<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN>
<div class="transnote">
<h2>Transcriber's Note.</h2>
<p>Variable spelling has been retained.
Minor punctuation inconsistencies have been silently repaired.
A list
of other <SPAN href="#Corrections">changes</SPAN> made can be found at the end of the book.
Original text is printed in a two-column layout.</p>
</div>
<hr class="full" />
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/icover.jpg" width-obs="509" height-obs="779" alt="Poison romance and poison mysteries" /></div>
<hr class="full" />
<div class="bbox">
<p class="center"><big>IN THE NECESSARY TOIL</big></p>
<p class="center"><small>AND</small></p>
<p class="center"><big>SUFFERING OF THIS LIFE</big></p>
<p class="center"><em><b>MAN CAN INVENT NOTHING NOBLER THAN HUMANITY!</b></em></p>
<div class="figleft"> <ANTIMG src="images/i1.jpg" width-obs="281" height-obs="506" alt="The Line of Life. Eno's Fruit Salt." /></div>
<div class="ad">
<p><em class="font">THEN WHAT HIGHER
AIM CAN MAN ATTAIN
THAN CONQUEST
OVER HUMAN PAIN?</em></p>
<p><em class="font">ENO'S 'FRUIT SALT'
prevents unnecessary suffering
and removes disease
only by natural laws.</em></p>
<p><em class="font">READ the 20-page
pamphlet given with each
bottle!</em></p>
<p><em class="font">ENO'S 'FRUIT SALT'
rectifies the Stomach, and
makes the Liver laugh
with joy by natural means
(Or, in other words, Gentleness
does more than
Violence.)</em></p>
<p><em class="font">Its universal success
proves the truth of the
above assertion.</em></p>
</div>
<p class="p2"><em class="font"><strong><em>MORAL FOR ALL</em></strong></em>—</p>
<div class="center">
<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
<div class="i0">"I need not be missed if another succeed me;</div>
<div class="i0">To reap down those fields which in spring I have sown.</div>
<div class="i0">He who ploughed and who sowed is not missed by the reaper,</div>
<div class="i0">He is only remembered by what he has done."</div>
</div></div>
</div>
<p>The effect of Eno's 'Fruit Salt' upon any Disordered and Feverish
Condition is Simply Marvellous. It is, in fact, Nature's Own Remedy,
and is an Unsurpassed One.</p>
<p class="hang"><span class="smcap"><small>CAUTION.</small></span><small>—</small><em><small>Examine the Capsule, and see that it is marked ENO'S 'FRUIT SALT,'
otherwise you have the sincerest form of flattery—IMITATION.</small></em></p>
<p><strong>Prepared only by J. C. ENO, Ltd., 'FRUIT SALT' WORKS, LONDON, S.E., by J. C. ENO'S Patent.</strong></p>
</div>
<hr class="full" />
<h1> POISON ROMANCE AND POISON MYSTERIES </h1>
<hr class="full" />
<div class="bboxsimple">
<p class="center"><strong>
<big>POISON ROMANCE AND<br/>
POISON MYSTERIES</big></strong></p>
<p class="center"><small>BY</small></p>
<p class="center">C. J. S. THOMPSON.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="hang"><cite>St. James' Gazette</cite>:—"There is indeed no more fascinating
reading ... very pleasant and readable.... It is full of
good reading, with some rather creepy and <em>saugrenu</em> dippings
into the past."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>Daily Chronicle</cite>:—"Poison is always a fascinating subject.
There is something subtle and mystic about the very word.
On this attractive theme Mr. <span class="smcap">Thompson</span> has collected a
great deal of information from ancient and modern alike."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>Daily Mail</cite>:—"People who are fond of prying into the gruesome
subject of toxicology will find some interesting chapters
in Mr. <span class="smcap">C. J. S. Thompson's</span> book."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>The Athenæum</cite>:—"Decidedly sensible and well informed."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>Literature</cite>:—"Mr. <span class="smcap">Thompson</span> writes a sprightly chapter on
toxicology in fiction."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>The Saturday Review</cite>:—"A great deal of curious information
concerning the history of poisons and poisonings."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>Illustrated London News</cite>:—"The story portions will
attract most attention, and the poisoned gloves and rings of
old romance supply satisfaction to that sensational instinct
which is absent in hardly one of us."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>The Queen</cite>:—"Will fascinate most people. Is very readably
written. Its only fault is that it is too short."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>Liverpool Courier</cite>:—"It is a readable book as well as an
able one. The author is an eminent toxicologist and writes
pleasantly on the lore connected with the science."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>The Scotsman</cite>:—"It is successful and interesting. Full of
odd and startling information."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>Manchester Courier</cite>:—"The book is extremely interesting
and particularly valuable."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>Aberdeen Free Press</cite>:—"Fascinates the majority of his
readers. One could wish that Mr. <span class="smcap">Thompson</span> had written
much more."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>Glasgow Citizen</cite>:—"A book of the week."</p>
<p class="hang"><cite>Glasgow Herald</cite>:—"Light and eminently readable."</p>
</blockquote>
<p><sup>*</sup><sub>*</sub><sup>*</sup> <span class="u">An edition of this book in cloth boards, price 2<em>s.</em> 6<em>d.</em>, is
published by The Scientific Press Ltd., 28 & 29, Southampton
Street, Strand, London, W.C.</span></p>
</div>
<hr class="full" />
<div class="title">
<h2>POISON ROMANCE AND POISON MYSTERIES</h2>
<p class="center p6"><small>BY</small></p>
<p class="center"><span class="smcap"><b>C. J. S. THOMPSON, F.R.Hist.S.</b></span></p>
<p class="center"><small>AUTHOR OF "THE MYSTERY AND ROMANCE OF ALCHEMY AND PHARMACY" "THE
CHEMIST'S COMPENDIUM" "A MANUAL OF PERSONAL HYGIENE"
"PHARMACY AND DISPENSING" ETC. ETC.</small></p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i004.jpg" width-obs="100" height-obs="141" alt="illustration" /></div>
<p class="center p2">
LONDON</p>
<p class="center">GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD</p>
<p class="center">BROADWAY HOUSE, LUDGATE HILL, E.C.</p>
<p class="center">1904</p>
</div>
<hr class="full" />
<div class="bboxsimple">
<p class="center"><big>ROUTLEDGE'S<br/>
CAXTON LIBRARY</big></p>
<p class="center"><small>OF</small></p>
<p class="center"><strong>Fiction and Standard Works</strong></p>
<p class="center"><em>Medium 8vo.</em>
<em>Price</em> <b>6d.</b> <em>each</em>.</p>
<hr class="ruler" />
<p class="center"><small><strong>OVER 300 VOLUMES.</strong></small></p>
<hr class="ruler" />
<p class="center"><em>Write to Messrs. Routledge for a complete list of
the Series.</em></p>
</div>
<hr class="full" />
<p class="center">
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_7" id="Page_7">7</SPAN></span>
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION</p>
<p><span class="smcap">In</span> response to the wishes of many who read this work when it
appeared in serial form, it is now reproduced with much additional
matter, which I hope may prove of value to those interested in the
fascinating subject of poisons and the study of toxicology. It has
been my endeavour to collect, in the following pages, the scattered
fragments of historic and romantic lore connected with poisons from
the earliest period, and to recount the stories of some notable
"poison mysteries" of ancient and modern times. I am indebted
to the works of Dr. Wynter Blyth for many facts concerning the
poisons of antiquity.</p>
<p class="right">
C. J. S. T.</p>
<p>1899</p>
<p class="center p2">PREFACE TO NEW EDITION</p>
<p><span class="smcap">In</span> presenting a new edition of this work to my readers, the opportunity
has been taken to introduce several new chapters, one of
which deals with the "poison mystery" which recently aroused
such widespread interest in the United States. In response to
suggestions, detailed accounts of the "Horsford case" and the
"Lambeth poison mysteries" have also been added.</p>
<p class="right">
C. J. S. T.</p>
<hr class="full" />
<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
<table summary="contents">
<tr><th>CHAP.</th>
<td> </td>
<th>PAGE</th></tr>
<tr> <td class="tdr">I</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Poisons of Antiquity</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_11">11</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">II</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Poisons and Superstition</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_21">21</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tdr">III</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Royal and Historic Poisoners</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_26">26</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">IV</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Professional Poisoners</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_34">34</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">V</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Poisoning Plots</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_43">43</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr> <td class="tdr">VI</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Concerning Arsenic</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_45">45</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">VII</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Strange Case of Madame Lafarge</span> </td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_49">49</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">VIII</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Case of Madeline Smith</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_53">53</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">IX</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Maybrick Case</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_55">55</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">X</td>
<td><span class="smcap">About Aconite and Hemlock</span> </td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_60">60</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr> <td class="tdr">XI</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Case of Dr. Lamson</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_63">63</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="tdr">XII</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Bravo Mystery</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_65">65</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="tdr">XIII</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Case of Dr. Pritchard</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_70">70</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr> <td class="tdr">
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</SPAN></span>
XIV</td> <td><span class="smcap">The Pimlico Mystery</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_75">75</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">XV</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Rugeley Mystery</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_80">80</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr> <td class="tdr">XVI</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Opium Eating and Smoking—Mescal Buttons</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_85">85</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">XVII</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Hashish and Hashish Eaters</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_90">90</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">XVIII</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Tobacco Lore</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_95">95</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="tdr">XIX</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Poison Habits</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_99">99</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tdr">XX</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Poisons in Fiction</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_103">103</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="tdr">XXI</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Lambeth Poison Mysteries</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_110">110</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tdr">XXII</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Horsford Case</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_114">114</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tdr">XXIII</td>
<td><span class="smcap">The Great American Poison Mystery</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_117">117</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tdr">XXIV</td>
<td><span class="smcap">Some Curious Methods Employed by Secret Poisoners</span></td>
<td class="tdr"><SPAN href="#Page_121">121</SPAN></td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr class="full" />
<p class="pseudotitle">POISON ROMANCE AND
POISON MYSTERIES</p>
<hr class="ruler" />
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</SPAN></span></p>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />