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 The Psychology of Poisoning. the 18th of March, 1865, four months after a condition of more than ordinary depend the beginning of her illness. ence upon his protection, and he had taken Dr. Pritchard was at once suspected of devilish advantage of the position; how having caused his wife's death; an examina should a little additional cruelty matter? If tion was made of her body and large quan strychnine would do his work thoroughly he tities of antimony, in the form of tartar would use it, though the agony of it distorted emetic, were found. Mrs. Taylor's body his victim out of human shape. If arsenic was then examined and the same discovery would do his work as well, he would use made. In her case, however, the testimony arsenic, but he would make his work sure. showed that her death had been caused not This insensibility to the pain—or at least only by antimonial poisoning, but by the the apparent pain—of the victim was shown addition to that mineral poison of the vege also in the method of administering the poi table poisons, aconite and morphia. Dr. son. In almost every case a single fatal dose Pritchard, during the progress of the cases, was given. In Dr. Pritchard's case alone made suspicious statements to the other a succession of small doses of a mineral poi physicians—for instance, that his wife was son was administered to his wife; though suffering from gastric fever. After his ar even he in the murder of his mother-in-law rest he made other damaging statements. gave a single fatal dose. And Pritchard's .There was an attempt to show a motive for poisoning of his wife differed from the acts the crime in his hope of inheriting money of the woman poisoners. They did not, like from his mother-in-law; but not much was him, weaken their victims, of deliberate pur proved in that direction. He had without pose, that these might finally die not so much doubt formed an illicit connection with a of poison as of exhaustion. Their doses were meant to be direct causes of death; they young maid-servant. The jury convicted; after a partial confes meant to give enough to kill, but to kill with sion in the vain hope of a commutation of out unnecessary pangs. Their victims took sentence, Dr. Pritchard made a full confes a week to die in; he tortured his wife with all sion and was executed, universally execrated. the malignity of his skill for four months. • Here, then, are several cases in which men His object must have been not to avoid dra have been convicted of poisoning their wives matic suffering, but to escape detection. or mistresses. May any general conclusions This haste to dispose of the victim was characteristic of the criminals, not of their be drawn from them? Comparing them with the cases studied crimes. In only a few of the cases—those of in a previous paper, one notices at once the Harris and Hersey, for instance — haste diversity of poisons used. The women who seemed required by the emergency. Once poisoned for love used in almost every case or twice the defendant, not having constant arsenic. These men have used several veg access to his victim, was obliged to act once etable poisons, usually strychnine or mor for all; but in most of them a slow course of phia, and the mineral poisons, arsenic and poisoning was quite possible. It is obvious antimony. The men had a wider knowledge that the constant administration of poison in of poisons, or a wider field of choice, or else small doses does not increase the danger of there is some deep moral reason for the dif detection; on the contrary, Dr. Pritchard was ference. They certainly shrank from no doubtless led to poison his wife gradually by cruelty. The circumstances of each of these the hope of thus escaping suspicion. These cases showed a disgusting and cowardly, cases, then, suggest that there may be in might one not say ungentlemanlv. breach of men,at least, when acting from an intense a most sacred trust. Each of the men had desire to get rid of a loathed incumbrance, an brought the woman he professed to love into almost irresistible desire to do it quickly and