service as waitress at the Talbot Arms. I knew both Palmer and Mr. Cook.
I saw Mr. Cook on 12th November on his way to the Shrewsbury Races. He
seemed quite well then. I saw him on Thursday, the 15th, on his return
from the races. On Friday I saw him between nine and ten, when he came
back after having dined with Palmer. He was quite sober. I saw Mr. Cook
twice on Saturday. On that day I remember some broth being sent over,
which I took up to Mr. Cook. He could not take it, as he said he was too
sick. I brought the broth down to the kitchen. I saw Palmer, and told
him that Cook would not take the broth, as he was too sick. Palmer said
he must take it, and it was taken up again to him by Elizabeth Mills. I
did not see any broth being brought over on the Sunday. Between twelve
and one on the Sunday Elizabeth Mills was taken ill, and had to leave
her work and go to bed. I saw her; she was vomiting violently. Between
four and five she returned to work, and complained to me of having been
ill from the vomiting. I saw some broth in a basin in the kitchen on the
Sunday. I do not know where it was made. It was in a sick cup with two
handles. The cup did not belong to the Talbot Arms, and it went back to
Palmer’s. Between seven and eight on Sunday morning I heard Palmer say
he was going to London on the Monday. On Monday I saw Cook after dinner.
Mr. Saunders, the trainer, visited him, and I took up some brandy and
water to them. On that night I slept in the room next Mr. Cook’s. I saw
Palmer between eight and nine that night going upstairs in the direction
of Cook’s room. I saw him in the room afterwards between twelve and one
o’clock. About twelve o’clock I was in the kitchen, when Mr. Cook’s bell
rang violently. I went up to his room, and found he was very ill. He
asked me to send for Mr. Palmer. He was screaming “murder,” and was in
violent pain. He said he was suffocating. His eyes looked very wild, and
were standing a great way out of his head. He was beating the bed with
his hands. I sent the boots for Palmer, and went and called Elizabeth
Mills. After Palmer came I went up to the room again. Cook seemed to be
more composed. Palmer told him not to be alarmed. I saw Cook drinking a
darkish mixture in a glass. I cannot remember who gave it to him, but
Palmer was in the room when it was given. When Cook put the glass to his
mouth he snapped at it. I both saw and heard him do it. He vomited the
black-looking draught. I left the room between twelve and one, and he
seemed more composed then. I saw him again on the Tuesday, and he seemed
to be much better. A few minutes before twelve o’clock on the Tuesday
night Elizabeth Mills and I were in the kitchen. Mr. Cook’s bell rang,
and Elizabeth Mills went up to answer it. I followed her upstairs, but
did not go into the room. I heard Cook scream. Elizabeth Mills went for
Palmer, and he came. He was dressed in his usual way, with a black coat
on. There was nothing peculiar about his dress. He wore a cap. After
Palmer went into the room I remained on the landing. I did not hear what
was going on inside. Palmer came out and went downstairs for something.
When he came out Elizabeth Mills asked him how Mr. Cook was, and he
replied, “Not so bad by a fiftieth part.” She and I were both together
when he said this. I went into the room before Mr. Cook died. Mr. Jones
was there in attendance upon him. Before I went into the room, and when
Palmer was there, I heard Cook ask to be turned over. After I went into
the room I do not remember hearing anything. I came out again before
Cook’s death, and did not see him die. I returned to the room
afterwards, and saw Palmer there with one of Cook’s coats in his hands.
He was feeling the pockets. I also saw him feel under the bolster I left
him in the room with the dead body. On the Thursday following I met
Palmer in the hall of the hotel. He asked me for the key of Cook’s room,
and I fetched it from the bar. He said he wanted some books and papers
and a paper knife, which were to go back to the stationer’s where he had
them from, or he should have to pay for them. I went into the room with
him. While there he asked me to go to Miss Bond, the housekeeper, for
some books she had. I brought them back with me to the room, and found
Palmer there searching on the chest of drawers among some books and
clothes belonging to Mr. Cook. I thought it was the paper knife he was
looking for, as he said, “I cannot find the knife anywhere.” Miss Bond
then came into the room, and I left. I saw Mr. Jones, who had visited
Cook on the Tuesday, on the Friday with Palmer. I heard him ask Palmer
if he knew where Cook’s betting book was. I cannot remember what Palmer
replied. He said it would be sure to be found, and asked me and the
chambermaid to go and look for it. He also said, “It was not worth
anything to anybody but Cook.” This would be between three and four
o’clock, and Mr. Stevens, who was at the Talbot Arms that day, left
about half-past four. We went to look for the betting book. Palmer did
not go with us. We searched under the bed and all round the room. We did
not look in the chests of drawers, of which there were two in the room,
both unlocked. We went downstairs and told Palmer we could not find the
book. He said, “Oh, it will be found somewhere; I will go with you and
look myself.” He did not go, but went out of the house, and I did not
see him afterwards. I cannot say how long Palmer was in the room on the
Thursday. There was no reason why we did not search the drawers for the
betting book. There were some people in the room with Mr. Cook’s corpse,
nailing the coffin, and they stood at the side of the drawers.
Cross-examined by Mr. SERJEANT SHEE--Shortly after Cook refused to take
the broth, saying he was too sick, Palmer came over and said, “He must
have it.”
Did he say why he must have it?--No.
Did he say anything to the effect, “Why, he has eaten nothing for
several days”?--I cannot remember that he did.
Did he ask whether anything had been eaten by him?--Not of me.
You know, in fact, that Mr. Cook had had no substantial food?--He had
some coffee and cocoa, and something like that.
You say that on the Monday evening you saw Palmer between eight and nine
o’clock going upstairs. Are you sure it was before nine o’clock?--I am
not quite certain.
Are you sure it was before half-past nine o’clock?--No, I did not pay
particular attention to what the time was.
Are you quite sure it was before ten o’clock?--Yes, I knew he had been
to London.
Did you know what hour the train came back from London?--I did not. An
omnibus goes from the hotel to the station, starting from the hotel
about half-past seven. It is not one mile from the station. I can give
no notion of what time the express train comes into Rugeley from London,
nor do I know if it stops at Rugeley.
Do you persist that it must have been before ten o’clock that you saw
Palmer come in?--I think it was.
May it not have been a quarter past ten o’clock? You can easily have
been mistaken about an hour; are you quite certain it was before ten
o’clock?--I cannot remember now.
You have stated that when Palmer left on the Monday evening he gave Cook
something to drink in a glass; he snapped at the glass, and you said, “I
cannot remember who gave it to him”; did you see the glass in Mr. Cook’s
hands?--I cannot remember whether I saw the glass in Cook’s hands.
[Sidenote: L. Barnes]
Did you see his hand up to the glass?--I think I did. I think it was as
if he was going to catch hold of it, but somebody else was holding it.
Did you see the hand touch the glass?--I cannot remember that. I
remember some one was holding it for him.
Might he not be holding it too?--He might.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: Anne Rowley]
ANNE ROWLEY, examined by Mr. WELSBY--I live at Rugeley, and have been
employed by Mr. Palmer as charwoman. On the Saturday before Mr. Cook
died I remember being sent by Palmer to Mr. Robinson, of the Albion, for
a little broth for Mr. Cook. The Albion is an inn in Rugeley, and a
small distance from the Talbot Arms. I brought the broth, which was not
warm, to Palmer’s house and put it by the fire. I left it at the fire
and went back to my work in the kitchen. When the broth was hot Mr.
Palmer brought it to me in the back kitchen. He poured it into a cup,
which I held while he did so. He told me to take it across to the Talbot
Arms for Mr. Cook, and to say to whoever I gave it to to ask Mr. Cook if
he would take a little bread or a little toast with it, and to say that
Mr. Smith had sent it. I took it to the Talbot Arms. He did not say why
I was to say Mr. Smith had sent it. Mr. Jeremiah Smith is an attorney in
Rugeley. He goes under the name of Jerry Smith, and is a friend of
Palmer. I gave the broth to Lavinia Barnes.
Cross-examined by Mr. SERJEANT SHEE--Mr. Smith was in the habit of
putting up at the Albion, and took his meals there a good deal. He was
intimate with Mr. Cook. I have not known them to dine together, but Mr.
Cook was to have dined at Mr. Smith’s that day, but was unable to do so.
The time between the broth being brought in to me and the time it was
taken to the Talbot Arms would be about five minutes.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: C. Hawley]
CHARLES HAWLEY, examined by Mr. BODKIN--I am a gardener in Rugeley, and
was occasionally employed by the prisoner in that capacity. I was in his
house on the Sunday before Mr. Cook died, between twelve and one, and
Mr. Palmer asked me whether I would take some broth to Mr. Cook. He gave
me some broth in a small cup with a cover, and told me to take it over
to the Talbot Arms. I gave it to one of the servant girls, either Mills
or Lavinia Barnes. I cannot tell whether the broth was hot or not.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: Sarah Bond]
SARAH BOND, examined by Mr. HUDDLESTON--I was housekeeper at the Talbot
Arms in November last. I saw Mr. Cook on the Thursday after he returned
from Shrewsbury Races. I heard him say he was very poorly. About eight
o’clock on Sunday evening I saw him in bed. He said he had been very
ill, but was better. Soon after I came into the room I saw the prisoner.
I asked what he thought about Mr. Cook, and he told me he was better. On
the Saturday night I spoke to him about the advisability of having some
one to be with Mr. Cook during the night. He said that either he or
Jerry Smith would be there. I also spoke to him about it on the Sunday
night, but he said that Cook was so much better he would not require any
one. He would be much better without it. I asked him if Daniel Jenkins,
the boots, should not sleep in the room, but he said he would much
rather not. On Monday morning, a little before seven, he came into the
kitchen to me. He said Cook was better, and asked me to make a cup of
coffee for him. I made the coffee. He remained in the kitchen while I
was making it, and took it from me to give to Mr. Cook. He said he was
going to London that day, and he had asked Mr. Jones to come to be with
Cook while he was away. Between eleven and twelve on Monday night the
waitress came and told me that Mr. Cook was very ill. I went up to his
room. There was no one with him. He was sitting up a little on the bed,
and seemed disappointed when I came in that it was not Palmer. He said
it was Mr. Palmer he wanted. I did not remain in the room above two or
three minutes. I did not go downstairs, but remained on the landing, and
was still there when Mr. Palmer came. I could see into the room from
where I was standing. Palmer went into the room, and I heard he was
giving him some pills. He then came out to fetch some medicine, and was
not many minutes away before he came back. After he returned, I heard
Mr. Cook was very sick and very ill. He told Mr. Palmer he thought he
should die, and he must not leave him. Mr. Palmer came out again, and I
asked him if Cook had any relatives. He said he had only a stepfather. I
saw Cook on Tuesday, between three and four, when Mr. Jones came. I took
him a little jelly shortly after six. He seemed very anxious for it, and
said if he did not have something he thought he should die. He seemed a
little better. I did not see him again alive.
[Sidenote: Sarah Bond]
Cross-examined by Mr. GROVE--I did not see Palmer on the Monday evening
until a little before twelve. The last train, which stops at Rugeley at
eight o’clock, is not an express train. The express does not stop at
Rugeley, and passengers coming by the express have to take some
conveyance from Stafford. I cannot say when they would arrive in the
ordinary course. On the Monday night when I went up to Cook’s room he
seemed disappointed that it was not Mr. Palmer. He seemed to be worse
than he was. At that time Barnes had gone to fetch the doctor. Mr.
Palmer came directly I left the room. I was led to ask what relatives
the man had as he seemed so very ill, and I heard him telling Mr. Palmer
he thought he should die.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: W. H. Jones]
Mr. WILLIAM HENRY JONES, examined by the ATTORNEY-GENERAL--I am a
surgeon and medical practitioner at Lutterworth, and have been in
practice for fifteen years. I have known the deceased, Cook, intimately
for nearly five years. I have known of his acquaintance with William
Palmer for over a year. He looked upon my house at Lutterworth as his
home, and I attended him if there was anything the matter with him. His
health was generally good, but he was not very robust. I think he hunted
and played cricket. On the Tuesday of the Shrewsbury Races, the day on
which his horse “Polestar” won, I spent the day with him at his
invitation. We dined together in the evening at the Raven Hotel. He
accompanied me when I left for the station. On our way there we called
at the house of Mr. Fraill, the clerk of the course. I was present
during a conversation they had along with Whitehouse, the jockey. Cook
produced his betting book and calculated his winnings. He had seven to
one. Cook was with me till I left the hotel at ten o’clock. He was not
in the least the worse of liquor, and seemed to be in his usual health.
On the Monday I received the following letter from Mr. Palmer:--
November 18, 1855.
My dear Sir,--Mr. Cook was taken ill at Shrewsbury, and obliged to
call in a medical man; since then he has been confined to his bed
here with a very severe bilious attack, combined with diarrhœa,
and I think it advisable for you to come and see him as soon as
possible.
[Sidenote: W. H. Jones]
I was ill on the Monday when I received the letter, and did not arrive
at the Talbot Arms, Rugeley, till half-past three on Tuesday afternoon.
I saw Cook there, and he expressed himself as very comfortable, but said
he had been very ill at Shrewsbury. I examined Cook in Palmer’s
presence. His pulse was natural and his tongue was clean. When I
remarked upon this to Palmer he said, “You should have seen it before.”
I prescribed nothing for Cook at that time. I visited him several times
in the course of that afternoon, and he seemed improved in every way. I
gave him a little toast and water, which was in the room, and which he
vomited. There was no diarrhœa as far as I was aware. Mr. Bamford,
who I learned from Palmer had been attending, came about seven o’clock.
He expressed his satisfaction with Cook’s improved state of health.
Whilst Bamford, Palmer, and I were consulting what we should prescribe
for him, Cook objected to the pills he had had the previous night. He
said they made him ill. The three of us then withdrew, and Palmer
proposed that Mr. Bamford should make up the morphine pills as before,
but not to mention what they contained, as Cook objected so much to
morphine. Mr. Bamford agreed to it, and went away. Palmer and I went
into Cook’s room. I was in and out of the room during the whole evening,
and he seemed very comfortable. I observed no more vomiting nor any
diarrhœa. There were no bilious symptoms whatever, nor were there any
signs of his having recently suffered from a bilious attack. About eight
o’clock I went with Palmer over to his house. I returned to Cook’s room
in about a quarter of an hour. Palmer came back about eleven o’clock
with a box of pills. He opened them in my presence and showed me the
directions on a slip of paper round the box. He remarked, “What an
excellent hand for an old man upwards of eighty to write.” It was very
good writing indeed. Palmer proposed to Cook to take the pills, but he
protested, as they had made him so ill the previous night. Ultimately he
did take them, and he immediately vomited into the utensil. Both Palmer
and I, at his request, searched the utensil for the pills, but we found
nothing but the toast and water, so that the pills were retained. After
he vomited he lay down very comfortably, and we left him. Before he had
taken the pills he had expressed himself stronger, and had got up and
sat in a chair. During the evening he had been very jocose, speaking of
what he should do during the winter, and of his future plans and
prospects. After he had taken those two pills, at eleven o’clock, I went
downstairs and had some supper. I returned about twelve to his room, had
some conversation with him, and then went to bed, it being arranged that
I should sleep in his room, which was a double-bedded one, that night.
At the time I last talked to him he seemed rather sleepy, but quite as
well as usual, and there was nothing to excite any apprehension in my
mind. I had been in bed ten minutes, and had not gone to sleep, when he
suddenly started up in bed and called out, “Doctor, get up; I am going
to be ill; ring the bell for Mr. Palmer.” I rang the bell, and the
chambermaid came to the door. He himself called out to her, “Fetch Mr.
Palmer.” He asked me to rub his neck. I rubbed the back part of his neck
and supported him with my arm while doing so. There was a stiffening of
the muscles; a sort of hardness about the neck. Palmer came very soon
indeed; two or three minutes at the most. He made the remark, “I was
never so quickly dressed in my life.” I did not observe how he was
dressed, as I was so engaged. He gave Cook two pills, which he said were
ammonia pills. Directly he swallowed the pills he uttered loud screams,
threw himself back in the bed, and was dreadfully convulsed. As the
pills had immediately before been taken, it certainly could not have
been from their action. He said to me, “Raise me up or I shall be
suffocated.” The convulsions lasted five or ten minutes. It was at the
commencement of the convulsions that he called out to raise him up or he
should be suffocated. All the muscular fibres were convulsed; there was
a violent contraction of every muscle of the body, and a stiffening of
the limbs. When he called out to me to raise him, I endeavoured to do so
with the assistance of Mr. Palmer, but found it was quite impossible
owing to the rigidity of the limbs. When he found I could not raise him
up he asked me to turn him over, which I did. He was quite sensible.
After I had turned him over I listened to the action of his heart. I
found it gradually to weaken. I requested Palmer to fetch some spirits
of ammonia in the hopes of reviving him. Palmer fetched a bottle from
his house. He was not away above a minute. When he returned, Cook’s
heart was gradually sinking, and life was almost extinct. He died very
quietly. He was not able to take the ammonia, and it was very soon after
Palmer returned that he died. From the time when he raised himself in
bed and called upon me to go for Palmer to the time when he died would
be from ten minutes to a quarter of an hour. In my judgment, as a
medical man, he died from tetanus, or, in ordinary English parlance,
lockjaw.
Does it involve, ordinarily speaking, a mere locked jaw?--Yes, that is
the common term. Locked jaw is one of the symptoms of tetanus. Every
muscle in the body was affected in the same manner.
How would you express in ordinary English the general symptoms of what
you call tetanus in one word?--Violent spasmodic affection of all the
muscles of the body. That effects the immediate cause of death by
stopping the action of the heart, and also the breath, from its effect
on the diaphragm. It affects the respiratory muscles and stops
respiration. It is that spasm of the respiratory muscles which causes
the sense of suffocation. When death took place he was still upon his
side. He remained in that position after death. I did not turn the body
upon its back. The outward appearance of the body after death was very
dark. As there was only one candle in the room, I could not make the
observation I otherwise should have made. Both his hands, the left hand
particularly, which I had in my hand, were clenched. I observed the
clenching of the hands immediately the attack took place, when he threw
himself back immediately after taking the pills Palmer brought over.
When I was rubbing his neck I did not see the hands clenched.
Did you observe either before or at the time of death, or immediately
afterwards, anything in the position of the head and neck?--Yes; the
head was quite bent back.
When you say bent back, do you mean bent back into an unnatural
position?--Yes; by spasmodic action. The body was twisted back like a
bow; the backbone was twisted back.
[Sidenote: W. H. Jones]
By LORD CAMPBELL--When did you observe that appearance--immediately
after death, or all the time?--Indeed, after throwing himself back, he
was immediately drawn back.
Examination resumed--If I had placed the body at that time upon the
back, on a level surface, it would have rested upon the head and heels.
As his face was turned away from me, I did not observe anything
immediately after or at the time of death about the jaw. After death I
saw the jaw was not in its natural condition; it was all affected by
spasmodic action. I spoke to Palmer about the laying out of the body,
and left him alone in the room while I went downstairs to see Miss Bond.
I returned in a few minutes and found Palmer with Mr. Cook’s coat in his
hand. He remarked that I, being Cook’s nearest friend, should take
possession of his effects. I did so, and took possession of his watch
and his purse, containing five sovereigns and five shillings. That was
all I could find. I did not find any betting book or any papers. After
that, before Palmer left, he said something to me upon the subject of
affairs as between Cook and himself. He said, as near as I can
recollect, “It is a bad thing for me, as I was responsible for £3000 or
£4000, and I hope Mr. Cook’s friends will not let me lose it. If they do
not assist me, all my horses will be seized.” Nothing was said by him
about securities or paper.
By LORD CAMPBELL--In the consultation which we three medical men had on
Tuesday night nothing was said about the symptoms, the spasms, which had
occurred the night before.
Cross-examined by Mr. SERJEANT SHEE--I know that Mr. Cook had been under
treatment by Dr. Savage for some time.
You knew he had treated himself a good deal with mercurial
treatment?--No, not a great deal. I know that he had had a sore throat
for two or three months. In the summer it was bad. It was slightly
ulcerated; not a very extreme case; the back part of the tongue. He
could swallow, but it gave him a little pain occasionally. It depended
upon what he did swallow. I knew he had found it necessary to apply
caustic to his tongue. For two months before his death he had ceased to
do it. After that he never complained of occasional pain in his throat
or his tongue. I did not see much of him during these two months. He was
attending most of the races.
[Sidenote: W. H. Jones]
Was he apprehensive about some spots which appeared upon his body?--I
never heard him mention it. I had heard him express apprehensions of his
being affected by secondary symptoms of venereal disease. His habits
were, generally speaking, correct, though he may occasionally have gone
astray, and perhaps was not very particular. I do not know that he had a
chancre at the time he died, although I believe he had one twelve months
ago. I was not present at either of the post-mortem examinations. I was
at Shrewsbury Races with him on the Tuesday, and I knew he was very
anxious, as the winning of the race was of great consequence to him.
After the race was run he was so excited that for two or three minutes
he could not speak to me. He was elated and happy the rest of the day,
but he was not at all intoxicated. He was a very temperate man. That
night when he was first attacked, and when Palmer came, Cook said,
“Palmer, give me the remedy you gave me the night before.” I was rubbing
his neck for about five minutes, I should think. After I turned him over
on his side to the time of his death three or four minutes would elapse.
He died so very quietly that I could hardly tell when he did die. I have
seen cases of tetanus before.
You said nothing about tetanus at the inquest?--Yes, I did; convulsions
and tetanus.
Did you not say at the time it was from over-excitement that he died?--I
could not tell the cause. I was so much taken by surprise. I said I had
no idea of the cause of death.
Whatever you said about “violent convulsions,” did you say, “I could not
tell the cause; I imagined at the time it was from over-excitement”?--Yes.
* * * * *
[The deposition of the witness before the coroner was read.]
* * * * *
You say in your deposition you had been in your bed a quarter of an hour
or twenty minutes. Was it not as much as twenty minutes?--I do not think
it was. I had not begun to dose. I do not remember ever having stated I
thought he died of epilepsy. Mr. Bamford said it was apoplexy; I said it
was not. I could not make up my mind what sort of fit it was. I said it
was more like an epileptic fit than apoplexy.
Re-examined--There was a partnership between Cook and Palmer about the
mare “Pereine,” but it was discontinued some months before Cook’s death,
and the mare became the property of Palmer. I have only seen one case of
traumatic tetanus.
Was that from a wound?--From a wound in the thumb. It ended in death.
How long was the patient in dying from the time he received the
wound?--Three days. The patient died of lockjaw. I have seen cases of
epilepsy.
Are there any such symptoms in epileptic fits as those convulsive spasms
of the muscles?--No; the consciousness is lost, and there is none of
this rigidity of the muscles. In apoplexy consciousness is generally
lost too. I am satisfied in my own mind that this case was not apoplexy.
[Sidenote: W. H. Jones]
By LORD CAMPBELL--Supposing he had any secondary symptoms of syphilis,
do you think they could have produced the symptoms you saw on the
Tuesday night?--No, I say not, decidedly, and for two months before
death he was clear of them, and the throat was well.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: E. Mills]
ELIZABETH MILLS was recalled and said that on the Monday morning Cook
told her that during the night he had been disturbed. He said, “I was
just mad for two minutes.” She asked him why he did not ring the bell,
and he replied he thought we should all be fast asleep, and it passed
over. He said he thought he was disturbed by hearing a quarrel in the
street.
By LORD CAMPBELL--What did he say about the street?--He thought he was
disturbed by hearing a quarrel in the street. He was not sure that it
was that which had made him ill; that he might have been asleep, and the
quarrel might have disturbed him. I cannot positively recollect whether
he said so or not.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: H. Savage]
HENRY SAVAGE, examined--I am a physician. I have known the deceased man
Cook for about four years. He was not a man of robust constitution, but
his general health was good. In the spring of 1855 he consulted me about
some spots on his skin--one on his arm and one on his forehead. He had
two shallow ulcers on the tongue corresponding to bad teeth. He thought
these spots and ulcerations were secondary syphilitic symptoms, and had
been undergoing a mild mercurial course. I recommended its immediate
discontinuance, and prescribed him quinine as a tonic, and an aperient
containing cream of tartar, magnesia, and sulphur. I never at any time
gave him antimony. He was quite well by the end of May. He still
continued to see me, as he was not quite sure about the correctness of
my notions of his not having syphilis. I examined him from time to time,
and the only thing the matter with his throat was that one of his
tonsils was slightly enlarged; it was red and tender. There was nothing
of a syphilitic character in the appearance of his throat. I saw him
about a fortnight before his death, when I recommended him to go abroad
for two years, as I wished to get him away from his turf associations. I
examined him thoroughly at that time, and beyond a very shallow scar of
some former excoriation, to which he told me he was liable, there was
nothing venereal about him. There was no chancre nor any sore on any
other part of his body.