quantity of arsenic L'Angelier had1 taken cure. There may be a deeper reason for fhe would have required his drinking at least a choice. There seems to be something in the quart of chocolate at the midnight interview, nature of the drug and of its effect upon the victim that adapts it for woman's use. Given in the intervals of their endearments. The jury found a Scotch verdict, not in small doses it kills slowly and quietly, proven," which was received with general almost painlessly. Vegetable poisons, on satisfaction. Miss Smith's demeanor at the the other hand, like strychnine, cause dread trial was modest and composed. She is said ful convulsions and a quick and painful death. afterwards to have married, and to have The infliction of a quiet, lingering death is, perhaps, characteristic of women. One would made an exemplary wife and mother. There are many similar cases, but all have look for it in the case of a sex by nature the same common features that are found in cautious and timid in act, if not in thought. those that have been stated. In only one Men, on the other hand, in the cases I have examined have used poison with a liberal other case does the jury seem to have ac quitted, and in that case they took the hand, and have killed at once; there was no extraordinary and illegal step of adding to doubt of the symptoms in those cases, and no their verdict of "not guilty, that they delay in the result. The great amount of strongly suspected the woman was guilty. arsenic found, in L'Angelier's body is the Supposing now that the verdicts were cor fact that throws most doubt on the guilt rect, let us study and compare the facts 'of of Madeline Smith. Further investigation, these cases, and come to such general con however, might show that there is no such clusions as the cases warrant. We may safely difference between the sexes in the adminis draw this deduction: That women desiring tration of poison. Another noteworthy fact is the tender care to kill from a motive that springs from love are very apt to use poison as the means of lavished by the woman upon her victim—if killing. The passion of anger is not aroused : he was her victim. Ye cannot deny that in the killing may be planned at leisure, stealth all the cases the circumstance which weighed ily, with the hope of escaping detection. most strongly against the defendant was the motive she had for removing the deceased. Women who kill in this way seem to be abso lute mistresses of themselves. They can put If the defendant was guilty, she must in each on the appearance of the warmest affection case have been a woman whose love and in dealing with their victim; they can pass hate were unbridled. Yet we see her careful calmly and without embarrassment through and tender of the victim she is slowly doing the ordeal of a trial, and they can meet death to death, weeping at his suffering, prostrated in an odor of sanctity. Such a woman by the final result—but secretly gloating over planning the death of her victim appears his pains, and writing in triumph to the naturally to select arsenic as the poison used. absent lover. Quite of a piece with this Antimony, a very similar poison, was used exhibition is the behavior of each defendant in one case; chloroform was the alleged at her trial. The modest, calm, and dignified poison in the case in which the defendant demeanor of each in the face of the most dis was acquitted; in all other recorded trials honoring evidence is noteworthy. One can arsenic was used. For this selection one hardly conceivethe torture of Madeline Smith, stared at by a promiscuous crowd while her might suggest two reasons: There is obvi letters to L'Angelier were read aloud; yet ously a notion widely prevailing among passionate and impetuous as she was by women that arsenic is of use as a cosmetic; nature, she did not flinch. She must have the poison is, therefore, already, to a certain gone through some terrible experience, one extent, familiar to the intending poisoner. would think, to gain such control of herself. Jt is also, on the whole, not difficult to pro
