The scramble for places subsided; the jury returned; the prisoner
reappeared in the dock suddenly, like a jack-in-the-box; the judge
resumed his seat. Some petals had spilt from the roses. The old voice
took up its tale where it had left off.
"Members of the jury--there is no need, I think, for me to recall the
course of Philip Boyes' illness in great detail. The nurse was called
in on June 21st, and during that day the doctors visited the patient
three times. His condition grew steadily worse. There was persistent
vomiting and diarrhoea, and he could not keep any food or medicine
down at all. On the day after, the 22nd, he was worse still--in great
pain, the pulse growing weaker, and the skin about the mouth getting
dry and peeling off. The doctors gave him every attention, but could
do nothing for him. His father was summoned, and when he arrived he
found his son conscious, but unable to lift himself. He was able to
speak, however, and in the presence of his father and Nurse Williams
he made the remark, 'I'm going out, Dad, and I'm glad to be through
with it. Harriet'll be rid of me now--I didn't know she hated me quite
so much.' Now that was a very remarkable speech, and we have heard
two very different interpretations put upon it. It is for you to say
whether, in your opinion, he meant: 'She has succeeded in getting rid
of me; I didn't know she hated me enough to poison me,' or whether he
meant, 'When I realised she hated me so much, I decided I did not want
to live any longer'--or whether, perhaps, he meant neither of these
things. When people are very ill, they sometimes get fantastic ideas,
and sometimes they wander in their minds; perhaps you may feel that it
is not profitable to take too much for granted. Still, those words are
part of the evidence, and you are entitled to take them into account.
"During the night he became gradually weaker and lost consciousness,
and at 3 o'clock in the morning he died, without ever regaining it.
That was on the 23rd. of June.
"Now, up to this time, no suspicion of any kind had been aroused.
Both Dr. Grainger and Dr. Weare formed the opinion that the cause
of death was acute gastritis, and we need not blame them for coming
to this conclusion, because it was quite consistent both with the
symptoms of the illness and with the past history of the patient. A
death-certificate was given in the usual way, and the funeral took
place on the 28th.
"Well, then something happened which frequently does happen in cases
of this kind, and that is that somebody begins to talk. It was Nurse
Williams who talked in this particular case, and while you will
probably think that this was a very wrong and a very indiscreet thing
for a nurse to do, yet, as it turns out, it was a good thing that she
did. Of course, she ought to have told Dr. Weare or Dr. Grainger of
her suspicions at the time, but she did not do this, and we may at
least feel glad to know that, in the doctors' opinions, even if she
had done so, and if they had discovered that the illness was caused
by arsenic, they would not have been able to do anything more to save
the life of this unfortunate man. At any rate, what happened was that
Nurse Williams was sent, during the last week of June, to nurse another
patient of Dr. Weare's, who happened to belong to the same literary
set in Bloomsbury as Philip Boyes and Harriet Vane, and while she was
there, she spoke about Philip Boyes, and said that, in her opinion,
the illness looked very much like poisoning, and she even mentioned
the word arsenic. Well, you know how a thing like that gets about.
One person tells another and it is discussed at tea-parties, or what
are known, I believe, as cocktail parties, and very soon a story gets
spread about, and people mention names and take sides. Miss Marriott
and Miss Price were told about it, and it also got to the ears of Mr.
Vaughan. Now Mr. Vaughan had been greatly distressed and surprised by
Philip Boyes' death, especially as he had been with him in Wales, and
knew how much he had improved in health while on his holiday, and he
also felt very strongly that Harriet Vane had behaved badly about the
love-affair. Mr. Vaughan felt that some action ought to be taken about
the matter, and went to Mr. Urquhart and put the story before him.
Now Mr. Urquhart is a solicitor, and is therefore inclined to take a
cautious view of rumours and suspicions, and he warned Mr. Vaughan that
it was not wise to go about making accusations against people, for fear
of an action for libel. At the same time, he naturally felt uneasy
that such a thing should be said about a relation who had died in his
house. He took the course--the very sensible course--of consulting Dr.
Weare and suggesting that, if he was quite certain that the illness
was due to gastritis and nothing else, he should take steps to rebuke
Nurse Williams and put an end to the talk. Dr. Weare was naturally very
much surprised and upset to hear what was being said, but, since the
suggestion had been made, he could not deny that--taking the symptoms
only into account--there was just the bare possibility of something of
the sort, because, as you have already heard in the medical evidence,
the symptoms of arsenical poisoning and of acute gastritis are really
indistinguishable.
"When this was communicated to Mr. Vaughan, he was confirmed in his
suspicions, and wrote to the elder Mr. Boyes suggesting an enquiry. Mr.
Boyes was naturally very much shocked, and said at once that the matter
should be taken up. He had known of the liaison with Harriet Vane, and
had noticed that she did not come to enquire after Philip Boyes, nor
attend the funeral, and this had struck him as heartless behaviour. In
the end, the police were communicated with and an exhumation order
obtained.
"You have heard the result of the analysis made by Sir James Lubbock
and Mr. Stephen Fordyce. There was a great deal of discussion about
methods of analysis and the way that arsenic behaves in the body and so
on, but, I think we need not trouble too much about those fine details.
The chief points in the evidence seemed to me to be these, which you
may note down if you care to do so.
"The analysts took certain organs of the body--the stomach, intestines,
kidneys, liver and so on, and analyzed portions of these and found
that they all contained arsenic. They were able to weigh the quantity
of arsenic found in these various portions, and they calculated from
that the quantity of arsenic present in the whole body. Then they had
to allow so much for the amount of arsenic eliminated from the body by
the vomiting and diarrhoea and also through the kidneys, because the
kidneys play a very large part in the elimination of this particular
poison. After making allowance for all these things, they formed the
opinion that a large and fatal dose of arsenic--four or five grains,
perhaps, had been taken about three days before the death.
"I do not know whether you quite followed all the technical arguments
about this. I will try to tell you the chief points as I understood
them. The nature of arsenic is to pass through the body very quickly,
especially if it is taken with food or immediately following a meal,
because the arsenic irritates the lining of the internal organs and
speeds up the process of elimination. The action would be quicker if
the arsenic were taken in liquid than if it were taken in the form of a
powder. Where arsenic was taken with, or immediately on top of a meal,
nearly the whole of it would be evacuated within twenty-four hours
after the onset of the illness. So you see that, although the actual
quantities found in the body may seem to you and me very small indeed,
the mere fact that they were found there at all, after three days of
persistent vomiting and diarrhoea and so on, points to a large dose
having been taken at some time.
"Now there was a great deal of discussion about the time at which the
symptoms first set in. It is suggested by the defence that Philip
Boyes may have taken the arsenic himself at some time between leaving
Harriet Vane's flat and hailing the taxi in Guilford Street; and they
bring forward books which show that in many cases the onset of symptoms
takes place in a very short time after taking the arsenic--a quarter
of an hour, I think, was the shortest time mentioned where the arsenic
was taken in liquid form. Now the prisoner's statement--and we have no
other--is that Philip Boyes left her at 10 o'clock, and at ten minutes
past he was in Guilford Street. He was then looking ill. It would not
take many minutes to drive to Woburn Square at that hour of night,
and by the time he got there, he was already in acute pain and hardly
able to stand. Now Guilford Street is a very short way from Doughty
Street--perhaps three minutes' walk--and you must ask yourselves,
if the prisoner's statement is correct, what he did with those ten
minutes. Did he occupy himself in going to some quiet spot and taking
a dose of arsenic, which he must in that case have brought with him in
anticipation of an unfavourable interview with the prisoner? And I may
remind you here, that the defence have brought no evidence to show that
Philip Boyes ever bought any arsenic, or had access to any arsenic.
That is not to say he could not have obtained it--the purchases made
by Harriet Vane show that the law about the sale of poisons is not
always as effective as one would like it to be--but the fact remains
that the defence have not been able to show that the deceased ever had
arsenic in his possession. And while we are on this subject, I will
mention that, curiously enough, the analysts could find no traces of
the charcoal, or indigo, with which commercial arsenic is supposed to
be mixed. Whether it was bought by the prisoner or by the deceased
himself, you would expect to find traces of the colouring matter. But
you may think it likely that all such traces would be removed from the
body by the vomiting and purging which took place.
"As regards the suggestion of suicide, you will have to ask yourselves
about those ten minutes--whether Boyes was taking a dose of arsenic, or
whether, as is also possible, he felt unwell and sat down somewhere to
recover himself, or whether, perhaps, he was merely roaming about in
the vague way we sometimes do when we are feeling upset and unhappy.
Or you may think that the prisoner was mistaken, or not speaking the
truth, about the time he left the flat.
"You have also the prisoner's statement that Boyes mentioned, before he
left her, that he was feeling unwell. If you think this had anything to
do with the arsenic, it of course disposes of the suggestion that he
took poison after leaving the flat.
"Then, when one looks into it, one finds that this question about the
onset of symptoms is left very vague. Various doctors came here and
told you about their own experiences and the cases quoted by medical
authorities in books, and you will have noticed that there is no
certainty at all about the time when the symptoms may be expected to
appear. Sometimes it is a quarter of an hour or half an hour, sometimes
two hours, sometimes as much as five or six, and, I believe, in one
case as much as seven hours after taking the poison."
Here the Attorney-General rose respectfully and said: "In that case, me
lud, I think I am right in saying that the poison was taken on an empty
stomach."
"Thank you, I am much obliged to you for the reminder. That was a case
in which the poison was taken on an empty stomach. I only mention these
cases to show that we are dealing with a very uncertain phenomenon,
and that is why I was particular to remind you of all the occasions on
which Philip Boyes took food during the day--the 20th of June, since
there is always the possibility that you may have to take them into
consideration."
"A beast, but a just beast," murmured Lord Peter Wimsey.
"I have purposely left out of consideration until now another point
which arose out of the analysis, and that is the presence of arsenic
in the hair. The deceased had curly hair, which he wore rather long;
the front portion, when straightened out, measured about six or seven
inches in places. Now, in this hair, arsenic was found, at the end
closest to the head. It did not extend to the tips of the longest hair,
but it was found near the roots, and Sir James Lubbock says that the
quantity was greater than could be accounted for in any natural way.
Occasionally, quite normal people are found to have minute traces of
arsenic in the hair and skin and so on, but not to the amount found
here. That is Sir James' opinion.
"Now you have been told--and the medical witnesses all agree in
this--that if a person takes arsenic, a certain proportion of it will
be deposited in the skin, nails and hair. It will be deposited in the
root of the hair, and as the hair grows, the arsenic will be carried
along with the growth of the hair, so that you get a rough idea,
from seeing the position of the arsenic in the hair, how long the
administration of arsenic has been going on. There was a good deal of
discussion about this, but I think there was a fairly general agreement
that, if you took a dose of arsenic, you might expect to find traces
of it in the hair, close to the scalp, after about ten weeks. Hair
grows at the rate of about six inches in a year, and the arsenic will
grow out with it till it reaches the far end and is cut off. I am sure
that the ladies on the jury will understand this very well, because
I believe that the same thing occurs in the case of what is termed a
'permanent wave.' The wave is made in a certain portion of the hair,
and after a time it grows out, and the hair near the scalp comes
up straight and has to be waved again. You can tell by the position
of the wave, how long ago the waving was done. In the same way, if
a finger-nail is bruised, the discolouration will gradually grow up
the nail until it reaches the point where you can cut it off with the
scissors.
"Now it has been said that the presence of arsenic in and about
the roots of Philip Boyes' hair indicates that he must have taken
arsenic three months at least before his death. You will consider
what importance is to be attached to this in view of the prisoner's
purchases of arsenic in April and May, and of the deceased's attacks of
sickness in March, April and May. The quarrel with the prisoner took
place in February; he was ill in March and he died in June. There are
five months between the quarrel and the death, and four months between
the first illness and the death, and you may think that there is some
significance in these dates.
"We now come to the enquiries made by the police. When suspicion
was aroused, detectives investigated Harriet Vane's movements and
subsequently went to her flat to take a statement from her. When they
told her that Boyes was found to have died of arsenic poisoning, she
appeared very much surprised, and said, 'Arsenic? What an extraordinary
thing!' And then, she laughed, and said, 'Why, I am writing a book all
about arsenic poisoning.' They asked her about the purchases of arsenic
and other poisons which she had made and she admitted them quite
readily and at once gave the same explanation that she gave here in
court. They asked what she had done with the poisons, and she replied
that she had burnt them because they were dangerous things to have
about. The flat was searched, but no poisons of any kind were found,
except such things as aspirin and a few ordinary medicines of that
kind. She absolutely denied having administered arsenic or any kind
of poison to Philip Boyes. She was asked whether the arsenic could
possibly have got into the coffee by accident, and replied that that
was quite impossible, as she had destroyed all the poisons before the
end of May."
Here Sir Impey Biggs interposed and begged with submission to suggest
that his lordship should remind the jury of the evidence given by Mr.
Challoner.
"Certainly, Sir Impey, I am obliged to you. You remember that Mr.
Challoner is Harriet Vane's literary agent. He came here to tell us
that he had discussed with her as long ago as last December the subject
of her forthcoming book, and she then told him that it was to be about
poisons, and very probably about arsenic. So you may think it is a
point in the prisoner's favour that this intention of studying the
purchase and administration of arsenic was already in her mind some
time before the quarrel with Philip Boyes took place. She evidently
gave considerable thought to the subject, for there were a number of
books on her shelves dealing with forensic medicine and toxicology,
and also the reports of several famous poison trials, including the
Madeleine Smith case, the Seddon case and the Armstrong case--all of
which were cases of arsenical poisoning.
"Well, I think that is the case as it is presented to you. This woman
is charged with having murdered her former lover by arsenic. He
undoubtedly did take arsenic, and if you are satisfied that she gave it
to him with intent to injure or kill him, and that he died of it, then
it is your duty to find her guilty of murder.
"Sir Impey Biggs, in his able and eloquent speech, has put it to you
that she had very little motive for such a murder, but I am bound to
tell you that murders are very often committed for what seem to be
most inadequate motives--if, indeed, any motive can be called adequate
for such a crime. Especially where the parties are husband and wife,
or have lived together as husband and wife, there are likely to be
passionate feelings which may tend to crimes of violence in persons
with inadequate moral standards and of unbalanced mind.
"The prisoner had the means--the arsenic--she had the expert knowledge,
and she had the opportunity to administer it. The defence say that this
is not enough. They say the Crown must go further and prove that the
poison could not have been taken in any other way--by accident, or with
suicidal intent. That is for you to judge. If you feel that there is
any reasonable doubt that the prisoner gave this poison to Philip Boyes
deliberately, you must bring her in Not Guilty of murder. You are not
bound to decide how it was given, if it was not given by her. Consider
the circumstances of the case as a whole, and say what conclusion you
have come to."