Muscarine (the poisonous principle of _Amanita muscaria_) was obtained
in large quantities from (_a_) the viscera; (_b_) the bedclothes; and
(_c_) the half-eaten dish on the table.
The appearance of the body and the symptoms of the illness, as deduced
from the attendant circumstances, were both consistent with muscarine
poisoning.
Sir James Lubbock stated on oath that the cause of death was muscarine
poisoning.
_Questions_: Could any other poison have produced similar effects or a
similar chemical analysis? The analyst’s attention having been specially
directed to muscarine by the inquiries on the opening day of the
inquest, did he, in fact, search for any poison other than muscarine?
NOTE: To write to Sir James Lubbock and put these points before him.
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2.—_In any case, how did the muscarine get into the body, if we
exclude the hypotheses of accident and suicide?_
Supposing that Lathom had himself gathered the poisonous fungi and
surreptitiously added them to the dish while it was in course of
preparation, the murder might have been very simply accomplished. If he
had merely put them into the basket with the genuine edible fungi
gathered by my father, the latter would certainly have discovered and
thrown them away when preparing the dish. It would, therefore, be
necessary to wait, and add them when the process of cooking was already
so far advanced that the fungi had lost their characteristic colour and
shape.
On any ordinary occasion it would have been easy for Lathom to do this.
It will be seen from the evidence at the inquest that Lathom was often
left at home in “The Shack” while Harrison went sketching or botanising.
In the actual case there are difficulties, some of which have to be
considered under the heading “Opportunity.”
_Questions_: Did Lathom know _Amanita muscaria_ sufficiently well to be
able to find it and know it for what it was? (_Answer_: Quite possibly
my father might have shown it to him and warned him against it. Or he
might have studied the pictures in my father’s books or in some other
book.)
If not, can he have got some accomplice to procure the fungus for him?
(Not impossible, but unlikely. Country people usually pay little
attention to fungi, and the element of risk involved would be very
great.)
In what way was the dish of fungi cooked? It would be easier to add a
foreign substance to a stew, for example, which is done slowly and needs
little superintendence, than to a grill or a fry, which takes only a few
minutes and is under the cook’s eyes all the time. (_Answer_: Munting,
speaking from memory, thinks the dish appeared more in the nature of a
stew. My father’s letter to me (No. 15) of October 22nd, 1928, is of
interest in this connection.)
NOTE: To ask Sir James Lubbock if he can confirm this.
If Lathom was able to recognise and procure _Amanita muscaria_, could he
not have boiled it on some previous occasion and added the poison to the
stew in liquid form, so as to run less risk of my father’s recognising
the intrusion of the wrong fungus?
(_Answer_: Very probably.)
(As regards the question of Means, therefore, it seemed clear that
Lathom might readily have had access to the poison, and that there was
no mechanical difficulty at all to prevent his having introduced it into
the dish of mushrooms. When, however, we came to consider the subject of
Opportunity, we were faced with a more important set of difficulties.)