because persons who had not touched the sauce
had also been seized; therefore it was not in
the milk; nor could it have been in the general
mass of flour, because no one who had merely
eaten the beefsteak pie had suffered. But in
the following part of his remarks, he dwelt on
Eliza's indifference to the sufferings of the
family, suppressing all mention of the fact that
she too was poisoned, and was at that very time
in equal agony. He said:

"Gentlemen, you have now heard the
evidence given on this trial, and the case lies in a
very narrow compass. There are but two
questions for your consideration, and these are, the
fact of poison having been administered, in all,
to four persons; and by what hand such poison
was given. That these persons were poisoned
appears certain from the evidence of Mrs. Charlotte
Turner, Orlibar Turner, Roger Gadsden,
the apprentice, and Robert Turner, for each of
these persons ate of the dumplings, and were all
more or less affected; that is, they were every
one poisoned. That the poison was in the
dough of which these dumplings were composed
has been fully proved, I think, by the testimony
of the surgeon who examined the remains of the
dough left in the dish in which the dumplings
had been mixed and divided; and he deposes
that the powder which had subsided at the
bottom ot the dish was arsenic. That the
arsenic was not in the flour, I think, appears
plain, from the circumstance that the crust of a
pie had been made that very morning with some
of the same flour of which the dumplings were
made, and that the persons who dined off the
pie felt no inconvenience whatever; that it was
not in the yeast, nor in the milk, has been also
proved; neither could it be in the sauce, for
two of the persons who were ill never touched a
particle of the sauce, and yet were violently
affected with retching and sickness. From all
these circumstances it must follow that the
poisonous ingredient was in the dough alone;
for, besides that the persons who partook of
the dumplings at dinner were all more or less
affected from what they had eaten, it was
observed by one of the witnesses that the dough
retained the same shape it had when first put
into the dish to rise, and that it appeared dark
and was heavy, and, in fact, never did rise. The
other question for your consideration is, by what
hand the poison was administered; and although
we have nothing before us but circumstantial
evidence, yet it often happens that circumstances
are more conclusive than the most positive
testimony. The prisoner, when taxed with poisoning
the dumplings, threw the blame first on the
milk, next on the yeast, and then on the sauce;
but it has been proved, most satisfactorily, that
none of these contained it, and that it was in
the dumplings alone, which no person but the
prisoner had made. Gentlemen, if poison had
been given even to a dog, one would suppose
that common humanity would have prompted us
to assist it in its agonies: here is the case of a
master and a mistress being both poisoned, and
no assistance was offered. Gentlemen, I have
now stated all the facts as they have arisen, and
I leave the case in your hands, being fully
persuaded that, whatever your verdict may be, you
will conscientiously discharge your duty both to
your God and to your country."

The prisoner's defence was extremely touching,
because it contained no oratorical cant, no
quibbles, no counter-charges, no cowardly
accusations, but merely a few simple-hearted
remarks denying malice against the family, which
was supposed to be her motive, and explaining
that she had been too ill on the Tuesday to
assist her master. She said:

"I am truly innocent of the whole charge. I
am innocent; indeed I am! I liked my place.
I was very comfortable. Gadsden behaved
rudely to me; my mistress came and saw me;
she said she did not like it. I said, 'Ma'am, it
is Gadsden that has been rough to me.' The
next morning I said, 'I hope you do not think
anything of what passed last night.' She was
in a great passion, and said she would not put
up with it. I was to go away directly. I did
not look on Mrs. Turner, but the old lady, as
my mistress. In the evening the old lady came
to town. I said, 'I am going away to-night.'
Mrs. Turner said, 'Do not think any more
about it; I don't.' She asked Mrs. Robert
Turner if she was willing for me to go. She
said, 'No, she thought no more about it.' As
to my master saying I did not assist him, I was
too ill. I had no concern with that drawer at
all: when I wanted a piece of paper, I always
asked for it."

The prisoner called five witnesses, who gave
her the character of a good-natured and amiable
girl; but they were heard most impatiently by
the partial judge, and one of them he summarily
put down. William Fenning, the prisoner's
father, greatly agitated, stepped up into the
witness-box, and said: "I am the father of the
unfortunate girl, my lord; if you won't hear
her, I hope you will hear me."

He was proceeding to relate, amongst other
circumstances, his having been denied access to
his daughter when she was lying in great agony
below stairs in Turner's house, from the effects
of the poisoned dumplings; but the recorder
would not let him go on, and put his hand out,
motioning him to leave the witness-box,
exclaiming that he could not hear him—it was too
late. He must go down. The father left the
box, tears streaming over his face.

The jury were quiet, dull, respectable people,
who did not by any means wish to see servants
trying to poison their masters with impunity.
In a few minutes after retiring, they returned to
their box, and, in answer to the mechanically
put but portentous question, the foreman stood
up and uttered the fatal word "Guilty."

The unhappy girl fell back in convulsions,
and was carried, screaming, from the court. She
was soon brought back, pale, dazed, and stunned;
the recorder put on the black cap and passed
judgment of death upon her in a cool
business-like way. That was over. Not a sort of
girl one would have suspected of such a thing