300 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



no coat, and he assisted the girl 

 ill bringing me into the room, 

 where, before a large fire, there 

 was a sofa, on which he placed 

 me. I complained of the excessive 

 heat, on which he sent Clara for 

 the tea-things, and said the fire 

 was not hotter than I could bear 

 it. My breath grew worse, and I 

 felt dreadfully ill. At that 

 moment the girl entered with 

 coal and tea-things. He insisted 

 on my taking tea, and raised me 

 up for the purpose of doing so. 

 Upon compulsion I took two 

 cups, and he said I should have a 

 third. There is a cup-board in 

 the room, where diiferent kinds 

 of drugs are kept, amongst which 

 is laudanum. Before he brought 

 the third cup he went to that 

 cupboard and filled it there. I 

 refused to take it. He said I 

 should, and raised me up, and 

 presented the cup to my mouth. 

 1 perceived the smell was nause- 

 ous, and again refused. He 

 declared that I should, or he 

 would drench me with it : at the 

 same time he took hold of me by 

 the nose, forced it down my 

 throat most violently, and threw 

 me down on the sofa. He sat on 

 the sofa. One of my teeth was 

 broken, but whether it was at 

 that time or not I don't know. 

 Clara came in while he was 

 drenching me with the tea, and 

 he desired her to take the bone 

 out of my stays. I was in violent 

 agony, and I motioned her not to 

 do it while he was in the room. 

 He went out. I thought I was 

 expiring. Clara on removing the 

 bone retired. He came and sat 

 at the foot of the sofa, and gave 

 his hand more unrestrained liber- 

 ties than before upon my person. 



The servant came in, and he 

 removed his hands, with one of 

 which he had held both of mine. 

 In answer to his inquiry, she said 

 she had come to prepare the 

 room for the family. He desired 

 her to remove me on the sofa 

 into the kitchen. As well as I 

 could I told her to carry me to 

 bed, but he said it was useless, 

 for I should not go, and he re- 

 moved me into the back kitchen 

 on the sofa, near the fire, and 

 put the shutters up ; Clara went 

 to do her business, and he sate 

 beside me, and repeated the 

 liberties I alluded to. At that 

 moment Clara came in. There 

 was a nauseous taste in the last 

 cup of tea I took, which was not 

 in either of the other cups. I 

 have since smelt laudanum in 

 tea, and it is my firm belief that 

 laudanum was mixed in the third 

 cup. My illness increased, and 

 Clara, by his order, put me to 

 bed, where I grew worse. Mrs. 

 Shipman came in on hearing me 

 scream, and Mr. Shipman made 

 me take castor oil. What oc- 

 curred from that time till 4 in 

 the afternoon, I was wholly un- 

 conscious of. On Sunday I felt 

 better, and contrived to sit to 

 dinner, after which Mrs. Shipman 

 proposed to her husband to go to 

 chapel. I went up to my ohti 

 room, Mrs. Shipman went to 

 chapel, and Mr. Shipman came 

 to me while I was lying on the 

 bed, and insisted on my going 

 down. I told him I would cry 

 murder if he persisted in remov- 

 ing me, for I was dreadfully ill. 

 He used all the persuasive argu- 

 ments he could to induce me to 

 go down ; said he had not gone 

 to chapel on my account, and all 



the 



