Celebrated trials of all countries, and remarkable cases of criminal jurisprudence / Selected by a member of the Philadelphia bar [i.e. J.J. Smith].

  • John Jay Smith
Date:
1835
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Celebrated trials of all countries, and remarkable cases of criminal jurisprudence / Selected by a member of the Philadelphia bar [i.e. J.J. Smith]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    133/612 (page 123)
    Q. Do you remember whether he joined you in your walk in the garden, and about what time ? A. He came about seven o'clock out of the house- door to me and Mrs. Donellan, and told us that he had been to see them a-fishing, and that he would have persuaded sir The to come in lest he should take cold, but he could not. Q. Do you recollect at what time sir Theodosius came home'? A. A little after nine o'clock. Q. Was he then apparently in health ? A. He then seemed very well. Q. How did he dispose of himself till he went to bed, and at what time did he go to bed ? A. He went up into his own room soon after he came in. Q. Did he eat any supper] A. I told him I was going up into my room. As I was going up-stairs he called me into his room, and desired my permis- sion to make use of my servant to go next morning with the net, as he ex- pected his friend, Mr. Fonnereau, to come. He went to bed. Q. How did he appear at that time in his health ? A. He seemed very well. Q. What time did you see him next morning? A. About seven o'clock. Q. Did you go into his room at that time ? A. He had desired me to call him as I went by his room in the morning, and give him his physic. Q. At that time in the morning how did he appear as to his health ? A. He appeared then to be very well. Q. Give the jury an account of the physic you gave him, and the manner of its operation. A. I asked him, where the bottle was; he said, it stood there upon the shelf. First of all, he desired me to get him a bit of cheese in order to take the taste out of his mouth, which I did; he desired me to read the label; I accordingly did, and found there was written upon it, purg- ing draught for sir Theodosius Boughton. Q. When you gave him the draught, did he make any, and what observa- tions upon it? A. As I was talking to him I omitted shaking the bottle; he, observing that, said, Pour it back again, and shake the bottle, and in so doing, I spilt part of it upon the table; the rest I gave him. As he was taking it, he observed, it smelt and tasted very nauseous ; upon which, I said, I think it smells very strongly like bitter almonds. I gave him the cheese ; he chewed it and spit it out. He then remarked, that he thought he should not be able to keep the medicine upon his stomach. I asked him if he would have some Water? I gave him some. He washed his mouth, and spit that out, and then laid down. Q. Please to open that bottle (giving lady Boughton the genuine draught), and smell at it, and inform the court whether that smells at all like the medi- cine sir Theodosius took? A. No, it does not. Q. Please to smell this (giving lady Boughton the draught with the laurel water added to it). A. This has a smell very like the smell of the medicine which I gave him. Q. What was the first observation your ladyship made of any appearance upon sir Theodosius after taking the medicine ? A. In two minutes or a minute and a half after he had taken it, he struggled very much ; it appeared to me as if it was to keep it down, and made a prodigious rattling in his stomach, and guggling; and he appeared to me to make very great efforts to keep it down. Court. How did he make a rattling ? A. A noise in his stomach as if it would come up again. Q. How long did you observe these symptoms continue ? A. About ten minutes ; he then seemed as if he was going to sleep, or inclined to dose. Perceiving him a little composed, I went out of the room. I returned in about five minutes after into his room; there, to my great surprise, I found him with his eyes fixed upwards, his teeth clenched, and froth running out of each corner of his mouth.