APPENDIX TO CHRONICLE. 



323 



nursing illegitimate children, one 

 of whom likewise she was now 

 charged with murdering. About 

 a month before she exercised this 

 unrelenting cruelty, she had a 

 very extraordinary conversation 

 with the mother of this infant, 

 who resided in the house with 

 her. She told Mary Newton that 

 she had had her fortune read, and 

 that in the course of one week, 

 and within six weeks from the 

 period on which she was speak- 

 ing, three funerals would go 

 from her door. One of the des- 

 tined victims was her husband, 

 another her son, and the third 

 the child of the person to whom 

 she was addressing hei'self. 

 She did not delay her purpose, 

 however, till the six weeks of 

 the fortune-teller had expired; 

 for in about a month afterwards 

 she went to a chymist's shop and 

 purchased an ounce and a half of 

 arsenic, to fulfil the prophecy. 

 'Jhis haj)pened on Saturday, the 

 13th of April, or Easter-eve. 

 Ir Next morning her husband had 

 some coffee for his breakfast, and 

 soon after became ill. To restore 

 him, she prepared him some water 

 gruel, and in it she mixed the 

 poison. The wretched man im- 

 mediately felt that the gruel had 

 an uncommon taste, and refused 

 at first to drink it ; but she urged 

 him so strongly, by telling him 

 that " it was the last gruel she ever 

 would prepare him," that he com- 

 plied with her entreaties, not 

 knowing the enigma hid under 

 these expiessions. As he grew 

 worse, she called in medical as- 

 sistance, the better to allay suspi- 

 cion, and was entrusted by the 

 medical man with remedies to be 

 admiaistered ; but she refused to 



administer them, saying, it was 

 of no use, for " her husband 

 would die." After the death of 

 the deceased, tlie prisoner was 

 taken into custody, and before 

 the Coroner made a full confes- 

 sion of the murder, which, as it 

 was signed by her, would be given 

 in evidence. There weie two 

 counts in the indictment respect- 

 ing Matthew Holroyd : the first 

 charged the prisoner with petty 

 treason, in making an attempt on 

 the life of her husband ; the se- 

 cond with administering poison, 

 of which he died. It was neces- 

 sary to have these two, as on ©ne 

 occasion, where the latter was 

 omitted, and the former could 

 not be proved, the Judge felt 

 himself obliged to direct the party 

 to be acquitted, though there was 

 no doubt that the deceased died 

 by poison. 



John Taylor, a chymist at Ash- 

 ton-under-Line, proved, that he 

 sold an ounce and a half of aise- 

 nic (or mercury, as the common 

 people call it) to the prisoner, for 

 destroying rats and mice ; that 

 he refused at first to sell any, un- 

 less the prisoner would bring a 

 neighbour along with her, to 

 vouch for the purpose for which 

 it was to be applied ; and that, 

 upon such attestation, he sold the 

 quantity in (juestion. 



Mary Newton had lodged with 

 the prisoner for ten or eleven 

 weeks previous to the murders, 

 and had her child, Ann Newton, 

 about fifteen weeks old, in the 

 house with her. She remembered 

 Matthew Holroyd becoming ill on 

 the 14th of April, and he com- 

 plained of a fire or burning pain 

 in his stomach. His son sickened 

 about the same time. When his 



Y 3 wife 



