remained long in one place, removed into Meadow Lane. While living in
this situation a very extraordinary circumstance occurred, and it is not
improbable that Mary was in some way privy to the transaction. A man of
the name of Joseph Gosling, a cloth-dresser, had been long out of
employ, and his family, which consisted of a wife and four children, was
reduced to great extremity. One day the whole of the family had been out
for some time, when one of the children, a boy about seven years of age,
returned, and found on the table a small cake; the mother and other
children soon after returned, and partook of this cake. They immediately
became so sick as to render medical aid necessary. Mr. Atkinson, the
surgeon, was then sent for, and by administering emetics saved the lives
of the family. On analysing the cake it was found to contain a large
quantity of arsenic. It is impossible to say why or by whom this
poisonous bread was placed in the situation in which the boy found it,
and the only reason why it is supposed to have been placed there by Mary
Bateman is the knowledge that poisonous drugs were much in use by her,
that human life was in her estimation of little value; and that the
cries or tricks of the children may have inconvenienced her.
In the month of April, 1807, Judith Cryer, a poor old washerwoman, and a
widow, was occasioned uneasiness by the misconduct of her grandson, a
boy about eleven years of age. Winifred Bond, a person who had some
dealings with Mary Bateman, either as her dupe or her agent, recommended
the old woman to apply to Mary, as a person who could remove the cause
of her distress. Judith consented to consult her; Mary soon found out
the foible of the poor woman. An inordinate fear about the future fate
of this darling grandson was the spring in Judith's mind on which the
witch found she could play with success. She recommended that an
application should be made to Miss Blythe, a lady of her acquaintance,
who she said lived at Scarboro', but who, in fact, had no more real
existence than the invisible Mrs. Moore. She then undertook to write to
her dear friend. In a few days an answer was received from this lady,
which shocked Judith beyond description. The letter contained the
representation of a gallows, with a rope dangling from it. The letter
also stated that the grandson would be executed before he attained the
age of fourteen years, unless the catastrophe was prevented by the old
woman raising four guineas, and applying them as Miss Blythe should
direct. To raise such a sum seemed as impossible to poor Judith as to
pay the National Debt. At last, however, she contrived to scrape it
together with the utmost difficulty. When raised, it was, as Mary
pretended, to remain unapplied till she received further instructions
from Miss Blythe. The instructions at length arrived, and ordered that
three guineas should be put into a leathern bag, and sewed up in
Judith's bed, where they were to remain untouched till the boy had
attained the age of fourteen. The former part of these directions were,
as far as concerned Judith, faithfully complied with--Mary, as she
thought, deposited the money as directed; but when the witch was
afterwards apprehended, Judith opened her bed, took out the bag, and
found it empty.
Mary having embraced the faith of the followers of Joanna Southcote,
got introduced to the houses of many of them, and invariably robbed
them: sometimes by practising on their fears, and at others by absolute
theft.
In the year 1808, Bateman's family removed to Camp Field, in Water Lane,
and there Mary met with a new and profitable subject for the exercise of
her villainous arts. The wife of James Snowden, a neighbour, had a sort
of presentiment that one of her children would be drowned; but whether
this notion proceeded from morbid fancies originating in her own mind,
or was suggested to her by Mary Bateman, is not known. Mary Bateman
offered her services, or rather the services of Miss Blythe, to save the
child from a watery grave. Miss Blythe was then represented as living at
Thirsk, and a letter was received from her, directing that James
Snowden's silver watch should be sewed up in the bed by Mary Bateman.
This was accordingly done.
Next, money to the amount of twelve guineas was required. Letters were
received from Miss Blythe, directing that this money should also be sewn
up in the bed, to be restored when the charm had taken effect.
By-and-bye it was found necessary to increase the terrors, and in
addition to the death of the son, Miss Blythe suggested that ill would
befall the daughter, unless the family left Leeds, and removed to
Bowling, near Bradford. The bed containing the charms they were allowed
to take with them, but it was thought expedient to leave a considerable
portion of their property in the house, and deposit the key with
Bateman.
At length they expressed a wish to be allowed to rip open the bed and
take out the watch and money, but the proper time, they were told, had
not yet arrived; and before the property was taken out, the family of
Snowden was to take a DOSE, which was at that time in preparation for
them, and was to have been administered about the end of October, 1808.
Happily for them this dose was never taken.
At this juncture, so critical to the family in question, Mary Bateman
was apprehended for the frauds committed on William Perigo's family, and
the wilful murder of Perigo's wife, by administering poison, of which
she had died nearly two years before. This event naturally created a
good deal of interest, and a narrative of the transaction was published
in the _Leeds Mercury_ of the 22nd of October. On the evening of that
day Snowden was sitting in a public-house at Bradford when the _Mercury_
was produced, and the narrative read by some person in the company.
Snowden heard the relation with violent emotion, and as soon as it was
finished, started from his chair and hurried home with all possible
expedition. His first care was to give his wife a hasty and confused
notion of the imposition that had been practised upon them, and next to
unrip the folds of the bed; when, instead of watch and money, he
discovered--a coal! He then went to Leeds, and found his house, which he
had left in the care of Mary Bateman, plundered of almost everything it
had contained, and on a search-warrant being procured, part of the
property was found in Bateman's house.
John Bateman, the husband, was in consequence apprehended and committed
to prison, to take his trial for the offence, either as a principal or
as an accomplice. At the following Sessions his trial came on, and he
was acquitted.
A brother of Mary Bateman, who had deserted from his Majesty's navy, had
come with his wife to live in Leeds, and lodged with Bateman. Mary
finding that her lodgers were a restraint upon her, determined to be
quit of them. For this purpose she wrote, or procured to be written, a
letter to her sister-in-law, stating that her father was on the point
of death, and summoning her to attend to receive his last blessing. The
affectionate daughter answered the summons instantly, but when she
arrived at Newcastle, where her father lived, she found him in perfect
health. In the absence of his wife, Mary contrived to persuade her
brother that she was inconstant, and was plunging him into debt, and so
far succeeded as to induce him to write to his wife and tell her she
need not return, for he would not receive her. She did, however, return,
and convinced him of her innocence; when on examining their trunks it
was discovered that Mary had, in the wife's absence, stolen their
clothes, and disposed of them for what they would bring. This, as might
be expected, roused the brother's indignation; but Mary soon got him out
of the way, for she actually went before the magistrates and lodged an
information against him as a deserter. He was in consequence obliged to
quit Leeds, and afterwards entered military service. This did not,
however, content Mary. She wrote to his mother, and told her that her
son had been apprehended as a deserter, and that if she could send £10,
a substitute was ready to go, and would be accepted in his stead. The
ten pounds were sent, and Mary pocketed the money.
On the 21st of October, 1808, Mary Bateman was apprehended by the Chief
Constable of Leeds on a charge of fraud, and was, after undergoing
several long examinations before the magistrates of the borough,
committed to York Castle on suspicion of the wilful murder of Rebecca
Perigo, of Bramley.
A poor family of the name of Perigo, living at Bramley, near Leeds, had
been defrauded by Mary Bateman of money to the amount of nearly £70, and
of clothes and furniture to a considerable amount. These frauds were
committed under the pretence of engaging Miss Blythe to relieve Mrs.
Perigo from the effects of an "evil wish" under which she was supposed
to labour. The money was all represented as sewn up in the bed, and was
to be at the disposal of the Perigos when the spell was broken. But when
the appointed time for restoring the property approached, Mary Bateman
conveyed poison to Perigo and his wife in their food. The woman died,
but providentially Perigo recovered, and was able to bring the poisoner
to justice.
It is unnecessary to give the particulars of the series of extortions
committed on the Perigos. When nothing more could be extracted from the
unfortunate people, and Mary saw that the time was come when she must
refund or be exposed, the following letter reached her victims,
purporting to come from Miss Blythe:--
"My Dear Friends,--
"I am sorry to tell you you will take an illness in the month of
May next, either one or both, but I think both; but the work of God
must have its course. You will escape the chambers of the grave;
though you seem to be dead, yet you will live. Your wife must take
half a pound of honey down from Bramley to Mary Bateman's at Leeds,
and it must remain there till you go down yourself, and she will
put in such like stuff as I have sent from Scarboro' to her, and
she will put it in when you come down and see her yourself, or it
will not do. You must eat pudding for six days, and you must put in
such like stuff as I have sent to Mary Bateman from Scarboro', and
she will give your wife it, but you must not begin to eat of this
pudding while I let you know. If ever you find yourselves sickly at
any time, you must take each of you a teaspoonful of this honey. I
will remit £20 to you on the 20th day of May, and it will pay a
little of what you owe. You must bring this down to Mary
Bateman's, and burn it at her house when you come down the next
time."
The rest shall be told by Perigo himself, as given in his evidence at
the trial.
Pursuant to the directions in this letter, witness stated that his wife
took the honey to Mary Bateman's; that when she returned she brought six
powders with her. The witness went to Mary Bateman's house, and talked
to her about the letter he had received, and said it was a queerish
thing that Miss Blythe should be able to foresee that they should be
ill. Mary explained that she (Miss Blythe) knew everything relating to
them, and that if they followed her directions all would be well. Mary
also told him that they were to do with the powders each day as they
were marked, or it would kill them all. Mrs. Bateman then mixed a powder
in the honey in his presence, and he took the honey home. On the 5th of
May witness received another letter from Miss Blythe, but after reading
it over one or twice, and copying a few lines from it, he destroyed it.
He said the copy he had taken was also destroyed. The witness was then
desired to state the contents of this letter, which he recited, as he
did all the letters that had been destroyed, from memory, as follows:--
"My Dear Friends,--
"You must begin to eat pudding on the 11th of May, and you must put
one of the powders in every day as they are marked, for six days;
and you must see it put in yourself every day, or else it will not
do. If you find yourself sickly at any time, you must not have no
doctor, for it will not do, and you must not let the boy that used
to eat with you eat of that pudding for six days; and you must
make only just as much as you can eat yourselves; if there is any
left it will not do. You must keep the door fast as much as
possible, or you will be overcome by some enemy. Now think on and
take my directions, or else it will kill us all. About the 25th of
May I will come to Leeds, and send for your wife to Mary Bateman's.
Your wife will take me by the hand, and say, 'God bless you that I
ever found you out.' It has pleased God to send me into the world
that I might destroy the works of darkness. I call them the works
of darkness because they are dark to you. Now, mind what I say,
whatever you do. This letter must be burnt in straw on the hearth
by your wife."
The witness proceeded to state that in consequence of these directions,
on the 11th of May (Monday) they began to eat of the pudding, a powder
being put in each day as marked on the paper, and that they found no
particular taste in the pudding for five days. And that on Saturday the
witness was coming to Leeds without seeing the powder put in, when his
wife reminded him that it was necessary he should see it put in. Witness
said his wife had made the pudding earlier than usual for that purpose.
Witness saw the powder put in, which was four or five times larger than
any of the other powders. On his return from Leeds, about twenty minutes
after twelve o'clock, his wife had prepared a small cake from some of
the dough which was left after making the pudding; this she broke in two
pieces, and he ate one of them. Witness said the cake tasted very keen,
and observed to his wife if the pudding tasted as bad he would not eat
it. When the pudding was ready he ate a single mouthful, but it was so
nauseous that he could eat no more of it; his wife, however, swallowed
three or four mouthfuls, but was unable to eat more, and she carried the
pudding into the cellar, and was there seized with the most violent
vomitings. His wife said this was the illness predicted by Miss Blythe,
and they should take the honey. Witness took two spoonfuls of it, and
his wife took six or seven. This made them worse than before. The
vomiting continued incessantly for twenty-four hours. His wife would not
hear of a doctor being sent for, as that was contrary to Miss Blythe's
directions, who had assured them that their sickness should not be unto
death, and though they might seem to be dead, yet should they live, for
that she was sent to destroy the works of darkness. Witness said a
violent heat came out of his mouth, which was very sore, that his lips
were black, and that he had a most violent pain in his head, twenty
times worse than a common headache; everything appeared green to him.
Witness had also a violent complaint in his bowels; he could eat nothing
for several days, and began to get better only by hairbreadths. The
witness then proceeded to detail the symptoms of his wife, which were
similar to his own, only more violent. Her tongue swelled so that she
could not shut her mouth, she was constantly thirsty, entirely lost her
strength, and expired on Sunday, the 24th of May. Before she died he
sent for Mr. Chorley, a surgeon from Leeds, but as she died before his
arrival, a messenger was sent to acquaint him with this circumstance,
and therefore he did not come. His wife before she died made him promise
not to be rash with Mary Bateman, but to wait the appointed time.
Witness himself went to Mr. Chorley on the day after the death of his
wife. Mr. Chorley having examined him and heard his account of the
symptoms, expressed his opinion that he had received poison into his
stomach. Witness said that his wife was perfectly well immediately
before eating of the pudding on Saturday. By the directions of Mr.
Chorley, a paste was made of the flour of which their pudding had been
made and given to a fowl; but it received no injury, and the witness
said it was alive to this day. A part of the fatal pudding was also
given to a cat, which it poisoned, but the result of this experiment was
detailed by another witness.
Witness now went into a detail of transactions subsequent to the death
of his wife. In the month of June, a short time after that event, the
witness went to the prisoner's house, and acquainted her with the death
of his wife, and told her he was sorry they had not sent for a doctor
when they were sick, but that they had acted according to the directions
of the letter. Mary Bateman said, "Perhaps you did not lick up all the
honey as directed in the letter;" and I said, "No; I am afraid it is
that honey that has done our job."
About the beginning of June, Perigo received a letter to the following
effect, purporting to be from Miss Blythe:--
"My Dear Friend,--
"I am sorry to tell you that your wife should touch of those things
which I ordered her not, and for that reason it has caused her
death. It had likened to have killed me at Scarboro' and Mary
Bateman at Leeds, and you and all; and for this reason she will
rise from the grave, she will stroke your face with her right hand,
and you will lose the use of one side, but I will pray for you. I
would not have you to go to no doctor, for it will not do. I would
have you eat and drink what you like, and you will be better. Now,
my dear friend, take my directions, do, and it will be better for
you. Pray God bless you. Amen, amen. You must burn this letter
immediately after it is read."
Soon after this, witness was ordered by Mr. Chorley to Buxton, and
having on his return called on the poisoner, she expressed her surprise
that he should have gone to a doctor contrary to Miss Blythe's command,
and said that had she known he had been going to Buxton, she would have
given him a bottle that would have cured him on the road.
William Perigo proceeded to relate that on the 19th of October, 1808, he
unripped the bed in which all the bags were sewn up, and having opened
the whole of them, he found no money whatever. In the bags in which he
expected to find guinea-notes, he found only waste paper, and where he
expected to find gold, he found only a halfpenny or a farthing. But the
four silk bags in which he saw four guinea-notes put, he could not find
at all, nor could he give any account as to how or where they were gone.
Upon making this discovery the witness went to Leeds, and saw Mary
Bateman, and said to her, "I am sorry to think you should use me in this
manner;" to which she replied, "How?" He then said, "I have opened the
bags, and there is nothing in them but bits of lead, plain paper, bad
halfpennies, and bad farthings." At which she did not seem at all
surprised, but said, "You have opened them too soon." He answered, "I
think it is too late." He then said he would come down to her house in
the morning with two or three men and have things settled. The prisoner
begged that he would not, and said if he would appoint a time and place
to meet her alone, she would satisfy him. To this the witness consented,
and the Leeds and Liverpool canal bank, near the bridge, was fixed as
the place of meeting.
The officers of justice arrested Mary Bateman at this meeting.
The trial was conducted at York before Sir Simon Le Blanc on the 17th
March, 1809; she was found guilty, and condemned to death.
During the brief interval between her receiving the sentence of death
and her execution, the Rev. George Brown took great pains to prevail
upon her to acknowledge and confess her crime. On his touching upon the
subject of the Quaker ladies, whose death had been so sudden and
mysterious, she seemed perfectly to understand his meaning, but said
that she knew nothing about it, as at the time she was confined in
childbirth.
Though the prisoner behaved with her usual decorum during the time that
remained to her, and joined with apparent fervour in the customary
offices of devotion, she exhibited no compunction for crimes of which
she would not acknowledge herself to be guilty. She maintained her
caution and mystery to the last. On the day preceding her execution she
wrote a letter to her husband, in which she enclosed her wedding-ring,
with a request that it might be given to her daughter. In this letter
she lamented the disgrace she had brought upon her husband and family,
but declared her entire innocence of the crime laid to her charge, and
for which she was about to suffer, though she acknowledged--what,
indeed, she could not deny to her husband--that she had been guilty of
several frauds. "I have made my peace with my God, and am easy in mind.
To-morrow will end all here, and the Lord will care for me hereafter."
It will hardly be credited, though it is a certain fact, that this
unhappy woman was so addicted to fraud that even then she was incapable
of refraining from her trickery and deception. A young female prisoner
had, in her presence, expressed a wish to see her sweetheart. Mary
Bateman took her aside, and said that if she could procure a sum of
money to be made into a charm, and sewed into her stays, the young man
would be compelled to visit her. The simple girl complied, and Mary
Bateman having prepared a potent spell, it was bound round the breast
of the young woman. No sweetheart made his appearance, and the girl's
confidence beginning to waver, she unbound the charm to take out her
money, and found that it had vanished.
The circumstance having been reported to the Governor of York Castle,
where Mary Bateman and the girl were confined, part of the spoil was
refunded, and Mary Bateman directed to balance the account by giving to
the dupe some of her clothes. Exhortations and remonstrances failed to
move her to confess her crimes. At five o'clock on the morning of
Monday, March 20th, 1809, she was removed from her cell and from her
infant child, which lay sleeping on the bed, unconscious of the fate of
its wretched mother. She stopped and kissed it for the last time, but
without showing any emotion at having to leave it for ever. Every
possible effort, every religious influence was brought to bear on her to
make her confess, but in vain. At twelve o'clock she was led forth to
execution. On the scaffold she again denied her guilt, and with this
denial on her lips was launched into eternity.
Her body was taken to the General Infirmary at Leeds. Though the hearse
did not reach Leeds till midnight, it was met by a considerable number
of people who were waiting for it. At the Infirmary her body was
exhibited at the charge of 3d. a head to visitors for the benefit of the
institution. At this rate 2500 individuals were admitted, and upwards of
£30 was realised. Her body was afterwards dissected, and in compliance
with a favourite Yorkshire custom, her skin was tanned and distributed
in small pieces to various applicants.
THE END.
_Printed by Cowan & Co., Limited, Perth._