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height: auto; width: auto;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.wreath {margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 4em;} - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -/* Poetry */ -.poetry {text-align: center;} - -.poem { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: auto; - margin-bottom: 1em; - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -.poem .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} - -.poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem p.i1 {margin-left: .5em;} -.poem p.i2 {margin-left: 1em;} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.tnotes { - background-color: #eeeeee; - border: 1px solid black; - padding: 1em; -} - -@media handheld { - - .poetry - { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; - } - - p.drop-cap:first-letter - { - float: none; - margin: 0; - font-size: 100%; - } -} - -@media screen { - - .illus {margin-top: 6em; margin-bottom: 6em;} - - table {max-width: 70%;} -} - -@media handheld, print { - - .illus {page-break-before: always; page-break-after: always;} -} - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's My Fifteen Lost Years, by Florence Elizabeth Maybrick - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: My Fifteen Lost Years - Mrs. Maybrick's Own Story - -Author: Florence Elizabeth Maybrick - -Release Date: October 18, 2017 [EBook #55773] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY FIFTEEN LOST YEARS *** - - - - -Produced by Cindy Horton and The Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> - -<div id="half-title"> - -<p class="ph1">Mrs. Maybrick’s Own Story</p> - -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 537px;"> -<a id="frontis"></a> -<img src="images/i004.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="center noindent">FLORENCE ELIZABETH MAYBRICK</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span></p> - -<div id="titlepage"> - -<p class="ph1" style="margin-top: -.02em">MRS. MAYBRICK’S<br /> -OWN STORY</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<h1>MY FIFTEEN LOST YEARS</h1> - -<span class="smcap">By</span><br /> -<span class="ph3"><i>FLORENCE ELIZABETH MAYBRICK</i></span> - -<div class="figcenter wreath" style="max-width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/i005.jpg" alt="wreath decoration" /> -</div> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="ph2" style="margin-top: -.25em">FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY<br /> -<span class="smcap">NEW YORK and LONDON</span><br /> -1905 -</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> - -<div id="verso"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1904,<br /> -By FLORENCE ELIZABETH MAYBRICK</span></p> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<p>[Printed in the United States of America]</p> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<p>Published December, 1904</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p> - -<div id="dedic"> - -<p class="bold">To</p> - -<p>ALL THOSE FRIENDS IN AMERICA AND ENGLAND</p> - -<p class="f80">WHO, WITH UNWAVERING FAITH IN MY<br /> -INNOCENCE, WORKED STEADFASTLY FOR MY FREEDOM,<br /> -THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED</p> - -<p class="ml4">FLORENCE ELIZABETH MAYBRICK.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> - -<tr> - <td class="tdc ph3" colspan="2">PART ONE</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">MRS. MAYBRICK’S OWN STORY</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdc"></td> - <td class="tdr f70">PAGE</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Foreword.</span>—Sketch -of My Ancestry,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Chapter I.—Before the -Trial</span>—My Arrest—A Prisoner in My Own House—At -Walton Jail—Alone—The Coroner’s Inquest—A Plank -for a Bed—The Verdict of the Coroner’s Jury—The -Doctors Disagree—Letters from Walton Jail—Lord -Russell’s Opinion—The Public Condemns Me Unheard,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Chapter II.—The -Trial</span>—The Injustice of Trying the Case at -Liverpool—An Unexpected Verdict—The Judge’s -Sentence—In the Shadow of Death—Commutation of -Sentence,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Chapter III.—In Solitary -Confinement</span>—Removal to Woking Prison—The Convict -Uniform—In Solitary Confinement—The Daily Routine—The -Exercise Hour—The Midday Meal—The Cruelty of Solitary -Confinement,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" -id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span><span class="smcap">Chapter -IV.—The Period of Probation</span>—A Change of -Cell—Evils of the Silent System—Insanity and Nervous -Breakdown of Prisoners—Need of Separate Confinement for the -Weak-Minded—Reading an Insufficient Relaxation—My -Sufferings from Cold and Insomnia—Medical Attendance—Added -Sufferings of the Delicately Nurtured—How Criminals and Imbeciles -are Made,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Chapter V.—The Period of -Hard Labor</span>—Routine—Talk with the Chaplain—My -Work in the Kitchen—The Machine-made Menu—Visitors to -the Kitchen—The “Homelike” Cell—The Opiate -of Acquiescence—Visits of Prisoners’ Friends—My -Mother’s Visits—A Letter from Lord Russell—Punished -for Another’s Fault—Forms of Punishment—The True Aim -of Punishment—The Evil of Collective Punishment—The Evil of -Constant Supervision—Some Good Points of Convict Prisons—My -Sickness—Taken to the Infirmary—The Utter Desolation of a -Sick Prisoner,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.—At -Aylesbury Prison</span>—Removal from Woking—New Insignia -of Shame—Arrival at Aylesbury Prison—A New Prison -Régime—The Board of Visitors—Regulations Concerning -Letters and Visits—My Letter to Gail Hamilton—A Visit from -Lord Russell,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.—A Petition -for Release</span>—Denied by the Secretary of State—Report -of My Misconduct Refuted—Need of a Court of Criminal -Appeal—Historic Examples of British Injustice—The Case of -Adolf Beck,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_145">145</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.—Religion -in Prison Life</span>—Dedication of New Chapel—Influence of -Religion upon Prisoners—Suicide of a Prisoner—Tragedies in -Prison—Moral Effect of Harsh Prison Régime—Attacks -of Levity—Self-discipline—Need of Women Doctors -and Inspectors—Chastening Effect of Imprisonment on the -Spirit—A Death-Bed Incident,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" -id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.—My -Last Years in Prison</span>—I Am Set to Work in the -Library—Newspapers Forbidden—How Prisoners Learn of Great -Events—Strict Discipline of Prison Officers—Their High -Character—Nervous Strain of Their Duties—Standing Orders -for Warders—Crime a Mental Disease—Something Good in the -Worst Criminal—Need of Further Prison Reform,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Chapter X.—My -Release</span>—I Learn the Time When My Sentence Will -Terminate—The Dawn of Liberty—The Release—In Retreat -at Truro—I Come to America—My Lost Years,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdc ph3 pt2" colspan="2">PART TWO</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">ANALYSIS OF THE MAYBRICK CASE</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span -class="smcap">Introduction.</span>—Petitions for a -Reprieve—Illogical Position of Home Secretary—New Evidence -of My Innocence Ignored—Lord Russell’s Letter—Efforts -for Release—Even New Evidence Superfluous—The -Doctors’ Doubt—Public Surprise at Verdict—Character -of Jury—The “Mad Judge”—Justice -Stephen’s Biased Charge—Lord Russell’s Memorandum -Quashed—Repeated Protests of Lord Russell—The American -Official Petition—Secretary Blaine’s Letter to Minister -Lincoln—Henry W. Lucy on Lord Russell—Lord Russell’s -Conviction of Mrs. Maybrick’s Innocence—Explanation of -Attitude of Home Secretaries—Upholding the Justiciary—Need -of Court of Criminal Appeal,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_225">225</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" -id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span><span class="smcap">The -Brief of Messrs. Lumley & Lumley.</span>—Opinion -Re F. E. Maybrick—Justice Stephen’s -Misdirections—Misdirections as to Mr. Maybrick’s -Symptoms—Misdirections as to Mrs. Maybrick’s Access -to Poisons—Misdirection as to “Traces” of -Arsenic—Misdirection as to Arsenic in Solution—Mr. -Clayton’s Experiments—Misdirection as to -Arsenic in Glycerin—Misdirection as to Evidence of -Physicians—Misdirection as to Times When Arsenic May Have Been -Administered—Misdirection as to Mrs. Maybrick’s Changing -Medicine Bottles—Misdirection as to Administration with Intent to -Kill—Exclusion of Prisoner’s Testimony—Misdirection -as to Identity of Meat-Juice Bottle—Misdirection in Excluding -Corroboration of Prisoner’s Statement—Misdirections to -Jury to Draw Illegal Inferences—Misdirections Regarding the -Medical Testimony—Conflict of Medical Opinion—Misdirections -as to Cause of Death—Misdirection to Ignore Medical -Testimony—Misreception of Evidence—Cruel Misstatement by -Coroner—Medical Evidence for the Prosecution—Maybrick -Died a Natural Death—The Chief Witness for the -Prosecution—Medical Evidence for Defense—A Toxicological -Study—Medical Weakness of Prosecution—The Administration -of Arsenic—The Fly-paper Episode—How Mrs. Maybrick -Accounts for the Fly-papers—Administration of Arsenic -not Proved—Intent to Murder not Proved—Absence of -Concealment by Prisoner—Some Important Deductions from Medical -Testimony—Symptoms Due to Poisonous Drugs—Death from -Natural Causes—Prosecution’s Deductions from Post-mortem -Analysis Misleading—Recapitulation of Legal Points,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_262">262</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Maybrick’s Own -Analysis of the Meat-Juice Incident</span>,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">Memorials for Respite of -Sentence.</span>—From the Physicians of Liverpool—From the -Bars of Liverpool and London—From Citizens of Liverpool,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_381">381</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><span class="smcap">New -Evidence.</span>—Arsenic Sold to Maybrick by -Druggist—Arsenic Supplied to Maybrick by Manufacturing -Chemist—Depositions as to Mr. Maybrick’s Arsenic -Habit—Justice Stephen’s Retirement,</td> - - <td class="tdr bot"><a href="#Page_384">384</a></td> -</tr> -</table></div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></p> - -<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="List of Illustrations"> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Florence Elizabeth Maybrick,</td> - <td class="tdr"><i><a href="#frontis">Frontispiece</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl"></td> - <td class="tdr f70">FACING PAGE</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Late Dr. Helen Densmore,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate1">32</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Lord Charles Russell,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate2">48</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">St. George’s Hall, Liverpool,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate3">52</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Justice Fitz-James Stephen,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate4">56</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Baroness von Roques,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate5">112</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Aylesbury Prison,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate6">128</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Miss Mary A. Dodge (“Gail Hamilton”),</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate7">144</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Right Hon. A. Akers-Douglas, M.P.,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate8">216</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Hon. James G. Blaine,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate9">248</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Hon. Robert T. Lincoln,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate10">256</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Hon. John Hay,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate11">288</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Hon. Joseph H. Choate,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate12">320</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Samuel V. Hayden,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate13">352</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Leonidas D. Yarrell,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate14">368</a></td> -</tr> -</table></div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - -<h2>FOREWORD</h2> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">The</span> writing of this book -has been to me no joyful task, as its making has been at the expense -of much-needed rest and peace of mind. In returning to my dear native -land after a long imprisonment, I cherished the hope that I might as -quietly as possible be permitted to take up the threads of outward -existence so cruelly broken, little dreaming that trials hardly less -grievous than those left behind awaited me; for no sooner had I touched -these hospitable shores, when I was met by the fear-inspiring cry, -“You must write a book—you must give the world an account -of your sufferings”—as if one could never suffer enough. -My well-meaning friends could hardly have known what they were asking -in forcing upon me a mental return to the<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> dread past. Solitary -confinement in Woking Prison (as the reader may learn from these pages) -was not such an elysium that one should voluntarily desire to hark -back to it, nor is penal servitude in Aylesbury an Arcadian dream. -While within their grim walls I did my best to exclude from thought -the world without; and now that I am once again in the world (though -scarcely of it), my one desire to shut out all the abhorrent things -which so-called “prison life” stands for has thus far not -only failed of realization, but, under conditions even more trying than -the repressive prison régime (because of the free and happy life -all about, which it seemed to poor me that I had some right to share), -I have been compelled by force of circumstance to return to my cast-off -prison shell, and live all the old heart-and-brain-crushing life -over again. However, my second “trial and imprisonment,” -like the first, is at last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" -id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> drawing to a close; and I devoutly trust -that I shall be now permitted to enter upon a long-coveted rest, and -partake as I may of those tempered joys which my countrymen by their -beautiful sympathy have so chivalrously endeavored to make possible for -me.</p> - -<p>Theoretically my imprisonment terminated on English soil, but so -relentlessly have the fates pursued me that I have been in nowise free -quite up to the present moment. In Rouen, France, where I sojourned at -my mother’s home for three weeks, I was as much in durance to my -genial enemy, the ubiquitous reporter, as when the English Government -held me in its inexorable grasp. Our cottage was completely invested by -him, and all approaches and exits held with a persistency which, under -other circumstances, might well have extorted my admiration.</p> - -<p>Then came the ever-to-be-remembered<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> sea voyage. I am a good -sailor, and so the physical discomforts that beset so many were -agreeably minimized; but I could not throw off the feeling that I was -not yet free—the limits of the ship were still all too suggestive -of the narrow exercise grounds of Aylesbury prison; and, while the eye -could roam without hindrance, there came upon me again and again an -irresistible desire, which the rolling billows strenuously gainsaid, to -make a dash for liberty.</p> - -<p>Thereupon followed a couple of days at the Holland House, New -York, with the same persistent reporter never absent. After this -experience, I was taken by the kindest of friends to where nature is -at her loveliest and human hearts beat in unison with their uplifting -surroundings. Beautiful Cragsmoor, with its wide reaches of inspiring -scenery, most appropriately the summer home of an artistic colony, is -not too easy of access to mar a desire for<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> seclusion, and a greater -antithesis to prison walls than is afforded by this aerie can hardly be -imagined.</p> - -<p>Here all things that on lower planes so cruelly vex the spirit -seem far away and beneath. If only no publishers—however -benevolent—had entered this Eden, what a paradise it could have -been to me! However, in spite of these dread taskmasters, my soul -drank deeply of the elixir so bountifully held to my lips; and when in -the golden autumn all the noble woods about robed themselves in such -glory as may be seen nowhere outside my beloved native land—and -perchance nowhere here more ravishingly than in these Hudson Valley -uplands—the rapture of my heart, so long starved within the -narrowest and cruelest of confines, turned adoringly to Him who has -made this world so beautiful for His children’s eyes.</p> - -<p>I need hardly be at pains to say to my<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> readers, that lessons in -literary composition form no part of the disciplinary curriculum of -Aylesbury; nay, the art of writing is distinctly discouraged there, -as interfering with the prescribed parliamentary régime. -Accordingly, when I set out to tell my pitiful little story, I was told -to look at myself objectively; then to pry into myself subjectively; -then to regard both in their relation to the outside world—to -describe how this, that, or the other affected me; in short, as one of -them, more deep in science than others, expressed it, “We want as -much as possible of the psychology of your prison life.”</p> - -<p>I surreptitiously looked up that awe-inspiring word in a -dictionary, and found that it refers to the soul, and that it was my -soul they wanted me to lay bare. I vehemently protested that that -belonged to my God, and I had no right to expose it for daws to -peck at. But the publishers, with the aid<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> of my friends, -persuaded me that the public would give me their tenderest regard, -and that possibly the humanities might be furthered a bit if the -story of a woman—whatever might be her failings in other -directions—wholly guiltless of the terrible charge of wilful -murder, and for which in her innocence she was made to suffer so -cruelly, be given in fullest heart detail to a sympathetic world. So I -have done what I trust is best for all—spared myself as little as -possible, lest the picture fail from suppression—and my dearest -heart-hope is that somewhat of good may come of it, especially in -behalf of those whom a dire fate shall compel to follow in my steps, -with bruised spirits and bleeding feet.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Sketch of My Ancestry</span></h3> - -<p>I was born at Mobile, Ala., September 3, 1862. In searching for -some account of my genealogy, I found a published letter of<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> Gail -Hamilton’s, who was ever one of my most eloquent and steadfast -champions, and to whom I owe a debt of gratitude I can never adequately -express. From this it appears that I am the great-great-granddaughter -of Rev. Benjamin Thurston, a graduate of Harvard College, who settled -at North Hampton, N. H., and of his wife, Sarah Phillips, who was -the sister of John Phillips, who founded Phillips’ Academy in -Exeter, endowed a professorship in Dartmouth, and contributed funds -to Princeton; and who was the aunt of Samuel Phillips, who founded -Phillips’s Academy at Andover.</p> - -<p>The mother of Sarah Phillips was Elizabeth Green, and from her the -name of Elizabeth has come down in regular descent to myself.</p> - -<p>Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Thurston and Sarah Phillips, married -James Milk Ingraham. Joseph H. Ingraham, of<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> this family, gave to -Portland, Me., for its improvement, property now amounting in value -to millions—beautiful State Street, the market, the property -of the High School, and much more. One of the Ingrahams was the wife -of Philander Chase, the first Bishop of Illinois, uncle of Salmon -P. Chase, who was Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln and Chief -Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Of the Ingraham -family was that Commodore Ingraham who won laurels for his country -and himself by rescuing Martin Koszata from the clutch of Austria. -Connected with the Ingrahams was that Edward Preble, born at Falmouth -Neck, whose father served under Wolfe and was wounded at Quebec; also -that Commander Preble whose achievement before Tripoli was rewarded -with a gold medal and the thanks of Congress. Rev. John Phillips and -Thurston Ingraham, author<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" -id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> of “Why We Believe the Bible,” -both rectors in the Protestant Episcopal Church, were sons of James -Milk Ingraham and Elizabeth Thurston Ingraham. John Ingraham, son of -the preceding, is rector of Grace Church, St. Louis, Mo. His sister, -Elizabeth Thurston Ingraham, married Darius Blake Holbrook, who was -born in Dorchester, Mass. His mother was a Ridgeway. Her sister -married a Quincy, and was aunt to John Quincy Adams. Mr. Holbrook was -an originator of the land grant for the Illinois Central Railroad and -its first president. He owned Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio, and -was associated with Cyrus Field in laying the first Atlantic cable. -Caroline Elizabeth was the only child of Darius Blake Holbrook and -Elizabeth Thurston Holbrook. She married William G. Chandler, of the -banking house of St. John Powers & Co., Mobile, Ala. William -G. Chandler’s father<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" -id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> was Daniel Chandler, a lawyer of high -standing in Georgia; his mother was Sarah Campbell, a sister of John A. -Campbell, at one time Assistant Secretary of State for the Confederacy, -and previously judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge -L. Q. C. Lamar, long a United States Senator, and afterward a justice -of the Supreme Court, was near of kin.</p> - -<p>To William G. Chandler and Caroline Elizabeth Holbrook Chandler two -children were born—Holbrook St. John and Florence Elizabeth. -Their father died in 1863, and their mother, on account of the war, -took the children abroad to be educated. The son died while pursuing -his medical studies.</p> - -<p>As will be seen from the above summary of Gail Hamilton’s -statement, I am descended, on both my paternal and my maternal side -for generations, from good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" -id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> American stock. I was educated partly in -Europe and partly in America, under the instruction of masters and -governesses. I was too delicate for college life. I lived partly with -my maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Holbrook, of New York, and partly -with my mother, the Baroness von Roques, whose home was abroad. When -not with them I was visiting or traveling with friends. My life was -much the same as that of any other girl who enjoyed the pleasures of -youth with a happy heart. I was very fond of tracing intricate designs -and copying the old-time churches and cathedrals. My special pastime, -however, was riding, and this I could indulge in to my heart’s -content when residing with my stepfather, Baron Adolph von Roques, -who, now retired, was at that time a cavalry officer in the Eighth -Cuirassier Regiment of the German army and stationed at Cologne.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" -id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> - -<p>At the age of eighteen I married James Maybrick, on the 27th of -July, 1881, at St. James Church, Piccadilly, London, and returned to -America, where we made our home at Norfolk, Va. For business reasons we -settled in a suburb of Liverpool called Aigworth. A son was born to us -on the 24th of March, 1882, and a daughter on June 20, 1886.</p> - -<p class="right mr4"><span class="smcap">Florence Elizabeth Maybrick.</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p> - <span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a> - </span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a> - </span> -</p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER ONE<br /> - -Before the Trial</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">My Arrest</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">Slowly</span> consciousness -returned. I opened my eyes. The room was in darkness. All was still. -Suddenly the silence was broken by the bang of a closing door which -startled me out of my stupor. Where was I? Why was I alone? What -awful thing had happened? A flash of memory! My husband was dead! I -drifted once more away from the things of sense. Then a voice, as if -a long way off, spoke. A feeling of pain and distress shot through my -body. I opened my eyes in terror. Edwin Maybrick was bending over me -as I lay upon my bed. He had my arms tightly gripped, and was<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> shaking -me violently. “I want your keys—do you hear? Where are your -keys?” he exclaimed harshly. I tried to form a reply, but the -words choked me, and once more I passed into unconsciousness.</p> - -<p>It is the dawn of a Sabbath day.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" -id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> -I am still lying in my clothes, neglected and uncared for; without -food since the morning of the day before. Consciousness came and went. -During one of these interludes Michael Maybrick entered.</p> - -<p>“Nurse,” he said, “I am going up to London. Mrs. -Maybrick is no longer mistress of this house. As one of the executors I -forbid you to allow her to leave this room. I hold you responsible in -my absence.”</p> - -<p>He then left the room. What did he mean? How dare he humble me thus -in the presence of a stranger?</p> - -<p>Toward the night of the same day I said to the nurse, “I wish -to see my children.” She took no notice. My voice was weak,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> and I -thought perhaps she had not heard. “Nurse,” I repeated, -“I want to see my children.” She walked up to my bed, and -in a cold, deliberate voice replied: “You can not see Master -James and Miss Gladys. Mr. Michael Maybrick gave orders that they -were to leave the house without seeing you.” I fell back upon -my pillow, dazed and stricken, weak, helpless, and impotent. Why was -I treated thus? My brain reeled in seeking a reply to this query. At -last I could bear it no longer, and my soul cried out to God to let -me die. A third dreary night, and the day broke once again. I was -still prostrate. The dull pain at my heart, the yearning for my little -children, was becoming unbearable, but I was dumb.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the door opened and Dr. Humphreys entered. He walked -silently to my bedside, felt my pulse, and without a word left the -room. A few minutes later I heard the tramp of many feet coming -up-stairs. They stopped at the door. The<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> nurse advanced, and a -crowd of men entered. One of them stepped to the foot of the bed and -addressed me as follows:</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Maybrick, I am superintendent of the police, and I am -about to say something to you. After I have said what I intend to say, -if you reply be careful how you reply, because whatever you say may -be used as evidence against you. Mrs. Maybrick, you are in custody on -suspicion of causing the death of your late husband, James Maybrick, -on the eleventh instant.” I made no reply, and the crowd passed -out.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">A Prisoner in My Own House</span></h3> - -<p>Was I going mad? Did I hear myself accused of poisoning my -husband? Why did not his brothers, who said they had his confidence, -tell the police what all his intimate friends knew, that he was -an arsenic eater? Why was I accused—I, who had nursed him -assiduously day and night until<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" -id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> my strength gave out, who had engaged -trained nurses, and advised a consultation of physicians, and had done -all that lay in my power to aid in his recovery? To whom could I appeal -in my extreme distress? I lay ill and confined to my bed, with two -professional nurses attending me, and with a policeman stationed in my -room, although there was not and could not be the slightest chance of -my escaping. The officer would not permit the door to be closed day -or night, and I was denied in my own house, even before the inquest, -the privacy accorded to a convicted prisoner. I asked that a cablegram -be sent to my lawyers in New York. Inspector Baxendale read it, and -then said he did not consider it of importance and should not send -it. I then implored Dr. Humphreys to ask a friendly lawyer, Mr. R. S. -Cleaver, of Liverpool, to come out to see me. After some delay Mr. -Cleaver obtained a permit to enter the house and undertook to represent -me.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" -id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p> - -<p>The fourth day came and went. On the fifth day, May 16, the -stillness of the house was broken by the sound of hushed voices and -hurrying footsteps. “Nurse,” I exclaimed, when I could no -longer bear the feeling of oppression that possessed me, “is -anything the matter?” She turned, and in a cold, harsh voice -replied, “The funeral starts in an hour.” “Whose -funeral?” I asked. “Your husband’s,” the -nurse exclaimed; “but for you he would have been buried on -Tuesday.” I stared at her for a moment, and then, trembling -from head to foot, got out of bed and commenced with weak hands to -dress myself. The nurse looked alarmed, and came forward. “Stand -back!” I cried. “I will see my husband before he is taken -away.” She placed herself in front of me; I pushed her aside -and confronted the policeman at the door. “I demand to see my -husband,” I exclaimed. “The law does not permit a person to -be treated as guilty until she is proven so.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" -id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> - -<p>He hesitated, and then said, “Follow me.” With tottering -steps, supported by the nurse, I was led into the adjoining room. -Upon the bed stood the coffin, covered with white flowers. It was -already closed. I turned to the policeman and the nurse. “Leave -me alone with the dead.” They refused. I then knelt down at the -bedside, and God in His mercy spared my reason by granting me, there -and then, the first tears which many days of suffering had failed to -bring. Death had wiped out the memory of many things. I was thankful -to remember that I had stopped divorce proceedings, and that we had -become reconciled for the children’s sake. Calmed, I arose and -returned to my room. I sat down near a window, still weeping. Suddenly -the harsh voice of a nurse broke on my ears: “If you wish to see -the last of the husband you have poisoned you had better stand up. The -funeral has started.” I stumbled to my feet and clutched at the -window-sill, where I stood rigid and tearless<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> until the hearse had -passed, and was out of sight, and then I fainted.</p> - -<p>When I recovered consciousness I asked why my mother had not been -sent for. No answer was made, but a tardy summons was sent to her at -Paris. When she arrived she came to me at once. What a meeting! She -kissed me, and was speaking a few loving words in French, when the -nurse interposed and said, “You must speak in English,” -and the policeman joined in with “I warn you, madam, that I -will write down all you say,” and he produced paper and pencil. -I then begged my mother to go into Liverpool to see the Messrs. -Cleaver, who represented me, as they would give her all the information -she required; and then I cried out in the bitterness of my heart, -“Mother, they all believe me guilty, but I swear to you I am -innocent.” That night I had a violent attack of hysteria. Two -nurses and the policeman held me down, and when my mother, outraged -by his presence, wished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" -id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> to take his place and send him from the -room, Nurse Wilson became insolent and turned her out.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">At Walton Jail</span></h3> - -<p>The next morning, Saturday, the 18th of May, Dr. Hopper and Dr. -Humphreys visited me, to ascertain whether I was in a condition to -permit of formal proceedings taking place in my bedroom. In a few -minutes they gave their consent. The magistrates and others then came -up-stairs.</p> - -<p>There were present Colonel Bidwell, Mr. Swift (clerk), -Superintendent Bryning, and my lawyers, the Messrs. Cleaver, Dr. -Hopper, and Dr. Humphreys. I was fully conscious, but too prostrate to -make any movement. Besides those in the room, there were seated outside -the policeman and the nurse. Superintendent Bryning, who had taken -up his position at the foot of the bed, said: “This person is -Mrs. Maybrick, charged with causing the death<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> of the late James Maybrick. -She is charged with causing his death by administering poison to him. I -understand that her consent is given to a remand, and therefore I need -not introduce nor give evidence.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Swift: “You ask for a remand for eight days?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Arnold Cleaver: “I appear for the prisoner.”</p> - -<p>Colonel Bidwell: “Very well; I consent to a remand. That is -all.”</p> - -<p>These gentlemen then departed. The police were in such a hurry -to prefer the formal charge, they could not wait until the doctors -should certify that I was in a fit state to be taken to the court in -the ordinary way. The nurse then told me I must get up and dress. I -prayed that my children might be sent for to bid me good-by—but -I was peremptorily refused. I begged to gather together some necessary -personal apparel, only to meet with another refusal. I was hurried away -with such unseemly haste,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" -id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> that even my hand-bag with my toilet -articles was left behind. My mother implored to be allowed to say -good-by, but was denied. She had gone up to her bedroom, so she tells -me, which looked out on the front, to try and see my face as they put -me in the carriage, when they turned the key and locked her in. After I -had gone a policeman unlocked the door.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 526px;"> -<a id="plate1"></a> -<img src="images/i039.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="center noindent">THE LATE DR. HELEN DENSMORE,<br /> -An American advocate of Mrs. Maybrick’s innocence.</p> -</div> - -<p>After a two hours’ drive we arrived at Walton Jail, in the -suburbs of Liverpool. I shuddered as I looked at the tall, gloomy -building. A bell was ringing, and the big iron gates swung back and -allowed us to pass in. I was received by the governor and immediately -led away by a female warder. We crossed a small courtyard and stopped -at a door which she unlocked and relocked. Then we passed down a -narrow passage to a door that led into a dark, gloomy room termed -the “Reception.” A bench ran along each side, a bare -wooden table stood in the middle, a weighing-machine by the door, -with a foot measure beside<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" -id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> it. A female warder asked me to give up -any valuables in my possession. These consisted of a watch, two diamond -rings, and a brooch. They were entered in a book. Then I was asked -to stand upon the weighing-machine, and my weight was duly noted. -These formalities completed, I was led through a building into a cell -especially set apart for sick prisoners. The escort locked me in, and, -utterly exhausted, stricken with a sense of horror and degradation, I -sank upon the stone floor, reiterating, until consciousness left me, -“Oh, my God, help me—help me!”</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Alone</span></h3> - -<p>When I opened my eyes I was in bed and alone. I gazed around. -At the bedside was a chair with a china cup containing milk, and a -plate of bread upon it. The cell was bare. The light struggled in -dimly through a dirty, barred window. The stillness was appalling, -and I felt benumbed—a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" -id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> sense of terrible oppression weighed me -down. If only I could hear once more the sound of a friendly voice! -If only some one would tell whose diabolical mind had conceived and -directed suspicion against me!</p> - -<p>I remained in the cell three days, when my lawyer visited me. He -arranged that I was to have a room especially set apart for prisoners -awaiting trial who can afford to pay five shillings ($1.25) weekly, for -the additional comfort of a table, an arm-chair, and a wash-stand. Had -I not been able to do so I should have been consigned to an ordinary -prison cell, and my diet would have been the same as that of convicted -prisoners. Instead, my food was sent from a hotel outside. I was -locked in this room for twenty-two hours out of the twenty-four. The -only time I was permitted to leave it was for chapel in the morning -and an hour’s exercise in the afternoon in the prison yard. -The stillness, unbroken by any sound from the outside world, got on -my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -nerves, and I wanted to scream, if only to hear my own voice. The -unnatural confinement, without any one to speak to, was torture. The -governor, the doctor, and the chaplain, it is true, came around every -morning, but their visits were of such short duration, and so formal -in their nature, that it was impossible to derive much relief from -conversation with them.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Coroner’s Inquest</span></h3> - -<p>On the 28th of May the Coroner’s inquest was held, but I was -not well enough to attend. I was represented by my legal advisers. On -the 3d of June I was still too ill to appear before the court. Mr. -W. S. Barrett, as magistrate, accompanied by Mr. Swift, the clerk, -held a Magisterial Court at Walton Jail. Mr. R. S. Cleaver did not -attend, having consented to the police obtaining another remand for -a week. Only one newspaper reporter was allowed to be present. I was -accompanied to the visitors<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" -id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>’ room by a female warder, and -silently took a seat at the foot of a long table. I was quite composed. -Superintendent Bryning rose from his seat at the end of the room and -said:</p> - -<p>“This person, sir, is Mrs. Maybrick, who is charged with the -murder of her husband, at Aigburth, on the 11th of last month. I have -to ask that you remand her until Wednesday next.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Swift: “Mr. Cleaver, her solicitor, has sent me a note in -which he consents to a remand until Wednesday.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Barrett: “If there is no objection she will be remanded -until Wednesday morning.”</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">A Plank for a Bed</span></h3> - -<p>The magistrate then signed the document authorizing the remand, and -I withdrew. On the 5th of June the adjourned inquest was held, and I -was taken from jail at half-past eight in the morning to the<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -Coroner’s Court in a cab, accompanied by Dr. O’Hagan, a -female attendant, and a policeman. I was taken into the ante-room for -the purpose of being identified by the witnesses for the prosecution. -I was not taken into court, but at three o’clock Mr. Holbrook -Gaskell, a magistrate, attended for the purpose of granting another -remand, pending the result of the inquest, and again no evidence -was given in my presence. I was taken to the county police station, -Lark Lane. I passed the night in a cell which contained only a plank -board as a bed. It was dark, damp, dirty, and horrible. A policeman, -taking pity on me, brought me a blanket to lie on. In the adjoining -cell, in a state of intoxication, two men were raving and cursing -throughout the night. I had no light—there was no one to speak -to. I was kept there three days, until the coroner’s jury had -returned their verdict. A greengrocer near by, named Mrs. Pretty, to -whom I had occasionally given orders for fruit, sent me in a<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> daily -gift of her best with a note of sympathy—a deed all the more -striking in its generosity and nobleness, since the charity of none -other of my own sex had reached to that degree of justice to regard me -as innocent until proven guilty.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Verdict of the Coroner’s Jury</span></h3> - -<p>On the 6th of June I was again driven to Garston to hear the -coroner’s verdict. There was an elaborate array of lawyers, -reporters, and witnesses, as well as many spectators.</p> - -<p>I waited in the ante-room until the coroner’s jury had -summed up. The jury consisted mostly of gentlemen who at one time -had been guests in my own house. Of all former friends present, -there was only one who had the moral courage to approach me and -shake my hand. Throughout the time I sat awaiting the call to -appear before the coroner he remained beside me, speaking words -of encouragement. But the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" -id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> others, who, without a word of evidence in -my defense, had already judged and condemned me, passed by on the other -side, for had they not already judged and condemned me?</p> - -<p>When my name was called a dead hush pervaded the court, and the -coroner said:</p> - -<p>“Have you agreed upon your verdict, gentlemen?”</p> - -<p>The Foreman: “We have.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Do you find that death resulted from the administration of -an irritant poison?”</p> - -<p>A. “Unanimously.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Do you say by whom that poison was administered?”</p> - -<p>A. “By twelve to one we decide that the poison was -administered by Mrs. Maybrick.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Do you find that the poison was administered with the -intent of taking life?”</p> - -<p>A. “Twelve of us have come to that conclusion.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" -id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Coroner: “That amounts to a verdict of murder.”</p> - -<p>Then the requisition was made out in the following terms:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“That James Maybrick, on the 11th of May, 1889, in the -township of Garston, died from the effects of an irritant poison -administered to him by Florence Elizabeth Maybrick, and so the -jurors say: that the said Florence Elizabeth Maybrick did wilfully, -feloniously, and of malice aforethought kill and murder the said James -Maybrick.”</p></div> - -<p>I was then driven back to the Lark Lane Police Station, locked up, -and remained the night. The next day I was returned to Walton Jail. -How shall I describe my feelings? Mere words are utterly inadequate to -do so. Not only was my sense of justice and fair play outraged, but -it seemed to me a frightful danger to personal safety if the police, -on the mere gossip of servants, and where a doctor had been unable to -assign the cause of death, could go into a<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> home and take an inmate -into custody in the way I have shown.</p> - -<p>On the 13th of June I was brought before the magistrates, and for -the first time evidence was given in my presence. I had been driven -over to the court-house the evening before, and had passed the night -there in charge of a policeman’s daughter, who remained in the -room with me. Her father kept watch on the other side of the door. -That night, on going to bed, as I knelt weary and lonely to say my -prayers, I felt a hand on my shoulder and a tearful voice said, softly, -“Let me hold your hand, Mrs. Maybrick, and let me say my prayers -with you.” A simple expression of sympathy, but it meant so much -to me at such a time.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Doctors Disagree</span></h3> - -<p>At half-past eight I was taken to a room adjoining the court, where, -in charge of a female warder and a policeman, I awaited my call. I then -passed into the court, where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" -id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> two magistrates, Sir William B. Forwood -and Mr. W. S. Barrett, sat officially to hear the evidence. When the -testimony had been given the court adjourned.</p> - -<p>When I rose to leave the court, in order to reach the door, I had -to meet face to face well-dressed women spectators at the back, and -the moment I turned around these started hissing me. The presiding -justice immediately shouted to the officer on duty to shut the door, -while the burly figures of several policemen, who moved toward the -hostile spectators, effectually put an end to the outburst. It was amid -such scenes, and this sort of preparation for my ordeal, that on the -following day, the 14th of June, the Magisterial Inquiry was resumed, -and the evidence connected with the charge of murder gone into. On -conclusion of the testimony the magistrates retired, and after a brief -consultation returned into court.</p> - -<p>Sir William Forwood: “Our opinion is that this is a case which -ought to be decided by jury.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" -id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Pickford (my counsel): “If that is clearly the opinion of -the Bench I shall not occupy their time by going into the defense now, -because I understand, whatever defense may be put forward, the Bench -may think it right for a jury to decide.”</p> - -<p>The Chairman: “Yes, we think so.”</p> - -<p>I was then ordered to stand up and was formally charged in the usual -manner.</p> - -<p>I replied: “I reserve my defense.”</p> - -<p>Sir William Forwood made answer: “Florence Elizabeth Maybrick, -it is our duty to commit you to take your trial at the ensuing Assizes -for wilful murder of the late James Maybrick.”</p> - -<p>I was then remanded into custody.</p> - -<p>I found it difficult to understand why these magistrates -committed me to trial for murder on that evidence. There was -certainly not sufficient evidence that the cause of death was -arsenic. The doctors could not say so. No arsenic had been found -by the analyst in the stomach, the appearance of which at the -<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">post-mortem</i>, Dr. Humphreys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" -id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> said, was “consistent” with -either poisoning or ordinary congestion of the stomach; but, after -examination, a minute quantity of arsenic, certainly not enough to -cause death, was detected in the liver, the appearance of which, Dr. -Humphreys said, showed no evidence of any irritant poison. On this -point Dr. Carter agreed with Dr. Humphreys, “but in a more -positive manner,” while Dr. Barron did not exactly agree with Dr. -Carter.</p> - -<p>The analyst had found both arsenic and “traces” of -arsenic, in some bottles and things which had been found in the house -after death, as to which, where they came from, or who had put them -there, no one had any knowledge. This is the evidence upon which I was -committed. Justice Stephen, in addressing the grand jury, even thus -early showed a predisposition against me, due at this time, no doubt, -to the sensational reports in the press. A true bill was found, and I -was brought to trial before him on the 31st of July.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" -id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Letters from Walton Jail</span></h3> - -<p>The six weeks intervening before my trial were very terrible. The -mental strain was incessant, and I suffered much from insomnia. The -stress and confinement were telling on my health, as was the separation -from my children. I insert here two extracts from letters, written by -me, from Walton Jail. One is to my mother, dated the 21st of July, -1889, a few days before my trial:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I am not feeling very well. This fearful strain and the -necessity for continued self-control is beginning to tell upon me. -But I am not in the least afraid. I shall show composure, dignity and -fortitude to the last.”</p></div> - -<p>The following is an extract from a letter I wrote to a friend on -June 27, before my trial on July 31:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I have made my peace with God. I have forgiven unreservedly -all those who have ruined and forsaken me. To-morrow I partake of -the Holy Communion with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" -id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> clear conscience, and I place my faith in -God’s mercy.</p> - -<p>“God give me strength is my constant prayer. I feel so -lonely—as if every hand were against me. To think that for three -or four days I must be unveiled before all those uncharitable eyes. -You can not think how awful it appears to me. So far the ordeal has -been all anticipation; then it will be stern reality—which always -braces the nerves and courage.</p> - -<p>“I have seen in the Liverpool <cite>Post</cite> the judge’s address -on the prosecution to the jury, and it is enough to appal the stoutest -heart. I hear the police are untiring and getting up the case against -me regardless of expense.</p> - -<p>“Pray for me, my friend, for the darkest days of my life are -now to be lived through. I trust in God’s justice, whatever I may -be in the sight of man.”</p></div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Lord Russell’s Opinion</span></h3> - -<p>I received many visits from my lawyers, the Messrs. Cleaver, -and just before the trial one from my leading counsel, Sir<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> Charles -Russell, later Lord Russell of Killowen, Lord Chief Justice of England. -The following statement made by him relative to this visit may interest -my readers:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I will make no public statement of what my personal belief -is as to Mrs. Maybrick’s guilt or innocence, but I will tell -you, who have stood by her all these years, that, perplexed with the -instructions in the brief, I took what was an unusual step: I went to -see her in prison before her trial, and questioned her there to the -best of my ability for the purpose of getting the truth out of her. -During the whole seven days of her trial I made careful observation of -her demeanor, and since her imprisonment I have availed myself of my -judicial right to visit her at Aylesbury Prison; and, making the best -use of such opportunities of arriving at a just conclusion about her -own self-consciousness, I decided in my own mind that it never for a -moment entered her mind to do any bodily injury to her husband. On the -last occasion that I saw her I told her so, as I felt it would and did -give the poor woman some comfort.”</p></div> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 531px;"> -<a id="plate2"></a> -<img src="images/i057.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="f80 noindent">Copyright by W. & D. Downey, London</p> -<p class="center noindent">LORD CHARLES RUSSELL, Q.C.,<br /> -Late Lord Chief Justice of England, Mrs. Maybrick’s -counsel.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Public Condemns Me Unheard</span></h3> - -<p>The day preceding my trial found me calm in spirit, and in a measure -prepared for the awful ordeal before me. Up to that time I had shown -a composure that astonished every one. Indeed, some went so far as to -say I was without feeling. Perhaps I was toward their kind. I would -have responded to sympathy, but never to distrust. At that time I was -suspected by all—or, rather, people were not sufficiently just to -content themselves with suspicions; they condemned me outright, and, -unheard, struck at a weak, defenseless woman; and this upon what is now -generally admitted to have been insufficient evidence to sustain the -indictment.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" -id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER TWO<br /> - -The Trial</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Injustice of Trying the Case at -Liverpool</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">My</span> trial was set for -the 31st of July in St. George’s Hall, Liverpool. Immediately -after nine o’clock on that day, the part of the building which -is open to the general public was filled by a well-dressed audience, -including many of my one-time friends. During all the days of my trial, -I am told, Liverpool society fought for tickets. Ladies were attired as -for a matinée, and some brought their luncheons that they might -retain their seats. Many of them carried opera-glasses, which they -did not hesitate to level at me. The Earl of Sefton occupied a seat -on the bench with the judge, and among the audience were many public -and city men and judicial<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" -id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> officers. The press had for two months -supplied nourishment in the form of the most sensational stories about -me, to feed the morbid appetite of the public. The excitement ran so -high that the Liverpool crowds even hissed me as I was driven through -the streets. It was a mockery of justice to hold such a trial in such -a place as Liverpool, at such a time, by a common jury; and it was a -mockery of common sense to expect that any Liverpool common jury could, -when they got into the jury-box, dismiss from their minds all they had -heard and seen. In a letter which I wrote to my mother, when in Walton -Jail, on the 28th of June, about a month before the trial, I said: -“I sincerely hope Messrs. Cleaver will arrange for my trial to -take place in London. I shall receive an impartial verdict there, which -I can not expect from a jury in Liverpool, whose minds will virtually -be made up before any evidence is heard.” Owing, however, to a -lack of funds this hope was not realized.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" -id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p> - -<p>I was at this time alone, utterly forsaken, and the only persons to -whom I could look for protection and advice were my lawyers, Messrs. -Cleaver.</p> - -<p>At half-past eight on the morning of my trial, a black van was -driven up to the side door, in the fore part of which were already -confined the male prisoners awaiting trial. I was placed in the rear, -a female warder stepped in, the door was shut, and I felt as if I were -already buried. A crowd witnessed my departure from Walton Jail, and -a larger one was assembled outside St. George’s Hall. But I was -conducted into the building without attracting attention.</p> - -<p>At ten o’clock I heard a blast of trumpets that heralded the -judge’s entrance into court. Shortly after my name was called, -and, accompanied by a male and a female warder, I ascended slowly the -stone staircase from the cells leading to the dock. I was calm and -collected in manner, although aware of the gravity of my position. But -the consciousness of innocence, and a strong<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> faith in Divine support, -made me confident that strength would be given to endure the awful -ordeal before me.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 700px;"> -<a id="plate3"></a> -<img src="images/i063.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="center noindent">ST. GEORGE’S HALL, LIVERPOOL,<br /> -Where the trial of Mrs Maybrick was held.</p> -</div> - -<p>In reply to the Clerk of Arraigns, who read the charge against -me of “feloniously and wilfully murdering my husband, James -Maybrick,” I answered “Not guilty.” It is customary -in criminal courts in England to compel a prisoner to stand in the -dock during the whole trial, but I was provided with a seat by -recommendation of the prison doctor, as I suffered from attacks of -faintness, though against this humane departure a great public outcry -was raised.</p> - -<p>The counsel engaged in the case were Mr. Addison, Q.C., M.P. (now -judge at the Southwark County Court), Mr. McConnell, and Mr. Swift, -for the prosecution; Sir Charles Russell, assisted by Mr. Pickford and -Messrs. Cleaver, for the defense.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">An Unexpected Verdict</span></h3> - -<p>When the trial began there was a strong feeling against me, -but as it proceeded, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" -id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> the fact was made clear that Mr. Maybrick -had long been addicted to taking large quantities of arsenic, coupled -with the evidence, to quote Sir Charles Russell, (1) that there was no -proof of arsenical poisoning, (2) that there was no proof that arsenic -was administered to him by me, the prejudice against me gradually -changed, until, at the close of the trial, there was a complete -revulsion of sentiment, and my acquittal was confidently expected.</p> - -<p>When the jury retired to consider their verdict I was taken below, -and here my solicitor came to speak to me; but the tension of mind was -so great I do not recall one word that he said.</p> - -<p>After what seemed to me an age, but was in reality only thirty-eight -minutes, the jury returned into court and took their places in the -jury-box. I was recalled to the dock. When I stood up to hear the -verdict I had an intuition that it was unfavorable. Every one looked -away from me, and there was a stillness in court that could<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> be felt. -Then the Clerk of Arraigns arose and said:</p> - -<p>“Have you agreed upon the verdict, gentlemen?”</p> - -<p>“We have.”</p> - -<p>“And do you find the prisoner guilty of the murder of James -Maybrick or not guilty?”</p> - -<p>The Foreman: “Guilty.”</p> - -<p>A prolonged “Ah!” strangely like the sighing of wind -through a forest, sounded through the court. I reeled as if struck a -blow and sank upon a chair. The Clerk of Arraigns then turned to me and -said: “Florence Elizabeth Maybrick, you have been found guilty -of wilful murder. Have you anything to say why the court should not -pronounce sentence upon you according to the law?”</p> - -<p>I arose, and with a prayer for strength, I clasped the rail of -the dock in front of me, and said in a low voice, but with firmness: -“My lord, everything has been against me; I am not guilty of this -crime.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" -id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Judge’s Sentence</span></h3> - -<p>These were the last words which the law permitted me to speak. -Mr. Justice Stephen then assumed the full dress of the criminal -judge—the black cap—and pronounced the sentence of the -court in these words:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Prisoner at the bar, I am no longer able to treat you as -being innocent of the dreadful crime laid to your charge. You have been -convicted by a jury of this city, after a lengthy and most painful -investigation, followed by a defense which was in every respect worthy -of the man. The jury has convicted you, and the law leaves me no -discretion, and I must pass the sentence of the law:</p> - -<p>“The court doth order you to be taken from hence to the place -from whence you came, and from thence to the place of execution, and -that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead, and that your body -be afterward buried within the precincts of the prison in which you -shall be confined after your conviction. And may the Lord have mercy -upon your soul!”</p></div> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 530px;"> -<a id="plate4"></a> -<img src="images/i069.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="f80 noindent">Copyright by Bassano, London.</p> -<p class="center noindent">JUSTICE FITZ-JAMES STEPHEN.<br /> -Who presided at the trial of Mrs. Maybrick.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> - -<p>Utterly stunned I was removed from the court to Walton Jail, there -to be confined until this sentence of the law should be carried into -effect.</p> - -<p>The mob, as the Liverpool public was styled by the press, before -they had heard or read a word of the defense had hissed me when I -entered the court; and now, that they had heard or read the evidence, -cheered me as I drove away in the prison-van, and hissed and hooted the -judge, who with difficulty gained his carriage.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">In the Shadow of Death</span></h3> - -<p>In all the larger local English prisons there is one room, swept -and ready, the sight of which can not fail to stir unwonted thoughts. -The room is large, with barred windows, and contains only a bed -and a chair. It is the last shelter of those whom the law declares -to have forfeited their lives. Near by is a small brick building -in the prison-yard, that has apparently<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> nothing to connect it with -the room; yet they are joined by a sinister suggestion.</p> - -<p>For nearly three terrible weeks I was confined in this cell of the -condemned, to taste the bitterness of death under its most appalling -and shameful aspect. I was carefully guarded by two female warders, who -would gladly have been spared the task. They might not read nor sleep; -at my meals, through my prayers, during every moment of agony, they -still watched on and rarely spoke. Many have asked me what my feelings -were at that awful time. I remember little in the way of details -as to my state of mind. I was too overwhelmed for either analytic -or collective thought. Conscious of my innocence, I had no fear of -physical death, for the love of my Heavenly Father was so enveloping -that death seemed to me a blessed escape from a world in which such an -unspeakable travesty of justice could take place; while I petitioned -for a reconsideration of the verdict,<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> it was wholly for the sake -of my mother and my children.</p> - -<p>I knew nothing of any public efforts for my relief. I was held fast -on the wheels of a slow-moving machine, hypnotized by the striking -hours and the flight of my numbered minutes, with the gallows staring -me in the face. The date of my execution was not told me at Walton -Jail, but I heard afterward that it was to have taken place on the 26th -of August. On the 22d, while I was taking my daily exercise in the -yard attached to the condemned cell, the governor, Captain Anderson, -accompanied by the chief matron, entered. He called me to him, and, -with a voice which—all honor to him—trembled with emotion, -said:</p> - -<p>“Maybrick, no commutation of sentence has come down to-day, -and I consider it my duty to tell you to prepare for death.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, governor,” I replied; “my conscience -is clear. God’s will be done.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" -id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Commutation of Sentence</span></h3> - -<p>He then walked away and I returned to my cell. The female warder -was weeping silently, but I was calm and spent the early part of the -night in my usual prayers. About midnight exhausted nature could bear -no more, and I fainted. I had barely regained consciousness when -I heard the shuffle of feet outside, the click of the key in the -lock—that warning catch in the slow machinery of my doom. I -sprang up, and with one supreme effort of will braced myself for what -I believed was the last act of my life. The governor and a chaplain -entered, followed by a warder. They read my expectation in my face, -and the governor, hastening forward, exclaimed in an agitated voice: -“It is well; it is good news!” When I opened my eyes once -more I was lying in bed in the hospital, and I remained there until I -was taken to Woking Convict Prison.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" -id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER THREE<br /> - -In Solitary Confinement</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Removal to Woking Prison</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">On</span> the morning of the -29th of August I was hastily awakened by a female warder, who said that -orders had come down from the Home Office for my removal that day to a -convict prison.</p> - -<p>When I left, the governor was standing at the gate, and, with a -kindliness of voice which I deeply appreciated, told me to be brave and -good.</p> - -<p>A crowd was in waiting at the station. I was roughly hustled through -it into a third-class carriage.</p> - -<p>The only ray of light that penetrated those dark hours of -my journey came from <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" -id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>an American woman. God bless her, whoever -she is or wherever she is! At every station that the train stopped -she got out and came to the carriage door and spoke words of sympathy -and comfort. She was the first of my countrywomen to voice to me the -protest that swelled into greater volume as the years rolled by.</p> - -<p>As the train drew up at Woking station a crowd assembled. Outside -stood a cab, to which I was at once conducted, and we drove through -lovely woods; the scent of flowers was wafted by the breeze into what -seemed to be a hearse that was bearing me on toward my living tomb.</p> - -<p>As we approached the prison the great iron gate swung wide, and -the cab drove silently into the yard. There I descended. The governor -gave an order, and a woman—who I afterward found was assistant -superintendent—came forward. Accompanied by her and an officer, I -was led across a near-by yard to a building which stood somewhat apart -from the others and is known as the infirmary. There a principal<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> matron -received me, and the assistant superintendent and the chief matron -returned to their quarters.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Convict Uniform</span></h3> - -<p>In the grasp of what seemed to me a horrible nightmare, I found -myself in a cell with barred windows, a bed, and a chair. Without, -the stillness of death reigned. I remained there perhaps half an hour -when the door opened and I was commanded by a female warder to follow -her. In a daze I obeyed mechanically. We crossed the same yard again -and entered a door that led into a room containing only a fireplace, a -table, and a bath. Here I was told to take off my clothes, as those I -had traveled in had to be sent back to the prison at Liverpool, where -they belonged.</p> - -<p>When I was dressed in the uniform to which the greatest -stigma and disgrace is attached, I was told to sit down. The -warder then stepped quickly forward, and with a pair of scissors -cut off my hair to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" -id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> nape of my neck. This act seemed, above -all others, to bring me to a sense of my degradation, my utter -helplessness; and the iron of the awful tragedy, of which I was the -innocent victim, entered my soul. I was then weighed and my height -taken. My weight was one hundred and twelve pounds, and my height five -feet three inches.</p> - -<p>Once more I was bidden to follow my guide. We recrossed the yard and -entered the infirmary. Here I was locked in the cell already mentioned. -At last I could be alone after the anguish and torture of the day. I -prayed for sleep that I might lose consciousness of my intolerable -anguish. But sleep, that gentle nurse of the sad and suffering, came -not. What a night! I shudder even now at the memory of it. Physically -exhausted, smarting with the thought of the cruel, heartless way in -which I had been beaten down and trodden under foot, I felt that -mortal death would have been more merciful than the living death<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> to which -I was condemned. In the adjoining cell an insane woman was raving and -weeping throughout the night, and I wondered whether in the years to -come I should become like her.</p> - -<p>The next day I was visited by the governor on his official rounds. -Then the doctor came and made a medical examination, and ordered me -to be detained in the infirmary until further orders. My mind is a -blank as to what happened for some time afterward. My next remembrance -is being told by a coarse-looking, harsh-spoken female warder to get -ready to go into the prison. Once more I was led across the big yard, -and then I stood within the walls that were to be for years my tomb. -Outside the sun was shining and the birds were singing.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">In Solitary Confinement</span></h3> - -<p>Without, picture a vast outline of frowning masonry. Within, -when I had passed the double outer gates and had been locked<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> out and -locked in in succession, I found myself in a central hall, from which -ran cage-like galleries divided into tiers and landings, with a row -of small cells on either side. The floors are of stone, the landings -of slate, the railings of steel, and the stairs of iron. Wire netting -is stretched over the lowest tier to prevent prisoners from throwing -themselves over in one of those frenzies of rage and despair of which -every prison has its record. Within their walls can be found, above all -places, that most degrading, heart-breaking product of civilization, -a human automaton. All will, all initiative, all individuality, all -friendship, all the things that make human beings attractive to one -another, are absent. Suffering there is dumb, and when it goes beyond -endurance—alas!</p> - -<p>I followed the warder to a door, perhaps not more than two -feet in width. She unlocked it and said, “Pass in.” -I stepped forward, but started back in horror. Through the open -door I saw, by the dim<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" -id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> light of a small window that was never -cleaned, a cell seven feet by four.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t put me in there!” I cried. “I can -not bear it.”</p> - -<p>For answer the warder took me roughly by the shoulder, gave me a -push, and shut the door. There was nothing to sit upon but the cold -slate floor. I sank to my knees. I felt suffocated. It seemed that the -walls were drawing nearer and nearer together, and presently the life -would be crushed out of me. I sprang to my feet and beat wildly with my -hands against the door. “For God’s sake let me out! Let me -out!” But my voice could not penetrate that massive barrier, and -exhausted I sank once more to the floor. I can not recall those nine -months of solitary confinement without a feeling of horror. My cell -contained only a hammock rolled up in a corner, and three shelves let -into the wall—no table nor stool. For a seat I was compelled to -place my bedclothes on the floor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" -id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Daily Routine</span></h3> - -<p>No one can realize the horror of solitary confinement who has -not experienced it. Here is one day’s routine: It is six -o’clock; I arise and dress in the dark; I put up my hammock and -wait for breakfast. I hear the ward officer in the gallery outside. I -take a tin plate and a tin mug in my hands and stand before the cell -door. Presently the door opens; a brown, whole-meal, six-ounce loaf is -placed upon the plate; the tin mug is taken, and three-quarters of a -pint of gruel is measured in my presence, when the mug is handed back -in silence, and the door is closed and locked. After I have taken a -few mouthfuls of bread I begin to scrub my cell. A bell rings and my -door is again unlocked. No word is spoken, because I know exactly what -to do. I leave my cell and fall into single file, three paces in the -rear of my nearest fellow convict. All of us are alike in knowing what -we have to do, and we march away silently<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> to Divine service. We are -criminals under punishment, and our keepers march us like dumb cattle -to the worship of God. To me the twenty minutes of its duration were as -an oasis in a weary desert. When it came to an end I felt comforted, -and always a little more resigned to my fate. Chapel over, I returned -directly to my cell, for I was in solitary confinement, and might not -enjoy the privilege of working in company with my prison companions.</p> - -<p>Work I must, but I must work alone. Needlework and knitting fall -to my lot. My task for the day is handed to me, and I sit in my cell -plying my needle, with the consciousness that I must not indulge in an -idle moment, for an unaccomplished task means loss of marks, and loss -of marks means loss of letters and visits. As chapel begins at 8:30 -I am back in my cell soon after nine, and the requirement is that I -shall make one shirt a day—certainly not less than five shirts a -week. If I am obstinate or indolent, I shall be reported by the<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> ward -officer, and be brought to book with punishment—perhaps reduced -to a diet of bread and water and total confinement in my cell for -twenty-four hours. If I am faint, weak, or unwell, I may be excused -the full performance of my task; but there must be no doubt of my -inability. In such case it is for me to have my name entered for the -prison doctor, and obtain from him the indulgence that will remit a -portion of my prescribed work to three or four shirts.</p> - -<p>However, as I am well, I work automatically, closely, and with -persistence. Then comes ten o’clock, and with it the governor -with his escort. He inspects each cell, and if all is not as it should -be, the prisoner will hear of it. There is no friendly greeting of -“Good-morning” nor parting “Good-night” -within those gloomy walls. The tone is formal and the governor -says: “How are you, Maybrick? Any complaints? Do you want -anything?” and then he passes on. Then I am again alone with my -work and my brooding thoughts.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" -id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> I never made complaints. One but adds to -one’s burden by finding causes for complaint. With the coming and -the going of the governor the monotony returns to stagnation.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Exercise Hour</span></h3> - -<p>Presently, however, the prison bell rings again. I know what the -clangor means, and mechanically lay down my work. It is the hour -for exercise, and I put on my bonnet and cape. One by one the cell -doors of the ward are opened. One by one we come out from our cells -and fall into single file. Then, with a ward officer in charge, we -march into the exercise yard. We have drawn up in line, three paces -apart, and this is the form in which we tramp around the yard and -take our exercise. This yard is perhaps forty feet square, and there -are thirty-five of us to expand in its “freedom.” The -inclosure is oppressively repulsive. Stone-flagged, hemmed within -ugly walls, it gives one a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" -id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> hideous feeling of compression. It seems -more like a bear-pit than an airing ground for human beings. But I -forget that we are not here to have things made easy, comfortable, and -pleasant for us. We are here to be punished, to be scourged for our -crimes and misdeeds. Can you wonder that human nature sometimes revolts -and dares even prison rigor? Human instincts may be suppressed, but not -wholly crushed.</p> - -<p>There were at Woking two yards in which flowers and green trees were -visible, but it was only in after years that I was permitted to take my -exercise in these yards, and then only half an hour on Sunday.</p> - -<p>When the one hour for exercise is over, in a file as before, we -tramp back to our work. Confined as we are for twenty-two hours in -our narrow, gloomy cells, the exercise, dull as it is, is our only -opportunity for a glimpse of the sky and for a taste of outdoor life, -and affords our only relief from an otherwise almost unbearable -day.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" -id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Midday Meal</span></h3> - -<p>At noon the midday meal. The first sign of its approach is the -sound of the fatigue party of prisoners bringing the food from the -kitchen into the ward. I hear the ward officer passing with the weary -group from cell to cell, and presently she will reach my door. My -food is handed to me, then the door is closed and double locked. In -the following two hours, having finished my meal, I can work or read. -At two o’clock the fatigue party again goes on its mechanical -round; the cell door is again unlocked, this time for the collection -of dinner-cans. The meal of each prisoner is served out by weight, and -the law allows her to claim her full quantity to the uttermost fraction -of an ounce. She is even entitled to see it weighed if she fancies -it falls short. Work is then resumed until five o’clock, when -gruel and bread is again served, as at breakfast, with half an hour -for its disposal. From that time on until<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> seven o’clock more -work, when again is heard the clang of the prison bell, and with it -comes the end of our monotonous day. I take down my hammock, and once -more await the opening of the door. We have learned exactly what to do. -With the opening of our cells we go forward, and each places her broom -outside the door. So shall it be known that we each have been visited -in our cells before the locking of our doors and gates for the night. -If any of us are taking medicine by the doctor’s orders we now -receive it. On through the ten long, weary hours of the night the night -officers patrol the wards, keeping watch, and through a glass peep-hole -silently inspect us in our beds to see that nothing is amiss.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Cruelty of Solitary Confinement</span></h3> - -<p>Solitary confinement is by far the most cruel feature of -English penal servitude. It inflicts upon the prisoner at -the commencement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" -id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> of her sentence, when most sensitive to -the horrors which prison punishment entails, the voiceless solitude, -the hopeless monotony, the long vista of to-morrow, to-morrow, -to-morrow stretching before her, all filled with desolation and -despair. Once a prisoner has crossed the threshold of a convict prison, -not only is she dead to the world, but she is expected in word and deed -to lose or forget every vestige of her personality. Verily,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> -<p>The mills of the gods grind slowly,</p> -<p class="i2">But they grind exceeding small,</p> -<p>And woe to the wight unholy</p> -<p class="i2">On whom those millstones fall.</p> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>So it is with the Penal Code which directs this vast machinery, -doing its utmost with tireless, ceaseless revolutions to mold body -and soul slowly, remorselessly, into the shape demanded by Act of -Parliament.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER FOUR<br /> - -The Period of Probation</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">A Change of Cell</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">The</span> day I had completed -the nine months of solitary confinement I entered upon a new stage, -that of probation for nine months. I was taken from Hall G to Hall A. -There were in Woking seven halls, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, separated by -two barred doors and a narrow passage. Every hall has three wards. The -female warder who accompanied me locked me in my cell. I looked around -with a sense of intense relief. The cell was as large again as the one -I had left. The floor was of wood instead of slate. It contained a camp -bedstead on which was placed a so-called mattress, consisting of a -sack the length of the bed, stuffed with coir, the fiber of the<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> coconut. -There were also provided two coarse sheets, two blankets, and a red -counterpane. In a corner were three iron shelves let in the wall one -above the other. On the top shelf was folded a cape, and on top of this -there was a small, coarse straw bonnet. The second shelf contained a -tin cup, a tin plate, a wooden spoon, and a salt-cellar. The third -shelf was given up to a slate, on which might be written complaints or -requests to the governor; it is a punishable offense in prison to write -with a pencil or on any paper not provided.</p> - -<p>There was also a Bible, a prayer-book and hymn-book, and a book from -the library. Near the door stood a log of wood upright, fastened to -the floor, and this was the only seat in the cell. It was immovable, -and so placed that the prisoner might always be in view of the warder. -Near it, let into the wall, was a piece of deal board, which answered -for a table. Through an almost opaque piece of square glass light -glimmered from the hall, the only means of<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> lighting the cell at night; -facing this, high up, was a barred window admitting light from the -outside.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Evils of the Silent System</span></h3> - -<p>The routine of my daily life was the same as during “solitary -confinement.” The cell door may be open, but its outer covering -or gate is locked, and, although I knew there was a human creature -separated from me only by a cell wall and another gate, not a whisper -might I breathe. There is no rule of prison discipline so productive -of trouble and disaster as the “silent system,” and -the tyrannous and rigorous method with which it is enforced is the -cause of two-thirds of all the misconduct and disturbance that -occurs in prison. The silence rule gives supreme gratification to -the tyrannous officer, for on the slightest pretext she can report a -woman for talking—a turn of the head, a movement of the lips -is enough of an excuse for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" -id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> a report. And there is heavy punishment -that can be inflicted for this offense, both in the male and female -prisons. An offender may be consigned to solitary confinement, -put for three days on bread and water, or suffer the loss of a -week’s remission, which means a week added to her term of -imprisonment—and all this for incautiously uttering a word.</p> - -<p>Unless it be specifically intended as a means of torture, the -system of solitary confinement, even for four months, the term to -which it has since been reduced, can meet only with condemnation. -I am convinced that, within limits, the right of speech and the -interchange of thought, at least for two hours daily, even during -probation, would insure better discipline than perpetual silence, -which can be enforced only by a complete suppression of nature, and -must result in consequent weakness of mind and ruin of temper. During -the first months of her sentence a prisoner is more frequently in -trouble for breach of this one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" -id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> rule than from all other causes. The -reduction of the term of probation from nine to four months has been -followed by a reduction in mental afflictions, which is proof that -nothing wholesome or good can have its growth in unnatural solitude.</p> - -<p>The silent system has a weakening effect upon the memory. A prisoner -often finds difficulty in deciding upon the pronunciation of words -which she has not heard for a considerable period. I often found -myself, when desirous of using unusual words, especially in French or -German, pronouncing them to myself in order to fix the pronunciation -in my memory. It is well to bear in mind what a small number of words -the prisoner has an opportunity of using in the monotony of prison -life. The same inquiries are made day after day, and the same responses -given. A vocabulary of one hundred words will include all that a -prisoner habitually uses.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" -id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Insanity and Nervous Breakdown of -Prisoners</span></h3> - -<p>No defender of the silent system pretends that it wholly succeeds -in preventing speech among prisoners. But be that as it may, a period -of four months’ solitary confinement in the case of a female, -and six months’ in the case of a male, and especially of a girl -or youth, is surely a crime against civilization and humanity. Such -a punishment is inexpressible torture to both mind and body. I speak -from experience. The torture of continually enforced silence is known -to produce insanity or nervous breakdown more than any other feature -connected with prison discipline. Since the passing of the Act of 1898, -mitigating this form of punishment, much good has been accomplished, -as is proved by the diminution of insanity in prison life, the -decreasing scale of prison punishment, and the lessening of the -death-rate. By still further reducing this barbarous practise,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> or, -better, by abolishing it entirely, corresponding happy results may -confidently be expected. The more the prisoners are placed under -conditions and amid surroundings calculated to develop a better life, -the greater is the hope that the system will prove curative; but so -long as prisoners are subjected to conditions which have a hardening -effect at the very beginning of their prison life, there is little -chance of ultimate reformation.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Need of Separate Confinement for the -Weak-Minded</span></h3> - -<p>There are many women who hover about the borderland of insanity -for months, possibly for years. They are recognized as weak-minded, -and consequently they make capital out of their condition, and -by the working of their distorted minds, and petty tempers, and -unreasonable jealousy, add immeasurably not only to the ghastliness of -the “house of sorrow,” but are a sad clog on the efforts -to self-betterment of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" -id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> level-minded sisters in misery. Of -these many try hard to make the best of what has to be gone through. -Therefore, is it necessary, is it wise, is it right that such a state -of things should be allowed? The weak-minded should be kept in a -separate place, with their own officers to attend them. Neither the -weak-minded, the epileptic, nor the consumptives were isolated. There -is great need of reform wherever this is the case. Prisoners whose -behavior is different from the normal should be separated from the -other prisoners, and made to serve out their sentences under specially -adapted conditions.</p> - -<p>I read in the newspapers that insanity is on the increase; this -fact is clearly reflected within the prison walls. It is stated that -the insane form about three per thousand of the general population. -In local English prisons insanity, it is said, even after deducting -those who come in insane, is seven times more prevalent than among the -general population.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" -id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Reading an Insufficient Relaxation</span></h3> - -<p>The nervous crises do not now supervene so frequently as formerly -in the case of prisoners of a brooding disposition, but the fact -remains that, in spite of the slight amelioration, mental light -is still excluded—that communion on which rests all human -well-being. The vacuity of the solitary system, to some at least, is -partially lighted by books. But what of those who can not read, or -who have not sufficient concentration of mind to profit by reading -as a relaxation? There are many such, in spite of the high standard -of free education that prevails at the present day. The shock of the -trial, and the uprooting of a woman’s domestic ties, coupled with -the additional mental strain of having to start her prison career in -solitary confinement, is surely neither humane, nor merciful, nor wise. -These months of solitary confinement leave an ineffaceable mark. It is -during the first lonely months that the seeds<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> of bitterness and -hardness of heart are sown, and it requires more than a passive -resistance—nay, nothing short of an unfaltering faith and trust -in an overruling Providence—to bring a prisoner safely through -the ordeal. Let the sympathetic reader try to realize what it means -never to feel the touch of anything soft or warm, never to see anything -that is attractive—nothing but stone above, around, and beneath. -The deadly chill creeps into one’s bones; the bitter days of -winter and the still bitterer nights were torture, for Woking Prison -was not heated. My hands and feet were covered with chilblains.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">My Sufferings from Cold and Insomnia</span></h3> - -<p>Oh, the horrors of insomnia! If one could only forget one’s -sufferings in sleep! During all the fifteen years of my imprisonment, -insomnia was (and, alas! is still) my constant companion. Little -wonder! I might fall asleep, when suddenly the<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> whole prison is awakened -by shriek upon shriek, rending the stillness of the night. I am -now, perforce, fully awake. Into my ears go tearing all the shrill -execrations and blasphemies, all the hideous uproars of an inferno, -compounded of bangs, shrieks, and general demoniac ragings. The wild -smashing of glass startles the halls. I lie in my darkened cell with -palpitating heart. Like a savage beast, the woman of turmoil has torn -her clothing and bedding into shreds, and now she is destroying all -she can lay hands on. The ward officers are rushing about in slippered -feet, the bell rings summoning the warders, who are always needed when -such outbursts occur, and the woman, probably in a strait-jacket, is -borne to the penal cells. Then stillness returns to the ghastly place, -and with quivering nerves I may sleep—if I can.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" -id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Medical Attendance</span></h3> - -<p>But what if one is ill in the night? The lonely prisoner in her cell -may summon aid by ringing the bell. The moment it is set in motion it -causes a black iron slab to project from the outer wall of her cell in -the gallery. On the slab is the prisoner’s number, and the ward -officer, hearing the bell, at once looks for the cell from which the -call has been sent. Presently she finds it, then fetches the principal -matron, and together they enter the hard, unhomelike place. If the -prisoner is ill they call the doctor of the prison, and medicines and -aid will be given. But sympathy is no part of their official duty, and -be the warder never so tender in her own domestic circle, tenderness -must not be shown toward a prisoner. The patient may be removed from -her cell to the infirmary, where they will care for her medically, -perhaps as well as they would in a hospital; she may even receive a -few flowers from an infirmary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" -id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> warder whose heart comes out from its -official shell; but through it all, sick though she be, she is still a -prisoner under lock and key, a woman under surveillance, a woman denied -communion with her kind.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Added Sufferings of the Delicately -Nurtured</span></h3> - -<p>What words can adequately describe the long years, blank and weary -enough for all prisoners, but which are indescribably so to one who -has been delicately nurtured! I had enjoyed the refinements of social -life; I had pitied, and tried, as far as lay in my power, to help the -poor and afflicted, but I had never known anything of the barbarism, -the sordid vices of low life. And I was condemned to drag out existence -amid such surroundings, because twelve ignorant men had taken upon -themselves to decide a question which neither the incompetent judge nor -the medical witnesses could themselves determine.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" -id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> - -<p>So far as I can learn, there is no other instance of a woman -undoubtedly innocent and of gentle birth, confined for a term of nearly -fifteen years in an English convict prison. In the nature of things a -delicate woman feels more acutely than a robust prisoner the rigors of -prolonged captivity.</p> - -<p>Neither confidence nor respect can be secured when punishment is -excessive, for it then becomes an act of persecution, suitable only -for ages of darkness. The supineness of Parliament in not establishing -a court of criminal appeal fastens a dark blot upon the judicature of -England, and is inconsistent with the innate love of justice and fair -play of its people.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">How Criminals and Imbeciles are Made</span></h3> - -<p>The law in prison is the same for the rich as the poor, the -“Star Class” as for the ignorant, brutalized criminal. -My register was “L. P. 29.” These letters and<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> numbers -were worked in white cotton upon a piece of black cloth. Your sentence -is indicated thus: “L” stands for penal servitude for -life; “P” for the year of conviction, which in my case -was the sixteenth year since the previous lettering. This is done -every twenty-five years. The “29” meant that I was the -twenty-ninth convict of my year, 1889. In addition to this register I -wore a red cloth star placed above it. The “Star Class,” -of which I was a member, consisted of women who have been convicted of -one crime only, committed in a moment of weakness or despair, or under -pressure which they were not strong enough to resist at the time, such -as infanticide, forgery, incendiarism; and who, having been educated -and respectably brought up, betray otherwise no criminal instincts -or inclinations; and who, when in the world, would be distinct in -character from the habitual criminal, not only from a social point of -view, but in their virtues, faults, and crimes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" -id="Page_91">[91]</a></span></p> - -<p>There should be separate rules and privileges to meet the case -of a prisoner guilty of moral lapses only, as distinguished from -the habitual breaker of the laws. At present the former gets the -same treatment and discipline as the habitual criminal of several -convictions, and can not claim a single privilege that the old -offender has not a right to ask—for example, members of both -classes are limited to the same number of letters and visits. The -“Star Class” is supposed to be kept separate from ordinary -prisoners. It was so at Woking Prison. But at Aylesbury Prison, to -which I was transferred later, they were sandwiched between two wards -of habitual criminals, with whom they came continually in contact, -not only in passing to and from the workshops, fetching meals, and -going to exercise, but continuously. That contamination should ensue -is hardly surprising. It requires a will of iron, and nearly the -spirit of a saint, not to be corrupted by the sights and sounds of -a prison, even when no word<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" -id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> is spoken. It is a serious accusation -against any system to say “that it produces the thing it is -designed to prevent,” but such, I am convinced, is the fact as -regards the manufacture of criminals and imbeciles by the present -system of penalism almost the world over.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" -id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER FIVE<br /> - -The Period of Hard Labor</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Routine</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">Having</span> passed solitary -confinement and probation, I entered upon the third stage, hard labor, -when I was permitted to leave my cell to assist in carrying meals from -the kitchen, and to sit at my door and converse with the prisoners -in the adjoining cells for two hours daily—but always in the -presence of an officer who controls and limits the conversation. My -daily routine was now also somewhat different from that of solitary -confinement and probation.</p> - -<p>At six o’clock the bell rings to rise. Half an hour later -a second bell signifies to the officers that it is time to come -on duty. Each warder in charge of certain wards—there<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> are -three wards to each hall—then goes to the chief matron’s -office, where she receives a key wherewith to unlock the -prisoners’ cells. All keys are given up by the female warder -before going off duty, and locked for the night in an iron safe -under the charge of a male warder. When again in possession of her -key she repairs to her ward, and at the order, “Unlock,” -she lets out the prisoners to empty their slops. This done, they are -once more locked in, with the exception of three women who go down to -the kitchen to fetch the cans of tea and loaves of bread which make -up the prisoners’ breakfast. At Woking the breakfast was of -cocoa and coarse meal bread, while later, at Aylesbury, it consisted -of tea and white bread. I am constrained to remark here that more -consideration should be shown by the medical officer toward women who -complain of being physically unfit to do heavy lifting and carrying. -The can is carried by two women up two or three flights of<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> stairs, -according to the location of their ward, and the bread by one woman -only. Each can contains fourteen quarts of tea, and the bread-basket -holds thirty pounds or more of bread. To a woman with strong muscles -it may cause no distress, but in the case of myself and others equally -frail, the physical strain was far beyond our strength, and left us -utterly exhausted after the task.</p> - -<p>The breakfast was served at seven o’clock, when the officers -returned to the mess-room to take theirs. At 7:30 a bell rang again, -and the officers returned to their respective wards. At ten minutes to -eight the order was given, “Unlock.” Once more the doors -were opened. Then followed the order, “Chapel,” and each -woman stood at her door with Bible, prayer-book, and hymn-book in hand. -At the words “Pass on,” they file one behind the other -into the chapel, where a warder from each ward sits with her back to -the altar that she may be able the better to<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> watch those under her -charge and see that they do not speak. After a service of twenty -minutes the prisoners file back to their cells, place their books on -the lower shelf, and with a drab cape and a white straw hat stand in -readiness for the next order, “To your doors.” This given, -they descend into the hall and pass out to their respective places of -work.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Talk with the Chaplain</span></h3> - -<p>Many of these women have their tender, spiritual moments. At such -times they will beg for a favorite hymn to be sung at the chapel -service on Sunday, and their requests are generally granted by the -chaplain. He is the only friend of the prisoner, and his work is -arduous and often thankless. He is the only one within the walls to -whom she may turn for sympathy and advice. It may not be every woman -who gladly avails herself of the enforced privilege of attending daily -chapel. “Religion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" -id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>” as a term, is unpalatable to many. -But there are very few who are not better and happier for the few -moments’ unofficial talk with her chaplain, be she Protestant or -Roman Catholic.</p> - -<p>It is to be regretted that his authority is so limited, and his -opportunities for brightening the lives of those who walk in dark -places so few. Red tape and standing orders confront him at every -turn, so that even the religious training is drawn and sucked beneath -the mighty wheel of the Penal Code, and there is no time for personal -suasion to play more than a minor part in a convict’s life.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">My Work in the Kitchen</span></h3> - -<p>The work for first offenders, who are called the “Star -Class,” consists of labor in the kitchen, the mess, and the -officers’ quarters. Six months after I entered upon the third -stage I was put to work in the kitchen. My duties were as follows: -To<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -wash ten cans, each holding four quarts; to scrub one table, twenty -feet in length; two dressers, twelve feet in length; to wash five -hundred dinner-tins; to clean knives; to wash a sack of potatoes; to -assist in serving the dinners, and to scrub a piece of floor twenty by -ten feet. Besides myself there were eight other women on hard labor in -the kitchen. Our day commenced at 6 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, -and continued until 5:30 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> A half hour -at breakfast time, twenty minutes at chapel, one hour and a half after -the midday meal, and half an hour after tea summed up our leisure. The -work was hard and rough. The combined heat of the coppers, the stove, -and the steamers was overpowering, especially on hot summer days; but -I struggled on, doing this work preferably to some other, because -the kitchen was the only place where the monotony of prison life was -broken. It was the “show place,” and all visitors looked in -to see the food.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" -id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Machine-made Menu</span></h3> - -<p>What dining in prison means may be judged by a perusal of the -schedule as given in the Prison Commission Report:</p> - -<div class="blockquot f90"> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Diet for Female Convicts</span></h3> - -<p class="center noindent">Breakfast</p> - -<p class="hang">Three-quarters of a pint of cocoa, containing -½ ounce of cocoa, 2 ounces milk, ½ ounce of molasses. -Bread.</p> - -<p class="center noindent mt105">Dinner</p> - -<p class="hang">Sunday. 4 ounces tinned pressed beef. Bread.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Meals of Certain Days" style="margin-left: 0em"> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl" style="width: 9em">Monday. Mutton</td> - <td class="tdl" rowspan="4" style="width: 2em"> - <img src="images/bracer_72.png" alt="right-facing curly bracket" /> - </td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl" rowspan="4" style="width: 20em">3 ounces (cooked), with its own liquor, flavored with ½ ounce onions, and thickened with bread and potatoes left on previous days, 1/8 ounce of flour, and for every 100 convicts, ¾ ounce of pepper. ¾ pound potatoes. Bread.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl" >Tuesday. Beef</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Wednesday. Mutton</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Friday. Beef</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p class="hang">Saturday. 1 pint soup, containing 6 ounces of shins of -beef (uncooked), 1 ounce pearl barley, 3 ounces of fresh vegetables, -including onions, and for every 100 convicts, ¾ ounce pepper. -¾ pound potatoes. Bread.</p> - -<p class="hang">Thursday. ¾ pound pudding, containing 1 ounce 2 -drachms water. ¾ pound potatoes. Bread.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" -id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center noindent mt105">Supper</p> - -<p class="hang">1 pint gruel, containing 2 ounces oatmeal, ¾ -ounce molasses, 2 ounces milk. Bread.</p> - -<p>Bread per convict per week, 118 ounces.</p> - -<p>Bread per convict each week-day, 16 ounces.</p> - -<p>Bread per convict each Sunday, 22 ounces.</p> - -<p>Salt per convict per day, ½ ounce.<a -name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" -class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -</div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Visitors to the Kitchen</span></h3> - -<p>During the four years I worked in the kitchen I saw many people. The -Duke of Connaught, Sir Evelyn Wood and his staff, Lord Alverston, Sir -Edward du Cane, the late Lord Rothschild, and Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise, -besides judges, magistrates, authors, philanthropists and others<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> of -an inquiring turn of mind, who had obtained the necessary permit to -make the tour of the prison under the escort of the governor or one or -two of his satellites. These ladies and gentlemen expressed the most -varied and sometimes startling opinions. I recollect on one occasion, -when some visitors happened to be inspecting the kitchen during the -dishing up of the hospital patients’ dinner, one old gentleman -of the party was quite scandalized at the sight of a juicy mutton-chop -and a tempting milk pudding. He expostulated in such a way that the -governor hastened to explain that it was not the ordinary prison diet, -but was intended for a very sick woman. Even then this old gentleman -was not satisfied, and stalked out, audibly grumbling about people -living on the fat of the land and getting a better dinner than he -did. I firmly believe that he left the prison under the impression -that its inmates lived like pampered gourmets, and that he no longer -marveled there were so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" -id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> many criminals when they were fed on -such luxuries.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The “Homelike” Cell</span></h3> - -<p>On another occasion a benevolent-looking old lady, having given -everything and everybody as minute an inspection as was possible, -expressed herself as being charmed, remarking:</p> - -<p>“Everything is so nice and homelike!”</p> - -<p>I have often wondered what that good lady’s home was like.</p> - -<p>A little philosophy is useful, a saving grace, even in prison; but -people have such different ways of expressing sympathy. A visitor, -who I have no doubt intended to be sympathetic, noticing the letter -“L” on my arm, inquired:</p> - -<p>“How long a time have you to do?”</p> - -<p>“I have just completed ten years,” was my reply.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well,” cheerfully responded the sympathetic one, -“you have done half your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" -id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> time, haven’t you? The remaining -ten years will soon slip by”; and the visitor passed on, -blissfully ignorant of the sword she had unwittingly thrust into my -aching heart. Even if a prisoner has little or no hope of a mitigation, -it is not pleasant to have an old wound ruthlessly handled, and ten -years’ imprisonment as lightly spoken of as ten days might be.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Opiate of Acquiescence</span></h3> - -<p>I preferred the kitchen work, although often beyond my strength, -to any other that fell to a prisoner’s lot, because of the -glimpses into the outside world it occasionally afforded. But I never -permitted myself to dwell upon the fact that at one time I had been the -social equal of at least the majority of those with whom I thus came -into passing contact, since to do so would have made my position by -contrast so unbearable that it would have unfitted me to do the work -in a spirit of submission,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" -id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> not to speak of the mental suffering -which awakened memories would have occasioned. I soon found that both -my spiritual and my mental salvation, under the repressive rules in -force, depended upon unresisting acquiescence—the keeping of -my sensibilities dulled as near as possible to the level of the mere -animal state which the Penal Code, whether intentionally or otherwise, -inevitably brings about.</p> - -<p>I have been frequently asked by friends, since my release, how I -could possibly have endured the shut-in life under such soul-depressing -influences. I have given here and there in my narrative indications -of my feelings under different circumstances. Here I may state in -general that I early found that thoughts of without and thoughts of -within—those that haunted me of the world and those that were -ever present in my surroundings—would not march together. I had -to keep step with either the one or the other. The conflict between -the two soon became unbearable, and I was<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> compelled to make -choice: whether I would live in the past and as much as possible -exclude the prison, and take the punishment which would inevitably -follow—as it had in so many cases—in an unbalanced mind; or -would shut the past out altogether and coerce my thoughts within the -limitations of the prison regulations. My safety lay, as I found, in -compressing my thoughts to the smallest compass of mental existence, -and no sooner did worldly visions or memories intrude themselves, -as they necessarily would, than I immediately and resolutely shut -them out as one draws the blind to exclude the light. While I thus -suppressed all emotions belonging to a natural life, I nevertheless -found, whenever I came accidentally in contact with visitors from the -outside world, that my inner nature was attuned like the strings of a -harp to the least vibration of others’ emotions. The slightest -unconscious inflection of the voice, whether sympathetic or otherwise, -would call forth either a grateful response<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> or an instant withdrawal -into the armor of reserve which I had to adopt for my self-protection. -But this exclusion of the world created a dark background which served -only to intensify the light that shone upon me from realms unseen -of mortal eyes. Lonely I was, yet I was never alone. But, however -satisfying the spiritual communion, the human heart is so constituted -that it needs must yearn for love and sympathy from its own kind, for -recognition of all that is best in us, by something that is like unto -it, in its experiences, feelings, emotions, and aspirations.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Visits of Prisoners’ Friends</span></h3> - -<p>A prisoner is allowed to receive a visit from her friends at -intervals of six, four, and two months, according to her stage -of service. There are four stages, each of nine months’ -duration: first, solitary confinement; second, probation; while the -third and fourth stages are not specially<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> designated. During -the first two stages the prisoner is clothed in brown, at the third -stage in green, and the fourth in navy blue. Every article worn by the -prisoner or in use by her is stamped with a “broad arrow,” -the convict’s crest.</p> - -<p>A visit may be forfeited by bad conduct or delayed through a loss of -marks. When a prisoner is entitled to receive a visitor, she applies -to the governor for permission to have the permit sent to the person -she names; but if the police report concerning the designated visitor -is unfavorable the request is not granted. When a prisoner’s -friends—three being the maximum—arrive at the prison gates -they ring a bell. The gatekeeper views them through a grille and -inquires their business. They show their permit; whereupon he notifies -the chief matron, who in turn notifies the officer in charge of the -prisoner.</p> - -<p>The rule regarding visits precluded any discussion of prison -affairs, or anything regarding treatment, or aught that passes<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -within the prison walls. Had I permitted myself to break this rule -the visit would have been stopped at once by the matron in charge. -Consequently, all the statements on such matters reported from time to -time in the press during my imprisonment, and quoted as received from -my mother or friends, are shown to be pure fabrications.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">My Mother’s Visits</span></h3> - -<p>A visit! What joy or what sorrow those words express in the outside -world! But in prison—the pain of it is so great that it can -hardly be borne.</p> - -<p>Whenever my mother’s visit was announced, accompanied by a -matron I passed into a small, oblong room. There a grilled screen -confronted me; a yard or two beyond was a second barrier identical -in structure, and behind it I could see the form of my mother, and -sitting in the space between the grilles, thus additionally separating -us, was a prison matron.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" -id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> No kiss; not even a clasp of the hand; -no privacy sacred to mother and daughter; not a whisper could pass -between us. Was not this the very depth of humiliation?</p> - -<p>My mother crossed every two months from France to visit me. Neither -heat nor cold deterred her from taking this fatiguing journey. Thus -again and again she traveled a hundred miles for love of me, to cheer, -comfort, and console; a hundred miles for thirty minutes!</p> - -<p>At these visits she would tell me as best she could of the noble, -unwearied efforts of my countrymen and countrywomen in my cause; of -the sympathy and support of my own Government; of the earnest efforts -of the different American ambassadors in my behalf. And though their -efforts proved all in vain, the knowledge of their belief in my -innocence, and of their sympathy comforted, cheered, and strengthened -me to tread bravely the thorny path of my daily life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" -id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p> - -<p>Almost before we had time to compose ourselves there would come a -silent sign from the mute matron in the chair—the thirty minutes -had passed. “Good-by,” we say, with a lingering look, and -then turn our backs upon each other, she to go one way, I another; one -leading out into the broad, open day, the other into the stony gloom of -the prison. Do you wonder that when I went back into my lonely cell the -day had become darker? I went forth to meet a crown of joy and love, -only to return with a cross of sorrow; for these visits always created -passionate longings for freedom, with their vivid recollections of past -joys that at times were almost unbearable. No one will ever know what -my mother suffered.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">A Letter from Lord Russell</span></h3> - -<p>As the years passed the repression of the prison system -developed a kind of mental numbness which rendered my life,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -in a measure, more endurable. It also came as a relief to my own -sufferings to take an interest in those of my fellow prisoners. Then -Lord Russell of Killowen wrote me a letter<a name="FNanchor_3_3" -id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> -expressing his continued confidence in me, which greatly renewed my -courage, while the loving messages from my friends in America kept -alive my faith in human nature.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Punished for Another’s Fault</span></h3> - -<p>By the exercise of great self-control and restraint I had maintained -a perfect good-conduct record at Woking for a period of years, when an -act of one of my fellow prisoners got me into grievous trouble.</p> - -<p>It is the rule to search daily both the cell and the person of all -prisoners—those at hard labor three times a day—to make -sure that they have nothing concealed with which they may do themselves -bodily injury.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" -id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p> - -<p>To me it was a bitter indignity. I was never allowed to forget that, -being a prisoner, even my body was not my own. It was horrible to be -touched by unfriendly hands, yet I was compelled to submit—to -be undressed and be searched. During the term of my imprisonment I -was searched about ten thousand times, and on only one occasion was -anything found contrary to regulations. I had no knowledge of it at -the time, as the article had been placed surreptitiously in my cell by -another prisoner to save herself from punishment.</p> - -<p>The facts are as follows: I was working in the kitchen, when a -prisoner upset some boiling water on my foot. I thought it best not to -speak of it, and did not, therefore, mention it to any one. My foot, -however, became inflamed and caused me great pain, and the prisoner in -question, noticing that I limped, inquired what the matter was. I told -her that the coarse wool of my stocking was irritating the blister on -my foot. Thereupon she offered to give me<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> some wool of a finer -quality with which to knit a more comfortable pair. I was not aware at -the time that this was not permitted, nor that the wool was stolen. -When it neared her turn to be searched, having a lot of this worsted -concealed in her bed, she made the excuse of indisposition in order to -return to her cell and get rid of it. While there she transferred it -from her cell to mine, its neighbor, the doors of the cells being open -during working-time.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus"> -<a id="plate5"></a> -<img src="images/i127.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="center noindent">BARONESS VON ROQUES,<br /> -The mother of Mrs. Maybrick.</p> -</div> - -<p>When the time came to search my cell, the wool was, of course, -found, and I was at once reported. The warder took me to the -penal ward, and I was shut in a cell, in which the light came but -dimly through a perforated sheet of iron. This was at eight <span -class="smcap">A.M.</span> At ten o’clock I was brought before the -governor for examination and judgment. I stated that the wool did not -belong to me and that I was ignorant as to how it got into my cell. The -governor took the officer’s deposition to the effect that it was -found in my cell, and reasoned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" -id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> that I must, therefore, have knowledge -of the article. I was taken back to the punishment cell and left there -for eight hours. When the officer opened the door to read to me the -governor’s judgment, I was found in a dead faint on the floor. -With some difficulty I was restored to consciousness and was then -removed to the hospital. When I had sufficiently recovered from the -shock, I was allowed to return to my own cell in the hall to do my -punishment. I was degraded for a month to a lower stage, with a loss of -twenty-six marks, and had six days added to my original sentence.</p> - -<p>Had this offense occurred under the more enlightened system that -obtains at Aylesbury Prison at the present time, I should have -been forgiven, as it was a first offense under this particular -rule. The governor at Woking was a just and humane man, and he -was not a little troubled to reconcile the fact of my being in -possession of this worsted, when I had no means of access to the -tailor shop or of coming in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" -id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> contact with any of the workers there -who alone had the handling of it. Of course, I could not explain that -the worsted had been passed into the kitchen by one of the tailoresses, -who came every morning to fetch hot water for use in the tailor-room, -and who was a friend of the prisoner who put it in my cell.</p> - -<p>I was kept in the hall during the months of my penal -punishment, and also for twelve months thereafter, since at that -time a “report” always carried with it a loss of the -privilege of working in the kitchen. When I had an opportunity, in -“association time,” of speaking to the prisoner who had -got me into this trouble, and reproached her for the injury she had -done me, she frankly confessed her deed, but excused herself by saying -that she did not expect I would be punished; that she was tempted -to do it because at that time her case was under consideration at -the Home Office, and that she had received the promise of an early -discharge if she did not have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" -id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> any “reports.” She well knew -that if this worsted had been found in her cell this promise would have -been revoked. As she was a “life woman,” and had served a -long time, I had not the heart to deprive her of this, perhaps her only -chance of freedom, through a vindication of myself. A week later I had -the satisfaction of knowing that my silence had been the means of her -liberation.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Forms of Punishment</span></h3> - -<p>The punishment of prisoners at Woking consisted of:</p> - -<p>1. Loss of marks, termed in prison parlance, “remission on her -sentence,” but without confinement in the penal ward.</p> - -<p>2. Solitary confinement for twenty-four hours in the penal ward, -with loss of marks.</p> - -<p>3. Solitary confinement, with loss of marks, on bread and water from -one to three days.</p> - -<p>4. Solitary confinement, with loss of marks, on bread and -water for three days,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" -id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> either in a strait-jacket or -“hobbles.” Hobbling consists in binding the wrists and -ankles of a prisoner, then strapping them together behind her back. -This position causes great suffering, is barbarous, and can be enforced -only by the doctor’s orders.</p> - -<p>5. To the above was sometimes added, in violent cases, shearing -and blistering of the head, or confinement in the dark cell. The dark -cell was underground, and consisted of four walls, a ceiling, and a -floor, with double doors, in which not a ray of light penetrated. No. 5 -punishment was abolished at Aylesbury, but in that prison even to give -a piece of bread to a fellow prisoner is still a punishable offense.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The True Aim of Punishment</span></h3> - -<p>Punishment should be carried out in a humane, sympathetic spirit, -and not in a dehumanizing or tyrannous manner. It should be remedial -in character, and not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" -id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> degrading and deteriorating. It should -be the aim and object of the prison system to send a prisoner back into -the world capable of rehabilitating himself or herself and becoming -a useful citizen. The punishment in a convict prison, within my -knowledge, is carried out in an oppressive way, the delinquent is left -entirely to herself to work out her own salvation, and in nine cases -out of ten she works out her own destruction instead, and leaves prison -hardened, rancorous, and demoralized.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Evil of Collective Punishment</span></h3> - -<p>There are so many prisoners with whom complaint-making is a mania, -who on every possible occasion make trivial, exaggerated, and false -complaints, that it is not altogether strange that officials look -with a certain skepticism on all fault-finding; hence it frequently -happens that those with just grievances are discredited because of the -shortcomings of the habitual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" -id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> grumblers. At the same time, one can not -disapprove too strongly of collective punishment which involves the -utter absence of trust in any prisoner, however deserving. A prisoner -slightly abuses a privilege or is guilty of some small infringement of -the rules, when down comes the hammer wielded by the inexorable Penal -Code, and strikes not only the one offending, but, in its expansive -dealing, all the other prisoners, guilty or innocent of the offense. -Many a privilege, trivial in itself and absolutely harmless, has been -condemned because of its abuse by one prisoner.</p> - -<p>I cite one instance. Each cell was provided with a nail on which, -during the day, the prisoner could hang a wet towel, and, during the -night, her clothes. Those who worked in the laundry came in with wet -clothing every evening, which, as no change is allowed, must be either -dried at night or put on wet the next morning. One prisoner pulled -her nail out and purposely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" -id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> wounded herself. She was weak-minded, -and no doubt thought to excite pity. The matter was referred to the -director, Mr. Pennythorne, who gave the order that all the nails -throughout the building be removed. Hence, because of the shortcomings -of one weak-minded woman, all opportunity for the working women to -dry their clothes was taken from them. Others besides myself appealed -to the director and protested. He replied that we would be obliged -to submit to the edict the same as the rest, and that no distinction -could be made in our favor. Of course we could not argue the matter; -the penalty fell heavier upon the laundry women and the kitchen -workers than upon myself. It is a glaring instance of the great wrong -done by collective punishment. However, the prisoners had their -revenge, for they never referred to him afterward except as “Mr. -Pennynails.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" -id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Evil of Constant Supervision</span></h3> - -<p>Individual supervision is compulsory, and in many cases it is -essential, but not in all. Surely there are some prisoners who might, -with good results, be trusted. The supervision is never relaxed; the -prisoner is always in sight or hearing of an officer. During the day -she is never trusted out of sight, and at night the watchful eye of -the night officer can see her by means of a small glass fitted in -the door of each cell. She may grow gray during the length of her -imprisonment, but the rule of supervision is never relaxed. Try and -realize what it means always to feel that you are watched. After all, -these prisoners are women, some may be mothers, and it is surely the -height of wickedness and folly to crush whatever remnant of humanity -and self-respect even a convict woman may still have left her. These -poor creatures who wear the brand of prison shame are guarded and -controlled by women, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" -id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> men make the rules which regulate every -movement of their forlorn lives.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Some Good Points of Convict Prisons</span></h3> - -<p>The rules of prison, rigorous as they are, are not wholly without -some consideration for the hapless beings who are condemned to suffer -punishment for their sins within their gloomy walls. On the men’s -side the system is harsher, the life harder, and the discipline more -strict and severe; and I can well believe that for a man of refinement -and culture the punishment falls little short of a foretaste of -inferno. But gloomy and tragic as the convict establishment is, it -is a better place than the county prison, and I have heard habitual -criminals avow that a convict prison is the nearest approach to a -comfortable “home” in the penal world. I know that a -certain type of degenerate women, after serving their sentences, have -committed grave offenses with the sole object of obtaining a<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -conviction which would send them back to penal servitude. For such the -segregation system would be the most effectual remedy.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">My Sickness</span></h3> - -<p>I had never been a robust woman, and the hardships of prison life -were breaking down my constitution. The cells at Woking were not -heated. In the halls were two fireplaces and a stove, which were alight -day and night; but as the solid doors of the cells were all locked, -the heat could not penetrate them. Thus, while the atmosphere outside -the cell might be warm, the inside was icy cold. During the hard -winter frosts the water frequently froze in my cell over night. The -bed-clothing was insufficient, and I suffered as much from the cold -as the poorest and most miserable creature on earth. Added to this, -I was compelled to go out and exercise in all kinds of weather. On -rainy days I would come in with my shoes and<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> stockings wet through, -and as I possessed only one pair of shoes and one pair of stockings, -I had to keep them on, wet as they were. The shoes I had to wear -until worn out; the stockings until changed on the Saturday of each -week, which was the only day a change of any kind of underwear could -be obtained, no matter in what condition it might be. Therefore, -the majority of the inmates in the winter time seldom had dry feet, -if there was much rain or snow, the natural result being catarrh, -influenza, bronchitis, and rheumatism, from all of which I suffered in -turn.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Taken to the Infirmary</span></h3> - -<p>As long as the prisoner is not feverish she is treated in her own -cell in the ward, her food remaining the ordinary prison dietary; but -as soon as her temperature rises, as occurred in my case frequently, -she is admitted as a patient to the infirmary, where she is fed -according to medical prescription.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" -id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> - -<p>The infirmary stands a little detached from the prison grounds. It -has several wards, containing from six to fifteen beds, and several -cells for cases that require isolation. The beds are placed on each -side of the room, and are covered with blue and white counterpanes. -At the head of each is a shelf, on which stand two cups, a plate, and -a diet card. In the middle of each room is a long deal table. On the -walls are a few old Scriptural pictures.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Utter Desolation of a Sick -Prisoner</span></h3> - -<p>When a prisoner is admitted she is first weighed and then allotted -a bed. Her food and medicine are given her by an officer, who places -it on a chair at her bedside if she is too ill to sit at the table. -The doctor makes his rounds in the morning and evening, and if the -patient is seriously ill he may make a visit in the night also. -The matron in charge goes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" -id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> through the wards at stated times to -see that all is going well, but there is no nursing. The prisoner must -attend to her own wants, and if too weak to do so, she must depend upon -some other patient less ill than herself to assist her. To be sick in -prison is a terrible experience. I felt acutely the contrast between -former illnesses at home and the desolation and the indifference of the -treatment under conditions afforded by a prison infirmary. To lie all -day and night, perhaps day after day, and week after week, alone and in -silence, without the touch of a friendly hand, the sound of a friendly -voice, or a single expression of sympathy or interest! The misery and -desolation of it all can not be described. It must be experienced. I -arrived at Woking ill, and I left Woking ill.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER SIX<br /> - -At Aylesbury Prison</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Removal from Woking</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">I had</span> been admitted -to the infirmary suffering from a feverish cold. I had been in -bed a fortnight and was feeling very weak, when, on the morning -of November 4, 1896, I awoke to find the matron standing at my -bedside. “Maybrick,” she said, “the governor has -given orders that you are to be removed to-day to Aylesbury Prison. -Get up at once.” Without a word of explanation she left. I -had become a living rule of obedience, and so with trembling hands -dressed myself. Presently I heard footsteps approaching. A female -warder entered with a long, dark cloak covered with broad arrows, -the insignia of the convict. I was told to put on this garment of -shame. Then, supported<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" -id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> by the warder, I crossed the big yard to -the chief matron’s office. There other women of the “Star -Class” were waiting, handcuffed. A male warder stepped forward -and told me to hold out my hands, whereupon he fastened on a pair of -handcuffs and chained me to the rest of the gang. This was done by -means of a chain which ran through an outer ring attached to each pair -of handcuffs, thus uniting ten women in a literal chain-gang. This -was to me the last straw of degradation—the parting indignity -of hateful Woking; but, happily, this was a painful prelude to a more -merciful régime at Aylesbury.</p> - -<p>Some of the women were weeping, some swearing. When all were ready -the prison-van drove into the yard and we filed out to the clanking of -our chains. Then the door was shut and we were driven off. A special -train was waiting at the station, and escorted between male warders we -got in. It was bitterly cold and raining heavily, but crowds lined the -road and platforms.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 700px"> -<a id="plate6"></a> -<img src="images/i145.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="noindent f80">Copyright by S. G. Payne & Son, Aylesbury.</p> - -<p class="center noindent">AYLESBURY PRISON,<br /> -Where Mrs. Maybrick was confined from 1896 to 1904.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">New Insignia of Shame</span></h3> - -<p>We were objects of morbid curiosity to the idle and curious people, -who may or may not have felt sorry for us. But to be stared at was most -distressing to all, to the first offender in particular. If the public -but realized how prisoners suffer when their disgrace is thus brought -to the public notice, they might feel ashamed of their lack of ordinary -human consideration and pass on. But why should it be necessary at all -to subject a prisoner to such humiliation and degradation? Male as well -as female prisoners could be transferred from one prison to another -without attracting any notice in the street or at the station, if they -were provided with garments for traveling upon which the hideous brand -of shame—the “broad arrow”—is not stamped. -It is this mark of condemnation which attracts the morbid curiosity -of the people. Such exhibitions and the callous disregard of a<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -prisoner’s feelings can only harden and embitter the heart and -lower his or her self-respect.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Arrival at Aylesbury Prison</span></h3> - -<p>After a journey of nearly five hours we arrived at Aylesbury -Station. The public were apparently aware that the first batch of -convicts was to be transferred that day, as there were crowds at all -the stations at which we stopped. When we got out at Aylesbury it was -with difficulty that a passage was made for us. The prison-vans were -in readiness, and we were rapidly driven away. I felt weak and faint -and cold. A thick fog enveloped the town, and I could see only the -dim outlines of houses appearing and disappearing as we passed along. -We stopped before what appeared a gigantic structure, and then drove -through two large iron gates into a small courtyard. There we descended -and drew up in line to be counted by the<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> officer, while our -numbers and names were given to the governor, who stood waiting to -receive us. The order “Pass on!” was called by the matron -in charge, whereupon we entered a long, dark, gloomy passage, at the -end of which was a strong, barred door. This was unlocked, and, when we -had passed in, relocked.</p> - -<p>I have already described what a prison is like. Again we stood -in line. Then a male warder came forward. He unlocked my handcuffs -and unclasped the chain which bound me to my fellow convicts. With a -clang that echoed through the empty halls they fell together to the -ground. My wrists were bruised and sore from the long pressure of their -combined weight.</p> - -<p>Presently the order “Pass on!” was repeated, and, led by -a female warder, we went up two flights of the iron stairway to the top -ward of the hall. Each prisoner was then in turn locked into a cell. -Thus ended my second journey as a prisoner.<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> The contrast with former -journeys in my life drew bitter tears from my eyes.</p> - -<p>During the remainder of the week daily batches of prisoners -continued to arrive, and on the sixth day all had been duly transferred -from Woking Prison, which was then turned into military barracks.</p> - -<p>After this short break in our prison life the same daily routine was -once more taken up. Whether it was due to the change of air or other -physical causes I can not say, but from the time of my arrival I began -to droop. I lost strength and suffered terribly from insomnia.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">A New Prison Régime</span></h3> - -<p>Six months after our arrival, there came a change of -authorities, and with the passing of the years a more enlightened -régime was instituted by the Home Office. If a prisoner has -any complaint to make or wishes to seek advice, she asks to have -her name put down to see the governor.<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> She is then termed a -“wisher,” and is “seen” by him in his office in -the presence of the chief matron. Her request is written down by him in -her penal record, and if he can not settle the matter out of hand it is -referred to a “visiting director,” to whom the prisoner is -permitted to make a statement. If this gentleman finds that his powers -are insufficient to deal with the question, he in turn passes it on to -the prison commission, and sometimes it goes even to the Secretary of -State himself.</p> - -<p>The same privilege holds good concerning medical matters. If a -prisoner is feeling ill she asks the officer in charge of the ward -where she is located to enter her name on the doctor’s book. At -ten o’clock the prisoner is sent for, and sees the doctor in the -presence of an infirmary nurse. He enters her name in a book, also the -prescription, both of which are copied later in the prisoner’s -medical record. If a prisoner is dissatisfied with the treatment -she is receiving, she can make application<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> to see the -“medical inspector,” who comes to the prison every three -months. But if neither the governor, nor the doctor, nor the director, -nor the inspector gives satisfaction, then there is the “Board of -Visitors” to inquire into the complaint.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Board of Visitors</span></h3> - -<p>The idea of the “Board of Visitors” is to act as a -guaranty to the public that everything is honest and above board, and -that there can be no possibility of inhuman treatment. If this is the -sole object in view—namely, that the prisoners shall be seen by -these “visitors”—then the object is largely attained. -They have done much to ameliorate the prisoners’ condition. -Whereas, at one time the women slept in their clothes, they are now -provided with nightdresses; instead of sitting with their feet always -on the stone floor, they are now allowed a small mat, as well as a -wooden stool; and, as the result of many<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> complaints regarding -the rapid decay of teeth, toothbrushes are allowed, a concession which -I much appreciated. For a short time felt slippers were granted us, -but these have been discontinued on the ground of expense. The same -beneficent influence also secured wide-brimmed hats for the women. -Formerly they had nothing to protect their eyes, and the reflected -glare from the stone walls was the cause of much weakness and -inflammation.</p> - -<p>There were several changes in the diet also. Tea was substituted for -cocoa at breakfast and supper, white bread in lieu of wholemeal bread, -and tinned meat replaced the dry bread and cheese previously given on -Sunday.</p> - -<p>The time of solitary confinement was reduced from nine months -to four, and immediately on its expiration the probationers can -now work in “association” in either the laundry or the -tailor’s shops where the officers’ uniforms—of -brown cashmere in summer and navy-blue serge<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> in winter—are -made, besides all the clothing for the prisoners’ own use; also -in the twine-room, where excellent spinning is done; while the prisoner -with special aptitude may be recommended to the bead-room, which turns -out really artistic work.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Regulations Concerning Letters and -Visits</span></h3> - -<p>The prisoners were also allowed to receive three photographs of near -relatives and to keep them in their cells. Previously these had to be -returned within twenty-four hours. Best of all, the intervals between -letters and visits were reduced by a month. The number of letters -permitted to be sent by a prisoner varies according to the stage she -is in. In the fourth stage a letter is allowed every two months, and -a “special letter” occasionally, if the prisoner’s -conduct has been satisfactory.</p> - -<p>The following is a copy of the prison<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> regulations concerning -communications between prisoners and their friends:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“The following regulations as to communications, by visit -or letter, between prisoners and their friends, are notified for the -information of their correspondents:</p> - -<p>“The permission to write and receive letters is given to -prisoners for the purpose of enabling them to keep up a connection with -their respectable friends, and not that they may be kept informed of -public events.</p> - -<p>“All letters are read by the prison authorities. They must be -legibly written, and not crossed. Any which are of an objectionable -tendency, either to or from prisoners, or containing slang or improper -expressions, will be suppressed.</p> - -<p>“Prisoners are permitted to receive and to write a letter -at intervals, which depends on the rules of the stage they attain by -industry and good conduct; but matters of special importance to a -prisoner may be communicated at any time by letter (prepaid) to the -governor, who will inform the prisoner thereof, if expedient.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" -id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p> - -<p>“In case of misconduct the privilege of receiving and writing -a letter may be forfeited for a time.</p> - -<p>“Money, books, postage-stamps, food, tobacco, clothes, etc., -should not be sent to prisoners for their use in prison, as nothing is -allowed to be received at the prison for that purpose.</p> - -<p>“Persons attempting to clandestinely communicate with, or -to introduce any article to or for prisoners, are liable to fine or -imprisonment, and any prisoner concerned in such practises is liable to -be severely punished.</p> - -<p>“Prisoners’ friends are sometimes applied to by -unauthorized persons to send money, etc., to them privately, under -pretense that they can apply it for the benefit of the prisoners, and -under such fraudulent pretense such persons endeavor to obtain money -for themselves. Any letter containing such an application received by -the friends of a prisoner should be at once forwarded by them to the -governor.</p> - -<p>“Prisoners are allowed to receive visits from their friends, -according to rules, at intervals which depend on their stage.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" -id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> - -<p>“When visits are due to prisoners notification will be sent to -the friends whom they desire to visit them.”</p></div> - -<p>While in Woking Prison, under the privilege of these rules, I wrote -the following letter to the late Miss Mary A. Dodge (“Gail -Hamilton”)—she who was my most eloquent and steadfast -champion in America:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right">P 29, June 24, 1892.</p> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">Dear Miss Dodge</span>:</p> - -<p>I feel that I owe you such a debt of gratitude for the truly noble, -beautiful, and womanly manner in which you have used that glorious -gift of God—your genius—in the cause of a helpless and -sorely afflicted sister, whose claim to your compassion was but that -of a common humanity and nationality, that I feel I must send you a -few lines, if only to disabuse your mind of any lingering doubts of -my gratitude that my silence may have caused to arise. My dear mother -has, I believe, explained to you the almost insurmountable difficulty I -find in writing to friends abroad, with only<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> one letter every two -months at my disposal, and which I do not feel justified in depriving -her of. I can, therefore, only express through her from time to time my -heartfelt thanks for all that has been and is still being done in my -behalf. I utterly despair, however, of finding words that shall convey -to you even the faintest idea of the fulness of a heart completely -overwhelmed by the sympathy, kindness, and generosity of my friends. My -feelings of love, however, and admiration for you and them is simply -beyond all power of expression.</p> - -<p>The world may and does bemoan the gradual extinction in this -generation of those finer and nobler traits of character which -our forefathers so beautifully exemplified; lays at the door of a -higher civilization the terrible increase of selfishness, pride, and -indifference to all the higher duties of Christianity. But, I ask, -where can a grander exception be found to such apparent degeneration -than that displayed by the conduct of those truly noble men and -women, who, without a thought of self or of the trouble involved, -have stood forth to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" -id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> plead the cause of their countrywoman? -Could man do more than he is doing? Could woman do more for her nearest -and dearest than the ladies of America are doing for me? No! a thousand -times, no!</p> - -<p>Some day, my health and purse permitting, I shall hope to tell them -face to face, if mere words can tell, how greatly their faithful, -unwearying efforts, their undaunted energy, their sympathy and kindness -and generosity have helped me to rise above the depressing influences -of the injustice I am suffering under, to endure patiently, to bear -bravely the hardships of this life, and to feel through all that the -hope and comfort afforded me by their help is but a beautiful example -of the way in which God answers the prayers of his people.</p> - -<p>I would now fain beg of you, dear friend, to express my deepest -and most heartfelt gratitude to President Harrison, Mr. Blaine, and -the other members of the Cabinet. Also to all the distinguished -gentlemen who so generously attached their signatures to the splendid -petition sent lately from Washington to the Hon. Henry Matthews,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -Secretary of State, London, and to assure them of my great appreciation -of the honor and justice they have done me in thus espousing my cause. -Oh, how wretchedly I have expressed what I really feel and would like -to say! But you, too, have a woman’s heart, and you can therefore -realize the feelings I find it so hard to express. It would be a still -more hopeless task to try to tell you what I think of you—noblest -and truest of women; that must wait until we meet. Until that glad day, -believe me,</p> - -<p class="right"><span style="margin-right: 3em">Yours gratefully and sincerely,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Florence E. Maybrick</span>.</p> - -<p>P.S. My next date for receiving letters -is 19th July.</p> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">To Miss Dodge</span>,<br /> -<span class="ml2">Washington, D. C., U. S. A.</span></p> - -</div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">A Visit from Lord Russell</span></h3> - -<p>I was sitting in my cell one day feeling very weak and ill. I was -recovering from an attack of influenza, and the cold comfort<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> of -my surroundings increased the physical and mental depression which -accompanies this complaint. I wondered vaguely why my life was spared, -why I was permitted to suffer this terrible injustice, when my sad -thoughts were distracted by the sounds of approaching voices. I arose -from my seat—which is a compulsory attitude of submission when an -authority approaches a prisoner—and stood waiting for I knew not -what. Presently I heard the tones of a voice which I can never forget -while memory lasts, though that voice is now hushed in death; a voice -which, through the darkest days of my life, ever spoke words of trust, -comfort, and encouragement. Surely I must be dreaming, I thought, or my -mind is growing weak and I am becoming fanciful; for how should this -voice reach me within these prison walls? I looked up, startled, and -once more thought my mind was wandering, for there stood the noblest, -truest friend that woman ever had: the champion of the weak and<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -the oppressed; the brave upholder of justice and law in the face of -prejudice and public hostility—Lord Russell of Killowen, Lord -Chief Justice of England. He stepped into my cell with a kindly smile -on his face, and sat down on my stool, while the governor waited -outside. He talked to me for half an hour, and I can never forget the -beauty and grandeur of that presence. As he rose to leave he turned -toward me, and, seeing unshed tears in my eyes, he took my hand in his, -and in his strong, emphatic way said: “Be brave, be strong; I -believe you to be an innocent woman. I have done and will continue to -do all I can for you.”</p> - -<p>It has been denied in England that Lord Russell took any interest -in me other than he might in any client he was paid to defend; but the -letter which I have already given, written to me at Woking, as well as -various statements made by him, and quoted elsewhere, must set that -aspersion at rest.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 540px;"> -<a id="plate7"></a> -<img src="images/i163.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="center noindent">MISS MARY A. DODGE (“Gail Hamilton”),<br /> -An American advocate of Mrs. Maybrick’s innocence.</p> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER SEVEN<br /> - -A Petition for Release</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Denied by the Secretary of State</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">I had</span> been at Aylesbury about eight months when I petitioned the -Secretary of State for a reconsideration of my case, with a view to -my release. To this I received the usual official reply, “Not -sufficient grounds.”</p> - -<p>A prisoner may petition the Secretary of State every three months. -In my opinion, the privilege of petitioning on a case should be reduced -from four times a year to once a year, with the provision that if -anything of importance to a prisoner transpires within that period it -may be duly submitted to the Secretary of State on recommendation of -the governor or director;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" -id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> that all complaints regarding food, -treatment, or medical attention should be referred to the visiting -director in the first instance, instead of the Secretary of State, -who under the present system passes it back to the directors for -the necessary investigation. This would do away with the continual -daily distress and irritation and disappointment created in the -prison on receipt of unfavorable replies from the Home Office. A -prisoner petitions. A private inquiry is held, to which the prisoner -is not a party, and of which she has no information, nor does she -receive any during its progress or after its conclusion, save that -the result, which is nearly always negative, is communicated to her. -In this inquiry any one who is opposed to the prisoner may seek -to influence the official mind. I will state a case in point. A -friend asked the Secretary of State for the United States, the Hon. -John Hay, to interest himself in my case. Mr. Hay replied that he -had been informed by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" -id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> Home Office that I had been “a -disobedient and troublesome prisoner.”</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Report of My Misconduct Refuted</span></h3> - -<p>When I was told this at a visit I had my name entered to see the -governor. I insisted that the governor should inform me when, and after -what breach of the rules, such a report had been sent to the Home -Office. After carefully looking through my penal record he could find -no entry to that effect, and concluded by saying that I must have been -misinformed. He said that my conduct was good, and that he had never -made any report to the contrary. Obviously, therefore, this report from -the Home Office to Mr. Hay was due to an adverse influence, of which -I have still no knowledge. Statements are made against a prisoner, -of the nature of which she is entirely ignorant. Being ignorant, she -has no way of refuting them. Worse still, they are retained in the -Home Office to her dying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" -id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> day, and the unfortunate woman knows -nothing of them or their effect. The only thing certain is that she is -further condemned.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Need of a Court of Criminal Appeal</span></h3> - -<p>The Home Office, while exercising a private function of -reconsideration grounded on the royal prerogative of mercy, -emphatically disclaims being a court of appeal or a judicial tribunal -in any sense of the word. Yet the consideration of a convict’s -case rests alone with the Secretary of State. It is a matter of -unwritten law that the Home Secretary shall act individually and solely -upon his own responsibility, and none of his colleagues are to assume -or take part therein.</p> - -<p>There are numerous instances where judges, witnesses, and juries -have gone wrong. Indeed, it will be found that even in cases which have -seemed the clearest and least complicated in the trial grievous<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -mistakes have been made. But in England the blame rests on the public -and the bar in that no means are provided to set the wrong right. -What a difference it would have made in my life if I had been granted -a second trial! I could have called other witnesses, submitted -fresh evidence, and refuted false testimony. Is it not the climax -of injustice that men and women, if sued for money, even for a few -shillings, can appeal from court to court—even to the House of -Lords, the English court of last resort; but when character, all that -life holds dear, and life itself, are in jeopardy, a prisoner’s -fate may depend upon the incompetent construction of one man, and there -is no appeal?</p> - -<p>A hard-worked Secretary of State, whose time, night and day, -is crowded with every kind of duty, correspondence, and labor, in -the House of Commons or in the Home Office, has to consider a vast -number of petitions, complaints, and miscarriages of justice, or too -severe sentences, any one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" -id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> of which might require hours and -sometimes days to investigate. He is assisted by several officers, but, -strange to say, it is no part of their qualifications (or that of the -Home Secretary himself), that they should be familiar with the criminal -law or the prosecution or defense of prisoners. These permanent -officials are, besides, occupied with hundreds of other matters which -come before the Home Office, on which they have to guide their chief. -Think of the untold sufferings of individuals and families, the shame -and degradation which they would be spared, if England had a court of -criminal appeal.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Historic Examples of British Injustice</span></h3> - -<p>The Home Office detects and corrects a larger number of erroneous -verdicts than the public is aware. This arises from the secret and -partial methods of remedying miscarriages of justice frequently -adopted. The first object is to maintain<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> the public belief in -the infallibility of judges and juries. If an innocent person could -slip out quietly, without shaking this belief, he might be permitted -to do so. The Home Secretary is, in fact, a politician, who has little -time to spare for the consideration of criminal cases, and furthermore -must see to it that his conduct does not injure his party. Thus he is -often deterred from interfering with verdicts and sentences by sheer -timidity. When he affirms a sentence he can throw the greater part -of the blame on others if he is afterward proved to be wrong; but -when he reverses either verdict or sentence, he must take the whole -responsibility upon himself. This is, I believe, the true explanation -of the secret and partial reversals which are not unusual at the -Home Office. The Home Secretary, as well as his subordinates, must -frequently let “dare not wait upon I would.”</p> - -<p>If a crime is committed and no one is brought to justice, -the police are blamed;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" -id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> but if a person is convicted the police -are praised, without regard as to whether the right person has been -convicted. Hence there is usually a strong effort to beat up evidence -against the person suspected, as in my case and that of Adolf Beck -(see page 155), and to keep back anything in favor of the prisoner -that comes to the knowledge of the police. When an appeal is made -from the verdict to the Home Secretary, the first step is to consult -the very judge who is responsible, in nine cases out of ten, for the -erroneous verdict. It is easy to see that, where such reference is -made, the judge is liable to be biased in support of his own rulings. -How much more the ends of justice would be furthered by having the case -retried!</p> - -<p>God only knows how many men and women have been innocent of the -charges brought against them, and for which they have been unjustly -punished. I will mention a few only of many cases on record.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" -id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p> - -<p>A man, Hebron by name, was convicted at Manchester, of murder. He -was sentenced to death, but fortunately this was commuted to penal -servitude for life. After serving two years the real murderer, a -man named Peace, was discovered, and Hebron was “graciously -pardoned.”</p> - -<p>Another cruel case was that of John Kensall, who was convicted -of murder, but, through action taken by the late Lord Chief Justice -Russell, was shown to be innocent. The Home Office could not at first -“see its way to interfere,” and had it not been for Lord -Russell’s clear head and splendid generalship, by which the -authorities at the Home Office were outwitted, he would not have been -released so soon.</p> - -<p>The case of the man Hay, wrongly convicted, was of a serious -nature, showing that he was the victim of a conspiracy; yet had -it not been for Sir William Harcourt’s instituting an -investigation independent of the Home Office, it is very doubtful -whether Hay would have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" -id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> able to establish his innocence. But he -did so, and a pardon was granted him.</p> - -<p>It looks almost as if justice in England were growing of late -more than ordinarily blind. Thrice, within three years, has the Home -Secretary’s “pardon” been granted to men found to -have been wrongfully convicted.</p> - -<p>The average man takes it for granted that these hideous mistakes -must, of necessity, be few and far between; but the criminologist knows -better. He, at all events, is well aware that every year a number -of innocent people are sentenced to suffer either an ignominious -death upon the scaffold, or the long-drawn-out living death of penal -servitude.</p> - -<p>Many of these judicial miscarriages never come to light at -all. Others are purposely glossed over by the powers that be. But -occasionally one occurs of so appalling a nature that it rivets the -attention and shocks the conscience of the entire civilized world, as -in the case of Adolf Beck.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" -id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Case of Adolf Beck</span></h3> - -<p>Adolf Beck was twice convicted for crimes committed by a man who -somewhat resembled him. He served his first sentence and had been -convicted for a second crime on “misrepresented identity” -when his innocence was providentially established. The case is too -lengthy for detailed account in these pages, and I shall content -myself in giving the summing-up of Mr. George R. Sims in the pamphlet -reprinted from his presentation of the case in the columns of <cite>The -Daily Mail</cite> of London:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I have told in plain words the story of a foul wrong done to -an innocent man.</p> - -<p>“I have proved beyond all question that Adolf Beck was in -1896, by the Common Sergeant, Sir Forrest Fulton, at the Old Bailey, -sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude for being an ex-convict -named John Smith.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that he was <em>not</em> found guilty of being John -Smith by the jury.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" -id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p> - -<p>“The former conviction for which Mr. Adolf Beck was sentenced -and punished was not only never submitted to the jury, but they were -warned by the judge that they were not to take the issue of Beck being -Smith into consideration in arriving at their verdict. They were to -dismiss it completely from their minds.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that if this issue had been left for the -jury to consider they must have acquitted Mr. Beck, who showed by an -indisputable alibi that he could not be Smith, the man convicted in -1877.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that this terrible mockery of justice, the -conviction of an innocent man for a series of crimes that it was quite -impossible he could have committed, was brought about by the action of -the leading counsel for the Treasury, which action was supported by the -Common Sergeant, Sir Forrest Fulton.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that the evidence of the policeman, Eliss -Spurrell, which was used at the police-court to assist in getting Beck -committed for trial, was kept out at the Old Bailey, where it would -have insured Beck’s acquittal.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" -id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I have proved that at the police-court in 1896 Mr. Gurrin, -the Treasury expert, reported that all the documents connected with the -1896 frauds were in the handwriting of John Smith of 1877.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that at the 1896 trial at the Old Bailey Mr. -Gurrin swore that, to the best of his belief, all the documents were in -the disguised handwriting of Mr. Beck.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that no one in his senses could at the trial -have accepted the theory that Adolf Beck was John Smith after listening -to the evidence of Major Lindholm, Gentleman of the Chamber to the King -of Denmark, Col. Josiah Harris, and the Consul-General for Peru at -Liverpool.</p> - -<p>“The Common Sergeant accepted as true their evidence of a -complete alibi for Mr. Beck, so far as 1877 and the years Smith was in -prison were concerned, or he would, it is to be presumed, have taken -measures to have those gentlemen prosecuted for committing wilful and -corrupt perjury in order to defeat the ends of justice.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that Beck, after his imprisonment,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -compelled the Home Office authorities to acknowledge that he was -not Smith, and to admit the physical impossibility of his being -Smith—Smith was a Jew, and he, Beck, was not—and that -therefore, by the evidence of the Treasury witnesses, he had been -wrongfully committed.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that Beck was stripped and officially examined -for body marks before his trial, in order that such marks might be -compared with those on the record in the possession of the authorities -as the body marks of John Smith.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that Adolf Beck had none of the body marks of -John Smith, the man in whose handwriting Mr. Gurrin had declared the -incriminating documents of 1896 to be.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that all the petitions setting forth these -facts and others, which fully established Beck’s innocence, met -with no consideration.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that when the frauds of 1877 and 1896 were -repeated in 1904, and the incriminating documents were found to be -in the handwriting of 1877, stroke for<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> stroke, peculiarity for -peculiarity, almost word for word, the fact that the authorities had -admitted that Mr. Beck <em>could not be</em> the author of the 1877 frauds -or the writer of the 1877 documents was utterly ignored, and the -responsible authorities, with every proof of Mr. Beck’s innocence -in their possession, allowed him to be arrested, charged, tried, and -convicted again.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that the identification of Mr. Beck by the -female witnesses as the man who robbed them was a monstrous farce.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that, so far from Mr. Beck being the -‘double’ of John Smith, he was utterly unlike him, except -that each had a gray mustache. Beck had neither the noticeable scar -at the point of the jaw nor the noticeable wart over one eye that are -striking marks of identity in John Smith—marks which would not -escape the most casual observer.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that Beck’s conviction in 1896 was -secured by a device which was utterly unworthy of a British court -of justice—a device so unfair and unjust that an innocent -and inoffensive foreigner, a Norwegian<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> who had sought the -hospitality of our shores, was by its employment sent into penal -servitude for seven years for the crimes of another man.</p> - -<p>“I have proved that Mr. Beck was in 1904 convicted of -repeating letter for letter, word for word, trick for trick, check for -check, false address for false address, false name for false name, the -frauds of 1877 and 1896, of which the authorities had absolute proof -that he was innocent, and of which, though they had never remitted one -day of his sentence, they had <em>admitted</em> that he was innocent.</p> - -<p>“I have been careful to keep to the main issue, and have -refrained from examining the side issues, some of which reveal most -lamentable features in connection with our criminal procedure.</p> - -<p>“I will prove one thing more, and leave the facts I have -established to the judgment of the public.</p> - -<p>“At the end of the report of the second trial of Adolf Beck, -which took place at the Old Bailey on June 27, 1904 (Sessions Paper -CXL., Part 837), are these words, printed as I give them below:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" -id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> - -<p>“‘GUILTY. <i>He then PLEADED GUILTY to a conviction of -obtaining goods by false pretenses at this Court on February 26, 1896. -Judgment respited.</i>’</p> - -<p>“Pleaded guilty to a former conviction! Adolf Beck pleaded -guilty to nothing. How could he plead guilty, being an innocent man! He -cried aloud when the charge of the first conviction was read aloud to -him, ‘As God is my witness, I was innocent then as I am innocent -now.’</p> - -<p>“The epilogue to the tragedy of our English Dreyfus is written -in those damning words in the Sessions Paper, the official minutes of -evidence in Central Criminal Court trials.</p> - -<p>“Beck’s last hope had perished. Once more a merciless -fate had blinded the eyes and closed the ears of Justice to his -innocence. He was to be immured in a convict cell for ten, perhaps -for fourteen, years; he was to pass the closing years of his life a -branded felon amid all the horrors of a convict prison. In all human -probability he would die without ever seeing the light of freedom -again, for he could not have borne this second torture.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" -id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> - -<p>“His voice, crying aloud for freedom, would be heard no more. -Petitions for a reinvestigation of his case would be hopeless. He had -been robbed of his last earthly chance of proving his innocence.</p> - -<p>“Those words, ‘The prisoner pleaded guilty to a former -conviction,’ would have damned him to the last day of his -life.</p> - -<p>“My painful task is ended.</p> - -<p>“A foreigner, a stranger within our gates, a man of kindly -heart and gentle ways, has been foully wronged. There is but one -reparation we can make him. The people of this country owe him a -testimonial of sympathy that shall endure and remain. On the site of -his martyrdom there should rise a national monument. Let that monument -take the form of a Court of Criminal Appeal. That is the one reparation -that the English people can make to Adolf Beck for the foul wrong he -has suffered in their midst.”</p></div> - -<p>In a sense the innocent man who is hanged may be regarded as better -off than he who is called upon to endure lifelong imprisonment. There -are plenty of examples<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" -id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> of these judicial murders. Over a -score of undoubted cases occurred in the first two decades of the -last century, and since then there have been twice as many more. A -notorious and awful case was that of Eliza Fenning, who, at eighteen -years of age, was sent to the gallows upon the perjured evidence of an -accomplice of the real murderer. The latter afterward confessed.</p> - -<p>Another similar case occurred in 1850, when a man named Ross was -executed for poisoning his young wife by mixing arsenic with her food. -A few years later certain facts came to light, proving conclusively -that the real criminal was a female acquaintance and confidante of the -dead woman.</p> - -<p>Thomas Perryman, again, was found guilty in 1879 of the murder -of his aged mother on the very flimsiest of evidence. His sentence -was commuted to penal servitude for life, and in the ordinary -course of events he should now be free. More than 100,000 people -have, at different times,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" -id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> petitioned for the release of this -convict, and the highest judicial authorities have expressed their -belief in his entire innocence of the crime imputed to him. Yet he has -been compelled to drink his terrible cup to the bitter dregs.</p> - -<p>In 1844 a gentleman named Barker was sentenced to penal servitude -for life for a forgery of which he was afterward proved to have been -wholly innocent. He served four years, and was then released and -readmitted to practise as an attorney. In 1859, eleven years after -having been “pardoned,” he was, upon the recommendation -of a Select Committee of the House of Commons, voted a sum of -£5,000, “as a national acknowledgment of the wrong he had -suffered from an erroneous prosecution.”</p> - -<p>The famous Edlingham case will doubtless be fresh in the minds -of most people. In February, 1879, the village vicarage was -entered by burglars, and a determined attempt was made to murder -the aged incumbent.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" -id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> For this outrage two men, Brannagham -and Murphy, were sentenced to lifelong imprisonment. After a lapse of -nine years the crime was confessed to by two well-known criminals named -Richardson and Edgell, the result being that the innocent convicts were -released, with an honorarium of £800 apiece.</p> - -<p>The eminent King’s Counsel, Sir George Lewis, has openly -said that he will not allow himself to speak of the way in which -the “Edalji” trial was conducted, and he further adds: -“I have it on undoubted authority that every ‘M.P.’ -connected with the legal profession believes as I do that that man -is innocent. And yet a declaration from such a source is allowed by -the public to pass unnoticed. As I have before stated, ‘it is -not the business of the public, nor of individual citizens, to prove -the innocence of any unhappy person whom the process of law selects -for punishment; but it is the business of every citizen to see that -the courts incontestably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" -id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> prove the guilt of any person accused -of a crime before sentence is passed.’ Neither condition was -fulfilled in the case of the prisoner. I have studied the evidence, and -say, from knowledge gained by fifteen years’ association with -criminals, that this unfortunate young man is <em>innocent</em>.” Surely -after the disclosures of the Adolf Beck case this one, on the word of -Sir George Lewis, ought to receive unbiased consideration from the Home -Office.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER EIGHT<br /> - -Religion in Prison Life</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Dedication of New Chapel</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">On</span> our arrival at -Aylesbury Prison there was no chapel. Divine service was held in -one of the halls, in which the prisoners assembled each morning for -twenty minutes of service. This arrangement had many disadvantages, -and one of the ladies on the Board of Visitors came nobly to our -relief with an offer to provide the prison with a chapel. The Home -Office “graciously” accepted this generous proposition, -and twelve months later it was completed and dedicated by the Lord -Bishop of Reading. (It was burned to the ground since my departure from -Aylesbury.)</p> - -<p>On the day preceding the ceremony I<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> was asked to assist in -decorating the chapel with flowers kindly sent by Lady Rothschild. It -was a delicate expression of sympathy for the prisoners, which she -repeated on all high festival days. She was deeply affected when I told -her how profoundly the women appreciated her recognition of a common -humanity.</p> - -<p>On the appointed day all work was suspended to enable the prisoners -to be present. In the galleries were seated the families of the -governor, chaplain, and doctor; at the right of the altar the generous -donor of the chapel, Adeline, Duchess of Bedford, was seated with -her friends. The organist played a prelude, and then the bishop, -accompanied by the chaplain and the clergymen of the diocese, entered -the chapel. After a hymn had been sung, a short service followed, -and then the bishop stepped forward and, facing the altar, read the -“dedication service.” It was most impressive. Then followed -a prayer and a hymn, and the service was over. The prisoners<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> filed -back to their respective cells and the visitors made the tour of the -prison.</p> - -<p>I was a patient in the infirmary at the time, but had received -permission to attend the chapel. Before the Bishop of Reading left the -prison he visited the sick, and as he passed my cell he stopped and -spoke to me words of hope and encouragement, adding his blessing.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Influence of Religion upon Prisoners</span></h3> - -<p>Another occasion on which the Bishop of Reading visited the prison -was the holding of a confirmation service. Many women of earnest -minds in prison sought in this manner to prove the sincerity of their -repentance and their resolution to live godly lives; and, with one -exception, all those confirmed that day have remained true to their -profession.</p> - -<p>Penal servitude is a fiery test of one’s religious -convictions. One’s faith is either strengthened and -deepened or else it goes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" -id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> under altogether. I have witnessed many -a sad spiritual shipwreck within those walls.</p> - -<p>On a dark, gloomy day in October the rain pattered against the -window of my cell and the wind howled dismally around that huge -“house of sorrow.” Now and then the sound of weeping broke -upon the stillness, and I prayed in my heart for the poor souls in -travail whose pains had broken through the enforced rule of silence. -There is no sound in all the world so utterly unnerving as the hopeless -sob of the woman in physical isolation who may not be spiritually -comforted. Separated from loved ones, beyond the reach of tender hands -and voices, she has no one, as in former years, to share her sufferings -or minister to her pain. Alone, one of a mass, with no one to care but -the good God above; for “to suffer” thus is the punishment -that man has decreed.</p> - -<p>The humanizing influences, in my opinion, can be brought to bear -upon prisoners with beneficial results only when supported<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -by the advantages of religious teachings. During the early part of -my sentence there were Scripture readers, laymen and laywomen, in -all convict prisons, to assist the chaplain in his arduous duties; -but, on the ground of expense, these have been dispensed with, thus -practically removing the only means of administering the moral medicine -which is essential to the cure of the habitual prisoner’s mental -disease.</p> - -<p>A large amount of crime is due to physical and mental degeneration. -Nevertheless, crime is also the result of lovelessness, when it is not -a disease, and the true curative system should give birth to love in -human souls. There is not a man or woman living so low but we can do -something to better him or her, if we give love and sympathy in the -service and have an all-embracing affection for both God and man.</p> - -<p>If the future system is to treat the criminal in a curative -or reformative way,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" -id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> rather than by punitive methods, the -means to this end must certainly be increased. Even the worst woman -can be approached through the emotional side of her nature. A kind -word, a sympathetic look, a smile, a little commendation now and then, -given by the officers in charge, would soon gain the respect and -confidence of the prisoner, and thereby render her the more amenable -to rules and regulations. A prisoner with whom I worked, and whose -inner life by near association was revealed to me, had got into a very -morbid, depressed state of mind. She was under close observation by -the doctor’s orders. Her penal record was not a good one; her -hasty temper was continually getting her into trouble, and when she was -punished she would brood over it.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Suicide of a Prisoner</span></h3> - -<p>One day she asked for permission to see me; the permission -was refused. She made the request a second time, and, the<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> fact -coming to the knowledge of the chaplain, he advised that it be granted, -believing, from his personal knowledge of my influence in the prison, -that it would have a beneficial effect. I was allowed to see her, and -after a few minutes’ conversation she appeared brighter. I told -her that the people of God have a promise of a Comforter from heaven to -come to them and abide with them, even in tribulation and in prison. -She promised me she would try to be more submissive and accept her -punishment in a better spirit. For several days after she seemed to -improve. But one afternoon she once more made the request to be allowed -to see me. As none of the authorities were in the building at the time, -and the chief matron could not take upon herself the responsibility -of granting the request, it was refused. I felt rather anxious about -it, but was helpless. At five o’clock that evening, just before -supper was served, the woman was found dead in her cell; she had -hanged herself to the window.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" -id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> She was only twenty-four years of age, -and was serving a five years’ sentence for shooting her betrayer -under great provocation. The tragedy was naturally kept quiet; none of -the prisoners knew of it until the following morning. How the truth -got abroad I do not know, but when the doors were unlocked after -breakfast, instead of the women passing out of their cells in the usual -orderly way, they rushed out, shouting excitedly at the top of their -voices: “M—— has hanged herself; ... she was driven -to it!” In vain the officers tried to pacify them or to explain -the true state of things; they would not listen, and continued to -scream: “Don’t talk to us—you are paid to say that! -If you did not say that it was all right you would be turned out of the -gates!” And the uproar increased. As I have already stated, the -“Star Class” was sandwiched between two wards of habitual -criminals, and we had the benefit of every disturbance. During the -excitement one of the ringleaders caught<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> sight of me and shouted: -“Mrs. Maybrick, is it true that M—— was driven to -it?” The tumult was increasing and was growing beyond the control -of the warder, when the chief matron, becoming alarmed, sent up word -that I might explain to the women. Accompanied by an officer, I did -so, and in a few minutes the uproar calmed down and the women returned -quietly to their cells. I have reason to believe that I always had -the full confidence of my fellow prisoners; they were quick to know -and appreciate that I had their welfare at heart, and that I never -countenanced any disobedience or breach of the rules. A first offender, -under sentence for many years, will suffer from the punishment -according as she maintains or damages her self-respect.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Tragedies in Prison</span></h3> - -<p>Above others there are four tragic prison episodes which, once -witnessed, can never be forgotten:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" -id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> - -<p>1. Breaking bad news to a prisoner—telling her that a dear one -in the outside world is dying, and that she may not go to him; that -she must wait in terrible suspense until the last message is sent, no -communication in the mean time being permitted.</p> - -<p>2. Receiving an intimation of the death of a beloved father, mother, -brother or sister, husband or child, whose visits and letters have been -the sole comfort and support of that prisoner’s hard lot.</p> - -<p>3. The loss of reason by a prisoner who was not strong enough to -endure the punishment decreed by Act of Parliament.</p> - -<p>4. The suicide, who prefers to trust to the mercy of God rather than -suffer at the hands of man.</p> - -<p>Why should a woman be considered less loving, less capable -of suffering, because she is branded with the name of -“convict?” She may be informed that her nearest and -dearest are dying, but the rules will permit no departure to relieve -the heart-breaking suspense. In the world at large telegrams<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> may -be sent and daily bulletins received, but not in the convict’s -world.</p> - -<p>Death is a solemn event under any circumstances, and reverence for -the dead is inculcated by our religion, but to die in prison is a thing -that every inmate dreads with inexpressible horror. When a prisoner is -at the point of death, she is put into a cell alone, or into a ward, -if there is one vacant. There she lies alone. The nurse and infirmary -officers come and go; her fellow prisoners gladly minister to her; -the doctor and chaplain are assiduous in their attentions; but she is -nevertheless alone, cut off from her kin, tended by the servants of the -law instead of the servants of love, and it is only at the very last -that her loved ones may come and say their farewell. Oh! the pathos, -the anguish of such partings—who shall describe them? And when -all is over, and the law has no longer any power over the body it has -tortured, it may be claimed and taken away.</p> - -<p>The case of the prisoner who becomes<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> insane is no less -harrowing. She is kept in the infirmary with the other patients for -three months. If she does not recover her reason within that period, -she is certified by three doctors as insane and then removed to the -criminal lunatic asylum. In the mean time the peace and rest of the -other sick persons in the infirmary are disturbed by her ravings, and -their feelings wrought upon by the daily sight of a demented fellow -creature.</p> - -<p>And the suicide! To see the ghastly and distorted features of a -fellow prisoner, with whom one has worked and suffered, killed by -her own hands—such scenes as these haunted me for weeks; and -it needed all my reliance on God to throw off the depression that -inevitably followed.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Moral Effect of Harsh Prison Regime</span></h3> - -<p>Have you ever tried to realize what kind of life that must -be in which the sight of a child’s face and the sound of -a child’s voice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" -id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> are ever absent; in which there are -none of the sweet influences of the home; the daily intercourse with -those we love; the many trifling little happenings, so unimportant in -themselves, but which go so far to make up the sum of human happiness? -It commences with the clangor of bells and the jingling of keys, and -closes with the banging of hundreds of doors, while the after silence -is broken only by shrieks and blasphemies, the trampling of many feet, -and the orders of warders.</p> - -<p>In the winter the prisoners get up in the dark, and breakfast in -the dark, to save the expense of gas. The sense of touch becomes -very acute, as so much has to be done without light. Until I had -served three years of my sentence I had not been allowed to see my -own face. Then a looking-glass, three inches long, was placed in my -cell. I have often wondered how this deprivation could be harmonized -with a purpose to enforce tidiness or cleanliness in a prisoner. The -obvious object in depriving<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" -id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> prisoners of the only means through -which they can reasonably be expected to conform to the official -standard of facial cleanliness is to eradicate woman’s assumed -innate sense of vanity; but whether or no it succeeds in this, certain -it is that cleanliness becomes a result of compulsion rather than of -a natural womanly impulse. Also she must maintain the cleanliness of -her prison cell on an ounce of soap per week. After I left Aylesbury -I heard that the steward had received orders from the Home Office to -reduce this enormous quantity. If true it will leave the unfortunate -prisoners with three-quarters of an ounce of soap weekly wherewith -to maintain that cleanliness which is said to be next to godliness. -The prisoners are allowed a hot bath once a week, but in the interval -they may not have a drop of hot water, except by the doctor’s -orders.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" -id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Attacks of Levity</span></h3> - -<p>All human instincts can not be crushed, even by an act of -Parliament, and sometimes the prisoners indulge in a flight of levity, -which is, however, promptly stopped by the officer in charge. But -even wilfulness and levity are to some a relief from the perpetual -silence. A young girl, fifteen years of age, came in on a conviction -of penal servitude for life. In a fit of passion she had strangled -a child of which she had charge. In consideration of her youth and -the medical evidence adduced at her trial, sentence of death was -commuted. She was in the “Star Class,” and it aroused my -indignation to witness her sufferings. A mature woman may submit to -the inevitable patiently, as an act of faith or as a proof of her -philosophy; but a child of that age has neither faith nor philosophy -sufficient to support her against this repressive system of torture. -At times, however, the girl had attacks of levity which manifested -themselves in most amusing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" -id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> ways. One day she was put out to work -in the officers’ quarters and told to black-lead a grate. With a -serious face she set to work. Presently the officer asked whether she -had finished her task, to which she meekly replied “Yes,” -at the same time lifting her face, which, to the utter amazement of the -female warder, had been transformed from a white to a brightly polished -black one.</p> - -<p>On another occasion she was told that she would be wanted in the -infirmary. She was suffering great pain at the time, and had begged the -doctor to extract a tooth. When the infirmary nurse unlocked her door -she was found in bed. This is strictly against the rules, unless the -prisoner has special permission from the doctor to lie down during the -day. Of course, the officer ordered her to get up at once, to which -she replied, “I can’t.” “Why not?” asked -the officer. “Because I can’t,” the girl repeated. -Whereupon the officer lifted off the bed covering to see<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> what -was amiss. To her astonishment she saw that the child had got inside -the mattress (which I described in the beginning as a long sack stuffed -with the fiber of the coconut), and had drawn the end of it on a string -around her neck, so that nothing but her head was visible.</p> - -<p>It has been said that no apples are so sweet as those that are -stolen, and the great pleasure the women in prison derive from their -surreptitious levity is because it can so rarely be indulged in, and -the opportunities for its expression must always be stolen.</p> - -<p>There is an axiom in prison, “The worse the woman, the better -the prisoner.” As one goes about the prison, and observes those -women who are permitted little privileged tasks, such as tidying the -garden, cleaning the chapel, or any of the light and semi-responsible -tasks which convicts like, one will notice the privileged are -not, as a rule, the young or respectably brought up, but old, -professional criminals. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" -id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> know the rules of the prison, they spend -the greater part of their lives there, and they know exactly how to -behave so as to earn the maximum of marks; their object is to get out -in the shortest possible time, and to have as light work as possible -while they are in. The officers like them because they know their work -without having to be taught. “There is no servant like an old -thief,” I have heard it said. “They do good work.” -This is quite typical of a certain kind of prisoner who is the mainstay -of the prisons.</p> - -<p>The conviction of young girls to penal servitude is shocking, for -it destroys the chief power of prevention that prisons are supposed to -possess, and accustoms the young criminal to a reality which has far -less terror for her than the idea of it had. Prison life is entirely -demoralizing to any girl under twenty years of age, and it is to -prevent such demoralizing influence upon young girls that some more -humane system of punishment should be enacted.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" -id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Self-Discipline</span></h3> - -<p>In saying a word on what is, perhaps, best described as -“prison self-discipline,” I trust the reader will acquit -me of any motive other than a desire that it may result in some -sister in misfortune deriving benefit from a similar course. That the -state of mind in which one enters upon the life of a convict has some -influence on conduct—whether she does so with a consciousness -of innocence or otherwise—should, perhaps, go without saying. -Nevertheless, innocent or guilty, a proper self-respect can not fail -to be helpful, be the circumstances what they may; and from the moment -I crossed Woking’s grim threshold until the last day when I -passed from the shadow and the gloom of Aylesbury into God’s -free sunlight, I adhered strictly to a determination that I would -come out of the ordeal—if ever—precisely as I had entered -upon it; that no loving eyes of mother or friends should detect in -my habits, manners, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" -id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> modes of thought or expression the -slightest deterioration.</p> - -<p>Accordingly I set about from the very start to busy myself—and -this was no small helpfulness in filling the dreary hours of the -seemingly endless days of solitary confinement—keeping my cell -in order and ever making the most of such scant material for adornment -as the rules permitted. Little enough in this way, it may be imagined, -falls to a convict’s lot. Indeed, the sad admission is forced -that nearly every semblance of refinement is maintained at one’s -peril, for “motives” receive small consideration in the -interpretation of prison rules, however portentously they may have -loomed in the process that placed an innocent woman under the shadow -of the scaffold, and only by grace of a commutation turned her into a -“life” convict.</p> - -<p>Come what would, I was determined not to lose my hold on the -amenities of my former social position, and, though I had only a wooden -stool and table, they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" -id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> always spotless, my floor was ever -brightly polished, while my tin pannikins went far to foster the -delusion that I was in possession of a service of silver.</p> - -<p>Confinement in a cell is naturally productive of slothful habits -and indifference to personal appearance. I felt it would be a -humiliation to have it assumed that I could or would deteriorate -because of my environment. I therefore made it a point never to -yield to that feeling of indifference which is the almost universal -outcome of prison life. I soon found that this self-imposed regimen -acted as a wholesome moral tonic, and so, instead of falling under -the naturally baneful influences of my surroundings, I strove, with -ever-renewed spiritual strength, to rise above them. At first the -difference that marked me from so many of my fellow prisoners aroused -in them something like a feeling of resentment; but when they came -to know me this soon wore off, and I have reason to believe that my -example of unvarying neatness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" -id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> and civility did not fail in influencing -others to look a bit more after their personal appearance and to -modify their speech. At any rate, it had this effect: Aylesbury Prison -is the training-school for female warders for all county prisons. -Having served a month’s probation here, they are recommended, -if efficient in enforcing the prison “discipline,” for -transference to analogous establishments in the counties. It happened -not infrequently, therefore, that new-comers were taken to my cell as -the model on which all others should be patterned.</p> - -<p>I partook of my meals, coarse and unappetizing as the food might be, -after the manner I had been wont in the dining-room of my own home; -and, though unseen, I never permitted myself to use my fingers (as -most prisoners invariably did) where a knife, fork, or spoon would be -demanded by good manners. Neither did I permit myself, either at table -(though alone) or elsewhere, to fall into slouchy attitudes,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> even -when, because of sickness, it was nearly impossible for me to hold up -my head.</p> - -<p>I speak of this because of the almost universal tendency among -prisoners to mere animality. “What matters it?” is the -general retort. Accordingly, the average convict keeps herself no -cleaner than the discipline strenuously exacts, while all their -attitudes express hopeless indifference, callous carelessness, to a -degree that often lowers them to the behavior of the brutes of the -field. The repressive system can neither reform nor raise the nature or -habits of prisoners.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Need of Women Doctors and Inspectors</span></h3> - -<p>Women doctors and inspectors should be appointed in all female -prisons. Otherwise what can be expected of a woman of small mental -resources, shut in on herself, often unable to read or write with any -readiness; of bad habits; with a craving for<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> low excitement; whose -chief pleasure has been in the grosser kind of animal delight? The mind -turns morbidly inward; the nerves are shattered. Although the dark -cell is no longer used, mental light is still excluded. Recidivation -is more frequent with women than with men. The jail taint seems to -sink deeper into woman’s nature, and at Aylesbury numbers of the -more abandoned ones are seldom for long out of the male warders’ -hands.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Chastening Effect of Imprisonment on the -Spirit</span></h3> - -<p>For a considerable period I was given work in the officers’ -mess. Their quarters are in a detached building within the prison -precincts, and are reached by crossing a small grass-plot which -separates it from the prison. Each officer has a small bedroom, -in which she sleeps and passes her time when off duty. All meals -are served in the mess-room, and consist of breakfast at<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -seven o’clock, lunch on turn between nine and eleven, dinner at -twelve-thirty, tea at five, and supper whenever they are off duty. -The cooking is excellent and varied. A matron is in charge of the -commissariat department, and has four prisoners of the “Star -Class” working under her. I did scullery work, which consisted -of washing up all the crockery, glass, knives, forks, and spoons used -at these five meals, besides all the pots and pans required in their -preparation. As a staff of twenty-five sat down to these frequent -meals daily, the work was very hard and quite beyond my strength. The -“Star Class” of workers should not be kept at it more than -six months at a time. Some of the life women have been in the kitchen -and mess-room as long as three and four years, and, as neither the -culinary arrangements nor the ventilation are modern, the consequent -physical and mental depression arising from these defects, and the -monotony of the work, is only too apparent.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" -id="Page_192">[192]</a></span></p> - -<p>I was not feeling well at the time, and soon after I had a long -illness—a nervous breakdown, due partly to insomnia and partly to -the unrelieved strain and stress of years of hard labor. My recovery -was very slow. I was in the infirmary about eighteen months, and was -glad when finally discharged, as the intervals between my letters -and visits were shorter when I was in discipline quarters and could -earn more marks. During the long years of my imprisonment I learned -many lessons I needed, perhaps, to have learned during my earlier -life; but, thank God, I was no criminal! I was being punished for -that of which I was innocent. I believe it is God’s task to -judge and ours to endure, but I could not understand what his plans -and his purposes were. I believed they were good, although I could -not see how eternity itself could make up for my sufferings. Perhaps -they were intended to work out some good to others, by ways I should -never know, until I saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" -id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> with the clear eyes of another world. -Still, the external conditions of life acted on my body and mind, and -I scarcely knew at times how to bear them. I could not have endured -them without God’s sustaining grace. I used often to repeat these -lines:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> -<p>“With patience, then, the course of duty run;</p> -<p class="i1">God never does nor suffers to be done</p> -<p class="i1">But that which you would do if you could see</p> -<p class="i1">The end of all events as well as he.”</p> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">A Death-bed Incident</span></h3> - -<p>A woman lay dying in a near-by cell. Of the sixty years of her -life she had spent forty within prison walls. What that life had been -I will not say, but when she was in the agony of death she called to -me: “I don’t know anything about your God, but if he has -made you tender and loving to a bad lot like me, I know he will not be -hard on a poor soul who never had a chance. Give me a kiss, dear lass, -before I go. No one has kissed me since my mother died.”</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER NINE<br /> - -My Last Years in Prison</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">I am Set to Work in the Library</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">When</span> I recovered from my -nervous breakdown, by medical order I was given lighter employment, and -went into the library. I was now the only prisoner in the building who -had suffered under the hardships of the old system at Woking Prison, -all the rest of those who came with me having in the interim returned -to the world. In fact, I was the only one who had served over ten -years.</p> - -<p>My task in the library was to assist the schoolmistress and to -change the library books twice a week. They were carried from cell -to cell, and this represented the handling of over two hundred and -fifty books. In addition to this, I had to be<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> “literary -nurse,” whose duties were to attend to worn-out books, binding up -their wounds and prolonging their days of usefulness; doing cataloguing -and entry work; to print the name of each prisoner on a card placed -over her cell door; to copy hymns, and to make scrap-books for the -illiterate prisoners, besides other miscellaneous duties.</p> - -<p>The library was a very good one and contained not only the latest -novels, but philosophical works and books for study; also a limited -number in French and German. To these were added religious works, -especially poetry, and sermons for Sunday reading. I found a choice -collection to help me support the Sabbath day, for the suspended -animation makes a day of misery of the “day of rest.” One -could not read all day without tiring, and the absence of week-day -work usually made it a day of heavy, creeping depression. There -are two periods of exercise, and chapel morning and afternoon. The -remainder of the time the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" -id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> prisoners are locked in their cells. -Reading was my only solace; from first to last I read every moment that -I could call my own. The best index of the quality of the books was -that every volume was read or examined by the chaplain and his staff -before it was admitted to the library. If it contained any articles -on prison life or matters relating to prisoners, these were always -carefully cut out.</p> - -<p>From my observations I consider that prison schoolmasters and -schoolmistresses are overburdened with miscellaneous and incompatible -duties. No one needs to be told that the average prisoner is a slow -learner, and that even a dull boy or girl is a better pupil than a -grown man or woman plodding along in the first steps of knowledge, and -who is taught, not in a class, but in a cell. Yet the schoolmaster -or schoolmistress has to devote hours daily to teaching, to help in -letter-writing, in the office work, in the distribution of library -books, in the library work; and now that their<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> number is likewise -reduced on the ground of expense, the pressure of their work is out -of all proportion to the hours within which it can be reasonably -performed.</p> - -<p>I have always been fond of reading, and during my leisure hours -I got through a large number of books. This was between noon and -half-past one, and seven and eight in the evening, when my light had to -be put out.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Newspapers Forbidden</span></h3> - -<p>The rules forbid that any public news be conveyed to the prisoners, -either at visits or by letters. This seems to be a very short-sighted -view to take of the matter. To allow newspapers in the prison might, -of course, lead to cipher communications to prisoners from their -friends; but no harm can possibly come of allowing information -regarding public affairs of national interest to be conveyed through -the legitimate channels of letters and visits. It would give the -prisoners fresh food for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" -id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> thought, and tend greatly to relieve -that vacuity of mind which is the outcome of lack of knowledge of -external things, and of the monotony of their lives; it would also make -a pause in their broodings over their cases, which is the sole subject -of their thoughts and conversations when permitted to converse at -all.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">How Prisoners Learn of Great Events</span></h3> - -<p>The lowering of the prison flag told us of the death of Queen -Victoria, although we had heard several days before that she was -sinking. When King Edward was dangerously ill it was talked of among -the officers, and the prisoners, through me, asked that special prayers -might be said in the chapel.</p> - -<p>When Mafeking was relieved and when peace with the Boers was -declared, flags were hoisted. Jubilee and Coronation days were the -only occasions I remember<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" -id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> when we had any relaxation of prison -rules, and then there was much disappointment, since in lieu of a -mitigation of our sentences, as was the case in India, they gave us -extra meat and plum pudding.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Strict Discipline of Prison Officers</span></h3> - -<p>I have served under three governors, each of whom was an intelligent -and conspicuously humane man. They knew their prisoners and tried to -understand them, but there is not much a governor can do for them of -his own initiative. I consider that he who holds this responsible -position should have more of a free hand, and be allowed to use his -discretion in all ordinary matters pertaining to the prison discipline -and welfare of the prisoners.</p> - -<p>They were all advanced disciplinarians. The routine reeled -itself off with mechanical precision. The rules were enforced -and carried out to the letter. The deadly monotony never varied; -all days are alike;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" -id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> weeks, months, years slowly accumulate, -and, in the mean time, the mental rust is eating into the weary brain, -and the outspoken cry rises up daily—“How long, O Lord! how -long?”</p> - -<p>The officers are almost as keen as the governor in their efforts to -keep things up to the mark. It is seldom they allow prisoners under -their observation or supervision any slight relaxation which nature may -demand, but the rules forbid. They dislike to punish a woman, and in -their hearts make many excuses for the black sheep.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Their High Character</span></h3> - -<p>As a class, with few exceptions, the prison staff is worthy of -respect and confidence, and might be trusted with any task. The -patience, civility, and self-control which the officers exhibit under -the most trying circumstances, as a rule, mark them as men and women -possessing a high sense of duty, not only as civil servants, but as -Christians.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Nervous Strain of Their Duties</span></h3> - -<p>The hours of work are long, the nervous strain is incessant. I -could wish that those in high places showed a little more appreciation -of what these faithful servants do, and were not so sparing of their -praise and commendation. The small remuneration they receive can not -make up for the deprivation of the amenities of life which the prison -service entails. Two writers on prison life have expressed themselves -in widely different ways regarding the warders and officers. One writer -compares them to slave-and cattle-drivers; another expresses surprise -that they are as good as they are. As, I trust, an impartial observer, -I agree with the latter opinion. Experience has taught me that, in -most cases, if the prisoner is amiable and willing, the officer on -her part is ready to meet the prisoner fully half way—at all -events, as far as circumstances and duty will permit, for the continual -daily changes of duty, from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" -id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> ward to ward and hall to hall, make it -nearly impossible for any officer to acquire a true knowledge of the -character of those under her charge.</p> - -<p>It would be interesting if a trained psychologist could watch -and report upon the insidious effect of the repressive rules and -regulations of a prison on the more impressionable officers and -prisoners. When such officers first enter this service they are natural -women with a natural demeanor and expression of countenance. After a -time, however, the molding effects of “standing orders” -become apparent in the sternness of their expression, the harsh tones -of their voices, and the abruptness of their manner.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Standing Orders for Warders</span></h3> - -<p>These “standing orders” may be paraphrased as -follows:</p> - -<p>“You must not do this or say that, or look sympathetic -or friendly, or converse<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" -id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> with prisoners in any way. You must -always suspect them of wishing to do something underhand, sly, and -contrary to orders. You must never let them for a moment out of -your sight, or permit them to suppose that you have either trust or -confidence in them. It is your duty to see that the means of punishment -devised by the Penal Code are faithfully carried out. You are not to -trouble yourself about the result upon the prisoner—that is the -affair of the Government.”</p> - -<p>Any familiarity on the part of an officer with a prisoner is -strictly forbidden by the rules of prison service, and the slightest -manifestation of the sort would entail serious punishment on the -officer. Surely this is not as it should be; on the contrary, greater -discretionary power should be permitted to officers in their relations -with prisoners, for the influence for good which a kind, well-disposed -officer could exert upon a prisoner is incalculable. But all this -possible influence for good is denied<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> expression by the -spirit of mistrust and suspicion which pervades the entire prison -administration. This is one of the most regrettable features of the -system. No officer is trusted by her superior, and no prisoner, however -exemplary her conduct, may be trusted by any one officially connected -with the institution.</p> - -<p>An officer who commits a breach of any rule laid down for her may be -fined a sum varying from one to ten shillings, and if the offense is a -grave one she may be discharged.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Crime a Mental Disease</span></h3> - -<p>When will those connected with prisons awake to the fact that the -criminal is mentally diseased? Ninety-nine out of a hundred criminals, -when not such by accident, through poverty, or environment, come to -their lot through inherited, malformed brains. It ought to be the -sacred duty of earnest men to deal kindly, intelligently, <span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>and -patiently with them. The prison, which is now a dreadful place of -punishment and humiliation, ought to be made a home of regeneration and -reformation, in which intelligent effort is made to raise the prisoner -to a higher level; and this surely is not done by withdrawing all the -refining influences.</p> - -<p>I hope the time is not far off when men and women will take more -of a heart interest in prisoners, and when, no matter how low they -may have sunk, an opportunity to live honestly will be given them on -their release; when the society against which they have sinned will -treat them so kindly that for very shame they will seek to do better, -and repentance shall enter into the most darkened soul. The “eye -for an eye and tooth for a tooth” doctrine is not a part of the -Christian dispensation. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave his last supreme -lesson, as he turned toward the thief at his side on the cross, and -there put an end to that old law forever.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" -id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Something Good in the Worst Criminal</span></h3> - -<p>There is some good to be found in the worst criminal, which, if -nourished by patience and sympathy, will grow into more good. I speak -from a large, intimate personal experience, for during my imprisonment -it was my happy fortune to evoke kindly reciprocations from some of the -worst and most degraded characters. I will cite an instance.</p> - -<p>One day I was crossing the hall when a fight occurred. I can not -describe it—it was too horrible. The crowd surged toward me, and -I was being drawn in among the combatants, when one of them, catching -sight of me, stepped out with a face streaming with blood, and pushed -me into an open cell, closing the door after me. When I thanked her the -next day she replied:</p> - -<p>“Why, bless your heart, Mrs. Maybrick, did you think I would -let them hurt a hair of your head?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" -id="Page_207">[207]</a></span></p> - -<p>I believe I had the sympathy and respect of all my fellow prisoners, -and when I left Aylesbury, my feelings were those of mingled relief -and regret. I could not but feel attached to those with whom I had -lived and suffered and worked for so many weary years. I knew, perhaps, -more of the life history of these poor women, their inner thoughts and -feelings, than any one else in the prison. In suffering, in sympathy, -in pity, we were all akin. In the association hour they would bring me -their letters from home to read, and show me the photographs of their -children or other dear ones, while tears would course down their cheeks -at the memory of happier days.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Need of Further Prison Reform</span></h3> - -<p>Many opinions have been written regarding prisons, but with few -exceptions they are the observations of outsiders, which means, they -must of necessity be to a certain extent superficial.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" -id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p> - -<p>I have touched only a few spots of the great diseased system of -prison management, but what public opinion did to ameliorate past -abuses, public opinion can still do to improve the treatment of -to-day’s criminal. A little over a hundred years ago there were -thirty-four offenses in England punishable by capital punishment. -To-day there is only one. Charles Dickens did more than any agency -toward doing away with imprisonment for debt, yet last year there were -no less than eleven thousand prisoners in confinement for debt in -English prisons. How many of these have since joined the ranks of the -criminals through loss of self-respect? What has been the effect upon -their wives and families? Why is a man imprisoned for debt? Certainly -not to enable him to pay it. He can earn nothing while in prison, where -he is supported at the expense of the state; and if he has a wife or -family, they either become dependent on the rates, or incur debts -which he will have to pay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" -id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> on his release. Again, he may not -improbably lose his employment, and have to look out for another when -liberated, and his imprisonment does not make it more easy, either to -procure work or to perform it efficiently. The ground of imprisonment -is dishonesty. But is not actual dishonesty sufficiently met by the -criminal law? In what sense is the debtor dishonest? Is it meant that -he has money in his pocket and refuses to pay his debts? Is it not -rather that he ought to have had money? It is proved perhaps that -he is earning so much per week, possibly, but how long had he been -earning and how long was he out of employment before that? Has he -had sickness? There have been many instances where a man was in the -hospital when the committal order was made, and was seized and carried -off to prison immediately on discharge. If non-payment of a debt is -not a crime, why is he in prison for it? If it is a crime, why has he -not the benefit of a trial by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" -id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> jury on the ability or inability of -paying his debts? And why should not the Home Office or other appellate -tribunal have the power of revising his sentence? If the debtor has -goods that can be seized, let them be seized; if there is money coming -to him, let the creditor attach it; if it comes within the scope of -the bankruptcy law, let him be adjudicated and examined on oath to -every shilling that he has received or spent. But why, in the name of -justice and humanity, treat him as a criminal, prevent him from earning -his bread, and make him an incumbrance on the State, exposing his -wife and daughter to ruin, degrading him, lowering his self-respect, -and subjecting him to the taint of the prison atmosphere, without -satisfactory evidence of his ability to pay at the time of committal? -Several prisoners that I came in contact with were made criminals -because their husbands had left their families destitute because -imprisoned for debt.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">CHAPTER TEN<br /> - -My Release</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">I Learn the Time When My Sentence Will -Terminate</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">After</span> I had been -incarcerated for a few years I found out that it was usual in the -case of a life convict who has earned good marks to have her sentence -brought up for consideration after she has served fifteen years. A life -sentence usually means twenty years, and three months is taken off each -year as a reward for good conduct. In February, 1903, I was definitely -informed that my case would follow the ordinary course. I have been -accused of obtaining my release by “trickery,” but these -facts speak for themselves.</p> - -<p>The impression has also been given by the press that great -leniency was shown in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" -id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> my case, and that through the -intervention of friends the Home Office released me before the -expiration of my sentence. No exceptional leniency whatever was shown -in my case. It depends upon the prisoner herself whether she is -released at an earlier period or serves the full term of her sentence. -By an unbroken record of good conduct I reduced my life sentence, which -is twenty years, to fifteen years; this expired on the 25th of July, -1904.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Dawn of Liberty</span></h3> - -<p>As a giant refreshed by sleep, the prison awakens to life, -and the voices of officers, the clang of doors, the ringing of -bells echo throughout the halls. What does it portend? Is it the -arrival of some distinguished visitor from the Home Office? Then I -hear the sound of approaching footsteps, as they come nearer and -nearer and then stop at my cell door. The governor ushers in three -gentlemen—one tall and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" -id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> dark and handsome, but with a stern -face; another short, with a white beard and blue eyes which looked -at me somewhat coldly; of the third I have no distinct recollection. -The tall gentleman conversed pleasantly for several minutes about my -work and myself, then passed out on his tour of inspection. I did not -know at the time who these visitors were, but learned later that the -gentleman who spoke to me was the Secretary of State, Sir Matthew -White-Ridley; one of his companions was Sir Kenelm Digby, and the other -Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise, the chairman of the Prison Committee, who -takes a really humane interest in the welfare of the convicts.</p> - -<p>One morning, a week later, I was summoned to appear before the -governor. It is an ordeal to be dreaded by any one who has broken -the rules, but I knew I had not, and therefore concluded that I was -wanted in connection with my work. When I entered the office he looked -up with a kindly smile, which was also reflected in the face<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> of -the chief matron. My attention was arrested. I stood silently waiting -for him to speak. After searching among some papers on the table, he -picked up one and read something to the following effect: “The -prisoner, P 29, Florence E. Maybrick, is to be informed that the -Secretary of State has decided to grant her discharge from prison when -she has completed fifteen years of her sentence, conditional upon her -conduct.”</p> - -<p>For a moment I failed to grasp the full meaning of these words, -but when I did—how shall I describe the mingled feelings of joy -and thankfulness, of relief and hope, with which I was overwhelmed! I -returned to my cell dazed by the unexpected message for which for so -many long, weary years I had hoped and prayed.</p> - -<p>How anxiously I waited for those last few months to pass!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" -id="Page_215">[215]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Release</span></h3> - -<p>It was Christmas Eve of 1903. I had helped to decorate the chapel -with evergreens, which is the only way in which the greatest festival -of the church’s year is kept in prison. There is no rejoicing -allowed prisoners; no festival meal of roast beef and plum pudding, -only the usual prison diet; and the sad memories of happier days -are emphasized by our bare cells with their maximum of cleanliness -and minimum of comfort. But to me it was the last Christmas in that -“house of sorrow,” and my heart felt the dawning of a -brighter day. Only four weeks more and I would have passed out of its -grim gates forever! How I counted those days, and yet how I shrank from -going once more into the world that had been so cruel, so hostile, -so unmerciful, in spite of the fact that there was no proof that I -was the guilty woman they assumed me to be! But kind friends<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -and loving hearts were waiting to greet me, to give me refuge and -comfort.</p> - -<p>On Saturday, the 23d of January, my mother visited me at Aylesbury -Prison for the last time. How many weary and sad hours we had passed in -that visiting-room! Our hearts were too full for much conversation, and -it was with broken voices that we discussed the arrangements made for -my departure on the following Monday.</p> - -<p>The last Sunday I spent in prison I felt like one in a dream. I -could not realize that to-morrow, the glad to-morrow, would bring -with it freedom and life. In the evening I was sent for to say -“Good-by” to the governor. Besides the chief matron and the -one who was to be my escort to Truro, no one was aware of the day or -hour of my departure from Aylesbury. Not a word had been said to the -other prisoners. I should like to have said farewell to them, also to -the officers whom I had known for fourteen years (for several had come -with us from Woking Prison);<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" -id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> but I thought it best to pass into my -new life as quietly as possible. At my earnest request the Home Office -consented to allow my place of destination to be kept a secret. I felt -that I should derive more benefit from the change of my new environment -and association with others, if my identity and place of retreat were -not known to the public.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 537px;"> -<a id="plate8"></a> -<img src="images/i237.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="noindent f80">Copyright by the London Stereoscopic Co.</p> - -<p class="center noindent">RIGHT HON. A. AKERS DOUGLAS, M.P.,<br /> -British Home Secretary at time of Mrs. Maybrick’s release.</p> -</div> - -<p>On Monday, the 25th of January, I was awakened early, and after -laying aside, for the last time, the garments of shame and disgrace, -I was clothed once more in those that represent civilization and -respectability. I descended to the court below, and, accompanied by the -chief matron and my escort, passed silently through the great gates and -out of the prison. At half-past six a cab drove quietly up, and the -matron and I silently stepped in and were driven away to the Aylesbury -Station. On our arrival in London we proceeded at once to Paddington -Station. The noise and the crowds of people everywhere bewildered -me.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" -id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">In Retreat at Truro</span></h3> - -<p>After an uneventful journey we arrived at Truro at six <span -class="smcap">P.M.</span>, and drove at once to the Home of the -Community of the Epiphany, where I stayed during the remainder of -my term of six months. I am told that some comment has been made on -the fact that the Home was a religious retreat, and that I ought to -have been sent to a secular one instead. I went there entirely of my -own desire. On our arrival there I bade a last farewell to my kind -companion—one of the sweetest women it has been my privilege to -meet. The Mother Superior, who had visited me three months previously -at Aylesbury Prison, received me tenderly, and at once conducted me -to my room. How pure and chaste everything looked after the cold, -bare walls of my prison cell! How the restful quiet soothed my -jarred and weakened nerves, and, above all, what comforting balm -the dear Mother Superior<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" -id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> and the sweet sisters poured into the -wounds of my riven soul!</p> - -<p>I look back upon the six months spent within those sacred walls as -the most peaceful and the happiest—in the true sense—of my -life. The life there is so calm, so holy, and yet so cheerful, that -one becomes infected, so that the sad thoughts flee away, the drooping -hands are once more uplifted, and the heart strengthened to perform the -work that a loving God may have ordained.</p> - -<p>I passed several hours of each day working in the sewing-room with -the sisters. During my leisure time I read much, and when the weather -was fine delighted in taking long walks within the lovely grounds that -surround the Home. I did not go out in the country, nor attend the -services on Sunday at the Cathedral.</p> - -<p>I left Truro on the 20th of July a free woman—with -a ticket-of-leave, it is true, but as I am exempt from -police supervision<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" -id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> even in England, I have no need to -consider it in America or elsewhere.</p> - -<p>By the courtesy of the American Ambassador, the Hon. Joseph H. -Choate, I was provided with an escort to accompany me and my companion -on our journey from Truro to Rouen, France.</p> - -<p>The Hon. John Hay, Secretary of State, Washington; the Hon. Joseph -H. Choate, Mr. Henry White, Chargé d’Affaires, and -Mr. Carter, Secretary of Embassy, at London, have always been most -earnest in my cause. I deeply appreciate their untiring efforts in my -behalf.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">I Come to America</span></h3> - -<p>After staying with my mother for three weeks, on the advice of my -counselors, Messrs. Hayden & Yarrell, of Washington, District -of Columbia, I decided to return to America with Mr. Samuel V. -Hayden and his charming wife. I longed to be once more with my -own people, and it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" -id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> only physical weakness and nervous -prostration that prevented me from doing so immediately upon my -release. I met these good friends at Antwerp, Belgium, and sailed from -there on the Red Star Line steamship <cite>Vaderland</cite> for New York. My -name was entered on the passenger list as Rose Ingraham, that I might -secure more quiet and privacy; but when we were a few days out the -fact of my identity became known, and with few exceptions the greatest -courtesy, consideration, and delicacy were shown in the demeanor of the -passengers toward me. If any of these should read these lines I would -herewith express to them my grateful thanks and appreciation; while -toward the captain and officers of the <cite>Vaderland</cite> I feel especially -indebted for their unwearied courtesy and consideration.</p> - -<p>When I first caught sight of the Statue of Liberty, I, perhaps more -than any one on board, realized the full meaning of what it typifies, -and I felt my heart stirred to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" -id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> its depths at the memory of what all my -countrymen and countrywomen had done for me during the dark days of my -past, to prove that they still carried me in their hearts, though the -great ocean rolled between, and that I had not been robbed of the high -privilege of being an American citizen.</p> - -<p>We arrived at New York on the 23d of August. It was a -“red-letter” day. Once more, after many years of suffering -and when I had long despaired of ever seeing the beloved faces of my -friends again, my feet once again pressed the sacred soil of my native -land.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">My Lost Years</span></h3> - -<p>A time will come when the world will acknowledge that the verdict -which was passed upon me is absolutely untenable. But what then? Who -shall give back the years I have spent within prison walls; the<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -friends by whom I am forgotten; the children to whom I -am dead;<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a -href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> the sunshine; the -winds of heaven; my woman’s life, and all I have lost by -this terrible injustice?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" -id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> Time may heal the deepest wounds when -the balm of love and sympathy is poured into them. It is well; for -if mental wounds proved as fatal as those of the body, the prison -death-roll would indeed be a long one.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">PART TWO<br /> - -<span class="ph3">ANALYSIS OF THE MAYBRICK CASE</span></h2> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<h2>Introduction</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Petitions for a Reprieve</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">The</span> jury’s verdict -of guilty was rendered on August 7, 1889. The evidence at the trial, -as well as the learned judge’s “summing up,” was -reported almost verbatim in the English press. The result was that, -not only in Liverpool, but in almost every city, town, and village of -the United Kingdom, men and women of every class and grade of society -arrived at the conclusion that the verdict was erroneous—as not -founded upon evidence, but upon the biased and misleading summing -up of the case by the mentally incompetent<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> judge. Within a few days -my lawyers, the Messrs. Cleaver, of Liverpool, who had notified the -press that they would supply forms of petition, were inundated with -applications. For the first two days they issued one thousand a day, -and I have been informed that no less than five thousand petitions for -a reprieve, representing nearly half a million signatures, were sent to -the Home Secretary within the following ten days. In response to these, -the Home Office issued to the press the following decision:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“After the fullest consideration, and after taking the best -medical and legal advice that could be obtained, the Home Secretary -advised Her Majesty to respite the capital punishment of Florence -Elizabeth Maybrick and to commute the punishment to penal servitude for -life; inasmuch as, although the evidence leads to the conclusion that -the prisoner administered and attempted to administer arsenic to her -husband with intent to murder him, yet it does<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> not wholly exclude -a reasonable doubt <em>whether his death was in fact caused by the -administration of arsenic</em>.”</p></div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Illogical Position of Home Secretary</span></h3> - -<p>Thus it will be seen that the Home Secretary, Mr. Matthews, -ignored the important statement of the judge at the trial, when, in -giving emphasis to his remarks, he told the jury that: “It -is <em>essential</em> to this charge <em>that the man died of arsenic</em>. This -question must be the foundation of a judgment unfavorable to the -prisoner, that he died of arsenic.” Then Mr. Matthews, on -reviewing the evidence given at the trial, finding it impossible to -justify the verdict, because the evidence “does not wholly -exclude a reasonable doubt whether his [James Maybrick’s] death -was in fact caused by the administration of arsenic,” which -question was to be the foundation of a judgment unfavorable to me, -instead of giving his prisoner the benefit of the reasonable<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -doubt, took it upon himself to apply the spirit of the law and of the -constitution, by making use of a wrongful conviction for one offense -charged in order to punish me for a different offense for which I -had never been tried, but with which he, without any public trial, -charged me, viz., “administering and attempting to administer -arsenic” to my husband.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">New Evidence of Innocence Ignored</span></h3> - -<p>These charges, made by Mr. Matthews in 1889, have never been -defined; nor has any statement been submitted to me or my legal -advisers of the evidence relied on to prove them; nor have I been -afforded an opportunity of being heard by counsel in answer to -them, nor of pleading anything in reply to them. Had a second trial -been granted me, I should have seen the evidence upon which the -new charges were made against me, and in open court I could <span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>have -confronted the witnesses. But Mr. Matthews sentenced me to penal -servitude for life (without giving me a chance to defend myself against -the charges) which involved nine months’ solitary confinement in -my case—in itself a most excessive punishment for the untried -and, consequently, unproven charges. He sent me to suffer fourteen and -one-half years on suspicion—a suspicion not warranted by any -evidence given at the trial. The new evidence, which has been obtained -since my conviction, is admitted by all fair-minded persons to be of -such a nature that it would satisfy any intelligent jury that I was -not only wrongfully found guilty of murder, but was most wrongfully -treated by Mr. Matthews. It completely exonerates me from the charge -of murder as well as “administering and attempting to administer -arsenic.” Since this evidence was published, no one has attempted -to justify the conviction or the sentence passed upon me.</p> - -<p>Had the jury, instead of finding a verdict of “guilty” -of murder, returned a verdict<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" -id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> in the same terms as the finding of Mr. -Matthews, the judge must have entered it as “not guilty” -and discharged me.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Lord Russell’s Letter</span></h3> - -<p>Well might the Lord Chief Justice Russell of Killowen write me, as -he did on the 27th of June, 1895, telling me that he had never relaxed -his efforts to urge my release, and saying:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Royal Court</span>, 27th June, 1895.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Maybrick</span>,</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Madam</span>: I have been absent on -circuit; hence my delay in answering your letter.</p> - -<p>I beg to assure you that I have never relaxed my efforts where -any suitable opportunity offered to urge that your release ought to -be granted. I feel as strongly as I have felt from the first that -you ought never to have been convicted, and this opinion I have very -clearly expressed to Mr. Asquith, but I am sorry to say hitherto -without effect.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" -id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></p> - -<p>Rest assured that I shall renew my representations to the incoming -Home Secretary, whoever he may be, as soon as the Government is formed -and the Home Secretary is in a position to deal with such matters.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="mr11">I am,</span><br /> -<span class="mr8">Faithfully,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap mr1">Russell of Killowen</span>.</p> - -</div> - -<p>This also seems to be the opinion of the leading counsel for the -prosecution, Mr. Addison, Q.C., M.P. (now Judge Addison, of the -Southwark County Courts), who is reported to have said, after the -summing up, that “the jury could not, especially in view of the -medical evidence, find a verdict of guilty.” This statement will -be found in Sir Charles Russell’s protest to Mr. Matthews.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Efforts for Release</span></h3> - -<p>The public are not probably fully aware how much intensity of -feeling and earnest work has been expended on my case during<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> the -fourteen and one-half years of my imprisonment. The Home Office knows. -Men in high positions in both political parties in England have often -united in demanding a new trial. The almost invariable reply has been -that the best means to effect my release was to obtain new facts or -evidence, and submit these to the Home Secretary for his consideration. -Those well-meaning advisers seemed to forget that the half million -of petitioners for my reprieve or free pardon in England—not -to count those in America—were not moved thereto by new facts -or evidence, but by the absence of facts or evidence sufficient to -prove that the alleged crime had been committed by any one, or that -either guilt or complicity in that crime, if crime it were, attached -to me. Surely it is not the business of the public nor of individual -citizens to prove the innocence of any unhappy person whom process -of law selects for punishment, while it <em>is</em> the business of every -citizen to see that the courts incontestably<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> prove the guilt of any -person accused of a crime before sentence is passed, in the following -manner:</p> - -<p>1. It must be proved that a crime has been committed.</p> - -<p>2. It must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused -person is the one who committed it.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Even New Evidence Superfluous</span></h3> - -<p>Neither condition has yet been fulfilled in my case. The evidence on -which a half million petitioners said and say I was unjustly condemned -is sufficient in itself. While it is true if a new trial had been -granted me I could have produced new evidence that overwhelmingly -demonstrated my innocence, it is also true that more facts or new -evidence were not requisite to enable justice to be done.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Doctors’ Doubt</span></h3> - -<p>The doctors who gave evidence in favor of death by arsenical -poisoning all stated that they would not have felt certain on the -subject if the one-tenth of a grain of arsenic had not been found -in the body. Therefore, since the presence of that arsenic could -be otherwise accounted for, I was entitled to an acquittal even -on the evidence of the Crown medical witnesses. Moreover, the -symptom on which two or three doctors for the prosecution laid most -stress—continuous vomiting—was referred by the third to -morphia administered by himself. All three were examined before any -evidence of Mr. Maybrick’s habit of arsenic taking was given. -Had they believed him to be an arsenic eater, they might have arrived -at a different conclusion. The doctors for the defense, who declared -that Mr. Maybrick’s symptoms were not those of arsenical -poisoning, were men of far more experience as regards poisons<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> than -the Crown medical witnesses. The quantity of arsenic found in the -body was, in their opinion, quite consistent with administration in -medicinal doses, and might have been introduced a considerable time -before.</p> - -<p>The proved administration of poison with intent to kill -is punishable by penal servitude, but not necessarily for -life—sometimes for only three years; but the charge must be -proved in open court to be a felonious attempt by some means actually -used to effectuate the intent, and it remains with the prosecution to -produce the necessary evidence that the means used were sufficient for -the accomplishment of the effect.</p> - -<p>The medical evidence proved that the quantity of -arsenic—one-tenth of a grain—found in Mr. Maybrick’s -body was not sufficient to have produced death.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" -id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Public Surprise at Verdict</span></h3> - -<p><cite>The Times</cite> of August 8, 1889, declared that, of the hundreds of -thousands of persons who followed the case with eager interest and -attention, not one in three was prepared for the verdict. The large -majority had believed that, in the presence of such contradictory -evidence, the jury would give the prisoner the benefit of the doubt and -bring in a verdict as much like the Scotch “not proven” as -is permitted by English law.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Character of Jury</span></h3> - -<p>There was strong prejudice against me, due to the numerous false and -sensational reports circulated by the press during the interval between -the arrest and the trial. The jury belonged to a class of men who -were not competent to weigh technical evidence,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" -id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> -and no doubt attached great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" -id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> weight to the opinions of the local -physicians, one of whom was somewhat of a celebrity. But the main -element in the conviction was Justice Stephen, whose mind, undoubtedly -owing to incipient insanity (he died insane a year later), was -incapable of dealing with so intricate a case.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The “Mad Judge”</span></h3> - -<p>The Liverpool <cite>Daily Post</cite>, as I am told, had been hostile rather -than favorable toward me, but, on the death of Lord Chief Justice -Russell, that journal, in articles of August 13 and 14, 1900, showed -that it fully appreciated the unfairness of my trial, for it stated -that no human being ought to be handed over to be tried by a “mad -judge.” The following is taken from <cite>The Post</cite> of August 13, -1900:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“The death of the Lord Chief Justice may have recalled to -the minds of some Liverpool folk a sad and sordid tragedy<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -enacted among them eleven years ago, in which he was a principal -performer. To those who were there, a vivid recollection still -persists of that bright July morning when a thronged court, hushed in -expectancy, awaited the beginning of the Maybrick trial. In fancy one -still hears the distant fanfare of the trumpets as the judges with -quaint pageantry passed down the hall, and still with the mind’s -eye sees the stately crimson-clad figure of the great mad judge as he -sat down to try his last case. A tragedy, indeed, was played upon the -bench no less than in the dock.</p> - -<p>“Few who looked upon the strong, square head can have -suspected that the light of reason was burning very low within; yet -as the days of the trial dragged by—days that must have been -as terrible to the judge as to the prisoner—men began to nod -at him, to wonder, and to whisper. Nothing more painful was ever -seen in court than the proud old man’s desperate struggle to -control his failing faculties. But the struggle was unavailing. -It was clear that the growing volume of facts was unassorted, -undigested in his mind; that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" -id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> his judgment swayed backward and forward -in the conflict of testimony; that his memory failed to grip the most -salient features of the case for many minutes together. It was shocking -to think that a human life depended upon the direction of this wreck of -what was once a great judge.”</p></div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Justice Stephen’s Biased Charge</span></h3> - -<p>The charge of Mr. Justice Stephen to the jury positively teemed with -misstatements as to the evidence given during the trial. I quote a -statement from the same journal in its issue of August 17, 1900:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I should be very sorry to think that the same number of -errors as to the matters of fact given in the evidence had ever -been made in any judge’s charge. It simply swarms with them, -and as the jury at the end of a long trial is likely to prefer the -judge’s résumé to their own recollection, I doubt -if the verdict in the Maybrick case was founded on the evidence at -all. And if I am right in thinking that the jurors founded their -verdict on the judge’s recapitulation<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> of the evidence rather -than on the evidence itself, I do not see how any counsel could have -saved the prisoner.”</p></div> - -<p>That the jury “did not hear the whole of the evidence very -distinctly” is admitted by one of them in the Liverpool <cite>Daily -Post</cite> of August 10, 1889. Consequently they were likely to be unduly -influenced by the judge’s charge. There is no evidence that the -jury detected the judge’s misstatements, as a more intelligent -jury certainly would have done. Their minds were “taken -captive” by the charge of Justice Stephen, and they were as -“clay in the hands of the potter.”</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Lord Russell’s Memorandum -Quashed</span></h3> - -<p>The Lord Chief Justice sent the Home Secretary a memorandum -consisting of twenty folios, in which he stated the strong opinion -that “Mrs. Maybrick ought to be released at once.” The -Lord Chief Justice also requested that the contents of his<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -memorandum be made public. Yet when asked in the House of Commons to -lay the document on the table of the House in order that it might be -accessible to the members, the Home Secretary emphatically declined. -The London <cite>Daily Mail</cite>, in a leader on this incident, said:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“The only conceivable reasons for declining to give publicity -to the letter, which was actually intended for publication, are -apparently official red tape and the fear of giving new life to the -agitation in favor of Mrs. Maybrick’s release. This result will -be almost as effectually achieved by surrounding the case with further -mystery and leaving upon the public mind the grave suspicion that -justice may not have been done.”</p></div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Repeated Protests of Lord Russell</span></h3> - -<p>The following extracts are taken from the “Life of Lord -Russell of Killowen” by R. Barry O’Brien.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“In November, 1895, he [Lord Russell] wrote to Sir Matthew -White-Ridley (page 260), conveying his strong and emphatic opinion -that Florence Maybrick ought never to have been convicted; that her -continued imprisonment is an injustice which ought promptly to be -ended, and added: ‘I have never wavered in this opinion. After -her conviction I wrote and had printed a memorandum, which I presume -is preserved at the Home Office. Lest it should not be, I herewith -transmit a copy.’</p> - -<p>“As is known, what happened was that Mr. Matthews, after -consultation with the present Lord Chancellor, Lord Salisbury, and Mr. -Justice Stephen, and after seeing Dr. Stephenson, the principal Crown -witness, and also the late Dr. Tidy, respited the capital sentence on -the expressed ground that there was sufficient doubt whether death had -been caused by arsenical poisoning to justify the respite.</p> - -<p>“It will be seen (1) that such a doubt existed as to the -commission of the offense for which Florence Maybrick was tried as -rendered it improper, in the opinion of the Home Secretary and his -advisers, that the capital sentence should be carried out; and<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> (2) -that for more than six years Florence Maybrick has been suffering -imprisonment on the assumption of Mr. Matthews that she committed an -offense for which she was never tried by the constitutional authority -and of which she has never been adjudged guilty.”</p></div> - -<p>From page 261: “This is in itself a most serious state of -things. It is manifestly unjust that Florence Maybrick should suffer -for a crime in regard to which she has never been called upon to answer -before any lawful tribunal.</p> - -<p>“Is it not obvious that if the attempt to murder had been -the offense for which she was arraigned, the course of the defense -would have been different? I speak as her counsel of what I know. Read -the report of the defense, and you will see that I devoted my whole -strength to and massed the evidence upon the point that the prosecution -had misconceived the facts, that the foundation on which the whole case -rested was rotten, for that, in fact, there was no murder; that, on the -contrary, the deceased had died from natural causes.</p> - -<p>“It is true that incidental reference was<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> made -to certain alleged acts of Florence Maybrick, but the references were -incidental only; the stress of my argument being, in fact, that <em>no -murder had been committed, because the evidence did not warrant the -conclusion that the deceased had died from arsenical poisoning</em>. On -the other hand, had the Crown counsel suggested the case of attempt to -murder by poison, it would have been the duty of counsel to address -himself directly and mainly to the alleged circumstances which, it was -argued, pointed to guilty intent. That these alleged circumstances were -capable in part of being explained, in part of being minimized, and -in part of being attacked as unreliably vouched, can not, I think, be -doubted by any one who has with a critical eye scanned the evidence. I -do not deny that my feelings are engaged in this case. It is impossible -that they should not be, but I have honestly tried to judge the case, -and I now say that <em>if I was called upon to advise in my character of -head of the Criminal Judicature of this country, I should advise you -that Florence Maybrick ought to be allowed to go free</em>.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" -id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> - -<p>From page 262: “I think it my duty to renew my protest against -the continued imprisonment of Florence Maybrick. I consider the history -of the case reflects discredit on the administration of the criminal -law. I think my protest ought to be attended to at last. The prisoner -has already undergone punishment for a period four times as long, or -more, as the minimum punishment fixed by law for the commission of -the crime, of which she has never been convicted or for which she has -never been tried, but for which she has been adjudged guilty by your -predecessor in the office of Home Secretary.”</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The American Official Petition</span></h3> - -<p>The following is quoted from the American Official Petition sent to -the Rt. Hon. Henry Matthews, Q.C., M.P., Her Majesty’s principal -secretary for the Home Department:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“As Florence Elizabeth Maybrick is an American woman, -without father, brother,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" -id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> husband, or kin in England, except two -infant children, enduring penal servitude for life in Woking Prison;</p> - -<p>“As the conduct of her trial resulted in a profound impression -of a miscarriage of justice, in an earnest protest against the verdict, -and the execution of the sentence of death, and its commutation to -penal servitude for life on the ground of reasonable doubt whether a -murder had been committed;</p> - -<p>“As a careful legal scrutiny of the evidence given at the -trial by eminent solicitors, barristers, queen’s counsel, and -members of Parliament, and the production of facts not in evidence at -the trial have resulted in a final decision of counsel that the case -is one proper for the grave consideration of a criminal appellate -tribunal—if such a tribunal existed;</p> - -<p>“Therefore, we earnestly ask that the Rt. Hon. Henry Matthews, -Q.C., M.P., Her Majesty’s principal secretary of state for the -Home Department, will advise Her Majesty to order the pardon and -release of the prisoner, who has now suffered an imprisonment of three -years.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" -id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">Levi P. Morton</span>, -Vice-President of the United States, President of the Senate.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">Charles T. Crisp</span>, -Speaker of the House of Representatives.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">Charles Foster</span>, -Secretary of the Treasury.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">James G. Blaine</span>, -Secretary of State.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">S. B. Elkins</span>, -Secretary of War.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">W. H. Miller</span>, -Attorney-General.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">John Wanamaker</span>, -Postmaster-General.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">B. T. Tracy</span>, -Secretary of the Navy.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">John B. Noble</span>, -Secretary of the Interior.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">G. M. Rusk</span>, Secretary -of Agriculture.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">J., Cardinal -Gibbons.</span></p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">J. M. Scofield</span>, -Major-General Commanding the Army.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">A. W. Truly</span>, -Brigadier-General-in-Chief, Signal Office.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">Thomas Lincoln Casey</span>, -Brigadier-General-in-Chief of Engineers.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">Joseph Cabell -Breckenridge</span>, Brigadier-General, Infantry-General.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">J. O. Kelton</span>, -Brigadier-General, Adjutant-General.</p> - -<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" -id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>“<span class="smcap">William -Smith</span>, Paymaster-General.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">H. M. Batchelder</span>, -General-Quartermaster-General.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">B. DuBarry</span>, General -and Commanding General Infantry.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">O. Sutherland</span>, -General Infantry General.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">D. W. Flagler</span>, Chief -of Ordnance.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">J. Norman Lisber</span>, -Acting Judge-Advocate-General.</p> - -<p class="hang">“<span class="smcap">Thomas Ewing</span>, -Brevet-Major-General, U. S. A., and many others.”</p> -</div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Secretary Blaine’s Letter to Minister -Lincoln</span></h3> - -<p>I will conclude by quoting the letter of Secretary Blaine to Mr. -Robert Lincoln, then Minister to the Court of St. James. It will be -seen that Mr. Blaine was of opinion that I had lost my citizenship. -Since this letter was written it has been decided by the Supreme Court -of the United States that a woman married to a foreigner, on the death -of her husband can, on application, be reinstated to citizenship.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 536px;"> -<a id="plate9"></a> -<img src="images/i271.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="center noindent">HON. JAMES G. BLAINE,<br /> -American Secretary of State, 1889-1892.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right">“<span class="smcap">Department of State, -Washington</span>,<br /> - -<span class="mr2">“March 7, 1892.</span></p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">My dear Mr. Lincoln</span>: As Mrs. -Maybrick lost her American citizenship by her English marriage, and as -I fear she does not resume it by her widowhood, I can not instruct you -officially as to the course you should pursue toward her.</p> - -<p>“But her American and Southern birth, her connection with many -families of the highest respectability and even of prominence in the -country’s service, have attracted much attention to her fate.</p> - -<p>“I have no other interest in her than an interest which you -and I share in common with all our countrymen—the desire to help -an American woman in distress. That she may have been influenced by the -foolish ambition of too many American girls for a foreign marriage, -and have descended from her own rank to that of her husband’s -family, which seems to have been somewhat vulgar, must be forgiven to -her youth, since she was only eighteen at the time of her marriage.</p> - -<p>“There is a wide and widening belief in this country that -she is legally innocent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" -id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> and illegally imprisoned. The official -charge of the judge that murder must be proved and the official -announcement of the Home Secretary that the evidence leaves a -‘reasonable doubt’ of murder are the premises of but one -conclusion—the discharge of the prisoner.</p> - -<p>“The fact that she was never indicted or tried by a jury -of her peers on a specific count of felonious attempt to administer -arsenic, yet is condemned to penal servitude for life on the Home -Secretary’s statement that she evidently made such an attempt, -can never be reconciled to the English principle that an accused person -shall be tried by a jury of his peers. Lawyers here are among the -strongest believers in the illegality of her imprisonment. Indeed, the -sense of injustice is developing and deepening into horror.</p> - -<p>“Officially I could only instruct you on behalf of a multitude -of American citizens to investigate her case. Personally I beg to -express to you my deep interest in it, and pray you, if possible, to -communicate with Messrs. Lumley and Sir Charles Russell as to any -method of American cooperation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" -id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> which may seem to them desirable.</p> - -<p>“Messrs. Lumley have made a very able brief, which I am sure -would interest you, and which seems to me unanswerable. Sir Charles -Russell, whose reputation you know, is her counsel. Consult with them -what best can be done, from an American point of view, to secure Mrs. -Maybrick’s release. And if you shall have read Lumley’s -brief, I am sure that conviction will lead you to personal activity in -her behalf.</p> - -<p>“You can communicate with me in strict confidence, as from -one American citizen to another, for the relief of an American woman -helplessly enduring a great wrong.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="mr8">“Believe me, etc.,</span><br /> - -<span class="mr1">“<span class="smcap">James G. Blaine</span>.”</span></p> - -</div> - -<p>And yet it required the time from March 7, 1892, until July 20, -1904, to attain my liberation; and then it was accomplished by time -limit and by no act of grace or concession on the part of the English -Government.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Henry W. Lucy on Lord Russell</span></h3> - -<p><cite>The Strand Magazine</cite>, London, in its November number, 1900, -published an article by Henry W. Lucy, Esq., who, speaking of the late -Lord Chief Justice Russell, says:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“The most remarkable episode in Charles Russell’s career -at the bar undoubtedly was his defense of Mrs. Maybrick.</p> - -<p>“I happened to find myself in the same hotel with him at -Liverpool on the morning of the day set down for the opening of the -trial. At breakfast he spoke in confident terms of his client’s -innocence and of the surety of her acquittal. He did not take into -account the passing mood of the judge who tried the case, and so found -himself out of his reckoning; but the verdict of the jury, still less -the summing-up of Fitz-James Stephen, did not shake his conviction. -Sir Charles Russell was of all men least likely to be misled by -appearances or deliberate deception; having<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> probed the case to the -bottom, having turned his piercing eyes on the woman in the dock, -having talked to her in private and studied her in public, he was -convinced of her innocence.</p> - -<p>“Lord Landoff was a lawyer of high position at the English bar -when, as Mr. Henry Matthews, he came into the Home Office.</p> - -<p>“The verdict of the jury was ‘guilty,’ and her -sentence was death, which was a real surprise, as was afterward -learned, even to the judge, Sir Fitz-James Stephen. If Mr. Matthews -believed her guilty, he should not have commuted her sentence upon the -ground that he assigned. If she was guilty she well deserved death on -the scaffold. The evidence, however, satisfied Mr. Matthews that there -was reasonable doubt that the death of Mr. Maybrick was due to arsenic. -In this view, as is well known, he was sustained by Justice Stephen. If -such a doubt really came into Mr. Matthews’s mind, as was made -the ground of the commutation of the sentence, <em>under English law that -doubt entitled the accused to acquittal</em>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" -id="Page_254">[254]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Why he lacked the courage of his convictions can only be -surmised. At all events he did not dare to take the responsibility of -allowing her to be executed.</p> - -<p>“The intercession of the American Government through Mr. -Blaine, Secretary of State, was urgent, strong, and most intense. It is -incredible that Mr. Matthews desired any loophole to release her. The -case was full of them.</p> - -<p>“Sir Matthew White-Ridley was not a lawyer, and there is no -probability that he ever read the evidence in the case, which was -voluminous. He could not have read the papers in three days if he had -attempted it. He simply followed his predecessor’s line and was -not able to take up the case on its merits.”</p></div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Lord Russell’s Conviction of Mrs. -Maybrick’s Innocence</span></h3> - -<p>This statement of Mr. Lucy is of great value as an answer to the -assault made on Lord Russell’s memory after his death, on his -firm belief in my innocence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" -id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p> - -<p>Lord Hugh Cecil wrote to a constituent:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I believe I am right in stating that he (Lord Russell) never -said that he believed Mrs. Maybrick to be innocent.”</p></div> - -<p>When this was shown Lord Russell by Mr. A. W. McDougall, Esq., the -Chief Justice exclaimed:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Does Lord Hugh Cecil suppose that I would abandon all the -traditions of the Bar and put forward publicly as an argument in such -a case my personal belief in this, that, or the other thing? Does he -suppose that I would have made all the efforts I have been making to -obtain her freedom if I believed her to be guilty?”</p></div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Explanation of Attitude of Home -Secretaries</span></h3> - -<p>“Personal Rights,” of November 15, in commenting on the -statement of Mr. Lucy in <cite>The Strand Magazine</cite>, says:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“We do not share the belief that Sir Fitz-James Stephen was -insane in any plenary sense at the time of the trial; but we are -convinced that he was not fully sane. His charge to the jury, the -report of which is reproduced in full in Mr. Levy’s book, is -grotesquely inaccurate; and if the jury took it to be a compendium -of the evidence—as they probably did—the result of their -deliberation is fully accounted for. Indeed, if the facts were such as -the judge stated, the verdict could hardly be impugned. How different -they were may be seen by any one who compares the evidence with the -judge’s charge, in the book already referred to. To take a single -instance: the judge stated that, according to the evidence of Alice -Yapp, at the commencement of Mr. Maybrick’s illness, he was very -sick and in great pain immediately after some medicine was given to -him by his wife. Alice Yapp swore nothing of the kind. She saw neither -any administration of medicine nor any sickness. We could give other -instances of gross inaccuracy, generally leading to the conclusion of -the prisoner’s guilt; but, for our<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> present purpose, the -above incident will suffice.</p> - -<p>“If this was the character of the judge’s charge to the -jury, what confidence can be placed in his notes? Still upon those -notes was probably based the conclusions of successive Home Secretaries -or of the officials employed by them. When Mr. Lucy holds up his hands -in astonishment at the marvelous consensus of opinion of various Home -Secretaries, he seems to us to manifest remarkable blindness—for -one so long behind the Speaker’s chair—as to the vicarious -nature of that opinion. It is more than possible that the conclusions -of Mr. Matthews, Mr. Asquith, and Sir Matthew White-Ridley were all -drawn for them by the same gentleman, or, at least, that the same -gentleman helped these various Home Secretaries to come to the same -conclusion.</p> - -<p>“We hope that Mr. Ritchie, the new Home Secretary, will -judge this matter for himself. Let him read the salient portions, at -least, of Mr. Levy’s book, and, per contra, the article of X. -Y. Z. in <cite>The Contemporary Review</cite> of September last. If he<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> likes -to make the inquiry, he will find that X. Y. Z. is one of his new -permanent staff, and that the doctrines put forward in the article are -the embodiment of Home Office practise. This is a matter which does -not concern the Maybrick case alone. Scarcely a month passes without -some new manifestation of injustice brought about by adherence to the -traditions of the department over which Mr. Ritchie now presides. If -he will seek out this hydra and slay it, he will leave for himself -an immortal name among Secretaries of State, and—what he will -hold of more importance—he will cut off a permanent source of -injustice, give releasement and joy to the innocent pining in prison, -and breathe a new life into a department which is sadly in need of a -renovating spirit.”</p></div> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 536px;"> -<a id="plate10"></a> -<img src="images/i281.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="center noindent f80">HON. ROBERT T. LINCOLN,<br /> -American Ambassador to Court of St. James, 1889-1893.</p> -</div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Upholding the Justiciary</span></h3> - -<p>In the same number of this journal is an article from -“Lex,” a well-known writer in English journals, which we -reproduce:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" -id="Page_259">[259]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Sir</span>: May I call attention to the -two articles in the Liverpool <cite>Post</cite> of August 13 and 14, in which -the utter incompetence of the judge at the Maybrick trial is strongly -asserted? The writer is distinctly hostile to the prisoner, and writes -without any intention of raising the question whether the trial was not -null and void; but as the English system consists of trial by judge and -jury, the total incompetence of either element should clearly vitiate -it. Moreover, Mr. Ruggles-Brise, on the occasion of a visit to America -in 1897, stated that the reason of the steadfast refusal of <em>the -Home Secretary to release the prisoner was his desire to uphold the -wholesome authority of the English justiciary</em>. That authority can not -be regarded as wholesome if the judge was insane. Lord Russell, who was -present throughout the trial, was of different opinion from that of the -judge. He was undoubtedly sane. If Sir J. F. Stephen was insane, the -public will, I think, be of opinion that the sane judge should have had -the most influence with the executive.”</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Need of Court of Criminal Appeal</span></h3> - -<p>Lord Esher, in <cite>The Times</cite> of August 17, 1889, strongly advocated -a court of criminal appeal, and <cite>The Times</cite>, in an article of the -same date, supported the views expressed by Lord Esher and by Lord -Fitzgerald, as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“A court of appeal, as Lord Esher sketches it, would not -be open to the objections which can be fairly urged against our -present informal method of procedure. The Home Secretary, as a -quasi court of appeal, is, as Lord Fitzgerald remarks, not a judge -and has not the power of a judge.... The judgment pronounced by a -strong court of criminal appeal, such as Lord Esher’s letter -suggests, would do more to satisfy the public mind than the best -efforts of the Home Secretary could possibly do. The reform which -Lord Esher advocates has been long called for, and Lord Fitzgerald -did well to press it on the Government.... What the public feel is -that they would rather have the fallibility<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> of trained judges than -the fallibility of an individual sitting without any of the apparatus -with which a court of law is enabled to detect truth from falsehood, -and perhaps unconsciously confusing the prerogative of mercy with -justice.”</p></div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span></p> - -<h2>THE BRIEF OF MESSRS. LUMLEY & LUMLEY</h2> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">This</span> brief of Messrs. -Lumley & Lumley, characterized in the preceding letter of Secretary -Blaine as “very able” and “unanswerable,” is -too long for reproduction in these pages in its entirety, and hence -only the main points are given. The document was prepared at the -instance of Lord Russell of Killowen for submission to himself and -three other Queen’s Counsel, with a view of obtaining a new -trial. It may interest the reader to know that the money required to -make this searching analysis by Messrs. Lumley & Lumley was raised -by a popular subscription in America, through the good offices of the -New York <cite>World</cite>. The eminent Queen’s counsel, after a full -consideration of the analysis of the case, submitted the following -opinion:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" -id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Opinion—Re F. E. Maybrick</span></h3> - -<p>“Having carefully considered the facts stated in the elaborate -case submitted to us by Messrs. Lumley & Lumley, and the law -applicable to the matter, we are clearly of opinion that there is -no mode by which in this case a new trial or a ‘<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">venire de -novo</i>’ can be obtained, nor can the prisoner be brought up on a -‘habeas corpus,’ with the view to retrying the issue of her -innocence or guilt.</p> - -<p>“We say this notwithstanding the case of Regina <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">vs.</i> Scarfe -(17 Q. B., 238, 5; Cox, C. C., 243; 2 Den., C. C., 281).</p> - -<p>“We are of opinion that in English criminal procedure there -is no possibility of procuring a rehearing in the case of felony -where a verdict has been found by a properly constituted jury upon an -indictment which is correct in form. This rule is, in our opinion, -absolute, unless circumstances have transpired, and have been entered -upon the record, which, when there appearing, would invalidate -the tribunal and reduce the trial to a nullity by reason<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> of -its not having been before a properly constituted tribunal. None of the -matters proposed to be proved go to this length.</p> - -<p>“We think it right to add that there are many matters stated -in the case, not merely with reference to the evidence at and the -incidents of the trial, but suggesting new facts, which would be -<em>matters proper for the grave consideration of a Court of Criminal -Appeal</em>, if such a tribunal existed in this country.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="noindent">(Signed)</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<span class="ml5">“<span class="smcap">Charles Russell</span>, Q.C.</span><br /> -<span class="ml5">“<span class="smcap">I. Fletcher Moulton</span>, Q.C.</span><br /> -<span class="ml5">“<span class="smcap">Harry Bookin Poland</span>, Q.C.</span><br /> -<span class="ml5">“<span class="smcap">Reginald Smith</span>, Q.C.</span> -</p> - -<p class="f80">“<span class="smcap">Lincoln’s Inn</span>, 12th April, 1892.”</p></div> - -<p>This opinion was based upon the following points, presented by -Messrs. Lumley & Lumley:</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Justice Stephen’s Misdirections</span></h3> - -<p>The <em>misdirections</em> which are selected for consideration may be -conveniently classed, among others, under these headings:</p> - -<p>1. As to the facts disclosed in the evidence<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> of -the procuring and possession of arsenic by Mrs. Maybrick and of her -administering it.</p> - -<p>2. As to the cause of death.</p> - -<p>A perusal of the summing-up from beginning to end impresses the mind -with the feeling that, whenever Mr. Justice Stephen approached any fact -offered by the defense which threw light upon <em>the possession</em> and <em>an -alleged</em> administration of arsenic by Mrs. Maybrick, he drew the minds -of the jury away from it; he played, in fact, the part of the peewit, -which swoops and screams in another part of the field on purpose to -hide where its nest is, and to draw the attention of the passers-by -from the right spot.</p> - -<p>Mr. Justice Stephen pointed out to the jury in his summing-up: -“You must begin the whole subject of poison with this, which -is a remarkable fact in the case and which it seems to me tells -favorably rather than otherwise for the prisoner. You must take notice -of it and consider what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" -id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> inference you draw from it. In the whole -case, from first to last, there is <em>no evidence</em> at all of her having -<em>bought</em> any poison, or definitely having had anything to do with -procuring any, with the exception of fly-papers. But there is evidence -of a considerable quantity having been found in various things, which -were kept some here and some there—kept principally, as I gather, -in the inner room.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a -href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> ... There is evidence -about a considerable quantity of poison in this house, and more -particularly about one or two receptacles which were in the inner -room, Mr. Maybrick’s dressing-room, as it has been pointed -out.”</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to Mr. Maybrick’s -Symptoms</span></h3> - -<p>From the testimony it appears that on the 27th of April James -Maybrick, before starting to the Wirrall Races, was sick. There is no -actual evidence of vomiting,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" -id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> but he is described as sick, and as -feeling a numbness in his legs while walking downstairs, which was an -old-standing complaint of his of many years. Both he himself and Mrs. -Maybrick told the servants that this was due to a double dose of some -London medicine. He got wet through at the races and dined in his wet -clothes at a friend’s (Mr. Hobson), on the other side of the -Mersey, and did not return home till after the servants had retired -to bed; but the next morning, Sunday, the 28th of April, he was taken -ill, and Mrs. Maybrick sent a servant off hurriedly for Dr. Humphreys, -who had not attended her husband before, but who was the doctor living -nearest the house, and in the mean time got some mustard and water, -telling him to take it, as it would remove the brandy at all events. -Dr. Humphreys attended James Maybrick on the 28th, but was not told by -him that he had vomited the day before.</p> - -<p>Mr. Justice Stephen, when referring to<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> this, said: “The -Wirrall Races were followed by symptoms which were described to be -arsenical.” It is submitted that this was a <em>misdirection</em>, the -symptom there referred to being sickness, and there was no evidence -of vomiting on any of the days immediately succeeding the Wirrall -Races. But on the 28th of April the mustard and water was given him -by Mrs. Maybrick for the purpose of <em>producing</em> sickness and removing -the brandy, and if he had been sick it would have been attributable to -<em>mustard and water</em>, not to arsenic.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, the medical evidence showed that gastro-enteritis -might have been set up either by improper food or drink, or an excess -of either; or, again, by such a wetting through as deceased got at the -Wirrall Races. On the 8th of May Alice Yapp communicated to Mrs. Briggs -and Mrs. Hughes her suspicions that James Maybrick’s illness was -due to Mrs. Maybrick poisoning him with <em>fly-papers</em>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" -id="Page_269">[269]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to Mrs. Maybrick’s Access -to Poisons</span></h3> - -<p>The purchase and soaking of fly-papers is the only direct evidence -of the possession of arsenic in any form by Mrs. Maybrick, but the -judge told the jury, and it is submitted it is a <em>gross misdirection</em>, -that Mrs. Maybrick “<em>undoubtedly had access to considerable -quantities of arsenic in other forms</em>,” inasmuch as the <em>only -evidence as to such access</em> was that after the death of James Maybrick -these two women, Mrs. Briggs and Alice Yapp, who exhibited the most -unfriendly feeling toward her, said they had found in the house certain -stores of arsenic.</p> - -<p>It is submitted for the serious consideration of counsel that -the circumstances under which these two women produced these stores -of arsenic are so suspicious as to justify the suggestion that that -arsenic was not there before his death, and that Mrs. Maybrick never -did have any access to it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" -id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> or knowledge of it at all. There was -no evidence as to where or by whom this arsenic was obtained, nor was -there any evidence that the police had made any effort to discover -where, when, or by whom that arsenic was procured.</p> - -<p>[<span class="smcap">Note.</span>—How and when this arsenic -may have been procured by Mr. Maybrick himself will appear further on -as a part of the new evidence.]</p> - -<p>The places in which arsenic was found were open and accessible to -every one in the house, and no person gave any evidence that he or she -had ever seen it in the house before these two women found it after -death.</p> - -<p>As regards the black powder (arsenic mixed with charcoal) and the -two solutions of arsenic produced by Mrs. Briggs and Alice Yapp, Mr. -Davies, the analyst, gave evidence that, when analyzing the contents -of the various bottles, he had searched diligently and microscopically -for any traces, and could find no trace of charcoal having<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> been -introduced into any of them. So this circumstantial evidence may be -eliminated.</p> - -<p>As regards white arsenic, also produced by these women, it must -be observed that not only was it not shown that Mrs. Maybrick had -purchased any, but it is submitted that the judge <em>ought to have -pointed out to the jury</em>, as the fact is, that it would have been -almost impossible for her or any woman to have obtained any white -arsenic at all. No shopkeeper dare sell it to any one except to a -medical man, and even then under the stringent restrictions of the Sale -of Poison Act.</p> - -<p>At the trial a wholesale druggist (Thompson, of Liverpool) gave -evidence that James Maybrick constantly visited his cousin, who had -been in his employment at his stores, where he could have obtained -white arsenic from him without any difficulty; and it will be observed -that it was found in his hatbox.</p> - -<p>It is a remarkable thing in this connection that, while Edwin -Maybrick called the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" -id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> police in on Sunday night, and gave them -the black solutions and white solutions which Mrs. Briggs had found on -the Sunday morning, he did not give them the black powder which Alice -Yapp had found on the-night before; and, in fact, that Michael Maybrick -did not give it to the police until Tuesday, the 14th.</p> - -<p>It is also a remarkable fact that, although these black solutions -and that white solution of arsenic and that solid arsenic which Mrs. -Briggs had found, were not handed by the police to the analyst until -several days afterward, and were therefore <em>not known to be arsenic -by anybody, yet Mrs. Briggs was able to inform Mrs. Maybrick on -Tuesday, the 14th, as was testified to, that these bottles contained -arsenic</em>.</p> - -<p>It is submitted that Mrs. Briggs could not have known that without -some other means of knowledge than looking at them.</p> - -<p>The importance of this <em>misdirection</em> of the judge as to the -question of possession of arsenic by Mrs. Maybrick can not be<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> -overstated. It was <em>conclusively</em> shown that no decoction of fly-papers -or of the black powder was the source of the arsenic with which certain -articles found in the house and office were said to be infected, -because the analyst said he had searched for the fibers of the papers -and for the charcoal, <em>and could not find any traces of either</em>. If -Mrs. Maybrick knew of the pure arsenic, why should she have bought the -fly-papers, either for a cosmetic purpose or murder, and what should -she have wanted with “poison for cats?”</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to “Traces” of Arsenic</span></h3> - -<p>Out of the list submitted by the police, therefore, the only two -things which could have been the source of the arsenic were the bottle -of saturated solution, No. 10 in the Police List, and the bottle of -solid arsenic, No. 11 in the Police List.</p> - -<p>It may be observed that if all the arsenic or “traces” -of the same, with which various<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> things were said to be -infected, were collected together, it would not constitute a fatal -dose, the smallest fatal dose recorded being two grains, and this in -the case of a woman, and surely not in the case of a person addicted to -large doses of arsenic.</p> - -<p>At the inquest Mr. Davies defined what he meant by the word -“trace.” He said:</p> - -<p>“It means something under 1/100 part of a grain. It does not -mean something which I could not weigh, but something which I could -<em>not</em> guarantee to be absolutely free from other things; but anything -under 1/100 part of a grain I should not consider satisfactory. If I -said <em>distinct traces</em>, I should say it meant something between 1/100 -and 1/1000 part of a grain, while a <em>minute trace</em> is less than 1/1000 -part of a grain.”</p> - -<p>In reference to Reinsch’s test which Mr. Davies used in these -experiments, this passage occurs in Taylor’s “Medical -Jurisprudence,” vol. i., p. 268: “The mere presence -of a gray deposit on pure copper affords <em>no absolute proof</em> of -the presence of arsenic.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" -id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> Bismuth, antimony, and mercury all yield -deposits with Reinsch’s test. The gray deposit of bismuth may -easily be taken for arsenic.” And again: “The errors into -which the faulty methods of applying Reinsch’s test lead have led -its reliability to be much discredited, and, although in skilful hands -the results are trustworthy, it would be perhaps unsafe to rely upon it -in an important criminal investigation.”</p> - -<p>It is submitted that the evidence relating to the articles which -Mr. Davies said were infected with arsenic only to the extent of <em>an -unweighable trace</em> could not and ought not to be regarded as proof -that any arsenic at all was there, or as being anything more <em>than a -suspicion</em> upon this analyst’s mind that what he saw was arsenic, -and that it was a <em>misdirection</em> on the part of Mr. Justice Stephen -to treat a mere expression of opinion of that kind as proof of the -presence of arsenic.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to Arsenic in Solution</span></h3> - -<p>It will be observed that the only things of which James Maybrick -could have partaken [but did not], in which arsenic in a weighable -form was present, were the bottle of Valentine’s meat juice and -the pot of glycerin, and that the arsenic found in them was found in a -state of solution.</p> - -<p>As regards the half grain of arsenic found in the <em>meat juice</em>, -scientific evidence will be forthcoming that it is a physical -impossibility for any person to dissolve half a grain of solid arsenic -in 411 grains of Valentine’s meat juice, which is all the liquid -that was in the bottle when it was handed to Mr. Davies.</p> - -<p>Mr. Davies, moreover, found that (although he used very loose and -unscientific language in his evidence) the specific gravity of the meat -juice was considerably reduced, thereby showing that the half grain -of arsenic found in it had been introduced in the form of <em>arsenic in -solution</em>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" -id="Page_277">[277]</a></span></p> - -<p>It will now be observed that the <em>only arsenic in solution</em> which -was <em>available</em>, among the stores of arsenic found in the house, was -the <em>bottle No. 10</em> in the police list, and it is submitted that bottle -No. 11 (solid arsenic) must, like the black solutions, <em>be eliminated</em> -from any store of arsenic which Mrs. Maybrick, whether she had access -to it or not, could have employed for the purpose of infecting any of -the things found in the house to be infected.</p> - -<p>Mr. Davies described the bottle No. 10 as a saturated solution of -white arsenic, and he stated that it had been dissolved with water, -some of the crystals remaining at the bottom undissolved.</p> - -<p>At the inquest he stated, in reply to a question by the coroner: -“The bottle No. 10, which was also in the box, contained a -saturated solution of arsenic and solid arsenic at the bottom. There -was no label on it. It contained, solid and liquid, perhaps two -grains—a grain at all events.”</p> - -<p><i>So it is evident that there was not a fatal<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> dose -even in the stores which Mrs. Maybrick could have used had she had -access to it.</i></p> - -<p>As regards this bottle, Mr. Justice Stephen told the jury: “A -saturated solution is a solution which has taken up as much arsenic -as it can, the water becoming saturated with arsenic; the remainder -of the arsenic is found at the bottom. In this case there was a -saturated solution of arsenic in the water and a small portion of -arsenic at the bottom. With regard to that these questions arise: -What was it for? Who is wanting such a quantity of strong solution -of arsenic? Who has put it there and how is it to be used? These are -the questions, in the solution of which I can not help you. There is -nothing definite about it to connect Mr. Maybrick with it certainly.<a -name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" -class="fnanchor">[7]</a> If he was in the habit of arsenic eating he -would not keep it saturated in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" -id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> water in quantities he could not -possibly use.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Davies found that this bottle “contained in solid and -liquid perhaps two grains—a grain at all events.” Now -arsenic can be dissolved in water by two processes. In cold water by -shaking it constantly for several hours (and the strongest solution -that can be obtained by the cold-water process is a one-per-cent. -solution, which is no stronger than the ordinary Fowler’s -solution as sold in the shops). That is called a “saturated -solution” by the cold-water process. A solution of three or -even four per cent. can be obtained with boiling water, but only when -the water is kept on the constant boil for several hours; and that is -also called a “saturated solution,” so that the phrase -“saturated solution” may mean either a weak solution of -one per cent., such as is gained by the cold-water process, or a -stronger solution of three per cent. by the boiling-water process, -and Mr. Justice Stephen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" -id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> <em>misdirected</em> the jury as to the meaning -of the phrase “saturated solution.” He should have told -them that a “saturated solution” of arsenic is one which -has by any particular process taken up as much arsenic and <em>retained -it in solution</em> as is possible by that particular process, and that it -might consequently be either a weak or a stronger solution, according -as it has been dissolved by the cold-water or boiling-water process, by -shaking for hours or boiling for hours.</p> - -<p>The questions put to the jury by Mr. Justice Stephen upon the -interpretation of the phrase “saturated solution” which -he gave, namely, “How is it to be used?” “Who is -wanting such a quantity of <em>strong</em> solution of arsenic?” are -<em>misdirections</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Mr. Clayton’s Experiments</span></h3> - -<p>Counsel are referred to experiments made with solutions of -arsenic by Mr. E. Godwin Clayton, of the firm of Hassall &<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -Clayton. From these it will be seen that by the experiment there marked -B, where the arsenic was shaken at intervals of twenty minutes for six -hours, the result shows that it would require 186½ grains of -water to carry half a grain of arsenic. And that by experiment C, which -is the strongest possible solution by the cold-water process, namely, -one-per-cent. strength (equal to Fowler’s solution), it would -require 50 grains of water to carry half a grain, but to obtain this -the arsenic has to be shaken with cold water <em>at frequent intervals for -four days</em>.</p> - -<p>Mr. Godwin Clayton, in his report as to these experiments, remarks: -“I think, however, that as few people outside a chemical -laboratory would have the patience or opportunity to make a solution by -shaking it at short intervals during four days, the solution obtained -in experiment B—namely, an arsenical strength of 0.268 per -cent.—might be described in a popular<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> sense, though not -with strict scientific accuracy, as ‘saturated solution of -arsenic.’” But then if that be so, that is only about a -quarter of the strength of Fowler’s solution! The evidence of Mr. -Davies as to the specific gravity of the meat juice being considerably -reduced ought, it is submitted, <em>not</em> to have been received as -scientific evidence, and it was a <em>misdirection</em> to treat it as -such, because without the slightest difficulty, as will be seen by a -reference to Mr. Godwin Clayton’s experiments, Mr. Davies’s -evidence ought to have been scientifically exact, because he could have -shown that (for example) if a solution of the strength of experiment -B had been used, the 411 grains of liquid would have contained -186½ of solution of arsenic and 244½ grains of meat -juice; and, further, that the specific gravity of the meat juice -would, in that case, have been lowered from 1.2143 to 1.1263; and it -was, therefore, not only possible, but the duty of Mr. Davies, as an -expert, to have shown, by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" -id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> comparing the specific gravity of the -bottle No. 10 and the specific gravity of Valentine’s meat juice, -that the “arsenic in solution” which had been introduced -into it had been introduced into it out of that particular bottle, No. -10.</p> - -<p>Then, again, it will be seen from these experiments of Mr. Godwin -Clayton that if the solution in bottle No. 10 had been a strong -hot-water solution of three per cent., the specific gravity would not -have been considerably reduced, because the meat juice would in that -case have contained only 15½ grains of arsenical solution. -To have obtained such a solution, the “arsenic powder” -must have been boiled with distilled water for four hours; and it is -submitted that it would have been <em>impossible</em>, in the first place, -for Mrs. Maybrick, or any person outside a laboratory, to have adopted -such a process of dissolving arsenic without the knowledge of the -servants or anybody else; and, further, that even if she could have -done this, she could not have possibly<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> weighed out exactly half -a grain of it, which is what Mr. Davies found; and it is suggested -that the only way in which that half grain of arsenic could possibly -have been measured into that bottle, must have been by introducing -Fowler’s solution, <em>and no Fowler’s solution was found in -the house</em>—and in no way was it suggested that Mrs. Maybrick had -any access to any, though others in that house may have been able to -procure such a medicinal dose of it.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to Arsenic in -Glycerin</span></h3> - -<p>As regards the glycerin, Inspector Baxendale said he found this -bottle in the lavatory on the 18th of May. There was no evidence that -this bottle had ever been in Mrs. Maybrick’s hands, and there was -no evidence that any part of it had been used by James Maybrick. There -was evidence that it was a freshly opened bottle. Scientific evidence -will be forthcoming that it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" -id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> <em>an absolute impossibility</em> for any -person to distribute arsenic evenly through a pound of glycerin.</p> - -<p>It is suggested that there is no possible means by which that -glycerin could have been administered with a felonious intent to James -Maybrick; the mere moistening the lips with small quantities of it -could not have operated in that way.</p> - -<p>Scientific evidence will be forthcoming that glycerin, when kept in -glass bottles, generally does contain arsenic, which it extracts from -the glass of the bottle.</p> - -<p>In 1888 Jahns drew attention to arsenic being present in -glycerin—<i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Chemische Zeitung</i>.</p> - -<p>In 1889 Vulpius also drew attention to it—<i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Apotheker -Zeitung</i>.</p> - -<p>Siebold (see <cite>Pharmaceutical Journal</cite>, 5th October, 1889) said, at -the Pharmaceutical Conference, on the 11th September, 1889, that his -experiments were made with toilet and pharmaceutical glycerin, and that -the majority showed presence of arsenious<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> acid, varying from 1 -grain in 4,000 to 1 grain in 5,000.</p> - -<p>It may be pointed out that this is <em>a larger quantity</em> than Mr. -Davies found, which was only “about 1/10 of a grain in 1,000 -grains.”</p> - -<p>The evidence relating to the administration of glycerin was that of -Nurse Gore and Nurse Callery, and was to the effect that on Thursday -night they refreshed James Maybrick’s mouth with <em>glycerin and -borax mixed in a saucer</em> that was on the table in the sick-room, and -that Mrs. Maybrick had brought the glycerin that was used either from -the medicine cupboard in her room or from the washstand drawer.</p> - -<p>The attention of counsel is called to the fact that this saucer -of mixed glycerin and borax which was actually used <em>was not -produced</em> at the trial, but Justice Stephen, when summing up to the -jury, said: “Then you get the <em>blue</em> bottle which contained -Price’s glycerin. Here is the bottle, which there is no -evidence to show that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" -id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> Mrs. Maybrick had even seen or touched; -a considerable portion is still left. That glycerin was found in the -lavatory outside, and if the bottle were filled and the same proportion -of arsenic added, there would be two-thirds of a grain of arsenic in -it. You have heard already that his mouth was moistened with glycerin -and borax apparently the night before he died. If that be so, and the -glycerin be really poison, it is certainly a very shocking result to -arrive at.” Sir Charles Russell: “I think the evidence of -Nurse Gore is that the bottle that was used the night before was taken, -not from the lavatory, but from the cupboard of the washstand.” -His Lordship: “It does not follow that that was the same -bottle. One does not know the history of that bottle or where it -went to. It may or may not have been the glycerin which was used for -the purpose I have mentioned, namely, for moistening the lips. But -it does appear in the case that a bottle was found in the lavatory, -and that it contained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" -id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> a grain of arsenic, and that his mouth -was moistened with glycerin and borax during the night in question; but -the identity between that bottle and the bottle which contained the -glycerin is not established and not proved.”</p> - -<p>It is submitted that the above was an <em>unfair and -inflammatory suggestion</em>, and amounts to a gross <span -class="smcap">MISDIRECTION</span>, especially after all the evidence -about the condition of deceased’s tongue and his complaining of a -sensation as of a hair in his throat.</p> - -<p>This concludes the whole of the evidence to any articles containing -arsenic which were found in the house, in which the arsenic was present -in anything except as <em>unweighable “traces.”</em></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to Evidence of -Physicians</span></h3> - -<p>Justice Stephen further summed up: “The witness -(Dr. Stevenson) stated: ‘I should say more arsenic -was administered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" -id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> on the 3d of May.’” It will -be seen, by a reference to Dr. Stevenson’s evidence, that Dr. -Stevenson <em>did not</em> say this.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 471px;"> -<a id="plate11"></a> -<img src="images/i315.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="noindent f80">Copyright, 1904, by Pach Bros., New York.</p> -<p class="center noindent">HON. JOHN HAY,<br /> -American Secretary of State, 1898—</p> -</div> - -<p>Dr. Humphreys was the only medical man in attendance at that time. -The only symptoms on Friday, the 3d, were that he had “vomited -twice.” At the inquest Dr. Humphreys said as to this:</p> - -<p>Q. “Did he say anything about his lunch on the previous day, -Thursday, the 2d?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes; he said some inferior sherry had been put into it, -and that it had made him as bad as ever again.”</p> - -<p>And that also appears in Dr. Stevenson’s evidence at the -trial:</p> - -<p>“He told the doctor he had not been well since the previous -day, when I learn he had his lunch at the office.”</p> - -<p>It can not be suggested that the fact that the man vomited -twice on Friday night was attributable to any arsenic taken -at midday on Thursday, for Dr. Stevenson testified that the -vomiting, which is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" -id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> symptom of arsenic, usually follows the -administration in about <em>half an hour</em>.</p> - -<p>Dr. Carter, who was not called in to the patient until Tuesday, May -7th, in his evidence, however, suggested that:</p> - -<p>“I judge that the fatal dose must have been given on Friday, -the 3d, but a dose might have been given after that. When he was so -violently ill on the Friday, I thought it would be from the effects -of the fatal dose, but there might have been subsequent doses”; -and in cross-examination he explained that he had made this suggestion -about the fatal dose because: “I was <em>told</em> he was unable to -retain anything on his stomach for several days.”</p> - -<p>It is submitted that the judge, when summing up, <span -class="smcap lowercase">MISDIRECTED</span> the jury by ignoring entirely the -evidence and substituting for it this reckless suggestion of Dr. -Carter’s.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to Times When Arsenic May Have -Been Administered</span></h3> - -<p>The only occasions on which it was possible to suggest any act of -administration of arsenic were the medicine on the 27th of April and -the food at the office on May 1st and May 2d; and the judge told the -jury:</p> - -<p>“The argument that the prisoner administered the arsenic -is an argument depending upon the combination of a great variety of -circumstances of suspicion. The theory is that there was poisoning -by successive doses, and it is rather suggested that there may have -been several doses. But I do not know that there was any effort -made to point out the precise times at which doses may have been -administered.”</p> - -<p>Under such circumstances it is submitted that the statement -of the judge as to the medicine on the 27th of April, and as to -the food at office, and as to the statement that “Friday -(3d May) was the day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" -id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> on which began the symptoms of what may -be called the fatal dose,” <em>are misdirections of vital importance -to this case</em>, and such as to entitle Mrs. Maybrick to have the verdict -set aside and have a new trial ordered.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to Mrs. Maybrick’s -Changing Medicine Bottles</span></h3> - -<p>As regards the question of attempts to administer arsenic, the -occasions upon which such conduct was imputed are changing medicine -from one bottle into another and the Valentine’s meat juice. As -regards the changing the bottle, there were two occasions when evidence -was given as to Mrs. Maybrick’s doing this. The first was on the -7th of May, when Alice Yapp said that some of the medicines were kept -on a table near the bedroom door and some in the bedroom, and that on -Tuesday, 7th of May, she saw Mrs. Maybrick on the landing near the -bedroom door, and what was she doing? She was<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> apparently pouring -something out of one bottle into another. They were medicine -bottles.</p> - -<p>That is the whole evidence as to the incident, and as all the -bottles in the house were analyzed, and none found to contain -<em>even a trace of arsenic</em> except the Clay and Abraham’s -bottle—which James Maybrick was not taking at that time—the -judge could not properly direct the jury to regard it as a matter of -suspicion; <em>but he did do so</em>. He referred to this incident thus:</p> - -<p>“On the 28th April (the day after the Wirrall Races) Mrs. -Maybrick sent for Dr. Humphreys, and afterward she was seen pouring -medicine from one bottle into another.”</p> - -<p>It is submitted that this was <em>a serious misdirection</em>.</p> - -<p>The other occasion was on Friday, the 10th of May, when -Michael Maybrick, seeing Mrs. Maybrick changing a medicine from -one bottle to another in the bedroom, took the bottles away and -had the prescription<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" -id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> made up again, saying: “Florrie, -how dare you tamper with the medicine?” Mrs. Maybrick explained -that she was only putting the medicine into a larger bottle because -there was so much sediment. Nurse Callery was present and there was -no concealment about what she was doing, and the bullying conduct -of Michael was absolutely without any sort of justification. <em>These -bottles were analyzed and found to be harmless.</em></p> - -<p>Mr. Justice Stephen turned this incident, which occurred on -the afternoon before death, and after she had been prevented from -attending on her husband, against Mrs. Maybrick, thus—quoting -Michael’s evidence: “In the bedroom I found Mrs. -Maybrick pouring from one bottle into another and changing the -labels, and I said, ‘Florrie, how dare you tamper with the -medicine?’” And Justice Stephen continued: “Verily, -this was a strange—I don’t say strange considering -the circumstances—but dreadfully unwelcome remark to<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> make -to a lady in her own house, when she was in attendance on her husband, -and something which showed the state of feeling in his mind, and must -have attracted her attention.” It is submitted that this was a -<em>misdirection</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to Administration With Intent -to Kill</span></h3> - -<p>There was also an attempt by the prosecution to suggest an attempt -to administer medicine, arising out of an occasion when James Maybrick -said to her, “You have given me the wrong medicine again,” -from which it appears that on the Friday, the day before death, Mrs. -Maybrick was not giving him anything at all, but was trying to get him -to take some medicine from Nurse Callery, who was endeavoring to induce -him to take it. This was one of the medicines ordered by Dr. Humphreys, -<em>and was found free from arsenic</em>. The <span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>judge did not refer to -this in his summing-up,<br /> <span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">but -reference to it is introduced here</span><br /> because it exhausts -the whole evidence, with the exception of the Valentine’s meat -juice incident, as to any suggestions or even of any occasions of -attempt to administer, while Mr. Matthews advised the Queen that -“the evidence leads clearly to the conclusion that the prisoner -administered and attempted to administer arsenic to her husband with -intent to murder,” which formed his ground for consigning this -woman to penal servitude for life. <em>No evidence, either of any act -of administration or of any act of attempt to administer either with -or without felonious attempt, was given at the trial, which possibly -could have led any person to any such conclusion</em>, with the single -exception of the Valentine’s meat juice; and as none of that -was administered after it had been in Mrs. Maybrick’s hands, -the utmost that could be said of it (assuming that she did put any -arsenic into it) is that it was an <em>attempt</em> to administer, either -feloniously or otherwise.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" -id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> It is submitted that the judge -<em>misdirected</em> the jury as to this incident, in that he did not tell -them that the mere evidence of an attempt to administer arsenic was -not sufficient—that they must be satisfied that the attempt to -administer was with a <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">mens rea</i> and with an intent to murder.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Exclusion of Prisoner’s -Testimony</span></h3> - -<p>Mrs. Maybrick voluntarily told her solicitors, Mr. Arnold and Mr. -Richard Cleaver, directly she was arrested and even before the inquest, -that she had, at her husband’s urgent request, put a powder into -a bottle of Valentine’s meat juice, but that she did not know, -until Mrs. Briggs informed her that arsenic had been found in a bottle -of meat juice, that the powder she had put in was assumably arsenic. -[At the trial both Mr. Richard and Mr. Arnold Cleaver, her solicitors, -offered to give evidence to this effect, but Justice Stephen refused -to admit it.] She also tried to tell<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> Mrs. Briggs the same -thing, but the policeman stopped the conversation; and she also told -it to her mother on her arrival. Mrs. Maybrick made no attempt at -concealment about having put this powder in, although no one had seen -her do it, and her solicitors, instead of relying as a line of defense -on showing there was no “mens rea” in what she had done, -kept back her account of what she had done. At the trial, however, -after all the evidence for the prosecution had been concluded without a -single witness speaking of her having put anything into anything, she -<em>insisted</em> on telling the jury, as she had told her solicitors, that -she did put a powder into a bottle of meat juice, in accordance with -an urgent request of her husband’s, but that she did not know it -was arsenic. If she did not know, there was no “mens rea.” -Upon that evidence, and upon certain suspicious circumstances connected -with her conduct in taking the meat juice into the dressing-room -and replacing it in the bedroom, the<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> judge, as it is -submitted, <em>misdirected</em> the jury in the following passage:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Michael Maybrick says: ‘Nothing was given to my -brother out of that.’ That is to say, nothing was given to him -out of the bottle of Valentine’s meat juice, which undoubtedly -had arsenic in it. Its presence was detected, but of that bottle which -was poisoned he certainly had none. He had a small taste of it <em>before -it was poisoned</em>, given him by Nurse Gore.”</p> - -<p>It is submitted that the words “before it was poisoned” -is <em>a gross misdirection</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection as to Identity of Meat-Juice -Bottle</span></h3> - -<p>It may be convenient here to interpose the following remarks on -the subject of the identity of the bottle. Counsel will observe -that the judge referred to the evidence at the inquest and at the -magisterial inquiry, which, it is suggested, enables a reference to any -discrepancies in the evidence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" -id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> of the witnesses on the three -occasions—inquest, magisterial inquiry, and trial.</p> - -<p>The identity of the half-used bottle, which was found to contain -“half a grain of arsenic in solution,” with the bottle -which Mrs. Maybrick took into the dressing-room, was not proved. It was -assumed alike by the prosecution and the defense, and by Mrs. Maybrick -herself, <em>but it was not proved</em>. It was proved that there was another -half-used bottle, of which James Maybrick had partaken on Monday, 6th -of May, when Dr. Humphreys said:</p> - -<p>“Some of the Valentine’s meat juice had been taken, but -it did not agree with the deceased and made him vomit. Witness did not -remember him vomiting in his presence, but he complained of it. Witness -told deceased to stop the Valentine’s meat juice, and said he was -not surprised at it making Mr. Maybrick sick, as it made many people -sick.”</p> - -<p>There was, therefore, another half-used<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> bottle. The attention of -counsel is strongly directed to the question of the identity of this -half-used bottle.</p> - -<p>Besides the one in which the arsenic was detected, there was another -half-used bottle produced at the trial, which was found by Mrs. -Briggs after death in one of James Maybrick’s hatboxes in the -dressing-room, together with the black solutions and white solutions of -arsenic, and this bottle was found free of arsenic.</p> - -<p>As to the bottle which Mrs. Maybrick had in her hands on the night -of the 9th-10th of May, and which she took into the dressing-room, and -as to which she volunteered the statement that she had put a powder -in, as to which evidence was given by Nurse Gore, was thus voluntarily -corroborated by Mrs. Maybrick in her statement to the jury. From -this it appears that Nurse Gore, on her arrival for duty on Thursday -night, opened a fresh bottle of meat juice, which had been given to -her the night before by Edwin Maybrick, and<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> gave the patient one -or two spoonfuls, and then placed it on the table, from which she -shortly afterward saw Mrs. Maybrick remove it and take it into the -dressing-room, the door of which was not shut, and then return with -it into the bedroom and replace it on the table. Nurse Gore thought -she did this in a stealthy way. It must be remembered that Nurse -Gore was naturally suspicious, as is shown by the fact that on two -previous occasions she suggested suspicions with regard to changes -in medicines by Mrs. Maybrick, which on analysis were proved to be -free from arsenic. When the patient, a short time afterward, awoke, -Mrs. Maybrick came into the bedroom again and <em>removed</em> the bottle -from the table and placed it on the washstand, where there were only -the ordinary jugs and basins, and there left it. Nurse Gore’s -usual suspicions were aroused and she gave the patient none of it, -nor did Mrs. Maybrick ask her to give him any. When Nurse Gore was -relieved by Nurse Callery the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" -id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> next morning (Friday, the 10th), at 11 -o’clock, she called her attention to it and asked her to take <em>a -sample of it</em>, which Callery did, and put it into an ordinary medicine -bottle, which Nurse Gore gave her for the purpose. Nurse Gore left -the bottle on the washstand where Mrs. Maybrick had placed it. Nurse -Gore did not mention the circumstance to Dr. Humphreys when he came -to see the patient at 8:30 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, nor to -Michael Maybrick, whose attention she directed to a bottle of brandy -instead, which on analysis was found harmless; and she then went into -Liverpool and saw the matron, and on her return to the house at 2 -o’clock told Callery to throw away the sample in accordance with -the matron’s orders, which Callery did. The bottle in which that -sample was taken was not specially identified, though it must have -remained on the premises. It ought to have been produced, because, if -arsenic was detected in the sample, the bottle of Valentine’s -meat juice would have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" -id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> identified by that means, and it would -have been shown that the arsenic was in the meat juice which Mrs. -Maybrick had taken into the dressing-room. On the other hand, as all -the bottles which were in the house were analyzed and found free of -arsenic, there is negative evidence that there was no arsenic in the -sample taken.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection in Excluding Corroboration of -Prisoner’s Statement</span></h3> - -<p>Now the serious, most serious, consideration of counsel is asked for -in comparing the evidence of these three witnesses—Gore, Callery, -and Michael Maybrick—as given at the coroner’s inquest, -as it appears in the coroner’s depositions, at the magisterial -inquiry, as it appears in the magistrates’ depositions, -and as given at the trial. It will be seen that there are great -discrepancies as to the place in the room from which Michael Maybrick -took the half-used bottle in which Mr. Davies, the analyst,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> -subsequently detected one-tenth of a grain of arsenic in solution. -It is suggested that Mr. Michael’s evidence at the inquest is -the true account of where he got the bottle, and that his evidence at -the trial is <em>cooked</em>, to suit the evidence of Gore, <em>and that the -identity of the bottle is not established</em>. The statement, which in -her statement to the jury Mrs. Maybrick said she was prevented by the -policeman from making to Mrs. Briggs, the moment that person told her -about arsenic being found in the meat juice, was communicated by Mrs. -Maybrick at once to her solicitors, Mr. Arnold and Richard Cleaver; and -it is submitted that it was a <em>misdirection</em> of the judge to exclude -their evidence in corroboration of such a material and important fact -in her favor, <em>and a misdirection in refusing to allow corroboration in -that way</em> of what was in evidence, and did corroborate it—thereby -constituting a matter which the jury should have had before them, as -having a bearing on her statement.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirections to Jury to Draw Illegal -Inferences</span></h3> - -<p>The judge referred to the Valentine’s meat-juice incident, the -most vital point in the trial, in the following extraordinary manner at -the end of his summing-up:</p> - -<p>“I may say this, however: supposing you find a man -dying of arsenic, <em>and it is proved</em> that a person put arsenic -in his plate, and if he gives an explanation which you do not -consider satisfactory—that is a very strong question to be -considered—how far it goes, what its logical value is, I am not -prepared to say—I could not say, and unless I had to write my -verdict I should not say how I should deal with the verdict; but being -no juryman, but only a judge, I can only say this, it is a matter for -your serious consideration.”</p> - -<p>It is submitted that this was a <em>gross misdirection</em> and -<em>a cruel taunt</em> to <em>drive the jury into finding a verdict</em> -against the prisoner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" -id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> upon that ground, <em>and it is submitted -that so monstrously unfair an utterance can not be found in the reports -of any summing-up by any judge in any criminal case</em>. See also another -<em>misdirection</em> where the judge read the examination of Nurse Gore and -omitted reference to the sample, but said of the bottle, “In -point of fact, <em>it remained where it was</em> until taken away by Mr. -Michael Maybrick,” when it is in evidence that Nurse Callery -had taken a sample of it during the eighteen hours it remained on the -washstand, and that others beside Mrs. Maybrick had access to it.</p> - -<p>It is submitted that, apart from the question of the identity of the -bottle, there was no evidence, except Mrs. Maybrick’s statement, -that she had put anything into the bottle, which justified Mr. Justice -Stephen in using the words, “He had a small taste of it <em>before</em> -it was poisoned,” inasmuch as, except Mrs. Maybrick’s own -voluntary statement that she had put a powder into a bottle of meat -juice, there was nothing to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" -id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> show that the arsenic, detected by Mr. -Davies in the bottle he analyzed, had not been in the bottle when Edwin -Maybrick gave it to Nurse Gore and which she opened when she gave the -patient “one or two spoonfuls.”</p> - -<p>Another <em>misdirection</em> in reference to the meat-juice incident will -be found in the summing-up in the words:</p> - -<p>“It has a sort of very remote bearing upon the statement which -she made on Monday.”</p> - -<p>Instead of “a sort of very remote bearing,” it was a -<em>matter of the greatest importance</em> that it should be shown that <em>at -the very instant</em> she heard that arsenic had been found in some meat -juice, before even the inquest, <em>and before any arsenic had been found -in the body</em>, she should have attempted to tell Mrs. Briggs that she -had put a powder into some meat juice, but did not know what it was; -and, in connection with this, the attention of counsel is called to -the fact that Mr. Justice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" -id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> Stephen <em>refused to allow evidence -showing that she had made this statement from the very first</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirections Regarding the Medical -Testimony</span></h3> - -<p>As to the cause of James Maybrick’s death, there was a -most remarkable conflict of medical opinion. It was not until the -post-mortem examination, held on Monday, the 13th of May, by Drs. -Carter and Humphreys (the medical men who had attended the deceased -during his illness), and Dr. Barron, that the cause of death was -ascertained, and it was then found to be exhaustion, caused by -gastro-enteritis or acute inflammation of the stomach and intestines, -which, in their opinion, had been set up by an irritant poison, but -might have been set up by his getting wet through.</p> - -<p>These doctors agreed that by the phrase “irritant -poison” they meant any unwholesome food or drink.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" -id="Page_310">[310]</a></span></p> - -<p>Up to the time of death the doctors, Messrs. Humphreys and Carter, -had supposed and treated the patient for dyspepsia, notwithstanding -that suggestions had been made to them by Michael Maybrick that the -patient was being poisoned; and they said in their evidence that <em>but -for the discovery of arsenic on the premises, they would have given a -certificate of death from natural causes</em>.</p> - -<p>At the post-mortem examination they selected such portions of the -body for analysis as they considered necessary, including, among other -things, the stomach and its contents; and the analyst employed by the -police (Mr. Davies) <em>found no arsenic in the stomach or its contents</em>, -and was unable to discover any weighable traces of arsenic in any other -portions of the body.</p> - -<p>About three weeks afterward the body was, by order of the Home -Secretary, exhumed, and fresh portions of it were taken for analysis, -some of which were examined by Mr. Davies and other parts<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span> by -Dr. Stevenson, one of the Crown analysts.</p> - -<p>In those portions taken at the exhumation, the total result of the -search for arsenic in the body was that Mr. Davies actually found -unweighable arsenic, 2/100 of a grain, in the liver, and Dr. Stevenson -76/1000 of a grain in the liver and 15/1000 in the intestines, making, -when all added together, the total amount as found by Mr. Davies and -Dr. Stevenson about one-tenth of a grain, made up of minute fractional -portions of one-hundredths and one-thousandths.</p> - -<p>It was shown in evidence that the smallest fatal dose of arsenic -ever recorded was two grains, which was in the case of a woman, and who -presumably was not an arsenic-eater.</p> - -<p>It was shown in evidence that in the year 1888 Mrs. Maybrick had -asked Dr. Hopper (who was at that time, and had been for many years, -their regular medical attendant) to speak to Mr. Maybrick and prevent -him taking certain medicines, which were<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> doing him harm; that -early in March she made the same appeal to Dr. Humphreys, suggesting -at the time that Mr. Maybrick was taking a <em>white powder</em>, which she -thought was strychnin.</p> - -<p>At the magisterial inquiry Dr. Humphreys stated that Mrs. Maybrick -had, on the occasion of his being called in to the patient on the -28th of April, also spoken to him about her husband taking this white -powder, and that in consequence of this he asked Mr. Maybrick about -taking strychnin and nux vomica.</p> - -<p>Counsel will find proof, in the evidence given at the trial by Dr. -Hopper, Mr. Heaton, Nicholas Bateson, Esq., Capt. Richard Thompson, -Thomas Stansell, and Sir James Poole, ex-Mayor of Liverpool, as to the -arsenic habit of James Maybrick and his opportunities for obtaining -the drug. [To which must now be added the statutory declaration of -Valentine Charles Blake, son of the late Sir Valentine Blake, M.P., -that he, about two months prior to Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> Maybrick’s death, -had procured him 150 grains of arsenic.] It may be stated here that -from the appearance of the little bottles in which the white arsenic -was found, they had been in use for a long time and were such as would -be found as sample bottles in the offices of business houses to which -it is unlikely Mrs. Maybrick would have access.</p> - -<p>It is submitted that the discovery of such a tiny quantity of -arsenic in the body of a man addicted to such extraordinary habits -might reasonably be accounted for by those habits.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Conflict of Medical Opinion</span></h3> - -<p>The conflict of medical opinion which was exhibited on this trial -arose upon the point as to whether arsenic had been the cause of the -gastro-enteritis, of which it was admitted that the man died.</p> - -<p>There was <em>no</em> conflict of medical opinion on the facts that -the quantity found in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" -id="Page_314">[314]</a></span> body <em>was insufficient to cause death</em>, -nor that gastro-enteritis might be set up by a vast variety of things -besides arsenic—in fact, by any impure food or by excessive -alcohol or by getting wet through. It was shown in evidence that Mr. -Maybrick got wet through at the Wirrall Races on the 27th of April, and -that he afterward went in his wet clothes to dinner at a friend’s -on the other side of the Mersey.</p> - -<p>The conflict of medical opinion amounted to this, that the Crown -called Drs. Carter and Humphreys, who both admitted that <em>they had -never previously attended a case of arsenical poisoning, nor had -ever before attended a post-mortem examination of a person whose -death had been attributed to arsenic</em>—in short, that they had -had no experience whatever. The Crown also called Dr. Stevenson (who -had not attended the deceased, but had conducted the analysis of -parts of the body) as an expert in poisoning, and he said, as to the -symptoms during life: “<em>There is no distinctive diagnostic<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> -symptom of arsenical poisoning.</em> The diagnostic thing is finding the -arsenic.”</p> - -<p>The Crown also had Dr. Barron, who had attended the post-mortem, and -who expressed himself unable to say that arsenic was the cause of the -gastro-enteritis.</p> - -<p>These witnesses, it may be observed, gave their evidence both as to -the symptoms during life and as to the appearances at the post-mortem -<em>before</em> the medical evidence for the defense had been called.</p> - -<p>The witnesses called for the defense had none of them attended the -deceased, but were called as experts in poisoning, viz., Dr. Tidy, a -Crown analyst, Dr. Macnamara, and Professor Paul, who all gave positive -evidence that neither the symptoms during life nor the appearance after -death were such as <em>could be attributed to arsenical poisoning</em>; that, -in fact, they pointed <em>away from</em>, instead of toward, arsenic being the -cause of death.</p> - -<p>The evidence of these witnesses was<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> summarized very fairly -by Mr. Justice Stephen.</p> - -<p>In the face of such a conflict of medical opinion, it is submitted -that Mr. Justice Stephen should have refused to allow the jury to -return any verdict of guilty at all.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirections as to Cause of Death</span></h3> - -<p>On the first day of his summing-up, however, Mr. Justice Stephen -told the jury as to the law under which they were to return their -verdict: “You have been told that if you are not satisfied in -your minds about poisoning—if you think he died from some other -disease—then the case is not made out against the prisoner. It -is a necessary step—it is <em>essential</em> to this charge—that -the man <em>died of poison</em>, and the poison suggested is arsenic. -This is the question you have to consider, and it must be the -foundation of a judgment unfavorable to the prisoner that he died of -arsenic.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" -id="Page_317">[317]</a></span></p> - -<p>It is submitted that Mr. Justice Stephen <em>misdirected</em> the jury when -he told them to satisfy their minds whether he died from any other -disease, inasmuch as the only question before the jury was whether <em>the -cause of death was arsenic</em>.</p> - -<p>“The question for you is by what the illness was caused. Was -it caused by arsenic or by some other means?”</p> - -<p>It is submitted that that is a <em>misdirection</em>. It might have been -put to a coroner’s jury, but it was not a question which should -have been put to a jury at a criminal trial.</p> - -<p>It is submitted that he <em>misdirected</em> the jury in not also telling -them that it was <em>essential</em> to a verdict unfavorable to the prisoner -that the arsenic of which he died <em>had been administered by her</em>, -and also in not telling the jury that it was essential to a verdict -unfavorable to the prisoner that, if she had administered any, she had -done it with intent to destroy life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" -id="Page_318">[318]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misdirection to Ignore Medical -Testimony</span></h3> - -<p>Mr. Justice Stephen then proceeded: “Now, let us see what the -doctors say. Some say death was caused by arsenic, and others that -it was not by arsenic—that he died of gastro-enteritis”; -and he spoke of the medical evidence in a way which amounted to a -direction to the jury that they were to treat it as <em>tainted with -subtle partisanship</em>, and as evidence to which it was not necessary -for them to attach <em>serious importance</em>. He, in fact, stated, and -in so doing <em>misdirected</em> the jury, that though it was essential -to a verdict unfavorable to the prisoner that he died of arsenic, -that question was one which they, the jury, could come to <em>their own -opinion about, without taking into consideration the opinion of the -medical experts, who had positively stated that arsenic was not the -cause of death</em>. In other words, he directed the jury that, as the -medical experts could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" -id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> agree that the cause of death was -arsenical poisoning, it was for them to decide that question from their -own “<em>knowledge of human nature</em>.”</p> - -<p>On the second day of the summing-up the judge told the jury (and -it is submitted that it contains <em>gross misdirections</em>): “You -must consider the case as <em>a mere medical case</em>, in which you are to -decide whether the man did or did not die of arsenic according to -the medical evidence. You must not consider it as <em>a mere chemical -case</em>, in which you decide whether the man died from arsenic which was -discovered as the result of a chemical analysis. You must decide it -as <em>a great, high, and important case</em>, involving in itself not only -medical and chemical questions, but embodying in itself <em>a most highly -important moral question</em>—and by that term, moral question, I -do not mean a question of what is right and wrong in a moral point of -view, but questions in which human nature enters and in which <em>you -must rely on your knowledge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" -id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> of human nature</em> in determining the -resolution you arrive at.</p> - -<p>“You have, in the first place, to consider—far be it -from me to exclude or try to get others to exclude from their own minds -what I must feel myself vividly conscious of—the evidence in -this matter. I think every human being in this case must feel vividly -conscious of what you have to consider, but I had almost better say -you ought not to consider, for fear you might consider it too much, -the horrible nature of the inquiry in which you are engaged. I feel -that it is a dreadful thing that you are deliberately considering -whether you are to convict that woman of really as horribly dreadful -a crime as ever any poor wretch who stood in the dock was accused of. -If she is guilty—I am saying if my object is rather to heighten -your feeling of the solemnity of the circumstances, and in no way to -prevent you from feeling as you do feel, and as you ought to feel. I -could say a good many other things about the<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span> awful nature of the -charge, but I do not think it will be necessary to do any one thing. -Your own hearts must tell you what it is for a person <em>to go on -administering poison</em> to a helpless, sick man, upon whom she has -already inflicted a dreadful injury—an injury fatal to married -life; the person who could do such a thing as that must be destitute of -the least trace of human feeling.” And further on: “We have -to consider this not in an unfeeling spirit—far from it—but -in the spirit of people resolved to solve <em>by intellectual means an -intellectual problem of great difficulty</em>.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 529px;"> -<a id="plate12"></a> -<img src="images/i349.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="noindent f80">Copyright by G. G. Rockwood, New York.</p> - -<p class="center noindent">HON. JOSEPH H. CHOATE,<br /> -American Ambassador at the Court of St. James, 1899—</p> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Justice Stephen, in short, instead of putting to the jury for -separate answers each of the following three questions:</p> - -<p>1. Did this man die of arsenic?</p> - -<p>2. Did Mrs. Maybrick administer that arsenic?</p> - -<p>3. Did she do it feloniously?</p> - -<p>invited them to return a verdict of “guilty” or -“not guilty” upon a direction of law, wherein he -told them that they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" -id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> were to decide it as <em>an intellectual -problem</em>, on the question which, it is submitted, can be formulated -thus:</p> - -<p>“Might this man have died of arsenic notwithstanding the -opinion of the medical experts that he did <em>not</em> die of arsenic?” -And the jury answered “Yes.”</p> - -<p>It is submitted that this was <em>a gross misdirection</em>.</p> - -<p>It may be interesting and applicable to quote from a paper read -by Sir Fitzjames Stephen himself at the Science Association in 1884: -“It is not to be denied that, so long as great ignorance exists -on matters of physical and medical science in all classes, physicians -will occasionally have to submit to the mortification of seeing not -only the jury, but the bar and bench itself, receive with scornful -incredulity or with self-satisfied ignorance evidence which ought to -be received with respect and attention.” How prophetic this was -as exemplified by his own attitude in this trial need not be pointed -out.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" -id="Page_323">[323]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Misreception of Evidence</span></h3> - -<p>Under the head of Misreception of Evidence may be classed the -observations of the judge, where, apparently in order to prevent -the jury from being influenced <em>in favor of the prisoner</em>, owing to -the small quantity of arsenic found in the body of the deceased, he -mentioned <em>an instance of a dog</em> being poisoned, in the body of which, -though it had taken a large number of grains of arsenic, no arsenic -was found after its death. The judge, in other words, turned himself -into a witness for the prosecution. The unfairness to the prisoner of -such a course is obvious. Had the judge been an ordinary witness he -might have been cross-examined to show, <i>e.g.</i>, that arsenic <em>passes -away from the body of a dog much more quickly than from that of a -man</em>, or that the circumstances as to time and quantity taken were -such as to prove that there was no analogy between the two cases. As -the matter stands, the judge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" -id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>’s recollection of an experiment -<em>on a dog</em>, which had been made many years before, was meant to rebut -a proposition much relied on by the defense, viz., that the small -quantity of arsenic found in the body of the deceased was consistent -with the view that he was <em>in the habit of taking arsenic</em>, rather than -with the case for the Crown that he had been intentionally poisoned.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Cruel Misstatement by the Coroner</span></h3> - -<p>The inquest was formally opened by taking the evidence of the -identification of the deceased by his brother, Michael Maybrick, and -then adjourned for a fortnight, the coroner announcing that there -had been a post-mortem examination by Dr. Humphreys, and that the -result of that examination was that poison was found in the stomach -of the deceased in such quantities as to justify further examination; -that the stomach of the deceased, and its contents, would meanwhile -be chemically analyzed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" -id="Page_325">[325]</a></span> and on the result of that analysis would -depend the question whether or not criminal proceedings against some -person would follow. Now the announcement that “poison had been -found in the stomach of the deceased” was <em>contrary to fact</em>, and -in consequence of this <em>cruel misstatement</em> the proceedings caused an -immense amount of popular excitement and prejudice against the accused, -who, being too ill to be removed, remained at Battlecrease House, in -charge of the police, till the following Saturday morning, the 18th -May, when a sort of court inquiry was opened in Mrs. Maybrick’s -bedroom by Colonel Bidwell, one of the county magistrates.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Medical Evidence for the Prosecution</span></h3> - -<p>The evidence of Dr. Arthur Richard Hopper, who had been Mr. and Mrs. -Maybrick’s medical adviser for about seven years, was taken. -He had not attended Mr. Maybrick during his last illness, but<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span> -spoke about Mrs. Maybrick having asked him the year before to check -her husband from taking <em>dangerous drugs</em>, and that Mr. Maybrick had -admitted to him that he used to dose himself with anything his friends -recommended, and <em>that he was used to the taking of arsenic</em>.</p> - -<p>Dr. Richard Humphreys spoke as to the symptoms of the illness and -his prescriptions, and that he had not suspected poisoning until -it was suggested to him and his colleague, Dr. Carter, and that he -had <em>himself administered arsenic</em> to the deceased, in the form of -Fowler’s solution, on the Sunday or Monday before death, and that -he refused <em>a certificate of death only because arsenic had been found -on the premises</em>.</p> - -<p>Dr. William Carter spoke of being called the Tuesday before death, -and he agreed with Dr. Humphreys that an irritant poison, most probably -arsenic, was the cause of death.</p> - -<p>Dr. Alexander Barron gave evidence to<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> the effect that he was -unable to ascertain <em>any particular poison</em>.</p> - -<p>Mr. Edward Davies, the analyst, was called, and gave evidence to the -effect that he had found <em>no weighable arsenic</em> in the portions of the -body selected at the post-mortem, but that he had subsequently <em>found -one fiftieth of a grain of arsenic</em> in a part of the liver, nothing -in the <em>stomach or its contents, but traces, not weighable</em>, in the -intestines, and that he had found arsenic in some of the bottles and -things found in the house after death and in the Valentine’s meat -juice.</p> - -<p>The first issue which the jury at the trial had to determine was -whether it was proved beyond <em>reasonable</em> doubt that the deceased died -from arsenical poisoning.</p> - -<p>Mr. Justice Stephen, in his summing-up, put this issue to the jury -in the following words:</p> - -<p>“It is <em>essential</em> to this charge that the man -<em>died</em> of arsenic. This question must be the foundation of a -verdict unfavorable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" -id="Page_328">[328]</a></span> to the prisoner, that he <em>died of -arsenic</em>.”</p> - -<p>It must be assumed that this was a question exclusively for medical -experts, notwithstanding which the judge, in summing up, told the -jury:</p> - -<p>“You must not consider this <em>as a mere medical case</em>, in which -you are to decide whether the man <em>did</em> or <em>did not die of arsenic -poisoning according to the medical evidence</em>. You must <em>not consider -it as a mere chemical case</em>, in which you decide whether the man -<em>died from arsenic which was discovered as the result of a chemical -analysis</em>. You must decide it as a <em>great and highly important case</em>, -involving in itself not only medical and chemical questions, but -involving in itself a most highly important <em>moral question</em>.”</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Maybrick Died a Natural Death</span></h3> - -<p>Dr. Humphreys gave it as his opinion that the appearances at the -post-mortem were <em>consistent with congestion</em> of the stomach<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span> not -<em>necessarily caused by an irritant poison</em>, and that the symptoms -during life were also consistent with congestion not caused by an -irritant poison, but with acute inflammation of the stomach and -intestines, produced by any cause whatever, and which would produce -similar pathological results. He thought death was caused by some -irritant poison, most likely arsenic, but he <em>would not like to swear -that it was</em>. Dr. Humphreys’ evidence, therefore, amounted -to this, that the deceased died from gastro-enteritis, a natural -disease, attributable to a variety of causes, and that, apart -from the suggestions already referred to, he would have certified -accordingly.</p> - -<p>Dr. Humphreys’ evidence was confirmed by that of Dr. -Carter, who stated he came to the same conclusion as Dr. Humphreys, -“but in a more positive manner.” Dr. Carter had -assisted at the post-mortem examination, besides being in close -attendance on the deceased for the five days preceding his death, -which he attributed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" -id="Page_330">[330]</a></span> taking some irritant wine or decomposed -meat, or to some grave error of diet; and when pressed as to whether -he had any reason to suppose the article taken was poison, he -explained that he did, but that by poison he meant something that was -bad—it might be tinned meat, which the deceased had partaken of -at the race dinner, or wine, or something which had set up gastritis. -This witness’s account of the post-mortem was that they <em>found no -arsenic</em>, but merely evidence of an irritant poison in the stomach and -intestines, probably arsenic. Dr. Carter’s evidence was therefore -<em>against poisoning by arsenic</em> being conclusively accepted as the -cause of death, <em>although subsequently he said he had no doubt it was -arsenic</em>.</p> - -<p>Dr. Barron’s evidence as to the cause of death was that he -considered from the post-mortem appearances that death was due to -inflammation of the stomach and bowels, due to some irritant poison, -but that he was unable to point to the particular poison,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span> apart -from what he heard; and, pressed as to what he meant by poison, the -witness stated that poison might be bad tinned meat, bad fish, mussels, -or generally bad food of any kind, or alcohol taken in excess.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Chief Witness for the -Prosecution</span></h3> - -<p>Dr. Stevenson expressed his opinion that the deceased died from -arsenic poisoning, giving as his reasons that the main symptoms were -those attributable to an irritant poison, and that they more closely -resembled those of arsenic than of any other irritant of which he -knew. He stated that he had known a great number of cases of poisoning -by arsenic in every shape, and that he acted officially for the Home -Office and Treasury in such cases. Dr. Stevenson was the witness of the -prosecution, and gave his evidence <em>before</em> he had heard the evidence -for the defense.</p> - -<p>Dr. Stevenson also stated that the general<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span> symptoms of arsenic -poisoning appeared <em>within half an hour</em> of taking some article of -food or medicine, and were nausea, with a sinking sensation of the -stomach; vomiting, which, unlike that produced by any ordinary article -of food or drink that disagrees, afforded as a rule no relief and -often came on again; that there was most commonly pain in the stomach, -diarrhea; after a time the region of the stomach becomes tender under -pressure, the patient becomes restless, often bathed in perspiration; -the throat is complained of; pain in the throat, extending down to -the stomach; the tongue becomes very foul in appearance and furred. -There is not a bad smell as in the ordinary dyspeptic tongue, a -rapid and feeble pulse, thirst, great straining at stool, vomits -and evacuations frequently stained with blood. Of fourteen symptoms -of arsenic poisoning named by Dr. Stevenson, Mr. Maybrick exhibited -<em>only one</em>, according to the testimony of Dr. Stevenson. With the -exception of the foul<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" -id="Page_333">[333]</a></span> tongue with malodorous breath, none of -these symptoms coincided with those given by Drs. Humphreys and Carter, -who were in attendance on the patient, while Dr. Stevenson <em>never saw -him</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Medical Evidence for Defense</span></h3> - -<p>Then came the evidence for the defense, rebutting the presumption -that death was caused by arsenic. First in order being Dr. Tidy, the -examiner for forensic medicine at the London Hospital, and also, like -Dr. Stevenson, employed as an analyst by the Home Office. This witness -stated that, within a few years, close upon <em>forty cases of arsenical -poisoning</em> had come before him, which enabled him to indicate the -recurring and distinctive indications formed in such cases.</p> - -<p>Dr. Tidy describes the symptoms of arsenic poisoning as purging and -vomiting in a very excessive degree; a burning pain in the abdomen, -more marked in the pit of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" -id="Page_334">[334]</a></span> the stomach, and increased considerably -by pressure, usually associated with pain in the calves of the legs; -then, after a certain interval, suffusion of the eyes—the eyes -fill with tears; great irritability about the eyelids; frequent -intolerance of light.</p> - -<p>Dr. Tidy added that there were three symptoms, such as cramps, -tenesmus, straining, more or less present, but the prominent symptoms -were those he had mentioned, especially the sickness, violent, -incessant sickness, and that poisoning by arsenic was extremely simple -to detect. Further, that he (Dr. Tidy) had known cases where one or -more of the four symptoms mentioned had been absent, but he had never -known a case in which all four symptoms were absent; and stated that he -had followed every detail of the Maybrick case so far as he could, and -had read all the depositions before the coroner and magistrate, and the -account of the vomiting did not agree with his description of excessive -and persistent vomiting, and was certainly<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> not that kind of -vomiting that takes place in a typical case of arsenical poisoning.</p> - -<p>Dr. Tidy further stated that, taking the whole of the symptoms, -they undoubtedly were <em>not</em> those of arsenical poisoning, nor did -they point to such, but were perfectly consistent with death from -gastro-enteritis, not caused by arsenical poisoning at all; and -that, had he been called upon to advise, he should have said it was -undoubtedly not arsenical poisoning, and that his view had been -very much strengthened, to use his own words, by the result of the -post-mortem, which distinctly pointed <em>away</em> from arsenic.</p> - -<p>Then there was the evidence, in the same direction, of Dr. -Macnamara, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons, and its -representative on the General Medical Council of the Kingdom, which is -summed up in the general question put to him and his answer:</p> - -<p>Question: Now, bringing your best judgment to bear on the -matter—you having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" -id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> been present at the whole of this trial -and heard the evidence—in your opinion, was this death from -arsenical poisoning?</p> - -<p>Answer: <em>Certainly not</em>.</p> - -<p>In cross-examination Dr. Macnamara stated that, to the best of his -judgment, Mr. Maybrick died of gastro-enteritis, not connected with -arsenical poisoning, and which might have been caused by the wetting at -the Wirrall races.</p> - -<p>Dr. Paul, professor of medical jurisprudence at University College, -Liverpool, and pathologist at the Royal Infirmary, stated he had made -and assisted at something like three or four thousand post-mortem -examinations, and that the symptoms in the present case agreed with -cases of <em>gastro-enteritis pure and simple</em>; that the finding of -the arsenic in the body, in the quantity mentioned in the evidence, -was quite consistent with the case of a man who had taken arsenic -medicinally, but <em>who had left it off for some time, even for several -months</em>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" -id="Page_337">[337]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">A Toxicological Study</span></h3> - -<p>So positive were Dr. Tidy and Dr. Macnamara of their position as -to the effect of arsenic on the human system, that they subsequently -published “A Toxicological Study of the Maybrick Case,” -thus challenging medical critics the world over to refute them. From -this study the following, in tabular form, is taken, in order to -contrast the symptoms from which Mr. Maybrick suffered with those -which, it will be generally admitted, are the usual symptoms of -arsenical poisoning:</p> - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="comparison of Mr. Maybrick's symptoms with those of arsenical poisoning"> - -<tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Arsenical Poisoning</span></td> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Mr. Maybrick’s Case</span></td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Countenance tells of severe suffering.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not so described.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Very great depression an early symptom.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present until toward the end.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Fire-burning pain in stomach.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Pain in stomach increased on pressure.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Pressure produced no pain.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Violent and uncontrollable vomiting independent of ingesta.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">“Hawking rather than vomiting;” irritability of stomach increased by ingesta.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Vomiting not relieved by such treatment as was used in Mr. Maybrick’s case.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Vomiting controlled by treatment.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">During vomiting burning heat and constriction felt in throat.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Blood frequently present in vomited and purged matter.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Intensely painful cramps in calves of the legs.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Pain in urinating.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Purging and tenesmus an early symptom.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present until twelfth day of illness, and then once only.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Great intolerance of light.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Eyes suffused and smarting.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Eyeballs inflamed and reddened.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Eyelids intensely itchy.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Rapid and painful respiration an early symptom.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not present.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Pulse small, frequent, irregular, and imperceptible from the outset.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not so described until approach of death.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Arsenic easily detected in urine and fæces.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Not detected, <em>although looked for</em>.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Tongue fiery red in its entirety, or fiery red at tip and margins and foul toward base.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Tongue not red; “simply filthy.”</td> -</tr> - -<tr> - <td class="tdl hangtbl br">Early and remarkable reduction of temperature generally.</td> - <td class="tdl hangtbl pl2">Temperature normal up to day preceding death.</td> -</tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="p2">“Maybrick’s symptoms are as unlike poisoning -by arsenic <em>as it is possible for a case of dyspepsia to be. Everything -distinctive of arsenic is absent.</em> The urine contained no arsenic. The -symptoms are not even consistent with arsenical poisoning.</p> - -<p>“Regarding the treatment adopted by<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> the medical men, and -more especially Dr. Carter’s action with regard to the meat -juice, we are justified in assuming that the doctors themselves, even -<em>after</em> a certain suggestion had been made to them, did not come to the -conclusion that the illness of Maybrick was the result of arsenic.</p> - -<p>“It is noteworthy (1) that none was found in the stomach; -(2) that Maybrick was in the habit of taking drugs, and among them -arsenic.</p> - -<p>“Thus two conclusions are forced upon us:</p> - -<p>“(1) That the arsenic found in Maybrick’s body may have -been taken in merely medicinal doses, and that probably it was so -taken.</p> - -<p>“(2) That the arsenic may have been taken a considerable -time before either his death or illness, and that probably it was so -taken.</p> - -<p>“Our toxicological studies have led us to the three following -conclusions:</p> - -<p>“(1) That the symptoms from which Maybrick suffered are -consistent with any form of acute dyspepsia, but that they point -<em>away</em> from, rather than toward, arsenic<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> as the cause of such -dyspeptic condition.</p> - -<p>“(2) That the post-mortem appearances are indicative of -inflammation, but that they emphatically point away from arsenic as the -cause of death.</p> - -<p>“(3) That the analysis fails to find more than <em>one-twentieth</em> -part of a fatal dose of arsenic, and that the quantity so found <em>is -perfectly consistent with its medicinal ingestion</em>.”</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Medical Weakness of the -Prosecution</span></h3> - -<p>Such was the complete evidence of the cause of death. The quantity -of arsenic found in the body was <em>one-tenth</em> of a grain, and upon -this evidence rests the first issue the jury had to consider, namely, -whether it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that the deceased died -from arsenical poisoning.</p> - -<p>As to the value of the medical testimony on both sides, Dr. -Humphreys <em>admitted that he never attended a case of arsenical<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span> -poisoning in his life</em>, nor of any irritant poison, and that he would -have given a certificate of death from natural causes had he not been -told of arsenic found in the meat juice.</p> - -<p>Dr. Carter laid <em>no claim to any previous experience of poisoning by -arsenic</em>, and was unable to say from the post-mortem examination that -arsenic was the cause of death, which he could only attribute to an -irritant of some kind, and he admitted that it was the evidence of Mr. -Davies, as to the finding of arsenic in the body, which led him to the -conclusion that arsenical poisoning had taken place.</p> - -<p>Dr. Barron did not see the patient, but assisted at the post-mortem -examination, and stated that, judging by the appearances and apart from -what he had heard, he was unable to identify arsenic as the particular -poison which had set up the inflammation.</p> - -<p>Now, assuming for a moment that this issue as to the cause of -death rested entirely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" -id="Page_342">[342]</a></span> upon the uncontradicted testimony of -these three doctors called for the prosecution, Humphreys, Carter, -and Barron, the jury would not have been justified in coming to the -conclusion that there was <em>no reasonable doubt</em> that arsenic poisoning -was the cause of death. The doctors themselves had admitted that they -were unable to arrive at that conclusion, apart from the evidence that -arsenic was found in the body. <em>The idea of arsenical poisoning never -occurred to them from the symptoms, until the use of arsenic was first -suggested.</em></p> - -<p><em>The doctors could not say that</em> death resulted from arsenic -poisoning, <em>and yet the jury have actually found that it did</em>, in the -face of the opinions of three eminent medical experts, who say it did -not.</p> - -<p>Even if these doctors had never been called at all for the -defense, the jury were yet not justified in taking the evidence -of Drs. Humphreys, Carter, and Barron, in the terms which they -themselves never intended<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" -id="Page_343">[343]</a></span> to pledge themselves to, namely, to -exclude <em>a reasonable doubt</em> that death was due to arsenic.</p> - -<p>Let us consider the position of the medical men called for the -defense: Drs. Tidy, Macnamara, and Paul <em>are the highest authorities -on medical and chemical jurisprudence in Great Britain</em>. No sort of -hesitation or doubt attached to the opinions of any of them, and their -experience of post-mortem examinations was referred to, as including -in the practise of Dr. Tidy, the Crown analyst, some forty cases of -arsenic poisoning alone. Dr. Macnamara indorsed the opinion of Dr. -Tidy. In addition to that, there was on the same side the evidence -of Dr. Paul, professor of medical jurisprudence and toxicology at -University College, Liverpool, with an experience of three or four -thousand post-mortem examinations. It is impossible to conjecture -<em>by what process of reasoning</em> the jury could have come to the -conclusion, upon the evidence before them, that it <em>was beyond a<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span> -reasonable doubt that Mr. Maybrick</em> had met his death by arsenical -poisoning.</p> - -<p><em>This volume of evidence before the jury pointed not only to a -doubt as to the cause of death, but to a reasonable</em> conclusion that -it was <em>not due to arsenical poisoning. It is inconceivable that the -jury should have</em> found as they did, <em>except under the mandatory -direction of the judge, which left them apparently no alternative but -to substitute his opinions and judgment for</em> their own, so that on -that <em>issue the finding was not so much the finding of the jury, to -which the prisoner was by law entitled, but the finding of</em> the judge, -<em>of whom the jury, abrogating their own functions, became the mere -mouthpieces</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Administration Of Arsenic</span></h3> - -<p>The consideration of the facts as given in evidence also -covers the second issue which the jury had to determine, namely, -whether, if arsenic poisoning was the cause of death, it was the -prisoner who administered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" -id="Page_345">[345]</a></span> it with criminal intent. The evidence on -this point was most inconclusive.</p> - -<p><em>No one saw the prisoner administer arsenic to her husband.</em></p> - -<p>She had no opportunity of giving her husband anything since one or -two o’clock on Wednesday afternoon (8th of May), after which -she was closely watched by the nurses. <em>It was not shown that any -food or drink administered to the deceased by the prisoner contained -arsenic.</em> It was not shown that the prisoner <em>had placed arsenic in -any food or drink intended for her husband’s use</em>. Nor, in fact, -was any found, although searched for, in any food or medicine of -which Mr. Maybrick partook during his illness, <em>except the arsenic in -Fowler’s solution, prescribed and administered by Dr. Humphreys -himself</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Fly-paper Episode</span></h3> - -<p>The episode of the fly-papers may be considered as one of the -most important factors in the whole case. It supplies, so<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span> to -speak, the only link between Mrs. Maybrick and arsenic, which, it -is well known, forms their chief ingredient. It was proved she had -purchased the fly-papers without any attempt at concealment, and, -while soaking, they were exposed to everybody’s view, quite -openly, in a room accessible to every inmate of the house. It was -not suggested that Mrs. Maybrick bought the other large quantity of -arsenic, between seventy and eighty grains, found in the house after -death, <em>and no one came forward to speak to any such purchase</em>. It -was found in the most unlikely places for Mrs. Maybrick to have -selected, if she had intended to use it, and the evidence against her -on this point is of <em>a particularly vague and indefinite character</em>. -[Justice Stephen, commenting on the quantity of arsenic found on the -premises, himself observed that it was a remarkable fact in the case, -and which, it appeared to him, told most favorably than otherwise for -the prisoner, as in the whole case, from first to last, there<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span> was -no evidence at all that she had bought any poison, or had anything to -do with the procuring of any, with the exception of those fly-papers.] -The accusation rests entirely <em>on suspicion, insinuation, and -circumstantial suggestions; not one tittle of evidence was adduced -in support of it</em>, and yet the jury came to the conclusion, without -allowing of any doubt in the matter, <em>that it was her hand which -administered the poison</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">How Mrs. Maybrick Accounts for The -Fly-Papers</span></h3> - -<p>On this question the prisoner made a statement. She accounted -for the soaking of the fly-papers upon grounds which were not only -probable, but were corroborated by other incidents. That she was in -the habit of using arsenic as a face wash is shown by the prescription -in 1878, before her marriage, and of which the chemist made an entry -in his books, which came to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" -id="Page_348">[348]</a></span> light, after the trial, under the -following circumstances:</p> - -<p>Among the few articles which Mr. Maybrick’s brothers -allowed to be taken from the house, they being the legatees of the -deceased, was a Bible which had belonged to Mrs. Maybrick’s -father, and which, with some other relics, came into the hands of -Mrs. Maybrick’s mother, the Baroness von Roques, who, months -afterward, happening to turn over the leaves of the Bible, came across -a small piece of printed paper, evidently mislaid there, being a New -York chemist’s label, with a New York doctor’s prescription -written on the back, for an arsenical face wash “for external -use, to be applied with a sponge twice a day.”</p> - -<p>This prescription contained Fowler’s solution of arsenic, -chlorate of potash, rose-water, and rectified spirits; and was -again made up, on the 17th of July, 1878, by a French chemist, Mr. -L. Brouant, 81 Avenue D’Eylau, Paris. It corroborates Mrs. -Maybrick’s statement at the trial<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span> that the fly-papers -were being soaked for the purpose alleged by her. If Mrs. Maybrick had -obtained or purchased the seventy or eighty grains of arsenic found in -the house after the death, it is inconceivable that she should have -openly manufactured more arsenic with the fly-papers. At the time she -prepared the statement she had reason to believe that the prescription -had been lost. She knew, therefore, it would be impossible for her to -corroborate her story about the face wash, and she could have omitted -that incident altogether, and contented herself by saying that she -learned the preparation while at school in Germany.</p> - -<p>[In further explanation I desire to state that during my -girlhood, as well as subsequently, I suffered occasionally, due -to gastric causes, from an irritation of the skin. One of my -schoolmates, observing that it troubled me a good deal, offered me -a face lotion of her own preparation, explaining that it was much -more difficult to obtain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" -id="Page_350">[350]</a></span> an arsenical ingredient abroad than -in America, and to avoid any consequent annoyance she extracted the -necessary small quantity of arsenic by the soaking of fly-papers. I had -never had occasion to do so myself, as I had a prescription from Dr. -Bay; but when I discovered that I had mislaid or lost this, I recalled -the method of my friend, being, however, wholly ignorant of what -quantity might be required. The reason why I wanted a cosmetic at this -time was that I was going to a fancy dress ball with my husband’s -brother, and that my face was at that time in an uncomfortable state of -irritation.—F. E. M.]</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Administration of Arsenic not Proved</span></h3> - -<p>Dealing with the question, did Mrs. Maybrick administer the arsenic, -there is absolutely no evidence <em>that she did. It was not for the -prisoner to prove her innocence.</em> She was seen neither to administer -the arsenic nor to put it in the food or<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> drink taken by the -deceased, and this issue was found against her in the absence of any -evidence in support.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Intent to Murder not Proved</span></h3> - -<p>Mrs. Maybrick’s statement also bears strongly upon the -question of administering with intent to murder. It is equally -inconceivable that a guilty woman would have said anything about the -white powder in the meat juice. She had nothing to gain by making such -a statement, which could only land her in the sea of difficulties -without any possible benefit, and here again the probabilities are -entirely in her favor. It is beyond a doubt that Mr. Maybrick was in -the habit, or had at some time or other been in the habit, of drugging -himself with all sorts of medicines, including arsenic, and assumably -he had obtained relief from it, or he would not have continued the -practise.</p> - -<p>Mr. Justice Stephen, in his summing-up,<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span> animadverted in very -strong terms on the testimony of arsenic being used for cosmetic -purposes, although expert chemists had certified to large use of -arsenic for such a purpose. An immense degree of speculation must have -entered the minds of the jury before they could find as they did, and -bridge the gulf between the soaking of the fly-papers and the death -of Mr. Maybrick, for it is quite evident that the soaking of the -fly-papers was the one connection between the arsenic and the prisoner -upon which all the subsequent events turned; and, if that be so, the -importance is seen at once of the statement she made regarding that -incident, and conclusive evidence as to which was subsequently found in -the providentially recovered prescription.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 537px;"> -<a id="plate13"></a> -<img src="images/i383.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="center noindent">SAMUEL V. HAYDEN,<br /> -Of Hayden & Yarrell, American counsel of Mrs. Maybrick.</p> -</div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Absence of Concealment by Prisoner</span></h3> - -<p>Another remarkable circumstance is the absence of any attempt at -concealment on the prisoner’s part. The fly-papers were<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span> -purchased openly from chemists who knew the Maybricks well, and they -were left soaking in such a manner as at once to refute any suggestion -of secrecy; and her voluntary statement about the white powder which -she placed in the meat juice, as to which there was absolutely no -evidence to connect her with its presence there, seems inconsistent -with the theory the prosecution attempted to build upon <em>a number of -assumptions of which the accuracy was not proved</em>.</p> - -<p>The question of the prisoner’s guilt was not capable of being -reduced to any issue upon which the prosecution could bring to bear -direct evidence; the most they were capable of doing was to show that -the prisoner had <em>opportunities</em> of administering poison, which she -<em>shared with every individual in the house</em>; further, that she had -arsenic in her possession (and this was an <em>open secret</em>, as we have -already explained with reference to the fly-papers); and, lastly, -that she had the possibility of extracting<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span> arsenic in sufficient -quantities to cause death, which was, however, extremely doubtful; -and then the prosecution tried to complete this indirect evidence by -proving that Mr. Maybrick died from arsenic poisoning, <em>which they -signally failed to do</em>. The strong point of the prosecution, as they -alleged, was that a bottle of Valentine’s meat juice had been -seen in her hands on the night of Thursday, the 9th of May, and she -replaced it in the bedroom, where it was afterward found by Michael -Maybrick, and analyzed by Mr. Davis, who found half a grain of -“arsenic in solution”; but there was <em>no direct proof</em>, -such as is absolutely necessary to a conviction in a criminal case, -<em>of the identity of the bottle</em> seen in Mrs. Maybrick’s hands -and that given to the analyst, and there was evidence that it had -remained in the bedroom <em>within reach of anybody, Mr. Maybrick himself -included</em>, for eighteen hours, and did not until the next day reach the -hands of the analyst. These bottles are all alike in appearance,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span> -of similar turnip-like shape as the bovril bottles now sold, and it -is clear there was more than one, because Dr. Humphreys says in his -evidence that on visiting his patient on the 6th of May he found some -of the Valentine’s meat extract had made Mr. Maybrick sick, which -he was not surprised at, as it often made people sick; while Nurse -Gore, speaking of the bottle seen in the hands of Mrs. Maybrick, said -it was a <em>fresh, unused bottle</em>, which she had herself opened only an -hour before.</p> - -<p>No evidence was given of what became of the opened bottle, and the -presence of the arsenic having already been accounted for, and the fact -recorded that the meat juice was not given to Mr. Maybrick, there is -nothing to add to what has already been said, except that the account -exactly dovetails with the prisoner’s own voluntary statement.</p> - -<p>Can any one, closely following the evidence throughout, -fail to be impressed with the <em>inconsistency of Mrs. -Maybrick’s conduct<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" -id="Page_356">[356]</a></span> in relation to her husband’s -illness with a desire to murder him?</em> In all recorded cases of -poisoning, the utmost precautions to screen the victim from observation -have been observed. In the present instance it would seem as if just -the reverse object had been aimed at. We find the prisoner <em>first -giving the alarm about the attack</em> of illness; first sending for -the doctors, brothers, and friends; first suggesting that something -taken by her husband, some drug or medicine, was at the bottom of the -mischief. We find the very first thing she does is to administer a -mustard emetic—the last thing one would have expected if there -had been a desire to poison him. If the prisoner <em>had wished to put -everybody in the house, and the doctors themselves, on the scent of -poison, she could not have acted differently</em>.</p> - -<p>[See also “Mrs. Maybrick’s Own Analysis of the -Meat-Juice Incident,” page <a href="#Page_366">366</a>.]</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" -id="Page_357">[357]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Some Important Deductions from Medical -Testimony</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">From</span> Dr. -Humphreys’ testimony it appears that, after the days when he was -away from the patient, and when Mrs. Maybrick had undisturbed access to -her husband, <em>no symptoms whatever of arsenical poisoning appeared</em>. -If, then, arsenic was administered by Mrs. Maybrick under the -doctors’ eyes, without their detecting it, <em>what value can attach -to the testimony of the medical attendants</em> as to the cause of death, -apart from the post-mortem examination, by which they practically admit -<em>they allowed their judgment to be governed</em>?</p> - -<p>Does not the only alternative present itself that Drs. Humphreys -and Carter are driven to the admission: “That the deceased -died of arsenical poisoning we deduce, not from the <em>symptoms during -life</em>, but from the fact that <em>arsenic was found in the body after -death</em>”?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" -id="Page_358">[358]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Symptoms Due to Poisonous Drugs</span></h3> - -<p>From the medical testimony it appears that the following list of -<em>poisonous drugs</em> was prescribed and administered to Mr. Maybrick -shortly before his death:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>April 28, 1899, diluted prussic acid; April 29, Papaine’s -iridin; May 3, morphia suppository; May 4, ipecacuanha; May 5, prussic -acid; May 6, Fowler’s solution of arsenic; May 7, jaborandi -tincture and antipyrin; May 10, sulfonal, cocain, and phosphoric -acid.</p> - -<p>Also, during the same period, the following were prescribed: -bismuth, double doses; nitro-glycerin; cascara; nitro-hydrochloric acid -(composed of nux vomica, strychnin, and brucine); Plummer’s pills -(containing antimony and calomel); bromide of potassium; tincture of -hyoscyamus; tincture of henbane; chlorin.</p></div> - -<p>Now it will be observed that up to May 6, when Fowler’s -solution of arsenic was administered, no symptom whatever had<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span> been -observed <em>at all compatible with the effects of arsenic</em>.</p> - -<p>The sickness produced by the morphia continued after the taking of -arsenic, and down the unfortunate man’s throat prussic acid, -papaine, iridin, morphia, ipecacuanha, and arsenic, some of the most -powerful drugs known to the pharmacopœia, had found their way by -the advice of Dr. Humphreys, in less than a week, while he was told to -eat nothing, and allay his thirst with a damp cloth; and the charge of -poisoning is made against the prisoner because he is suggested to have -had an irritant poison in his stomach, and minute traces of arsenic in -some other organs, within five days afterward.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Death from Natural Causes</span></h3> - -<p>The whole history of the case, from its medical aspect, is -consistent with the small quantity of arsenic found in the body being -part of that prescribed by Dr. Humphreys,<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span> or the remains of that -taken by the deceased himself, <em>there being no particle of evidence -to show that he discontinued the habit of drugging himself almost up -to the day of his death</em>. This is also in accord with the evidence of -Dr. Carter, who attended at a later period, and, taken as a whole, the -evidence of both of these doctors, as well as their treatment of the -deceased, points to <em>death from natural causes</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Prosecution’s Deductions from Post-mortem -Analysis Misleading</span></h3> - -<p>The evidence of the prosecution in connection with the analysis -was thoroughly <em>unreliable and misleading</em>. Dr. Stevenson’s -difficulty was that, while two grains of arsenic was the smallest -quantity capable of killing, the analyst had found only one-tenth of -a grain, or the twentieth part of the smallest fatal dose, and, in -substance, Dr. Stevenson proceeds to argue as follows:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span></p> - -<p>(<i>a</i>) I found 0.015 grain of arsenic in 8 ounces of intestines. -(There is no record as to what part of the intestines he examined.) I -have weighed the intestines of some other person (not Mr. Maybrick), -and find their entire weight to be so much. If, then, 8 ounces of Mr. -Maybrick’s intestines yield 0.015 grain, the entire intestines -(calculated from the weight of some one else’s intestines), had I -analyzed them, would have yielded one-eleventh of a grain.</p> - -<p>(<i>b</i>) Dr. Stevenson then proceeds to argue: “I found 0.026 -grain of arsenic in 4 ounces of liver. The entire liver weighed -48 ounces, <em>therefore the entire liver contained 0.32 grain of -arsenic</em>.”</p> - -<p>(<i>c</i>) Dr. Stevenson argues further: “The intestines and liver, -therefore, may be taken to contain together four-tenths of a grain of -arsenic, and, having found four-tenths of a grain, I <em>assume</em> that -the body at the time of death <em>probably contained a fatal dose of -arsenic</em>.”</p> - -<p>Such was the deduction Dr. Stevenson<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span> arrived at, -<em>necessitating the assumption that arsenic was equally distributed in -the intestines and liver</em>, whereas it is within the <em>personal knowledge -of eminent men</em> (such as Drs. Tidy and Macnamara) that arsenic may be -found after death <em>in one portion of the intestines, and not a trace -of it in any other part</em>. That in arsenical poisoning the arsenic may -be found in the rectum and in the duodenum, and in no other part, is -beyond dispute, and the <em>fallacy of Dr. Stevenson’s process must -be self-evident</em>.</p> - -<p>The witnesses for the prosecution themselves supply the proof of the -unequal distribution of the arsenic in the liver.</p> - -<p>Mr. Davies calculates the quantity in the whole liver as 0.130 -grain.</p> - -<p>Dr. Stevenson, in his first experiment, puts it at 0.312 grain, -and in his second experiment at 0.278 grain; in other words, Dr. -Stevenson finds <em>double in one experiment</em> and considerably <em>more -than double in another experiment, the quantity found by Mr. Davies, -and it is upon this glaring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" -id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> miscalculation and discrepancy that -the case for the prosecution was made</em> to rest, and Mrs. Maybrick was -convicted.</p> - -<p>But with all this miscalculation the approximate amount of arsenic -<em>can only be swelled up to four-tenths of a grain, less than one-fourth -of a fatal dose</em>, and it was demonstrated that every other part of the -body, urine, bile, stomach, contents of stomach, heart, lungs, spleen, -fluid from mouth, and even bones, <em>were all found to be free from -arsenic</em>.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Recapitulation Of Legal Points</span></h3> - -<p>The legal points of the case may thus conveniently be recapitulated -under the following short heads:</p> - -<p>There <em>was no conclusive</em> evidence that Mr. Maybrick died from other -than natural causes (the word “conclusive” being used in -the sense of <em>free from doubt</em>).</p> - -<p>There was no conclusive evidence that he died from arsenical -poisoning.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" -id="Page_364">[364]</a></span></p> - -<p>There was no evidence that the prisoner administered or attempted to -administer arsenic to him.</p> - -<p>There was no evidence that the prisoner, if she did administer or -attempt to administer arsenic, did so with intent to murder.</p> - -<p>The judge, while engaged in his summing-up, placed himself in a -position where his mind was open to the influence of public discussion -and prejudice, to which was probably attributable the evident change in -his summing-up between the first and second days; and he also <em>assumed -facts against the prisoner which were not proved</em>.</p> - -<p>The jury were <em>allowed to separate</em> and frequent places of public -resort and entertainment during such summing-up.</p> - -<p>The verdict was <em>against the weight of evidence</em>.</p> - -<p>The jury <em>did not give the prisoner the benefit of the doubt</em> -suggested by the disagreement of expert witnesses on a material issue -in the case.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" -id="Page_365">[365]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Home Secretary should have remitted the entire sentence by -reason of his being satisfied that there existed a <em>reasonable doubt of -her guilt</em>, which, had it been taken into consideration at the time, -would have entitled <em>her to an acquittal</em>.</p> - -<p>The indictment contained no specific account of felonious -administration of poison, and consequently the jury found the prisoner -guilty of an offense <em>for which she was never tried</em>.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span></p> - -<h2 class="sub">Mrs. Maybrick’s Own Analysis<br /> - -<span class="smcap f80">Of The Meat-Juice Incident</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquot f90"> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">I said</span> in my statement -to the Court, regarding this meat juice, that: “On Thursday -night, the 9th, after Nurse Gore had given my husband beef juice, I -went and sat on the bed by the side of him. He complained to me of -feeling very sick, very weak, and very depressed, and again implored -me to give him a powder, which he had referred to early in the evening -and which I had then declined to give him. I was overwrought, terribly -anxious, miserably unhappy, and his evident distress utterly unnerved -me. He told me the powder would not harm him, and that I could put it -in his food. I then consented. My lord, I had not one true or honest -friend in the house. I had no one to consult and no one to advise me. -I was deposed from my position as mistress in my own house and from -the position of attending on my own husband, notwithstanding that he -was so ill. Notwithstanding the evidence of nurses and servants, I may -say that he wished to have me with him. [This desire was corroborated -by the testimony of Nurse Callery.] He missed me whenever I was not -with him. Whenever I went out of the room he asked for me, and for four -days before he died I was not allowed to give him even a piece of ice -without its being taken from my hand. When I found the powder I took it -into the inner room, and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" -id="Page_367">[367]</a></span> pushing through the door I upset the -bottle, and, in order to make up the quantity of fluid spilled, I added -a considerable quantity of water. On returning to the room I found my -husband asleep, and I placed the bottle on the table by the window. -When he awoke he had a choking sensation in his throat and vomiting. -After that he appeared a little better. As he did not ask for the -powder again, and as I was not anxious to give it to him, I removed -the bottle from the small table, where it would attract his attention, -to the top of the washstand, where he could not see it. There I left -it until I believe Mr. Michael Maybrick took possession of it. Until a -few minutes before Mr. Bryning made the terrible charge against me, no -one in that house had informed me of the fact that a death certificate -had been refused, or that a post-mortem examination had taken place, -or that there was any reason to suppose that my husband died from -other than natural causes. It was only when Mrs. Briggs alluded to the -presence of arsenic in the meat juice that I was made aware of the -[supposed] nature of the powder my husband had asked me to give him. I -then attempted to make an explanation to Mrs. Briggs, such as I am now -making to your lordship, when a policeman interrupted the conversation -and put a stop to it.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Some time after my conviction there was found among my effects -a prescription for a face wash containing arsenic (the existence -of which Justice Stephen in his summing up flouted as an invention -of mine to cover an intent to poison). This, together with the -fact that on analysis no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" -id="Page_368">[368]</a></span> trace of “fiber” was -discovered in the body or in any of the things containing poison found -in the house, should remove the “fly-paper incident” from -all serious consideration in its bearing on the case (although it was -the source of all “suspicions” before death).</p> - -<div class="figcenter illus" style="max-width: 536px;"> -<a id="plate14"></a> -<img src="images/i401.jpg" alt="" /> -<p class="center noindent">LEONIDAS D. YARRELL,<br /> -Of Hayden & Yarrell, American counsel of Mrs. Maybrick.</p> -</div> - -<p>There remain only as “circumstantial evidence of guilt” -what has come to be known as the “motive,” and the -Valentine’s meat-juice incident. The “motive,” -however regarded, was surely no incentive to murder, as inasmuch if -I wanted to be free there was sufficient evidence in my possession -(in the nature of infidelity and cruelty) to secure a divorce, and it -was with regard to steps in that direction that I had already taken -that I made confession to my husband after our reconciliation, and -to which I referred as to the “wrong” I had done him, -because of the publicity and ruin to his business it involved. The -“motive,” which was introduced into the case in the form -of a letter written by me on the 8th of<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span> May, in which I said -that my husband was “sick unto death,” was made much of by -the prosecution, and it led Justice Stephen to say, in his summing-up, -“that I could not have known that my husband was dying (except -I knew something others did not suspect), inasmuch as the doctors, -from the diagnosis, did not consider the case at all serious.” -The justice either did not or would not understand (though it was -testified to) that the phrase, “sick unto death,” is -an American colloquialism, especially of the South, and commonly -employed with reference to any illness at all serious. Aside from the -fact that all in attendance (save and except the doctors per their -medical testimony) did regard it as serious—a witness for the -prosecution, Mrs. Briggs, testified that she regarded him on that -day as “dangerously ill,” and Mr. Michael Maybrick said -that when he saw his brother on the evening of the same day “he -was shocked by his appearance”—I may say here that the -phrase “sick unto death,” in<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span> connection with other -causes for apprehension, was prompted by the fact that my husband -had told me that very morning that “he thought he was going to -die”; and that this was his feeling is conclusively shown by the -evidence of Dr. Humphreys at the inquest, when he testified that he -had remarked to Mr. Michael Maybrick on this same Wednesday, the 8th -of May: “I am not satisfied with your brother, and I will tell -you why [not because the symptoms seemed serious to him, it will be -observed]. <em>Your brother tells me he is going to die.</em>”</p> - -<p>That I regarded the case as really serious is surely further -supported by the fact that, notwithstanding the easy-going attitude -of Dr. Humphreys, I had persisted in urging a consultation, which -accordingly took place on the 7th. As to what the attending physicians -<em>knew</em> or <em>did not know</em> about the medical aspects of the case, I -confidently refer the reader to their own remarkable testimony.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" -id="Page_371">[371]</a></span></p> - -<p>There then remains for serious consideration only what is known as -the “Valentine meat-juice incident.” Of this I know no -more now than is included in my statement at the trial—namely, -that at my husband’s urgent, piteous request I placed a powder -(which by his direction I took from a pocket in his vest, hanging in -the adjoining room, which room until his sickness had been his private -bedroom, he having been removed to mine as being larger and more airy) -in a bottle of meat juice, no part of the contents of which were given -him, and hence at the very most there could only have legally arisen -from this act a charge of “intent to poison.”</p> - -<p>I do not assume that I can solve a problem that has puzzled so many -able minds, but I trust I shall make clear that the prosecution can -not acquit itself of the inference of “cooking” up a case -against me with reference to this meat-juice incident:</p> - -<p>1. At the inquest, only a few days after<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span> the occurrence, Nurse -Gore testified, “I could and did see <em>clearly</em> what Mrs. Maybrick -did with the bottle,” though she failed to tell what she saw; -and it is remarkable she was not further questioned on this point. At -the magisterial inquiry and trial, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">per contra</i>, she testified that -“she [I] pushed the door to conceal (note the animus) her [my] -movements”; but on cross-examination she so far corrected herself -as to say: “Mrs. Maybrick did <em>not</em> shut the dressing-room -door.”</p> - -<p>2. When I returned with the bottle to the sick-room, she -testified that I placed it on the table in a “<em>surreptitious -manner</em>,” though this action, according to her own testimony, -happened while “she [I] raised her right hand and replaced the -bottle on the table, while she [I] was talking to me [her].”</p> - -<p>If one wanted to do such an act “surreptitiously,” would -one choose the moment of all others when by conversation one is calling -attention to oneself? Do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" -id="Page_373">[373]</a></span> not the two things involve a direct -contradiction?</p> - -<p>3. It is in evidence that an hour after I had placed the bottle on a -little table in the window, I returned to the room and removed it from -the table to the washstand (where it remained during most of the next -day), lest the sight of it should renew Mr. Maybrick’s desire for -it, as he had just awakened. Note how this bottle is juggled with by -the witnesses for the prosecution.</p> - -<p>Michael Maybrick, at the inquest, in answer to the question, -“Where did you find the Valentine’s meat juice?” -replied: “I found it on a <em>little table mixed up</em> with -<em>several other bottles</em>.” Note the particularity of this -bottle being <em>mixed up with several other bottles</em>. Obviously he at -this time, only a few days after the event, had a clear picture of -the situation in his mind. In corroboration of this testimony that -the bottle <em>he took</em> was on the table and <em>not on the washstand</em>, -there is the testimony of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" -id="Page_374">[374]</a></span> Nurse Callery, who at the inquest -stated: “My attention was called by her [Nurse Gore] to a -bottle of Valentine’s meat juice, which was on <em>a table</em> in -Mr. Maybrick’s room. I took a sample. I don’t know what -became of the bottle of meat juice. I saw Mr. Michael Maybrick in the -room before going off duty at 4.50 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> on -Friday, but did not see him take the meat juice away.”</p> - -<p>Nurse Gore gave her testimony at the inquest <em>after</em> the two -others, and deposed that Mr. Michael Maybrick took the bottle from -the <em>washstand</em> where I had placed it, thus contradicting Michael -Maybrick, and in a way also Nurse Callery, who testified that Nurse -Gore called her attention to a bottle on the <em>small table</em>. Obviously -this difference introduces <em>two</em> bottles; but this would never answer -the prosecution, and accordingly Mr. Michael Maybrick at the trial -dropped <em>the table</em> sworn to at the inquest and fell in line with -Nurse Gore in so far as to say: “It was standing on the<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span> -<em>washstand</em>, and it was <em>among some other bottles</em>.” Note -that, while he substitutes the <em>washstand</em> for the <em>table</em>, he still -clings to the <em>bottles</em>—a most important circumstance—as -it was indubitably shown that there were on the <em>washstand</em> only the -“ordinary basins and jugs” (water pitchers). Obviously -Mr. Michael Maybrick had not fully comprehended the purpose of the -prosecution in “harmonizing” the testimony with that of -Nurse Gore; the “bottles” were too clearly in his mind to -be dropped without a distinct effort, and he naturally introduced them -again; and, to fit in with the Nurse Gore and the amended Mr. Michael -Maybrick evidence, Nurse Callery also changed front at the trial, and -the <em>table</em> of her inquest testimony is also turned into a washstand. -It is in evidence that as late as the 6th of May my husband took -meat juice out of a bottle then in the room, the contents of which, -however, did not agree with him, and upon the <em>order of Dr. Humphreys</em> -its giving was discontinued, he adding that he was “not<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span> -surprised,” as it was known not to agree with some people.</p> - -<p>Although this was the doctor’s order, Mr. Edwin Maybrick took -it upon himself to procure a fresh bottle, and, distinctly against -the same order, Nurse Gore set about to administer its contents. -Subsequently a bottle of meat juice, half full, was found in a small -wooden box with other bottles (one of them containing arsenic in -solution) in my husband’s hat-box.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, though we are here undeniably dealing with <em>three</em> -meat-juice bottles, only two were accounted for at the trial. What -became of the third bottle? And which of the <em>three</em> was missing? Now, -furthermore, it is in evidence that Nurse Callery handled one of these -bottles (between the time that I placed one on the washstand and the -time when Mr. Michael Maybrick, more than twelve hours later, took one -either from the <em>table</em> or the <em>washstand</em> for analysis), for she took -a sample of it, which she afterward threw away.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" -id="Page_377">[377]</a></span></p> - -<p>As all Valentine’s meat-juice bottles look alike, Mr. Michael -Maybrick showed sufficient caution to say he could not identify -the bottle shown him; but Nurse Gore, to whom every act of mine, -however innocent, was fraught with “surreptitiousness” -and “suspicion,” balked at no such scruples, but boldly -testified that the bottle produced in court was the identical one that -Mr. Michael Maybrick “took from the washstand,” even though -at the inquest, when his memory was freshest, he testified that he took -it from the <em>table</em>.</p> - -<p>It should be remembered that my statement to the court was to the -effect that I put a powder (its nature unknown to me) in the meat-juice -bottle I had in my hands. Yet no bottle containing a powder, or in -which a powder had been dissolved, appeared in evidence. According -to the analyst, the bottle submitted to him contained arsenic that -had been put in in a state of solution. Now it resolves itself to -this: either I uttered a falsehood about the<span class="pagenum"><a -name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span> powder and really -introduced a solution, or another bottle was substituted for the one I -had for two minutes in my possession.</p> - -<p>The contention of the prosecution was that I “invented” -the powder, precisely as it was contended I “invented” -the face-wash prescription which was found after the trial. If I -“invented” the powder, how did I come by the solution? If -I had had arsenic in solution in my possession, would I have gone to -the trouble of making a solution for a face wash by the clumsy method -of soaking fly-papers? Is not the proposition quite absurd on its -face—that I should openly call attention to a method of arsenic -extraction with the object of murder, when I already had the means at -my command?</p> - -<p>Finally, let it be borne in mind, as stated by Justice Stephen -himself as a remarkable fact, that no arsenic was traced to my -procurement or found in my personal belongings (save and except -the innocuous fly-papers), and I may add that no arsenic was<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span> -traced to any one connected with the case, except to my husband.</p> - -<p>I say it is absolutely clear that the bottle of Valentine’s -meat juice which Mr. Michael Maybrick took possession of and handed -to Dr. Carter is not the same bottle which Nurse Gore saw me place on -the washstand. There should be no flaw in the identity of the bottle -which was handed to the analyst and the one which was in my hands, and -I think the reader will say that it is impossible to conceive a greater -<em>flaw in any evidence of identity</em> than shown by these witnesses of the -prosecution at the inquest, when their minds were freshest as to their -respective parts in this incident, and at the trial.</p> - -<p>Those of my readers who follow the analysis of the testimony as -presented by Messrs. Lumley & Lumley can hardly have failed -to be impressed by the fact that I was surrounded by unscrupulous -enemies, by people who not only had extraordinary knowledge as -to where to look for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" -id="Page_380">[380]</a></span> deposits of arsenic, but also remarkable -intuitions that arsenic had been administered before any evidence of -the presence of poison had been analytically proven.</p> - -<p>In the above I have not aimed to make an analysis of the testimony, -such as, for example, on the evidence now available, Lord Russell could -have made; I have simply endeavored to satisfy my readers that I have -substantial grounds for asserting my innocence before the world.</p> - -<p class="right mr2"><span class="smcap">Florence Elizabeth -Maybrick.</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span></p> - -<h2>MEMORIALS FOR RESPITE OF SENTENCE</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">From the Physicians of Liverpool</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap">In</span> a memorial for -respite of sentence of Mrs. Maybrick, which was signed by leading -medical practitioners of Liverpool, the petitioners say in part:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“3. It was admitted by the medical testimony on behalf of -the prosecution that the symptoms during life and the post-mortem -appearances were in themselves insufficient to justify the conclusion -that death was caused by arsenic, and that it was only the discovery of -traces of that poison in certain parts of the viscera which eventually -led to that conclusion.</p> - -<p>“4. The arsenic so found in the viscera was less in quantity -than <em>that found in any previous case of arsenical poisoning in which -arsenic has been found at all</em>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" -id="Page_382">[382]</a></span></p> - -<p>“5. There was indisputable evidence on the part of the defense -that the deceased had been in the habit of taking arsenic, both -medicinally and otherwise, for many years, and that the small quantity -found in the viscera was inconsistent with the theory of a fatal dose -at any time or times during the period covered by the illness of the -deceased.</p> - -<p>“6. Lastly, your memorialists agree with the evidence given -by Dr. Tidy, Dr. Macnamara, and Mr. Paul on behalf of the defense, -that the medical evidence on behalf of the prosecution <em>had entirely -failed to prove that the death was due to arsenical poisoning at -all</em>.”</p></div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">From the Bars of Liverpool and -London</span></h3> - -<p>Leading members of the Bars of Liverpool and London signed a -memorial praying a reprieve of Mrs. Maybrick’s sentence “on -the ground ... of the great conflict of medical testimony as to the -cause of death” of Mr. Maybrick.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">From Citizens of Liverpool</span></h3> - -<p>A petition for reprieve of Mrs. Maybrick’s sentence was signed -by many and influential citizens of Liverpool. Among the reasons urged -were:</p> - -<p>3. Lack of direct evidence of administration of arsenic.</p> - -<p>4. The weak case against prisoner on general facts unduly prejudiced -by evidence of motive.</p> - -<p>5. Preponderance of medical testimony that death was ascribable to -natural causes.</p> - -<div class="blockquot f90"> - -<p>[I feel a deep respect for the noble avowal given in the petition -of the medical practitioners of Liverpool, who must have felt the -honor of their profession at stake, and that their individual dignity -and humanity were concerned. The feeling among the Bar on receipt -of the verdict was an almost universal, if not a quite unanimous, -one of surprise. I have already mentioned (in Part One), the change -of attitude of the citizens of Liverpool toward me, as the trial -progressed, from hostility to belief in my innocence.—F. E. -M.]</p></div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" -id="Page_384">[384]</a></span></p> - -<h2>NEW EVIDENCE</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Arsenic Sold to Maybrick by Druggist</span></h3> - -<p class="drop-cap2">MR. EDWIN GARNETT HEATON, a retired chemist -(druggist), formerly carried on business at 14 Exchange Street East, -Liverpool, for seventeen years; he retired from business in 1888. He -testified at the trial:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Mr. Maybrick called frequently at my shop for about -ten years or more, off and on. He used to get the tonic called -‘pick-me-up.’ He would come to the shop, get it, and drink -it up. He gave me a prescription which altered it, which I put up -with <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">liquor arsenicalis</i>. He brought the prescription for the first -few times; I used afterward to give it him at once, when he came into -the shop and gave his order. I prepared the ‘pick-me-up’ -and added the stuff. At the beginning of giving it to<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span> -him, a certain quantity of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">liquor arsenicalis</i> was given, and as it -continued it was gradually increased from first to last, so at the last -it was 75 per cent. greater in quantity than it was originally. He used -to get it from two to five times a day, and each containing 75 per -cent. increase.”</p></div> - -<p>This testimony of Mr. Heaton’s was challenged by the -prosecution, and considerably nullified by the fact that he did not -know Mr. Maybrick, his customer, by name, but identified him by a -photograph. To show how inexorably one fatality after another was -woven into the web of my tragic case, it is in order to state that Mr. -Heaton’s connection with Mr. Maybrick could and would undoubtedly -have been perfectly established but for what in the circumstances -can be characterized only as a criminal blunder on the part of the -police. In the printed police list of the score or more medicine -bottles found locked in the private desk of Mr. Maybrick at his office -was one entered as follows: “Spirit of salvolatile,<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span> Edwin -G. Easton, Exchange Street East, Liverpool.” This misprint of -Easton for Heaton escaped the attention of everybody at the trial, and -thus prevented the defense from identifying most circumstantially Mr. -Maybrick with Mr. Heaton’s customer who had the arsenic habit.</p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Arsenic Supplied to Maybrick by Manufacturing -Chemist</span></h3> - -<p>About ten years ago Mr. Valentine Charles Blake, of Victoria -Embankment, son of a well-known baronet and Member of Parliament, -made a voluntary statutory declaration [corroborated on oath in every -possible essential by William Bryer Nation, of No. 7 Lion Street, a -manufacturing chemist and patentee], that Mr. Maybrick, about two -months before his death, procured through him (Mr. Blake), from Mr. -Nation’s supplies, as much as 150 grains of arsenic in various -forms. Mr. Nation, assisted by Mr. Blake, had made certain<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span> -chemical experiments in preparing ramie, the fiber of rhea grass, to -serve as a substitute for cotton. Among other ingredients used was -arsenic, some in pure form (white arsenic), some mixed with soot, and -some mixed with charcoal. In January, 1889, the process was perfected, -and some time during the same month Mr. Nation sent Mr. Blake to see -Mr. Maybrick, to get his assistance in placing the product on the -market. Mr. Maybrick was interested in the proposition and inquired -closely into the nature of the process, what ingredients were used, -etc. The deponent told him that, among other materials, arsenic was -employed.</p> - -<p>Then, to quote the exact words of the deposition, Mr. Blake went on -to say:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“14. The said Mr. Maybrick shortly afterward, during -discussion at the same interview, asked me whether I had heard that -many inhabitants of Styria, in Austria, habitually took arsenic -internally and throve upon it. I said that I had heard so.<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span> -He then spoke to me of De Quincey, the author of ‘Confessions -of an Opium-Eater,’ and asked me had I read the work. I said, -‘Yes,’ and that I wondered De Quincey could have taken -such a quantity as 900 drops of laudanum in a day. The said James -Maybrick said, ‘One man’s poison is another man’s -meat, and there is a so-called poison which is like meat and liquor to -me whenever I feel weak and depressed. It makes me stronger in mind -and in body at once,’ or words to that effect. I ventured to ask -him what it was. He answered, ‘I don’t tell everybody, and -wouldn’t tell you, only you mentioned arsenic. It is arsenic. I -take it when I can get it, but the doctors won’t put any into my -medicine except now and then a trifle, that only tantalizes me,’ -or words to that effect. After a pause, during which I said nothing, -the said James Maybrick said: ‘Since you use arsenic, can you -let me have some? I find a difficulty in getting it here.’ I -answered that I had some by me, and that, since I had only used it -for experiments which were now perfected, I had no further use for -it, and he (Maybrick) was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" -id="Page_389">[389]</a></span> welcome to all I had left. He then asked -me what it was worth, and offered to pay for it in advance. I replied -that I had no license to sell drugs, and suggested that we should make -it a <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">quid pro quo</i>. Mr. Maybrick was to do his best with the ramie -grass product, and I was to make him a present of the arsenic I had.</p> - -<p>“15. It was finally agreed that when I came to Liverpool -again, as arranged I should bring with me and hand him the arsenic -aforesaid.</p> - -<p>“16. <i>In February, 1889</i>, I again called at the office of -the said James Maybrick, in Liverpool, and, as promised, I handed -him all the arsenic I had at my command, amounting to about 150 -grains, some of the ‘white’ and some of the two kinds -of ‘black’ arsenic, in three separate paper packets. I -told him to be careful, as he had ‘almost enough to poison -a regiment.’ When we separated the said James Maybrick took -away the said arsenic with him, saying he was going home to his -house at Aigburth, to which he invited me. Having a train to catch, -I declined the invitation, promising to accept it on my next<span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span> visit -to Liverpool, but before that occurred I read of his death.</p> - -<p>“17. After the wife of the said James Maybrick had been -accused of his alleged murder, I wrote to Mr. Cleaver, her then -solicitor, of Liverpool, to the effect that I could give some evidence -which might be of use to his client, and I posted such letter but -received no reply.</p> - -<p>“18. At this time I was intensely anxious as to the fate of -my only son, Valentine Blake, who had in the previous year sailed -on board the ship <cite>Melanasia</cite> from South Shields for Valparaiso, -which ship was then very long overdue and unheard of. I eventually -learned, as a result of a Board of Trade inquiry, that the said ship -must have foundered with all hands, my only son included. At the -time I wrote as aforesaid to Mr. Cleaver, my entire attention was -engrossed in endeavoring to get news as to the ship which never came -home, and I felt little interest in any other subject. Receiving -no reply to my said letter to Mr. Cleaver, I took no further steps -in the matter until, seeing recently in a newspaper that Mr. -Jonathan E. Harris, of 95<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" -id="Page_391">[391]</a></span> Leadenhall Street, in the city of -London, was now acting for Mrs. James Maybrick and her mother, the -Baroness de Roques, I called at the offices of the said Mr. Harris and -made to him a statement.”</p></div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Depositions as to Mr. Maybrick’s Arsenic -Habit</span></h3> - -<p>On August 10, Henry Bliss, former proprietor of Sefton Club and -Chambers, Liverpool, made a sworn deposition, in which he said:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Mr. Maybrick lived in the chambers on and off several months, -and was in the habit of dosing himself. On one occasion he asked me -to leave a prescription at a well-known Liverpool chemist’s to -be made up by the time he left ‘Change. The chemist remarked: -‘He ought to be very careful and not take an overdose of -it.’”</p></div> - -<p>On March 31, 1891, Franklin George Bancroft, artist and -writer, of Columbia,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" -id="Page_392">[392]</a></span> S. C., made a sworn deposition, in which -he said:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“1. Between the years 1874 and 1876 I was personally -acquainted with James Maybrick, late of Battlecrease House, Aigburth, -near Liverpool, merchant, deceased, who was then living in Norfolk, Va. -I was frequently in his company, and from time to time I have <em>seen -him take from his vest pocket a case resembling a cigarette case, -which contained a packet of white powders</em>, and place the contents of -one such powder on several occasions into the glass of wine (usually -Chablis, claret, or champagne) he was at the time drinking, and swallow -the same.</p> - -<p>“2. Seeing him take this powder, I did, on one occasion, ask -him what it was, and the said James Maybrick replied, ‘Longevity -and fair complexion, my boy!’ and he subsequently informed me -that the said white powders were composed of <em>arsenic</em> among other -ingredients.”</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" -id="Page_393">[393]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Justice Stephen’s Retirement</span></h3> - -<p>There are also facts in relation to the judge who tried the case -which, had they been anticipated at the time of the trial, could not -have failed to have had some weight, directly or indirectly, on the -minds of the jury; that is to say, his retirement from the Bench -not long afterward, in April, 1891, when, to quote his own words in -addressing the Bar, of whom he was taking leave, “he had been -made acquainted with the fact that he was regarded by some as no longer -physically capable of discharging his duties”; and it will be no -matter of surprise, to those who have read critically the summing-up of -Mr. Justice Stephen on this trial, to notice the entire change from a -favorable bias between his address to the jury on the first days of the -trial to the violent hostility shown at its conclusion.</p> - -<p>This change of front can be in a manner accounted for, as -it had been suggested to the prisoner’s friends, by -a conversation on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" -id="Page_394">[394]</a></span> the case between Mr. Justice Stephen and -another member of the Bench, Mr. Justice Grantham, at a social meeting -of an entirely private character.</p> - -<p>A mental malady was developed in the judge so soon after the trial -that it was properly said to have been caused <em>by his brooding over -it</em>, and this condition increased so rapidly and markedly that his -<em>resignation was demanded</em>. It is but reasonable to suppose that -the judge’s mental incapacity reached farther back than its -discovery, and that the illogical and unjust summing-up was connected -with the mental overthrow of the otherwise able judge. And it may be -here added that Justice Stephen himself, in the second edition of the -“General Views of the Criminal Law of England, 1890,” says, -at page 173, that out of 979 cases tried before him, from January, -1885, to September, 1889, “the case of Mrs. Maybrick was the only -case in which there could be any doubt about the facts.”</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<p class="ph2">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a -href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> May 12, -1889.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a -href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> A convict -employed in washing, or other exceptional hard work, may have daily -an extra allowance of 3 ounces bread, and cheese 1 ounce, as an -intermediate meal between breakfast and dinner, and an extra allowance -of 1 ounce of meat (uncooked) four times a week. A convict on entering -the second-class will have the choice of 1 pint of tea (made of 1/6 -ounce tea, ½ ounce of sugar, 2 ounces milk) and 2 ounces -additional bread instead of gruel for supper; and a convict on entering -the first or special class will have, in addition to the above, the -choice of 4 ounces of baked mutton cooked in its own liquor, not -flavored or thickened, instead of boiled meat or soup, if she takes tea -instead of gruel. The food is wholesome, but spoiled by overcooking. -But oh, how jaded the palate becomes!</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a -href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Reproduced in -the Introduction to Part Two.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a -href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> The -innocents—my children—one a baby of three years, the other -a boy of seven, I had left behind in the world. They had been taught to -believe that their mother was guilty, and, like their father, was to -them dead. They have grown up to years of understanding under another -name. I know nothing about them. When the pathos of all this touches -the reader’s heart he will realize the tragedy of my case. </p> - -<p>During the early years of my imprisonment I received my -children’s photographs once a year; also several friendly letters -from Mr. Thomas Maybrick, with information about them. But as time -passed on, these ceased altogether. When I could endure the silence no -longer I instructed Mr. R. S. Cleaver, of Liverpool—who had been -the solicitor in my case, and to whose unwavering faith and kindness -I owe a debt I can never hope to repay—to write to Mr. Michael -Maybrick to forward fresh photographs of my boy and girl. To this -request Mr. Thomas Maybrick replied that Mr. Michael Maybrick refused -to permit it. When the matter was further urged Mr. Michael Maybrick -himself wrote to the governor to inform me that my son, who had been -made acquainted with the history of the case, did not wish either his -own or his sister’s photograph to be sent to me.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a -href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The jury was -composed of three plumbers, two farmers, one milliner, one wood-turner, -one provision dealer, one grocer, one ironmonger, one house-painter, -and one baker.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a -href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Mr. -Maybrick’s dressing-room.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a -href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Later evidence -showed that Mr. Maybrick secured as much as 150 grains from one person, -only about two months before his death.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="tnotes"> - -<p class="ph3">Transcriber’s Note</p> - -<p>Minor punctuation errors (i.e. missing periods) have been corrected. -Variations in hyphenation (i.e. hatbox and hat-box) present in the -original text have been retained. - -In the illustration caption <a href="#plate7">following page 144</a>, -Miss Mary A. Dodge was incorrectly referred to as “Miss Mary F. -Dodge.” This has been corrected.</p> - -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My Fifteen Lost Years, by -Florence Elizabeth Maybrick - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY FIFTEEN LOST YEARS *** - -***** This file should be named 55773-h.htm or 55773-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/7/7/55773/ - -Produced by Cindy Horton and The Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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