Part 8 (2/2)

As you have lived servant in the house, how did you observe Miss Blandy behave towards her father, and in what manner did she use to talk of him, three or four months before his death?--Sometimes she would talk very affectionately, and sometimes but middling.

What do you mean by ”middling”?--Sometimes she would say he was an old villain for using an only child in such a manner.

Did she wish him to live?--Sometimes she wished for him long life, sometimes for his death.

When she wished for his death, in what manner did she express herself?--She often said she was very awkward, and that if he was dead she would go to Scotland and live with Lady Cranstoun.

Did she ever say how long she thought her father might live?--Sometimes she would say, for his const.i.tution, he might live these twenty years; sometimes she would say he looked ill and poorly.

Do you remember when Dr. Addington was sent for on the Sat.u.r.day?--I do.

Had Miss Blandy used to go into her father's room after that time?--She did as often as she pleased till Sunday night; then Mr.

Norton took Miss Blandy downstairs and desired me not to let anybody go into the room except myself to wait on him.

Did she come in afterwards?--She came into the room on Monday morning, soon after Mr. Norton came in, or with him. I went in about ten o'clock again.

What conversation pa.s.sed between Miss Blandy and her father?--She fell down on her knees, and said to him, ”Banish me, or send me to any remote part of the world; do what you please, so you forgive me; and as to Mr. Cranstoun, I will never see him, speak to him, nor write to him more so long as I live, so you will forgive me.”

What answer did he make?--He said, ”I forgive thee, my dear, and I hope G.o.d will forgive thee; but thee shouldst have considered better than to have attempted anything against thy father; thee shouldst have considered I was thy own father.”

What said she to this?--She answered, ”Sir, as for your illness, I am entirely innocent.” I said, ”Madam, I believe you must not say you are entirely innocent, for the powder that was taken out of the water gruel, and the paper of powder that was taken out of the fire, are now in such hands that they must be publicly produced.” I told her I believed I had one dose prepared for my master in a dish of tea about six weeks ago.

Did you tell her this before her father?--I did.

What answer did she make?--She said, ”I have put no powder into tea. I have put powder into water gruel, and if you are injured I am entirely innocent, for it was given me with another intent.”

What said Mr. Blandy to this?--My master turned himself in his bed and said to her, ”Oh, such a villain! come to my house, ate of the best, and drank of the best that my house could afford, to take away my life and ruin my daughter.”

What else pa.s.sed?--He said, ”Oh, my dear! Thee must hate that man, thee must hate the ground he treads on, thee canst not help it.” The daughter said ”Oh, sir, your tenderness towards me is like a sword to my heart; every word you say is like swords piercing my heart--much worse than if you were to be ever so angry. I must down on my knees and beg you will not curse me.”

What said the father?--He said, ”I curse thee! my dear, how couldst thou think I could curse thee? No, I bless thee, and hope G.o.d will bless thee and amend thy life;” and said further, ”Do, my dear, go out of my room, say no more, lest thou shouldst say anything to thy own prejudice; go to thy uncle Stevens, take him for thy friend; poor man!

I am sorry for him.” Upon this she directly went out of the room.

Give an account of the paper you mentioned to her, how it was found?--On the Sat.u.r.day before my master died I was in the kitchen.

Miss Blandy had wrote a direction on a letter to go to her uncle Stevens. Going to the fire to dry it, I saw her put a paper into the fire, or two papers, I cannot say whether. I went to the fire and saw her stir it down with a stick. Elizabeth Binfield then put on fresh coals, which I believe kept the paper from being consumed. Soon after Miss Blandy had put it in she left the kitchen; I said to Elizabeth Binfield, ”Betty, Miss Blandy has been burning something”; she asked, ”Where?” I pointed to the grate and said, ”At that corner”; upon which Betty Binfield moved a coal and took from thence a paper. I stood by and saw her. She gave it into my hand; it was a small piece of paper, with some writing on it, folded up about 3 inches long. The writing was, ”The powder to clean the pebbles,” to the best of my remembrance.

Did you read it?--I did not, Elizabeth Binfield read it to me.

[Produced in Court, part of it burnt, scaled up with the Earl of Macclesfield and Lord Cadogan's seals.] This is the paper, I believe, by the look of it; but I did not see it unfolded. I delivered it into Elizabeth Binfield's hand on Sat.u.r.day night between eleven and twelve o'clock. From the time it was taken out of the fire it had not been out of my pocket, or anything done to it, from that time till I gave it her. I went into my master's room about seven o'clock in the morning to carry him something to drink. When he had drank it, I said, ”I have something to say to you concerning your health and concerning your family; I must beg you will not put yourself in a pa.s.sion, but hear me what I have to say.” Then I told him, ”I believe, sir, you have got something in your water gruel that has done you some injury, and I believe Miss Blandy put it in, by her coming into the washhouse on Monday and saying she had been stirring her papa's water gruel and eating the oatmeal out from the bottom.” He said, ”I find I have something not right; my head is not right as it used to be, nor has been for some time.” I had before told him I had found the powder in the gruel. He said, ”Dost thou know anything of this powder? Didst thee ever see any of it?” I said, ”No, sir, I never saw any but what I saw in the water gruel.” He said, ”Dost know where she had this powder, nor canst not thee guess?” I said, ”I cannot tell, except she had it of Mr. Cranstoun.” My reason for suspecting that was, Miss Blandy had letters oftener than usual. My master said, ”And, now thee mention'st it, I remember when he was at my house he mentioned a particular poison that they had in their country,” saying, ”Oh, that villain! that ever he came to my house!” I told him likewise that I had showed the powder to Mr. Norton; he asked what Mr. Norton said to it; I told him Mr. Norton could not say what it was, as it was wet, but said, ”Let it be what it will, it ought not to be there”; and said he was fearful there was foul play somewhere. My master said, ”What, Norton not know! that is strange, and so much used to drugs.” Then I told him Mr. Norton thought proper he should search her pockets, and take away her keys and papers. He said, ”I cannot do it, I cannot shock her so much; canst not thee, when thou goest into her room, take out a letter or two, that she may think she dropped them by chance?” I told him, ”I had no right to do it; she is your daughter, and you have a right to do it, and n.o.body else.” He said, ”I never in all my life read a letter that came to my daughter from any person.” He desired, if possible, if I could meet with any powder anywhere that I would secure it.

Do you remember when Ann Emmet was sick (the charwoman)?--I do, but cannot say how long or how little a time before this; I remember she was ill some time before my master's death.

What did the prisoner order the old woman to eat at that time?--She sent her some sack whey and some broth, I believe, to the value of a quart or three pints at twice, about once a day, or every other day, for four or five days.

Have you been ill from what you ate yourself?--I was ill after drinking a dish of tea one Sunday morning, which I thought was not well relished, and I believed somebody had been taking salts in the cup before.

<script>