THE CASE OF MADELINE SMITH
THE case of Madeline Smith, who was charged with causing the death
of L'Angelier by the administration of arsenic at Glasgow, in 1857,
excited universal interest. Owing to the social position of the lady,
the trial was a _cause célèbre_ of the time, and the circumstances
of the case were of an extraordinary character. Miss Smith, who was
a young and accomplished woman at that time, and who resided in a
fashionable quarter of Glasgow, got entangled with a French clerk
named Pierre Emile L'Angelier. L'Angelier died very suddenly in an
unaccountable manner, and suspicion falling on Madeline Smith, who
was frequently in his company, she was arrested and charged with the
crime. The Crown case was, that she poisoned her lover that she might
be betrothed to a personage of high social standing. That L'Angelier
died on March 23 from the effects of arsenic was amply proved, but
while suspicious acts were alleged against the accused woman, no direct
evidence was adduced to show that she administered the drug. The worst
point against her was the fact of her having possession of the poison;
and, irrespective of two previous purchases of coloured arsenic for
which she had given false reasons, it was proved that the accused had
purchased one ounce, as she said, "to kill rats," on March 18, only
five days before the death of L'Angelier. The arsenic sold was coloured
with indigo, according to the Act of Parliament. When charged with the
crime, and required to account for the poison, she replied she had used
the whole of it to apply to her face, arms, and neck, diluted with
water, and that a school companion had told her that arsenic was good
for the complexion. From the post-mortem examination and subsequent
analysis _eighty-eight_ grains of arsenic were found in the stomach
and its contents. Dr. Christison, the greatest toxicological expert of
the time, was called, and stated he knew of no case in which so much
as eighty-eight grains of arsenic had been found in the stomach after
death.
This was made a turning-point of the defence, and it was contended
that so large a dose of arsenic could not have been swallowed
unknowingly, and, therefore, suicide was indicated. The jury accepting
this view of the case, returned a verdict of "not proven," and Madeline
Smith was liberated, the trial having lasted ten days.
Some interesting particulars concerning the subsequent life of this
lady were published some time ago. After the trial she decided to go
abroad; but before starting she is said to have married a certain
mysterious individual named Dr. Tudor Hora. With him she lived for
many years in Perth, but few people ever saw her, and the doctor
always declined to divulge his wife's maiden name. He kept a small
surgery, and is said to have been in receipt of about £400 a year from
an unnamed source. Some years after, believing that his wife had been
recognized, he bought a practice at Hotham, near Melbourne, and they
sailed for Australia. Shortly after their arrival, Mrs. Hora left her
husband, and remained absent from Melbourne until his death. Soon
afterwards she married again, but it is said her second union was not
by any means a happy one. She remained unknown, and sought no society.
She was an excellent musician, and spent most of her time in reading
and playing. She had no children, and died at the age of fifty-five.
Six years after the trial of Madeline Smith a case was tried at the
Chester Assizes, in which a woman named Hewitt or Holt was charged
with poisoning her mother. Although the symptoms of irritant poisoning
were very clearly marked, the country practitioner, who attended
the woman at the time, certified that the cause of her death was
gastro-enteritis. Eleven weeks after she had been buried, the body was
exhumed and examined. An analysis revealed the presence of one hundred
and fifty-four grains of arsenic in the stomach alone. The possession
of a considerable quantity of arsenic was brought home to the accused,
and also direct evidence of its administration, and she was found
guilty. This case is interesting from the fact of proof being obtained
of the administration of so large a quantity of arsenic, and if it had
occurred before the trial of Madeline Smith it might have demolished
her counsel's main line of defence.