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Show MUMMIFIED BY POISON. Unique Effect of Antimony on Body Revealed in a London Trial. ; (London Mail.) Expert analysis turned the light of science sci-ence strongly upon the Southwark poison case at the police court in London th other day, when George Chapman or Sev-erino Sev-erino Klowski, the borough publican, wal placed in the dock for tho fourteenth time on the triple murder charge. The little black books which havo figured fig-ured in so many trials were again produced pro-duced by Dr. Stevenson, the home offico expert, who gave the results of hi searching analysis in connection with tho tirst of the three women whom the prisoner pris-oner is accused of poisoning. Chapman, with his hair carefully brushed, a new tie neatly adjusted ami ; wearing his frock coat, was seated for the first time between a police constable and a prison warder, the court gaoler a usual standing by the dock and giving him fresh supplies of foolscap for hi.-i ever-increasing mass of notes. For the first tirn., too, Arthur Hutton I ' appeared as counsel for the prisoner and exposed some of the witnesses to a raking rak-ing fire of cross-examination. Dr. Stevenson told how he superintended superintend-ed the exhumation of the body of Mary Isabella Spink, and took some of the earth surrounding the coffin, analyzed it for poison, and found none, and then dwelt upon the amazing preservation of the body. After five years in the grave ' the head and features were so well preserved pre-served bv the antimony with which thn ! bodv and been "saturated" before death j that they were as little altered as though only buried thaj day. It will be ir.Tiembered that witnesses had sworn that Chapman told them that this particular "Mrs. Chapman" was a hard drinker. Dr. Stevenson stated that he could discover no trace of this. j "Antimony," said the expert, "is a me- . tallic irritant poison, the effect of which ' is to cause great pain and gastro-enteritis, 1 of which there were marked traces in tne body." The fact that he found 2.42 grains in the liver showed that a large dose must 1 have been taken shortly before death. It ! would take from two to rive hours for a dose of this poison to become absorbed by the body, but some of it, would be al sorbed within an hour. "Was the immediate cause of the death of Mrs. Spink gastro-enteritis?" he was asked. "Yes. caused by antimony." he replied. What is the cause of this remarkable-preservation remarkable-preservation of the body? Antimony pre- serves a body; it mummities it. This particular par-ticular case is unique. I cannot rind one like it on record. , Then the distinguished expert mentioned a number of interesting facts about -. i antimony. It could be easily dissolved in water, but not in really good brandy. In ordinary public house brandy a small quantity of it in the form of tartar emetic could not be seen. If the brandy , were 23 degrees under proof an ounce i Would absorb twenty-nine grains. If tar- ' ' tar emetic were put into ordinary brandy and water it would be quite clear. This was the first charge of antimonial poisoning poi-soning since the Bravo case in I ' i I |
