Excerpt from A Complete Report of the Trial of Miss. Madeline Smith, for the Alleged Poisoning of Pierre Emile L'angelier

But the feeling of the greater proportion of the public ran strongly. In her favour, - a fact which was afterwards clearly shewn by the applause with which the Dean's address was received, and with which the J ury's verdict of acquittal was greeted. This feeling arose partly from the very general impression that there was a hitch in the casefor the prosecution, -partly from the sympathy which her youth, her appearance, and her position in society created, -and partly from contempt for the conduct of the man whom she was accused of mur dering. So prevalent was this latter feeling, that one frequently heard the remark, Well, if she did not poison him, she ought to have done it.

Six days passed before the evidence for the prosecution and defence was closed; and on the seventh the Lord Advocate proceeded to address the Jury. He discharged his painful duty in a manner which reflects the greatest credit on him, both as an advocate and as a man. His speech, which was a omost masterly synthesis, so to speak, of the evidence, and in which he exhausted almost every theory which could be started for the defence, was delivered in that temperate and dispassionate manner which so becomes a public prosecutor.

But the excitement, if it were possible, became greater on the eighth day of the trial, when the Dean of Faculty came to make his appeal to the Jury on her behalf. Great things were expected of him, and he did not disappoint that expectation. It is impossible that any one reading a report of his speech can form an adequate concep tion of the effect it had upon those who heard him. The look, the tone, the action - these no reporter can convey. For the time be fairly carried everything before him; and as, with quivering voice, he painted the anguish and despair of the unhappy girl in her attempts to recover those fearful letters which contained such damning evidence of her shame - as he indignantly denounced the man who refused to listen to those passionate appeals, and who determined to keep the letters as an engine of terror and oppression - and as he painted with the hand of a master the horror and remorse which must for ever haunt the Jury if they were to convict her, and her perfect innocence should be afterwards established - more than one of the Jury, as well as many of the audience, were dissolved in tears.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.