no joubt ARSENICK would BLACKEN a knife t
 
 48 
 
 PRISONER'S DEFENCE. 
 
 . 
 I am truly innocent of the whole charge. I am 
 
 innocent ; indeed I am ! I liked my place. I was very 
 comfortable. 
 
 [Gadsden behaved improper to me; my mistress 
 came, and saw me undressed : she said she did 
 not like it. I said, " Ma'am it is Gadsden that 
 has taken liberty with me." The next morning I said, 
 " I hope you do not think any thing of what passed 
 last night." She was in a great passion, and said she 
 would not put up with it. I was to go away directly. 
 I did not look on Mrs. Turner as my mistress, but 
 the old lady. In the evening the old lady came to 
 town. I said, " I am going away to-night." Mrs. 
 Turner said, " Do not think any more about it : I 
 don't." She asked Mrs. Robert Turner if she was 
 willing for me to go ? She said, " No, she thought 
 no more about it*."] 
 
 ' As to my master saying I did not assist him, I 
 was too ill. I had no concern with that drawer at 
 all : when I wanted a piece of paper, I always 
 asked for it. . ^tmfcfO 
 
 COURT, to ROGER GADSDEN. 
 
 s 
 141. Q. The prisoner lit the hre in the office ? 
 
 A. Yes. I and my fellow-apprentice have seen 
 her go to that drawer many times. 
 
 * [In the SESSIONS' PAPER REPORT the 'whole of the 
 unhappy PRISONER'S DEFENCE within parentheses [thus] it 
 OMITTED.] 
 
 Q. 141. " The prisoner lit the fire in the office?" 
 
 Yes ; I and nay fellow-apprentice have seen her go to that 
 er many, times."
 
 The prisoner called FIVE WITNESSES, who 
 gave her the character of a good-natured, and amiable 
 disposition. 
 
 GUILTY. DEATH. Aged 20. 
 
 '<r f ru;i/ ' vii.-r/i !-f.'.Jdk*-h 1 1 iO 
 
 After the evidence was closed, and the prisoner's defence made, 
 this most extraordinary question was put by the Recorder. 
 When the apprentice was called to speak to this point, why was 
 not THOMAS KING, the apprentice 'called fat-, brought upl 
 Was he not there? Did it suit the prosecution better that Thoma* 
 King should not be brought into the box? Was it " discovered" 
 that Thomas King's nerves were too weak to bear the scrutiny that 
 would have followed his appearance ? This fellow -apprentice of 
 Roger Gadsden, this Thomas King, who is not once mentioned 
 by name throughout the whole trial, who, with Sarah Peer, the 
 house-maid, did not eat of the dumplings; who, if he was at 
 home, remained in the house and saw their effects on all who 
 did, except on Roger Gadsden ; who, though he had eaten of 
 them, was sent ill to Lambeth : this Thomas King was NOT A 
 WITNESS : that is, he was not an evidence upon the trial. But 
 Gadsdeu swears that King was qualified for a witness. " f, 
 and my fellow-apprentice," says Gadsden, " have seen her go 
 to that drawer many times," quoting, as it should seem, Thomas 
 King as a corroborative evidence of his own testimony. Though 
 Thomas King's non-attendance in Court was known not only 
 to the witness Gadsden, but to the Recorder, the Court itself, 
 yet it does not appear that either Counsel or Recorder checktd 
 the witness, Gadsden, for swearing as to what another person saw, 
 or that he was desired to confine his testimony to what he him- 
 self knew. It is to be observed, by the bye, that although, 
 Gadsden swore that he and King saw the prisoner go to the 
 drawer, he does not swear whether it was before or after the 
 poison was missed. 
 
 But it is very important to observe at what period of the trial 
 Gadsden gave THIS evidence. It was after the prosecutor's 
 Counsel had declared that the case on the part of the prose- 
 cution was closed: after the prisoner had been calh d upon by 
 the Recorder for her defence : AFTER THE PRISONER 
 HAD MADE HER DEFENCE and -AFTER THE PRI- 
 SONER'S WITNESSES HAD 'BEEN EXAMINED: at this 
 period of the trial the unhappy girl anxiously desired that the 
 OTHER apprentice might be called, " for he will not dare," 
 said she, " to deny the truth ; lie \vill say I always asked for 
 paper when I wanted it." Roger Gadsden, who had been the 
 third witness for the prosecution, again stepped forward. Tb 
 
 I
 
 50 
 
 Tried by the second Middlesex Jury, BEFORE 
 MR. RECORDER. 
 
 
 
 .in/ .-/i-'j 
 
 I do hereby certify that this is a true copy. 
 Witness my hand. 
 
 (Signed) JOB SIBLY. 
 
 prisoner said " it was not him, it was the other apprentice, 
 Thomas King, that she wanted." The Recorder, although the 
 prisoner persisted against Gadsden, and insisted upon King, put 
 this question to Gadsden : " The prisoner lit the fire in the 
 office V " Yes," said Gadsden : " I and my fellow-apprentice 
 have seen her go to that drawer many times." The prisoner 
 still earnestly entreated that Thomas King might be called; 
 she implored that Thomas King might be sent for: but the 
 Recorder still said it could not be done ; it was too late. 
 
 Thus it appears that the prisoner had fully declared that her 
 object, when she asked for the other apprentice, without men- 
 tioning his name, was to obtain from him exculpatory evidence 
 as to her alleged going to the drawer ; and from Roger Gads- 
 den, whom she had not called, to whom, when he came, she put 
 no questions, but who she declared not to be the apprentice she 
 wanted ; from this boy, whom the prisoner had just implicated as 
 the occasion of her imputed grudge, did the Recorder's question 
 elicit such an answer as, from Gadsdeu's views and feelings at 
 that moment, might have been anticipated. It must have been a 
 death-blow to the hopes of the miserable girl. She called on 
 the Recorder for the apprentice, THOMAS KING, with the 
 apparent hope, that, in the last moments of her extremity, HE 
 could, by his evidence, have assisted to save her ; and the ap- 
 prentice, Roger Gadsden, a witness against her, being imme- 
 diately questioned by the RECORDER, and swearing for him- 
 sdf AND THOMAS KING, at " one fell swoop," destroyed 
 in the minds of the Jury whatever expectation existed there of 
 Thomas King being able to depose any thing in the helpless 
 creature's behalf. 
 
 " What man is thereof YOU whom, if his son ask BREAD, will 
 he give him a STONE ? or, if he ask a FISH, will he give him m 
 SBBPENT?" 
 
 iiq 3ifj t.. . !t rj 
 
 v^qu 
 
 1)QOS ri'
 
 R 
 
 oHv'MHO: 13$ . 
 
 PROCEEDINGS ON THE TRIAL 
 
 sns li^-'ntr ?i f l 
 
 EY THE 
 
 ->" -' Ji" ' "i>l-:-. S'rJO^Vf 
 
 SHORT-HAND WRITER TO THE CORPORATION^ * 
 *i*q, ,as4 A. ne^iTtedf ;i v fra&twaqg* hoiarn^ ^r>Eriq 
 
 i*.,vj a v# <,< p,.a(U, 
 
 WITH 
 
 COLLATERAL CIRCUMSTANCES. 
 
 iw<; i-riyiq ri* T 
 
 ^9t ^o^'e4lj;.Apfl 
 IN addition to the Proceedings in the foregoing copious 
 Report of the Trial, some important circumstances remain 
 to be stated, which do not appear in the short-hand 
 
 ', . 4 mtm ; 
 
 writer s notes. 
 
 It is to be lamented that the Speeches of the Counsel 
 for the prosecution are not within reach. Mr. Sibly did 
 not take them ; nor does it appear that he took notes of 
 the evidence in defence of the prisoner, nor of that 
 viost important portion of the Trial, the RECORDER'S 
 summing up and CHARGE to the Jury. Every means 
 
 have been adopted to supply these latter deficiencies from 
 
 ., ,. 
 authentic sources., Y ,, B yfu ^ O i-'a!idii- jufed 
 
 It appears then, that the following were WITNESSES 
 swom and examined on behalf of the Prisoner. 
 
 JOHN WOODDERSON, of No. 44, Eagle-street, 
 Red Lion Square, deposed, that he had known the pri- 
 soner upwards of eleven years, and that she was an honest, 
 nober, industrious, good girl.
 
 Mrs. HUTCHINSON, of No. 19, Little Queen-street, 
 late of Red Lion Passage, and in whose service Williafti 
 Penning lived, previous to the business being taken by 
 Mr. Rabbeth, his present master, deposed that she bad 
 inown the prisoner several years, and gave her an ei- 
 cellent character. 
 
 Mrs. HINSON, of the Orange Tree, in Orange-street, 
 : Red Lion Square, deposed, that she had known the pri- 
 soner between eight and nine years, and in speaking to 
 her good character generally, observed, that she had been. 
 attended by her whilst ill, and that she could not have 
 received more attention from one of her own children. 
 
 RICHARD MAZE, of No. 6, Orange-street, Red 
 I/ion Square^ also deposed to his knowledge of the 
 prisoner, and her good character and disposition. 
 
 JOHN SMITH, of No. 8, in the Colonnade, Bruns* 
 wick Square, deposed, that he had known the prisoner 
 well for several years, and particularly as to her good 
 character and behaviour during the time he had known 
 her, from his intimate acquaintance with her parents. 
 
 This witness was proceeding to relate a conversation 
 with the prisoner, two or three days before the poisoning^ 
 which was considered as counter-circumstantial to certain 
 testimony delivered upon oath for the prosecution, and in 
 particular that he had met the prisoner on the Saturday 
 preceding the day of the poisoning, which was on a 
 Tuesday, and asked her where she lived, andhow ( sj^e 
 , liked her place ; and that she told him, and expressed 
 her entire satisfaction with her situation : ^ ^eb arh 
 
 The RECORDER would not suffer the witness Smith 
 to proceed he would not hear him he said it o?as NOT 
 
 fi rt, i r inr-it- '*>'* v-^A.Dvn -juiKud Jon -irwa 
 
 1 he tendency of William Smith s rejected testimony 
 
 was to thii effect-that two days after the circumstance
 
 *f the ordering of the yeast for the purpose of making 
 the dumplings, the prisoner, on being accidentally met by 
 
 >this old acquaintance, declared, with emotions of seeming 
 pleasure, that " she had never been more comfortably off, 
 since she had been out at service, than she was in that very 
 family;" for the purpose of murdering whom, she had, 
 lit appears, by conjectural testimony, purloined arsenick 
 eleven days before; and that this same family, with re- 
 spect to whom she had testified such apparent liking and 
 good will, she attempted to murder, together with herself y 
 
 -three days afterwards upon a mortal grudge of a month's 
 standing ! ,| WO -^H, lo gno moil i 
 
 ' This was the nature of the testimony that the Recorder 
 refused to hear, at the same time declaring that it z&tts 
 JsOT EVIDENCE. ,, niwiefo boo's TW! La 
 
 The circumstance of this good-humoured interview, 
 which, after the witness had been sworn on behalf of the 
 prisoner, and after he had given other testimony, he was 
 proceeding to relate in her favour, until stopped by the 
 Recorder, has been since deposed to by the witness in 
 the following ;; i aT ) gniba 
 
 /jjninoaioq oil) siotod avfib soirU 10 owf -Tanoaiiq ^dt rfiiw 
 
 AFFTDA VIT 
 flifilioo ot * ^if;Fjizirt>D a^w iloirfw 
 
 JOHN SMITH, of No. 8, in the Colonnade, Brunswick 
 Square, Glutweigher aj His Majesty's Custom House, makelh 
 Oath and saitb, That he this deponent well know, for upwards of 
 seven years last past, the late Elizabeth Penning, who was exe- 
 cuted, after being tried before the Recorder, on an indictment for 
 poisoning the family of Mr. Turner, of Chancery-lane ; and that 
 three days previous to the said poisoning, that is to say, on the 
 .evening of Saturday, the eighteenth day of March last, thisiiepo- 
 nout met the said Elizabeth Penning, near Usual-court, in Ilolburn, 
 who stopped deponent, and inquited of him how he did ?* Depo- 
 nent, not having seen her some time before, after answering her, 
 "and inquiiing her health, asked her where she was going? and 
 she said, with her usual good temper and cheerfulness, she waa?
 
 54 
 
 going on an errand ; deponent then asked her where she lived, she 
 said at Mr. Turner's in Chancery-lane; deponent then inquired 
 what sort of a place she had, and she answered in the following 
 WOK .-, or in words to the following effect; " A very good place 
 I like my place very much I have never been more comfortably 
 off since I have been out to service;" after which deponent and 
 the said Elizabeth Penning continued to converse together in 
 
 mutual good humour for a short time, and then parted. 
 
 i*kk a 
 JO. SMITH. 
 
 at the Mansion-House o/\ 
 the City of London, this 30tk V 
 Day of August, 1815. } 
 
 GEO. SCHOLEY, 
 
 Whilst the Trial was proceeding, William Penning, 
 the father of the prisoner, went to the Pitt's Head public 
 house in the Old Bailey, opposite the Sessions' House. 
 He was anxious to get the statement that follows com- 
 mitted to paper, but being unable to do it himself, from 
 the agitation of his mind and his hand trembling very 
 much, he there asked the witness, John Woodderson, to 
 write for him, who, from the same causes, being equally 
 incompetent, Penning applied to another person in the 
 room, a stranger , and asked him if he could write : he 
 said he could, and then, upon the solicitation of Penning, 
 wrote in ink, on both sides of a small scrap of paper, 
 which Penning gave him, to the following effect : " That 
 he, William Penning, in consequence of being sent for 
 by his daughter, the prisoner,* in the afternoon that the 
 affair happened, went to Mr. Turner's between nine and 
 ten o'clock in the evening. He had intended to go before, 
 but forgotten it, and had gone home after shutting up shop, 
 
 * The prisoner herself went up to her father's master's, in Red Lion 
 Passage, and left the message some time between twelve and two 
 o'clock.
 
 when recollecting himself, he said to his wife, Eliza had 
 sent for him, but he had forgotten to go, and would go 
 then. He accordingly went to Mr. Turner's and rang at 
 the bell, and the house-maid came to the door, and said, 
 ' I suppose you want Eliza :' he said, * No, I don't want 
 to see Eliza, I understand my daughter wishes to see me.' 
 She replied, ' No, you cannot see your daughter, for she 
 is sent out upon a particular message for my mistress :' 
 upon that Penning observed, * it was of no consequence, 
 that his daughter knew where to find him if she wanted 
 him, and probably he would call again to-morrow,' and 
 then went away." 
 
 When the note was written, it was given into court to 
 be handed to Mr. Alley, the Prisoner's Counsel. 
 
 Mr. Alley ^ after reading the paper, stood up on tiptoe 
 on the seat, and shewed it to the Recorder, who leaned 
 over and looked at it, and they appeared to be consulting 
 upon the contents of the paper. 
 
 No further notice was taken of this paper, either by 
 the Recorder or Mr. Alley ; and, soon afterwards, upon 
 the prisoner requesting the apprentice to be brought for- 
 ward, Gadsden went up into the witnesses' box ; whereon 
 the Prisoner energetically exclaimed, " No, my Lord, 
 it's not that apprentice boy it's not the younger appren- 
 tice that I want it's THOMAS KING that I want 
 the elder apprentice, who knows that I never went to the 
 drawer in ray life, for when I asked for paper he always 
 gave it ine, and if HE was here he dare not deny the 
 truth to my face, and I wish him to be sent for." 
 
 The Recorder said, " You should have had him here 
 before." 
 
 The Prisoner replied, " My Lord, I desired Una to b 
 brought, and I wish him to be sent for mow."
 
 56 i 
 
 The Recorder said, " No, it's too late nowI cannot 
 hear you." ^aBw-afeifarfB^&l 
 
 The Recorder then ^ the REMARKABLE QUES- 
 TION that appears last on the Trial. (Q. 141. ) 
 
 William Penning, the Prisoner's Father, greatly agitated, 
 stepped up into the witnesses' box, and said, "1 am the 
 father of the unfortunate girl, my Lord : if you won't 
 hear her, I hope you Mill hear me." 
 
 : He was then proceeding to relate, amongst other etr- 
 cumstances, his having been denied access to his daughter, 
 in- the manner mentioned in the note delivered to Mr. 
 Alley ) and shewn to the Recorder / and to state that his 
 daughter, when he was denied, was laying in great agony, 
 below stairs, from the effects of the poisoned dumplings > 
 
 The Recorder would not suffer the prisoner's father to 
 go on he put his hand out and motioned him to leave the 
 witnesses' box- he told him " he could not hear him it 
 &ns too late he must go down." 
 
 Finding that the Recorder would not hear him, and 
 being ordered down, the father left the witnesses' box 
 
 The Recorder proceeded to sum up the evidence and 
 charge the jury. RotnS^:*II J^JlT ; 
 
 Before the summing up, Mr. ALLEY, the PRISON- 
 ER'S COUNSEL, left the Court. 
 
 The/?econ?er, in summing up the evidence, made remaps 
 tts he zcent on, and dwelt particularly on the prisoner's 
 declaration to Sarah Peer that she should not like Mr. 
 and Mrs. Turner any more on her repeatedly requesting 
 her mistress to let her make yeast dumplings ; particularly 
 Her telling her mistress, when she complained they did 
 not rise, that they " would rise time enough ;" and on her 
 telling Gadsden not to eat of the dumplings that had 
 come down stairs ; that they were cold and heavy, and 
 
 -jUi %iJ hfl6tcnj afii no mj<va zsaThjoy s <JKW dsd^t uO^ 
 
 would do him n^ good.^ . 9 w
 
 The Recorder observed, that vellum and parchment 
 being very valuable, arsenick was kept to preserve these 
 valuable things from the vermin, called rats and mice ; 
 and that it was evident that the prisoner at the bar could 
 not be iffnorant of the poison, because it was written on 
 <( arsenick deadly poison," and as this girl had an educa- 
 tion, and could read and write, she could not be ignorant 
 pf the poison .- 
 
 The Recorder concluded his CHARGE in the followiog 
 words, or in words to the like effect : vv>i?.w 
 
 44 Gentlemen,* you have now beard the evidence given 
 " on this trial, and the case lies in a very narrow com- 
 " pass. There are but two questions for your considera- 
 ** tion, and these are, the fact of poison having been 
 " administered, in all, to FOURt persons, and by what 
 '* hand such poison was given. That these persons were 
 " poisoned, appears certain from the evidence of Mrs. 
 " Charlotte Turner, Orlibar Turner, Roger Gadsden 
 *' the apprentice, and Robert Turner; for each of these 
 "persons ate of the dumplings, and were all more or 
 " less affected ; that is, they were every one poisoned. 
 *' That the poison was in the dough of which these dump* 
 f{ lings were composed, has been fully PROVED, I 
 " think, by the testimony of the Surgeon who examined 
 
 *" That portion of the Recorder's Charge which follows the mark (*), 
 Deferring to this note, has been furnished to the editor by a gentleman 
 who was in court and took short-hand notes. The hiatus where the 
 Recorder attempted to impress on the minds of the jury " why cirewri* 
 ttuntial evidence was oiten more conclusive than the most positive 
 testimony," was occasioned by the short-hand notes having been taken 
 down in pencil ; and that part, which was very short indeed, was found 
 to be so much obliterated by friction, that the stenographic abbre- 
 viations could not possibly be deciphered. 
 
 t It appears from Mr. Marshall'* pamphlet and evidence, tfaat he is 
 at variance with the Recorder, as to the number of persons poisoned. 
 "Mr. Marshall says there were FIVE cases of recovery ; consequently 
 0fbf persons were, in his judgment, poisoned. The Recorder say* 
 FOulI". Mr. Marshall was a witness sworn on the trial, and the RE- 
 CORDER officiated at judge. Were they Wtlgtt W
 
 58 
 
 " the REMAINS of the dough LEFT in the dish ia 
 tl which the dumplings had been mixed and divided ; 
 " and he deposes that the powder which had subsided 
 " at the bottom of .the dish was arsenick. That the arse- 
 " nick was not in the flour, I think appears plain, from 
 " the circumstance that the crust of a pie had been made 
 " that very morning, with some of the same flour of 
 IC which the dumplings were made, and that the persons 
 *' who dined off the pie felt no inconvenience whatever : 
 " that it was not in the yeast, nor in the milk, has been 
 " also PROVED ; neither could it be in the sauce, for 
 ti TWO of the persons who were ill never touched a 
 " particle of the sauce, and yet were violently affected 
 " with retching and sickness. From all these circum* 
 " stances it must follow that the poisonous ingredient was 
 " in the dough alone; FOR, besides that the persons who 
 " partook of the dumplings at dinner were all more or 
 " less affected, from what they had eaten, it was observed 
 " by ONE * of the witnesses, that the dough retained 
 tf the same shape it had, vhen first put into the dish to 
 t rise, and that it appeared dark and &as heavy, and 
 " in fact ne-cer did r/se.t The other question for your 
 " consideration is, by what hand the poison was adminis- 
 " tered; and although we have NOTHING before us 
 <l but circumstantial evidence, yet it often happens that 
 " circumstances are more conclusive than the most positive 
 *' testimony, and I will tell you why : A fabrication 
 " may" ****** 
 
 ******** 
 
 * " The prisoner, when taxed with poisoning 
 " the dumplings, threw the blame first on the milk, next 
 
 " on the yeast, and then on the sauce ; but it has been 
 
 ' 
 
 * MRS. C. TURNER. 
 
 t What had the dough 'retaining its shape to do with the supposed 
 poisoning? Arsenick would not have prevented its rising. It was not 
 from the dough not rising, therefore, that the presence of ursenick was 
 ( be inferred.
 
 59 
 
 " PROVED, most satisfactorily, that none of these con- 
 " iained it, and that it was in the dumplings ALONE, 
 " which no person but the prisoner had made. Gentle- 
 " men, if poison had been given even to a dog, one 
 " would suppose that common humanity would have 
 <c prompted us to assist it in its agonies : here is the case 
 " of a master and a mistress being both poisoned, and no 
 " assistance was offered.* Gentlemen, I have now stated 
 " all the facts as they have arisen, and I leave the case 
 " in your hands, being fully persuaded, that whatever 
 <c your verdict maybe, you will conscientiously discharge 
 " your duty both to your God and to your Country." 
 
 After the charge, the jury in a few minutes brought in 
 a verdict of Guilty, and the miserable girl was carried 
 from the bar convulsed with agony, and uttering frightful 
 screams. 
 
 The RECORDER passed sentence of DEATH upon 
 her. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ;Vfc>*V * .iJevvfa-'ilfcttti 4'AV 
 
 'CORRECT LIST OF THE JURYt. 
 
 W" F V-A TV&! tVr'h' Hvv^ wV * 
 
 WILLIAM BENT, of Parliament-street, coal-merchant, 
 
 (Foreman). 
 
 JACOB JEANS, of Bridge-street, hatter. 
 WILLIAM BELL, of Bridge-street, mercer. 
 
 * Was the Prisoner poisoned also, or was she not ? If she was not 
 poisoned, Mr. Marshall, who swears she a'as, is perjured. If she was 
 poisoned, how could she render assistance to her master and mistress ? 
 the latter of whom, however much she stood in need of assistance, yet 
 preferred stopping up stairs for u half an hour," with, as she swears, 
 increasing sickness and her head swelling, to calling in the assistance of 
 her own husband, or he* father-in-law ; both of whom she had left in 
 the dining room below; or the prisoner, who was in the kitchen. 
 
 t In the SESSIONS' PAPER REPORT, the list of the Jury is in- 
 correct. Eight persons named in that list, as jurors, were not on the 
 jury who tried Elizabeth Penning. The Sessions' Paper List is as 
 follows. The eij;ht erroneous names are in italics. William Bent, 
 (Foreman), Anthony Assereti, William Worley, Robert Chadwick, 
 William ]*ardner, Thomax Gndicr, George Tweedy, Edward ^inith^ 
 William Crawford, John Wilkinson, Joseph Cooper, Jtlrn Lcring.
 
 60 
 
 WILLIAM BARNETT, of Bridge-street, sadler. 
 FRANCtS MACKLEY, of Bridge-court, gentleman. 
 THOMAS CLOSE, of Manchester-buildings, coal-mer- 
 
 chant. 
 
 WILLIAM WORSLEY, of Charles-street, vintner. 
 WILLIAM CRAWFORD, of Charles-street, cutler. 
 JOHN WILKINSON, of Charles-street, pawn-broker. 
 JAMES WOOD, of Charles-street, huckster. 
 THOMAS GULLAN, of Manchester-buildings, gentle- 
 
 man ; and, 
 EDWARD BEESLEY, of Charles-street, bottle-dealer, 
 
 who was DEAF and obliged to hate part of the 
 
 EVIDENCE related to him by his brother jurymen^ 
 
 which he COULD iNOT HEAR. 
 -ire 5 ? c 3 ^* ftsaqqs 71 
 
 ad? - 
 
 o ^oq^SVv^n*! Wtt8 
 
 Mr. GIIRNEY was Counsel for the Prosecution, '_ 
 Mr. SHEARMAN, Clerk to the Magistrates, at the 
 Police Office, Haiton gaiden, where the Prisoner was 
 examined, and zoho-took the Depositions upon her Exa- 
 mination, was the ATTORNEY for the PROSECU- 
 TION. 
 
 ''%* 
 
 ' 
 
 Mr. ALLEY 1005 Counsel for the Prisoner. ' 
 
 ioa oiaw t noix9lqmoa b3)o^q 
 .diemQi ol 
 
 gnitgsrtfni ^niwollol oriT 
 ^nsl d}9dBsiI3 rfli vf bolooanoanw vllodw t ioii3il 
 fiv/ LHB JrhTsdi bcai gniYBfl moil ^ 
 .110 II JffiH odt oi 8faiF?naflfi nooa mirf 
 
 -3H 
 
 t ^nynjV>totVt, os bns ,%sy^iw oe STB 'isiiT sdl 1o TJIO 1 ! 
 Jvodliw bsshfiliwincfl vlrsqoiq sd Joa blooo 
 
 eid^lo ssie sdi
 
 ,Im, , - ^ ^ i-i.-S 
 
 3jilustrattons of tye emine 
 
 '.isnifliv t te9T /JJ^fl 
 
 UP05 
 
 t fcii-a9hfiiK) ttCte/i 
 
 . 
 
 t J6 ' = 
 
 **i \0 i-US^ -S70A O^fcv^ .-V>Wt')%^ .;' '<* ^ 
 
 [General Remarks.] 
 
 iJ 'i(^/i ClJ. JO'-/ "jA iV.t'AoC 
 IT appears that, after the conviction of Elizabeth Fen- 
 
 ning, several respectable individuals who had perused the 
 Sessions' Paper Report of the Trial became interested in, 
 her fate. That Report, though mutilated, garbled, and 
 dispossessed of most material parts in the evidence favour- 
 able to the prisoner, yet furnished abundant mater^alsJbf 
 doubt as (o her guilt *. The short-hand writer to the Cor 
 poration of London was applied to for a copy of his nqte% 
 which he furnished, and these strengthened the persuasion 
 that the case of Eliza Penning admitted of still further 
 investigation. The proceedings, which wore an unex- 
 pected complexion, were not upon that account less subject 
 to remark. 
 
 The following interesting Paper was drawn up by a re- 
 spectable Solicitor, wholly unconnected with Elizabeth Pen- 
 ning, merely from having read the Trial, and was transmit- 
 ted by him soon afterwards to the Right Hon. Lord Sid- 
 mouth. Secretary of State for the Home Department. 
 
 The OMISSIONS, &c. in the SESSIONS' PAPER RE- 
 PORT of the Trial are so numerous, and so extraordinary, that 
 they could not be properly particularized without greatly 
 iucrepsiug the size of this publication.
 
 62 
 
 llsii3 
 
 ' 
 
 Observations on the Trial of ELIZA FEXXIXG. 
 3flo<>ntr 9ff? jBffw ifidi esvtnq'anlT 
 
 <asm 10 isjDBififfo oi isdiis ,bovoitf aiaiiw on 
 " 1st CHARGE is feloniously administering arsenick, 
 
 with intent to kill. 
 " 2d CHARGE is, that she did cause to be taken arse- 
 
 nick, with intent to kill. 
 
 " The EVIDENCE which probably interested the 
 
 Jury was, 
 
 " 1. The sullenness of the prisoner, after her mistress 
 
 had rebuked her about her conduct as to the apprentices. 
 
 " Am. This, called sullenness, was more probably shame; 
 
 as there is no evidence that her contrition was not sin- 
 
 cere, for she never repeated the offence. 
 
 " 2. The singular appearance which the prosecutrix 
 swears to. 
 
 " Ans. Yet, she says, she did not notice this singular ap- 
 pearance to the prisoner. This was, it must also be ob- 
 served, in answer to a question put by one of the jury, 
 and is therefore the more particular. 
 . " 3. The prosecutrix yet swears she observed to the other 
 servant, the dumplings were black and heavy, instead of 
 being white and light. 
 
 " Ans. Yet she never noticed this to E. Penning. 
 In this part of the case, the feelings of the jury, &c. 
 were overcome by the effects of the arenick; without 
 reflecting, perhaps, that there was no evidence to affect 
 Penning in the least. The effects of the poison were, of 
 course, incident, but are no other part or" the case ; their 
 effects naturally raise the passions. 
 
 " 4. By the cross-examination, this happened six weeks 
 after the girl came to live with prosecutrix. The fault 
 as to the apprentices, three weeks. And no other fault 
 was found with Penning.
 
 . The prosecutrix states, she heard the prisoner, who 
 had eaten of the dumplings, was ill. 
 
 " 6. No evidence whatever exists, as to any prejudice 
 against any person ; and yet four persons were poisoned. 
 This proves that what the prisoner felt (as to Mrs. Tur- 
 ner, jun.) was shame, and not sullenness, as malignity is 
 no where proved, either in character or manners ; nor is 
 any one act of sullenness proved. 
 
 " 7. Mr. O." Turner's evidence, that the girl gave no 
 assistance, requires explanation, it is too naked : and yet 
 this is, perhaps, one of the most important points of the 
 
 " If the girl had been attentive, it would have been 
 construed to have been subtilty, induced by guilt. 
 
 " If she had appeared agitated, it might have been -as- 
 cribed to affectation. 
 
 " By the evidence of O. Turner, he states a contradic- 
 tion ; he and his family were altogether alarmed ; yet he 
 states, amid all this distress and terror it was discerned 
 that Penning did not appear concerned at their situation^ . 
 
 " Now this is a fact sworn to, as observed at the time : 
 but it is contrary to the nature of things, and it seems 
 more the effect of reflection after they had recovered 
 
 from danger. ttMpW,<ft> I'frnhsrs 
 
 " The girl saw that the eating of food of some kind had 
 produced ill effects; but whether it. arose from her cook- 
 ery, or the food itself, she perhaps was in that kind of 
 state which a person is, who does not know whether from 
 accidental (but perfectly innocent) circumstances, they 
 have been the cause of evil or n,ot : it brings the mind to 
 a state which, in our language, can,npt be better expressed 
 than by the word " astounded" or stupi/ied by alarm; and 
 from the evidence this appears the conclusion, but surely 
 infers no guilt. 
 
 " 8. The evidence of Mr. O. Turner keeping poison in 
 an open drawer in his shop, is an unpardonable thing. 
 
 : >di o) & 
 
 -
 
 1p -j.-iiL-.hivd odl yfl .01- " 
 
 How many female servants can neither write nor read i 
 the cover, therefore, might be no security.^*?* 
 
 " The evidence as to the prisoner's reading is very defec- 
 tive, and yet exceptionable. The prosecutors' counsel 
 asked, " Do you happen to know whether the prisoner 
 can readf The prosecutor, Orlibar Turner, (for observe, 
 there were no less than three persons who appear as pro- 
 secutors, viz. Mr. Gregson Turner and his wife, and Mr. 
 Orlibar Turner,) answers, " 1 believe she can both read 
 and write." This is not an answer to the question, and 
 yet it is more: he believes. This is not evidence in a civil 
 case, and of course none in a case of life and death! 
 and Mrs. Turner, though she says she can read and 
 write well, yet states no one fact to prove it. 
 
 " As to the looking in the drawer where the arsenick 
 was for paper ; the evidence does not prove she ever did 
 so, but she might do so. Surely this is very detective. Mr. 
 Turner swearing that he saw it the seventh of March, is 
 not corroborated by any fact, to show why he should se- 
 lect that particular day. 
 
 " He then says, that on the twenty-first of March he 
 heard of its having been missed about a fortnight. What^ 
 can it be supposed that the Recorder suffered hearsay 
 evidence in so solemn a case ? 
 
 " 9. As to the evidence of O. Turner, relating to Fen- 
 ning's declaring that it was in the milk, it is natural she 
 should have said it was not in the dough, and that it 
 must therefore have been in the milk; and as the milk 
 had been used for sauce, it was as reasonable to conclude 
 it was from the one, as from the other : for the cause of 
 disapprobation as to the conduct of the prisoner about 
 the young men, was removed almost as soon as it hap- 
 pened, though she was there six weeks afterwards ; and 
 there is no proof of either malice or of design : on the eon- 
 trary, the prisoner admits she had no aid from any' on* 
 in making the dumplings. *' ''- , ~~ ->*-
 
 65 
 
 ii 
 
 " 10. By the evidence of Gadsden, he says he saw the 
 iuieniek on the seventh of March, apd yet no conoborat- 
 ing fact appears, to show that he and his master should 
 both see it on the same precise day: nor is. there any 
 evidence of the person to whom he says he mentioned it. 
 
 "11. By the evidence of Sarah Peer, she does not state 
 ,^hy she did not stay to eat of the dumplings : it is sin- 
 gular that she went out directly afterwards. 
 
 " It is in her evidence also, that she was in the habit 
 
 of quarrelling with the prisoner, and had several quarrejs. 
 
 Sarah Peer was the person who bought the yeast : never 
 
 liff^nt to visit her sister on a week day, except that day ; 
 
 ' the day of the injury by eating the dumplings. 
 
 " She swears, ' she never zient to the drawer in the office, 
 nor never knew there was any poison kept there to,,kjll 
 rau and mice.' 
 
 " Yet she sap, in answer to prior questions, that she 
 knew the waste paper was kept in the office, but she ne\er 
 touched any there : she repeats the words, " / never 
 touched it;" yet, in answer to another prior question, |he 
 sometimes, though very seldom, went into the office. 
 " Here it must be observed, that she must have known 
 of the drawer ; and if so, of the poison, if she could r^d. 
 
 " She had been there near eight months before Penning 
 went to live there; and is it to be supposed that she did 
 not know every part, and every piece of furniture, and 
 every way of the house, better than Penning? If ,she 
 seldom went into the office, she had ei&ht months more 
 . time than Penning had. , . ,. 
 
 " It is not with a view of criminating the witness F;eer 
 that these remarks are made, but to show how human 
 nature acts to its own impressions^ ^No doubt, like her 
 master, she had received the impression, however prepos- 
 terous, that Penning premeditated the murder of Mr. and 
 Mrs. K. Turner, and all her answers are. therefore calcu- 
 lated to omit all that could leave any doubt upon a posi- 
 tive fact tending to conviction, ^nd to establish any as- 
 
 <^^^^^^^^^^^ -^^f ^^^f^^f ^ 
 
 F
 
 66 
 
 Sertion which tended to make her evidence consistent, a 
 she knew any one considerable inconsistency would de- 
 stroy the credibility. This is human nature, unassisted 
 at the time by the Power by whom witnesses swear to the 
 truth of their narrative. In this part of the evidence O. 
 Turner was called in again, and said, the poison had not 
 been usedybr a year and a half, and yet \vithout explain- 
 ing how or why. Mr. O. Turner before swore, that he 
 saw it the seventh of March. Surely if a parcel or pot 
 of this nature was for eighteen months unused, it did re- 
 quire some explanation, how he happened to notice it 
 the seventh of March, unless he wanted it for mice, but 
 which is not stated. 
 
 " Neither is the height of the drawer from the ground 
 stated by any witness, nor how deep the drawer is; so 
 that it does not appear whether Penning was tall enough 
 to look into it without a stool or chair. Such a circum- 
 stance as its being too high, even for Mr. Turner, would 
 tend to show that the poison was not often seen ; and 
 that if Mr. Turner had occasion to see it on the seventh 
 of March, it must have been for some cause which ought 
 to have been shown to the jury. 
 
 " 12. Thisselton swears that the prisoner said there was 
 a red settlement in the yeast ; from which, she thought, 
 the injurious quality must be in the yeast. This, how- 
 ever, amounts to nothing; the redness proves nothing, 
 as yeast may be tinged with the articles put into beer by 
 brewers, and which are numerous. The slightest cir- 
 cumstances are material. 
 
 " As to the prisoner's defence. 
 
 "1. It is natural. 2. It is not inconsistent. 3. It is 
 reasonable, and particularly as to the reconciliation. 
 4. That she was too ill to assist her prosecutors ; and this 
 shows the propriety of the observation made, as to the 
 discernment of the prisoner's being unmoved at their situa* 
 lion, when it is reasonable to conclude they could discern 
 nothing, but were afraid every moment of dying. ^JJJ
 
 s ** Five respectable witnesses were called to her charac- 
 ter and disposition. Mr. Sibly should have stated their 
 names and residence. 
 
 i n;9" Thus far the evidence for both sides. 
 
 The Remarks (exclusively of what is above stated 
 evidence) are : 
 :d"iThat killing cannot be, by our law, without malice or 
 aforethought to make it the crime of murder. It must 
 be expressly proved, or presumed from the facts. There is 
 ppt the least proof of malice ; nor do any of the facts 
 raise the least presumption. Fost. 256, 2 Roll. Rep. 46 1, 
 " There is not any evidence to show malignity of any 
 kind : the girl was there nine weeks. The being undress- 
 ed in the apprentices' room, was three weeks after she 
 first went to her place : then, to raise the presumption of 
 malice, she must have been six weeks in contriving the 
 dumplings, and yet she was a cook maid, and might 
 in tea, coffee, gruel, milk, and a number of other foods, 
 have contrived to poison, as any of us could, if we 
 have malice aforethought, and yet not one fact is proved. 
 The girl's character is not malicious ; she seems more 
 fond of pleasure than of malice, or she would not have 
 been trifling with the boys; for in all this there is not one 
 iota of ill-humour." \ m od IHU 
 
 t 
 About the same time that the preceding paper was sent 
 
 to Lord Sidmouth, one of much, greater length, and em- 
 bracing a series of observations upon almost every point 
 of the evidence, by another gentleman of long standing in 
 the profession, was sent, from raetires of humanity, to the - 
 Secretary of State's office, for his Lordship's consideration. 
 It presented a body of fact, remark, and inquiry, of the 
 utmost importance*. 
 
 * The Editor regrets that a recent positive refusal at the Secretary 
 of State's office to return the above-mentioned paper, of which its 
 writer retained no copy, deprives him of the raeans of presenting it to 
 the public. 'o ul
 
 68 
 
 aril ^d ^8im e !cad to , 
 cjfects of Arsenlck upon Yeast Dough. 
 
 \O AAfiRtRtuT^Tc. arfi JndddlTI txifi f K I */ I'4 omrv<H il 
 
 'that part of the evidence relative to the weight and 
 
 colour of the dumplings, and particularly of Mrs. Char" 
 
 lotte Turner's evidence, manifestly tended to persuade the 
 
 .jury that their heaviness and blackness were in conse- 
 
 quence of arsenick being in the dough; a persuasion, the 
 
 effect of most loose and erroneous reasoning, and entirely 
 
 fJ9fffUOv Xu~ * u5*fl VA {\0$ J&"^H%^"^ P*i 'tJ53 f/t $ ' li jjT ^ if '// oL) *^* fl.f 
 
 devoid of rational support. 
 
 Jf the dumplings were poisoned at all, and there is 
 NO EVIDENCE that they were if they were poi- 
 soned with arsenick} and no witness proves that there w^as 
 a single grain of arsenick in the dumplings : but admit- 
 ting that they were, the reasonable presumption is, that 
 f the arsenick was not incorporated in the dougli at the time 
 of the making, but that it was sprinkled or strewed on, 
 after the dough was put before the fire to rise *. 
 
 Now, it is by no means difficult to incorporate arsenick 
 with dough, prepared for dumplings, commonly called 
 yeast dumplings, after thejirst mixing of the ingredients, 
 so as to render the dough poisonous to any person who 
 may eat of it. The colour of arsenick is not different from 
 the colour ofjflour: one resembles the other so closely, 
 that none but a person acquainted with the peculiar 
 characteristics of arsenick can distinguish it from flour, 
 even when casually sprinkled, still less when the two 
 substances are mixed together. 
 
 Arsenick mixed with dough containing yeast, will not 
 prevent the mixture from rising, ALTHOUGH the quantity 
 of arsenick EXCEED TWO THIRDS of the mass. It is 
 generally known that yeast contains a large quantity of 
 carbonic acid gas in a concentrated state : the effect of 
 heat extricates the bubbles of gas, and in the act of extri- 
 cation distends the dough, until all further attraction foi; 
 
 troo ^(i niiK,3 t JiTo vv -<ji;q 
 
 lJT f
 
 
 
 69 
 
 ealoric, or heat, ceases, by the total absence of gas. In 
 this state, if the mass be confined at its sides, Its surface 
 will become elevated, and present the appearance of 
 
 U t ' 4 J ^ ' 
 
 what is termed rising. 
 
 It is evident, that to prevent dough from rising, the 
 extrication of carbonic acid gas, by caloric, or heat from 
 the fire, must also be prevented ; and this can only be 
 done by saturating the gas with an alkali ; thereby break- 
 ing down the chemical aggregation, which is produced 
 by the affinity of an acid to an alkali. 
 
 Arsenick not being an alkali, and therefore incapable 
 
 of saturating carbonic acid gas, it cannot prevent dough,, 
 
 ,or, any other matter containing carbonic acid gas, 
 
 from rising, when exposed to the action of caloric, or 
 
 Hence it is clear, that so much of the RECORDER'S 
 charge to the jury as instructed them that the heaviness 
 and black appearance of the dumplings were occasioned 
 by the arseniek, was nugatory, and unsupported by fact 
 
 8F f n7*J 
 
 ioe'iyq_Yfl6 <xt euonogoq^ jiuo ai iiLnjt of ?.i, e 
 tn r - Effects of Arsenick upon the Knives. 
 
 That arseniek did not blacken the two knives prodneed 
 by Mr. Orlibar Turner on the trial, out of the three used 
 up stairs at dinner, is as certain as that Mr. Marshall 
 swore it would blacken them t," 
 
 .13ii>>0) f)9Xim 9TB gODfiBterflte 
 
 * A variety of chemical experiments, as to tlie effects of arseniek 
 upon dough, were made by a medical gentleman, and detailed at con- 
 
 siderable length in a paper, which was also si nt in to the uttire of tlie 
 ' Secretary of Mate for the Home Department, atnmt the s.mie tmtf as 
 
 the preceding papers: the results ui those experiments ueieasuU^ve 
 
 Stated. JSnnnioub ;ipplicatim s hy the jjeiitU'inim t)iin>flt, :md at liis 
 ' request, liotli in writing and by attendance, have been n.ade at Lord 
 
 Sidmouth's olHce for those experiinenls, t.ut without etJVcr. It pro- 
 
 cured, they would hwve heeu published here.; but neitlitr the urijgjnal 
 
 paper, nor a copy of it, could he obtained. 
 
 f The impossibility of blackening knives with arseniek, was also 
 
 amongst the experiments submitted ) the last-mentioned paper to the 
 
 Secretary of State.
 
 ro 
 
 A yeast dumpling, compounded with a rery large 
 proportion of arsenick, was boiled, and afterwards cut 
 to pieces with a kniie purposely cleaned. The knife was 
 carefully put by, with whatever of the dumpling remained 
 on its sides after the cutting : when dry, the crumbs were 
 removed, and there was not the least blackness on the 
 knife. 
 
 A gentleman of chemical eminence, in the city, put 
 more arsenick into a pint of water than could be held 
 in solution, and boiled it at a sand heat. A clean knife 
 being placed in the water whilst hot, remained there until 
 it was cold. The knife was then taken out wet, and 
 remained untouched unlil the blade became perfectly dry. 
 It was in no way whatever discoloured. 
 
 Arsenick, moistened with water, has been formed into a 
 sort of paste, and placed upon the blade of a knife to dry 
 there, without producing any discolouration on the surface 
 of the blade. 
 
 Arsenick, moistened with water, has been rubbed upon 
 the blade of a knife with the fingers, and suffered to dry 
 on without changing the colour of the steel. 
 
 The production of ihe two blackened knives, therefore, 
 \vas no more proof of the presence of arsenick in the 
 dumplings than Mr. Marshall's testimony to that effect, 
 
 ~i?d yd bsiD-XjeUi ?fi ^gnilqraub stfi 
 
 srfi Juq ngies 
 gggg iftO 93ilo4 sdi 
 isaointeq uo fenoijfiaiotexa owj -jo/Is ^motr* 
 
 .MEANS TAKEN TO SAVE ELIZABETH 
 
 FENNIKG'S LIFEM ' 
 o YJJb 3ti2 eriJ /jo iBtii t i9ti gnigiGrto ,anoige^ vali^a 
 
 After the unfortunate girl's unexpected conviction, she 
 was induced to apply to the fountain of mercy for a remis- 
 sion of the sentence of death, and the following Petition to 
 the Prince Regent was forwarded to the proper autho- 
 rities, for the purpose of being submitted to his Royal 
 
 Highnesb's inspection. 
 
 il^<iJfi373iq 5bn9jog:aiao 3:oiiw ,019$! isdj 'io
 
 **- 
 
 [COPY*} i 
 
 r>*'v ha* r fvmi- pw ,?n 
 
 " To His ROYAL HIGHNESS the PRINCE REGENT, 
 in Council Assembled. 
 
 TM' *druirt?>-ttrh ,-wib n-rl/? Matter, "dr v't;; -vfr * *>t-"iio 
 "The humble Petition of Eliza Penning, a Prisoner now under 
 
 Sentence of Death, in Newgate, 
 
 -J4Hij 
 
 " SHEWETH, 
 
 >hif' That your petitioner, who is only of the age of 
 years, about the commencement of the month of January 
 last, lived in the character of cook with Mr. Orlibar 
 Turner, of Chancery Lane, Law Stationer, whose family 
 consisted of himself, Mrs. Margaret Turner his wife, 
 Mr. Robert Gregson Turner his son, and Mrs. Charlotte 
 Turner his son's wife, with two apprentices, and two 
 female servants, one of whom was your petitioner. That 
 on the 21st of March last, your petitioner made some 
 yeast dumplings, in which it was proved at the trial of 
 your petitioner, that the poison of arsenick was contained, 
 and that Mr. Orlibar Turner, his son, his son's wife, 
 Gadsden, one of the apprentices, and your petitioner, all 
 ate* part of those dumplings, and were severally taken 
 ill by the effect of the arsenick contained in them. , 
 
 " That your petitioner being the cook-maid, who made 
 the dumplings, was suspected by her master of having 
 by design put the arsenick into the flour, and was accused 
 at the Police Office, Hatton Garden, before the magis- 
 trates ; by whom, after two examinations your petitioner 
 was committed to Newgat$. QX K3J?A 
 
 " That your petitioner was indicted at the last Old 
 Bailey Sessions, charging her, that on the 21st day of 
 March last, she feloniously and unlawfully did adminis- 
 ter to, and cause to be administered to, Orlibar Turner, 
 Robert Gregson Turner, and Charlotte Turner his wife, 
 certain deadly poison, called arsenick, with intent the 
 said persons to kill and murder. 
 
 " That your petitioner most solemnly declares, in tjig 
 presence of that Being, whose omniscience prevents all
 
 lent, that she is totally innocent of the crime 
 
 laid to her charge. 
 
 " That your petitioner has been applied to, and solicited 
 I^H^BiTO/rfWferf-ttienck, to declare her guilt, if she 
 
 really wrie guilty ; but as your petitioner is totally uncon- 
 scious of any crime, she could only declare her innocence : 
 that from whatever causes her indisposition proceeded, 
 it extended to her master, the son and his wife, arid fhe 
 
 " That your petitioner, who, by the sentence of the law, 
 
 ]$ tdtidenined to enter into an awful eternity, would have 
 
 gladly confessed her guilt, if she had offended, as she 
 
 knows that contrition is the sure ground of that humility, 
 
 without which she could not expect the pardon of an 
 
 offended God. But yonr petitioner, in sacred truth, has 
 
 nothing to confess on the accusation against her, but is 
 
 utterly innocent of the crime laid to her charge. 
 
 " And your petitioner most humbly hopes that she may 
 
 receive the Royal pardon from the conviction under 
 
 which she had been sentenced, and that she may be 
 
 re-tored to society, and to those friends who have kindle 
 
 interested themselves for her; and yotir petitioner shall 
 ever pniy for the gracious providence of Almighty God 
 
 ur Royal Highness and your Royal Family/ 1 
 :e?7iml sdj *antR<jh mom JOBCJ 
 e>rfj 
 
 - 
 
 It \vns likewise judged pr per that she should address 
 
 Jiferid?^^) ^?P/ the Lord Chancellor, praying his Lord- 
 ship's consideration of her Case: and a letter was accord- 
 ingly addressed by her to his Lordship, of which the 
 
 V, _.~ . i&MtKfni nmiiiOIfll luB 1 ?B ? J*Oil>/?!fnu011O 
 
 mrWblftSd'ft&eri agnini Lluow ( (iguob adj isvo 
 X<J ioq BW aloin9 81 B aiCOPY ujaqqr, ti br.t; 
 
 bsii Ji 'if t ^I jiug ^ad : aousnooo 
 av*d io^ tW4^ lh^>iife>f n innocent person is at slake 
 it needs no apology for intruding upon your Lordship's
 
 73 
 
 invaluable time : I therefore, with all humility, submit 
 my Case to your Lordship's humane consideration, which 
 cannot be doubled. .JOB rm<i ?.Rt( i^rK 
 
 4< I protest, before God and man, that I am not guilty 
 of the crime charged to me, although I feel the great 
 difficulty of proving my innocence. 
 
 " Mrs. Turner swore that I carried a pie to the baker's 
 about 12 o'clock ; that she went into the kitchen after my 
 return, and gave directions to make the dough, which she 
 found placed before the fire to rise, half an hour after 
 such order; and further, that she saw the dough two or 
 three times between half past twelve and three o'clock, 
 until it was divided into dumplings ; that it did not rise as 
 usual, but kept a singular shape to the last ; while, in 
 another part of her evidence, she swore the dough was 
 divided into dumplings 20 minutes before 12 o'clock. 
 
 " Other instances might be mentioned to prove many 
 mistakes, especially on the part of Mrs. Turner. 
 
 <f The particular and unusual orders Mrs. Turner gave 
 not to leave the kitchen, and her assertion, that she was 
 sure no one was there, are circumstances your Lordship 
 may think worthy of notice. 
 
 " Thomas King (one of the apprentices, who was not 
 examined on the Trial,) was in the front kitchen while I 
 was in the back room cleaning the knives : I thought it 
 was my mistress ; but as I was going into the kitchen I 
 met him, and asked what : he had been doing. To which 
 fte made no reply, but went up stairs. Now, God forbid 
 
 flff'd?ii!l?l iSffi^ * r ^"I ! ^***fift 
 
 circumstance, as I arn informed that arsenick, merely 
 sprinkled over the dough, would infuse itself through the 
 whole; and it appearfcTjTfcOOCjie arsenick was put by 
 Mr. Turner in a place open to any tyody. 
 ? ^1rwl8s<Sft4 J rj^ ) '1^r. 1 Turner, and Gadsdcn, the ap- 
 prentice, that the arsenick was missed a fortnight before 
 the occurrence : but, surely, if it had been me, the person 
 was most likely to b accused, I should not have 
 noqo ^nibuiUii iol ^joloqi. on <dmn ii
 
 74 
 
 made any dumplings of the ovcr-nigbt, thereby inducing 
 the apprentice to eat again; neither should I have, omitted 
 cleaning the utensils; and, least of all, to have eat of 
 them myself, whereby I was affected as much as any of 
 the family, as could have been corroborated by Surgeon 
 Ogilvy : but although he attended the family five or six 
 hours before Mr. Marshall, and might have stated other 
 favourable circumstances, yet he was not examined on the 
 Trial. 
 
 " However eager I feel to live, and, above all, to avoid 
 unworthy ignominy, I know not how to prove my inno- 
 cence, most humbly craving yonr Lordship's humane atten- 
 tion, which I doubt not will cause investigation to be 
 made in my unfortunate Case. Jajsvm 
 
 " I am, 
 
 " MY LORD, 
 " Your Lordship's unfortunate servant $ 
 
 (Signed) " ELIZA PENNING." 
 " Newgate, 12 June, 1815." 
 
 She also wrote the following Letter to the Right Ho- 
 nourable Lord Sidmouth, his Majesty's Secretary of State 
 for the Home Department. 
 
 gi'fi:> i /fa 9Tfii> Ol < 
 
 ob I <-iit by-mono i [COPY.] 
 HOY -ituim o> i(Uiq. 10^0 * 
 
 m*b3dn$Pi LoRD SIDMOUTH. - lo 
 
 ^YLoRD, June27, 1 
 
 " With deference I humbly beg leave to address 
 your Lordship, at the same time am at a loss how to dare 
 to venture such a presumption : but your Lordship's well 
 known goodness and mercy, which has been repeatedly 
 extended to many miserable creatures under calamities 
 like myself, encourages me with all submission to ;state 
 my real situation to your Lordship. I most humbly beg 
 leave to inform your Lordship that I am under the awful 
 
 left Xsi OJ bnaod ^ 1; >V3 llfida I
 
 75 
 
 sentence of death, on suspicion of poisoning Mr. Turner's 
 family : ' i< h heinous crime 1 never was guilty of, I most 
 solemnly declare to a just God, when 1 must meet my 
 blessed Redeemer at the great and grand tribunal, where 
 the secrets of all hearts will be known. Innocence induces 
 me to solicit a fuller examination. I am the only child 
 of ten ; and to be taken off for such an ignominious crime, 
 strikes me and my dear parents with horror. I therefore 
 most humbly beg leave to solicit your Lordship's merciful 
 interference in my behalf, to spare my life; and raj 
 parents will, with me, ever be bound to pray for your 
 Lordship. 
 
 " With due submission, I am your poor, but innocent 
 servant, 
 
 , ELIZA PENNING." 
 
 - m 
 
 She had previously addressed the following to Mr. 
 Turner about the end of April. 
 
 ru ' f.WSI i&aot.SI ,9Jxsgv/9Vi 
 
 [COPY.] 
 
 To MR. TURNER. 
 " HONOURED SIR, 
 
 " With due submission I most earnestly entreat 
 of you to sign my petition, to save my life, which is 
 forfeited for what I am not guilty of. Honoured sir, I do 
 here most solemnly declare I never meant to injure you 
 or any of your family. Picture to yourself the distressed 
 mind of my dear parents, to see their only child suffer 
 such an ignominious death ; but innocent I am. May the 
 blessed Gotl give my ever dear parents strength to bear 
 the dreadful affliction to see their only child suffer; but 
 may you never feel the pangs of a broken heart, which 
 your unfortunate servant endures. Prayers for you and 
 your famiIfJ32' f "du He i\'ir am 
 
 " 
 
 Jaoui .q: " ELIZA PENNING." 
 " P. S. If your goodness will comply with my request, 
 I shall ever be bound to pray for you."
 
 76 
 
 There were various applications made on her behalf, 
 particularly a Petition, signed by the Rev. Gmffith Wil- 
 liams, and the most respectable Members of iffate Street 
 Chapel. The Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke also addressed the 
 Secretary of State respecting her. Applications for mercy 
 were likewise made from different quarters by persons 
 wholly unconnected with, and unknown to, each other, 
 and of whose exertions even the prisoner herself was 
 ignorant ; and the representations were of such a cha- 
 racter, that it was declared, by an official personage, 
 there were more favourable circumstances in the case of 
 Elizabeth Penning than he ever remembered in that of 
 
 any other convict. 
 
 A *u '11. ir . * ifaftbiwuii O.xM. 
 
 Amongst the other efforts to save the unhappy girls 
 
 life, Mr. , the gentleman whose chemical experi- 
 ments were sent to the Secretary of State, deemed it 
 necessary that a petition should be obtained with the 
 Prosecutors' signature ; for the purpose of procuring 
 which, and in order to demonstrate to the Prosecutors 
 that the result of many experiments he had made proved 
 the possibility of the poison having been added by another 
 
 person than Elizabeth Penning, Mr. proceeded to 
 
 the house of Mr. Turner. He saw Mr. Orlibar Turner, 
 
 who ushered him into the front drawing-room. Mr. 
 
 there detailed his experiments to Mr. Turner, and the 
 result of them, and produced a dumpling which he had 
 made, and on which, when in the state of dough left before 
 the fire to rise, he had hastily sprinkled arsenick in the 
 absence of, and unknown to, his servant; which she had, 
 
 sd (k) VlSiiii 3VJW 8 It;> 24(1 Jrf'fJ] .IU)UiI T~*~~~ iJMi 
 
 without knowing it contained arsenick, made up into a 
 'dumpling in the usual manner; and which, on being cut, 
 exhibited, as Mr. Orlibar Turner admitted, the exact 
 appearance of those that had been eaten by the family; 
 SMz. "grains of arsenick visibly dispersed in the substance 
 of it. 
 
 Whilst they were tints engaged, Mr. Robert G.Turtier 
 expressed himself to be of the same opinion
 
 ^fiis father with respect to the appearance of ; the 
 dumpling. 
 
 Immediately afterwards, Mr. Marshall, the Surgeon, 
 
 came in, to whom Mr. likewise exhibited the 
 
 dumpling, and detailed the nature of his experiment. 
 Mr. Marshall did not stop many minutes; but, previous 
 to his departure, he said, the experiments were ingenious, 
 and (ended to operate ID the girl's favour. 
 
 After Mr. Marshall was gone, Mr. commented 
 
 strongly and at length on the possibility of the girl's inno- 
 cence. Mr. O. Turner and Mr. R. G. Turner both 
 acknowledged that Mr. 's efforts were very praise- 
 worthy ; that the girl was much indebted to him ; v q,rid 
 
 Mr. O Turner declared, that any paper which Mr. -777- 
 
 would draw up he should be happy to sign : concluding 
 with this positive assurance, " If there is any thing whicji 
 I can do for her, 1 will go to the fop of the ladder to 
 do it." Well, then, sir," said Mr. 
 
 idu&nn -j r.n nc onj 10 /niioi* 
 
 These words were scarcely uttered, when A 
 
 CORDER was announced. 
 
 The Recorder entered the room, and inquired ,of 
 Mr. Orlibar Turner whether he thought this girl h^d 
 any associates ? Mr. O. Turner, in his reply, proceeded 
 to enlarge on what he was pleased to consider her " djf- . 
 ferent positions," the particulars of her equivocation, &c. 
 in which he was seconded by the Recorder ^ R ^ Q 00{n?f (|j 
 
 Mr. . finding that his efforts were likely to be 
 
 K oTMJ n LJ *ji)ifnL ito rn T>m *) r jnf *>7ii j ii ru won /i JTTOH Ji 
 frustrated by the impression made OH the Messrs. Turners 
 
 by the Recorder, remonstrated witli the Recorder, and 
 showed him the experiments he had made ; nay, eveji 
 told him of his, the Recorder's) observations on the trial 
 as operating to the poor girl's prejudice. H -\ Q 
 
 Mr. represented to the Recorder, that he, the 
 
 RECORDER, had stated on the trial two things \\lich 
 
 were erroneous.
 
 78 
 
 The Recorder inquired what he had asserted ? 
 
 Mr. answered, that he had said, " arsenick 
 
 would prevent the dough from rising." 
 
 The Recorder said, " Well, he knew he had," and 
 inquired, " what then ?" 
 
 Mr. replied, that what he, the Recorder, had 
 
 asserted was not true, for arsenick would not prevent 
 dough from rising ; on the contrary, two thirds of arsenick 
 compounded with one third of dough, would rise as well 
 as if there were no arsenick in it ; and that so far from 
 arsenick having any effect in producing blackness upon. 
 the knives, such an effect was totally impossible. 
 
 Mr. further stated to the Recorder, that experi- 
 ments of very great length, and with the most minute 
 attention to correctness, had been made to verify these 
 facts, and could be repeated to his, the Recorder's, com- 
 plete conviction, and that of any other person whatever. 
 
 The Recorder hastily expressed his disbelief of this, 
 and said, " he should inquire of HIS COOK ! " 
 
 To all other representations the Recorder turned a deaf 
 ear ; and, from the determined manner in which he spoke, 
 and the impression he made on the minds of his hearers, 
 
 Mr. clearly perceived there was no probability of 
 
 his making any impression on the Recorder's mind. The 
 Recorder appeared tremblingly alive to any thing which 
 might agitate or throw doubt upon the matter. He left 
 the house, and Mr. R. G. Turner saw him to the door. V\o 
 
 Mr. remained in the room with Mr. O. Turner. 
 
 " I am glad, sir," said he to Mr. O. Turner, *' that I 
 have seen the Recorder, for now I know that with him 
 she," meaning Elizabeth Penning, " stands no chance ; he 
 is quite inexorable ! " 
 
 During the time Mr. was speaking, Mr. R. G. 
 
 Turner returned, and expressed himself to this effect 40j -Ji 
 his father : 
 
 " THE RECORDER SAYS YOU MUST NOT 
 SIGN ANY PETITION if you do, it will throw 
 suspicion on the rest of your family !" , ^91308 
 
 AjuoVA. ,iM bjue
 
 Here was a death blow to Mr, 's hopes, who, 
 
 addressing himself to Mr. O. Turner, said, " Then, sir, 
 you will not sign a petition for her2-,",,[ 
 
 Mr. O. Turner's reply was, "/ CANNOT, sir; you 
 hear what THE RECORDER says." 
 
 Thus ended the interview. 
 
 "" ;<,.| 3S-J 
 
 The purpose of the Recorder's mind appears to have 
 strengthened as the applications on behalf of the convict 
 increased. -At length the Report came down authorizing 
 her execution. It is not too much to say, that it greatly 
 surprised thousands and tens of thousands, who only knew 
 her case through the medium of the newspapers ; and that 
 those who knew it more intimately were astonished. 
 
 Applications for mercy redoubled as the poor creature's 
 fate approached : and one of these to the Recorder for a 
 respite being characterized by very remarkable circum- 
 stances, it is deemed proper to particularize. 
 
 The day of execution was fixed for Wednesday, the 
 26th of July : and on Monday, the 24lh, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Turner prepared to visit Elizabeth Fenning at Newgate. 
 A. gentleman, who is well known in public life, an eminent 
 Member of the respectable Society of Friends, and K ho 
 had not seen her, accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Turner in 
 their visit to the poor creature's cell. He had endeavoured 
 to prevail on his friend and relation, Mr. CORBYN LLOYD, 
 of Lombard Street, Banker, and who likewise had not seen 
 her, to go with them ; but Mr. Lloyd preferred waiting at 
 a coffee house until the return of his friend from Newgate. 
 After having witnessed the interview between the two pro- 
 secutors and the prisoner, and an extraordinary address of 
 the girl to her mistress, Mr. Corbyn Lloyd's friend quitted 
 the Turnere and joined him ; and the result of tfceir con- 
 ference, in consequence of the scene at Newgate, was, that 
 Mr. Lloyd should wait on the Recorder and solicit a short 
 respite for Elizabeth Fenning. The following Loiter from 
 Mr. Corbyn Lloyd to Mr. James Bevans, another of the 
 Society of Friends, relates what took place betweeu the 
 Recorder and Mr. Lloyd.
 
 80 
 
 [COPY.] .^n^., 
 
 " SIR, Lombard Street, August 17, 1S15. 
 
 - .,-... 
 
 <e In the interview I had with the Recorder th 
 
 Monday evening previous to the execution of Elizabeth 
 penning, I stated to him, that a friend of mine, who 
 knew the Turner family, and had been with the unfortu- 
 nate girl that morning in Newgate, did particularly wish 
 that her execution might be SUSPENDED A SHORT 
 TIME, as there had yet been no proof of her poisoning 
 the dumplings, as it was possible some other inmate of 
 the house might have mixed the poison at the time she 
 happened to leave the kitchen*. The Recorder then said, 
 
 * that he was surprised that any individual should presume 
 
 * to offer an opinion so contrary to that of twelve jurymen, 
 ' and two or three judges; and that myself and my friend 
 ' had done a great deal of harm by interesting ourselves 
 ' about the girl, as it caused her to persist in denying her 
 guilt; and the REASON we felt so much INTEREST 
 < about her was ONLY BECAUSE SHE WAS A 
 1 PRETTY WOMAN ; and he felt so perfectly satis- 
 1 fied of her guilt, (THERE NEVER BEING A 
 
 * CLEARER CASE,) that he knew no possible reason 
 
 * for delaying the execution.' 
 
 " I am, 
 
 " Your's truly, 
 
 Mr. James Btvent, " CORBYN LLOYD*." 
 
 14, Gray's Inn Square. 
 
 Without questioning the Recorder's legal proprieties, 
 the mind is at a loss to determine how the Recorder, con- 
 sidered as an impartial and virtuous judge, could venture 
 to surmise such motives as he expressed for the iaterfer- 
 
 * The Editor has taken the liberty of causing those parts of Mr. 
 Carbyn Lloyd's important Letter to Mr. Bevans, which seemed most t 
 require attention, to be distinguished by Italics and CAPITALS. 
 

 
 . 
 
 81 
 
 ence of a most respectable individual in behalf of the 
 helpless being under sentence of death. 
 
 In Mr. Corbyn Lloyd's interview, the Recorder's fond- 
 tiess for a display of the high authorities of the Old Bailey 
 Sessions' Court was not for the first time exhibited. In a 
 letter of the Recorders written some years ago, he de- 
 clares, that " the commission of gaol delivery at that place 
 " is constituted of the highest and of all the law authorities 
 " in the kingdom the twelve judges of England, and the 
 " whole magistracy of the city, besides other great and 
 " respectable names therein." But, alas ! nothing is more 
 imposing than names, and nothing more delusive than 
 Mr. Recorder's literary employment of them ; seeing that 
 this boasted commission, so nominally constituted of all the 
 high legal authorities of the kingdom, and city to aid 
 them, was, on the trial of Elizabeth Penning, so dwindled 
 down, as then actually to amount to no more than MR. 
 RECORDER, and ONE ALDERMAN in silence beside 
 him. Besides, it is one thing for a man to talk of high 
 legal authorities*, and another for him to prove himself 
 better-or worse by their precedent, example, or instruction. 
 Without having personally witnessed the unfortunate Eliza- 
 beth Fenning's prettiness, as Mr. Recorder unquestionably 
 did when she was personally on her trial before him, it 
 cannot be expected that those who are sincerely earnest in 
 the exercise of their judgment upon her case should think, 
 with the Recorder, that nothing but a woman's prettiness 
 could be a motive for humanity towards her": and it is not 
 from any thing favourable in Elizabeth Fenhing's person 
 that those gentlemen, who, like Mr. Corbyn Lloyd, never 
 saw her, have interested themselves in her Case. 
 
 * A noble and learned lord, (Lord Kenyon,) wlio once constituted 
 one of the high law authorities of whom Mr. Recorder speaks, expressed 
 himself to this e&ct r viz " Tf, ort the trial of a person convicted of .1 
 ' capital crime, circumstances came out which warranted the judge to 
 ' suppose that the conviction was founded on erroneous principles, it 
 
 * became his duty to respite the convicc: this IMS been done from time 
 to time, from year to year : if he neglected this duty, the convict WM 
 
 ' not butchered but murdered; which "was, in the contemplatjon ot 
 ' law, a much higher offence: and the judge guilty of such an act of 
 
 criminal neglect, instead of being suffered to go m state to West- 
 
 G
 
 82 
 
 On Monday evening, before the execution, a conver- 
 sation took place at Mi. J. M. Richardson's, in Cornhill, 
 between a ^Ir.Blath&aite and another gentleman, wherein 
 the circumstances hereafter mentioned were stated by 
 Mr. B., with his persuasion of the innocence of the girl. 
 Mr. Richardson finding that no steps were taken to make 
 these circumstances properly known ; and though, until 
 then, wholly ignorant of the case, thought it his duty to 
 write immediately to the Secretary of State, the Sheriffs, 
 and the Recorder, briefly stating the facts ; and the next 
 morning, Tuesday, Mr. Richardson addressed a letter to 
 Mr. Basil Montagu, entreating that gentleman instantly to 
 interfere with the Recorder on behalf of the unhappy girl, 
 whose execution was fixed for the next morning. The 
 strong ground of that interference, and the Recorder's 
 answer to Mr. Montagu, will appear from that gentle- 
 man's letter to Mr. Richardson. 
 
 rr.opv i 
 ii> 
 
 " I am to apologize for my apparent inattention to 
 your Letter respecting Elizabeth Penning by stating, that 
 the instant I received it I waited upon the Recorder, and 
 informed him of the communication you had kindly made 
 to me ; and, as I was wholly ignorant of the merits of the 
 case, I requested the Recorder to inform me, i whether 
 any alteration could be formed in the opinion respecting 
 the propriety of her execution, if satisfactory evidence 
 were adduced that there was an insane person in the 
 Turners' house, who had declared that he would poison 
 the family,' as it appeared by your Letter that such 
 evidence could be produced. The RECORDER assured 
 me that the PRODUCTION OF SUCH EVIDENCE 
 would be wholly USELESS. I therefore retired. I, at 
 
 " minster Hall the next morning, ought to be seized in his fur robes, 
 " dragged from the seat of justice, and hurried to that dungeon in which 
 " the unfortunate sufferer had lingered the last hours of existence !" 
 Part. Debates, Jan. 1789.
 
 that time, had not read the trial of this unfortunate young 
 woman : and she was executed early the next morning. 
 
 " I am very sensible of your kind exertions, and I trust 
 you will forgive my apparent neglect. 
 
 " I am, Sir, 
 
 a -v r 4t,r i 
 
 Your faithful servant, 
 
 ft'ty Mr, J. M. Richardson, " B. MONTAGU V 
 
 Corahill." " Lincola's Ion, 
 
 August 10, 1815." 
 
 c*\ '-if\lr'jI_B h<>"'iibbi; mvl iiif'iiif i[( \^ 
 
 Mr. Richardson's Letter to Mr. Montagu, and that 
 
 gentleman's application to the Recorder on Tuesday, 
 were in consequence of information received only the 
 night before, that circumstances of a nature tending to 
 throw great doubts on the guilt of Elizabeth Penning 
 had been publicly stated, and that those circumstances 
 could be clearly proved by most respectable persons. 
 Upon this information, the following proceedings were 
 likewise adopted : 
 
 Application being made to appoint a meeting of the 
 parties at Newgate, at a meeting which was held in Mr. 
 Newman's house, Mr. Gibson, of the house of Corbyn and 
 Co., Chemists and Druggists, No. 300, Holborn, stated 
 the circumstances alluded to in the presence of the 
 
 ' *'> , R ;."<" 01 
 
 * Mr. Montagu's permission to print his Letter in thii Publication 
 was obtained in consequence of the following Note. 
 
 [COPY ] 
 SIR, 
 
 " Several most respectable friends, who have taken the trouble 
 of investigating the circumstances connected with the case of Elizabeth 
 Penning, arc very desirous that the Letter of the 10th instant, which 
 you did me the honour of writing, in reply to my application to yon in 
 behalf of that unfortunate young woman, should be published along with 
 the other information which they have been enabled to collect on that 
 subject. I therefore take the liberty of entreating your permission to 
 lay it before the Public. Your compliance will much oblige, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 " Cornhill, " Your humble Servant, 
 
 August 22, 1815." " J- M. RICHARDSON." 
 
 41 To Basil Montagu, Esq."
 
 84 
 
 Rev. Mr. Cotton, the Ordinary, the Rev. Dr. Perkins, 
 Chaplain to H. R. H. the Prince Regent, Mr. Under- 
 Sheriff Leigh, and several other gentlemen. It was then 
 agreed, that the proper course to be taken was to lay the 
 circumstances before the Under-Secretary of State for the 
 Home Department, Lord Sidmouth, the Secretary of State, 
 being out of town. Accordingly, between three and four 
 o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. J. B. Sharp, Mr. Ogle, 
 Mr. Blathwaite, Mr. Aberdour, and Mr. Gibson, waited 
 upon Mr. Becket, at the Secretary of State's office, and 
 Mr. Gibson stated to that gentleman the circumstances as 
 hereafter particularized. After listening to them, Mr. 
 Becket recommended Mr. Gibson to attend at the Re- 
 corder's house, in Bloomsbury Square, the same evening 
 at eight o'clock ; and before they separated it was agreed 
 that one other person should attend also. At eight o'clock, 
 Mr. Gibson, and Mr. J. B. Sharp, attended at the Re- 
 corder's house, and there met the Recorder and Mr. Becket t 
 to whom Mr. Gibson made a statement of facts in the fol- 
 lowing words, or words to the following effect : 
 
 " About the month of September or October last, to 
 (l the best of my recollection, Mr. TURNER, junior, 
 Q^. palled at our house, and appearing in a wild and 
 ^.(deranged state, I invited him into a back room, or 
 " counting house, where I detained him, whilst Mr. 
 " Crockford, another gentleman in Messrs. Corbyn's 
 t( house., went to his father's. In this interval, Mr. 
 ^^ Turner, junior, used the most violent and incoherent 
 "i expressions such as, c My dear Gibson, do, for 
 11 GOD'S sake, GET ME SECURED OR CONFINED, for, 
 " if I am at liberty, I shall do some mischief,' I SHALL 
 " DESTROY MYSELF and MY WIFE : / must and 
 " shall do it, unless all means, of destruction are removed 
 " out of my way ; therefore do, my good friend, have me 
 <{ put under some restraint : something from above tells 
 " me I must do it) and unless I am prevented; I certainly 
 " shall do if.' "
 
 85 
 
 Mr. Gibson, to whom Mr. Robert G. Turner thus 
 addressed himself, also stated to the Recorder and Mr. 
 Becket OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES exhibiting the 
 general symptoms of a deranged mind. He further 
 stated, that Mr. Crockford, a gentleman associated with 
 him, could confirm the fact of his, Mr. Robert G. 
 Turner's, mental derangement at more periods than 
 the instance then alluded to : but that Mr. Crockford 
 was unfortunately at that time out of town. Mr. Gibson 
 concluded by stating, that, in the interval between Eliza- 
 fyeth Fenning's apprehension and her trial, he waited on 
 Mr. Turner, sen. and strongly urged the impropriety of 
 proceeding with the trial, entreating him " to consider the 
 * state of his son's mind, and the language he had uned, 
 <c and trusting that the consideration of these circumstances 
 " would induce them not to press the trial. He acquainted 
 " Mr. Turner, sen. that these were not alone his sent'i- 
 ** ments ; but that some mutual friends of the Turners' 
 " family and himself had mentioned the impropriety "of 
 " Mr. Robert G. Turner's being at large under the 
 11 circumstances with which he was afflicted." 
 
 In the course of the conversation with the Recorder 
 and Mr. Becket, it was mentioned by Mr. Gibson, that 
 the arsenick had been purchased some time previous to 
 the conversation with Mr. Robert G. Turner above men- 
 tioned : and on leaving the Recorders house, Mr. Gibson, 
 with the same laudable and honourable anxiety that he 
 had shown during the whole of that day, expressed his 
 sincere hopes that the knowledge of these circumstances 
 would lead to an extension of mercy to the poor girl 
 at least a respite until some further inquiry should be 
 
 instituted. In twehe hours afterwards ELIZABETH 
 
 PENNING WAS EXECUTED. 
 
 It is highly essential that the statements asserting that 
 the Lord Chancellor was present at the meetings on Tues- 
 day should be contradicted. THE LORf) CHAN- 
 CELLO R WAS NOT PRESENT at either of the 
 meetings above mentioned.
 
 86 
 
 PARTICULARS RELATIVE TO THE EXECUTION. 
 
 . 
 From the moment that Elizabeth Penning ' was first 
 
 charged with the poisoning, she affirmed her innocence. 
 However, or by whoever questioned, she never faltered 
 in her denial of the crime. She tallied on the subject 
 freely with every one who saw her : and strangers, who 
 went to see ' a sullen and reserved wretch of a gloomy 
 mind and mysterious carriage," found a lively, open, com- 
 municative girl, willing to answer every question put to 
 her, and who rather courted than shunned an investigation 
 of her case. To all she admitted that she was the sole 
 maker of the dumplings, but alleged her utter ignorance 
 of the method by which the family were poisoned. 
 
 On Thursday, the 20th of July, when the Report came 
 down, in which Elizabeth Fenning's name was included 
 amongst those appointed to die on the Wednesday follow- 
 ing, her feelings were violently affected, but her firmness 
 of mind remained unshaken. She announced her coming 
 fate to her parents by an emphatic Letter, in which she 
 declares that she is murdered * ; and she persisted in 
 asserting her innocence with unabated resolution t. 
 
 * The hand-writing of this letter betrays great agitation : a Copy of it 
 is given in the very interesting " Correspondence" published herewith. 
 It is remarkable, that out of a great number of her letters, this hurried 
 note is the only one to which the Editor finds her baptismal name, 
 Elizabeth, subscribed at length. She usually signed Eliza, or the 
 initial E. 
 
 f She had, soon after her conviction, expressed a wish to be prayed 
 for by such congregations as the person who undertook to carry her 
 desire into effect should think proper. She said : " Tell the minister 
 he wont pray for a guilty character, but for one who is totally innocent ; 
 for if I was guilty, I deserve to suffer if I had ten thousand lives to for- 
 feit." Copies of the following Note were accordingly transmitted to 
 the Rev. Mr. Greig, Minister of the Scots Chapel, Crown Court; the 
 Rev. Griffith Williams, Minister of Gate Street Chapel ; the Rev. 
 Mr. Ivimcy, .Minister of the Baptist Congregation at Eagle Street; 
 and to the Officiating Minister at Queen Street Chapel. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 ' Your prayer is earnestly requested for a young woman under 
 sentence of death, that the Lord would have mercy upon her soul, and 
 fit her for her awful change, and bring her to confess the crime she is 
 charged with; but if she is innocent, which she persists she is, that ia 
 mercy the Lord would bless the means resorted to set her at liberty."
 
 87 
 
 Mr. , the gentleman whose Experiments * upon 
 
 arsenick and yeast dumplings were sent to the Secretary 
 of State, had first seen Elizabeth Fenning, about a month 
 after she received sentence of death, in order to obtain 
 from her a confession of the crime. The earnest manner 
 in which she declared her innocence alarmed him. She 
 could not brook direct imputations of guilt ; but she 
 readily detailed circumstances, and explained and an- 
 swered questions with an aptitude and consistency that 
 induced him and others, who he discovered had interested 
 themselves in her behalf, to communicate the circum- 
 stances which had come to their knowledge, to the Secre- 
 tary of State. Having, as they considered, made out a 
 very strong case, they were surprised, four months subse- 
 quent to her conviction, by an order for her execution. 
 
 On the morning after the Report arrived, she told 
 
 Mr. t her mind was very unhappy at the thought 
 
 that she was to suffer. innocently. He had long had her 
 confidence, and he considered that she communicated 
 with him freely ; but he now earnestly exhorted her to con- 
 fess, the crime : she was much distressed, and wept a great 
 deal, but solemnly protested her innocence, and exclaimed, 
 that " it was a cruel thing to suffer for the guilty !" She 
 
 had desired of the keepers, that Mr. might be the 
 
 only one permitted to see her, on religious subjects ; and, 
 at her request, although not a minister, he consented to 
 
 V 'XT 
 
 The results of these Experiments are given at p. 68. 
 
 f Mr. is the author of " An Authentic Narrative of the 
 
 Conduct of Elizabeth Fenning, from the Time the Warrant arrived for 
 her Death, till her Execution, with Copies of Original Letters, &c. By 
 the Gentleman who attended her during; the whole period." 
 Edition, 8vo. Published by Messrs. Ogles, Duncan, and Cochran, 
 295, Holborn, and 3T, Paternoster-row. Price One Slulling. I he 
 Editor of these sheets earnestly recommends Mr. ' pamphlet to 
 the perusal of the reader, for a very particular and detailed account of 
 that gentleman's attendance upon "the poor girl ; and he deems it ins 
 
 duty further to state, that Mr. and Messrs. Ogles, Duncan, and 
 
 Cochran, have humanely and liberally determined to apply the profits 
 arising from the Sale of their intgrsti Publication, to tltc relief <>f 
 the DISTRESSED Purcnis.
 
 attend her -until the execution. She decidedly disliked 
 the visits of the Rev. Mr* Gotton^ the Ordinary , - t; because," 
 she said, u he always urged her to confess herself guilty ; 
 and as she knew herself innocent, and he, whenever he 
 saw her, treated he.r as i& she was guilty, she could not 
 bear to s.ee him." Being aware, too, of the.- Rev. Mr. 
 Cotton's antimacy with Mr. Turner's family, she con- 
 sidered him her enemy her decided and avowed enemy 
 and she positively refused to hear him. ,-.o-}t 1 
 
 As she was to receive the sacranaent in the, chapel, on. 
 
 Sunday, previous to her execution, Mr. 1 prayed 
 
 with her, aud endeavoured to ascertain her notions respect- 
 ing that ordinance. " I found them," says he, " such as 
 might be expected in one, who, though possessed of a 
 shrewd mind, was unfortunately uncultivated. She freely 
 forgave all who had given evidence against her, but she 
 could never forget the sense of what she considered the 
 INJURY DONE HER, AS AN INNOCENT PER- 
 
 crnv * 
 
 ours. 
 
 i 
 
 *" On Sunday last, being the day appointed for thtreondemned sermon, 
 an immense concourse of spectators assembled at the doors of Newgate, 
 anxious to be present at the awful ceremony. Ac ten o'ciock'the nvenues 
 leading to the chapel were thrown open, and iu a few minutes the 
 chapel and galleries were crowded to a degree almost unprecedented. 
 
 " The congregation having arranged themselves in a decorous manner, 
 the prisoners under sentence of death, to the number of twenty-one, 
 were brought in by the respective gaolers and turnkeys, and placed on 
 the left of the pulpit. Every eye was now fixed upon the black pew in 
 the centre of the chapel, the place set apart for those doomed to undergo 
 the awful sentence of the law : silence pervaded every quarter it was 
 soon broken by the sighs of the auditory at seeing the unfortunate yonng 
 girl, Elizabeth, Penning, enter the ehnpel, attended by three other 
 unhappy victims in floods of tears. The .Rev. Mr. Cotton commenced 
 the prayers of the day, in which he was joined most fervently by the 
 prisoners. When he came to that part of the service where " the 
 prayers of the congregation are desired for those about to suffer," 
 Fenning fell into strong hysteric fits. The text selected by the 
 Ordinary on the occasion, was, " What fruit had ye then in those 
 things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is 
 death." Romans, c. vi. v. 21. 
 
 " Mr. Cotton, in alluding to Fenning, said she had revenge m view, 
 and Satan persuaded her that revenge was sueet ; that he would pro- 
 tect her; but immediately after she had perpetrated the act he left her, 
 and that covert in which she thought herself secure soon proved th*
 
 89 
 
 On Tuesday morning she took her last farewell of her 
 Father, who exhorted her to meet death with fortitude y 
 and by the firmness of his manner, under the dreadful cir- 
 cumstances of their separation, he exemplified the courage 
 which he wished his child to sustain upon the -scaffold'. 
 The parting scene with her mother was heart-rending. 
 They were separated from each other in a slate of dreadful 
 agony. Soon afterwards Mr. - prayed and read 
 with her -from four till six o'clock, and then left her: she 
 continued praying and reading* until eight o'clock. 
 About nine o'clock she went to bed. Mr. - . called 
 at eleven o'clock she was then in a profound sleep. 
 There was much agitation in the prison during the night. 
 
 , ^ . v j,.rvrjf ., iL>f.,rii rr >-^3 4 ' ) uii 1 
 
 Bar cf her Tribunal ; for the penetrating eye of Providence was like 
 
 the lustre of the noon-day sun, and discovered every secret act oi man. 
 [Here the unfortunate girl again fainted, and did not recovtr for a long 
 time.] At the conclusion of the service the whole of the 
 went to the altar and received the Sacrament, Efottbct-h 
 continuing to protest that she was innocent." Morning 
 25th July, 1815. 
 
 * After her conviction she perused several books with great earnest- 
 ness and edification. Amongst them were the follouin^, which were 
 lent -her by a friend, to whom she occasionally communicated her re- 
 marks and opinions, as she read. 
 
 Mrs. Rove's Friendship in Death, 
 
 Dreliticourt on Death. 
 
 Sherlock on the Happiness of Good Men, and the Punishment of the 
 Wicked, in the next World. 
 
 Dr. Dodd's Prison Thought: Thoughts on Denlh and Sermons. 
 
 Certain- Sermons, marked by her friend, by Bishop Porteui. 
 
 Hannah Sowden's Discourses. 
 
 She very anxiouslv entreated the same friend to proenfe frt^'4ief m 
 treatise, Which she called the " Cry of Jesus, tlw? Son o< <Ood." -'Mticft 
 inqnirv was made for it, inconsequence, amongst th bo : >k>kilN<s, bill 
 it could not be met with, and it i- shti diri not t< U ' ie 
 
 Editor remembers n Httle old work, entitled " Lfnni-Satwt/KiniM 
 the Cries of the Son of God," which is probably" that lUiich'Shedei 
 sired. 
 
 To the snme friend she sent a smnll volume, entitled, " A Selection 
 of Psaims and Hymns, for tlw use of PercrChapel, Clmrlolte-stre.f, 
 Fkzroy Square." 'By the Hev. James H. Stewart, A. M. London, W1S. 
 Within is this inscription in her own writing " -f Vf/w to empt oj thit 
 book as n token of Rr*pect from RMZA FKKKING, a-Ao miry aw le 
 
 o more, Don't 'be offended at it." 
 
 To another friend' she predated a Copy of Dr. HWftli I-yrrc 
 
 oeoiB.' , *:oo8 9703^ 'tlsmfl ^s odl 9lJ
 
 A reprieve was very confidently expected for her, and 
 the prisoners in the other cells were restless in anticipation 
 of its arrival. In the mean time she slept sound until four 
 o'clock in the morning, when she arose and washed herself; 
 and, in particular, she washed her feet very carefully. She 
 gave each of the women,, who attended her, a lock of her 
 hair, " to keep," she said, " in remembrance of her." It 
 had been the wish of some of her friends that she should 
 be attended on the scaffold by the Rev. Mr. Sutcliffe, 
 but by some accident that gentleman did not arrive, and 
 the Rev. Mr. Vazie, in the same connexion, by desire 
 of the Sheriffs, was introduced to her, early on the fatal 
 
 morning. , At six o'clock Mr. found Mr. Va:ie 
 
 with her. She was seated on the bench, against the parti- 
 tion of her cell, with her elbow on the table, and her head 
 reclining on her hand, exceedingly dejected, and unable 
 
 to speak ; and she appeared insensible of Mr. 's 
 
 approach. Mr. Vazie withdrew, and Mr. prayed 
 
 for her, and read applicable passages to her from the book 
 of Job, until near seven o'clock. Whilst in prayer the 
 Ordinary entered ; and, on its conclusion, he by kind 
 language endeavoured to get her to speak, but she was 
 faint and exhausted. About seven, she said, " she was 
 bewildered, and that it all appeared like a dream to her." 
 
 She was now left to be dressed in the clothes she was to 
 suffer in. On being re-visited, in about half an hour, 
 her dejection had diminished, and she seemed resigned. 
 
 Mr. prayed fervently, and she clasped her hands, 
 
 and looked upwards : not having done so before, he ex- 
 horted her to pray. " I cannot speak, sir," said she, 
 " but I pray from my heart. 1 ' Her countenance became 
 tranquil and serene, and she observed, "I wish to leaye 
 the worldit is all vanity and vexation of spirit. But it 
 is a cruel thing to die innocently : yet I freely forgive 
 every one, and die in charity with all the world, but 
 cannot forget my injured innocence." 
 
 The clock struck eight. Mr, rrtri>> suggested prayer
 
 91 
 
 for the last time. She anxiously asked, " We hare not 
 time, sir, have we ? " Before she knelt, she deliberately 
 removed her gown that it might not be soiled. During 
 prayer, the officer tapped at the door: she approached 
 him smiling, and inquired if he was ready. As she de- 
 parted, she lifted up the sash of the window, and looking 
 through upon the prisoners, who remained locked in thdr 
 cells, but who had mounted up to their different windows 
 to see lier-go out to die, she kissed her hand to them, and 
 said cheerfully, " Good bye ! good bye ! to all of you." 
 
 She leaned on Mr. 's arm, and for a moment he 
 
 perceived that the weakness of human nature prevailed 
 she staggered, but recovered instantly, and passed on to 
 where the criminals are bound. 
 
 Whatever resolution the wretched convict may have 
 previously manifested, yet when the arms and hands are 
 fastened, and the fatal cord is placed round the body, 
 firmness usually leaves the most firm. 
 
 Elizabeth Penning walked to the spot steadily. The 
 officers of the Sheriff and the prison, and several spectators, 
 \vere awaiting her appearance. Oldfield, who was to suf- 
 fer with her, was already there. He had, two months 
 before, written her a letter of solemn exhortation and 
 fervent piety. When she saw him, she exclaimed, " Oh, 
 Oldfield ! you are going to heaven." The hangman np- 
 proached her : he bound her arms, by the elbows, to her 
 body, and tied her hands together in front she Mood 
 erect and unmoved : he then wound her ; halter round htfr 
 waist. At this ceremony her fortitude was astonishing, 
 even to those who had been accustomed to witness these 
 appalling preparations of the living for premature! death. 
 No tear started from her eye ; her lip did not quiver for 
 in instant; not a feature changed; not a muscle of her 
 countenance moved. 
 
 Mr. then, in the hearing of all present, addressed 
 
 her in these words : " Elizabeth ! 1 most solemnly adjure 
 you, in the name of that GOD, before u hose presence you
 
 92 
 
 are about to appear, if you know any thing of the crime 
 for which you are about to suffer, make it known." She 
 replied in these words, distinctly and clearly, " Before 
 GOD, then, I die INNOCENT !" 
 
 The cavalcade then, preceded by the Sheriffs and their 
 officers, with Lord Yarmouth and the^, other spectators, 
 moved slowly through the dark passage, the walls rever- 
 berating the Ordinary's distinct enunciation of the words, 
 " / am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord," and 
 other portions of the burial service appointed to be said. 
 When he pronounced, " / know that my Redeemer 
 
 foe*/*," Oldfield exclaimed, " So do /." Mr. 
 
 inquired if she too believed it : she replied, " Yes, and 
 1 feel happy." 
 
 She walked with a steady and firm step to the awful 
 
 platform, at the door of which Mr. stopped her, 
 
 and again addressed her in the same words that he used 
 when she was bound ; observing, it was the last moment 
 they should be together : she replied 
 
 " I am going to die ; and, as a dying person, I declare 
 to that God before whom I shall appear very shortly, 
 I DIE INNOCENT ; and, mark my words, sir, God 
 
 will convince you," addressing herself to Mr. 
 
 and those around her, " by a circumstance this day." 
 
 " What circumstance ?" said Mr. . 
 
 " By a circumstance to-day, sir," she answered, " God 
 will convince you I die innocent." 
 
 " How do you A'oa?," Mr. again said to her, 
 
 " that God will convince us to-day by a circumstance:" 
 * *' I hope God will do it, sic," she replied. 
 
 '* les," replied Mr. Cotton, " you hope, but you said 
 God xould make it know^i* E irfj ^nliud .sJoniT Ifiiovs* 
 
 " Well, then, [sir," said she to him, " I hope he may, 
 I wish he may." 
 
 This latter sentence was uttered under the e'ddent con- 
 fusion of being questioned so closely by Mr. Cotton and 
 Mr. . The whole of this conversation occupied
 
 93 
 
 not more than TWO MINUTES. Mr. - then bade her 
 an eternal farewell. 
 
 She ascended the scaffold with firmness and even energy, 
 and was the first of the three unfortunate convicts that 
 appeared.* 
 
 She seemed in earnest and solemn devotion as she passed 
 on to the further end of the scaffold. Her step was rather 
 quick, but not hurried it was the pace of a person walking 
 in abstracted thought, amidst a crowd. She stood still 
 with her face towards Ludgate-hill ; the Ordinary stood 
 opposite to her, with a book the hangman standing be- 
 hind her, took a white cotton night-cap from his pocket, 
 and attempted to draw it over her face, but it was too 
 small, as were two others, which he also tried. He then 
 tied a white muslin handkerchief over her face : but not 
 considering this to be sufficient covering, he produced a 
 pocket handkerchief which had evidently been used. She 
 disliked this, and desired it might not be put on. She 
 cried, " Pray do not put it on pray do not* pray do 
 not let them put it on." The Rev. Mr. Vazie, who was 
 with her on the scaffold, suggested to Mr. Cotton, that 
 " the man had better not put on-that dirty pocket hand- 
 kerchief, as the poor creature's sense of cleanliness was 
 offended by it."" Pray," said she, " Mr. Cotton, do 
 not let him put it on pray let him take it off pray do, 
 Mr'. Cotton." Mr. Cotton replied, My dear, it must 
 be on he must put it on." She was very dissatisfied 
 'with it, and felt much uneasiness ; but it was, nevertheless, 
 tied across her eyes by the hangman. He then placed the 
 cord round her neck, and ascending a pair of steps, threw 
 the other end of it over the beam, and made it fast with 
 several knots. During this time, Mr. Vatie stood by her 
 on the scaffold, and when the duty of the Ordinary re- 
 
 * She was neatly dressed in a white niuslin worked gown, and a worked 
 muslin cap, bouad with white satirt riband : she wore a wlnte riband 
 round her waist, and pale lilac bout, liired in irynt. Her appearance 
 
 Tvas very interesting. '
 
 94 
 
 quired his attention to the other convicts, this gentleman 
 supplied his place. 
 
 The scene was now particularly affecting Oldfield, who 
 had obiained permission, in the Press-yard, to die next to 
 Elizabeth Penning, ascended the scaffold with a cheerful 
 countenance. He walked up to her immediately, and 
 smiling, conjured her to maintain her firmness, and not to 
 let the last moment of life escape Avithout revealing what- 
 ever she might have upon her mind. She expressed the 
 composed state of her thoughts, and repeated her inno- 
 cence with extraordinary fortitude of manner. Mr. Vadc 
 took occasion most earnestly to entreat her confession. She 
 solemnly, and with wonderful energy, protested her inno- 
 cence. 
 
 The unhappy girl herself being of short stature, Mr. 
 Vazie, who was tall, and stood fronting her, rather to- 
 wards her right hand, stooped to converse with her. She 
 spoke through the linen coverings that concealed her 
 countenance their conversation was earnest when she 
 spoke, his left ear was directed to her face. He addressed 
 her repeatedly, and earnestly enforced what he said, by 
 rapid movements of his right arm and hand, in which he 
 held his hat. When he listened to her for the last time, the 
 multitude erroneously supposed her to have confessed the 
 crime for which she was to die. Mr. Vazie had made a last 
 vain effort to obtain an acknowledgment of her having com- 
 mitted the crime for which she suffered ; and he then ex- 
 horted her to confess what other sins she had committed, 
 enforcing upon her the certainty that sins which were 
 apparently slight to man, were heinous in the sight of the 
 Almighty. She answered him, that " for what she was 
 about to suffer she had not committed ; she was wholly 
 innocent ; and that her other sins she had confessed to God. 
 He knew them, and she hoped for his forgiveness and 
 pardon." The Ordinary, v.hen disengaged from the two 
 poor creatures who were to die with her, earnestly entreated 
 her for the last time. Her fellow-sufferer, Old/ield, seemed
 
 95 
 
 Jto merge a portion of his own misery in sympathizing with 
 hers. Although tied up, he inclined his head to listen to 
 her last accents. She expressed her firm assurance of 
 happiness hereafter denied that she was guilty and 
 resolutely persisted in her innocence. The platform fell : 
 she raised her arms, and dropped them immediately. 
 Her last words were, "I AM INNOCENT ! " She died 
 without a struggle*. 
 
 " Thus perished," says Mr. : , " by the hands of 
 
 the executioner, a female twenty-one years of age, in the 
 prime of her youth, who seemed qualified by nature to fill 
 a superior station in life. Her mind was the most extra- 
 ordinary I ever knew, possessing great shrewdness, and a 
 quickness of perception which many persons denominate 
 archness. Her temper was warm ; her feelings susceptibly 
 alive to every thing around her. The God of mercy, I 
 trust, has received her into the blessed mansions of eternal 
 rest. I have every reason to believe that she died in 
 the faith of Christ Jesus, and is now a bright angel 
 in heaven. " 
 
 The miserable Parents had obtained the consolation, 
 that, as soon as their daughter was deprived of life, she 
 should be delivered to them. They accordingly attended 
 for her after her execution ; but they were not prepared to 
 meet a demand of Fourteen Shillings and Sixpence for her 
 dead body. " After my child was cut down" said the 
 bereaved father, " and she was put into the dead house, I 
 was obliged to pay FOURTEEN SHILLINGS and 
 SIXPENCE before I was permitted to take her away, 
 I had no money : 1 went and borrowed the money and 
 
 * She earnestly requested, and obtained a promise on the scaffold, 
 from Mr. Cotton, that he would tell her when she was going to be 
 turned off. Her anxiety in desiring it, induced him to assure her to 
 that effect. This was not done. Mr. Vazie, who heard what took place, 
 was much surprised, therefore, at the platform falling without the in- 
 timatioa from Mr. Cotton, and reminded him of his promise to the 
 poor girl, which Mr. C. excused his not having kept, by saying, " it 
 was what was never done it saved a great deal of pain to the 
 *onvict."
 
 96 
 
 t, 
 
 paid it) and had the body delivered to me. Here is the 
 BILL*." 
 
 [COPY.] 
 
 " For Elizabeth Penning. 
 " 1815. 
 11 July 26th. Executioner's Fees, &c. Striping, "} 
 
 use of Shell 5^ 
 
 " Settled. C. GALE, Junior." 
 
 This Bill having been paid, and the Parents thus become 
 entitled to tueir dead child, the body was taken, between 
 ten and eleven o'clock the same evening, to their lodgings, 
 at No. 14, .Eagle Street, Red Lion Square, and placed in 
 the back room up one pair stairs. 
 
 On the following day, a number of people assembled 
 round the door, and the body was seen by many respect- 
 able persons, who requested permission. The Parents, in 
 a very humble walk in life, conceived their Daughter 
 innocent, and therefore had no motives for that close con- 
 cealment which a higher station in society, or a belief in 
 her guilt, would have suggested as proper. The humanity 
 of some persons who saw the corpse, induced them to leave 
 something behind them to be given to the Parents. The 
 officious activity of the Police Officers before the house by 
 no means contributed to decrease the number of gazers out- 
 
 * The poor girl's mother obtained, with much less difficulty, the only 
 legacy her daughter left her Bible. She bequeathed it to her mother, 
 with a solemn injunction that she would never part with it. " I shall 
 want it myself," said she, " lilt all is orer." Within the cover is written, 
 Eliza Penning, 1814 ; and on the title page, in the corner, is inscribed, 
 " BIBLE ASSOCIATIOX, St. John's Chapel, West Street, Walworth 
 Rev. JOHJJ FOWLER." It had evidently been much perused; the leaves 
 were turned down iu several places. She had earnestly entreated her 
 to read often the 28th, 29th, and 30th verses of the llth Chapter of 
 Matthew, which she pointed out and marked with a pencil; and, more 
 forcibly to direct her mother's attention to those passages, she pinned 
 upon the leaf a Religious Tract, No. 128, entitled " The Sinner directed." 
 From the 12th to the 18th Chapters of John were much turned down, 
 and otherwise noted.
 
 M 
 
 side. If the officers always conducted themselve as they 
 did on one occasion*, their conduct tended to a HcnUinucd 
 breach of the peace. At the time alluded to, a gentleman, 
 who had been with Mr. Beckett-he day before the execu- 
 tion, went to the house with four or jQve friends, one of 
 them of the medical profession. On knocking at the door, 
 the officers rushed upon the steps, and insolently ordered 
 them not to knock, one of them saying-, " You ^raust not 
 knock at that door/' " Why J"-^" You must not knock 
 there; you canncjt go in." .The door not being opened, 
 one of the company said, " Knock again ! " The officers 
 repeated. their order, and said, "..-The magistrates have 
 ordered that nobody shall go into the house." It was 
 replied,." The magistrates have no right to give such art 
 order : it is an illegal aider." The officers then threatened 
 them with an indictment if -they gave any money, and used 
 much insulting language. This conduct of the peace 
 officers did not produce the effect which such behaviour 
 might have excited in; 'persons less guarded. The door 
 was opened, .and the corpse was seen. On the father 
 foeing inquired for, he came, and, with the tears streaming 
 down his cheeks, answered the- inquiries put to : him. His 
 manners and language were manly and 'respectful. On 
 the party leaving the roomyoue gentleman gave a shilling, 
 unsolicited, to the person who was showing them out. 
 As soon as the street door was opened, three officers 
 rushed into the house, and ranged themselves in the 
 passage whilst the party quitted the house. From what 
 was then observed of the Police Officers, no other opinion 
 couldbe formed, than that their behaviour was unwarranted, 
 and eminently calculated to irritate the feelings, provoke 
 resistance, and occasion* net. 
 
 On Monday* tnc Slbl the funeral took place. The 
 corpse was carried to the grave, followed by the father 
 aud mother, and six other mourners, tlie pall being sup- 
 
 . 
 
 * The Editor was one of the party. He saw the corpse, and thro, 
 for the first time, saw the distressed father. 
 
 II
 
 98 
 
 ported by six young females in white. Several thousand 
 spectators accompanied it to the burial ground of St. George 
 the Martyr, near Brunswick Square, where it was interred 
 with the usual rites of the Church of England, the service 
 being performed by the Minister of the parish, the Rev. 
 Mr. Force. Notwithstanding the anxious curiosity of the 
 multitude to witness the burial, the officers succeeded in 
 excluding them from the ground, and the corpse was 
 deposited in the earth in the presence of not more than a 
 hundred people, many of whom had for some hours waited 
 within the gates for its arrival. The coffin bore this 
 inscription: " Elizabeth Penning, died July 26th, 1815, 
 aged 22 years" On the return of the funeral procession, 
 the immense crowd peaceably dispersed*. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS RELATIVE 
 TO ELIZABETH FENMNG'S CASE. 
 
 THE execution of the poor girl disclosed the fact, that 
 the representations of the day before, at the Secretary of 
 State's office, to Mr. Becket, and at the Recorder's in the 
 evening, were deemed nugatory. The gentlemen who 
 had thus interested themselves for a short respite, could 
 only wonder at the fatal event, and conjecture at random 
 what could have been the circumstances that warranted 
 the execution. They were aware that there were other 
 representations before the Secretary of State beside theirs ; 
 and, though not acquainted with their entire purport, they 
 had much reason to suppose it to be of a nature pregnant 
 with circumstances favourable to the girl's case : but 
 whether warranted in that supposition or not, as they 
 had produced evidence to the truth of their own aver- 
 
 The public sympathized so generally in the fate of the deceased, 
 that an eminent surgeon, whose anatomica! theatre is largely supplied 
 with subjects for his pupils' dissection, in order to avoid an outrage 
 upon popular feeling, gave especial orders to the persons who usually 
 supply him with bodies, that the corpse of Elizabeth Penning, however 
 desirable to possess, should on no account be brought to him.
 
 99 
 
 ments, they considered them as facts, no longer admit- 
 ting of doubt or controversy, and which, if ever stand inn- 
 alone, were sufficient to have justified a suspension of the 
 sentence. 
 
 One of these gentlemen, a respectable merchant, on the 
 very morning of the execution, addressed a Letter to the 
 Editor of the Times, which, both as to matter and manner, 
 "seemed eminently qualified for the eye of the public. The 
 Editor of that journal appears to have thought otherwise, 
 for it was not inserted. It being of as much important 
 now as then, it follows. 
 
 " SIR, July 26, 1815. 
 
 " I am well aware that the discussion of subjects 
 of great notoriety and public interest is actually to be 
 deprecated, as tending to inflame the public mind, from 
 the too general disposition to distort the facts or statements 
 which they include : but occasions do arise, where, to lay 
 before the public questions of this nature, is not only justi- 
 fiable, but becomes an act of duty on the part of those to 
 whom the circumstances may be known. Of such a class 
 I consider the case of the unfortunate young woman, Eliza- 
 beth Penning, who was executed this morning at Newgate. 
 Before, however, I put the questions, which constitute 
 the object of my addressing you, I wish to state, in the 
 most positive and serious manner, that I have no intention 
 of reflecting, in the slightest degree, on the conduct or 
 character of any of those respectable authorities with 
 whom the jurisdiction, or subsequent consideration, of the 
 case has rested ; nor of casting an imputation of guilt on 
 any of the persons concerned in the prosecution : ray 
 sole object is to arrive at the solution of a great question, 
 in reference to our criminal code, which a consideration 
 of the facts must necessarily lead the mind to dwell upon; 
 and this, I have no doubt, some one of your intelligent 
 correspondents will favour me with, through the medium 
 of your paper. The main question then is this : -
 
 100 
 
 ^ 
 
 " If a person be convicted of a capital offence on 
 circumstantial evidence of a strong and clear nature ; 
 and if, in the interval between the conviction and the 
 execution of the sentence of the law, there should be 
 tendered, on oath, to the proper authorities, evidence of 
 the most positive and respectable kind, zchich, had it been 
 offered at the trial, might have had the effect of counter- 
 vailing the circumstances on which the conviction was 
 founded, What, in such a case, ought to be the course 
 of proceeding of those authorities ? 
 
 " The facts out of which this question is framed, are 
 simply these : Evidence of the most respectable, clear, 
 and unequivocal kind, was yesterday submitted to high 
 authorities, that one of the prosecutors, in this case, has 
 been more than once in a state of mental derangement , 
 and has used the most incoherent and violent language. 
 It would be a useless exercise of delicacy, under these 
 circumstances, to disguise, that, on one occasion, he dis- 
 tinctly and positively asserted, that ( he would destroy 
 himself and his wife ; and entreated that all means of 
 destruction might be removed from him, to prevent such 
 a consequence.' 
 
 " Here is one plain fact. Couple it with the other 
 admitted facts, partly produced on the Trial, and partly 
 from the incontrovertible evidence before alluded to, that 
 the poison was purchased by one of the prosecutors 
 himself, before the period of mental derangement above 
 mentioned ; and was, at that period, deposited in a drawer 
 or desk, accessible to every individual in the house : that 
 this poison was missed from its place of deposit on or 
 about the 7th of March, fourteen days before the unfor- 
 tunate occurrence : that in this interval no inquiry seems 
 to have been made where it was gone, or who had taken 
 it : that Eliza Penning partook of the dumplings which 
 contained the poison, and was ill in consequence, as well as e 
 the rest of the family : and that, from the first period of 
 ber apprehension to the last moment of her existence, she
 
 101 
 
 steadily, uniformly, and in the most solemn manner, 
 asserted her entire innocence of the crime laid to her 
 charge. I say, let all these facts be brought together, and 
 opposed to the evidence of circumstance, which led to her 
 conviction, and I would ask, If that had been done on the 
 Trial, would the J UR Y who tried her have given the 
 VERDICT they hare done ? Feeling as I do, had 1 been 
 on that Jury, with such counter-circumstantial matter 
 before me, I think my consent would not have been ob- 
 tained to~a Verdict of Guilty. 
 
 " Presuming, therefore, on the correctness of this state- 
 ment, I should wish to be informed, by what established 
 usage or custom of our laws, or courts, or by what 
 standard of justice, that evidence, which, on the Trial, 
 might have produced so different a conclusion, should, at 
 a subsequent period, previous to the communication of 
 the consequences, be deemed inadequate to procure the 
 extension of mercy to the convicted person ? 
 
 " A clear answer to this question will, perhaps, enable 
 me to reconcile, in my mind, what, unexplained, must be 
 viewed as an anomaly in our code of laws. Wishing to 
 be* satisfied on this head, I again disclaim all intention 
 of reflecting in the least on the character or conduct of any 
 individual concerned in the prosecution, officially or 
 otherwise : at the same time, I feel myself called upon to 
 disavow all knowledge of this woman or her family, never 
 having seen any of them. except herself, and that only for 
 a short period yesterday. 
 
 " I am, SIR, 
 
 " Yours, &c. 
 
 S. B. J." 
 
 The following Letter to the Public Ledger, written by 
 another respectable gentleman in the city, experienced a 
 rejection on the publicly announced pretence, that if it
 
 102 
 
 were inserted the Editor would be subject to an Ex Officio 
 Information. 
 
 " SIR, 29 July, 1815. 
 
 " Addressing you as the Editor of a Paper so 
 liberally conducted as the Public Ledger, and whose pages, 
 it may truly be said, have ever been " Open to all 
 parties*" it will be unnecessary to apologize for ob- 
 truding a few observations on a paragraph, which appeared 
 in your number of yesterday, July 28th, on the subject of 
 the unfortunate young woman, Eliza 'Penning, who was 
 executed on Wednesday. The paragraph in question 
 asserts, " That at present we have the evidence of the 
 Trial against her, and her own declaration only for her." 
 That is not correct, though I have no doubt it was so 
 considered by you when the paragraph was composed. 
 The truth, however, is, that in addition to her own de- 
 claration, evidence of the most respectable, clear, and 
 unequivocal kind, was on Tuesday night offered to the 
 proper authorities upon oath, that one of the evidences in 
 this case had latterly, more than once, been in a stale of 
 mental derangement ; and that, doubtless under the influ- 
 ence of that unfortunate malady, he has decidedly declared 
 his determination to destroy himself and his wife; most 
 earnestly entreating that he might be put in a state of 
 confinement ; or that all means of destruction might be 
 removed from him, so as to prevent the dreadful conse- 
 quences which were to be apprehended. This you will 
 readily, sir, admit is something more than her own decla- 
 ration for her ; and it can never sufficiently be regret- 
 ted that most respectable evidence to the above effect, 
 coupled with the offer of fuller evidence, equally respect- 
 
 * After the refusal to insert this letter the ready insertion after- 
 wards of the Turnkey of Newgate's extorted affidavit, defamatory of 
 Elizabeth Pennine's J'atfAer the unwillingness to insert the father's affi- 
 davit in answer to it, and the garbling of poor Fenning's affidavit when 
 it was inserted the Public Ledger may neither be thought " open t 
 11 parties," or " uninfluenced."
 
 able, to similar circumstances, did not appear to the 
 authorities, before alluded to, sufficient to warrant their 
 granting the short respite, which the disinterested indi- 
 viduals who made the application felt confident could not 
 have been refused. The grounds which operated in pre- 
 vention of their request, are to them unknown : they 
 conclude that they must have been of a strong nature, 
 or that a refusal to admit further evidence, when life was 
 at stake, could not have been denied them. Permit m 
 further to- remark, that the evidence tendered, as before 
 mentioned, is coupled with the other admitted facts, as 
 produced upon the Trial, viz. That the poison was pur- 
 chased by the evidence before mentioned : that it was at 
 that period in his possession, and deposited by him in 
 a drawer, or desk, in the office, accessible to every indi- 
 vidual in the house : that this poison was missed from 
 its place of deposit on or about the 7th of March, 14 days 
 before the unfortunate occurrence : that in this interval 
 no inquiry seems to have been made as to where it was 
 gone, or who had taken it : that Eliza Penning partook 
 of the dumplings which contained the poison, and was ill 
 in -consequence, equally with the rest of the family : and 
 that, from the first period of her apprehension to the last 
 moment of her existence, she steadily, uniformly, and 
 in the most solemn manner, asserted her entire innocence 
 of the crime laid to her charge. Permit me, I say, to 
 remark, that, when all these facts are brought together, 
 and opposed to evidence of circumstance, (for there was 
 nothing else,) which led to her conviction, I trust it is 
 not too much to say, that, placed in this point of view, it 
 is by no means likely that ajwry could have been found, 
 who, with these circumstances before them, would have 
 delivered a verdict of Guilty; more particularly if the 
 other respectable evidence, which was tendered on Tues- 
 day last, had also been produced. It was my intention to 
 have introduced many more circumstances, equally im- 
 portant, but I am fearful I have already trespassed to*
 
 104 
 
 largely on the space which your columns can affortf, 
 .Allow me, however, to add, that Eliza Penning was 
 entirely unknown to me, and that I never saw her in my 
 life. The endeavours of myself and friends to obtain a 
 short respite, arose entirely from the knowledge, which 
 reached us by mere accident on Monday evening, that 
 evidence of the most respectable kind had been unac- 
 countably withheld. 
 
 " I am confident, sir, that under similar circum- 
 stances you would have felt it your duty to endeavour 
 that the whole of the Case should have been made known 
 in the proper quarter; and 1 have principally to lament, 
 that one day only intervened between the period when the 
 facts came to my knowledge and that of execution ; 
 because 1 must ever feel that the cause of public justice 
 (even supposing the guilt of the prisoner) would have 
 been better promoted by a short delay in the execution of 
 the sentence, than by its being immediately enforced. By 
 delay, the doubts which the evidence about to be offered 
 had certainly raised in the mind of myself and friends 
 would either have been confirmed or removed ; and what- 
 ever way the decision had turned, the public mind, which 
 had been more than usually drawn to the consideration of 
 the Case, would have rested satisfied with the result ; and 
 that calm acquiescence in the justice of the decisions of 
 our Courts of Law, for which Britons have ever been 
 distinguished, would never have been interrupted. 
 
 " I remain, &c." 
 
 It seemed expedient, as the Prosecutors 1 coo/-, Eliza- 
 beth Penning, had been hanged upon the evidence of the 
 Turners; of their house-maid, Sarah Peer; their appren* 
 tice, Roger Gadsden ; their acquaintance, Mr. Marshall, 
 the surgeon ; and the police officer, William Thisselton ; 
 that the Father of Elizabeth Penning should not be left to 
 sorrow over the unburied body of his child, without
 
 105 
 
 disturbance on the part of her prosecutors. Accordingly, 
 two days after the execution, a Turnkey of Newgate was 
 selected to make the following affidavit against the afflicted 
 Parent. 
 
 [COPY.] 
 
 London\ SAMUEL DAVIS, one of the principal Turn- 
 towit. Jkeys of his Majesty's Gaol of Newgate, maketh 
 Oath and saith, that at an interview which lately took 
 place between the late convict Elizabeth Penning, who 
 was executed on Wednesday last, and her father, (at 
 which interview this deponent and the Rev. Mr. Cotton, 
 Chaplain of the said prison, were both present,) and on 
 several other interviews between them prior to her exe- 
 cution, her said father urgently entreated her, in the fol- 
 lowing words, or words to the like effect ; (that is to 
 say,) " Oh ! my dear child, when you come out on the 
 " gallows, tell every body that you are innocent, and then I 
 " can walk the streets upright, as a man ; but if you say 
 " you are guilty, I shall never be able to hold up my head 
 ".among the public any more." 
 
 (Signed) SAMUEL DAVIS. 
 
 Sworn at the Mansion House,* 
 
 in the City of London, the 
 
 2Sth day of July, 1815. 
 
 (Signed) SAMUEL BIRCH, Mayor. 
 
 ^\ 
 / 
 3 
 
 The Prosecutors having procured this affidavit to be 
 made, now procured it to be inserted in different daily 
 papers. It was carried to the newspaper offices, with 
 introductory observations, which not even persuasions or 
 payment could obtain admission for in the shape wherein 
 they were originally tendered. Some of the papers re- 
 jected the observations entirely, others omitted the grosser 
 part of this attempt at public delusion, and modified the 
 preamble at pleasure. But the newspapers were not the 
 only vehicle for the extension of the ill-timed attack upon
 
 106 
 
 poor Penning. The Turnkey's affidavit was printed in 
 the shape of a hand-bill, thrown into houses, dropped 
 upon shop counters, exhibited in windows, and circulated 
 as widely as the prosecutors thought proper to circu- 
 late it. 
 
 Though these measures were resorted to, no step was 
 taken by the father whilst his child lay above ground. He 
 took no advantage of the mode and moment selected for 
 attacking him to repel that attack. He did not do what 
 he might have done : what, from the conduct of the prose- 
 cutors, it might have been supposed he would do : what it 
 was natural to expect that the sight of his executed 
 daughter would have prompted him to do : he abstained 
 from making a public appeal. Though goaded by this 
 unmanly and cruel attack, he chose to forbear the 
 publication of any statement that might have visited the 
 sins of the Turnkey's affidavit tenfold upon his daughter's 
 prosecutors. He buried her body before he uttered a syl- 
 lable to the world to repel the odium he had sustained. 
 
 On the 1st of August, the day after the Funeral, Wil- 
 liam Penning applied to Mr. Kinnaird, a Middlesex 
 magistrate, to swear him to an affidavit, in answer to the 
 Turnkey's: Mr. Kinnaird refused to administer the oath, 
 on the ground that persons daily assembled before Mr. 
 Turner's 'house. In the evening he applied at Hatton 
 Garden Office, attended by a friend or two, for the same 
 purpose. The affidavit was handed to one of the police 
 officers, in the outer office, who said, " You'll not get 
 this sworn here, I can tell you ; the magistrate will not 
 swear any affidavit of yours " This officer loitered to 
 read it, and then went into the justice-room with Penning 
 and his friends, and gave the affidavit to the magistrates' 
 clerk. As soon as Penning saw the Clerk, he exclaimed, 
 " No ! I shall not get it sworn here, I see ; there'll be no 
 justice here for me." His friend asked him " Why he 
 said so!" "Why, sir, that gentleman," he replied, 
 " who is the Clerk, is a particular friend of Mr. Turner's,
 
 107 
 
 and is against my daughter." " What is his name?" 
 " Mr. Shearman : he lives in Hart Street, Bloomsbury, 
 and visits at Mr. Turner's : he took down what they said 
 against ray daughter when she was examined here.'' 
 " Are you sure of that?" " I am, sir, and he'll take . 
 care I shall not have my affidavit sworn here." " Well ! 
 we shall see." " We shall, sir," said Penning, " and 
 you will see what I tell you to be true, for its not likely 
 that the gentleman that was against my daughter all along 
 "will be for" her now." It appeared, upon explanation, 
 that Mr Shearman, the CLERK TO THE MAGIS- 
 TRATES, WHO TOOK THE DEPOSITIONS on 
 the Examinations of Elizabeth Penning, BECAME 
 MR. TURNER'S ATTORNEY, and PROSECUTED 
 her to CONVICTION. As Penning had anticipated, 
 Mr. Shearman addressed the magistrate across the table, 
 to induce him to refuse swearing Penning to the affidavit 
 against that which HIS CLIENT had procured to be 
 made by the Turnkey. It was in vain that Penning 
 remonstrated, the magistrate would not swear him, and 
 Mr. Shearman returned him the affidavit. The poor 
 fellow, upon going away, whispered Mr. Shearman, loud 
 enough to be overheard by some of the bystanders, " I 
 think, sir, you are a particular friend of Mr. Turner's; 
 you visit him ? " Mr. Shearman heard the remark and 
 was silent. 
 
 On the next day, the 2d of August, Penning was sworn 
 to his affidavit before the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, at 
 the Mansion-House. It is as follows : 
 
 [COPY.] 
 
 Middlesex,^ WILLIAM PENNING, of No. 14, Eagle 
 to wit. i Street, Red-Lion-Square, maketh Oath and 
 saith, That he hath read a certain printed paper, which 
 he hath been informed and believes has been most exten- 
 sively distributed, and placed in shop windows, and other
 
 108 
 
 conspicuous places, by, through, and under the direction 
 of Mr. Turner's family, and certain persons connected" 
 with the police or magistracy of the said County of Mid- 
 dlesex ; which said printed paper is, or purports to be, an 
 affidavit, or copy of an affidavit, sworn before the Lord 
 Mayor at the Mansion-House, on the 28th day of July, 
 1815, by SAMUEL DAVIS, one of the principal Turnkeys 
 of his -Majesty's gaol of Newgate, wherein the said 
 Samuel Davis deposes, or swears in the following words ; 
 (that is to say,) That at an interview which lately took 
 place between the late convict, Elizabeth Fenning, who 
 was executed on Wednesday last, and her father, (at 
 which interview this deponent, and the Rev. Mr. Cotton, 
 chaplain of the said prison, were both present,) and on 
 several other interviews between them, prior to her 
 execution, her said father urgently entreated her, in the 
 following words, or words to the like effect: (that is to 
 say,) " Oh my dear child, when you come out on the 
 " gallows, tell every body that you are innocent; and then 
 " I can walk the streets upright as a man : but if you 
 " say you are guilty, I shall never be able to hold up 
 " my head among the public any more." And this 
 deponent further saith, That he, this deponent, did not, 
 at any interview which lately took place between this 
 deponent and his daughter Elizabeth Fenning ; nor did 
 he, this deponent, at any other interview or interviews 
 between them, prior to her execution, urgently or other- 
 wise entreat, or admonish her in the following words, or 
 words to the like effect; (that is to say), " Oh my dear 
 " child, when you come out on the gallows, tell everybody 
 " that you are innocent, and then I can walk the streets 
 " upright as a man ; but if you say you are guilty, I 
 ". shall never be able to hold up my head among the 
 " public any more :" but that this deponent did repeat- 
 edly, and most earnestly entreat his said daughter, in 
 words to the following or the like effect; (that is to say,) 
 " Oh my dear child, when you come out on the gallows^
 
 109 
 
 " if you are not guilty t tell every body that you are inno- 
 " cent." And this deponent further saith, That he hath 
 upon various occasions earnestly entreated, and solemnly 
 conjured his said daughter to declare all, if any thing, 
 that she knew respecting the poisoning of the family of 
 the said Mr. Turner : and notwithstanding many, and 
 repeated injunctions on his this deponent's part, that 
 she should make a full and open confession (if guilty) of 
 the crime alleged against her, she, on all such occa- 
 sions up to, and including the last interview he had with 
 his said daughter previous to her execution, did totally 
 deny all knowledge or participation of or in the said crime, 
 and solemnly affirmed her innocence, upon all and every 
 such occasion or occasions, as strongly as this deponent is 
 informed and believes she did to the Rev. Mr. Cotton, 
 the Ordinary of Newgate, a few minutes previous to her 
 ascending the scaffold, when she emphatically declared 
 in words to the following or the like effect; that is to say, 
 " Before the just and Almighty God, and by the faith of 
 " the Holy Sacrament I have taken, lam innocent of the 
 " ^ffence with which I am charged." 
 
 (Signed) WILLIAM PENNING. 
 
 Szcorn at the Mansion-House} 
 
 of the City of London* this\ eA ,, TT , T nm^Tr 
 
 VSAMUEL BIRCH. Mayor. 
 Second Day of August, ( 
 
 1815. 3 
 
 After the above affidavit had been sworn, it was sug- 
 gested, that, on account of its length, some of the news- 
 papers might decline inserting it; another affidavit was 
 then prepared, shortening the first part of the former, in 
 the following manner : 
 
 o *"- 
 
 Middlesex,! WILLIAM PENNING, of No, 14, Eagle 
 to wit. jStreet, Red-Lion-Square, Father of ELIZA- 
 BETH PENNING, executed on Wednesday last, on a
 
 110 
 
 charge of poisoning the family of Mr. TURNER, maketh 
 Oath and saith, That he hath seen a printed paper, pur- 
 porting to be an Affidavit of SAMUEL DAVIS, a Turnkey 
 of Newgate, which has appeared in almost all the news- 
 papers : and this deponent saith, that the facts therein 
 stated are wholly false and untrue : and that, on the 
 contrary, this deponent, at every interview with his said 
 daughter, when her guilt or innocence was the subject 
 of conversation, did most earnestly entreat, and solemnly 
 conjure his said daughter to declare all, if any thing, 
 that she knew respecting the poisoning of the family of 
 the said Mr. Turner; and, notwithstanding many and 
 repeated injunctions on his, this deponent's part, that 
 she should make a full and open confession, if guilty, of 
 the crime alleged against her, she, on all such occasions, 
 up to and including the last interview he had with his 
 said daughter, previous to her execution, did totally 
 deny all knowledge or participation of or in the said 
 crime; and solemnly affirmed her innocence upon all 
 and every such occasion or occasions, as strongly, as this 
 deponent is informed and believes, she did to the Rev. 
 Mr. Cotton, the Ordinary of Newgate, a few minutes 
 previous to her ascending the scaffold, when she empha- 
 tically declared, in words to the following or the like 
 effect; that is to say : " Before the just and Almighty 
 " God, and by the faith of the Holy Sacrament 1 have 
 " taken, I am innocent of the offence with which I am 
 " charged." 
 
 W. PENNING. 
 Sworn at tfie Mansion-Housed 
 
 of the City oj 'London, this f 
 
 Second Day of August, /" 
 
 1815. 3 
 
 SAMUEL BIRCH, Mayor. 
 
 I' II !
 
 Ill 
 
 That Mr. Turner was himself the procurer of the Turn- 
 bey's affidavit is publicly evidenced by a Letter that 
 appeared in the public papers, in consequence of an 
 address to the Rev. Mr. Cotton, the Ordinary, strongly 
 animadverting upon the affidavit, and calling upon that 
 gentleman for an avowal respecting it. The Letter, which 
 delivers up Mr. Turner as the instigator of the affidavit, 
 bears the affidavit maker's signature, and is as follows : 
 
 [COPY.] 
 
 " SIR,- 
 
 ' The writer of the Letter to the Rev. Mr. Cotton, 
 in your paper of yesterday, has treated me very cruelly 
 and unjustly, by charging me with making an illegal 
 affidavit to wound the feelings of a poor man ; when, on 
 the contrary, it was at the particular desire of MR. TUR- 
 NER that I made that affidavit, which is nothing but the 
 truth, for the purpose of saving Mr. Turner's house! 
 
 " I do not pretend to say that Mr. Penning did not 
 believe his daughter to be innocent; nor did I make the 
 affidavit to wound his feelings ; but to,protect MR. TUR- 
 NER. And I respectfully assure you that, although 
 Turnkey of Newgate, I have as much feeling for the 
 distress of my fellow-creatures as the writer of that letter. 
 
 " I am your humble servant, 
 
 (Signed) " SAMUEL DAVIS." 
 
 " August3, 1815." 
 
 It was now discovered that different gentlemen, who 
 had, unknown to each other, interested themselves in 
 behalf of Elizabeth Penning, had so satisfactorily relied 
 upon the exertions which they understood each other were 
 making, that they had no doubt her life would have been 
 spared. Some of these gentlemen, though their opinions
 
 112 
 
 on her case remain unchanged, yet as she can no longer be 
 benefited by their exertions, have relaxed in their in- 
 quiries, and declined further investigation : whilst others, 
 who knew nothing of her Case until a day or two before, 
 or even after the execution, have unceasingly persevered 
 in ascertaining the foundation of every report, statement, 
 circumstance, and fact, which they have in any way 
 whatever been made acquainted with, connected with 
 the Case. 
 
 In pursuance of this Investigation, it was deemed neces- 
 sary to obtain Copies of the Depositions taken by the 
 magistrates, and sworn to by the witnesses who were after- 
 wards examined upon the trial. For this purpose, on 
 Saturday, the 12th of August, two gentlemen applied 
 at the Public Office, Hatton Garden, for Copies of such 
 Depositions. William Marmaduke Sellon, Esq. the sitting 
 magistrate, and Mr. Ford, said, they did not see that there 
 could be any objection to furnish copies, but it would be 
 more regular that the application should be made to 
 Mr. Raynsford, the magistrate who had taken the Depo- 
 sitions, and upon whose Warrant Elizabeth Penning was 
 committed. It was therefore arranged, that as Mr. Rayns- 
 ford would sit at the office on Monday, the application 
 should be made to him. 
 
 On Monday ) the 14th of August, the application was 
 renewed to Mr. Raynsford^ then sitting with other magis- 
 trates at the Public Office, Hatton Garden : 
 
 3frr. Raynsford said, that " he could see no possible 
 good that could arise from any thing now. It would only 
 be agitating the public mind." He remarked, in continua- 
 tion, that " // teas IMPOSSIBLE that the matter could 
 be gone into MORE AT LARGE than it teas AT THE 
 OLD BAILEY, when it zoos SIFTED by a Jury of 
 tweltte men sworn." He said, " there were some doubts 
 upon his mind zohen the girl wtis COMMITTED, but 
 that they were quite removed by SUBSEQUENT IN- 
 QUIRIES."
 
 Tt was stated to him, that " many doubts were still 
 entertained in the public mind, upon the published Report 
 of the Trial,* and that it was wished to ascertain THE 
 TRUTH, in order to set the public mind at rest." 
 
 Mr. Raynsford said the affair had been thoroughly 
 canvassed by Lord Ellenborough and the Lord Chancellor; 
 and that Lord Ellenborough had been with the Prince 
 Regent upon it, for upwards of an hour. He stated that 
 the Depositions were with the Clerk of the Arraigns^ 
 signed by "himself, and he DECLINED GIVING A 
 COPY. 
 
 Another Magistrate said, that he did not think the 
 Clerk of the Arraigns would grant it, without an order 
 from the Court. 
 
 Mr. Shelton, the Clerk of the Arraigns, was (hen ap- 
 plied to, at his office in (he Old Bailey, for copies of the 
 Depositions, refused by the Magistrates, which he like- 
 wise declined giving, without an authority from the 
 Attorney General. A letter was accordingly drawn up, 
 stating that rumours being afloat in (he Case of Elizabeth 
 Penning^ calculated to excite a variance of opinion on the 
 subject of her guilt or innocence, those, whose names 
 were signed thereto, in conjunction with several respect- 
 able Bankers, Merchants, and others, had instituted an 
 inquiry into the circumstances of the Case : that it was 
 reported that the EXAMINATIONS before the Magis- 
 trates, at Hatton Garden, were, on some points, MORE 
 FULL AND DETAILED, than the EVIDENCE on 
 the TRIAL : that with a view to discover the truth or 
 falsehood of this representation, application was made at 
 Hatton Garden Office, and to Mr. Shelton, for Copies, 
 which had been refused ; and that the object being purely 
 to elicit the truth, it was hoped Sir William Garrow would 
 authorize the delivery of Copies of the Examinations. 
 
 * The nndilaled Sessions' Paper Report. 
 I
 
 114 
 
 However, if was discovered that Sir William Garrow was 
 not in town, and the letter was not delivered by the 
 gentlemen to whom it was committed, for the purpose of 
 putting it into his hands. 
 
 li appearing wholly improbable, therefore, that Copies 
 of the Depositions could be obtained, it was desirable to 
 procure the Papers that had been laid before the Secretary 
 of State Amongst these was an elaborate series of Ob" 
 serrations on the Trial and the Case, that had been sent 
 into the Secretary of State's Office, about six weeks prior 
 to the execution They were dr.iwn up by a Solicitor*, 
 whose long experience in the profession, and above all, 
 the qualities of whose mind appear to have eminently 
 fitted him for such a task. His love of justice prompted 
 him to gratuitous and zealous interference in (he girl's 
 behalf, and during the considerable space of time that 
 elapsed, from the period of sending in the Paper alluded 
 to, he waited with great anxiety some official intimation 
 upon the subject. His inquiries at the Treasury were as 
 unavailing as his expectations. The Report, including 
 Eli abeth Fenning's name amongst those who were to 
 suffer, came down, and still he received no communication. 
 Whatever consultations were held upon her Case, at the 
 Secretary of State's, they were unknown to him and to her 
 friends. At length, about Jive o'clock in the afternoon 
 before her Execution, a letter was brought to his house, 
 by a messenger from Mr. Becket, acquainting him that 
 thrre was to be a meeting at the Recorder's that evening 
 at eight o'clock, at vyhich he might be present. At this 
 time he was absent; for it had previously been well enough 
 understood, that Elizabeth Penning would neither be 
 pardoned nor respited; and he did not expect, after six 
 weeks of anxious suspense, to receive the compliment of a 
 three hours' notice, that he might personally attend and 
 
 * Not the Author of the Observations on the Trial, at p. 61; 
 
 b&d dvi s&'fj 
 
 aUffi-f-ibuaoo J* i' b?ifi.';Jd
 
 115 
 
 secorirJ his representations '%r n nieWy| and produce bis 
 proofs, at a meeting to take place twelve hours before the 
 time settled for the Execution. 
 
 This gentleman was applied to for a sight of his state- 
 ment. It appeared that he had originally written upon 
 loose scraps of paper ; and, as the Recorder was at that time 
 expected to make his Report to the Prince Regent, and 
 expedition was requisite, the Observations sent in, were 
 compiled- and enlarged from these memorandums, with- 
 out a copy being retained. This paper was applied for 
 at the Secretary of State's Office, and its return was 
 positively refused. 
 
 It is in vain to conjecture why either the above-mentioned 
 Paper, or the Account of the Experiments* made on 
 arsenick, yeast dough, and knives, were withheld from 
 the persons who sent them. If the unfortunate girl had 
 been pardoned or respited, they might have been sup- 
 posed illustrative of the grounds for the exercise of the 
 royal clemency ; but her execution having taken place, 
 unless the Papers furnished circumstances to warrant the 
 denial of mercy to her, it is presumed that their return-to 
 the parties who submitted them to consideration, might 
 have been reasonably expected. t 
 
 Every Paper that had been at all used, in defence tw 
 exculpation of Elizabeth Penning when living, it became 
 necessary to inspect, in the course of investigating her 
 Case after her execution and it being understood that 
 her Character obtained from Mr. Turner, in his hand- 
 writing, had been several weeks before put into the hands 
 of Mr. Banner, the Paymaster of the 15th Regiment of 
 Foot, for the purpose of being transmitted to the Secretary 
 of State, this gentleman was waited upon about a week 
 
 after the execution. He said he had BURNED IT 
 bo* bny)Jfi ^Ilcuo^igq Jdgiut -jri Jed) ( ^iioR A.tuoA smtt 
 
 * See pa^e 69. 
 
 t Amongst the Papers not enumerated, and wlncli were also retained, 
 was a MS. Copy of the Complete Report of the Trial, which bad been 
 obtained with difficulty at considerable expense.
 
 116 
 
 * 
 
 that he considered it as of no importance, as the girl was 
 hanged, and his advice was, that the father should rest 
 quiet that he was very silly in making any stir now his 
 daughter was dead that he had himself done every thing 
 in his power with the Secretary of State, in the girl's be- 
 half, on the father's account, whom he knew from having 
 been in the regiment to which he was Paymaster that it 
 was an unfortunate thing for the father, who was doing 
 very wrong in agitating the matter now it was past remedy. 
 Mr. Bonner inquired, " What good all these inquiries 
 would do ? to what did they tend ? what purpose did they 
 answer ? the girl was executed ; she could not be brought 
 to life again. He said the Character could be of no im- 
 portance now it was on his mantle-piece amongst some 
 other papers he conceived it of no use, and he burned ?'/." 
 Mr. Bonner very seriously and warmly deprecated every 
 sort of inquiry, as utterly useless as agitating the public 
 mind to no end and contended that his burning the Cha- 
 racter of Elizabeth Penning, in her Prosecutor's hand- 
 writing, was of no consequence whatever. The day be- 
 fore the interview with Mr. Bonner, as before mentioned, 
 the poor girl's mother had applied to him for it, and he 
 told her he had burned it the day before she called. The 
 wretched woman's grief was excessive ; she relied upon 
 the possession of Mr. Turner's Character of her daughter, 
 as a great consolation to her for the loss of her child, by 
 being in his family. 
 
 Mr. Ogihy, the surgeon who wasjirst called in to the 
 assistance of the family, and who saw them, and adminis- 
 tered to them near five hours before they were seen by 
 Mr. Marshall, was waited on for an explanation of the ex- 
 traordinary circumstance of his not having been examined 
 on the Trial. He said he was not subpcenaed, but \vas re- 
 quested by the Turners to go to the Trial, and that he 
 attended on Monday, but not on Tuesday, the day of the 
 Trial. He did not know, he observed, why he was not 
 called ; but a friend of his, one of the Judges, who.
 
 though not presiding at the Trial, was in Court, taking 
 Notes of the Trial, left them at his, Mr. Ogilvy's house, 
 for his inspection. This gentleman was not very explana- 
 tory. He had, a short time before this visit, in conjunc- 
 tion with Mr. Marshall, adopted a certain remarkable 
 paper writing, or Declaration, their joint names being 
 affixed to it, which was published through the advocate 
 and organ of Mr. Turner's family, the " OBSERVER" 
 Sunday Newspaper. 
 
 ^ 
 
 fjfii bib aaoq-nKf Jctlf/ 5 hn*.it vxli f;<J> inilv/ 
 
 From the moment that the dumplings were discovered 
 to disagree with the family, the fate of Elizabeth Penning 
 appears to have been fixed. Every subsequent event 
 seemed to indicate an unfavourable termination ; and yet 
 in no case, perhaps, upon which conviction was obtained, 
 were the circumstances that were urged against her in 
 Court, when separately considered, more innocent of them- 
 selves, or of more natural occurrence in the usual course 
 of family affairs. 
 
 - 'The first step taken against Elizabeth Penning was by 
 Mr. Orlibar Turner going, on Thursday the 23d, two 
 days after the poisoning, to the Public Office, Hatton 
 Garden, in company with Mr. Marshall. From the 
 representations then made to Mr. Rat/nsford, the Magis- 
 trate, William Thisselton, an Officer, took her into cus- 
 tody ; but before he did so, and before the warrant was 
 
 iffesued, the gaoler of the New Prison, at Clerkenwell, was 
 inquired of whether he could, in that gaol, accommodate 
 a prisoner who was sick ? He answered in the affirmative. 
 He was then asked, if he had a covered chair, or sedan, 
 for conveying such a prisoner from the office to the gaol ? 
 
 ->fle said he had not ; and it being settled that she should 
 be sent to the prison in a coach, a warrant was afterwards 
 issued to the officer to apprehend her. On this occasion 
 neither Mr. Marshall, the surgeon, nor Mr. Turner, stated 
 that she refused to take medicine. uij
 
 118 
 
 i 
 
 Elizabeth Fenning's parents were, at this time, ignorant 
 of the proceeding's adopted against her they did not 
 even know the accident in the family. After she was 
 taken into custody, and carried to Hatton Garden Office, 
 they were, for the first time, apprised of the |x>isoning, 
 and of ihe charge against their daughter. She was brought 
 to the Office in a coach, labouring under great illness 
 from the effects of the arsenide. Mr. Orlibar Turner did 
 not appear at all indisposed, but stated, that from what 
 Mrs. Charlotte Turner suffered from the vomiting, and its 
 effects on her, in far-advanced pregnancy, she could not 
 then appear ; but that she would on the next or following 
 day. 
 
 The prisoner then, after being charged on the oaths of 
 Mr. O. Turner, and Mr. Marshall, the surgeon, with 
 suspicion of having administered poison to the family, was 
 sent to Clerkenwell Prison, as had been arranged in the 
 morning. 
 
 On Monday, the 27th of March, she was brought from 
 the prison, and the depositions of Mrs. Charlotte Turneiy ->t 
 Mr. Robert G. Turner, Mr. Orlibar Turner, Roger Gads- 
 den, and Sarah Peer, were taken. Mrs. Charlotte Turner's 
 was the deposition of most interest. Access to the deptf^b 
 sitions being denied, it will not be attempted to state them 
 here ; but a fcis particular circumstances, recollected by 
 a person present, appear deserving of narration. 
 
 Mrs. Charlotte Turner said, that one night hearing a 
 noise above stairs, she went up, and found Eliza in her 
 orffn room undressed ;* as if she had, on hearing her come : > 
 up, run from the boys' room in that state that she then 
 reproached her with the indelicacy ; and, in the morning, 
 gave her notice to quit the family, and ever since that time 
 she thought she appeared sullen, and not so cheerful 
 as she did before. 
 
 Elizabeth Penning, in answer to that, said, she found 
 
 >'.. ftaidw in vtnniun adT 
 
 See the Trial, Q. 6. p. 7. Mrs. C. Turner there swears, that she 
 saw the prisoner go into the young men's room partly nndressed.
 
 119 
 
 herself more satisfied in the family after that than she <Hd 
 before; she considered herself quite settled; but I hat she 
 had told Mrs. Charlotte Turner she should go when her, 
 mistress camej for she considered old Mrs. Turner h^ ; 
 mistress.-. < i > 
 
 Mrs. Charlotte Turner said, that, upon reflection, and 
 on consulting with her mother-in-law, when she came 
 home, she had thought it would be a pity Jo turn the girl-; 
 away without a character, as she might not he able to get 
 a situation, and might turn out unfortunate ; that she had 
 told her that she could not give her a character. 
 
 Eliza Penning admitted that, after this conversation 
 with Mrs C. Turner, she did, as soon as she came down, 
 stairs, say to Sarah Peer, " She should not like young 
 Mrs. Turner any more " she said so because she kyiew 
 that young Mrs. Turner had no just cause for turning her 
 away without a character ; but that, on old Mrs. Turner's 
 return home, and after the reconciliation, she thought no 
 more of it but found herself " quite happy and com- 
 fortable," and always mentioned her perfect satisfaction 
 with her place to all her friends, which she offered to*/ 
 prove by witnesses, whose depositions the magistrates 
 declined to take. <>oo A ,)9TUii t-<oin io n*>jfS<o<rib oHt UM? 
 
 Mrs. C. Turner said, that "Elizabeth penning had 
 d CM red Gadsden not to oat the duipplings, because they 
 would make him sick." Elizabeth Penning,, turning 
 round to Gadsden, denied that she had said they would 
 make him sick, and asked him, If she had ever saitj sp2 
 She saicl, " That's not what I said to you when >ou 
 to lake some. Did I not say I had ate some myself \ 
 they did not agree with me, and lh;it they Mere cold and 
 /at." Gadsden answered her, " Yes:" and that bft;^ 
 swallowed a small bit, about the size of a nut, and spit the 
 rest out, and then ate up the sauce in the butter-boat,^ 
 about half a butter-boat full, with a piece ot brcacU'v : 
 
 The manner in which Mrs. C. Turner gave her evi- 
 dence, respecting the making of the dough and the dump^
 
 lings, induced a persuasion, that, whilst Elizabeth Pen- 
 ning was making them, she suspected her of doing some- 
 thing to them. This was inferred from Mr&. C. Turner 
 mentioning her incessant watchfulness, and looking at 
 them. urn (holitog ^Henil bnc VN 
 
 Mrs. C. Turner, during the examination, showed no 
 atppearance of indisposition ; she did not complain of any ; 
 and although she was longer in giving her evidence than 
 ^hfl other witnesses, from her remarks and observations 
 being very numerous, sind gpoke/more than either of them, 
 she did not appear at all fatigued or inconvenienced. iJiw 
 
 It was stated at this examination, that there were two 
 apprentices in the house and two occasional Clerks^ and 
 Sarah Peer , the housemaid. nuilt 
 
 Elizabeth Penning said, that whilst she was mixing the 
 dumplings any thing might have been put in ; but whe- 
 ther there was or not she could not tell. She had been, 
 absent, in and out, into the yard, washing plates, and 
 cleaning knives, all the while that the yeast and the flour 
 were on the dish on the dresser, before it was made into 
 dough, just as it was tossed up, before it was put to the 
 fire; and that, if she had any wish to poison, she had had 
 opportunities 'enough of doing it without putting it into 
 dumplings : she might have done it in pastry or pies, and 
 different other things that she had made. 
 
 The prisoner's //*' told Mr. Orlibar Turner , before 
 the magistrates, of his daughter having been denied to 
 him at Mr. Turner's ; that he was told she was out, on the 
 night of the poisoning, and that he knew nothing of the 
 poisoning, until he was informed that his daughter was 
 under examination at Hatton Garden office, upon the 
 $fc?g^<tf doing it- , FOfn y ) nBD8 rfojjg ?d bofno'ftu noit 
 
 Mr. Orlibar Turner said, that he ordered Elizabeth 
 Penning to be denied to her father until she was examined. 
 Sarah Peer admitted that she gave such an answer, 
 agreeable to Mr. Turner's direction. Elizabeth Fennitig 
 said to her, " Did not I tell you to send to my father ?"
 
 121 
 
 Sarah Peer admitted that the prisoner did, but said that 
 she only followed her master's direction. 
 
 On Thursday, the 30th of March, Elizabeth Penning 
 1ras again brought before the magistrates, when the depo- 
 sitions were read over and finally settled, arid signed by 
 the witnesses : and of such a nature was the opinion of the 
 magistrate upon this charge against the ill-fated girl, 
 that, upon this allegation of poisoning the family upon 
 this chafge of an attempt to murder, he ordered her 
 to GIVE BAIL: to provide two persons, who were 
 willing to be bonnd injiftt/ pounds each, for her appear- 
 ance at the Sessions, to answer any charge that might be 
 preferred against her. But (he Sessions were to com- 
 mence in less than a week, and, upon the suggestion of 
 some person in the office, who thought it would be an 
 expense and trouble to the parents, which their poverty 
 could ill afford, 'she, upon consultation with her father, 
 preferred to stand fully committed for trial, and therefore 
 declined giving the required bail, and stood committed 
 according t& her #M#. 
 
 After her committal little appears to have been done 
 towards her defence. She had no intelligent friend to 
 consult with ; her father had no money to procure proper 
 legal advice and assistance with ; and his poverty was an 
 effectual bar to obtaining it without. She was destitute 
 of means of every soft, -tintil five pounds having Itam 
 obtained, two guineas were given to 'Mr. Alley, with A 
 brief, drawn up by a person who officiates ; as an attorney 
 for some of the' <lis1fessed ebfeds 'wilfritt the walls of 
 Newgate, 1 a^d'Whd 1 liiad the' remainder of the five ponnds 
 as a gratuity for his* Wotfble*. ' With tlte meagre propani- 
 tion afforded by such scanty means, this poof girl wtts^iit 
 upon her defence to a prosecution, in which a respectable 
 LAW Stationer and his family Were her prosecutors, and 
 their intimate/riV>H/, the Clerk to the Magistrates before 
 ichom ftie prisoner re an examincd,K'(ts lh<. ir SOL 10 I TO I 
 and wl^reia the opinions and advice of a large circle of 
 
 V
 
 122 
 
 condoling legal acquaintance, both attornies and barristers, 
 were at their command. 
 
 This trifling- sum of five pounds, without the capability' 
 of ils being increased by any efforts of the parents, with 
 more than two-fifths of it devoted to a counsel, and the 
 remainder to the procuration of such legal assistance as 
 the precincts of a gaol afford, was the whole fund and 
 means opposed to the great array of strength and inftu* 
 ence on the part of the prosecutors of Elizabeth Penning. 
 Unaware herself of her almost entire destitution, she 
 writes in one of her letters* : *' But, thank GOD ! / shall 
 stand wy trial at the Old Bailey, where I shall have a 
 COUNSELING R to plead for me / so I have nothing to fear /" 
 How this trial was managed, with that well-known udvo* 
 cafe, Mr. GURNEY, against her; how her defence was 
 conducted by Mr. ALLEY, her counsel; how he cross- 
 examined the witnesses; how the RECORDER presided 
 in the absence of the Judges; and how the trial termi- 
 nated, have been already detailed, boimrfifi \h 
 
 The JSotes appended to it contain some questions, 
 which do not appear to have been put to the witnesses 
 either by the prisoner's Counsel or the RECORDER. 
 
 Were it prudent to indulge in a review of the Trial, 
 and to consider the concatenation of circumstances sworn 
 to, and the truth and consistency of the evidence, the 
 conclusions would be of a very alarming tendency, and 
 probably lead to ulterior results, that no one but a legal 
 adviser dare contemplate, without the risk of expressing 
 feelings that ought not to be lightly hazarded. But there 
 is a counter-circumstantial FACT, deposed AGAINST 
 by Mrs. CHARLOTTE TURNER, and her housemaid, 
 SARAH PEER, upon the Trial, that ought not to be for- 
 gotten the fact that the COALS were delivered upon 
 the day of the poisoning. This FACT was denied by 
 both the mistress and the maid upon their oath t. They 
 
 V) 1t>i . '14 9ltJ 
 
 fri* 8li*a >* j T vrr ';!& 
 
 * See the Correspondence. Letter XII. 
 
 + C T 1 J., r\ r, j nr* r\ --.^^ i -,., 
 
 T See rrial, p. 17. Q. 39, and p. 39. Q. 110 and 111.
 
 123 
 
 both swore that the COALS did not come in that day. 
 Mrs. Charlotte Turner swore so first, and (hen Sarah 
 Peer, who was IN COURT when her MISTRESS swore 
 so, swore in corroboration. Mrs. C. Turner did not swear 
 that they did not come in that day to her knowledge; she 
 did not swear that they might have come in whilst she was 
 up stairs, and she not have heard them / she did wof.swear 
 that, though she was watching (he kitchen whilst the 
 dumplings -were making, and was up and down s(airs, and 
 in and out of Hie kitchen, looking at the appearance of the 
 dough, yet still they might have come in and she not hare 
 known it / she did not swear doubtfully in that way, but 
 she swore "it COULD ^OT be THAT day,- and fur- 
 ther, that " she" Elizabeth Penning, " had no OCCA- 
 SION to receive the coals." And the housemaid, Sarah 
 Peer, when asked the question, " Wa& not the coals 
 delivered in the house that day?" swears plump, " NO." 
 
 The delivery of the coals on the day of the poisoning 
 was positively affirmed by Elizabeth Penning herself as a 
 /<*** 
 
 la -the latter end of August, about a month AFTER 
 THE EXECUTION, it was discovered that Mr. Joseph 
 Wood, of Eaton Street, Pimlico, was the coal-rncrchant 
 who supplied Mr. Orlibar Turner with coals; and on 
 reference to Mr. Wood's books, it appears that he has, on 
 the 21st of March, the day of the poisoning, DEBITED 
 Mr-_ Turner with a chaldron of COALS. At the West- 
 minster Coal Meters' office, in Northumberland Street, 
 Strand, there is an entry, on the 2lst of March, aftteefoe 
 sacks of Coals METED for Mr. J. Wood to Mr. Turner* ; 
 and the books of Messrs. Parkin and Thompson, of the 
 A del phi Wharf, Mr. J. Wootfs wharfingers, show the 
 CARTAGE of the Coals from the wharf, and their DE- 
 ^d V; >sttVo ' 'V*to 5 "^ 
 
 A CopyoffMr. Turner's Coal Account, in Mr. Wood's Ledger, for 
 the present year, 1815, including the debit of the Coals on the 21st of 
 March, and "a Copy of the Coal Meter t 'Hcket, are given at p. 13 ud 
 19 of the Trial, in the Note on Q. 159.
 
 124 
 
 LIVERY at Mr. Turner's on the 2Ist of March, the day 
 of the poisoning, by Benjamin Edwards, Messrs. Parkin 
 and Thompsons carman. 
 
 Here, then, is well connected PROOF, capable of sub- 
 stantiation by evidence, every way unexceptionable, that 
 the COALS WERE DELIVERED ON THE VERY 
 DAY that MRS. TURNER and SARAH PEER swore 
 that they were NOT DELIVERED. 
 
 TJie EDITOR is in possession of proof, that ELIZA- 
 BETH PENNING ACTUALLY RECEIVED THE 
 COALS WHILST THE DOUGH WAS AT THE 
 FIRE that she teas repeatedly absent from the kitchen, 
 and that ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL was IN the 
 KITCHEN! oaioq, 
 
 ' '" " WHUf"\ **'A W 1 't A V J ' i*Vit\ 
 
 It is not proper to hazard a single remark upon the 
 evidence of the MISTRESS and her MAID. The pre- 
 sumption that Elizabeth Penning poisoned the dumplings, 
 was principally to be overcome by a strong presumption 
 that she did not poison them ; and the presumption that 
 she did not was to be principally obtained from the testi- 
 mony of the very witnesses whose testimony was to raise 
 the presumption that she did poison them. It was al- 
 together a question of presumption ; and the singularly 
 presumptive evidence of the prosecutors and their wit- 
 nesses against her, could not be successfully rebutted but 
 by the presumptive evidence of the prosecutors and their 
 witnesses in her 'favour. They were sworn to declare 
 " the truth, the WHOLE TRUTH, and nothing but the 
 truth" touching the matter upon which the prisoner was 
 standing upon her Trial for life or death. Though they 
 were the prosecutors and fitnesses for the prosecution, 
 they were bound by their oaths to give evidence for the 
 prisoner. Such a supposition the parents of the poor girl 
 seem to have entertained ; " She will be TRIED," they 
 said, " andTEEN the TRUTH MUST COME OUT." 
 
 The expectation was reasonable that the truth would 
 come out : and those witnesses who do not, after relating
 
 any thing they know against a prisoner, at the same time 
 relate EVERY THING that they know for the prisoner, 
 are culpable*. 
 
 These are palpably plain views of the obligation that 
 a witness is under who has been sworn to declare the 
 WHOLE TRUTH : and they are such views as will 
 probably arise in every well-regulated mind upon the 
 present occasion ; and also whenever it is presumed that 
 a witness onay not have stated every fact in the power of 
 such witness to depose. 
 
 Had Mrs. Turner and Sarah Peer admitted the coming 
 in of the COALS, which they denied to have come in, 
 and which are now proved to have come in on the day of the 
 poisoning, Questions would have arisen upon OTHER 
 CIRCUMSTANCES connected with the DELIVERY 
 of the Coals THAT DAY, materially countervailing the 
 presumption ultimately fixed upon Elizabeth Fenning 
 by the swearing of the mistress and her maid. It is impos- 
 sible to say what degree of credibility the JURY would 
 have attached to the testimony of these two witnesses, if it 
 had, been proved upon the Trial that the COALS were 
 delivered on the day which the mistress and maid swore 
 they were not delivered upon. After MRS. TURNER 
 and her HOUSEMAID had sworn as they did, that the 
 COALS did NOT come in that day, and that Elizabeth 
 Fenning did not receive them^ if it was PROVE!), by 
 
 sfyfafiilUfent evidence, that the Coals DI$ ^m^in,,fyat 
 day, and that ELIZABETH FENNING was the 
 
 zWrsan who DID^kp^f^f [i( ^^f^and^^ 
 ABSENT from the kitehcn, there cannot be a thinking 
 person who will believe that ANY Jury would have 
 found Elizabeth Faming GUILTY upon SUCH EV'I- 
 
 ~T7IT .JTIg "T RIJKU 71 Jll I 'ftl J l)IJilO<i JlJ't ^ 'III 
 Ifl^WPf^Tff ) lo <itl!91J5ff ',uL}-.*IO/Jf<;Onq02 K iJoJJ^ 
 
 But, having been found guilty upon that evidence, 
 rfJmt orft terft o!dcno2B5T z&tr aoitetodq&d 9IT
 
 126 
 
 himself of the knowledge of the most important fact, of 
 the delrcery of the Coals that day, by reference to 
 Mr. Wooffs books, and by a Certificate which he obtained 
 from the Coal Meters' office, yet did not lake any steps, in 
 .conseauence of such information, to p> event the execution 
 -of the unhappy girl, who had been convicted prin- ipaUy 
 upon the evidence of Mrs. CHARLOTTE TURNER 
 and SARAH PEER? 
 
 The confidence of the parents in the innocence of their 
 daughter, their ignorance of the nature of legal proof, their 
 poverty, and consequent want of means to manage her 
 defence, and the SUPERIOR MANAGEMENT OF THE 
 PROSECUTION, all conspired to prevent their obtain- 
 ing proof of the FACT, and its consequences. The proof 
 was expected from Mrs. C. Turner and Sarah Peer, and 
 they the reader knows what evidence THEY gave* 
 
 The Prosecutors having obtained the conviction of 
 Elizabeth Penning, were not backward in endeavouring to 
 justify that conviction. Mr. Turner himself went to 
 Newgate, attended by a female hanging on his arm, and 
 fehowed her the unhappy girl. This strange woman, 'it 
 appeared, came from Bath ; where, she said, a servant, 
 who had lived with her a few years before, attempted to 
 poison her, and she now thought that Elizabeth Penning 
 was very much like her. 
 
 The unhappy girl remonstrated upon the hardship of 
 being thus shown to Mr. Turner's good woman. " It is 
 bad enough," said she, " to be found guilty of a crime I 
 never committed ; but it is cruel indeed to be charged with 
 poisoning a family I never saw, and at a place I never 
 lived in." On the next day a man was brought, the hu$- 
 band of the zoom an, and he behaved so abruptly, that he 
 was desired to quit the prison. Mr. Turner and thfe 
 woman were so well acquainted, that he was invited to 
 dine with her on the day of Elizabeth Penning' s EXE- 
 CUTION. Attempts such as these, on the part of the 
 Prosecutors, did not seem to evince much desire to save
 
 127 
 
 the life of a poor young creature ; who, upon the evidence 
 of Mrs. Charlotte Turner and her housemaid, and that of 
 the other witnesses, had been sentenced to death. There 
 was no anxiety manifested by Mr. Turner to recommend 
 her to mercy ; on the contrary, he positively refused to 
 sign any Petition whatever in her favour. Upon one 
 occasion he was prevailed on, not to do it, by THE 
 RECORDER WHO TRIED HER, and who waited 
 upon the_ Prosecutors; at their own house, to desire they 
 would not sign any Petition.* Mr. Turner was applied 
 
 to, by other persons beside Mr. , to sign Petitions 
 
 for her, which he declined doing ; aiid to one application, 
 which had been made by Mr. Banks, of New North 
 Street, Red Lion Square, and who left Mr. Turner to 
 consider of it, Mr. Turner wrote a Letter positively re- 
 fusing to sign A Mr. TURNER never could be pre- 
 vailed upon, and in short he NEVER DID SIGN A 
 PETITION FOR MERCY. Even with the knowledge 
 that his daughter-in-law, Mrs. CHARLOTTE TURNER, 
 and her housemaid, SARAH PEER, had sworn upon 
 the v Trial, that the COALS had not come in on the day 
 of the poisoning; after he HIMSELF had actually 
 obtained proof that they did come in that day ; although 
 he heard them give their peccant testimony, upon the 
 miserable girl's Trial ; yet he did not sign a Petition to the 
 throne, but refused, to the very last, to join in interceding 
 for mercy to her ! Such, was his sense of justice, that he 
 
 t ' f oii(i ins*? t n*jHonf) /Jed 
 
 t ThlSer Mr. 'Bktt!(riUjM the ^r o^'re'terre^ ' 
 Mr. Perkins, of Red Lion Street, bootmaker, for it. ; Mr. P. i th*n 
 out of town, and afterwards declined giviug it to any one but .Mr. 
 Banks, who, when Mr. Perkins was seen, was himself in the country. 
 Mr. Perkins was subsequently applied to, who said he Find snven the 
 Letter to Mr. Banks; and Mr. ( #ajfo, \bo had promised it to the 
 Editor, on hein^ asked for it, statt-d tluit he had thought it proper to 
 request Mr. TURNER'S PERMISSION to ..jive it up, nfio had refused 
 his permission, and desired to have the Letter returned to him. Mr. 
 iBankt accordingly RETURNED to Mr. TURNER THE LETTER, 
 to written by Mr. Turner, REFUSING TO SIGN A PETITION 
 FOR MERCY, jfojjm 90flJY3 O) mD9r Jorj I- > <mli33l<n
 
 128 
 
 refused to pay the poor -weeping father his daughter's 
 WAGES when she was under sentence of death, upon 
 the pretence that HE, the Prosecutor, had already been 
 put to considerable expense, and should not feel himself 
 justified in being any more out of pocket. 
 
 Now this unfortunate girl, thus prosecuted to conviction 
 for mercy to whom her PROSECUTORS refused to 
 sign a Petition to whom their hostility was continued from 
 the lime of conviction until her execution towards whom 
 that hostility was in no degree abated, even after the dis- 
 covery of the IMPORTANT FACT, that notwith- 
 standing Mrs. CHARLOTTE TURNER and SARAH 
 PEER gave evidence upon the Trial that the COALS 
 did not come in on the day of the poisoning, yet they 
 DID come in on that day, and of which fact Mr. TUR- 
 NER himself obtained PROOF and who, by SUCH 
 SWEARING of the mistress and her maid, had been 
 deprived of their testimony to that FACT, which, IF 
 THEY HAD, upon their oaths, stated the TRUTH, 
 would haze LED to OTHER testimony favourable to 
 the miserable girl this poor creature, zs/io SUFFERED 
 the CONSEQUENCES of this SORT OF SWEARING 
 by Mrs. CHARLOTTE TURNER and her housemaid, 
 SARAH PEER; of their denial, upon oath, of what 
 really happened; this unhappy girl herself had, during 
 the period that her malignant fate doomed her to dwell 
 with the Turner family, been so desirous to ghe satisfac- 
 tion to that -eery family, and was so remarkably attentive 
 to their interests, that her solicitude in these respects was 
 thought troublesome by the trades-people, who were, per- 
 haps, habituated to execute the orders of families according; 
 to their own discretion, unchecked by the remark of servants, 
 or the vigilance of housewives. Mr. Hozccs, butcher, ot 
 Brooks Market, from whom she fetched the steaks on the 
 fatal morning fatal to her alone of ail the family this 
 respectable tradesman can tell that her conduct was almost 
 the reverse of most servants that she always- enjoined
 
 r ; 
 
 strict regard to the orders given, and that she rigorously 
 enforced their observance ; for, instead of accommodating ;/ 
 the butcher, at the expense of her employer's pocket, she"'*' 
 would not take the small additional quantifies in the weight 
 of meat, which frequently happen in cutting steaks and 
 chops, but repeatedly compelled the person who served to 
 cut off the half-pound, or even smaller surpluses, which 
 few persons who market for themselves Avould object toy 
 and which servants, in general, would never think of 5 
 objecting to. At Mr. Cornish, the baker's, at the corner 
 of Chancery-lane, she was equally troublesome it is Mr. 
 Cornish's own word or rather, in the opinion of good 
 domestic managers,* she was equally careful. Pies and 
 puddings were frequently brought to be baked, and she 
 always accompanied them with directions for their bein 
 done in a way that would please her mistress Mrs. 
 CHARLOTTE TURNER. She took the trouble of 
 telling the baker to do this pie in such a way, and that 
 pudding so and so, uniformly accompanying it by the 
 remark, that her mistress liked them done as she described. 
 " I never had such trouble," says Mr. Cornish, " with 
 any other servants that lived at Mr. Turner's, or any where 
 else, and I had determined to affront the lady, about her 
 orders, if she had gone on so much longer. I knew my 
 own business without being told it by a girl like her." But 
 Mr. Cornish, though he had this tradesman-like intole- 
 rance of Elizabeth Fenning's monitions, observed, that 
 " there never could be a more attentive girl than she was, 
 concerning every thing that she came to his shop about, 
 for the use of the family ; that she would have nothing 
 amiss, and would not be put off, like other servants, with 
 little things that scarcely any body else would notice. In 
 fact," he said, " she was always so particular, that at last 
 it began to tire him ; and she was the last girl in the world 
 that he should have supposed capable of committing such 
 an act as poisoning a family she lived with." 
 
 This testimony to the conduct of the ill-fated Elizabeth
 
 130 . 
 
 Penning, whilst in her six weeks and four days' service 
 at Mr. Turner's, is corroborative of her behaviour in other 
 places. She was, in truth, an excellent, hard working, 
 notable girl, of remarkably lively temper, and an open, 
 frank, generous disposition. She had formerly lived as a 
 servant of all work. Industrious, not afraid of labour, and 
 doing her work well, she was a thorough good servant, 
 and she knew it: Her social disposition, and fondness of 
 amusement, often led her to indulge in the amusement of 
 a dance with persons of her own rank in life, or the en- 
 tertainment of a play ; and her vivacious imagination, with 
 great shrewdness of mind, rendered her an agreeable and 
 desirable companion. Mr. Perkins, whose name has 
 been mentioned before,* and who, with the other members 
 of a respectable dissenting congregation, took much pains 
 in her behalf, states, that " he, with an extraordinary 
 degree of trouble, inquired into the poor girl's conduct ; 
 and from the inquiries he made, in every direction, he 
 had every reason to think her an industrious good servant, 
 fond of the amusement of dancing and going to the play, 
 house : but, from every information he obtained, he by no 
 means thought her an immoral girl unless dancing and 
 the play-house were immoral." 
 
 This gentleman's humane interference in her case, and 
 religious profession and respectability in life, place him 
 above the suspicion of being influenced by other than the 
 most praiseworthy feelings, in bearing such honourable 
 and liberal testimony to the memory of the poor departed 
 girl. Mr. Anderson, of Gloucester-street, Queen Square, 
 in whose service she lived last, before going to her unfor- 
 tunate service at Mr. Turner's, attended the magistrates, 
 at Hatton Garden Office, on her examination there, and 
 gave her an excellent character ; and, in addition to similar 
 evidence on the trial, written characters were sent into the 
 Secretary of State's Office, which were obtained from her 
 
 * See page 127.
 
 131 
 places upon application, without the least difficulty.* 
 
 * These characters are as follow : 
 
 " No. 107, Great Russel-street, Blooinsbury 
 
 April 20th, 1815. 
 
 " Eliza Penning, who has been found guilty of attempting to poison 
 the family of Mr. Turner, lived with me as servant, in the year 1809 
 twelve months and two weeks ; during that time conducted herself as an 
 honest, sober, quiet, discreet young woman ; and I slwuld not have even 
 thought her capable of compiitting the deed for which she is found guilty 
 as I always found her of a good disposition. 
 
 THOMAS FLINT." 
 rc"v>1 
 
 Mr. CHARLES WOODWARD, of No. 3, Bedford Court, New 
 North Street, Red Lion Square, on the same day gave her a written 
 character, to the same effect, and testifying that she had lived in his 
 family near twelve months in 1811. 
 
 " Walworth, April, 1815. 
 
 " Elizabeth Penning lived with me a servant, ten months in 1812, 
 which time she conducted herself as a sober, industrious young woman; 
 nor did I ever see any thing in her conduct to suppose her capable of 
 committing the act for which she now stands condemned. 
 
 " MARY STOKES." 
 
 [She lived in Mrs Stokes's service twice. The above Characters are 
 in the Editor's possession. A Character in the hand-writing of Mr. 
 Turner was BURNED by Mr. Banner; to whom it was intrusted 
 for the purpose of being sent into the Secretary of State's. See page 
 
 The following is a respectable Testimonial to the Character of Elisa- 
 beth Penning'* FATHER : 
 
 [COPY.] 
 
 " This is to certify, that We, the Undersigned, hare known WILLIAM 
 PENNING many years; who has maintained a pood character for 
 honesty, sobriety, and industry; and we believe has conducted hiro- 
 eelf with uniform propriety to his family, and to society in general. 
 " April 22d, 1315. 
 
 (Signed) JOHN RABBETH, No. 18, Red Lion 
 
 Street. 
 THOMAS BOWDERY, Red Lion Street. 
 
 :&"Kti f ^ e - 
 
 " JOHN II \LL, Ditto. 
 ad*.,- " CHARLES MASON, Bosvrell Court, 
 
 Queen Square. 
 1 moil boolpit "THOMAS LEE, Boswell Court." 
 
 The Editor has had repeated conversations with the poor girVafathtr, 
 WILLIAM PENNING, and has narrowly watched his conduct, as far 
 as he had the opportunity; and he here affirms, that he never perceived
 
 i< > -... 
 REMARKABLE INTERVIEWS : 
 
 WITH 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Jt would be difficult, perhaps, to adduce an object of 
 grosser and more wanton calumny than the late ELIZA- 
 BETH PENNING. Her prosecutors themselves encou- 
 raged, by their silence,the circulation of the aspersions upon 
 her, when living, and entertained them after she had been 
 executed, their RESPECTABILITY, by which is under- 
 stood their opulence, was pitted against the HUMBLE 
 POVERTY of their servant maid ; and all the masters 
 and mistresses of families, whose credulity or idleness 
 rendered them proper subjects for alarums, were incessantly 
 devoted to the vociferous execration of the wickedness of 
 servants, who poison those who give them bread and 
 work. Thus a sort of general cry was raised for the hang- 
 ing of Elizabeth Penning, as an example to all maid- 
 servants suspected, upon PRESUMPTION of murderous 
 inclinations. In aid of this wise and salutary feeling, it 
 was generally and positively affirmed that Elizabeth Pen- 
 ning lived in a family which she attempted to poison 
 twice before she went to live at Mr. Turner's : and Mr. 
 Turner himself was in possession of that report three 
 months before Elizabeth Penning* s execution, with the 
 means in his power of ascertaining whether it was true or 
 
 falco 
 
 taise. 
 
 As far back, perhaps, as that time before the execution, 
 the report was stated to a person with such marks of cer- 
 tainty and conviction on the mind of the narrator, that the 
 person to whom it was related gave his informant full 
 
 in him tbe least attempt to equivocate or prevaricate, in their various 
 interviews-- that he bas found him consistent in all his relations : and 
 he further solemnly declares, that be believes him a man of uniro peached 
 veracity"; and hns a firm persuasion of his integrity.
 
 133 
 
 credit for being well and truly informed, and thought 
 nothing further of Elizabeth Penning until on the 26th of 
 July perceiving crowds of people hurrying past his 
 door in one direction, and inquiring the cause, he was in- 
 formed that " the girl was going to be hanged for poison- 
 ing the family in Chancery Lane." He then recollected 
 what he had heard so long ago; and being now told that 
 she persisted in denying her guilt at the time she was 
 locked up .in her cell the night before, he went into the 
 Old Bailey for the purpose of seeing how this hardened 
 being would quit the world. He was much surprised to 
 observe 3, young girl suffer death with immovable firmness,, 
 and was shocked at the depravity of a heart that couh} 
 cease to beat in this world without avowing the horrible 
 crime of a third hardened attempt to commit murder, \lc 
 mentioned in the course of the morning to several persons 
 the extraordinary obduracy of the girl he saw executed ; 
 and, upon a doubt being expressed of her guilt, he related 
 her alleged attempts to poison the last family she lived 
 in, previous to going into Mr, Turner's service. In the 
 cpurse of the day, during his absence from home, he was 
 called on by a respectable gentleman, whom he was ac- 
 quainted with, and who left a message, that he was de- 
 sirous of hearing any thing respecting Elizabeth Penning, 
 and that he would call the following morning to see if he 
 could obtain any thing new. 
 
 The next morning, Thursday, the 27th of July, on this 
 person being called on by his friend, he related to him 
 her attempts at poisoning, which he had been so credibly 
 informed of some months before. His friend doubting the 
 fact, to assure him of it, he insisted en his accompanying 
 
 him to a Mr. C , the person who related i<; to him. 
 
 On their way his friend mentioned certain circumstances, 
 
 which induced him to imagine that Mr. C might have 
 
 been mistaken. When they saw Mr. C he was de- 
 sired to state what he had before related, as above men- 
 tioned, respecting Elizabeth Finning'* trying to poisou
 
 134 
 
 the family she lived with before she went to Mr. Turner* st 
 Mr. C said he had since heard some things which 
 
 ^ 
 
 made him think that it was possible she was not guilty : 
 he was, however, desired to give his authority for the posi- 
 tive statement he had before made of Elizabeth Fenning's 
 
 alleged nefarious attempt. Mr. C named a tenant of 
 
 his, a Mrs. B , \rho, he said, was then ill. The per- 
 son, however, who had brought his friend to Mr. C 
 
 to witness what took place, was determined to TRACE 
 THE REPORT to its source, and persisted in seeing 
 
 Mrs. B j who, when seen, said she had certainly 
 
 related it to Mr. C , and that she herself had been 
 
 told it by two or three persons ; and at length named a 
 young woman, who lived with a Mr. KING, who had a 
 son APPRENTICE to Mr. Turner, as her particular 
 informant. Mr. King, she had heard lived in some street 
 in the Strand, near the New Church, but could not tell 
 where. The perso >, and his friend, after much se trcb, 
 found Mr. King; a dyer, at No. 44, Essex Street. They 
 told Mr. King) they wished to ask a question of his 
 daughter which he complied with ; and when she, with 
 her mother, appeared, she was asked what she had related 
 
 to Mrs. B respecting the before-mentioned report ? 
 
 Miss King seemed surprised at the question ; and, after 
 a little explanation, her father said he believed it was not 
 his daughter, but his shopwoman whom they wanted. He 
 called her up, and the same question being put to her, she 
 
 said that she had told Mrs. B that Elizabeth Penning 
 
 had twice attempted to poison the family she had lived 
 with before her going to Mr. Turner's ; and she related 
 some other particulars. Being asked where she had ob- 
 tained that information ? Mr. King and she gave an ac- 
 count to the following purport : 
 
 The latter end of April last, Mr. King's shopwoman 
 went to Mr. Peck's, grocer, JSo. 175, Strand, on an errand 
 for the family. Whilst there, a young man of Mr. Peck's 
 related that Mr. Turners servant, who had poisoned th
 
 135 
 
 family, had twice attempted to poison the family she lived 
 servant to before she went to Mr. Turner's that her second 
 attempt was made by putting arsenick in a pot of porter, 
 which was detected that she was instantly turned away; 
 and that the family she lived with, and so attempted to 
 poison, was Mr. HARDY'S, a grocery in Portugal Street. 
 As soon as Mr. King's skopwoman returned home she told 
 Mr. King what she had heard ; and, it being new to him, 
 he desired her to go back to Mr. Peck's, and inquire there 
 from whom they got the intelligence. She accordingly 
 made the inquiry, and was answered, they had it from 
 Mr. Hickson, the Oilman. Mr. Jackson's female sere ant 
 happening to be in Mr. Peck's shop, and hearing the in- 
 quiry and answer, invited Mr. King's shopzuoman to go 
 home with her to her master, Mr. Hickson, and they both 
 left Mr. Peck's for that purpose. At Mr. Hickson's t 
 Mr. King's shopwoman saw a person whom she took to be 
 Mr Hickson, who related to her the circumstances as she 
 had lieard them at Mr. Peck's, and she then went home 
 and acquainted Mr. King with what she said Mr. Hickson 
 had told her. 
 
 Mr. King here stated, that from his connexion with Mr. 
 Turner, his SON being apprentice to him, he had thought 
 it his duty to make Mr. Turner acquainted with the cir- 
 cumstances as they had been related by his shopwoman, 
 and he immediately Kent to Mr. TURNER and in- 
 formed HIM of the particulars, to the above effect.* 
 
 The person who, with his friend, had thus called upon 
 Mr. King, and obtained this information, then proposed, 
 that for the purpose of further elucidation, Mr. King's 
 shopwoman should go with them to Mr. Hickson's, which 
 Mr. King assented to. 
 
 Mr. Hickson is an oilman, at No. 170, Strand, near 
 Surry Street. He was not at home. His servant girl was 
 seen, who corroborated every thing related fcy Mr. King's 
 
 
 
 * Did not Mr. Turntr inform the RECORDER of tbil
 
 336 
 
 shopwoman as having taken place in Mr. Peck's shop, the 
 second time of Mr. King's shoprzomans going there ; and 
 Mr. Hicksons servant said, that when she brought Mr. 
 King's shopwoman home with her, her master, Mr. Hick- 
 son, was in the shop / and she told him that the young 
 woman then with her wanted to ask him a question ; and 
 'that she herself went down stairs with tbe grocery she had 
 been buying for the family, and left Mr. Kings shop- 
 woman zeith her master. 
 
 After waiting some time Mr. Hicks on came in, and was 
 briefly informed of the object of the visit. In answer to 
 various questions, he said he could not tell any thing 
 about such a report. He had heard " many reports." 
 He certainly knew Mr. Hardy, the grocer, in Portugal 
 Street, and he certainly had some conversation with him 
 about the girl, but he " could not exactly tell n'hat." 
 He had no " recollection whatever" of the report alluded 
 to having been mentioned by Mr. Hardy; nor did he 
 believe it was ; nor did he remember that such an inquiry 
 had been made of him as Mr. King's shopwoman stated. 
 
 Mr. Hicksons servant being again called, related, in 
 the presence of her master, what she had before said, and 
 that she h:id introduced Mr. King's shopwoman to her 
 master, as before mentioned, and left them together, and 
 went down stairs ; but what either her master or the 
 young woman said she did not hear, as she was in haste to 
 take her grocery into the kitchen. 
 
 ''- Mr. King's shopwoman said she was not accustomed to 
 go to Mr. Hickson's. She could not say whether Mr. 
 JHickson was the gentleman she saw or not ; but the 
 gentleman that she did see, when taken there by Mr. 
 Hickson's servant, and whom she supposed to be Mr. Hick- 
 son, was the person who had corroborated the information 
 
 she received, as before related. 
 
 ' 
 
 Much conversation then ensued with Mr. Hickson, and 
 different questions were put to him as to his conversation 
 with Mr. Hardy, the first time he saw him after the
 
 '137 
 
 poisoning of Mr. Turntfs family. U^Hickson at 
 length said, that Mr. JIardy had (old him sonul/iing 
 about the teakettle being poisoned when the girl lived 
 there. This WAS all that could .be obtained from Mr. 
 Hickson ; who, upon understanding that it was intended 
 to see Mr. Hardy, recommended it as a necessary mea- 
 sure for procuring precise information. 
 
 The person, and his friend, who were pursuing these 
 inquiries in order to trace the report, (hen went to Mr. 
 HARDtf, grocer, No. -20, Portugal .Street, Lincoln's 
 Inn fields. Mr. Hardy was in the shop weighing tea. 
 He was asked to state what the conduct of Elizabeth Pen- 
 ning was whilst she was in his service, and what he knew 
 of her. Mr. Hardy said, that, ".If he was asked his 
 OPiNlON of her, ho had only to say, that he had no 
 doubt she was gyilfy of poisoning Mr. Turner's family: 
 no doubt of it whatever" He was answered, that. " it was 
 her behaviour whilst in his family that information was 
 wanting upon." Mr. Hardy said, that, " as to that he 
 had nothing to say, no farther than that she was a bad 
 girl; a bold, sly, artful, designing girl. She first come 
 there on a Saturday night, late, with a lie in her mouth ; 
 with an excuse about not being able to get her clothes 
 from her mother's that night; which was a LIE*. It 
 must have been eleven o'clock that Sa<urday night as she 
 came; and if he had been Mrs. Hardy, he would never 
 have let her enter the doors at that time of night: he told 
 Mrs. Hardy so then, and a many times afterwards. He 
 did not like the girl at v all. She was fond of hearing 
 
 till <*;*' 
 
 At a subsequent interview Mr. and Mrs. Hardy repeated that 
 Elizabeth Fenning bad come there with a lie in her mouth, about her 
 not being able to bring her clothes that night. They were asked if they 
 had ascertained it to be a lie * Mrs. Hardy said, " Ascertained it ! 
 What had we to do with ascertaining? We've got enough to do with 
 our own business without running about and inquiring after other 
 people's business : there teas no doubt as it was a lie ; for, would any 
 body make her believe as a girl could not get her clothes at her mothers 
 at eleven o'clock of a Saturday night ? Jt was a lie there was nobody 
 doub't it was a lie."
 
 138 
 
 herself talk and gossip, and he never liked, her from the 
 first moment as she came into the house." 
 
 Mr. Hardy .was then asked to communicate the par- 
 ticulars of the attempts made by Elisabeth Fenning to 
 poison HIS family. Mr. Hardy said, " As to that he 
 had nothing to say ; he knew nothing about it, and could 
 tell nothing about it; he had nothing to say about it 
 at all. Whilst she was there he had a bad opinion of 
 her; a very bad opinion, and never did like her. She 
 was a hoity-toity, wild, giddy, unsettled sort of a girl ; 
 curious and inquisitive, and minding \vhat did not concern 
 her; and nothing that nobody could say would never 
 persuade him but what she was a VERY bad girl indeed " 
 
 Mr. Hardy was here particularly pressed to relate, 
 " what he knew, if any thing, as to Elizabeth Fenning's 
 attempts at POISONING HIS FAMILY -." and during 
 this part of the conversation Mrs. Hardy came from the 
 parlour, behind the shop, aod began to join in it. Upon 
 THIS TOPIC both Mr. and Mrs. Hardy were evidently 
 SORE : Mr. Hardy said he had nothing to say about it, 
 and Mrs. Hardy said so too. 
 
 Mr. Hardy was asked " if he knew Mr. Hickson y the 
 oilman, in the Strand ? He said " he did," and inquired, 
 " What of Mr. Hickson j?" He was requested " to relate 
 the conversation that he had with Mr. Hickson, the 'Jirst 
 time they met after the poisoning of Mr. Tifrner's fa- 
 mily." Mr. Hardy said " he had nothing to relate of 
 any conversation with Mr. Hickson; he could not tell 
 any thing at all about it; and he desired to know the 
 reason of the inquiries put to him ? " Mr. Hardy was 
 briefly informed of " the report that had been circulated 
 of the girl's attempting to poison HIS family ; that it had 
 been traced to Mr. H ickson's ; that Mr. Hickson had been 
 seen, who had referred to Mr. Hardy , as the person best 
 adapted to state what had taken place in his own family." 
 
 Mr. Hardy said " he had nothing to state," and per- 
 sisted in " not being able to recollect any thing he had
 
 139 
 
 said to Mr. Ifickscn." He was asked about (he poison 
 in (be PORTER ; which he disclaimed all knowledge of, 
 and said " it was utterly false." He was then asked 
 respecting " any other attempt at poisoning" whilst the 
 girl lived with him" Both Mr. and Mrs. Haidy refused 
 to say any thing more about the girl whilst living with 
 them ; and Mrs. Hardy, on her husband being questioned, 
 said i( he knew nothing at all about it ; and they, neither 
 of them, had any thing to say about it," and persisted in 
 refusing to^say any thing more. 
 
 Notwithstanding this declaration, Mr. Hardy was re- 
 quested to state " whit he knew respecting the poisoning of 
 a TEA-KETTLE, whilst Elizabeth Penning lived in his 
 service" Mr. Hardy declined saying any thing upon 
 the subject. He was then asked to relate u what he had 
 said to Mr. Hickson respecting Elizabeth Penning poison- 
 ing their teakettle;' and he was informed, " that Mr. 
 Hickson had, that morning, mentioned the circumstance 
 of the tea-kettle upon the reports relative to the alleged 
 poisoning in his, Mr. Hardy's house, being traced to 
 Mr. Hickson's." 
 
 Mr. Hardy, upon this being told him, observed, that, 
 " in consequence of what had been said, he would relate 
 what he knew about the TEA-KETTLE:" but Mrs. 
 Hardy interrupted him, and would not let him speak : 
 she said, " that it was she who knew about the tea-kettle, 
 that Mr. Hardy knew nothing at all about it but what she 
 had told him ; and if any thing was to be told site would 
 tell all about it." Mrs. Hardy accordingly proceeded 
 to relate as follows : 
 
 " One day 1 went into the parlour, and the TEA- 
 KETTLE was upon the fire, and I see the tea-kettle a 
 frothing at the mouth. With that I says to myself, Lord 
 bless me ! says I, what can make the tea-kettle froth at 
 the mouth ? Thinks I to myself V ve heard of pizen being 
 put into tea-kettles; and still the tea-kettle kept OH froth- 
 ing at the mouth. With that I takes me the tea-kettle off
 
 140 
 
 g 
 
 the fire, and goes into the yard and empties it ; and then 
 I zcrenches it out with cold water; and wrenches it again 
 and again, and fills it with clean water ; and then I comes 
 in again and puts the tea-kettle upon the fire." 
 
 Here Mrs. Hardy paused : 
 
 " And pray, madam, what further took place then ? " 
 
 " Nothing further, sir; that's all as I know about the 
 matter ; and now I've told you the whole truth." 
 
 " Then, madam, after you had washed out the tea- 
 kettle, that contained, as you supposed, poison , what 
 did you say to Eliza Penning ? " 
 
 tf Lord bless me ! sir," said Mrs. Hardy, " I don't 
 say it was Eliza Penning as did it ; it mought have 
 been her, or it mought not; I DON'T KNOW AS 
 SHE LIVED WITH US AT THE TIME : she mought 
 or she mought not ; or it mought have been a year before 
 or a year after she lived with us ; I am sure / can't say ; 
 but this I know as Mr. Hardy never had no peace of mind 
 whilst EKza Penning lived here ; nor never would let me 
 rest till we got rid of her." 
 
 " But, madam, whether it was Eliza Penning or not 
 that lived with you when the tea-kettle was poisoned" 
 
 " Lord bless me," says Mrs. Hardy, " / don't say it 
 was pizened" 
 
 " But whether it was or not, madam; as the frothing of 
 the tea-kettle led you to think about poisoning, and made 
 you suspicious and empty it, what did you say to the 
 servant girl after you had emptied the kettle and put it on 
 the fire ?" 
 
 " What did I say, sir?" 
 
 " Yes, madam; what remark did you make to the 
 servant girl who then lived with you about the frothing of 
 the tea-kettle?" 
 
 " Lord bless me, sir! I said nothing : What should I 
 say ? I thought no more about it not /. But it was a 
 very strange thing ; and so I thought ! I said nothing 
 about it to nobody: 7 did not eren tell Mr. Hardy of
 
 141 
 
 it; not till AFTER as I heard as Mr. Turners family 
 had all been pizen'd, and found as the girl as did it lived 
 with us,- and THEN, when I heard THAT, I up and 
 told Mr. Hardy about the TEA-KETTLE; for Mr. 
 Hardy never knew of it BEFORE" 
 
 Mr. Hardy said, " No; he never had; that was the 
 jirst time that Mrs. Hardy told him of it." 
 
 This being every thing that Mr. and Mrs. Hardy could 
 say about the tea-kettle, they were both requested to state 
 particularly, any and every circumstance of the girl's 
 conduct that was improper whilst she was there. 
 
 Mr. Hardy said, that " she was altogether a girl that 
 he never did or could like.' 1 He said, " God forgive 
 him ! He suspected her from the very moment she first 
 came into the house. Many servants (bat had lived with 
 him and robbed him, and he never had no suspicion of 
 them as he had of this girl. And, from the very jirst 
 moment as he set eyes upon the girl he could not bear 
 her; there was something about her as made him think 
 she was not a. Jit girl for them, and he told his wife so ; 
 and, what was more, as Mrs. Hardy did not think proper 
 to get rid of her, he told Mrs. Hardy that he never would 
 go out of a Sunday and leave the house alone with the girl 
 in it by herself. There was a chap as came after her when 
 she was there, and he did not approve of it : he knowed 
 nothing of who he was nor what he was, but he did not 
 like his looks; and as to inquiring who he was, it was 
 ' nothing to him, for he was determined she should not stop 
 long; and so, all the while she was there, he and Mrt*, 
 Hardy never went out together on a Sunday; but when 
 he went out Mrs. Hardy stopped at home, and when 
 Mrs. Hardy went out fie stopped at home ; for Jf. wap . 
 determined he would not have the house left^ ^^A-o.M oi? 
 
 Mi. Hardy was asked, " if Elizabeth Fenning, ; whilst 
 she lived there, had ever done any tUing.fo varranMhese 
 suspicions?" He said, " No, he could not say as ever 
 she hfld> but he looked upon her as a deep sharp girl-nrf t
 
 142 
 
 and she had got things he did not think she had come 
 honestly by, and she was never easy but when she was 
 reading; and was everlastingly inquisitive and prying. 
 She made several attempts to get at his son's books." He 
 was asked, " what sort of books they were if he meant 
 account books, or what other books?" Mr. Hardy ex- 
 plained by saying, " No they were printed books, such 
 as his son read his son's collection of books he meant 
 and the things as he meant she did not come honestly by, 
 was a couple of handsome volumes, all done oxer with gold 
 at the back, NOT BOOKS FIT FOR A SERVANT 
 GIRL TO READ, they belonged to what they called 
 Fielding' 's Works. He asked her, ' How she came by 
 them?' She said, c A mistress she lived with had given 
 them to her' but was it likely that a mistress would give 
 a SERVANT a couple of such books as them ? it was 
 not likely, and he did not believe it." 
 
 Mr. Hardy was asked, " if the girl did get at his 
 son's books ?" He said, " No, she never did get at them, 
 for why ? he took good care of that he always kept 
 them locked up, or else she would have got at them, no 
 doubt but this he must say, that she was a sly, quick, 
 clever, artful girl, as sharp as a needle, and was of that 
 inquisitive deep turn, that his MIND (!) always misgave 
 him whilst she lived there ; and then there was the BOOKS 
 as she used to read, he did not like it and she was a girl 
 that he did not like, for he never knoza'd NO GOOD 
 come of SERVANTS READING;* and he had no doubt 
 
 * Mr. Hardy 'slack of knowledge, as to the good that comes of SER- 
 VANTS reading, reminds the Editor of a circumstance that occurred 
 afeout two years ago. One of the Committee of the West London 
 Lancastrian Association wailed upon a housekeeper, iu Bedford 
 Street, Coveiit Garden, to solicit his support towards the establish- 
 ment of that institution. The answer was siu.ilar to the grocer's, and 
 was coupled with the information, that " he had discharged a maid- 
 servant, having detected her in the very act of reading Horace!" 
 What a contrast does this policy present to the patronage of Joseph 
 Lancaster by His MAJESTY, to whom the man alluded to is a trades- 
 man /
 
 143 
 
 that she POISONED MR. TURNER'S FAMILY, and 
 
 "was rightfully hanged no more than he stood there not 
 as she had never done no harm to HIM or HIS but she 
 was a girl as he never could fancy, God forgive him ! he 
 could not tell WHY nor WHEREFORE : and then as 
 to her lies, why the reason as she went away was this. He 
 sent her one night, between ten and eleven o'clock, to the 
 public house for a glass of mixed liquor, and she stopped 
 so long that it was out of ail reason, and when she came 
 back she said as they had not got the water hot. How- 
 ever he 'know'd it was a lie when she said so, so he (old 
 her his mind; and a night or two afterwards he sent her 
 again, and she stopped again ; so when she come to the 
 door, he went to let her in, and there was she with the 
 glass in her hand. ' And pray, madam,' says I, l where 
 have you been ?' ' I've been to the public house,' says 
 she. ' Yes,' says I, ' you have, madam pray walk in.' 
 She made the same excuse as before, that the water was 
 not hot. / So the next morning I goes to the public house, 
 and then I finds as the water was hot ! and that instead of 
 coming home as soon as the liquor was made, she stopped 
 there gossiping. With that, said Mr. Hardy, 1 was de- 
 termined, as I had CATC BED HER OUT in a lie, that 
 she should not stop no longer, and I told Mrs. Hardy so, 
 and I set her oft directly, without any warning, and glad 
 
 [ 1!V ,I was when she was gone, for all the while as she was in 
 
 (If .the house / never had no peace." 
 
 Mrs. Hardy was asked, " where she had Elizabeth 
 Penning' s character from ? " She said, " From Mrs. 
 Stokes,* of Wai worth, and that she had a very good cha- 
 racter with her from Mrs. Stokes, who said if she had 
 beea in want of a servant she would gladly have taken 
 her again. Mrs. Hardy further said, that " it was a pity the 
 girl had ever come to them, for Mr. Hardy had such a 
 .dislike of her from the first time of her coming, that he 
 
 '* ," n *. 4 -,, ., j 
 , i ; 
 
 * See page 131.
 
 144 
 
 never was easy whilst she was there that she could not 
 but say she was a good cleanly industriou" giW, that did her 
 work well, and she knew no particular harm of her ; but, 
 as she told lie^ Mr. Hardy had certainly turned her out 
 of doors at a moment's learning : and indeed," said Mrs. 
 Hardy, " it was a t&y disagreeable thing^ for I never 
 went out of a Sunday^ with Mr. Hardy, all the while 
 the girl was here." 
 
 Mr. Hardy said, " He was as certain as ever he could 
 be SHE POISONED MR. TURNER'S FAMILY, and 
 he should always say so ; she was a bid one, depend upon 
 it;" and he repeated, " he never dicl like her from the 
 very first moment she came into his house; and, God 
 forgive him! he COULD NOT TELL FOR WHY 
 NOR WHEREFORE.'' 
 
 Thus ended the interview with Mr. and Mrs. Hardy*. 
 It would be a waste of time and patience to make a single 
 remark upon the likings or dish kings of such a man as 
 Mr. Hardy, or upon any one part of the interview. But 
 it is essential to state, that Mr. Redit, of King's Road, 
 Bedford Row, who knows Mr. Turner) and who certainly 
 is not favourable to Elizabeth Penning, was informed by 
 Mr. Hardy himself, who was his grocer, that after Mrs* 
 Hardy found her TEH-KETTLE frothing at the mouth, 
 SHE actually CHARGED ELIZABETH PENNING 
 Kith putting something into the tea-kettle, and that she 
 denied putting in any thing. Mr. Red it is a respectable 
 solicitor. He had been informed so by Mr. Hardy, Jong 
 before the execution. The interview above narrated at 
 
 length took place, it must be recollected, the day after 
 o f IT/ 
 
 The person who, with his friend, TRACED THIS REPORT 
 respecting Elisabeth Penning to the HARDYS, in the way ahove men- 
 tioned, was very much s r aggered by the interview. lie saw her EXE- 
 CUTED, the day before, believing her to have been found guilty upon 
 clear evidence, after a fair trial ; and that, from iier turpitude, she 
 was deprived of mercy. Siuce then, to the moment of penning this 
 note, he h,as devoted his whole time, with very trifling exception, to an 
 unwearied and elaborate investigation of the Case of Elisabeth Penning. 

 
 145 
 
 * ' ' 1# 1 '*" -' ''i}j " '">!*< J 
 
 the execution ; arul Mrs. //anty then, when closely pressed 
 to relate what she said to Elizabeth Penning when her tea- 
 kettle frothed at ilie mouthy affirmed, that she did not 
 know that 'Elizabeth Penning was the servant that lived 
 with her at the time which was no doubt true ; that she 
 did not tell it to the servant girl, whoever she might be, 
 that did live with ner which there is as little doubt of; 
 that she told nobody of her disordered tea-kettle until 
 after the affair at Mr. Turner's ; and that then, for the 
 Jirst time tHat she told any body, she told her husband. 
 
 It appears, too, that the report of the two alleged 
 attempts at poisoning the family of the grocer by Eliza- 
 beth Penning, had been conveyed by the father of the 
 apprentice, THOMAS KING, to Mr. Turner, soon after 
 the Trial. Mr. Turner therefore had three months' time 
 to have selected half an hour from, for an investigation of 
 this report, and lo have ascertained the grounds for the 
 grocer's bad OPINION and bad character of her. It was 
 Mr. Turner's DUTY to have done it; and, while doing it, 
 to have discharged from 'his mind all the grocer's shocking 
 gabble of " not liking," and " not having no peace of 
 mind; GOD forgiye him! he could not tell for why nor 
 wherefore. It was Mr. Turner's further duty to have, 
 made known to the Recorder, and at the Secretary -of 
 State's in particular, the horrible impropriety of attaching 
 
 _ . 1 1 ^ \ AlLk .lit 1 -.^X X V^ . ^v r-\. i T r V*k %.T '** i -A* 
 
 undue 
 tutecf 1 
 
 Now, 
 
 see him. "It the grocer 
 gular fact, inasmuch as, even AFTER THE EXECU- 
 TION of Elizabeth Penning, Mr. Turner actually ap- 
 peared, by his representation, to believe that report to be 
 
 true. 
 
 in 
 
 It is Mr. Turner's duty at this time lo deny, if he can, that the 
 fabricated report, as to the poisoning* at the grocer t was com 
 cated to high Authority, by whom mercy -to the prisoner, if 
 plated, must have been influenced. 
 
 L
 
 146 
 
 A few days after the Execution, and after Mr. Turner's 
 procuration of the Turnkey's Affidavit against Elizabeth 
 Penning 1 s father, he was called on by Mr. Banks, the 
 gentleman who had endeavoured to get Mr. Turner to 
 sign a Petition for mercy, and which he refused to sign*. 
 The Execution was talked of, and Mr. Turner produced a 
 Letter in justification of his conduct. It was addressed to 
 him, and reiterated the report of Elizabeth Pennine's 
 attempt to poison Mr. Hardy's family as a fact ; and it 
 further stated, that she had attempted to commit another 
 murder she had tried to CUT THE THROAT OP 
 MRS. WILLIAMS, of Gray's Inn, when she lived with 
 her as servant. This Letter, which purported to be signed 
 by a Mr. SHUTER, Mr. Turner deliberately, gravely, 
 and without seeming to intend any insult to the under- 
 standing of Mr. Banks, put into that gentleman's hand, as 
 evidence of the propriety of his not interfering for mercy , 
 and of the consequent execution. 
 
 The fact of Mr. Turner's assuming to believe the state- 
 ments in this Letter, induced an application to the Writer, 
 Mr. SHUTER, of Cursitor Street, Chancery Lane, AT- 
 TORNEY AT LAW. He was called on by the person who, 
 with his friend, had the interview with the grocer and his 
 wife. Mr. Shuter avowed that he had written the letter 
 to Mr. Turner, and that he had done it because " he 
 thought Mr. Turner had done what was proper, in hang- 
 ing the girl as nobody would be safe if these Jrislt 
 wretches were suffered to get into respectable families ; 
 and he thought it was a very proper example. Mr. Tur- 
 ner's was a very respectable family, and he wrote to him, 
 to let him know what the girl had done at other places 
 where she lived : he knew Hardy / Hardy was his grocer 
 a very respectable, worthy man. It was really shocking 
 to think of the thing. What Mr. Turner had done was 
 very proper, and he wrote to Mr. Turner , to tell him his 
 
 See page 79.
 
 147 
 
 opinion." Mr. Shuter was asked bow he knew that the 
 grocer's family had been poisoned by the servant that was 
 hanged ? He said, " There was no doubt at all of it ; his man 
 knew it, and could tell all about it." It was intimated 
 to Mr. Shuter that a conversation with his man would be 
 agreeable, but Mr. Shuter said his man had left him some 
 time before, and was gone abroad, but he would soon be 
 home : " However," he said, " Mrs. Shuter knew it as 
 well as hi$ man, and she could relate the particulars." 
 An interview with Mrs. Shuter being requested, Mr. Shu- 
 ter said "she was not very well;" but be was prevailed 
 on to go up stairs to Mrs. Shuter, and returned shortly, 
 saying, that " Mrs. Shuter had it from Mrs. Hardy her- 
 self a great. while ago a long time before the girl was 
 hanged." Mr. Shuter was next required to relate how he 
 knew of the girl's attempt to cut Mrs. Williams s throat ; 
 and if he knew Mrs. Williams ? He said " it was Mrs. 
 Williams, of Gray's Inn, a respectable lady. He was 
 informed of it by HIS BARBER. He said his barber 
 was a steady man, a very respectable man in his way, and 
 he had told him of it. Mr. Shuter repeated, that he 
 thought Mr. Turner deserved thanks for what be had 
 done ; and he had written the letter to Mr. Turner, to let 
 him know how much good he had done by his prosecution" 
 Enough being seen of Mr. Shuter, and enough of hi$. 
 opinions and information heard, leave was taken of him j 
 his barber's name and address being first requested and 
 obtained. 
 
 On leaving Mr. Shuter, recourse was had to his barber, 
 Mr. -Prizeman, of No. 71, Chancery Lane, two doors 
 from Mr. Turner's. He was asked, " What authority 
 he had for stating to Mr. Shuter that Elizabeth Penning 
 had attempted to cut the throat of Mrs. Williams, of 
 Gray's Inn ?" Mr. Prizeman seemed much startled by 
 the question: he said, " he certainly had told it to Mr. 
 Shuter whilst he was dressing him ; but he told it him 
 merely as a thing that was said. He had himself heard i
 
 148 
 
 one day, whilst the officers were before Mr. Turner' 1 s 
 house : he was standing, he said, at his own door, and a 
 person, \vho was looking on, came up and talked a little 
 and told it kirn. He did not know whether it was true or 
 not; he had never inquired. He mentioned it to Mr. 
 Shuter, he believed, the next morning after he heard it." 
 At parting, Mr. Prizeman was remonstrated with as to the 
 impropriety of having made such a statement ; but he 
 solemnly declared, that " he had no idea that Mr. Shuter 
 would have thought of it otherwise than any thing else 
 that he might have told him " in the same way : " and it 
 seemed to be the purpose of Mr. Prizeman's mind, that, 
 since he had been deemed such an authority by Mr. 
 Shuter. he would be less bountiful of " barbers' ne&s " 
 
 J 
 
 during his future performance upon the outside of that 
 gentleman's head. 
 
 Recourse was then had to Mrs. WILLIAMS, of Gray's 
 Inn. This lady very politely and readily answered the 
 inquiries put to her. She said that Elizabeth Fenning 
 never lived servant with her that she never had seen her, 
 and that no one had ever attempted to CUT HER 
 THROAT. 
 
 In one little hour were the representations in th letter 
 of Mr. Shuter to Mr. Turner disproved that which re- 
 lated to Mr. Shuter's respectable grocer had been pre- 
 viously decided by the detailed narration of the interview 
 with them, before given : the other, concerning Elizabeth 
 Fenning's attempt to murder Mrs. Williams, Mr. Turner 
 might have had his friend Mr. Shuter s equally respect- 
 able authority for, by a simple inquiry of him ; and, un- 
 less he had been disposed to rest satisfied with Mr. Shuter' s 
 barber's news, he might, by going next door but two from 
 his own door, have there heard from Mr. Prizeman's own 
 lips his disavowal of it as any other than a mere saying 
 picked up amongst Mr. Turner's crowd of thief -takers. 
 
 Mr. Turner's calm acquiescence in the information of 
 Mr. Shuter s letter, is similar to his concurrence in the
 
 149 
 
 report as to the grocer's family : his belief of these repre- 
 sentations is most MYSTERIOUS. It may appear im- 
 possible to many, that Mr. Turner should have heard 
 them and not have inquired concerning them, and conse- 
 quently have detected their utter falsehood; and it would 
 be charitable to Mr. Turner, to imagine that an easy cre- 
 dulity, and weakness of disposition amounting io fatuity, 
 might be the sole cause of his indisposition to investigate 
 such gro^s fabrications. But it is knovn that Mr. Turner 
 has been industrious in tracing what made against (he 
 evidence of his own daughter-in-law, Mrs. CHARLOTTE 
 TURNER, and the housemaid SARAH PEER, no 
 doubt with a view to rebut it, if unfounded ; and it is 
 also known that he discovered, soon after the Trial, that 
 what the mistress and maid swore not to have happened, 
 really did happen. Now as it does not appear that Mr. 
 Turner gave publicity to this fact, which tended in fa-cou r 
 of Elizabeth Penning, although he gave publicity to the 
 untrue statements in Mr. Shuter's letter, founded upon " a 
 barber's news," which tended against Elizabeth Penning, 
 the "presumption" from these "circumstances" is surely 
 fair, that Mr. Turner, who exercised so much discretion 
 in one case, -exercised equal discretion in the other case ; 
 and, therefore, that from some MOTIVE which could 
 not occur to an intellect incapable of reflecting and judg- 
 ing, Mr. Turner so acted in both cases, as wholly to put 
 it out of the power of any thinking person to imagine his 
 conduct could have proceeded from imbecility of mind. 
 
 Whilst the miserable girl was under sentence of death, 
 various reports reached her, concerning her alleged mur- 
 derous attempts : these she always treated with such real 
 contempt, that a person who did not know her, might have 
 supposed her indifferent to the influence that they might 
 have had upon her fate. She did not suppose it possible 
 that statements which she knew to be false could produce 
 any effect prejudicial to her. She often spoke, too, of 
 Mrs. TURNER and SARAH PEER in a careless way,
 
 150 
 
 as having 1 sworn what was not true; and, therefore, she 
 appeared to infer that their testimony would have little 
 weight in producing her execution, notwithstanding, whilst 
 unimpeached on the Trial, it had obtained her conviction. 
 Unhappily she seemed to stand rather upon her own per- 
 suasion that truth alone would prevail, than took much 
 pains to make falsehood apparent. Her mind, though 
 powerful, being undisciplined, was more buoyant and 
 lively than reflective ; and she often occasionally expressed 
 her thoughts and feelings with force and vehemence, con- 
 fidently anticipating, " that the truth would come oat at 
 last." The pot of porter and tea-kettle story, at HAR- 
 DY'S, she laughed at; and when the grocer went to see 
 her in Newgate, she treated him with irony. He thought 
 her grave when she meant to be severe. In truth his 
 " mind," as he calls it, was utterly incompetent to the 
 conception of the views or feelings of such a girl as 
 Elizabeth Penning. It was impossible, with the thorough 
 contempt that she entertained for the grocer, that she 
 could descend to the level of his capacity. He who 
 {f never know'd no good come of servants' reading," is 
 probably the very meum and tuum of pounds, shillings, 
 and pence honesty, and a very paragon of pecuniary re- 
 spectability, and creditable worth : but there was scarcely 
 more of common feeling or character between him and 
 Elizabeth Penning, than between Dugald Stewart and 
 Peter the Wild Boy. Hence his otherwise unaccountable 
 dislike of the poor girl, " he could not tell why nor 
 wherefore." Her intellect was superior to his comprehen- 
 sion ; and his servant, u who never did no harm to him or 
 his," be suspected, upon the same principle that a prudent 
 man is said to have resolved never to marry a woman more 
 sensible than himself. 
 
 That Reports of the nature particularized should be 
 circulated with impunity, after the awful sentence of death 
 has been passed upon a human being, will scarcely be 
 credited ; unless they were upon some real authority. In
 
 151 
 
 this case we see all authority disclaimed by the very indi- 
 viduals whose names were confidently mentioned as being 
 the persons who gave rise to them. With respect to 
 the grocer he disavows the rumours; but persists in 
 expressing his belief of the girl's being bad, without 
 being able to give proof of it ; and, because that is his 
 conviction, he further gives, what he calls, " his CANDID 
 opinion," that she poisoned Mr. Turner's family. It was 
 a fearful ,thing for Elizabeth Fenning, that she fell alive 
 into the hands of this grocer she came out of his hands 
 alive, it is true, but the revivals of his " not liking her" 
 his wife's telling the TEA-KETTLE STOllY, for the 
 Jirst time, after she found the girl was in custody upon 
 the Dumpling Charge the eagerness with which this 
 irrascible man discharged the girl who had committed the 
 unpardonable sin of keeping him half an hour after supper 
 from his hot glass of liquor his imagined capability of 
 her poisoning Mr. Turners family his having no doubt 
 that she did it and alt the magnified reports consequent 
 upon such senseless babble, multiplied and diversified by 
 the-manifold tongues of rumour all these were ominously 
 unfavourable to the continuance of the poor girl's life, and 
 portended & fatal issue out of all her afflictions ! " When 
 it is once resolved upon, that a helpless creature shall be 
 sacrificed, 'tis an easy matter to pick up sticks enough, from 
 any thicket where it has strayed, to make a fire to offer it 
 up with." 
 
 Elizabeth Fennings situation was unfortunate in the 
 extreme. She had been so unfortunate as to have the very 
 Clerk to the Magistrates, who took the depositions against 
 her, a friend of Mr. Turner's she was so unfortunate as 
 to have this CLERK TO THE MAGISTRATES, and 
 friend to Mr. Turner, employed against her as (he 
 SOLICITOR TO THE PROSECUTORS she was so 
 unfortunate as to have contradictory evidence deposed 
 against her upon her Trial, and circumstances positively 
 sworn to by some of the Witnesses which they could not 
 possibly know she was so unfortunate as to have the
 
 Prosecutrix, Mrs. CHARLOTTE TURNER, swear 
 the COALS could not come in on the day of the poisoning, 
 and SARAH PEER swear in corroboration of her mistress 
 that the COALS did not come in that day, although the 
 COALS did come in that day she was so unfortunate as 
 to have only ONE medical Witness examined upon her 
 Trial; and he, a Mr. JOHN MARSHALL, a nine 
 years' acquaintance of her Prosecutors, who did not 
 attempt to contradict ignorant testimony tending to prove 
 that arsenick would prevent dough rising, though it would 
 not ; who was himself so ignorant of the properties of 
 arsenick as to swear that it would blacken a knife, and who 
 has since written a pamphlet, in which he takes the 
 trouble to caution people that a knife being blackened is no 
 proof of the presence of arsenick! she was so unfortu- 
 nate as to have had the Prosecutors and their Witnesses' 
 so lightly cross-examined by Mr. Alley , her Counsel, that 
 the contradictions , inconsistencies, and falsehood of certain 
 testimony, was only partially disclosed in addition to 
 such evidence being deposed against her, she was so un- 
 fortunate as to have evidence, on her behalf, refused to be 
 heard by SIR JOHN SILVESTER, the RECORDER, 
 who officiated as Judge, and tried her she was, likewise, 
 so unfortunate as to have the said RECORDER attend at 
 the house of the Prosecutor, and desire that the Prose- 
 cutor would not sign a petition for mercy to her and she 
 was so unfortunate as to have the Prosecutor positively 
 and repeatedly refuse to sign a Petition, to sate her life, 
 in consequence of such express desire of the RECOR DER, 
 who officiated as Judge, and tried her : with all these 
 real misfortunes upon her, she appears to be thought un- 
 natural for not behaving respectfully to the " most amiable, 
 RESPECTABLE, and UNITED family"* of the Turners, 
 when they visited her in prison the day but one before her 
 execution.t The Prosecutrix, MRS. CHARLOTTE 
 
 * So called in Mr. Marshall's Pamphlet, p. 39. 
 
 t Mr, Corbyn Lloyd's Friend was present at this interview : see p. 79.
 
 153 
 
 TURNER, who swore that the COALS could not come 
 in on the day when they DID come in ; the Prosecutor, 
 Mr. TURNER, who would not sign a Petition to the 
 Throne to save her life,- the Apprentice, THOMAS KING, 
 who did not eat of the poisoned dumplings, and who wax 
 NOT A WITNESS on the Trial, went to Newgate on 
 that day ; " and," says Mr. Marshall, the Surgeon, who 
 swore, on the Trial, that arsenick would blacken a knife, 
 " as they entered her apartment the prisoner began to 
 insult them in the most flagrant style, and ARRO- 
 GANTLY told her mistress, that ' she had sent for 
 HER because SHE could give a better account how the 
 arsenick got into the dumplings than she herself could.'" 
 Mrs. R. Turner was surprised and shocked at the 
 IMPUDENCE of her conduct, and said she hoped to 
 have witnessed a very different deportment in her truly 
 awful situation. Mr. KING then asked her what sue 
 could mean by endeavouring to injure his character in 
 accusing him of such a dreadful crime? She answered, 
 by addressing Mrs. CHARLOTTE TURNER and 
 THOMAS KING" It laid between you, MA'AM, and 
 you, S/tf.'ftU 
 
 it seems that the unfortunate FATftER of the still 
 more unfortunate ELIZABETH PENNING, became an 
 object of suspicion to the RECORDER, after her etc- J 
 cution. Mr. Cornish, the baker, at the corner of Chancery 
 Lane, in Holborn, states, that, a few days afterwards, 
 whilst the police officers and constables were round Mr. 
 Turner's door and before his house, the RECORDER t 
 who it will be remembered officiated as JUDGE upon 
 ' niifaim **" 
 
 H 
 
 * Mr. Marshall Pamphlet, p. 36. 
 
 f It has been stated in the newspapers, that the RECORDER bad 
 received several anonymous letters; and that one of them, which solemnly 
 declared Elizabeth Penning was innocent of the jxriioniog, also said, 
 that, if she was executed, the guilty hand would he discovered. If it be 
 true that such a letter wns written, it may be fairly presumed to have 
 been sent by the guilty person, who would not be likely to ask another 
 to write the letter: the handwriting, therefore, is probably that of the 
 persou who did the deed.
 
 154 
 
 the Trial of Elizabeth Penning, who PASSED SEN- 
 TENCE OF DEATH upon her, who reported her as a 
 Convict to His Royal Highness the PRINCE RE- 
 GENT, and who went to Mr. TURNER'S the Prose- 
 cutor, and desired that he would not sign a Petition for 
 mere?/ to the PRINCE REGENT the RECOR- 
 DER himself WENT to Mr. Cornish's, and there in- 
 quired, " Whether they had seen any thing of OLD 
 PENNING in the crowd, or amongst the people before 
 Mr. Turner's door?" To which the RECORDER received 
 for answer, that " they had seen OLD PENNING go up 
 and down the Lane, as he usually did, two or three times 
 a day, in the course of his business." Whereupon the 
 RECORDER soon afterwards left Mr. Cornish's shop. 
 
 " An IMPARTIAL TRIAL," says Lord Erskinc, " is 
 the first and dearest privilege of every Englishman." 
 
 With respect to the Trial of ELIZABETH FEN- 
 NING, the Editor does not choose to express an opinion ; 
 but, with his lordship, he will ever " maintain the equal 
 right of every man in the kingdom to a fair Trial : " and 
 he conceives that he cannot conclude more appropriately 
 than by affirming, in the words of the luminous commen- 
 tator upon the laws of England, the illustrious Blackstone, 
 that, " whenever a question arises between the society at 
 large and any MAGISTRATE vested with powers originally 
 delegated by that society, it must be decided by the 
 society itself there is not on earth any other tribunal to 
 resort to." 
 
 .i ti Ji itoiis if ao flO-
 
 ifflPSm 
 
 THREE LETTERS, 
 
 ifflPSm 
 v, DR.WATKINS 
 
 v-A ?M~-:\ ii'.^i *\ 
 
 TO 
 Ji 9>O(U i)UJS ? > 'A/HV," > . \j ' , 
 
 Clje 
 
 SIR, 
 
 THE interest you have taken in investigating 
 the case of th'e ill-fated Elizabeth Penning, induces me to 
 accede to your wish in communicating to you the Address 
 which I ventured to submit to His Royal Highness, the 
 Prince Regent, in the behalf of that unhappy young 
 woman. Had I, however, any reason to change the 
 opinion which I first formed on the case, and which could 
 alone, have led me to adopt the presumptuous taeasure of 
 applying directly to the fountain of mercy on this occa- 
 sion, I certainly should have felt a reluctance in comply- 
 ing with your desire. But a more attentive examination 
 of the entire proceedings, and a dispassionate review of 
 the Evidence, have so completely confirmed my original 
 impressions, and set an absolute seal to my persuasion 
 upon this transaction, that 1 should be greatly wanting in 
 that duty which we all owe to society, present and future, 
 if I was to withhold now my feeble voice, when there is a 
 call for it, on the side of justice and humanity. As, there- 
 fore, to have denied your request, in this instance, would 
 have been almost equivalent to a confession of doubt, when 
 the contrary is the fact, it is incumbent on me to give you 
 the paper which I hastily drew up, and to accompany it 
 with the reasons on which it is grounded.
 
 156 
 
 My knowledge of the affair was obtained only from tujr 
 published reports, which are generally such as to require 
 the cauiious exercise of the judgment. On that account, 
 I certainly guarded myself within such limits as the 
 admitted uncertainty of circumstantial evidence gave 
 me full liberty to take, without weakening my arguments. 
 Amplification was easy, but it would have been tedious, 
 and with my confined knowledge of the particulars, it 
 might have been more dangerous to the cause which, 
 
 CJ J 
 
 I pleaded, by perplexing it with difficulties, or laying it 
 open to contradiction. But if with the scanty acquaint- 
 ance which I possessed, and the simple space to which I 
 was limited, my conviction became strengthened, and my 
 ground enlarged, though unfortunately without proving 
 successful in the object for which alone these efforts were 
 made, an obligation remains to enter a solemn protest 
 against the recurrence of an evil, the bare idea of which 
 must excite horror in every liberal mind. Strong, there- 
 fore, as my language is, and explicit as it necessarily 
 must be, all regard for private feeling, and deference to 
 public forms, must give way to the sense of what is owing 
 to God, and our fellow-creatures. 
 
 It is a sound principle in ordinary life, and commonly 
 received, I believe, by all nations, that it is better ninety- 
 nine real criminals should escape unpunished, than that 
 one innocent person should suffer. This is equivalent to 
 the old maxim of law and morality, that summum jus 
 cst summa injuria; and that the extremity of right is the 
 height of wrong. If this rule be good, and its validity, I 
 think, will hardly be questioned by the most rigid jurist, 
 then it follows, that the first duty of all persons engaged in 
 the office of administering justice, is to seek most studi- 
 ously for every proof and evidence of innocence, no less 
 than to bring actual offenders to punishment. Unfortu-
 
 157 
 
 fcately, however, when a charge is brought, no mailer 
 by what means, or from what motives, against an indivi- 
 dual, guilt is immediately supposed, and the most inquisi- 
 torial sagacity is set at work to find out words, incidents, 
 and even rumours and calumnies, that may appear dis- 
 advantageous to the accused person, and so warrant either 
 commitment or conviction. It is really much to be 
 lamented, that with all the abstract excellence of our laws, 
 every facility is given to prosecution, while obstacles of 
 all kinds are opposed to the manifestation of innocence. 
 Rewards are offered, premiums given, and offices created, 
 by which means the cupidity of gain is super-added to that 
 bluntness of feeling which arises from a trading familiarity 
 with judicial proceedings, so that the persons employed in 
 them are always exceedingly on the alert to discover proofs 
 ofculpabiliti/ 9 and are as slow in ascertaining (hese points, 
 which, if properly regarded, would dispel the phantoms 
 raised by suspicion, and employed by interest. 
 
 , In the case now under consideration, every thing was 
 thrown into one scale : but when examined, what does the 
 whole amount to, more than an apprehension in the first 
 instance, that poison of a specific quality was mixed \vith 
 the food; and, secondly, that the young woman, who 
 suffered, must have purposely infused the noxious sub- 
 stance into the mess, with the diabolical vievr o ( clestroj- 
 ing a whole family. It is obvious, that before the last 
 supposition cau be suffered to have admission into tl:e 
 mind, the position must be clearly proved that there uu- 
 poison in the dough, and that this was such a poison a< 
 could not have found a place there but by design. Here then 
 the most cautious antl scientific investigation ought (o have 
 been instituted with regard to the substance actually oaten, 
 and not merely with respect to the vessel where it had 
 been compounded. My reasons for this are as follow :
 
 158 
 
 The dumplings alone obviously produced the injurious 
 effects of which the family complained ; to them alone, 
 therefore, at least in the first instance, should the inquiries 
 have been directed. The uncompounded fragments in the 
 dish might have been examined also, to see whether the 
 one corresponded with the other. But no conclusion 
 ought justly to have been drawn, that what was found in 
 the dish must necessarily have occasioned the complaints 
 in question, since there is a possibility surely, that what 
 was so discovered, might have been placed there after- 
 wards. If, however, the one and the other agreed in all 
 respects, the inference would be clear, that the noxious 
 ingredient was made use of with a bad intention. It then 
 became a matter of imperative duty to have called in the 
 professional talents of the first medical and scientific cha- 
 racters, to determine beyond all question that there was 
 poison in the case, and that this poison was arsenic/:. 
 Whether such an investigation took place in the present 
 instance, I have not the means of knowing : but the 
 absence of such testimony warrants me in dilating upon the 
 indispensable obligation of this course of proceeding in the 
 incipient state of the inquiry, especially as no person 
 materially suffered from the supposed poison, which, being 
 a circumstance of a. peculiar character, might have led to 
 a doubt whether the ingredient was arsenide or not. 
 
 In the case of Donnellan at Warwick assizes, for the 
 alleged poisoning of Sir Tkeodosius Boughton, the highest 
 professional men in the kingdom were examined on the 
 analysis of the noxious infusion to which the death of the 
 baronet was ascribed ; and whatever judgment we are at 
 liberty to form on the merits of that case, and of the 
 justice of the verdict, there can be but one opinion with 
 respect to the propriety of the proceedings, which were 
 conducted with the greatest care and caution.
 
 169 
 
 ; It may well excite surprise that the case of Elizabeth 
 Penning, founded on conjecture alone, and, consequently, 
 much deeper in mystery than that of.Donnellan, should 
 have been thought less deserving of laborious and scien- 
 tific inquiry. I know not on what moral principle it can 
 be justified, that the accused without means, should be 
 left without mercy ; or, in other words, that a poor per- 
 son, who cannot provide the efficient aids by which his 
 innocence may be established, should therefore be aban- 
 doned to the rigour of the law. It argues a sad want of 
 feeling, when the poverty of the prisoner, his ignorance, 
 or the want of friends, are suffered to operate to his disad- 
 vantage. A liberal policy would adopt a course the very 
 reverse ; and calling pity to its counsel, with an anxious 
 desire to avoid committing an error, it would cause the 
 utmost delay to take place, that the person accused may 
 not suffer wrongfully. Rogues by profession and princi- 
 ple have oftentimes more chance than honest men; be- 
 cause what the last lose by confidence in their integrity, 
 the others gain by cunning and that conscious sense of 
 their criminality which leads them to make use of every 
 instrument to elude punishment. Under these circum- 
 stances, and considering the extraordinary nature of the 
 case, it was the duty of all the parties engaged in the ad- 
 ministration of justice, to have caused a slow, extensive, 
 and scrupulous inquiry into every thing connected with 
 the immediate fact which formed the charge, the charac- 
 ters of all who had any relation to the prosecutors, and 
 the whole history of the prisoner herself, before any de- 
 cision was pronounced upon her fate. 
 
 Unless Mr. Marshall's notions were evidence, there was 
 not a particle of proof on the Trial that any poisonous in- 
 gredient whatever was in the dumplings. I shall not 
 enter into the particulars of the surgeon's testimony, or the
 
 160 
 
 turious opinion which he gave with respect to the pre- 
 sence and the effects of arsenick. There can be no need for 
 any remarks on this evidence ; for I maintain, thatfj'm testi- 
 mony, to its fullest extent, teas good for nothing, since it 
 failed in proving that what was in the dish was of the 
 same nature with what had been taken by the persens 
 affected. Nay, more, as the prisoner herself partook of 
 the food, she was as much entitled to the benefit derivable 
 from, that circumstance as her fellow-servants, or the 
 master, who were acquainted with the existence of arsenick 
 in the house, and with the place where it was deposited. 
 If it was improbable that any of these should have been. 
 guilty of so nefarious a deed, the improbability was much 
 greater on the side of the prisoner, who had nothing to 
 gain, and every thing to dread, by such a monstrous act. 
 I feel not the slightest hesitation in saying, that the 
 acknowledged fact of experiments being made on the dish 
 by one of the party, before the arrival of the surgeon to 
 whom it was shown, was of a nature that could not, by 
 any impartial man, be passed over as of trivial import. 
 There was a strange impropriety in the act itself; and on 
 all accounts as it proved the possibility that the vessel 
 might be tampered with by some one afterwards, no in- 
 ference ought to have been drawn from its state, or its 
 contents, unfavourable to the prisoner. 
 
 There was then, I contend, an absolute deficiency of 
 proof that poison at all existed in the food that was eaten ; 
 and this ought to have been fatal to the prosecution. 
 Why this was not suggested by the prisoner's Counsel, is 
 not for me to say. Beyond all question, the interests of 
 justice, and a regard to personal character, ought to have 
 induced the Court to interpose its authority where a doubt 
 called for its mediation. 
 
 Bat even admitting that the substauce was the same in, 

 
 161 
 
 toth, and that this substance was arsenick, where is the 
 proof that the prisoner placed it there ? This cannot be 
 gathered from the conversation that she had previously 
 with her mistress, or from any part of her behaviour 
 either then or at any other time. Had she obtained such 
 an article under any pretence from a chemist, or had she 
 been detected with any in her possession, a reasonable 
 suspicion might have thence been raised with respect to 
 her intentions. But there was arsenick in an open drawer, 
 where waste paper was kept, and to which every body 
 had access. A very strange mode of keeping poison this ! 
 But then it is said that the paper had a label designating 
 its contents, and that this poor girl could read and write. 
 I almost tremble while I am animadverting upon such 
 loose inferences and dreadful applications. The conse- 
 quences that we have seen to result from such logic and 
 such law, carry our minds back to other days, and make 
 
 us shudder for those which are to come ! 
 
 frr f ' 
 
 From these considerations, and others, on which I for- 
 ' .' 
 
 bear to expatiate in this place, reserving them for a very 
 
 ample discussion of the nature and operation of circum- 
 stantial evidence, with a particular reference to this and 
 other cases, I was impelled to draw up hastily a Me- 
 morial, which I caused on Sunday last to be conveyed to 
 a gentleman high in the confidence of His Royal Highness 
 the Prince Regent, by whom it was delivered to the 
 Secretary of State for the Home Department. 
 
 This Memorial, though the effusion of my ovcrbur- 
 thened feelings, was guided by deliberate judgment, on 
 this distressing case : but my efforts, as well as those of 
 more able and powerful advocates, were unavailing. 1 
 shall not here hazard any reflection on the stern justice 
 which demands sacrifices by the way of example ; but I 
 may be permitted to observe, that, before the gale of 
 mercy is closed, no inquiry should be omitted that may 
 
 M
 
 162 
 
 elicit truth, where truth exists, nor an inattenthe ear be 
 turned to those who can suggest a plea for pardon* In 
 this instance the dottbts remain, but the power of relief is 
 passed for ever ! 
 
 To have arrested the judgment, and to have stayed the 
 execution, when no life called for a victim, would have 
 been at least a grateful accommodation to the feelings of 
 mankind, as it would, beyond all question, have been an 
 offering more acceptable to the Deity than the dreadful 
 one which struck the beholders with horror, and which 
 cannot fail to excite astonishment in all who shall read the 
 
 particulars for years to come. 
 
 I ain, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 JOHN W ATKINS. 
 
 Somers' Town, 29 July. 1815. 
 
 To Mr. HONE, Fleet Street. 
 
 ~ 
 
 " To His Royal Highness the PRIXCE REGENT. 
 
 " SIR, 
 
 - 
 " Nothing but the most serious impression of the 
 
 first of all moral duties could have induced an obscure 
 individual like myself to take such a presumptuous step 
 as that of addressing your Royal Highness But there 
 
 are times and occasions when even the poorest and the 
 
 1 
 
 weakest may be excused for intruding upon their supe- 
 riors, and urging in earnest terms the cause of humanity. 
 The finest act in the life of Alexander Cruden, the com- 
 piler of the Concordance, was that of converting an 
 
 i : 
 
 ignorant convict under sentence of death, and then pro- 
 
 . . >9jflfiiifn 
 
 curing his pardon from go vi rn merit. I am now a suitor 
 
 to your Royal Highness in a similar case, though without
 
 163 
 
 having the slightest knowledge of the party for whom J 
 plead, or of the prosecutors ; so that my motive in this 
 instance is clear of all partiality and prejudice. There 
 are, however, so many extraordinary points in the case of 
 Eliza Fenningy now ordered for execution, that I trust for 
 your Royal Highness's goodness to pardon my freedom 
 in calling your serious attention to them. 
 
 " Circumstantial evidence alone stands as the ground of 
 this conviction; and this is a species of proof which can 
 never be too rigorously sifted or cautiously admitted. la 
 some instances, indeed, courts have nothing else by which 
 to decide upon an accusation ; but even there the chain 
 must be strong, well connected, and brought home closely 
 to the prisoner. In the present case I humbly apprehend 
 that there are defects enough to warrant a suspicion that 
 the verdict has been hasty ; or, at least, that the prisoner 
 may be innocent. If the last should hereafter turn out to 
 be the fact, it will be an agonizing consideration to those 
 who have contributed in any way to the ignominious end 
 of a 'young creature, who might have been an ornament 
 and a benefit to society. But that there is a probability 
 that this person is innocent appears from this, that she did 
 herself suffer by partaking of the poisoned dish, which 
 
 she certainly would have avoided had she been conscious 
 
 
 
 of its deadly quality. In the next place, the motive to 
 destruction was wanting, for she had neither any hope of 
 
 eaia, nor could be actuated by any principle of revenge. 
 
 if 
 Why then should she endanger her own life to get rid of 
 
 ') "tri , 
 
 those against whom she had no resentment, and from 
 
 whose death she could derive no advantage ? The poison, 
 it seems, was kept in the house by her master, and that in 
 so careless a vay that his servants were aware of the 
 circumstance, and acquainted with its situation. Now, if 
 one part of the family could gain access to it, another 
 might also and therefore, in such circumstances, it wa
 
 164 
 
 reasonably to have been expected that such as lived 
 longest in the house would have been subjected to the 
 most rigid examination. One of these domestics did not 
 share in the noxious food : immediately after the taking 
 ttf> ot* 'which, she went out on some concern or other : an 
 incident on which I forbear to expatiate, but which one 
 would think could hardly have escaped judicial ob- 
 servation. 
 
 f( Here are then points, in this most mysterious history, 
 which render the probability of innocence strong ; and 
 wherever that takes place, every casuist will contend 
 most strenuously in favour of the accused, even though 
 there should be some particulars which the jealousy of 
 the law is ever ready to convert into a presumption of 
 guilt. 
 
 " Excellent as our code is in the general, and mild as the 
 administration of justice confessedly is, still it is to be 
 lamented by all that our criminal records are stained with 
 too many instances of inconsiderate verdicts and inexorable 
 sentences. 
 
 " There is something so awful in reflecting upon such 
 melancholy occurrences, which prove the fallibility of 
 human wisdom in its highest state, and the imperfection 
 of human laws in their purest dispensation, that I am per- 
 suaded your Royal Highness will see the necessity of 
 examining, with the greatest strictness, the cases submitted 
 to your final decision ; and that in the one, which I have 
 here taken the liberty briefly to investigate, you will, if 
 possible, extend the highest attribute of royalty to this 
 young female, who, if guilty, may repent ; and, if inno- 
 cent, her life will be a blessing to her deliverert^^ 
 " May it please, &c. ^P** 
 
 JOHN WATKINS. 
 
 " Sunday, July 23, 1 815."
 
 4 
 LETTER II 
 
 >l n 
 
 ff 
 
 -r.s:?H%fj , 
 
 ^ 
 
 There is this great advantage in delay, that what 
 is lost in public attention is compensated for by the appro- 
 bation of conscience, and the benefits which may result 
 to posterity from repeated inquiry. It was the saying of 
 the greatest Statesman that perhaps England ever had, 
 " Stay a little, and we shall have done the sooner:" 
 by which he reproved those who examined superficially 
 and came to a decision hastily. I am glad, therefore, 
 that the publication of this narrative has sustained a pause, 
 as well to guard against the charge of endeavouriug to 
 inflame the passions of the multitude, as to afford oppor- 
 tunity for farther observation upon this most extraordinary 
 
 ."'case.*-. 
 
 On reviewing the evidence, it is impossible not to be 
 struck with the very singular fact, that the medical at- 
 tendant was not more closely examined with respect to 
 the state of the food that had been eaten : and it is not a 
 
 io little extraordinary, that though it was known that another 
 person of the faculty had been previously called in, his 
 testimony to the same purpose was not adduced at the 
 Trial. A very unaccountable question, which was put to 
 of the principal witnesses, whether the prisoner ren- 
 any assistance to the rest of the sufferers ? would in 
 this case have been satisfactorily answered by proving 
 that she was worse than all the rest. The absence of that 
 testimony, and the stress laid upon the unsupported and 
 unexplained opinion of one, who, by his own account, was 
 not so inquisitive into the arcana of the business as from 
 his profession might have been expected, and his subsequent 
 situation demanded, involves the circumstance in a cloud,
 
 166 
 
 which it would be more hazardous than difficult te 
 penetrate. 
 
 At the moment of my writing, however, a paper has 
 been put into my hands, purporting to be an authorized 
 statement of the observation made by the surgeon and 
 apothecary, at the time when they visited the family, in 
 consequence of the melancholy accident which has occa* 
 sioned this dreadful catastrophe. According to their 
 account, the unhappy girl refused the medicine that was 
 presented, exclaiming, at the same time, u that she would 
 not take any thing ; she had much rather die than live, as 
 life was of no consequence to her." By perseverance 
 these gentlemen prevailed upon her to take one dose, 
 when she repeated the same words. This account is 
 prefaced by the observation, that the persons who relate 
 the fact lament they had not an opportunity of stating it 
 on the Trial, as they consider it an additional proof of the 
 culprit's guilt. 
 
 Now these medical gentlemen must have had a very 
 singular, or contracted practice, if they have not often met 
 with refractory patients, who, in the excruciating agony 
 of pain, approaching very near to delirium, or in a loath- 
 ing to physic, amounting to antipathy, have not uttered 
 still more impassioned language than that which is here 
 construed, by a most perverse abuse of words, into a con- 
 sciousness of guilt. There is not a human being in exist- 
 ence whose life would be safe under any suspicious cir- 
 cumstance on which a capital charge depended, if their 
 incoherent sentences, when stretched on a bed of sicknessf 
 were to be strained into a collateral evidence against them. 
 But it seems that the patient, in this case, persisted in her 
 resolution, as on the next morning the medicine was found 
 untouched, and she repeated the same expressions. From 
 these nothing can justly be inferred, but that she was in a
 
 languid state, and naturally obsfmate ; or that insinuation! 
 and menaces had been uttered which made her careless 
 
 of luet, , : q 5 (1 nrrtfor! i^nHrrar ^m V) 'tfitoofn lfrft*' 
 But one thing comes out in this declaration which calls 
 for some remark, and that more especially as the state in 
 which the girl was proves that she was at least as ill as 
 any other of the family. In this case, how happened 
 it that she should have so soon recovered, without those 
 repeated applications which are necessary in all cases of 
 poison? If arsenickhad been taken into the stomach, so as 
 to produce the symptoms described, the immediate dis- 
 charge of every particle of it ^as a matter of consequence, 
 to the life of each patient. It seems, however, that only 
 one dose, whatever that might be, was taken by this young 
 woman, who, for aught that appears, was not a whit less 
 affected than the others; and yet she recovered. This 
 would lead one to suspect that there was no arsenick in the 
 food at all ; and, notwithstanding the charitable decision, 
 benevolent wish, and sapient judgment of the surgeon and 
 apothecary, I hold myself at full liberty to think that 
 either there was no real poison in the substance taken into 
 the stomach, or that it was not of the description which 
 has been specified. But admitting that the effects pro- 
 duced on all the parties in this mysterious affair were the 
 result of a destructive drug, and that this drug was arsenkk l 
 taken from the paper which the prosecutor kept in his 
 office, it by no means follows, in spite of the liberal send- 
 ments of these practitioners, that the prisoner was ac- 
 quainted with the existence of arsenick in that place, or 
 that she had ever meddled with the piper in which it was 
 contained. It is true that one of the apprentices on the 
 Trial stated his knowledge of the fact that arsenick was 
 deposited in an unlocked drawer in the office ; and he 
 went so far as to say, that he marked its absence about a
 
 168 
 
 day or two after the seventh of March, which was a 
 fortnight before the day of mischief. This person states 
 his having noticed the circumstance at the time, but to* 
 whom does not appear, nor indeed are we told how 
 he came to be so particular in his different observations on. 
 this arsenick ; since the Court seems to have either re- 
 garded the evidence as immaterial, or to have considered 
 it as standing in no need of illustration and of corroborative 
 explanation. At what period this arsenick was originally 
 obtained, from whom, and why so deposited, are points 
 about which we are unhappily left to inquire in the dark ; 
 having been left by the Court without those lights which 
 patient investigation might have produced. One essential 
 matter, about which the mind hovers with a degree of 
 anxiety, is, whether it had been customary, at former 
 times, to keep such a noxious article in that particular 
 place, and especially whether those persons who came 
 into the family were properly warned of the circumstance, 
 to prevent any evil that might result from ignorance 
 or wantonness ? What was not inquired at the Trial can 
 hardly be hoped for now ; and it certainly is to be de- 
 plored that, as all the evidences upon whom the case 
 depended, were, more or less, connected with the pro- 
 secutor's family, so much confidence should have been 
 placed in their respective memories and judgment, as 
 to have induced the Court to pass on from one to another, 
 without reiteration, and an examination of different per- 
 sons on tke same points^b Imsibui oill oJ bisq &CTT bif^i 
 From the whole body of conjecture^ which from the 
 report of this Trial appears to have been admitted as 
 evidence, the utmost that caa be presumed is, that poison 
 was administered ; but whether out of malevolence or 
 mischievous sport, remains doubtful ; since, as far as the 
 inquiry went, and according to the direction which the
 
 169 
 
 prosecution took, there is not the slightest clue by which 
 to fasten a motive for the action upon the prisoner. There 
 had been no recent quarrel, there was no proof of a se.refc 
 grudge, and tlwre most unquestionably could be no 
 incitement to such a deed from the desire of gain. The 
 absence of such stimulating principles in the suspected 
 quarter, ought to have led the inquirers to the search 
 after some possible causes of so nefarious an act elsewhere, 
 when it mdght have been discovered probably tbat it ori- 
 ginated in wantonness, or, perhaps, in that aberration of 
 the intellect which sometimes commits a fatal error with- 
 out any immediate impulse, or deliberate desiijn. 
 
 Compelled as we are to trace this unfortunate history 
 with extreme caution, we cannot place even our objec- 
 tions and doubts, our conjectures and reasonings, in the 
 most forcible light which the subject would bear; and 
 which a more deliberate judicial investigation would hav 
 enabled us to perform. 
 
 But thus much may be said with strict truth, that in 
 all our records of criminal convictions, there is not one 
 so completely wrapped up in obscurity as the present, 
 or one that drags after it so many painful and mortifying 
 considerations. Between the conviction and the report ; 
 nay, between the report and the execution, circumstances 
 came to view which tended most powerfully to strengthen 
 the persuasion that the culprit was innocent; yet inquiry 
 was rather depressed than encouraged ; a more saving 
 regard was paid to the judicial character than to the feel*- 
 ings of the public ; and, if I am correctly informed, this 
 was the first instance where the robe of justice interposed 
 to prevent the extension of mercy. Of the motives by 
 which men are actuated we have seldom the means of 
 obtaining correct knowledge; but, for the honour of human 
 nature, I hope another instance mil never occur when
 
 170 
 
 a prosecutor shall withhold his hand from subscribing a 
 petition for mercy to the throne ; and still more, that no 
 man henceforth will submit to be guided by the judge ; 
 who, having tried the cause, considers his professional 
 reputation injured by such a recommendation. > jv> 
 
 We are, however, kindly advised to rest satisfied with 
 the evidence which convinced the Court and the Jury ; 
 with the subsequent persuasion that confirmed the parties 
 concerned in the judgment which they formed; and to 
 acquiesce, on this authority, in the dreadful conclusion 
 that this young woman heightened her offence by a most 
 deliberate falsehood, in the name of her Maker, at the 
 moment when she was about to appear in his presence. 
 Such a tame submission on so arbitrary a requisition, may, 
 perhaps, appear perfectly reasonable in the estimation of 
 some cautious persons, who, in the plenitude of their 
 optimism, are disposed to believe that our criminal code 
 is the best of all possible codes ; that the Sessions'-House, iu 
 the Old Bailey, is the most immaculate of courts; that the 
 juries commonly assembled there are the most discri- 
 minating of all possible juries ; and that the present law 
 officer, who presides as the municipal judge, is the most 
 enlightened and patient, the most dignified and liberal, of 
 all possible judges. 
 
 But being little disposed to yield up my faith without a 
 reason, and that bottomed on something more substantial 
 than the vague conjectural evidence which has occasioned 
 this disquisition, I shall take the freedom, to which my 
 birth, as an Englishman, gives me a claim, of calling in 
 question the pretensions of those who so imperiously 
 require my admission of their legal infallibility Jo tfjmi sdi 
 The allowed intricacy of this case, where not one sub- 
 stantial or direct fact, as applied to the prisoner, could be 
 proved, and the immense importance of the Trial, in all
 
 171 
 
 respects, to every description of his Majesty's subjects, 
 called for the most solemn investigation; and, as far as 
 possible, the profoundest attention and legal knowledge of 
 the highest characters on the bench. Strange it is, how- 
 ever, that not one of the Judges assisted at this Trial, 
 whose great talents and experience might have been of 
 the utmost benefit in pursuing the examination, inter- 
 rogating the witnesses, sifting their testimony, summing 
 up the evidence, and directing the Jury. But so it was 
 that, on many accounts, one of the most extraordinarj 
 cases that ever occupied the consideration of a Court, was 
 despatched in a manner, and within a space of time, little 
 different from what occurs in an ordinary quarter-sessions 
 on minor offences. The same person who tried this case 
 reported it to the Privy Council, and, of course, on hi$ 
 representation, in a great measure, depended the fate of 
 the prisoner. Whether every facility was offered to 
 relax the rigour of justice, whether the probabilities of 
 mistake, and -the possibility of innocence, were fairljr 
 stated and forcibly urged on this occasion, cannot certain- 
 ly be publicly known r but if, when charity was roused 
 to great efforts, and in consequence of that diligence 
 which the friends of humanity thought it their duty to 
 exert the means of inquiry were rendered ineffectual by 
 those who ought to have given it every assistance, we may 
 at least be permitted to lament the hardship of that deter- 
 mination, to which we find ourselves compelled to submit. 
 Yet it was but reasonable to suppose that they who 
 were most likely to be affected by the discovery of the 
 innocence of the prisoner, should that have happily beei 
 the result of inquiry, would have been the most forward in 
 recommending delay, and the most anxious to promote 
 sucli an investigation as might have had the effect of 
 stamping a seal of absolute uectssity upon the warrant of
 
 172 
 
 execution, or of eliciting circumstances to justify the 
 exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy. Instead of 
 this, an assurance of guilt seems unfortunately to hare 
 taken possession of those minds with whom lay principally 
 the final decision of the case ; and it requires no small 
 portion of philosophical forbearance to restrain the feel- 
 ings within due limits, on observing that, while every 
 nerve has been strained, and all arts employed to swell 
 vague surmises into proofs of criminality, not the smallest 
 endeavour has been made to construe them in a manner 
 that might have been favourable to this ill-fated and help- 
 less young woman. 
 
 The utter impossibility of proving a negative in such a 
 case, and the numerous modes by which trifles, light as 
 air, may be converted into the confirmation of guilt, by 
 ingenious application and easy credulity, shows most 
 awfully the absolute necessity of examining them se- 
 parately, and in every possible light, before they are 
 admitted to weigh even as the dust on the balance, in a 
 charge on which the life of a fellow-creature is dependent. 
 Quintilian, in his Institutes, has a very elaborate discourse, 
 the intent of which is to show, that many things are too 
 apposite to be true ; or, in other words, that matters 
 brought in as the evidence of a fact, have too much refine- 
 ment and studied management, to be admitted honestly as 
 the proofs of what they are intended to support. The 
 prosecution and the trial which we have been reviewing, 
 will furnish a very apt illustration of this position ; and, 
 except the case of the unhappy men who were executed 
 wrongfully for the murder of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey, I 
 do not know any one that could more properly be adduced 
 in the way of a comment upon the text of Quintilian than 
 that now under consideration. 
 
 In the case of Elizabeth Penning there is a remarkable 
 want of simplicity in the manner and language of each of 
 the witnesses, as carries all the indications of previous 
 drilling, and thorough consultation ; which, though far
 
 173 
 
 from being exceptionable on that account, may, at least, 
 excite a reasonable presumption, that all doe care was 
 taken to keep down what might have turned in favour of 
 the prisoner, if the business had been conducted without 
 such skilful management. It is observable also, that the 
 questions on the Trial were of a leading description, and 
 drew forth the answers with as much precision as those of 
 any catechetical formulary whatever. This artificial con- 
 struction of the prosecution, and the petulant manner in 
 which certain parts of .the testimony were delivered, 
 cannot fail to arrest the attention of the cautious and intel- 
 ligent reader. It is impossible to say what would have 
 resulted from a more circuitous mode of examination, and 
 a comparison of the same testimony given in different 
 terms to other interrogatories ; for as such an attempt to 
 try the credibility of the witnesses, and to discover, if 
 possible, the innocence of the prisoner, was not made 
 when it might have been of the most essential service, 
 conjecture would be ill employed now in searching for 
 probabilities, when the adequate means are not to be 
 obtained. But, unfortunately, it frequently happens that a 
 long course of practice in criminal prosecutions only, 
 tends to turn the mind from those merciful considerations 
 which ought always to accompany the administration of 
 justice. 
 
 Some men seem to have thought, at least they have 
 deported themselves as if they did, that their sole doty 
 lay in searching out proofs of guilt, in aiding the views 
 of vindictive prosecutors, giving full scope tosevery 
 species of evidence, and then leaving prisoners to their 
 own exertions.- This gaoler-like sentiment tends to convert 
 the best of all human laws into a system of terror, more 
 sanguinary, if possible, than those of Draco, by enabling 
 prosecutors to take an advantage from the negligence, the 
 ignorance, or the poverty of the accused ; without any 
 interference on the part of those, who, from their situation, 
 ought in such a case to exrt all their diligence on the
 
 174 
 
 behalf of (he helpless prisoner. But to what an intolerable 
 degree would the grievance become heightened, if an 
 organized prosecution, armed and prepared in every part 
 by all that wealth can afford or ingenuity supply, should 
 be strengthened by judicial direction, and an inclination 
 io take every thing to be true that stands uncontradieted, 
 or unexplained. > 7t ,jj jr>;(1 
 
 Jn all cases where, owing to the absence of positive 
 evidence, the judgment must be exercised in appreciating 
 the probabilities of testimony ', a certain degree of scep- 
 ticism is requisite ; since an inclination to believe what is 
 confidently affirmed, has a natural tendency to magnify 
 facts beyond their just proportions, and todistort words from 
 their legitimate meaning. The charge delivered by the 
 great BACON to the Judges of his time ought deliberately 
 to be considered, and constantly regarded by every man 
 who is engaged in the administration of justice. " Judges," 
 said that luminary of science, " must beware of hard con- 
 structions and strained inferences ; for there is no worse 
 torture than the torture of the laws : especially in cases of 
 laws penal they ought to have a care that that which was 
 meant for terror be not turned into rigour." 
 
 This counsel will be found as salutary for the govern- 
 ment of the mind in private life, as it is necessary to be 
 attended to by those who fill a public station ; because 
 there are limits and occasions, when every human being 
 will be called to form some judgment an the actions of 
 others. Whether in the case which we are considering, 
 this rule has been strictly adhered to by all parties, from 
 the beginning of the inquiry, to the final decision, caa 
 only be ascertained by a rigid and minute investigation 
 of the proceedings in every stage of the melancholy 
 business. Yet it cannot be too strongly imjnessed upon 
 the mind of the intelligent observer, that the foundation 
 was no more than an insulated suspicion, which being once 
 laid, was suffered to gather into all tke texiure and form 
 of a regular accusation, by an accumulatiota 0f word*
 
 175 
 
 and incidents, not one of which, without the aid of con- 
 structive ingenuity, could be said to have ah offensive 
 meaning ; while the whole of them respectively considered,, 
 even in connexion with the matter in charge, admitted .of 
 an honest interpretation. Unfortunately, howeveiy allcl 
 these particulars were fitly framed and dovetailed into each 
 other with so much dexterity, as to have a very ominous 
 aspect, especially when there was nothing opposed to the 
 machinery but the simple negation of the prisoner. 
 
 But as if punishment could not be carried far enough, 
 when the law had obtained its sacrifice, vengeance has 
 even presumed to pass the boundaries of ordinary severity, 
 and to follow the sufferer beyond the grave. Among 
 other decencies by which this transaction has teen charac- 
 terized, one of the most extraordinary is the insult offered 
 to the British Public in the Affidavit of a Turnkey. The 
 intent of this deposition, which has been circulated with 
 eager industry, and at no small expense, by the prosecutor, 
 goes to show that the unhappy victim died with a lie in 
 her mouth, although she died appealing to her God that 
 she was innocent. But what aggravates the excessive 
 cruelty of this brutal act, we are called upon to believe, 
 on the authority of a Gaoler's Underling, that this climax 
 of guilt was occasioned by the repeated exhortations of the 
 parent of the unfortunate girl. A very homely proverb 
 might have taught this officious being, that it is " coward- 
 ly to throw water on a drowning mouse;" but when be 
 dared to adduce the evidence of the Ordinary of Newgate 
 in support of his statement, he was not aware that Ibe 
 reference involved that gentleman in a very awkward 
 dilemma : since, if he denied the truth of what was 
 alleged, the motives which produced the Affidavit must 
 appear at once in all their iniquity ; and if, on the other 
 hand, he admitted what was asserted, he must have shown 
 himself very unworthy of his office in remaining sileuf, 
 when such abominable advice was repeated in his pre- 
 sence; though his suffering the declaration to appear ia
 
 176 
 
 print, without contradiction or explanation, can hardly be 
 reconciled to any proper respect for the great ends of 
 justice or the public opinion. Happily, however, we are 
 relieved froni the disagreeable trouble of reasoning upon 
 this part of the business by the apology of the deponent 
 himself, who acquits the father of any evil intention ; 
 though his Affidavit, if it had any meaning at all, could 
 have no other object than that of proving an undue influ- 
 ence having been exercised on the mind of the sufferer, 
 to prevent her from making a free confession. But this 
 fellow of convenient memory has had integrity enough to 
 give up his employer, and to assure the public, that his 
 very humane and consistent declaration was made at the 
 instigation of the prosecutor ; with whom we must here 
 leave him to settle his account. 
 
 No serious and liberal mind, that has paid any par- 
 ticular attention to this melancholy history, can fail to 
 have been struck with the remarkable contrast between the 
 spirit and conduct of the prisoner, and the deportment of 
 those who have endeavoured to cut her off from the 
 mercy of Heaven, and from the tender pity of mankind, 
 by representing her as an intentional murderer, and a 
 hardened hypocrite, who veiled her offence under the 
 sanction of religion. 
 
 But, in spite of their charitable conclusions, we have 
 evidence to prove, and that much more strongly than any 
 on which she was condemned, that her religious prin- 
 ciples were correct and her professions sincere ; that she 
 had a due apprehension of the consequences of dying 
 without repentance ; and that, while she possessed a well- 
 grounded faith in the promises of the Gospel, she had a 
 proper sense of the duty by which alone they could be 
 secured. 
 
 This young woman was distinguished by a superiority 
 of intellect, and a propriety of feeling, which could hardly
 
 W Tibir.il HBO ,noUfi|i8JCLZ r to noitoibir-jfloo InofUrw ,tmia 
 be reconcilable with the depravity of which she has been 
 
 accused. And as she drew towards the last dreadful 
 stage of her mortal course, when she was about to appear 
 in His immediate presence, to whose justice she appealed 
 from the tender mercies of her fellow -creatures, she ac- 
 quired a placidity of temper, and an energy of mind, 
 totally opposed to the apathy of vice and the stupidity 
 of ignorance. , 
 
 t tTf' to . >><1I[{1 ' iit f' h'^Vfty^ ;v^-: 
 
 Am I then, when contemplating such a tender and 
 interesting object, to renounce one of the first principles of 
 our common Christianity, and, in despite of the spirit of 
 love, to believe that one who displayed in her last moments 
 both faith and charity, which had every legitimate sign 
 of perfect sincerity, was, after all, a fdo de se of the very 
 worst description ? Is it that because the verdict of the jury, 
 and that tbe passions, some good and some bad, of many 
 individuals have concurred in pronouncing her guilty, 
 upon conjectural testimony as to circumstances; all of 
 which may have been free of culpability, and recon- 
 cileable to the ordinary course of human action ; is it, in 
 short, that because a fallible tribunal, and a persisting 
 executive council, have deemed it necessary to carry the 
 sentence into execution, that, for no other reasons than 
 these, I must close the avenue of my understanding, by 
 which Hope may enter, to strengthen my assurance, that 
 the sufferer, whose untimely fate is to be lamented, has 
 found an eternal refuge from her woes in the bosom of 
 her Saviour and her God? ,., ,, , .,, n<m/; 
 
 AVith all due submission to the wisdom and the 
 virtues of the high legal Authorities of this land, with the 
 profoundest admiration of our invaluable Constitution in 
 all its parts, and -with a sincere respect for the exalted 
 Characters who have the direction of our national coun- 
 cils, I claim the privilege of exercising my own jiidg-
 
 178 
 
 ment. on those questions about which I feel a competency 
 to form an opinion ; and also of delivering that opinion to 
 the world, with all proper spirit, when the interests of the 
 existing generation, and those of posterity, are likely to be 
 affected by the matter in discussion. 
 
 There is a kind of timidity that takes the name of 
 prudence ; under the baneful influence of which, men of 
 the best dispositions are frequently led to check inquiry 
 into palpable evils, and to submit, without complaint, to 
 grievous oppressions, for fear of giving offence, or of 
 incurring censure. But they who voluntarily degrade 
 their minds by yielding to such an abject domination, 
 would do well to reflect, that this slavish conduct is an 
 injury to their fellow-creatures; inasmuch as it tends to 
 give an advantage to the crafty, to encourage the vindic- 
 tive, and to extend the arm of power beyond its due 
 limits. 
 
 The Case which we have been reviewing is one of 
 vital importance to every individual in society, since it 
 may possibly fall to be the lot of any person, whether in 
 the higher walks of life or in the humble state of servitude, 
 to become accidentally an object of suspicion, and to 
 be charged by the uncharitable, or the designing, with an 
 offence of the greatest enormity, on mere surmise and 
 presumption. 
 
 This discussion, therefore, of a subject so momentous, 
 and which comes home to the bosom of every human 
 being, cannot surely be reprehended by any one who has 
 a due sense of his obligation, as a member of the public 
 community, to watch diligently over the administration 
 of the law, no less than to submit patiently to its ordi- 
 nances. 
 
 For the present I shall take leave of this transaction, 
 in the cogent and powerful language of the profound and
 
 179 
 
 excellent BARROW, on the danger of forming rash and 
 uncharitable judgments. 
 
 " Every accusation should be deemed null," says that 
 great divine, " until, both as to matter of fact, and in 
 point of right, it be firmly proved true : it sufficeth not to 
 presume it may be so: to say it seemeth thus doth not 
 sound like the voice of a judge : otherwise, seeing there 
 never is wanting some colour of accusation, every action 
 being liable to some suspicion, or sinister construction, no 
 innocence could be secure, no person could escape con- 
 demnation : the reputation and interest of all men would 
 continually stand exposed to inevitable danger. It is 
 a rule of equity and humanity, built upon plain reason, 
 that rather a nocent person should be permitted to escape 
 than an innocent should be constrained to suffer : for the 
 impunity of the one is but an inconvenience, the suffering 
 of the other is a wrong : the punishment of the guilty 
 yieldeth only a remote probable benefit ; the affliction of 
 the blameless in volveth a near, certain mischief: wherefore 
 it is more prudent and more righteous to absolve a man, 
 of whose guilt there are probable arguments, than to con- 
 demn any man upon bare suspicions. And remarkable it 
 is how God, in the law, did prescribe the manner of trial 
 and judgment, even in the highest case, and most nearly 
 touching himself, that of IDOLATRY: * If (saith the law, 
 Deut. xvii. 4.) it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, 
 ' and inquired diligently, and behold it be (rue, and the 
 6 thing certain, that such an abomination is wrought in 
 4 Israel, then shalt thou bring forth that roan, or that 
 6 woman, and shalt stone them.' See what great caution 
 is prescribed, what pregnant evidence is required in such 
 cases : it is not enough that it be reported, or come to our 
 ear ; diligent inquiry must be made, it must be found 
 true, it must appear certain, before we may proceed to
 
 180 
 
 condemn or execute. It is indeed not fair judgment, but 
 mere calumny, to condemn a man before he doth, by suf- 
 ficient proof, appear guilty.' 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 JOHN WATK1NS. 
 
 August 18, 1815. 
 
 ..u:> 4, -,i bitur.li -Hi 
 
 Postscript. Some notice has already been taken of 
 the strange circumstance, that this perplexing case, 
 which called for the exercise of the greatest legal powers, 
 should have been tried, though it happened out of the 
 bounds of the City, solely before the Recorder, without 
 even the presence of one of the Judges ; and this point 
 deserves more particular consideration, as it shows the 
 slight indifference with which the business was treated, 
 and accounts for the firmness with which all applications 
 for mercy were rejected. Experience will convince every 
 one, that men in high official situations are little inclined to 
 retrace their opinions, or to call in question the correctness 
 of the judgment which they have pronounced. But, with 
 all due allowance for this pertinacity and self-compla- 
 cency, which grows with age and becomes hardened by 
 practice, it will furnish no excuse for those branches of the 
 executive administration who neglect to examine into 
 reported cases, by other lights than what are afforded by 
 the persons who, it is natural to suppose, have more respect 
 for their own decisions than for the sentiments and conclu- 
 sions of the rest of the world, in matters which may possibly 
 affect their professional eminence. 
 
 To Mr. HONE, Fleet Street.
 
 . ., , 
 
 LETTER III. 
 Sin, 
 
 If your intended colled ion of papers on the 
 Case of Eliza Penning has not already extended beyond 
 due limits, I conceive that a few pages additional should 
 be devoted to a consideration of the very extraordinary 
 pamphlet^ which the ONLY MEDICAL Witness who 
 was examined on the Trial, has just thought proper to send 
 intothe world, for the purpose of exhibiting supplementary 
 proofs of the sufferer's guilt. 
 
 That man is te be pitied, or suspected, who finds 
 himself obliged to enter upon an explanation of the evi- 
 dence which he has given in a court of judicature : but, 
 when he enters upon this unpleasant task, the very neces- 
 sity of which shows that something was wanting to render 
 his testimony complete, when it could alone be effectual, 
 the least to be expected from him is a tone of modest dif- 
 fidence, upon matters where the wisest may err, and 
 silence on points where even justice may be deceived. 
 
 Of all evidence, in courts of criminal jurisprudence, 
 that of professional men ought to be given with the 
 greatest care, and received with the utmost caution. Plain 
 facts are level to ordinary understandings, and very simple 
 logic is sufficient to ascertain their relative connexions and 
 separate value ; but opinions drawn from recondite branches 
 of human knowledge, and grounded on inquiries with 
 which few comparatively are acquainted, must be re- 
 garded as of little weight, unless well strengthened by 
 reasoning that admits of no misconstruction, and sup- 
 ported by authority that cannot be controverted. It is, 
 however, to be feared that, in too many cases of vital 
 importance, a reliance has been placed upon the judgment 
 ofprofessional men, which has contributed to verdicts and 
 decrees that have proved woeful warnings to succeeding 
 jurors and judges. Instances might be produced, in no
 
 182 
 
 slight number, where a culpable confidence in medical 
 practitioners has proved fatal to persons of whose inno- 
 cence an enlightened posterity can have -no doubt. Our 
 own records exhibit some melancholy cases, wherein the 
 fallible opinions of vain and ignorant men have been 
 rashly thrown into the scale of justice, like the sword of 
 the barbarian, to decide the fate of the unfortunate. Evi- 
 dence and judgment of this kind may, indeed, be truly 
 termed barbarous, since, in every case where the balance 
 hangs in equipoise, and doubt hovers on the beam, no 
 man possessed of the common feelings of humanity would 
 endeavour to draw upon his imagination, or his science, 
 to supply the lack of direct and positive information. A 
 man of extensive knowledge will deliver his testimony to 
 facts in very plain and explicit terms ; but, when called 
 upon for his opinion in a matter where that opinion is 
 certain of having considerable influence on the fate of 
 others, he will be extremely tender, slow, and circumspect. 
 How far this simple rule of moral conduct was ob- 
 served in the late Trial, is a subject well deserving of 
 minute inquiry. Thus much is certain, that an uncom- 
 mon degree of confidence was placed in the evidence of 
 the medical Witness ; though, as there were two profes- 
 sional attendants in the concern, both ought to have been 
 examined; and yet the first thing that must strike the 
 feeling mind, is the fact that this witness has found it expe- 
 dient to print a supplementary statement, to act as a com- 
 mentary on what he gave in court, and to supply the 
 deficiencies of his oral evidence. The next thing observable 
 is the positive language, in the actual testimony of this Wit- 
 ness, and the readiness with which the Court admitted the 
 peremptory, but unexplained, decision of a man, who 
 declared that he had no doubts, where wiser men than he 
 can pretend to be, would, at least> have spoken with 
 guarded reserve, and delivered an opinion with the greatest 
 caution. This important Witness, on the contrary, in an 
 affair which required a very detailed statement of personal
 
 183 
 
 observations, and a very minute adduction of the proofs 
 on which his judgment was formed, neither related those 
 particulars which he has since found it necessary to pub- 
 lish ; nor was he called upon, as it should seem, for the 
 authority on which he so peremptorily asserted that arse- 
 nide ALONE, of all Ihe mineral poisons, would produce 
 the symptoms which he briefly stated. One of the effects 
 mentioned by him, that of blackening iron or steel by mere 
 casual contact, may very properly be called in question 
 even by superficial chemists : and yet, upon this alleged 
 property of arsenick,this person, when interrogated, neither 
 stopped to pause, to qualify, or explain; but at once 
 roundly maintained it as a thing certain and invariable. 
 
 Now, when all this is considered, the wonder surely 
 must be, not that such a man should find it necessary 
 to publish a laboured exposition on the subject of his evi- 
 dence, but that, in an enlightened age, any Court could so 
 readily have admitted his opinion at all as decisive, in a 
 case that involved the life of a human being. Time must 
 have been very precious, in the estimate of those who sat 
 upon this Trial, when about half a dozen questions to the 
 medical Witness, and as many laconic sentences on his 
 part, were deemed sufficient to determine the case on the 
 side of the prosecution. Such, however, was the fact; 
 and NOW it appears that we are to consult this man's 
 commentary for an explanation of the evidence; and, by 
 consequence, for a full justification of all that resulted 
 from it in the conviction and execution of the prisoner. 
 But, perhaps, some readers may have such old fashioned 
 and stubborn notions of conscientious propriety, with regard 
 to human testimony in cases of this character, as to think 
 that a supererogatory exposition, however luminous in its 
 composition, or correct in its details, is no apology tor 
 proceedings, which were despatched without the light 
 that these voluntary helps might have afforded. Still the 
 narrative may be serviceable, in enabling dispassionate 
 observers to appreciate the substantial merits of the only
 
 184 
 
 material evidence on which this charge was founded t 
 though, if I am not much mistaken, the effect of the publi- 
 cation will be the reverse of what its Author intended. 
 There can be no need of following him in his account of the 
 symptoms, his mode of treatment, or in his experiments 
 on arsenick. The labour of the Apothecary upon the 
 mode of detecting this poison, and its effects on (he 
 human frame, might have been spared, without any disad- 
 vantage to medical practice, or loss to chemical science ; 
 for it has neither been productive of any discovery in the 
 properties of this deadly mineral, nor in the most effectual 
 way of expelling it from the bodies of those who may 
 have been so unfortunate as to have taken it either by 
 design or mistake. All that is stated on this subject, in 
 the pamphlet now under consideration, the world knew 
 long ago ; and a man must have very pitiful pretensions 
 to medical skill who wanted the information which is here 
 so pompously displayed. 
 
 A few circumstances, however, have found a place in 
 this performance, which merit particular notice, as tend- 
 ing, in a considerable degree, to illustrate the character of 
 the prosecution, and to strengthen the presumption, that 
 the unhappy girl was innocent of the crime for which she 
 .suffered, notwithstanding the peremptory decision of the 
 MEDICAL Witness, NONE of whose observations or 
 experiments hate the slightest bearing onjhe question. 
 It is observable, in the first place, that this person did not 
 see any of the parties who were poisoned till four hours 
 after the accident ; during which interval they had been 
 attended by an Apothecary in the neighbourhood, \vho 
 was superseded in the evening by another member, of the 
 same rank in the faculty, whose residence lay at a remote 
 distance : and no reason has been assigned for this change ; 
 nor has any account been given why, in an affair of so 
 much moment, a compounder of medicines should have 
 been selected instead of a scientific physician. In country 
 villages, where the inhabitants have no choice, the meanest
 
 185 
 
 practitioner must be resorted to, till the next best can bff 
 obtained ; but in the heart of the metropolis, where a 
 whole family is known to be in danger from having taken 
 a quantity of arsenick, the obvious course, suggested by 
 common sense, would be that of sending for the highest 
 medical aid that is to be procured. Herej most undoubt- 
 edly, no apology can be made for sucli a strange neglect ; 
 and the circumstance of employing TWO APOTHE- 
 CARIE, in succession , on the same day, without calling 
 in a regular PHYSICIAN, has, it must be confessed, a 
 very untoward aspect. The effect produced by this 
 change was apparent on the TRIAL, vhere the medical 
 fa-courite of the family, who did not see the patients till 
 they had undergone the process which the danger re- 
 quired, was alone examined as to the SYMPTOMS and 
 the cause. If there was neither design nor management in 
 this extraneous line of conduct, so different from that 
 straight forward]course which ordinary minds would pursue 
 in such a case, it must, at least, be regarded as one that 
 called for some inquiry and observation in a COURT of 
 judicature. This was the more necessary when another 
 circumstance is considered; and that is, the instrument 
 employed to bring the Apothecary from Half-Moon Street, 
 to Chancery Lane. A young man, named THOMAS 
 KING, who lived in the family as an apprentice, having 
 succeeded in^cscaping all this mischief, was despatched in 
 the evening to hasten the new medical assistant, full/owr 
 hours after the misfortune had occurred; with the very 
 urgent declaration, that the patients might be all dead 
 before this person's arrival ! Now, at what precise hour, 
 or by whose express directions, this young man was sent 
 off for the distant Apothecary, does not appear in any part 
 of the proceedings : but the MISTRESS, in her eridence, 
 slightly observed, that, after calling in one medical person, 
 they, meaning, perhaps, HERSELF and her husband, sent 
 for Mr. MARSHALL, without assigning any reason for 
 so doing : nor did the Court take that notice of the cii-
 
 cumsfance which might have been expected from its rela- 
 tive importance. Certainly every information was neces- 
 sary in an affair where nothing but presumptive evidence 
 couUl be obtained ; and therefore the testimony of the 
 messenger, who was sent by his master, mistress, or both, 
 in quest of an Apothecary at the west end of the town, 
 ought not to have been dispensed with. Yet this THO- 
 MAS KING, who never ate of the FATAL dumplings, 
 never once appeared in the zcitnesses* box at the Old 
 Bailey ; though, as a member of the family, and ac- 
 quainted with its internal concerns, it must have been, 
 obvious that HIS e-cidcnce zcas of the greatest CONSE- 
 QUENCE. 
 
 Careless credulity in charges of a criminal nature, is 
 nearly as culpable as wilful prejudice ; since he who lends 
 an easy ear to the stories of interested persons, and the 
 representations of prosecutors, is ill qualified to detect 
 guilt, or to defend innocence. In the present case it was 
 of essential moment, to the substantial ends of justice, that 
 the Apothecary FIRST called in should have been first 
 examined : and, in the next place, it was equally neces- 
 sary that the person who was lucky enough to ai'oid the 
 poisonous dish, should have stated all that he had observed 
 on that day ; together with every such particular as he 
 might be supposed to be acquainted with, as to the pre- 
 sence of ARSENICS in the house, the place where it 
 was kept, the uses to which it was applied, the persons 
 who ordinarily had access to it, and whether, as far as he 
 could say, the existence of so dangerous an article in that 
 place was made generally known in the family. The 
 evidence of this person was more material than that of 
 some others; and the very MANNER in zchich he is 
 mentioned by the medical commentator, in his illustration 
 of what he calls the five cases of recovery from poison by 
 arsenick, shows, beyond all doubt, that the omission of his 
 testimony in Court was injurious to the caiise of truth, and 
 an outrage upon humanity. As this young man must
 
 187 
 
 have had abundant opportunities of making his observa- 
 tions on the character and deportment of his fellow- 
 servants; and especially as HE ALONE was enabled, 
 at the time of the fatal occurrence, to render effectual 
 assistance to (he rest of the family, he surely, of all per- 
 sons, was the one that ought to have undergone a LONG 
 and VERY MINUTE examination. That he was not 
 interrogated at all in such an affair, where he was an eve 
 and ear witness, must be set down in the catalogue of 
 INEXPLICABLE INCIDENTS, for which prudence 
 may find an excuse, but which justice will not scruple to 
 condemn. This selection of a few witnesses, where a mul- 
 tiplicity of evidence was requisite, carries such an appear- 
 ance, that it may well be wondered how a Court could be 
 satisfied with the absence of a witness so obviously capable 
 of clearing up some of the most intricate parts of this very 
 dubious transaction. Why, indeed, his testimony was 
 neither offered nor sought, it would now be idle to conjec- 
 ture ; though, when ALL the circumstances of this extra- 
 ordinary- history are duly weighed, little doubt can be 
 entertained that the omission was a matter of convenience 
 and expediency, well understood and deliberately regulated. 
 The systematic contrivance of this prosecution, manifested 
 in the compressed form which was given to it, and in the 
 choice of witnesses, together with the MODE of examina- 
 tion and the tally ing fitness of the answers, will warrant the 
 conclusion that there was as much design in what was 
 kept OUT of hearing as in that which was prominently 
 brought forward.' If these remarks are considered as 
 unreasonably severe, the answer may be obtained from tho 
 REPORT of the TRIAL,- and, above all, from the 
 EXPOSITION which the Apothecary has judged it neces- 
 sary to publish as & justification of tlie prosecution and its 
 consequences. In this last piece supplementary testimony 
 is exhibited, particularly that of THOMAS KING ; yet as 
 the Jury were 'never made acquainted with any of it, the 
 natural inference is that, by so much as any importance i$
 
 188 
 
 to be attached to it, by so much was the OMISSION ot* 
 such evidence in Court an UNPARDONABLE INSULT 
 upon the common feelings, the common understanding-, 
 and the common rights of mankind. 
 
 If, after all this, anything could add to the surprise and 
 indignation of the British public, it must be the exclama- 
 tion which the Apothecary , in his Commentary , has as- 
 cribed to the RECORDER who sat upon this affecting and 
 solemn occasion. Among other strange things which were 
 brought to weigh in the scale of conviction against the 
 prisoner, one was the want of sensibility displayed by her 
 in not affording assistance to her MISTRESS ; * which 
 want of feeling the RECORDER is represented as 
 having noticed, in what is called his admirable charge 
 to the Jury, in these words : */ If a dog were taken ill 
 in a family, where is the Christian but would take pity, 
 and be ready to lend assistance ? " This observation is 
 stated in the Narrative, with strong terms of approbation: 
 but if it would be unchristian to leave a dog to perish with- 
 out pity and relief, it must be infinitely more unchristian 
 and inhuman to aggravate the woes of the unfortunate and 
 depressed, by intemperate remarks and odious com- 
 parisons. It is the duty of a JUDGE to hear with 
 patience, to examine with diligence, to sum up the evi- 
 dence with scrupulous fidelity^ and to leave the whole to 
 the Jury, without any attempt to injlame their minds or 
 to bias their opinion* 
 
 Now the very Apothecary, whose evidence was given 
 on that day, has informed us, that on visiting the family 
 he. found the Prisoner in a condition as deplorable, and as 
 much rcanting relief, as any of the other patients. Now 
 if the RECORDER was misled into the error that she 
 had it in her power to render assistance to others, and did 
 not ; and if from that supposed negligence he inferred that 
 she must have been of an unfeeling and malevolent dispo- 
 
 * For the situation of Mrs. C. TURNER, see Trial, p. 15- and 16, 
 nd Q. 34 and 35, and Notes.
 
 189 
 
 sition, what will be thought of the silence of those who 
 could have set him right by relating the helpless state in 
 which the prisoner was at the time when the alleged want 
 of attention is said to have occurred ? This unhappy 
 young creature could not have eaten a less quantity of the 
 poisoned food than any other person in the family ; and 
 the situation in which she was found, by the medical at- 
 tendants, plainly proved, as far at least as presumptive 
 evidence could go to establish any thing, that she was 
 utterly ignorant of the existence of arscnick in the dump- 
 lings, however she might dislike their appearance. The 
 observations of the same persons would also have proved 
 satisfactorily to the Court, or at least to the Jury, that so 
 far from giving any aid to her fellow-sufferers, she was 
 unable to go up or dow;i stairs. It may, therefore, well 
 excite surprise, that so unreasonable a question should have 
 been put, in the course of examination : * but it is still 
 more astonishing and unaccountable, that the Witness, to 
 whom it was put, had not candour or honesty enough to 
 state the WHOLE fact : and it cannot fail to rouse 
 the most lively emotions of abhorrence in every liberal 
 mind, to find that the medical reporter himself could so 
 far forget the duties of humanity as to commit to print a 
 panegyric upon the Recorder for this reflection ; which, 
 if he did make it, must have been through the misrepre- 
 sentation or criminal silence of those who ought to have 
 given him correct information. Here then is a dilemma, 
 out of which the managers and advocates of the prosecution 
 will find some difficulty to extricate themselves : but, at all 
 events, the attempt to cover the cause, by the authority 
 of the presiding Magistrate, must awaken suspicion in 
 those who are most credulous in admitting circumstantial 
 proofs of guilt ; for even if the culprit had manifested the 
 insensibility alleged, it might have proceeded from that 
 stupor, and shock, which alarming accidents are very apt 
 to occasion in the best and most active minds; and, there- 
 See Trial, p. 22, Q. 51.
 
 190 
 
 fore, ought not to bavc been dwelt upon emphatically with 
 the direct intention of guiding the Jury in that verdict 
 which they were to draw from the evidence, and from 
 nothing else. Such an exclamation, therefore, as that 
 which has been stated with admiration by the Apothecary, 
 if addressed to a Jury impannelled on the life of a pri- 
 soner, has no such claims to the admiration of others ; for 
 the duty of the Jury was to have laid their heads together 
 with the simple evidence for their consideration, unaccom- 
 panied by any provoking comments. Why is it that 
 prisoners, by our rules of law, are debarred the privilege 
 of counsel to address juries on their behalf; but for this 
 reason, that the latter may not be influenced by rhetorical 
 declamation, operating on their passions, or be deceived 
 by sophistical reasoning directed to their understandings ? 
 But, surely, it would be the extreme of injustice to allow 
 that in judges, from which the unfortunate and defenceless 
 are precluded. There certainly would be much more 
 danger in the one case than in the other; because every 
 person, juror or otherwise, will perceive that the counsel 
 for the prisoner acts the part of an advocate, and as such 
 is not entitled to any more consideration than what he can 
 make out by an elaborate investigation of the case in an 
 appeal to facts; but what comes from the judge is regarded 
 as matter of deliberate opinion and of decisive authority. 
 The learned pleader may make out an ingenious argument 
 for his client, even while he believes him guilty ; but a 
 JUDGE cannot play the ADVOCATE, except it be FOR 
 THE PRISONER, in a case of DOUBT, without de- 
 scending from his station and committing his dignity. An 
 appeal to the passions of the jury would be, on his part, 
 a violation of all decorum, arid to exercise tyranny over 
 their minds no less than over the life and liberty of the 
 prisoner ; and, therefore, if it were possible to believe 
 that our jurisprudence, which has been for so long a period 
 the pride of this country, could be thus abused, one might 
 say of it, ft at nominis umbra*
 
 191 
 
 It stirs the blood of an Englishman into a ferment to 
 observe, that there are beings in this country so totally 
 callous to all the generous sentiments of human nature, 
 and so unworthy of the privileges they enjoy , as to express 
 a public approbation of such language. After all, this 
 citation, therefore, whether fatee or true, must be left to 
 those who made it ; any thing that conies from such a pure 
 and disinterested quarter, beyond positive and unequivocal 
 demonstration, cannot be deserving of the smallest atteritiou 
 or respect. Had the medical reporter of the case of poison, 
 which he has sub-divided into Jive 9 been content with a 
 mere statement of his personal observations, and confined 
 himself to those points which related to his own professional 
 concern, little might have been said against him : but when 
 heroes beyond his line, and takes up the character of AN 
 APOLOGIST FOR THE PROSECUTION in all ifs 
 parts, HE can have no right to complain if an ADVO- 
 CATE on the side of HUMANITY treats him with a 
 portion of that rigid justice, which he presses together 
 and heaps up in unmeasured and unmerciful profusion, to 
 DECEIVE the living and to INJURE the dead. He 
 who can condescend to shelter his judgment under the 
 goodly testimony of thief takers and gaolers ; he who can 
 quit the strict and upright rules of moral evidence on the 
 question immediately at issue, to rake in the common sewer 
 of vulgar REPORT for circumstances, which, to make 
 the most of them, indicate nothing but youthful levity and 
 indiscretion; He, in short, who can be as FULSOME in 
 his PRAISE as he is ILLIBERAL in his REFLECTIONS^ 
 has no CLAIM upon public attention for what he shall 
 assert, but for what he can PROVE. The Author of 
 the Medical Report on this Case has mentioned an t/i- 
 decent book, which, as lie says, was found in the box of the 
 Prisoner, and from whence it is inferred that her principles 
 were bad, and her ideas contaminated. But tbe book, for 
 aught we are told, might have been casually picked up 
 in the very house where she unfortunately dwelt ; and it
 
 is not at all improbable that this same obnoxious tract did 
 belong to some one or other of the -family. Such things 
 will and DO occur in the best regulated households, and 
 VERY improper publications may be found even in the 
 bookcases of men, who, as MAGISTRATES, have the 
 care of the public manners, or who, as divines, are intrusted 
 "with the charge of inculcating morality, fray, even in 
 bparding-schqols of the first rank, and in the closets of well- 
 educated ladies, books might be seen which, according 
 to the judgment of this enlightened practitioner, would 
 convict the possessors of impure ideas and of evil designs. 
 There can be no boundary to criminal accusations when 
 every incident may be thus tortured into an implication of 
 guilt; and when things which are harmless in themselves, 
 and have no affinity to the charge, shall, by refinement, 
 be construed into evidences of a malevolent disposition. 
 Enough, however, has been said, and more than enough, 
 upon this foolish circumstance, which no MAN of en- 
 larged judgment or liberal sentiment would have STOOPED 
 to notice. In other respects, the commentary of the APO- 
 THECARY is undeserving of examination, unless the 
 reader should be of opinion that some remark ought to be 
 offered on the honourable mention made in it of the tinder 
 gaoler's affidavit, and which affidavit that man afterwards 
 round it necessary to qualify and explain. Truly these 
 TWO persons have a strong affinity in urbanity of feeling, 
 delicacy of sentiment, and correctness of judgment ; for 
 as the turnkey, DAVIS, was under the necessity of pub- 
 lishing an exposition of his affidavit which destroyed its 
 authority, so the APOTHECARY lias been impelled, by 
 some motive or other, to print an illustration of his evi- 
 dence by which the VALUE of both may be ascertained. 
 The supplementary GLOSS of each is, however, at vari- 
 ance with the text ; and it requires not the sagacity of 
 Oedipus to perceive, that if the original testimonies or 
 declarations were so defective as to render some faith er . 
 elucidation expedient^ that deficiency could not have hap-
 
 193 
 
 PITRPOQI? n c *\ funtuuiar 
 
 fc. One of these persons would do well to ML* 
 some attention to the observation of a learned physician 
 whose talents could only be equalled by his virtue/ Tn 
 general" says Dr. William Hunter, f am afraid too 
 has been left to our decision. Many of our profes- 
 sion are not so conversant with science as the world man 
 think; and some of us are a little disposed to grasp at 
 authority in a public examination, by giving a quick and 
 decided opinion where it should have been guarded with 
 doubt,- a character which no man should be ambitious to 
 acquire, who, in his profession, is presumed every day 
 to be deciding nice questions, upon which the LIFE of a 
 patient may depend." 
 
 JOHN WATKINS. 
 
 Sept. 29, 1815. 
 
 SUBSCRIPTION FOR THE PARENTS 
 
 ELIZABETH PENNING. 
 
 fxF e3iHHBn^HtevHMD 
 
 ' 
 
 [Copy.] 
 
 " To the consideration of a benevolent Public is submitted the 
 Case of WILLIAM and MARY PENNING, the distressed Parents 
 of the above unfortunate young woman, by whose untimely end 
 they are deprived, in their premature advance to old age, of the 
 solaces of a dutiful and affectionate daughter, the last of a nu- 
 merous family. 
 
 " In their anxiety to administer to their child, when in prison, 
 those little necessaries which, it must be known, are there wanting; 
 and to perform, with decency and propriety, the last sad office 
 required from them ; they spent their trivial savings, and were 
 
 O
 
 194 
 
 compelled to sell or pawn the whole of their furniture and bedding, 
 and nearly all their wearing apparel. 
 
 " To relieve them from their present unfortunate situation, 
 and to contribute to the comforts of this distressed couple, in their 
 declining years, is the object of those who make the prtsent appeal 
 'on their behalf. 
 
 " The amount subscribed will be placed under the direction of 
 a Committee, to be appropriated in the way best calculated to 
 attain the end in view : and in order to remove any impression that 
 may, perhaps, have been made by the fabricated statement in the 
 "OBSERVER" Newspaper of the 30th July of a considerable 
 sum of money having been given by persons, whom sympathy or 
 curiosity may have led to visit the house before the funeral took 
 place, it is deemed necessary to state here, that the money so 
 'given, as well as by a partial subscription amongst a few neigh- 
 bours, did not amount altogether to more than eleven or twelve 
 pounds ; and even this small sum was entirely unsolicited by them, 
 and immediately absorbed. 
 
 " The most respectable and satisfactory testimonials have been 
 received of the character of WILLIAM FENCING during a period 
 of upwards of twenty years' service in the British Army ; and of 
 both himself and wife since that period. 
 
 " SUBSCRIPTIONS mil be thankfully received at the BANK- 
 ING HOUSES of Messrs. BOND, SONS, and PATTISALL, 
 2, 'Change Alley, Cornhill ; Messrs. HANBURY, BOWMAN, 
 and LLOYD, 60, Lombard Street; Messrs. MARSH, SIBBALD, 
 STRACEY, FAUNTLEROY, and STEWARD, 7, Berners' 
 Street, Oxford Street; and Messrs. WESTON, PINHORN, 
 and CO., High Street, Borough. 
 
 " Also by Mr. J. M. RICHARDON, Bookseller, 23, Cornhill ; 
 Messrs. OGLES, DUNCAN, and COCHRAN, Booksellers, 295, 
 Holborn, and 37, Paternoster Row ; Mr. NORRIS, 55, High 
 Holboru ; and Mr. ABERDOCR, 16*4, Strand." 
 
 - 
 
 *
 
 
 THIRTY LETTERS, 
 
 WRITTEN WHILST IN CONFINEMENT, AND UNDER 
 SENTENCE OF DEATH, 
 
 .1 btl&Liiajiss ig.<xj 'yijw 'cwJj -u i, Jjr..(j(,.":,-G. r j,"-i-rn > 
 
 BY TUT. LAIE 
 
 PENNING. ; 
 
 *.* r^c EDITOR Ao> fo entreat attention lo J a SELECTION OF 
 
 MOST INTERESTING LETTERS, from an EXTENSIVE COLLEC- 
 
 TION in his possession, written by the unfortunate Girl ; the whole 
 of which would have appeared if these sheets had not increased 
 much beyond their intended number. As she evidently penned 
 them without study or reperusal, it became necessary to supply 
 words which she had omitted, by inserting them between crotchets, 
 and to correct the spelling and punctuation; but in no othir 
 respect has the style been altered. They portray the unhappy 
 creature's mind and feelings for the last four months of her life t 
 during the- constant apprehension of being launched out of the 
 "world. JVTiether considered as illustrative of her unfortunate case, 
 or valued as a LITERARY cuRiosiTY/or the remarkable union of 
 natural eloquence and intellectual rigour in a poor and illiterate 
 servant Girl, the EDITOR concerces that he has rendered an 
 acceptable tenice by their publication. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 To E d P r. 
 
 New Clerkenwcll Prison, 
 Dear E d, March 29, 1815. 
 
 You may be truly surprised at me for not writing 
 or sending to you ; bfft/no doubt, you have heard what
 
 1,'rh T ' 
 has happened to me, for I now lay ill at the infirmary 
 
 sick ward at the New Clerkenwell Prison ; for on last 
 Tuesday week I had some yeast dumplings to make, and 
 there was something in which I can't answer for, and 
 they made four of us, including myself, dangerously ill; 
 and because I made them, they suspect me that I have 
 put something in them, which i assure you 1 am innocent 
 of; hut f expect I shall he cleared on Thursday, if in 
 case I can attend. My mother attends me three times a 
 da}', and brings me every thing I can wish for : but, Ed- 
 ward, I never shall be right or happy again, to think that 
 I ever was in a prison ; but if I was to die, I still should 
 he happy to think [ die innocent. If it be no trouble to 
 you, I wish you would answer this quick though I am in 
 a prison, and send directly. 
 
 Your's truly, 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. 
 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 To E d P r. 
 
 Clerkenwell Prison, 31st March, 1815. 
 
 DearE d, 
 
 This is the second time that I have wrote to you, 
 and I feel very unhappy at your not answering my let- 
 ters : but, I suppose, as you have heard what has hap- 
 pened to me, you don't care to take any notice of me 
 now ; but I never should disgrace you, as I suffer inno- 
 cent; but I trust in God I shall get the better of my ene- 
 mies yet: but I assure you, never did I suffer so much in 
 all my life as I do now ; but I have one comfort left, to 
 think I saved your picture and letters, and I have got 
 them with me ; for when 1 had my box searched they took 
 them from me, and I paid the officer five shillings to re- 
 cover them again. I came in a coach on Thursday to 
 Hatton Garden, but it being not settled, I have gone back 
 again to have another hearing; but I shall in the course 
 of another week be cleared. I saw William on Thurs- 
 day, and he informed me that you went to the ball on 
 Thursday, arid I am glad to hear that you can spend 
 your time so agreeably with another ; but still, Edward, 
 its more than one would expect, as you must very well 
 know what I feel to be away from you ,- but if you was
 
 3 
 
 in ray case, I think I should spend my time alittle better 
 than going to such diversions : but, perhaps, its all for 
 the best. My mother 'and father come constantly to see 
 me, for I should have been dead had they not attended 
 me, as I kept my bed four days ; but thank God I have 
 got better, and if you have any respect whatever, I should 
 be happy if you \\ill write as soon as possible. 
 
 Direct for me, at the New Clerkenwell Prison. 
 
 Don't fail. 
 
 P l'UfJ Mui l)'l>tt Mf, t I .".)i' ; i ; yn^. 
 
 LFTTFR Ttr 
 
 <** I ( ,*b oj .Lfcl ILK J1L 
 
 '^p.'.:-^.^.^. 
 
 4 tlwQd) $&ffe T&ri 7 ~ r - 
 
 Tuesday, 3d [4th] of April. 
 ( Dearest E d, 
 
 It was my full intention of writing to you, as I 
 wish to inform you of every particular that will happen ; 
 for if I had not been removed from Clerkenwell prison I 
 should have been confined in there most likely a twelve- 
 month ; but thank God I shall stand my trial at the Old 
 , Bailey, where I shall have a Counsellor to plead for me ; 
 so I have nothing to fear, as my conscience tells me that 
 I arn not guilty. But pray do not tell your fellow-servant 
 any thing more, unless he reads it in the papers. I really 
 was ashamed of seeing the young man in such a place; and 
 more so, as he had two more with me [him r] I certainly 
 appeared with good spirits, though you may easily guess 
 what spirits I have to be confined in such a place as 
 Newgate ; but I have paid the fees, and so I have a room 
 with another to be in, where J can see my mother, or 
 any friend when they come to see me ; but I expect to 
 have it settled on Monday at the least. But I have been 
 informed that you got acquainted with another yojmff 
 woman; but lam not apt to be jealous, therefore 1 $J)all 
 think no more about it ; but I firmly believe you are still 
 true and faithful to me ; and as to uae, I have lixul iny 
 mind and heart entirely on you. 
 
 Pray send me a line or two on Friday, if you can spare 
 
 time. 
 
 I am, dearest E d, 
 
 -Jud ; &i< Your atlectionate and true 
 
 I i LIZA PENNING . 
 vJO^ "h J0d ; UQI jport *& 3d OJ M J j* ;
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 fvsB.i 
 
 To E d P r. 
 
 Tuesday the llth [April,] 5 o'Clock. 
 Bear E- d, 
 
 I attended my trial on Tuesday, and they have, 
 which is the most cruellest thin? in this world, brought 
 me in guilt}*, because I had the fire to lighi in the c rfiee 
 where the arsenick was kept, and uiy master said that I 
 went often into the office for things, and so, on that ac- 
 count, they suppose that 1 must have taken the arsenick 
 out of the drawer, which is the most horrid thing I ever 
 can think of; ,for was I to die this instant, i am sure I 
 should be happy in thinking I am innocent. But God 
 reward them for all they have done towards me : but I 
 can't tell my fate as yet, as the sessions won't be over till 
 Saturday, and then 1 shall know on Monday. But, Ed- 
 ward, let me advise you to for ever forget me, as most 
 likely you will often have it thrown up in your face, for 
 I am, Edward, I believe, now for ever shut from the 
 world. I still have some comfort left, when I can see my 
 parents as yet; but pray make your mind happy, and get 
 some one else that will never bring any reflection on you. 
 I shall never think of marrying any person excepting 
 yourself; but I must for ever give up any thought of 
 such, as it may hurt your character ; but I still love and 
 Tespect you. Pray write soon. 
 
 From your much injured and afflicted 
 
 Don't forget. ELIZA. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 To E d P r. 
 
 Newgate, 9 o'Clock, 13th [April.] 
 
 Dearest E d, | . [(ro 
 
 I received your kind and dear letter, which still 
 more endears you to me : but oh, Edward ! if 1 was sure 
 that I should see you but once, I am certain that I 
 never should hold up my head again. But don't think 
 that I shall be denied of seeing you, though I may be 
 confined most likely six months at least ; but perhaps it is
 
 all for the best, for I am confident that it will make me 
 both steady and penitent the rest or' my life ; though its 
 hard to suffer innocent ; but I shall in a little time be 
 more composed, as I put my trust in God, for all his 
 goodness to me, and do, dear Edward, do the same. Don't 
 be unhappy, as you very well know how much I love 
 and respect you, for no young woman can ever love you 
 more than I do; and I am certain, at least I think so, 
 that I have yours in return. I should not have wrote so 
 soon lo you, but I don't like to see your mother as yet, 
 till I am settled. Don't be angry at me for not wishing 
 to see your kind mother, for the case is, that I have not 
 got my things away from my place as yet, and I have got 
 nothing to come down to appear respectable in ; so lor 
 that reason I wish to put it off till next week : but pray 
 come, dear Edward, on Sunday, about three o'clock, and 
 you can stop till tive; for you can come any Sunday at 
 these hours, and come into my room : but you must ask 
 to see Mrs. Nicols, at the gate where you saw them girls. 
 I am happy to hear you still respect my picture, but I 
 had a misfortune, on the day I had my trial, to break the 
 glass of yours, as I constantly wear it; for I was taken 
 out very unwell, for it so overcame me, that I felt as if I 
 was dying ;' so that I must trouble you to get it repaired, 
 for I can't trust any one else with it. Adieu. 
 
 From your affectionate and true 
 
 ELIZA. 
 Irue 1 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 !4J .te.iio1 ''roO 
 
 Sunday, the 23d, [April] 8 o'Clock. 
 Dear E -- d, 
 
 I received your note on Sunday, but \ was sur- 
 prised at not hearing from you before, and I wish to in- 
 form you that I received it safe from Catherine, who 
 went for it for me, for your fellow-servant called on me 
 on Sunday, and I was very happy to see any pet&on from 
 you. And now, dear Edward, you may make your mind 
 easy concerning me, for I certainly shall suffer, at lea; 
 have no other hopes whatever ; so pray put your trust m 
 God, that no accident whatsoever may happen to you.
 
 I am making my peace with God, and hope to be in a 
 better world, as 1 shall leave this world innocent of a 
 crime that's alleged against me : but its dreadful to 
 think what I suffer at such a thing being laid against me, 
 when my conscience is thoroughly clear. Pray go to my 
 mother and show her this letter, and there may be lines 
 that may give her comfort that come from her poor un- 
 happy child. Pray write soon to me. Don't forget. 
 From your unhappy and [illegible] 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. Adieu. 
 
 >3 
 
 in; . -- at 
 
 _ 
 ^fii'tjf uav LETTER VII. 
 
 To E - d P -- -r. 
 
 >.)(., 
 
 ivati 25th April, 8 o'Clock, Night. 
 
 Dear E -- d, 
 
 I received your letter on Wednesday night, and 
 am happy to hear that you are coming out on Sunday, 
 for most likely it will be the last time that you will see 
 me in this world, and you must come by one o'clock, or 
 else you can't get in, and ask, when you come to the 
 gate, for Mrs. Foster, and then I will give you a note to 
 give to the turnkeys, and then it will admit you. Do not 
 disappoint me, as you may easily believe where my affec- 
 tion is placed ; but I hope you will find another that will 
 make you happy when i am no more. But I don't wish 
 to hurt your feelings but as little as I can, but I hope we 
 shall meet in a better world, where no one can separate 
 us : and I trust when you read this, that you will make 
 your mind more composed concerning me, for you alone 
 have often made my mind unhappy ; but now all friends 
 seem indifferent to me, since I know my unhappy fate. 
 My last letter you need not send, as I have since seen 
 my mother, for she has been so ill that I did not expect to 
 see her any more, 
 
 I anij dear, dear E - d, 
 
 Your true and unhappy 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. 
 
 l>ii.*j t ji>o gn 
 
 IttO i 
 
 wo 
 
 :>
 
 m 5ff OJ <Kfod.-. bits t bov) ifaiv/ OOADW <t jyji/Unj ma I 
 
 ,.iH930iini bllO j prprppn VTIT 
 
 ^ 11 ' 
 
 biiiljk jg'... g ijfrur.j^jjlki. 
 
 ii Yr, ii Felons' side, Newgate, 4, May. 
 
 *i r" i " ' ' '* . T> IUOG luih i loiniu'j 
 4*5$. You are the last person that I should think 
 would behave to me as you do now; for I fully expected 
 you on Sunday ; but most likely you have other places to 
 go to much better than to come and see me, though I am 
 in Newgate. Other young men and women come and 
 see me, and are surprised when I inform them that you 
 seldom come near, or even send to me. Was you in uiy 
 place, I never should have slighted you : but God bless 
 you and yours as long as you live, is the prayer of Eliza, 
 who once was yours, but now never shall be; for was the 
 Lord to spare my life, though I have no hopes, I tkm't 
 think I should ever like a man that would forget me, be- 
 cause I can't help myself now. Once more, God bless 
 you ! Adieu ! from 
 
 ELIZA FENNING. 
 You may answer this, just as you please. 
 
 
 QJ *") i ' ' ' rlJ M , r*^ft i 
 
 JOU 0(1 .l!0-{ JIUIDK lliV/ jlHSlfj Dfttf , 
 
 LETTER IX 
 
 "To E '" d ' j>ir i<lv/ yj < 
 
 $w d <iuiO \ -c JJd e-^mbat ino\ njiJ j> 
 
 Friday night, 9 o'Clock. May 5, 1815. 
 
 Dear E d, 
 
 I received your letter, and am surprised at yonr 
 thinking that I wish to quarrel with you ; but 1 think I 
 have a just right to speak, when you promised me that 
 you would come and see me, and then to disappoint me 
 when there was no excuse ; for you well know that my 
 life is at stake, and one would suppose that a person that 
 respected another, should feel happy in seeme them as 
 often as time could permit them, i should feel sorry t< 
 you to get anger at coining at any other time than your 
 Sunday ; but I feel very much hurt at your being out, ai 
 could not spare one single hour with me : and as to you 
 savins; that you have many enemies, it s more than I know 
 of, for there's no person has said any thing to me concern-
 
 ing yon, that you should seem affronted at. If there's any 
 person has done any services for me, that you know of, 
 1 am very thankful to you for so much kindness ; but I 
 trust -in hopes that 1 shall repay you some time or another. 
 I have not seen my father since, therefore I don't knowr 
 arty thing of your being with him, but I am glad that he 
 is in such good friendship with you, for you can spend 
 many hours with them, when I am no more and pray make 
 them as happy as you can, for, should I suffer, it shall 
 be my last prayer for you to go as often as you can ; and 
 I am certain that they will always respect you on the 
 account of their daughter. Pray don't send any note 
 with farewell again to me ; for, though we never shall 
 meet in the world again, it's cruel to say adieu as yet. 
 God bless you, dear Edward, and all your friends, and 
 may you never feel the pangs of a broken heart. You 
 say that you shan't be out till Sunday week, and so I 
 suppose 1 shall not see you any more, as I expect the 
 report will be down every day and now I wait with im- 
 patience to know my fate. 
 
 From your unhappy and forsaken 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. 
 Once more write when you can spare time. 
 
 * Elisabeth Fenning's Letters to the young man, to whom she was 
 attached, ceased with the above. 
 
 >v n) vnrth// m -j/fr.t I ^(trgd/l 
 >on>l of
 
 9 
 
 , 
 
 ELIZABETH FENNING'S GENERAL COR- 
 RESPONDENCE from after her TRIAL until 
 
 , ;> i j. ' . . * 
 
 her EXECUTION. 
 
 
 
 LETTER X 
 
 *Jon yrifi Ixi^? j'nok 
 
 April the l6th, 1815. Newgate. 
 
 Dearest and beloved Father and Mother, 
 
 This is from your poor and only, unhappy child, 
 who is going to suffer : but be happy, as I told you that 
 I am innocent. O mother! believe me for the last time, 
 that I die innocent of the-crime I am charged with : but 
 I entreat you to bury me with my two brothers; and 
 likewise another request I have, that is, to put Edward's 
 picture in the coffin with me: don't refuse, as I never 
 shall rest happy, but let me beg of you not to forget, or 
 perhaps I shall come to you, for Edward is my first and 
 only love, and he always gave me the best of advice. 
 But I am happy to think I can make my peace with 
 God ; but let me request of you both to put your trust in 
 God, and never fear, as 1 die happy, though its cruel to 
 come to such untimely end. Oh! 1 am innocent, dearest 
 parents. Pray for your only child, and dear child. 
 
 I am, dearest "Father and Mother, 
 Your only child in death. Farewell forever. 
 
 Dear Father and Mother, ELIZA FENMNG. 
 
 No. .5, Tash Court, Tash Street, 
 Gray's inn Lane, Holborn. 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 To Mr. OLDFIELD. 
 
 [Sent the latter end of April, or beginning of May.] 
 Sir, 
 
 Pardon this liberty I take in writing (o you ; but 
 its my particular \vish to know if you have any hopes, i
 
 10 
 
 am a young woman that's under the sentence, and I ara 
 sure to suffer when the Report comes down. I heard 
 something about your petition, which made me take this 
 liberty. Please to send me word, for I feel much for you. 
 
 E F * 
 
 o .. r ^ ,, , ' i 
 
 * Bottom M Master s Slde - 
 
 Mr. Oldfald, Condemned Cell. 
 
 -. *MiJ IIIOTI D9J3C "JVfid JJOV 
 
 ~t& - 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 To . 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am much obliged to you for \our kind attention in re- 
 spect to my health and spirits ; but, as to exercise, where can I 
 take it, excepting I was to intermix with those who are lost to 
 every principle ? There's a just God who knows the secret 
 thoughts of all hearts; and, as I solemnly declare that I am in- 
 nocent, I trust in God that he will extend his mercy to spare ray 
 life, that I may live a truly religious life. God bless you. 
 Adieu. 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. 
 
 
 T PTTFT? V1TT 
 LLll^KXllI. ^ 
 
 To It 4llt Ot 
 
 ,/icr 
 
 Dear Friend, 13 June. 
 
 Impressed with a just sense of your kindness towardsjne, 
 I feel myself in want of words to express my gratitude for the 
 same ; but they ever will bear record in heaven in your favour, 
 in the part you have taken in proving the injustice of the asper- 
 sions that was said of me ; but, believe me, I shall for the future 
 be very circumspect in every action, and keep myself as private 
 as possible. I return you thanks, and hope you will not be of- 
 fended at my making an objection to receive the Holy Sacfa- 
 ment, but I think I am not in a proper state of mind to receive 
 it: situated as I am, with those that are in the same room, there 
 is little time for the reflections that are proper for so sacred an oc- 
 casion ; but I trust that a merciful God, that knows the most 
 secret thoughts of all hearts, will grant me grace, and renew me 
 with a new heart, that my past and present sufferings may prove 
 an acceptable sacrifice for my past faults, and that they may be 
 so imprinted in my breast, that they may prove a sufficient mo- 
 
 -y 
 
 * This is the Letter which the fabrication of the" 06semr" news- 
 paper called " her first act of impurity /" EDITOK. 
 
 nrgnnfioo* dor AoQiJeK ,9tu no Jeoi ad Jot
 
 LETTER ^fiTVIo cbu,, 
 > :md . f m 01 *t .M uhi 
 
 11 
 
 nhor, to deter me from violating the laws of .God. should 
 be so happy as to be once more restored to society 
 again. For the particulars of your misfortunes I am sorry 
 to hear, but hope they will end to your satisfaction ; and 
 I hope you will, with myself, pray to the Lord to forgive our 
 enemies. For what you have done I shall always feel myself 
 under the greatest obligation, as I am thoroughly convinced that 
 you have acted from the sole motives of humanity. 
 Suffer me to remain 
 
 youip, ( with due respect, 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. 
 Please to write soon. 
 
 cbu,, 
 
 bo* Jito,! ,< O f lM q, 
 Mltomp+wlvA^ 
 Sir > i n^Jw.. 
 
 I am sorry to think that you should have heard- tUl I 
 only fly to my book when Mr. Cotton is coning. Far be it from 
 my heart to notice such observations as those, being fully con- 
 vinced, in my own heart, that outward show is little, as t IK- heart 
 may be at work without a book : but all the books in my hand, 
 if my thoughts were otherwise employed, will have little effect 
 towards my salvation; for God is never mistaken in the charac- 
 ter of his servants, for he seeth their heart and judgeth according 
 to the truth. The time draws on when I must approach to the 
 Divine Being, the Sovereign of whom I stand in awe; but yet, I 
 trust to a kind Father of infinite mercy that he will pardon all my 
 sins : though they be like crimson, he can make them as white 
 as snow ; and, if it was not for the dreadful end, I should jm-t'rr 
 to leave this world of wickedness, where is nothing but trouble 
 and sorrow, aud vexation through life, for, believe me, often is 
 the smile of cheerfulness assumed while the heart aches within. 
 I have one request to make of you, which is, if the report comes 
 unfavourable, if I should wish to see you, that you will comply. 
 If granted, I hope this will not hurt your feelings, as U ^$d 
 grieve me much, for I think I should really feel happy in sceinir 
 you. Suffer me to remain 
 
 lours, till death do me call, 
 
 ffj fwoai tedf ,foO lirti-mm r. ELIZA 
 am wsiiai fane ,9sc 
 
 9voit 
 
 UteilfrW 
 
 !'Ue B .-*'/Oft| VJK 
 
 Sir, ~ 5 June - 
 
 I received your present, and believe me your advice will 
 T$\. be lost on me, as I look ou your judgment and discrimma-
 
 m 
 
 tion to be very just, and I trust in God to get me through this 
 great trouble, as he can create and he can destroy, he can cast 
 down and build up : but I believe I had better leave this dread- 
 ful place to go to a better world, than to be sent to another 
 country with such depraved wretches ; and not only that, but 
 would be looked on as guilty go where I would, and leaving my 
 dear parents would be the [greatest] hardship I could endure. 
 Yet I leave every thing to the hand of a kind Providence to 
 direct, for it says in Holy Scriptures, those whom the Lord 
 loveth he chasteneth ; and, believe me, I feel so happy in my 
 mind, that nothing, I am determined, will ever change or dis- 
 turb me any more. I should be glad to see Mr. when 
 
 he calls again. I cannot inform you who paid the expenses of 
 my affairs, as I do not know, as several were entire strangers to 
 me. Mary-Anne Clarke is the person I sleep with, and she is the 
 only one that has the least feeling ; but we have not any other 
 prisoners as yet with us. As we are the four that are under 
 sentence, Mr. Cotton does not think it proper to place any per- 
 son with us. Believe me, I know nothing concerning the poison 
 being in a pot of beer, as it never was told me before. Please 
 to let me keep your letters. If the Lord should spare my life, 
 I shall have them in remembrance of you ; and if I am to leave 
 this world, I will then deliver them up safe. And may God 
 bless you, is the sincere prayer of your well-wisher. I feel so 
 indebted to you for your goodness, that I lament I can but ex- 
 press my gratitude to you. Suffer me yet to remain 
 
 Yours, till death, 
 
 ELIZA FENNING. 
 
 I shall write often, as I have now got some paper in, for I for- 
 got on Saturday to get some, and could not write till now. 
 
 TT r TTl?r? VT7T 
 
 JL.L1 1 Jii It A.V 1. 
 
 - 
 
 To . ' 
 
 Dear Sir, 27 June. 
 
 I wish to speak the whole sentiments of my heart to you; 
 and now, without reserve ; to convince you I feel perfectly pre- 
 pared in respect of taking the sacrament, which I believe I can, 
 when I know within my own breast 1 never injured any person ; 
 and more so, when I know myself innocent of the crime that is 
 alleged against me. Though a pour servant, I always have 
 trodden the paths of virtue. I know I am a wicked sinner, but 
 hope through the blood of Christ to be washed from all my 
 sins. Believe me it is a pleasing reflection to think I have not 
 violated the sacred laws or God. Though cruel is my fate, I 
 must not repine, as it is for sun>e divine purpose the Alnv.'fhty 
 has ordaiued this trouble to couie on me, to bring me to
 
 13 
 
 self. If it should be so, I must pray to the Lord to give me 
 strength to bear it. The awful moment I dread, is bidding an 
 an eternal farewell. Think within yourself of dear parents, and 
 sincere friends. What a scene may probably arise to my parents 
 if I suffer ! I now conclude as yours 
 
 t*l o ' . , ELIZA FENNING. 
 
 TM?T f n?T? Yfir 
 
 uJ.tuii.Kio.U BETTER XVIf. 
 
 To -- . 
 
 Sir, 1 2 o'Clock, 29 June. 
 
 I have not the least doubt of your assiduity in my behalf. 
 God in his goodness has sent you to restore a lost child to her 
 afflicted parents, which, should you succeed in, I am convinced 
 your goodness of heart will think an ample recompense for all 
 your trouble : for my part, all that I can say on that subject i., 
 that my heart overflows with gratitude. Hope is one of the best 
 sources in the time of our greatest troubles. I have been 
 poised up with it in all my afflictions. I should be much obliged 
 to you to inform me what Mr. Cotton said in respect of me. 
 I have seen him this morning, but he did not speak to me. I 
 remaiu Yours, with due n-s,ect, 
 
 ELIZA FENNING. 
 
 
 
 '~~~ 'J'" ''' "** r! h " ' 
 
 LETTER Xnil. 
 
 To - . 
 Sir, 29 June. 
 
 I should have answered your letter sooner ; but, believe 
 m^, I feel so agitated between lioje and fear, that I really know 
 not what I am doing three parts of the day, for your letter was 
 so affecting that it has depressed my spirits much ; particularly 
 as you mention to wear mourning after uiy decease ; which I 
 take as a mark of great respect. Be assured it is not true con- 
 cerning my being detected in respecting the poison in the beer, 
 for when I come to recollect, Mr. Cotton mentioned to me, 
 about a youug woman who attempted to poison a family in 
 Bath, and her name was sirnil.ir to my own, but lie has told un- 
 it was false. Be so good as to tell M - -I i*h l * '"' 
 
 particularly, to inform him of something I h;ne heard : but I am 
 surely convinced that Mr. Cotton is a great enemy to me. I 
 expect Mr. ----- to call lo-ilay. The cards my m-ther 
 brought made me angry, as I don't think them a ju.-prr amuse- 
 ment for auv one. She brought them for ..i,r of the uaidi women. 
 I now conclude, with sincere nra\er toward, %our welfare
 
 14 : 
 
 ISA rl ft I 'R h K rt h'llki .fvbl'lMO .tM lUO tit 
 
 hope you will never experience the pangs of a broken heart 
 for often is the smile of cheerfulness assumed, when the heart 
 aches within. From your unhappy, though penitent 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 . t i J. 
 
 JL O " * 
 
 Sir, 29 June. 
 
 The only thing I wished to see Mr. for, was to 
 
 inform him a report prevailed that I had made an attempt, prior to 
 the last, of poisoning a family; but reports must not be minded 
 in such cases as mitfe, where life is depending. Justice and 
 truth only can take place in such weighty concerns. 
 
 wwto bWfciiU-*vB9lj: Y urs E> F * 
 
 1 J| '3S MMW 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 To . 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Mr. Davis is a very troublesome fellow without feeling, 
 or the least taint of goodness. He saw me hanging out my linen 
 to dry, and thought I had been washing there ; and, it appears 
 to me, any accommodation a prisoner can have, gives him pain. 
 But what can we expect from such illiberal characters I I set 
 myself above the frowns of the steel-hearted gaolers, and look 
 to higher powers ! When my dear father left me, Mr. Newman 
 and Mr. Smart were at the gate. Mr. N. inquired who he was, 
 Mr. S. informed him, but had no conversation, only bowed to 
 my father. I hope you do not think I disregard your kind 
 advice, as I think that would be a breach of gratitude : believe 
 me, I peruse your letters so often, till I have them by heart. 
 Mr. Cotton informed me the sacrament will not be administered 
 till next Sunday, when I mean to prepare myself to take it. I 
 have not heard from Mr. Oldfield, and I think it would be impro- 
 per if I did. I mentioned Mr. to father yesterday, and 
 
 he required me not to see him. God bless you ! 
 
 Your's, with due respect, 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 n*" ' "* 
 
 To . 
 
 Sir, [4 July.] 
 
 By Mr. C 's order, I, with the others, attended 
 
 prayers in the condemned room, where the men were likewise.
 
 15 
 
 In coming out, Mr. Oldfield called me, and said, he has learned 
 from good authority, from the Secretary of State's, there is not 
 the least glimmer of hopes in saving my life. I made no reply 
 as Mr. Cotton was present. I thought it proper to inform you 
 as you wished to know if I had heard from him. 
 
 E.F. 
 
 ,717 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 f : _ f 
 
 6 July. 
 
 I have seen my mother to-day her heart was too full 
 to inform me all; but, by hints, I need not letter myself with 
 hopes. Pray don't trouble yourself, as I fear all will have no 
 effect : I know yonr goodness of heart, and will always pray for 
 you, till the period arrives when I shall leave this world of woe. 
 J?lease to excuse my writing. E. F. 
 
 .XX-J&3XT3J 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 wo!Il '*To '&>< 
 
 ln*l ' 6" July. 
 
 Believe me, I feel so reconciled and composed in my 
 mind, that I fear not what the ignorant or wicked can invent 
 against me. Cruel and distressing is my case, to be drawn in 
 innocent, and to be under the awful sentence ; and hard must be 
 the heart, that would not sympathize with the unfortunate. I 
 fancied I had one consolation which I must now with tears ivi; 
 up hopes of hearing from you, as I suppose there will be no 
 letters able to pass in to me. I feel very unwell to-day, being 
 low in spirits. Pray make youself happy. E. F. 
 
 tuKiiJEibi irftnii Hi- tiniimiiiiirf*- ''' 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 ow|iui *f Moow h tpaa 
 
 To - . 
 Sir, July, 1815. 
 
 In the interim of speaking with you, I had not the least idea 
 or suspicion the person who wrote concerning me was standing not 
 far distant, and was endeavouring to learn our conversation, but did 
 not succeed, or no doubt they would have acquainted Mr. Davis ; 
 and if they had, I neither tare Tior value what such depraved 
 wretches would invent agaiust ni^'fh any respect whatever. I 
 am already too much injured to mind such trifling observations, 
 ft ttil dttw I Htfno '
 
 and indeed would be sorry to degrade myself to make them mj 
 companions, much more to be so foolish as to place any confi- 
 d< 5 o' > e in them. Although my situation in life has been no other 
 than a servant, and poor and unfortunate as I am now, 1 have 
 every reason to set a greater value on myself, than to make them 
 my equals in any respect whatsoever. In the mean-time, after, 
 you left me, I with little inquiries found my foe, it was -^ 
 
 , the same who had stolen iny shawl, and, though 
 
 trifling, I gave four shillings to two of the girls to restore it to me, 
 which they did ; and out of spite and revenge, she had no 
 better opportunity than to write to you. I own 1 was [so] 
 foolish [as] to converse with her several [times], but it was 
 merely by her informing me she was lately in the West-Indies, 
 and it being my native place, I was pleased to hear and to speak 
 in [the] language of the country ; I have seen my mother, 
 who says, if the report is not down this week, it wilt not -be till 
 after next sessions ; which is a dreary length of time to be kept 
 in suspense in life or death. 1 must observe to you, though 
 ignorant I may appear, J only wish 1 had affluence of tongue to 
 express my real sentiments of heart more freely ; but yet 1 tnist 
 that I am endowed with common sense enough to dictate a letter 
 to my dear and valuable friends. I only wish I could handle my 
 pen in a more proper manner ; but it is more my misfortune that 
 I cannot. I now conclude as j our's with every mark of gratitude. 
 
 God bless you. Adieu. E. F. 
 
 J "SvangiuoCl 
 
 . uraa 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 To Mr. OLDFIELD. 
 
 felons' side, Newgate;, 
 Sir, [Writ-ten a short time before the report came down.] 
 
 I have read your letter with attention and gratitude. I 
 consider it my duly to reply ; and am the more led to do so, in 
 order to communicate a report that our. summons is near at hand. 
 It's highly gratifying to perceive the great change upon your 
 sour. I confess, with pleasure, that my awful situation has made 
 the like impression. I feel that, in one sense, if I die, I had 
 better suffer innocently as I am. Yet life is sweet : to part with 
 it in such an ignominious manner is hard indeed, not having com- 
 mitted a crime. Yet what concerns me most is the misery our 
 dear parents must experience. My dear mother is almost com- 
 fortless, which distracts my heart. It's like a dream, for I know 
 my innocence. I cannot prove it. Had my counsellor been 
 properly informed, it would have been impossible to have pro- 
 nounced me guilty : for, if even I /wrf revenge against the family*-
 
 <o hdre been such a fool to poison .niyself ! and besides, it was 
 only a trifling quarrel. I can't help 'saving but I feel hurt at 
 their taking such trouble to swear my life away : but, to be at 
 peace with God, we must even forgive our enemies. Although I 
 have not committed the crime for which I mav suffer, and could 
 swear it before the Almighty Ju le, yet I feel unworthy in his 
 sight ; and therefore call upon him for divine mercy, which I 
 hope may be our happy lot, is the sincere prayer of your unhappy 
 fellow prisoner, ELIZA PENNING*. 
 
 f'oj*; <P-w I rrw 
 
 Be careful of Mr. Cotton. Some one has made evil report to 
 him about me ; and I fear it has done me much harm. Some one 
 must be guilty, and I still hope it will [be] strictly inquired into. 
 
 Mr. WILLIAM OLD FIELD, 
 Condemned Cell, Newgate. 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Dearest and affectionate Father and Mother, l$July. 
 
 Let me entreat your immediate attendance to your lost 
 child. Innocent, dear parents, I am, to God and man. Pray 
 come soon. The report is come for me to be executed on Wed- 
 nesday next. Judge what are my feelings in your distressed 
 bosom. Don't grieve. No more from vour unfortunate child, 
 
 ELIZABETH PENNING*. 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 Ml 
 
 JiO . 
 
 r 
 
 Let me beg and entreat of you to call once more to see 
 me, before I leave this vale of tears, to go to glory, in a hea- 
 venly mansion of peace. You have been a clear friend to me, 
 
 and will be more, if you comfort my dear and afflicted parents 
 in this hour of distress. It's not a guilty character you sec 
 when vou come, but an injured, and indeed innocent victiiu. 
 
 Your's with gratitude, 
 
 larniKm i/CTTmr 
 
 tL'int 
 
 OO Jfill " j 
 
 n till si liiocn *>m Kinoonoo j ., 
 
 * This Letter, according to the account fabricated by the U bterv 
 
 Newspaper, is another of Elizabeth Penning s acts of impurity. I 
 
 rible imputation ! . T 
 
 t She usually signed Eliza, or E. Penning. Tbw is the only Letter 
 
 out. of a great number of Or.^nals now before me, that she sign* wun 
 
 lier f UpUiroal name a: length, Eliubttk. EDITOR.
 
 18 
 
 I 1 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 Felons' side, 21 [22] July, 1815, 
 Dear" and affectionate Parents, Newgate. 
 
 With heart-rending Sighs and tears, I for the last time, 
 and ever last time, write these solemn lines to you, hoping and 
 trusting the Almighty to give you strength and fortitude to bear 
 the distressing, awful, and dreadful scene, that is about to take 
 place. Believe me, cruel and pitiable is my unfortunate and 
 affecting situation; but God's will be done: and with humble 
 resignation I must bear my untimely fate: but what pleasing 
 consolation within my tortured breast, to suffer innocent ! 
 Dear parents, I do solemnly declare, was I never to enter the 
 heavenly mansion of heavenly rest, I ana murdered ! Yes, dear 
 father and mother, believe I am your only child, that speaks the 
 sentiments of a breaking heart. Don't let me distress your break- 
 ing heart, I wish to comfort you, dearest of parents : be happy : 
 pray take comfort : let me entreat of you to be reconciled, and 
 I will be happy in heaven, and with my dear sisters and brothers, 
 and will meet you by and by : pray read the blessed Bible, and 
 turn your hearts, and live a religious and holy life, and then we 
 shall be wljere sorrow and troubles will be no more. I grieve 
 more to think I had ao opportunity sooner, and did not make 
 use of it ; yet there's time, though short, to pray to my heavenly 
 Father, to forgive me all my sins and offences in my life past : 
 it's only the passage of death that I have to go through, which, 
 I hope and trust, will soon be over. Oh my blest and beloved 
 parents, think what are my present and distressed feelings, to 
 part from you who gave me my being, and nourished me at that 
 breast, and was my sole comfort, and nursed me in my helpless 
 and infant years, and was always my directors, to keep me in 
 [the] sacred path of virtue, which I have strictly kept, and will 
 be one sin less to answer for, as a spotless frame will be accept- 
 able in the eyes of God. I mention this, as I let you all [know] 
 I have not done amiss. Oh dear parents, what an affecting 
 scene, to part from you, which must be endured by the laws of 
 justice ! but justice has aot been shown at [the] bar. Man judges 
 man: God will judge us all, who knows the secrets of hearts, 
 and those who swore my life will never enter with me into rest. 
 God bless you both, and may you live happy ! Adieu from your 
 injured and unhappy child. 
 
 * Keep these few lines in remembrance of me, as that is all [the] 
 comfort I can afford, .with my imperfect pra\ers. Adieu, dear 
 parents, God bless yon both ! ELIZA PENNING, 
 
 Aged 21 years.
 
 19 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 23 July, 1815. Newgate. 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 Out of love and .respect I write these last and solemn 
 lines to bid you an everlasting and eternal farewel in this world 
 of sorrow and woe. 1 have but a few hours before I leave this 
 vale of tears to enter the heavenly mansion of rest, but yet I 
 never shall die happy till I communicate any secret that my 
 dying heart contains I die innocent of the crime I am to suffer 
 such an ignominious death for. Pray tell my dear parents not to 
 put a bit of black about me, as it will be a token of innocence. 
 A very few leave this world a pure virgin: and when led to the 
 gallows, I shall be led as a shepherd leadetb a lamb to the 
 slaughter, or as a bride to her heavenly Bridegroom, and there 
 to be united at the altar of God and rest on the bosom of my 
 heavenly Father, where parting shall be no mure. Dear friend, 
 pray lead a religious and holy life, and then I shall meet you in 
 heaven with my dear parents, and enjoy everlasting felicity, with 
 blessed saiuts and angels above. Please to grant me one request, 
 if you possibly can, to see my body laid in the mouldering earth, 
 in the early prime of youth; but I only go a iittle time before you 
 all : we must all die, then why should I repine ? It would be 
 wicked to fly in tne face ot the Almighty, for God's will 
 be done: the Lord gave, and ihe Lord hath taken away, and 
 blessed is the name of God. 
 
 May God bless you, and all that may be yours in this world, and 
 all y>nr dear friends. Bless you onco more, is my djing prayer 
 speak comfort to my poor unhappy parents, who will soon 
 not have a single child to console tiiem in the hour of distress, 
 in their few remaining years of old ajje. 
 
 I once more bless you, and bid you an eternal farewel. 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. 
 
 Aged 21 years. 1815. 
 woadj Hi; uoy 19! I ?e .ghi 
 
 LETTER XXX,- 
 To MARY ANN CLARKE. ' 
 
 Dearest Friend, Condemned Cell (25 July). 
 
 With heart-rending tears I address the.* melancholy lines 
 ., to vou. Don't grieve, <>ear girl, my time is but short *$* 
 blesome world! and I 3 oon shall be in eternal res Pray read 
 the Bible, and make vour ^ace w.th God and nan. 
 bel.eve roe, tne parting w.th my parent* .s truly ' ****** 
 be endured, though little expected when we ate
 
 20 
 
 supper together: but God bless you! and may God send you 
 liberty soon. Here is a lock of hair for you, and another for 
 Young, 
 
 From your much injured and distressed 
 
 ELIZA PENNING. Aged 21. 
 
 *** This Letter was written by Elizabeth Penning the day before her 
 execution, and thrown by her out of her cell window, with a gown, to 
 Mary Ann Clarke, one of her fellow convicts, who had been in the snrae 
 room with her from her Trial until the .Report came down. 
 
 3HT TO 
 
 r Jsqxa rmd > *< 
 
 >i .aM aao^aa .^s. ^6 3^^ i 
 
 iftiBm ^mtt^"l fovJos&S ofcl orii 
 
 *vuri ififfi rac :i>noo'j koew oH? "In iao 
 
 : '.s-jibnr v* 'd^hsm-y "' JOn , 
 
 Vs\j ah in !rM ^ioq ot j3qfiqav/ 
 
 Iliv/ oo Y .^fO V^utvwvl ^^,^3. oi avUiiisi aoubnoo 
 
 sdi oq o^iduq 'vrii J^Ja OJ otu 0iwoIfB ^d om 
 
 sdr bsaohn^ I .'n.BJ?ar dt^ sHJ ^oboiRfo^lT 'io nponaiol arfj nl 
 ^bnsTtS ,SV,I -'//^ .ifP!i-'-">iT ^vi-sw^O.iMot juomofe- liwoffbi 
 
 olouqotq odt 
 iot 9di no Titjqqa Jdir a i&di nijtiw 
 
 "tAJ3 H 
 ( bofaoi300D '
 
 hma bo'O vsm bos luor a^iA i>o> ^od . rjrf^sp 
 B but* f wo ' la J>ol * ; ^H ?.... 
 
 hoc h'ymrfM jjx/'if latyr 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 -.;i s'lotorf^/sb qdl S'ii'i^T dj9dus;i3 ^d ijejjti 
 tawawl) as iHsd b&d O(T ,^3 
 
 No. I. 
 
 FABRICATIONS OF THE OBSERVER 
 SUNDAY NEWSPAPER. 
 
 To the EDITOR of the EXAMINER. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 IT was to have been expected that the extraordinary 
 proceedings at the Old Bailey, BEFORE MB. RECORDER, in 
 the Case of the late Elizabeth Penning, should give rise to many 
 circumstances out of the usual course : amongst those that have 
 occurred, not the least remarkable is a very recent indication of 
 the Observer Newspaper's determination to persevere in its dit- 
 graceful conduct relative to Elizabeth Fenning's Case. You will 
 oblige me by allowing me to state the tact to the public upon the 
 pages of the EXAMINER. 
 
 In the forenoon of Wednesday, the 4th instant, I enclosed the 
 following advertisement to Mr. Clement, newsman, No. 1.92, Strand, 
 one of the propiietors of the Observer, for insertion in that paper, 
 with ar request in writing that it might appear on the following 
 Sunday. 
 
 [COPY.] 
 
 ELIZABETH PENNING. 
 
 " AN ELABORATE INVESTIGATION into the Case of 
 ELIZABETH PENNING being concluded, the IMPORTANT
 
 RESULTS are in. the Press. This Publication, which has hitherto 
 been unavoidably delayed, is nearly ready for delivery, and will 
 contain, amongst a large variety of interesting Matter, the Official 
 Report of her Trial, never before printed, and Copious Notes 
 thereon; to?which will be added, an Argument on her Case, and 
 a Memorial *o H.R. H. the Prince Regent By JOHN WAT- 
 KINS, LL.D. It will be illustrated by numerous Original Docu- 
 ments ; Elizabeth Fenning's most interesting Correspondence, 
 hitherto unpublished ; an Appendix ; and a Postscript of Ob- 
 servations on Mr. MARSHALL'S PAMPHLET, entitled, " Five 
 Cases of Recovery:" and will present a mass of facts of the most 
 interesting description, tending to develop the mystery in which 
 this extraordinary Case has been involved. 
 " 55, Fleet Street, 
 
 HONE " 
 
 On Saturday, the 7th, the Advertisement was returned, enclosed 
 with this single line in the envelop : 
 
 " Observer declines this Advertisement^ 5 " 
 
 . 
 " Mr. Hone, 55, Fleet Street." ,', [^ r ^ lw 
 
 ' : :-. >' 
 
 The rejection of the advertisement, by that paper, is so entirely 
 at variance with the ostentations grounds on which the Observer 
 pretends to rely for public patronage ; and is so truly consistent 
 with its partiality in the Case of ELIZABETH FENCING, and its 
 disregard of truth in its representations concerning her Case, that 
 I have thought it worth while to bestow a little time in exposing 
 the disgrace which the periodical press has sustained by such 
 conduct. 
 
 Of late the " Observer" has attempted to become notorious 
 By a large engraved copper-plate, bill, or placard; which, as 
 -applied to the Case of Elizabeth Fcnning, being displayed to the. 
 eyes of the public every Sunday, 
 
 " Like a bold BULLY lifts its head and to." 
 
 This placard bears the figures of Liberty and Justice! support- 
 ing an eye, emblematical of truth; encircled by a scroll, inscribed 
 
 DORM1O VERITAs!" 
 
 - 
 
 The Bill is as follows, verbatim: 
 j amr.0 i>jk'i Jfid; <2
 
 RVER 
 
 vTh.jf.^Hf^ : .. 
 
 
 a brief attract anto Cfjrumrle of t&e 
 
 i> >o jmfgo bi;*. ; /Jim >i/- UR 
 
 WHICH 
 
 UNINFLUENCED by PREJUDICE, UNBfASSED by PARTY, 
 
 is solicitous to amuse, and to extend every Species of Knowledge wkick 
 can conduce to the Happiness or the Advantage of Society. 
 
 i/;l>U " ' -ill... ( j ,|'f ' 
 
 SOLD HERE EVERY SUNDAY MORNING." 
 
 A good-natured and confiding public naturally gives some cre- 
 dence to such openly avowed claims to regard, and expects the 
 intelligence conveyed, by a medium so speciously advertised, to be 
 tolerably correct, and to be given with some degree of consistency 
 to its professions ; and yet, in the Case of ELIZABETH PENNING, 
 this paper, which pretends to be " uninfluenced by prejudice* 
 itself, went out of the way to " excite and extend prejudice ;" 
 instead of being "unbiassed by party" became itself a partisan ; 
 instead of being " solicitous to amuse? by calm and intelligent 
 disquisition, acted as 
 
 '""" a madman who flings about fire, 
 
 i 
 
 " And tells you ' 'tis all but in sport ;'" 
 
 uonoJoa i/raoo'-xT us bolqawUi ati "V>;AJ*OV) " -jUJ >J< lO 
 and, instead of " extending knowledge, conducive to the hap- 
 piness or advantage of society t " in the Case of Elizabeth Penning 
 
 -4 O ./ ' . I *T 'JJ *JJ\IKX i' 
 
 industriously propagated false informntionand aspersions concerning 
 her, and scandalously and cruelly misrepresented and vilified her 
 afflicted parents, whilst they were sorrowing over her unboned 
 
 r 
 
 body. 
 iii-- tf,-,< _ .. .... 
 
 ' "In short, titc'0b*crvcr, under a PRETENCE of "public duty," 
 
 of " removing erroneous and groundless impressions," of having made 
 " every inquiry," and of staling the " FACTS that had come t
 
 their OWN KNOWLEDGE," did, with shameful daring, FA- 
 BRICATE and publish to the world an unusually long and la- 
 boured statement relative to the unhappy girl's case, abounding 
 with infamous calumny; gross deception, and AUDACIOUS 
 FALSEHOOD : and now, instead of palliating its shame by a 
 judicious confession, it has thought fit to shut its columns against 
 an ordinary Advertisement of a Work that will contain the REAL 
 TRIAL, which has never yet appeared, and will develop a mass 
 of extraordinary facts and circumstances, connected with it, to 
 which the public is at present a stranger. 
 
 I cannot, therefore, refrain from thus openly exposing and pro- 
 testing against the exercise of this illicit power, on the part of the 
 Observer newspaper; which, by such conduct, and by its misre- 
 presentations and falsehoods, respecting the Case of the late Eliza- 
 beth Penning, has practised, and now endeavours to perpetuate, a 
 
 scandalous imposition on the Public. 
 
 v '\o \wsom sf* ttV fcas, 
 
 " There's no gall so bitter as tbe slander 
 From a busy pen, mov'd by malice ; 
 But to stop the public avenues 
 Of truth, is to shed a darkness upon 
 A Nation's mind, and destroy the firmest 
 Pillar of a state." 
 
 ttiii. - 
 
 55, Fleet S're.et, WILLIAM HONE. 
 
 October 12, 1815. 
 
 : 
 ; oaldh uaiyq Iwi 
 
 
 
 jfrfidD at ,-wmuT =iM 'lo-wuod 
 sliiT .TOtihsm ^fcmoogdnu 1-1 
 
 . ."uUnw.S'.. 
 
 ^dj iol Jud%is9\ 3W b'f ^X 
 
 need svcrt bfuow lailo-i' !fljn * 
 
 ib adl nr bsyolqfns ( ^lisurf snaw en. - l! SHOD 
 
 adJ bfid riojiU 1;;lu 
 
 iiAbe^ib loori , . 
 
 - 
 
 . . - 
 
 no tmiqso 
 
 ^
 
 VTffO 
 
 f 6finol Jlwedito na bfic&SrfT o* atAtaq hn* 3TA3iflg 
 
 f^^ABRICATED STATEMENT .'"T? 
 
 vd '>rrt!i;i ejhtnifiiKtf ' i'i>-j,9i-f -,'>iu It i. - . GOOil'-l-f JA [ 
 
 TH * -nii.Ti . 
 
 JA35fyfil m^rno ' f- ' V.-^ *,*'. 
 
 .^BSERVER NEWSPAPER 
 
 ol .ji dlriw tat'j-/:i(ioo .^orifi^.iiv; j-.ii br.t ?y,-,> v 
 
 OH SUNDAY, 30TH JU1Y, 1815. 
 
 to Jiflq ari} no ,i3woq j i 
 
 ** THB^/ermenf which has been occasioned in the public mind by the 
 execution of ELIZA PENNING, has risen to soch a height, that 
 WE have felt it our duty, with a view to I he preservation of the peace, 
 and to the removal of erroneous and groundless impressions which have 
 found admission into the minds of persons of comparative respectability, 
 to make every inquiry into tbe circumstances attending her case, and 
 by stating such facts as have come to OUR KNOWLEDGE, to enable 
 the public to form their own judgment more correctly upon the subject. 
 The daily papers have already given a detailed account of the execution, 
 and of the perseverance with which the unhappy culprit asserted her 
 innocence to the last moment. Upon these assertions, solely, it is, that 
 so many persons haw'fceen deluded into an opinion, that she was really 
 not guilty; and WE lament to state, that this opinion has led" to the 
 commission of acts of OUTRAGE, which, to say the least of them, 
 are extremely discreditable to those who have been the principal actors. 
 On the morning of the execution several persons, who had been witnesi 
 to the awful scene, and who had been informed of the solemn assevera- 
 tion of the culprit, proceeded to the house of Mr. Turner, in Chancery- 
 lane, and conducted themselves in the most unbecoming manner. Thi 
 conduct was repeated on several successive occasions ttraic vat brought 
 for the purpose of setting fire to the house, and WE fear, but for the 
 interference of the civil power, much real mischief would have been 
 done. During these scenes, persons were busily employed in the cir- 
 culation of reports and anecdotes wholly groundless,, but which had the 
 effect of fanning the flame of public discontent, and the roost dreadful 
 threats were uttered by the crowd. Among other stories told, it WM 
 said, thtit Mr Turner himself had been the mixer of the poison; a cir- 
 cumstance which is utterly dwproved by the facts that transpired on theT 
 trial. I* was then said that he had shot himself in despair; and if not
 
 him, that his apprentice, who had given evidence against the culprit, 
 had committed suicide, but that his death was concealed. To these are 
 added other reports, all equally incorrect. 
 
 " Such were tlie transactions passing in Chancery-lane. ButinEngle- 
 street, Red Lion Square, in which the father of the deceased lived, and 
 whither the body had been conveyed, the scene was different; there 
 an immense crowd was attracted by curiosity to see the BODY, which, 
 to use an Irish expression, was WAKING in all due form, being placed 
 in the kitchen of the house, and dressed out in ribbons, flowers, fyc. 
 All persons who presented themselves were admitted ; as fast as one set 
 came out another went in ; and although no money was actually de- 
 manded for this exhibition, we learn that the pecuniary contributions 
 toward defraying the expenses of the zcake and funeral exceeded forty 
 pounds. The most respectable persons were present on these occasions; 
 and the statements which were made, as well as the compassion excited 
 by the melancholy spectacle, naturally produced new converts to the 
 opinion of the innocence of the deceased, and the most serious alarms 
 vrere entertained that some ill consequences would ensue. To correct, 
 as much as possible, the effects thus produced, it was deemed proper that 
 steps should be taken to counteract the assertions of the advocates of the 
 deceased. FOR THIS PURPOSE Samuel Davis, one of the principal 
 turnkeys of Newgate, made an affidavit before the Lord Mayor,* on 
 . Friday, a copy of which was circulated iu the immediate neighbourhood 
 of the riotous assemblages. 
 
 " This had some tri6ing weight with the minds of those who would 
 take the trouble to think, but the crowd continued flocking to Eagle- 
 street and to Chancery-lane, on Friday night, till ten o'clock, at which 
 time the Police Officers very properly insisted upon old Fenning's house 
 being closed; after which the populace dispersed. Yesterday, however, 
 the multitude again assembled, although WE have the pleasure to state, 
 they were r.ot so violent in their conduct as on the preceding days. 
 The funeral was to have taken place yesterday. Mr. Robinson," the 
 grocer, corner of Eaj;le-street, gave the father ,,4 in aid of her funeral, 
 on condition that, she was to be interred yesterday; but from some 
 cause, with which WE are unacquainted, it was to be deferred till this 
 afternoon. The body will be interred at five o'dock, in the burying 
 ground of St. George the Martyr, behind the Foundling Hospital. 
 
 " To the circumstances we have already detailed WE have to add, 
 that a vast number of anonymous letters have been sent to the Rev. 
 Mr. Cotton, the ordinary of Newgate, and to Mr. Newman, the head 
 gaoler, in which threats are held out in a variety of forms; but these 
 gentlemen have too much good sense to be alarmed by such effusions. 
 
 * Sec p. 105. 
 / -" rtw '' T1 * u S fH
 
 ft 
 
 K Having thus given an account of the transactions which hate fol- 
 lowed the determination of the wretched criminafu fate, WE shall pro- 
 ceed to give a thort sketch of her HISTORY previous to the commis- 
 sion of the crime for which she suffered. It appears, that her father 
 and mother are both from Ireland, and that they are BOTH RO- 
 MAN CATHOLICS; the former is a servant to Mr. Hutchins, a 
 potatoe seller in Red Lion Passage ; the other is, as far as WE have 
 been able to learn, an industrious woman, and the mother of tleren 
 children, of whom Eliza was the last living. Eliza, at a proper age, 
 was sent to the Gate-street (LincolnVinn-fields) charity-school, for 
 education, which is made the protection of the dissenters ; here it was 
 endeavoured to instruct her in the Christian Religion, and whatever 
 instructions she received in that way, was derived from this source. 
 Notwithstanding every effort to correct a wayward and VICIOUS dis- 
 position which at this early period manifested itself, however, it be- 
 came necessary, at twelve years of age, for the preservation of the 
 morals of the other children, who were her school-fellows, to expel her; 
 and in the hooks of the charity is this memorandum, written on that 
 occasion : " Elizabeth Penning, aged twelve years, turned out of the 
 school for lying and lewd talk." From this period she did but little to 
 redeem her lost character. Truth was a practice with which she seemed 
 to be at war, and there was not a place in which she was employed (for 
 she went out to service almost immediately afterwards) that she did not 
 leave behind her the character of a confirmed liar. In the service of 
 Mr. HARDY, a grocer in Portugal-street, Lincoln'$-Inn-Fields, she 
 gave particular manifestations of her ricioas disposition. She there 
 denied her mother, and applied to her language which none but the 
 most abandoned could use when speaking of a parent. She was also in 
 the constant practice of inventing falsehood; and by her genera 
 meanour impressed her master with an opinion, to use his own words, 
 that she uta capable of any act, hoxevcr malevolent ;* and so strongly 
 did this impression weigh on his mind, that he was not 
 was out of the house. ^ ,*,, . 
 
 " Mr. HARDY had alt* a suspicion, that there was 
 terious mixed i. a pot of porter vhich A* brought from thcpM 
 ' for the use of the family, but which was not, from the ,dea d,. 
 
 entertained of it at the moment, used. Of any attempt to 
 however, although STRONGLY REPORTED there 
 proof. In EVERY PLACE in which he lived .fterwan! , she un-
 
 28 
 
 seemed greatly to have unsettled her mind, and perhaps to that may be 
 attributed many of her subsequently//^. Her last place was that of 
 Mr. Turner's, where her conduct, as appeared on her trial, soon exposed 
 her to the reprehension of her mistress, and she received warning to 
 quit. It was after that warning, which she seemed to have taken much 
 to heart, that she committed the crime imputed to her. In Mr. Turner's 
 service she had shewn a very amorous inclination, which, while even 
 tinder sentence of death, was more strongly manifested. Of her TRIAL 
 WE can say no more than it was MOST IMPARTIAL, and in 0iit~ 
 estimation from the evidence which was produced, THE VERDICT 
 could not have been otherwise than it was pronounced. If, however, 
 the shadow of a ground existed for concluding her innocent, the steps 
 which were taken to examine her case subsequently, would have dis- 
 covered it. Twice %vere the facts studiously and minutely investigated 
 by. the Privy Council. Every circumstance which could be urged in"'* 
 her favour was deliberately weighed. ENQUIRIES WERE MADE, 
 AND WITNESSES EXAMINED INNUMERABLE. At nine o'clock 
 oifc the night previous to her execution, another enquiry took place ; 
 and again were ALL the facts scrupulously RE-EXAMINED; and 
 the result of the whole was a conviction upon the minds of MEN OF ' 
 HIGH RANK, of zcell-knorcn humanity and strict impartiality, that 
 there was no just cause for DELAYING the dreadful sentence of the 
 law, With these facts before US, it naturally occurs to US to ask, 
 upon what fair argument persons who have merely the ipse dixit of the ' 
 criminal herself can support her innocence ? There can be none ; -and if 
 there were, her conduct in the prison would tend to weaken, if not to over- 
 turn them. For how does it appear she conducted herself there? From 
 the day _of her trial she behaved in a manner so flippant and so unbe- 
 coming, that she frequently called down the animadversion of the Rev. 
 Mr. Cotton, by whom she was attended ; a gentleman, of whom it a '- 
 but justice to say, no man could fill the arduous functions of his office 
 with a more exemplary spirit or a more pious zeal. Her FIRST ACT 
 OF IMPURITY was that o writing a letter to Oldfield, who suffered 
 with her, and who, it will be recollected, wascomicted of a rape the 
 last man of all others with whom a virtuous mind would have commu- 
 nication^ .This was followed by billet-douxs written to other prisoners, 
 and among, others was a letter written to a prisoner in custody on a 
 charge of forgery, couched .in the most voluptuous language, and en- 
 closing a lock of her hair. To this man, who had been admitted to 
 assist her in preparing a petition, she was heard to say, " If she did not 
 die otherwise, she would in love of him." He felt a passion equally 
 strong for her, short as had been their acquaintance. A few days be-^ 
 fore her execution, she accused various persons vf having committed the 
 crime sharped to her fcc&tnt; and LASTLY, desired that a young man. '
 
 named KING, who had lived in Mr. Turner'* house, might be bnwghf 
 before her, and confronted with her, observing, that she was sure be 
 would, by his confession, convince' those who were witnesses to the 
 scene that he alone was GUILTY. This wish was complied with, and 
 KING, who is constitutionally VERY TIMID, was introduced' into 
 the cell, in the presence of the Rev. Mr. Cotton, Dr. Moore, Mr. New-' 
 man, and several other gentlemen. The test which the .prisoner re- 
 quired of his innocence was, that he should go upon his knees, and, 
 placing liis hand upon an open bible, solemnly declare that he was not 
 in the kitchen the day on which the dumplings were made. The boy 
 expressed his willingness to do all this, notwithstanding the prisoner 
 addressed him in the most vehement and passionate manner; upon which, 
 finding that she had failed in producing the intimidation she expected 
 in his mind, she said she should not be satisfied even if- he did swear it. 
 Mr. Cotton, however, having brought the lad to the teit, insisted upon 
 his going through the form, which he did, in the most solemn manner, 
 declaring he neither wot in the kitchen, or knew any thing of the 
 mixing of the poison. Upon hearing this, she clapped her hand on the 
 bible, and said, in the most passionate way, " Iain glad of it, you have 
 sworn a lie." Upon being reprimanded by Mr. Cotton, for expressing 
 joy at conduct in a BOY which would destroy his soul, she equivocated, 
 and said, " She did not mean that; but she was glad she could contra- 
 dict him.'' All the women who attended her, declared then* perfect 
 conviction 'that she was guilty, as did every turnkey about the prison, 
 and they ALL said they never saw a woman of a more MA LEVQ- 
 LENT disposition. She was heard to say, more than once, that she 
 wished she could get leave to tear the heart out of her prosecutors; and 
 to the woman who sat up with her for some nights before her execution, 
 she admitted there were two things, which if they were to cut her in 
 pieces she wpul^l not divulge. What these were could not he discovered, 
 although it may be inferred that she had made some mental reservation 
 to avoid telling her guilt. It appears, also, from the observation of 
 several respectable individuals who made a point to attend her through- 
 out her confinement, that her manners partook rather of a ranting and 
 theatrical turn than of the serious conduct of a person who was renH/>^ : 
 innocent. As inducements for not divulging her guilt, even in the last 
 instant, were the hope of reprieve, which WE know she entertamed ; 
 and the exhortation of her father, to persevere in the declaration of her 
 innocence, for the sake of his character. 
 
 " She exhibited throughout an uncommon ttrengthvfmud,. nndftde- 
 gre$ of talent, which was displayed in her letters,/^ above her situa- 
 tion in life. She was thought to be of no particular religion, although 
 iheffiidtbe was a PROTESTANT. The delay of her execution till 
 talf past eight WE understand!* attributable- to the banwint^of th*
 
 30 
 
 Rev. Mr. Cotton, the Slteriffs, and Mr. Ncicman, who wished every 
 chance of reprieve to be waited for; although in their own mind*, 
 notwithstanding her protestations of innocence, TI1EY had not the 
 SLIGHTEST DOUBT of her guilt. There was a hesitation and con- 
 fusion in her last moments, re hick gave the strongest proofs that she 
 died with something pressing on her mind which she wished not to 
 divulge. v.,>(I Tr\ 
 
 " The humanity with which she was treated by every person about the 
 prison, and more especially by the Ordinary, as well as the anxiety 
 which all manifested to prove her innocent, if possible, is the best proof 
 that these persons are totally undeserving of those treacherous and ma- 
 lignant attacks by which they are assailed." 
 
 THE TWO APOTHECARIES' JOINT DECLARATION, 
 published in the OBSERVER of the 6th of August, 1815. 
 
 " STATEMENT OF THE MEDICAL MEN, RESPECTING THE GUILT OF 
 ELIZABETH PENNING. 
 
 IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE LATE TUMULTUOUS PRO- 
 CEEDINGS in Chancery-lane, against Mr. Turner, and his family, 
 Mr. Marshall and Mr. Ogilvy lament they had not an opportunity of 
 stating, upon the trial of Eliza Penning, what they consider an ad- 
 ditional proof of her guilt. 
 
 " On Tuesday night, the 21st of March, and Wednesday morning 
 following, Eliza Penning most obstinately refused all remedy ; after ad- 
 ministering the medicine they deemed immediately necessary for the 
 relief of the suffering patients, they lastly went to the garret, to give 
 the same to Eliza Penning. On recommending the same remedy, Mr. 
 Turner, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Turner, and Mr. Gadsden, had most 
 readily taken, Eliza Penning said, " she would not take any thing , 
 she had much rather die than live, as life was of no consequence to 
 her." Mr. Marshall and Mr. Ogilvy said they must insist upon doing 
 their duty, and urged her to take the medicine as her face was sawln, 
 her stomach in great pain, fyc. ; by perseverance and much persuasion 
 they at last induced her to comply with their request : before she took 
 -'"k, she again repeated these words, "she had rather not ; she would 
 sooner die than live; life was of no consequence." Particular dfrec- 
 tions were given by Mr. Marshall and Mr. Ogilvy for the repetition of 
 the medicine through the night, to Mrs. Turner, sen. who was present 
 during this interview, and Mr. Abbott, her son-in-law. Mrs. Turner, 
 sen. most humanely undertook to pursue their directions, in conse- 
 quence of her sitting up all that night, and many subsequent, with the 
 family. The next morning Mr. Marshall and Mr. Ogiivy saw Eliza
 
 31 
 
 Penning, and to their surprise she hnri not taken a single dose during 
 ' absence. On a^ain reaMming n< kindly remonstrating at the 
 neglect, si,,. repeat*^ th* same assurance of" preferring death to life, 
 at the latter was of no couseqaence to her." 
 
 JOHN MARSHALL, 
 
 IN* Dot, E,] CHENEY OGILVY, Apothecary." 
 
 , _ 
 FROM THE OBSERVER, of Sunday, 6th 
 
 ' Ihe ferment occasioned by the execution of this unhappy girl, has, 
 WE are happy to state, much subsided. There are still, lipweyer, 
 mmoun afloat, which tend to keep ;ilive, in the minds of some few per- 
 sons, an opinion of her innocence. For ourselves WE have only to say, 
 that WE do not think the subject one which admits of controversy, and 
 shall, therefore, abstain altogethtr from entering the lists with those, 
 who, for motives best known to themselves, are desirous of keeping up 
 what WE cannot help thinking it is, a useless and, perhaps, miscKifKout 
 contest. An affidavit has been published, which we subjoin*, in contra- 
 diction to that of Davis, the Turnkey of N'ewgate, by the father of Eli- 
 zabeth Penning, with a -view of JUSTIFYING hi mm If. As far as our 
 opinion goes, WE are hy no means disposed to impugn this unhappy 
 man's intentions ; on the contrary, WE believe, throughout the melan- 
 choly scenes he had to encounter in the cell of h ; ,s wretched daughter, 
 he- was actuated by the best motives, however questionably he might 
 have expressed liis feelings. He formerly believed that his daughter 
 was innocent, having had her own declaration to that effect ; and it wos 
 natural that he should, with a view to the gratification of his own feel- 
 ings, entreat her to make that declaration in her dying moments* 
 Those, however, who might be supposed to judge more dispassionately, 
 nnd with a feeling less prejudiced, did think, and still do firmly believe, 
 that she suffered deservedly. Among otherpersons endeavoured to be 
 drawn into this contest, is the Her. Mr. Cotton, the Ordinary of New- 
 gate; but he has VERY PRUDENTLY refrained from answering nch 
 attacks; and indeed WE cannot but think that it would be eitreraefy 
 indecorous in him to take any steps whatever upon this subject, unless 
 called upon by a proper tribunal, to state those facts and circumstance* 
 upon which his judgment is founded, and upon which he has unequi- 
 vocally pronounced his opinion. From all WE have had an opportunity 
 of witnessing of this gentleman's conduct, WE believe no man could be 
 better calculated to fill the arduous office in which he is placed than 
 himself; and WE are happy to add, that he is sincerely respected by 
 the most miserable of hie unfortunate flock. 
 * See page 100. 
 
 a
 
 32 
 
 WE shall conclude these DISTRESSING PARTICULARS, by 
 ASSERTING that it was and still remains the UNANIMOUS opinion 
 of the Recorder, the Rev. Mr. Cotton, Mr. Newman, the respectable 
 Jury who tried her, together with MR. TURNER AND HIS FAMILY, 
 that she was guilty:' 
 
 I 
 
 . .,,., , .:. , ,,,,, ~ ^ t 
 
 ANIMADVERSIONS on f*e FABRICATED STATEMENTS 
 of THE OBSERVER, and the APOTHECARIES' DECLA- 
 RATION, from VARIOUS JOURNALS. 
 
 ;.{,?ri 
 
 " When a fact operates upon the feelings, and excites a very natural 
 and rational interest in the lower orders, we are immediately edified 
 with, all manner of dignified censure and Coriolanus-like remark upon 
 the mob and uiob, and mob, and mob, is repeated with unsparing per- 
 tinacity by the whole tribe of polite jargonists, who are in themselves a 
 definition of the term, and who will remain so, as long as clamour, pre- 
 judice, and ignorance, are designated by it." 
 
 " SIR It is with regret that I have read, in a cotemporary print of 
 last Sunday, a long, laboured, and I wish I could say, a true account of 
 particulars, relative to the poor unhappy girl who was executed on Wed- 
 nesday, for attempting to poison the family of Mr, Turner. The follow- 
 ing you may depend upon as the true state of the case, in as far as it 
 respects the circumstances above alluded to: 
 
 " As to straw having been brought to set fire to Mr. Turner's house, 
 after every inquiry I have found this to be false. A. little boy threw into 
 the area half a handful of the straw rubbish with which Chancery Lane 
 abounds, from its vicinity to the greatest coach stand in London. 
 
 " The corpse was never dressed out in the Popish manner, nor leaked, 
 as he affirms; a ceremony peculiar to the Irish Roman Catholics; a 
 class of people with which that writer is better acquainted, I should 
 suppose, than poor Fenning, who is an Englishman, and a Protestant; 
 and, I hope, something more than a mere nominal one. Nor was ever 
 money taken for showing the body. In the party which I accompanied, 
 a respectable medical gentleman gave the person a shilling who opened 
 the door to let us out, and this was all that was given out of eight 
 persons. 
 
 " That Davis of himself made the affidavit is untrne. Mr. Turner, 
 sen. solicited him to give him an affidavit of some kind or another ; but 
 the respectable individual therein alluded to, as having likewise heard 
 penning, informs me that fie has heard him repeatedly urge his daughter 
 Jo confess if she was Guilty ; and that, if he made use of those, or similar 
 
 - -
 
 33 
 
 words, as worn to, it did by no mean, convey to him the meaning that 
 Davis's affidavit attaches to then,. And now that we have a counter 
 affidavit by Penning, and when I aver that this poor man has ever main- 
 tained, in the neighbourhood where he resides, and with the masters he 
 has served, an exemplary character for honesty and sobriety, that he 
 attends his place f worship regularly on a Sunday, the Public will 
 judge for themselves which of 'the two is most to be believed Davis or 
 Penning. 
 
 " Bat the writer of this article is not content with basely intimating 
 that Penning is an Irishnnn ; although, if that were a crime, I believe 
 lie libels his own father-but jesuitically endeavours to fix, what he 
 thinks a stigma, upon Gate Street Sunday School, by saying, it is " made 
 the protection of Dissenters," as if to protect Dissenters (though true) 
 were a crime : the children of parents of the Establishment are more 
 numerous at Gate Strtet Sunday Schooi than Dissenters, and Penning 
 himself is of the Establishment. 
 
 " He tells a story of her having attempted to poison Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hardy, of Portugal Street, by mixing arsenic k ia a pot of porter. An- 
 other person and myself took the trouble to trace this report through 
 five or six. families, but lost it ere it reached Mr. and Mrs. Hardy; and, 
 when we called upon them, they denied ever having said any tuck thing, 
 and never had heard of it until mentioned by a tall gentleman, who had 
 just been making similar inquiries. They said, that at one time tlie 
 kettle boiled over something of a whitish colour, but could not say whe- 
 ther it was daring E. Penning *s servitude or not. Mr. Hardy com- 
 plained of her being very fond of reading, and that she wanted often to 
 get at his son's books that he caught her one time reading Fielding't 
 Amelia, which site said she had got the loan of from a lady. That she 
 stopt too long when sent for some hot gin and water for him, and told- 
 lie to evade her conduct. That he did not like her, " but could nol tell 
 fr what nor far why." 
 
 " Anotfter vile insinuation of this writer, is with regard to the lettr 
 she wrote Oldfield, which lie stjlts " an act of impurity J" This un- 
 happy man, convicted of a rape, was, ti. rough the tender mercies of 
 Uod, led to see bis past life in the light every true penitent will iew 
 himself. From a blasphemer and scpfter at all religion, he became a 
 sincere believer in the truths of the Gespel, and died in a very happy 
 state of mind, firmly persuaded of his interest in the Saviour's blood and 
 righteousness. Where, then, was the. harm of this poor creature, in 
 similar circumstances, wishing to hear from such a character something 
 that might afibrd htr the like consolation as he was then experiencing ; 
 and as she could not have a personal interview, was there any harm m. 
 sending him a letter? 
 
 " Much has beea said of this poor girl's malignant and treachtrott
 
 34 
 
 
 disposition : but where will we find one, among all her numerous calum- 
 niators, qualified to throw at her the stone of their own exculpation ? It 
 is as much an act of malignity to discolour, distort, and wrest the actions 
 and words of others, as to resent the least injury. 
 
 " If you choose to insert these few lines I shall feel happy : they are 
 not drawn up with a view of selling a few dozen additional papers, but 
 from a regard to the sacred cause of Truth. 
 
 (i T . e 
 
 i am, sir, your s, &c. 
 
 " 294, Holtorn, Aug. 4, 1815. ' ROBT. OGLE." 
 
 t ,. .. 
 
 " MB. EXAMINER. In your last paper you furnished your readers 
 with a refutation of many of the scandalous things inserted in the 
 Observer of July 30th, which were presented in that paper as a short 
 sketch of the history of Eliza Penning, previous to the commission of 
 the crime for which she suffered. I hope you will spare a corner of 
 your paper for a remark or two, on what the Editor of that paper has 
 aUo chosen to say respecting her conduct while in prison. After inform- 
 ing his readers that an amorous inclination was more strongly mani- 
 fested in her, even while under sentence of death, than when she re- 
 sided at Mr. Turner's that if any doubts of her guilt had existed, her 
 conduct in the prison would tend to weaken, if not to overturn them; 
 she is then charged with behaviour, " flippant and unbecoming." But 
 the first charge ngainst her, which is at all tangible, is as follows : 
 ' Her first act of impurity was that of writing a letter to O d/ &c. 
 
 " If this was \\erjirst act of impurity while in prison, it was at least a 
 month after her trial before she wrote it; and as to the impurity of it, 
 your renders shall have an opportunity of forming their own opinion 
 thereon. The original now lying before me, I copy for you. 
 
 " On receiving ihis letter, Mr. O- consulted me as to the answer it 
 would be proper for him to return, and whether, after he had answered 
 her question, he might not add something of a religious nature, calcu- 
 lated to impress on her mind the importance of religion, f advised him 
 to do so. After a lapse of about two months she wrote again to him 
 the following, which I copy from the original. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Examiner, I wish to add, that I never saw or heard of 
 Mr. Oldfield until I sau him in the cells of Newgate. That I never saw 
 E. Penning until she appeared on the scaffold, and am totally uncon- 
 nected with the families of them both. Yet as I attended the cells for 
 four months daily, while Mr. Oldfield was there, and was very conver- 
 sant with him, I can take upon me to say, from my own observations, 
 and also from the result of a recent inquiry I have made, that he never 
 discovered any improper attachment to E. F. ; and if the Observer can 
 give no greater proofs of her " amorous inclinations" " flippant and 
 unbecoming behaviour" " billet douxs to other prisoners besides Old-
 
 35 
 
 field"" a letter to a prisoner, couched in voluptuous language" and 
 " her impurity" than what is contained in her first act nf impurity in 
 writing to Oldfield, or her subsequent letter to him, Mr. Observer will, 
 I think, stand convicted of being a wholesale dealer in Scandal and 
 falsehood. When I read his paper of tbe 30th of July, I sard to myself, 
 if all this were true, how cruel is the act of publishing it ! and nothing 
 but a desire to relieve the minds of the family and friends of fttch pnrty 
 from the distress which they must have felt on reading it, has induced me 
 to expose such falsehoods. " TRUTH*." 
 
 " The attacks on her general character are, to say the least, impru- 
 dent, since, unless regularly Substantiated, they are open to the sus- 
 picion of being malicious exaggerations of infirmities incident to her 
 youth, sex, and exposed condition. The grossnesx she is charged to have 
 shown in the prison, seems almost to involve an impossibility, consider- 
 ing the lively horror of the dreadful death impending over her, in which 
 she is stated to have spent the miserable time that intervened hetw^tn 
 the sentence and her execution." 
 
 " That a cheerful servant girl of two-and-twenty should be us demure 
 and rigid as a refined maiden lady of fifty, is not to be expected. That 
 Penning, like most other girls of her condition, had ' irceethearlf to 
 come ' a courting,' may be presumed without any violation of charity. 
 That she has been sometimes at a dance ; had a good voice, and en- 
 joyed an order to see a play, are not offences of a very heinous nature. 
 The foibles and errors of her age may he collected and magnified by 
 others. But that she was, in every sente of the word, honest, may be 
 fairly concluded from her certificates, and tlie silly stories cireuhtfd by 
 her enemies to prove the contrary. The cruel efforts employed to 
 blacken this unfortunate girl, may now bt judged of by referring to the 
 bold assertions in the OBSERVER'' of the 80th of July. The writer, 
 charitably tracing her to the school-girl faults' of her twelfth year, Mated, 
 that " in EVERY PLACE in which she lived afterward* slie unhappily 
 obtained for herself THE CHAR ACTKR of bang MOST SPITBFUL 
 and MALICIOUS!!" There is nn evidence on the face of ihew In- 
 sertions, that the writer, nt the time of writing them, mut himself Iwve 
 been convinced of their falsehood. Bi'cuiw, with a qrain ofstnw.lie 
 could not but know that no lionest, n*pectablr IHTM>P, would uive a 
 good character to a bad servant; and that neither Mr. Turner, nor nny 
 other respectable person, would engage as a servant, on any terms, 
 " MOST SPITEFUL, MALICIOUS, and CONFIRMED LIAIt." 
 
 * The Editor of tbe present Publication wa favoured iih copies of Eluahcth 
 Fennings two letters to Mr. Oldfield, previous t,, th- abov,- coounun cation to 
 the Examiner. The first letter will be found at ji. 9 ; the second at p. IB.
 
 36 
 
 , ., . , 
 
 This is the very opposite of the troth, for he could have leanied that she 
 brought with her an excellent character to Mr. Turner; and the terms 
 of her certificate from that respectable man, Mr. Flint, show, that * she 
 conducted herself, for more than twelve months, as AN HONEST, 
 SOBER, QUIET, DISCREET, YOUNG WOMAN, in his family.' 
 Yet this very writer, who charged her with having acquired so shocking 
 and infamous a character IN EVERY PLACE in which she lived, 
 commenced his account with a boast of having made * EVERY IN- 
 QUIRY,' in order to enable the Public to form ' a CORRECTER 
 -judgment: 
 
 . -_jip /ft,. :.^vpn>. 
 
 EXTRACT from a Letter, addressed to tlie Rev. Mr. COTTON, the 
 
 r> T 
 
 Ordinary. 
 
 & 
 
 " As your name has been publicly introduced in an ettra-judidft/ 
 affidavit of a Newgate Turnkey, to obtain something like credit for his 
 Oath ; and as that Oath contains a direct, and, as I conceive it to be, 
 a wicked and unfounded attack upon the character and feelings of an 
 honest, but poor, old man, who bore arms for twenty years, and sbeil 
 his blood, as a British Soldier, in defence of his King and Country', I 
 conceive it to be my duty and yours, and the duty of every honourable 
 man in society, to search into the truth or falsehood of that Turnkey's 
 extraordinary Affidavit. I was one who had not heard of William Fen- 
 ning's indigent and defenceless situation until after I had read the Turn- 
 key's extra-judicial deposition; and when I reflect upon that poor man's 
 recent irremediable calamity, his attested honourable conduct during 
 20 years of military service, and his extreme poverty, I confess myself 
 moved exceedingly in his behalf. The attempt to blast his character 
 and render him despised, hated, and infamous, in society, was deli' 
 beratcly made upon this poor and desolate old man, in the moment 
 when fie zcas struck childless by the hmid of the executioner ; and when 
 the unburied dead body of his daughter was brought home from the, gal- 
 lows, and the last of ten children lay a spectacle of horror before him. 
 Thank God, sir, we do not live in a country where, because a man is 
 poor, and an old friendless soldier, he can be conspired against, and 
 stigmatized, and trampled upon, with impunity. This mit-of-court act 
 of desperate inveteracy, only proves to the Public that a deep and set- 
 tled hostility exists against this unhappy* and defenceless individual 
 somewhere. It is on behalf of this poor old man, reduced to daily 
 labour for his bread, that I have taken up inv pen ; and, as your name 
 has been publicly committed to blast his character altogether, I shall, 
 in my next, bring forward the accredited testimonies of his character in 
 the army, and in his present' sitr.atiun. From your sense of Christianity, 
 vour duty to 'God 'and your Country, and your hopes of pence in your
 
 37 
 
 last moment*, I shall then solicit your public answer to some important 
 questions, not to establish an opinion of the guilt or innocence of Eliza 
 Penning, but to vindicate the character of her persecuted and unhappy 
 father." 
 
 ff \-jtr -" ' .' ~1' f 
 
 We have refrained from any comment upon the Affidavits of Davis, 
 the Turnkey, and the contradictory one of the Fathtr of Penning! 
 There is something very like perjury in the one or the other; but, at 
 we have no wish to throw a hint into the scale of public opinion, which 
 might turn the balance of credit, we refrain from any remarks on the 
 subject of the matter of them. 
 
 " With regard to Davis's affidavit, from a letter w h ich appeared in 
 our last paper, it appears that he was instigated by Mr. Turner to 
 make it, in order to appease that spirit of popular indignation which 
 menaced his safety. Can any thing appear more odious than tlu's ex- 
 pedient ? Had Mr. Turner such a mean opinion of the adequacy of the 
 Police of the Metropolis to protect him, that he roust endeavour to 
 fasten upon the father of the girl the ignominious stain which is con- 
 veyed in die terms of the affidavit? A more base and malignant attack 
 upon the wounded feelings of a father, just rendered childleu by the 
 operations of the law, we trust, for the honour of human nature, is not 
 to be found on record. It throws upon its Author an imputation of the 
 most black complexion." Q^.Q^ 
 
 " Every friend to truth and justice, who has examined the question, 
 has therefore calmly weighed the solemo, legal, and vindicatory oath, 
 of this strictly honest, irreproachable, and calumniated man, against 
 the illegal and defamatory oath of Davis, the Newgate Turnkey. The 
 object, the motives, the stations, habits, and character ol the two men, 
 have been, no doubt, most conscientiously attended to, without any 
 prejudice against the mere station of the Turnkey. A humane Turnkey 
 ;s a jewel indeed; and such a man, when acting legally and justly, it 
 entitled to as fair a hearing as any other member of society. 
 
 The writer of the mass of FALSE statements, in the OBSERVER 
 of the 30tb, affirmed, that. ' the ferraer.t which had been occasioned in 
 the public mind by the execution of Eliza Penning, had risen to such a 
 height, that measures were taken to correct, as much as possible, that 
 effect* Unluckily, the false statements in the Observer, and the illegal 
 defamatory njjidamt of the Turnkey, involving a horrid charge against 
 the unhappy father of Eliza penning, were adopted as the bat correc- 
 tive measures. My first letter caused the humane Turnkey to draw in 
 his- horns, and endeavour to shift the burden upon Mr. Turner. This 
 was making bad worse. If the thing was good, he ought not to have 
 been ashamed of it: if otherwise, he ought not u> have consented to do
 
 1 >*<- 1 J l_ 
 
 ft. The affidavit was sworn and distributed on the ^8th, and the 
 writer in the Observer was obliged to confess, that ' this (the Turnkey's 
 affidavit) had some trifling weight with the mi' ds of those who 
 would take the trouble to think;" that is, with t hi nliing people the 
 affidavit had a trifling effect in shaking their opinion of Eliza Fenning's 
 innoceuce. Very trifling indeed : hut, for my own part, I must coi^ 
 fess it had a very sufficient weight in confinnmt: my former opinion of 
 her innocence. The affidavit of William Penning soon followed, and 
 its predecessor lost all ground." 
 
 " The Newgate Turjikey has publicly avowed that he was requested 
 by Mr. Turner to swear asd publish that iiffidavit; but, setting the ille- 
 gality of such a request out of the present question, can any person 
 believe that so respectable and prudent a man as Mr. Turner, with a 
 choice between the Turnkey of Neicgate and the Rev. Ordinary, would 
 prefer the testimony of the former to that of the latter? As Mr. 
 Turner unfortunately entertained an opinion that an extra-ju.lici;tl affi- 
 davit, in addition to the judicial evidence upon the Trial of Eliza 
 Penning, was necessary to allay the public feeling, he certainly would 
 bare chosen the strongest extra-judicial testimony for his purpose. 
 The Rev, Mr. Cotton is deservedly ranked among Mr. Turner's private 
 Friends; and t\vo things may be presumed, without any great shock to 
 probability: that Mr. Turner had no reason to expect the Rev. Gen- 
 tleman's refusal of any fair and just request, a compliance with which 
 was necessary to calm a public ferment : rind that the P.CT. Gentle*- 
 man did not agree with the allegations in the Turnkey's Affidavit, or 
 he would have voluntarily giren his public testimony as a paramount 
 duty, without waiting to have his name indecently dragged forward with 
 a gross insinuation implied against him in thut affidavit. The Turnkey 
 swore that William Feinting repeatedly, at different interviews, in 
 words and substance, suborned his daughter to die with a false declara- 
 tion of innocence, and thereby to hazard the perdition of her eternal 
 soul. If .the affidavit did not mean this, it had no meaning; its sole 
 purport was to impress a public belief that Elizabeth Fenning's dying 
 declaration of her innocence nas not true, for that it had been repeat- 
 tedly put into her mouth in the presence and hearing of two witnesses, 
 by her father. The affidarit in substance alleged, that William Pen- 
 ning was not only, at different interviews, most wickedly guilty of these 
 repeated acts of subornation, but that he most foolishly, (where he 
 might have WHISPERED or WFUTTEN his wishes to his daughter,) chose 
 to defeat his own purpose, by uttering his guilty wishes aloud, and 
 repeating his subornations, in the presence of two witnesses ! The affi- 
 davit also, to the great scandal of the sacerdotal character, and the
 
 39 
 
 disparagement of public justice, profanely thretc upon the Pev. Ordinary 
 the CHARGE of having repeatedly witnessed and heard these suborna- 
 tions in silence. That Gentleman could not have witnessed these MI!., r- 
 nations, without subsequently putting a necessary question to EHzfc Fei*- 
 ning on the scaffold. It would liave heen his duty to have mildly con- 
 fronted her on this heinous charge of her having been suborned by toer 
 father to declare falsely, when, in his presence and hearing,' she solemnly 
 declared -her innocence to the SheHtY Tud Bystanders, & fe* moments 
 before her execution. 
 
 " In exact proportion as Mr. Marshall implies thai the matter in 
 his printed declaration is of importance to the decision of justice, 
 in that exact degree does he establish a charge that Eliza Penning 
 was deprived of her just claim to the benefit of an important evidence 
 on the day of trial. The matter in 'Mr. Ma.shall's declaration not 
 being medical or merely professional, but touching the words, con- 
 duct, and dangerous state, in which he and Mr. Ogilvy found Eliaa 
 Fenning, caused by her having eaten heartily of the poisoned drunp- 
 lings, formed a most important evidence of facts, which, in justice, 
 ought to have been submitted to the jury ; for, besides his being sworn 
 to his mere medical opinions, which could only be judged of by me- 
 dical men, Mr. Marshall was examined on his oatk, to give a full 
 and true evidence of ALL he had seen and witnessed of the uc<*used 
 party's conduct and words. Mr. Marshall not being a juror, was not 
 called as a witness to depose to his own opinion on these general 
 facts, but to state the whole of the important facts, and to leave' the 
 jury to draw their own inferences according to their oaths and con- 
 sciences. -Mr. Marshall has no doubt here drawn a conclusion *r- 
 cording to his conscience from the matter in his declaration; but that 
 is merely his opinion, not on a professional point ; and so different ai* 
 men's minds constituted, that I derive an additional presumption of 
 Eliza Fenning's innocence from the wwds and matter in his decUrt- 
 tion. Finally, in all cases of murder, although the person who firtt 
 discovers the dead body is the first witness, mid in a case ofpoifioe- 
 ing, the medical gentleman who first attended is the strongest and 
 most important evidence, Mr. Ogilry, who first attended in this not, 
 was not. examined on the trial at all. The public are now kindly fa- 
 voured with the opinions of Mr. Ogilvy and Mr. Marshall on faftt, 
 and their opinions on these unprofessional points are of no more 
 weight than those of any other two individuals in respectable society : 
 but we are not yet informed by whom, or by what mean?-, the Jirtt 
 of these gentlemen v\as depiL'td of an opportunity U giu k* V*- 
 .tk'at- on the day of triwl to Ow uii iiupurtaul lucti 
 declaration."
 
 "' They * LAMENT," that they * had not an opportunity' of giving 
 some important particulars in evidence on the trial of Eliza Penning. 
 One of these gentlemen was the FIRST who attended, after the accused 
 und the family were poisoned ; and he was in attendance nearly four 
 hours before the other. In point of law and justice, as well as in 
 reason, he ought to have been the first examined of the two ; and, as 
 he has placed himself at the bar of the public, HE is bound to an- 
 sicer the public question, WHY was he not sworn and examined at 
 the two examinations at Hatton Garden, and WHY we are now to 
 lament, that HE who had an opportunity of knowing the most, was 
 not examined at all upon the trial? The other gentleman was twice 
 solemnly stcorn and examined at Hatton Garden, to depose to ALL 
 he knew of the case, on the two separate examinations of Eliza Fen- 
 ning. He attended also two days at the Old Bailey, when the trial 
 was expected to come on ; so that he had fiill time to be collected 
 on the third day, the llth of April, when the trial took place. On 
 the trial he was a third time sworn and examined as a witness, iu 
 the face of his country, to depose to all he knew. He took the wit- 
 
 ness's oath solemnly to swear ' the truth, the WHOLE truth, and 
 nothing but the truth,' pronouncing in the usual form, as he applied 
 his lips to the Bible, ' So HELP ME GOD ;' that is, so reject, and sen- 
 tence, and punish me, God, if I do not depose to die WHOLE truth, 
 without any diminution, suppression, or concealment *. His declaration, 
 therefore, that he had not an opportunity to depose ah 1 he knew, is, 
 in point of fact, vitiated by the notorious facts of his THREE solemn 
 opportunities. 
 
 " The assertion of any person, who gratuitously and spontaneously, 
 although unintentionally, by a public declaration, impeaches his oicn 
 credit as a S\\ORN zcitnest, may, so iar as it affects his own asser- 
 tion, be believed ; and his statements are important, if evidenced by 
 notorious facts. But his extra-judicial inferences of the guilt or inno- 
 cence of others, drawn from his own garbled statements, are merely 
 
 his opinion, which, if confessedly brought forward to jit the time and 
 the circumstances, few impartial men will be inclined to follow ; and 
 from which the majority of thinking men may, with a reliance on 
 their own convictions, very safely dissent. It is asserted, that Eliza 
 Fenning at first refused all medical aid, declaring, that life was of 
 no value to her ; but that she afterwards did take some medicine. A 
 servant girl might well, in the excruciating pangs produced by poison, 
 
 * Judge BLACKSTONE decides the momentous point of CONCEALMENT in 
 the following words : " The oath administered to the WITNI.SS is not onlr 
 
 y that which he deposes shall be true, but that he shall depose the WHOLE 
 TRUTH ; so that he is not to ccwjceo/ any part of what he knows, WHETHER 
 
 " INTERROGATED to that point or not."
 
 deem life of no consequence to her, who, according to die evidence, 
 was poisoned by eating dumplings in which arsenick had been mixed ; 
 who saw her character suddenly ruined by a HORRID ACCUSA- 
 TION, and the certainty of an ignominious trial ; her prospect of 
 marriage, and her means of livelihood destroyed ; and herself, in what 
 she deemed the agonies of death. Eliza Penning, in such a dread- 
 ful crisis, found herself cut off from the access of her father, and 
 
 every natural protector, by a. falsehood and concealment of her situa- 
 tion practised upon liim by the housemaid, when he called at Mr. 
 Turner's door to see her, late on the evening of the lst of March : 
 
 - her father offered to depose to this in Court. The most innocent 
 poor girl in the world, in this friendless and overwhelming state, might 
 well speak and ace as Eliza Penning is said to have spoken and 
 acted. She might well say, ' life was of no consequence to her,' who 
 saw herself, even in the event of her recovery and acquittal, stigma- 
 tised, rendered an object of horrid suspicion, and deprived of the means 
 
 _ of earning her bread. Who would like to hire a .sercqnt after she 
 had been publicly tried on a charge of having attempted to poison her 
 master and mistress's family ? Her exclamations and conduct wer 
 therefore natural; and, I conceive, presumptions of INNOCENCE." 
 
 ai^ijia o^. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS/ro VARIOUS 
 f*.A NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 njg\a 3MIJHT ?iH so Msu^ ^jjonojon s/fi vd iwuai'v .;> -1 'to im >q u 
 
 " I HAVE never read or heard of a case equally wicked iu ope light, 
 and foolish iu the other uickcii in the extreme, for contriving to 
 take away the lives of those who had never offended her insane, bv 
 taking such a quantity of the bane, as subjected herself to at great 
 a degree of affliction as any one of the family. Far from being wick- 
 edly cunning does she appear to me ; as it is evident she left the pan 
 in which the dumplings were made unwashed ''11 the next day; uor 
 did she attempt to put the remainder, of the dumplings out of th 
 way ; the doing of which the perpetrator of such a crime would not 
 have omitted. "cm ' 
 
 " Air. Smith met the prisoner two evenings previous to the melan- 
 choly catastrophe ; she declared that she was vrry comfortable in per 
 situation, and that she was never happier. in her life. 
 
 " After such proof of her l)eing satisfied, is it likely that she cmild 
 have conceived such a diabolical plan of murder, and suicide?" 
 
 " Such extraordinary dev.atu^m the commo. < of ,h,cs 
 
 occasioned Voi-TAinr. to advocate -successfully tho rnn-c T.* 
 CALL-AS, who' had been tortnred to death on tl- r^L. (it.?
 
 for the supposed murder of his son; and in the case of Elizabeth 
 Canning, eight persons ordered for execution were, by the casual ob- 
 servations of a Mr. RAMSAY in the daily papers, reprieved, and in the 
 sequel proved innocent, and Elizabeth Canning was transported as an 
 impostor." 
 
 " The proof that the crime was committed at all is radically defec- 
 tive, for we may reasonably suppose that there were other persons in 
 this family as careless as the master, and the arsenick might be acci- 
 dentally intermixed." 
 
 " 
 
 " She had access to the poison granted, and so had even- one 
 else. She had incessantly recc-mmended yeast dumplings, and the first 
 she made was poisoned. Eliza Penning has been represented a* ra- 
 ther shrewd and intelligent for one in her rank of life ; and let it be 
 asked, With the whole cookery of the family under her management, 
 what necessity she had (with such an intention) to enforce a particu- 
 lar species of pudding with an earnestness that on the expected issue 
 would render her the first person suspected? Asain, on the favour- 
 able side, how often is this kind of household recommendation com- 
 mon vvith servants who wish to appear active in their situations ? 
 Taking this fact of the recommendation of yeast dumplings in the 
 n-orst light, and it conveys a power of acting and thinking almost mi- 
 raculous. A premeditated resolution of sereral veeki duration in a 
 girl of twenty, with no assignable motive, to murder three persons "by 
 a particular means, although many equally eligible were in her power 
 and a perseverance in it with such unshaken firmness, as to await 
 her purposed arrangement without the slighted airing, either in form 
 
 or in fact!" 
 
 . 
 
 " She had been reproved by her mistress, was sulky, and said she 
 should never like her again. There would be something ludicrous in 
 this allegation on any other subject, proving as it does the important 
 fact, that there wa> the same species of hostility between kitchen and 
 parlour in the house of Mr. Turner, as in that of almost eveiy other 
 
 person in the metropolis." 
 
 . 
 
 " If Mrs. Turner had observed A.sullennfSB in Fennia, or a fall- 
 ing off in her respect to herself, surely it would have been her duty 
 to repeat the warning she liad given to her, or to have remonstrated 
 \vith her upon the alteration. But uot a breath of this was suffered 
 .to escape, until it was uttered on the trial." 
 
 
 
 , " It does certainly appear to us, without intending to throw the 
 slightest imputation upon the professional character of Mr. AUep, which
 
 stands deservedly high, that the Counsel of the Prisoner did ; not par- 
 sue the cross-questioning, nor comment upon the apparent incongrui- 
 ties of the evidence, with that keenness and perspicuity which usually 
 distinguish his exertions." 
 
 " What anxiety Mrs. Turner appears to be in the day she gav 
 orders for the making of the dumplings, from the time she first vent 
 into the kitchen until they were placed on the table. It appears, by 
 the evidence of "Mrs. Turner, that she charged the girl not to leave 
 the kitchen after the dumplings were made. I am surprised no crou- 
 ejcamination took place on this part of the evidence ; for I should have 
 been anxious to know why Mrs. Turner charged the girl so particu- 
 larly not to leave the kitchen? and again, Mrs. Turner swears that, 
 during the time the dough tens made, no person zcai in the kitchen, 
 but the Prisoner : bnt, Sir, if I had been the Prisoner's Counsel, I 
 should have been anxious to know in what part of the house this arit- 
 ness teas, as she was so positive no person was in the kitchen but the 
 Prisoner; for the Parlours are kept for the Otnce, and the family re- 
 side up stairs. The boys used frequently to go from the office to the 
 kitchen, to wash their hands ; therefore, it is not impossible that, when 
 she went to the baker's with the pie, that a malignant individual 
 misht have embraced this opportunity of infusing the poison into the 
 materials for the dough, and thus render, the unfortunate girl the in- 
 nocent instrument. It appears that Mrs. Turner matched the dough 
 as a cat would watch a mouse, for her evidence is as follows:' 1 
 took off the cloth and looked at it; my observation was, it had not 
 risen, and it was in a very singular position, in which position it re- 
 mained until it was divided into dumplings.' A question is put ty 
 the Jury to this witness' Did you remark to the Prisoner the sin- 
 gular appearance of the dough?' A. < I did not: -I am wrpna* 
 that; for I should have thought any Lady would have remark** 
 her 'cook what she conceived was not right .--and again, it appea* 
 by the evidence of Mr*. Turner, that no sooner bud Uw hM 
 brought the dumplings up to table, than she remarked to ktr 
 looked black and heavy, instead of white and light. I am spw 
 that Mrs. Turner should permit her family to eat of the dum f 
 -when 5ft* discovered they were not as they ought to *.- 
 h put t:Mrs. Turner-' Who 3*t down to **J***2 
 Mr. Orhbar Turner, myself, and my hoflbwd; I helped 1 
 Tomer and my husband to some dumping and took 
 mvself ; I found myself affected in a few numrte.. 
 Mrs Turner was so seriously affected by eating a mall piece,! 
 
 sesfisas r ^
 
 44 
 
 " If, by means of cross-questioning, it had been drawn from Mrs. 
 Turner, that Penning, before the quarrel, had been in the habit of 
 making similar requests; or that there had been any previous convei^ 
 sation upon the subject of making dumplings, how would this disclosure 
 hare weakened the ground of the suspicion ? It appears to us that, M" 
 this place, a question or two from Mr. Allty might have been put with 
 singular benefit to the Prisoner. There were also some apparent iit- 
 consistencies in the evidence of Mrs. Turner, which might have been 
 touched upon, as they appear to us on the face of the Sessions' Paper." 
 
 . 
 
 " If Mrs. Turner's memory was defective in one instance, it might 
 be in another : if the variation in her evidence was the result of 
 confusion, the incongruity ought to have been placed to the benefit of 
 the Prisoner ; for be it remembered, that the zc hole question of Fen- 
 ning's guilt hinged upon circumstances only, the nature of which, by a 
 single error of representation, might be totally changed. The absence 
 of Penning, when she was sent to carry the pie to the baker's, appears 
 to have passed without a single comment or question from her Counsel; 
 although it is palpable that any malignant individual might have em- 
 braced this opportunity of infusing the poison into the dough, and thus 
 rendering the unfortunate girl the innocent instrument. Since it is 
 admitted that other persons had access to the dough while Penning 
 was out, there is at least a possibility that, during this interval, the cri- 
 minal act might have been perpetrated. Mrs. Turner, herself, was in 
 the kitchen during this period. God forbid that we should impute any 
 thing to this lady : but the circumstance seems to us to be one which, 
 
 if pressed, would have weighed much, with the Jury." 
 
 i 
 
 " Sarah Peer corroborated the circumstance of the warning having 
 been given to Eliza Penning by Mrs. Turner, and added, spontaneously, 
 " after that I heard her say she should not like Mr. and Mrs. Robert 
 Turner." We were certainly surprised that XO cross-examination took 
 place in this stage of the evidence. There must have been some con- 
 versation between the witness and the prisoner which led to this obser- 
 vation. We should have been curious to have ascertained the par- 
 ticulars; and we are far from thinking it improbable that a little legal 
 sifting might have been resorted to, on this occasion, with good effect. 
 We repeat, that where such serious issues hang upon a connexion of 
 circumstances, the utmost care ought to be taken to leave nothing un- 
 investigated, which can be inquired into. 'Ihis witness it was who 
 fetched the milk, who received the yeast of the brewer, and who took 
 up the dumplings to table, but who went ut immediately, having pre- 
 viously received her mistress's permission, and consequently did not 
 partake of the dumplings."
 
 45 
 
 " Fe>ining's defence was a most ill-advised one. Its lukewarraneu 
 and brevity were calculated to make rather an injurious impression than 
 otherwise : and yet there never was a finer opportunity for a simple 
 appeal to the nature of the evidence and the feelings of the Jury. We 
 cannot heip feeling, that the poor girl was here most injuriously neg- 
 lected. If a written defence had been prepared for IKT, entreating the 
 Jury to divest their minds of that natural horror of such a crime which 
 had so great a tendency to prejudice their judgment, to take into their 
 consideration the zchole of the evidence, and impartially to examine its 
 congruity and its sufficiency. If it had remarked upon the possibility 
 of any other individual taking ursenick from an open drawer for a ma- 
 lignant purpose, and of infusing it into the ingredients of the dumplings 
 -cither into the milk \vlien it was bought, or the yeast when it was 
 received, or the dough during her absence ; we are of opinion, that 
 such a defence must have produced considerable effect upon any. dis- 
 passionate jury.*? .r.^jtfi.f;, 
 
 ?-in<uiqa ?.*9JlflO mil nj wqisttVf? ? *i w? - . 
 " By an attention to the Criminal Proceedings in this country, we 
 
 shall almost uniformly find, that in minor offences the Judge advocate* 
 the doubt for the prisoner more earnestly than in such as are atjtitul 
 \\e bow to experience, but should have expected the reverse ; for the 
 greater the crime, and the more awful the penalty, the more should 
 doubt, in our opinion, operate in favour of the accused. It must be 
 admitted,. that when heavy guilt is imputwble somewhere, it is mighty 
 satisfactory to hang somebody.'" 
 
 * We have now lying before us more than a dozen cases of the con- 
 viction and execution of individuals, who yielded to testimony and cir- 
 cumstances infinitely stronger than those which have cqnvicM Elis* 
 Fennt7ig, and who yet were all innocent." 
 
 J tI vVe cannot think that, by the evidence adduced, the charge wa 
 brought home to Penning, and we trust that no circumtances remain t. 
 be developed, which will add this to the mournful cases we cited in the 
 beginning of this article, and tend to prove that the 'real perpetrator of 
 
 the deed is still unpunished:' 
 
 _ ' 
 
 The practice of this country, as to criminals, it improperly tWy ; 
 nnd there exists by far too great carelessness and levity in awarding 
 the punishment of death. We were struck with .-motions which we 
 hall not describe, when it was reported the other day in the newspapers, 
 that the Recorder of London, referring to the wretched state o 
 children that prowl about the struts of the metropolis, stated that, tc 
 Check their increasing profligacy, it was resolved to hun K them, howcv
 
 tender their years, when any of the almost innumerable crimes, ren- 
 dered capital hy our laws, should for the future be brought home to 
 them. Hanging, then, is the best expedient which a Judge of England, 
 in the year 1815, can devise for amending the morals of boys and girls 
 of ten, twelve, and fourteen years of age! What will be thought of 
 this hereafter ? The new Constitution of the Netherlands makes a 
 provision against the habit of severity in judges, which may be contracted 
 by the daily exercise of the practice of punishing.} 
 
 " What is the consequence of a legal conviction of innocence, when 
 the error becomes apparent to the great mass of the community? Does 
 it not unsettle its respect for the institutions, which it is most necessary 
 ;t should revere? Does it not violate its confidence in the zcisdom of 
 the judgment seats? May it not tend to lessen its respect for integrity 
 itself, when it perceives it to be no safeguard ? How many heresies 
 from orthodox humanity may be traced to the sad and sorrowful con- 
 victions of error and neglect in the highest human tribunals? To clothe 
 law with all posfeible sanctity, at least in theory, has been the policy of 
 every civilized nation, and in none more so than in our own. We are 
 pompously called upon from the bar, the senate, the pulpit, and the 
 throne, to respect the administrators of the dictates of the wisdom of 
 ages the sacred oracles of justice and the country. We obey, and 
 are to be shocked not only by their fallibility, but by the doctrine 
 which declares it a bagatelle. Has an innocent person been executed? 
 " he died for the good of his country " : then why disturb the public 
 mind? All the forms of law have been preserved his conviction was 
 legal ! What can we do more than Pilate did under similar circum- 
 stances ? wash our hands upon the accident of guilt or innocence, and 
 go to dinner." 
 
 " MR. EXAMINER. You have omitted four very important words 
 in your report from the Sessions' Papers, of theTrial of Eliza Penning: 
 You have omitted, " TRIED BEFORE MR. RECORDER." I 
 will thank you, for reasons which shall hereafter be submitted to the 
 Public, to correct this error. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 This Trial, and its consequences, are of too much importance to 
 the Public to be forgotten as one of the passing events of the day. It 
 does not require much sagacity to discover the whole of this mysterious 
 case. I think that, with a little patience and some perseverance, it 
 will be developed : I ask only for a suspension of judgment." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by J. Moyes, Grcville Street, Londo*.

 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 
 
 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed.
 
 UC SOUTMBM REGOMi UBWtY FCUn 
 
 A 000034725 
 
 ,,f*~>J f f :