A frightful consequence of the practice of allowing poison to lie about in private dwellings occurred at Kensall Green.
Thomas Hickman, thirty-four years of age, occupied a small cottage in Penton Villas, with his wife and six children. On Sunday morning, Caroline Bonamy, Mrs. Hickman's sister, arrived to spend the day; having occasion for a piece of paper to light a fire, she took up a bag which she supposed to contain flour, and which had long stood untouched in a cupboard, and, having turned the contents into the flour tub, burnt the bag - the contents were, in fact, arsenic, and with the fatal mixture thus formed a pudding was made for dinner.
The whole nine persons ate heartily of it. Soon afterwards they were seized with sickness, accompanied by a burning sensation in the throat and stomach. Mr. Abercrombie, a surgeon, was called in, and was soon convinced by the symptoms that the family had swallowed arsenic.
Mrs. Hickman's sister said it must have been the powder she found in the bag; on which Hickman exclaimed that must have been the white arsenic which he had had in the house so many years. The poison, it appeared, had been originally kept in a bottle; but the bottle having been broken, the powder was placed in a flour-bag, and put in the cupboard!
Notwithstanding the efforts of several medical men, the poison soon exhibited its mortal effects. At six o'clock, a boy of nine years old died; then a child three years old; and by eleven three more children had perished. The father lingered till noon the following day, and then became the sixth victim. The others recovered.
Wednesday 18 April 2018
Tuesday 17 April 2018
Fatal explosion near Dover
A great loss of life occurred on the line of the South-Eastern Railway, near Dover, by the headstrong wilfulness of the sufferers.
About two miles from Dover, where the railway is cut through the cliffs, a small cave, five feet in height by six in length, had been excavated in the chalk to be used as a magazine for the gunpowder used in blasting: it was secured by a door, which was locked. A gang of labourers employed in repairing the line endeavoured, on Saturday, to force open the door, that they might obtain shelter from the rain: they were then warned that powder was stored in the place, and the danger and impropriety of their conduct were pointed out.
Between 12 and 1 o'clock this day, however, for the sake of shelter from a shower, thirteen men, having broken open the door, got into the cave.
Directly afterwards, two barrels of powder exploded, and the men were blown from the excavation as from a mortar. Eleven were killed on the spot, one died in a few hours, the survivor in a few days.
It is reported that one of the men, after lighting his pipe, had thrown down the match, which falling upon some loose powder, ignited it, and the contents of the barrels instantly exploded. The bodies of the unfortunate men were projected from the cave with great violence, and thrown over the railway works, some falling on to the beach, and some into the sea, a distance of 150 yards.
The cave itself was little damaged, and no interruption occurred in the traffic on the railway.
About two miles from Dover, where the railway is cut through the cliffs, a small cave, five feet in height by six in length, had been excavated in the chalk to be used as a magazine for the gunpowder used in blasting: it was secured by a door, which was locked. A gang of labourers employed in repairing the line endeavoured, on Saturday, to force open the door, that they might obtain shelter from the rain: they were then warned that powder was stored in the place, and the danger and impropriety of their conduct were pointed out.
Between 12 and 1 o'clock this day, however, for the sake of shelter from a shower, thirteen men, having broken open the door, got into the cave.
Directly afterwards, two barrels of powder exploded, and the men were blown from the excavation as from a mortar. Eleven were killed on the spot, one died in a few hours, the survivor in a few days.
It is reported that one of the men, after lighting his pipe, had thrown down the match, which falling upon some loose powder, ignited it, and the contents of the barrels instantly exploded. The bodies of the unfortunate men were projected from the cave with great violence, and thrown over the railway works, some falling on to the beach, and some into the sea, a distance of 150 yards.
The cave itself was little damaged, and no interruption occurred in the traffic on the railway.
Fate of a pseudo King
Monsieur Thiery, who attempted to establish himself as an independent sovereign in New Zealand, having disappointed or given umbrage to his barbarous subjects, was recently killed, cooked, and eaten by them at a solemn public banquet.
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