The first witness called was Mr Ishmael Fisher, the sporting wine merchant, whom we can hardly describe as unprejudiced, since Dr Palmer had defrauded him of two hundred pounds. He testified forcibly to Cook's suspicion of having been poisoned at The Raven Hotel; and was followed by other members of his sporting party, none of whom, since reading about the verdicts at the inquests on Annie and Walter Palmer, and on Cook, wished to be known as the prisoner's friends or supporters.
Next appeared Elizabeth Mills, formerly chambermaid at The Talbot Arms Hotel, Rugeley, a sharp-featured young woman, wearing a fashionable bonnet. Her account of events varied to a great extent from the depositions she had made before the Coroner. She now reported fresh and striking symptoms, hitherto undisclosed; and it came back to her that she had tasted Cook's bowl of broth and found herself severely poisoned by it. The Prosecution sought to prove that these vital matters must also have appeared in her depositions, had the Coroner's inquest been properly conducted.
Serjeant Shee's cross-examination of this flighty miss on the second day proves, to our satisfaction at least, how successfully Mr Stevens had contrived to suborn her. She was, it seems, shown an account of the recent atrocity at Leeds (where a Mr Dove poisoned his wife with strychnine), and then asked to remember the same medical particulars in Cook's case.
The following is a somewhat abbreviated record of Elizabeth Mills's disingenuous answers to Serjeant Shee's questions:
sergeant shee. How long did you stay at The Talbot Arms Hotel
after Cook's death?
mills. Till the day after Christmas-day. Then I went home.
Serjeant shee. Where is 'home'?
mills. Shelton, in the Potteries.
Serjeant shee. Have you been in service since?
mills. Yes, as chambermaid at Dolly's Hotel, Paternoster Row.
Serjeant shee. Are you in service there now?
mills. No. I stayed only six weeks; until February.
Serjeant shee. After you came to London, did you see Mr Stevens?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. Where and when did you see him?
mills. At Dolly's, about a week later.
Serjeant shee. How many times?
mills. Perhaps four or five.
Serjeant shee. Will you swear it was not ten times?
mills. It might be six or seven; that was about the outside. I cannot
exactly keep account. . .
Serjeant shee. Where at Dolly's did you see him?
mills. Sometimes he would speak to me while Mrs Dewhurst, the landlady, was there, in one of her sitting-rooms.
Serjeant shee. But sometimes you went into a sitting-room and
spoke to him alone? mills. Perhaps twice or three times.
Serjeant shee. Was it always about Mr Cook's death that he spoke to you?
mills. No, it was not. He would call to see how I liked London, and
whether I was well in health, and all that.
Serjeant shee. Mr Stevens is a gentleman, not in your station. Do
you mean to say he called so often to inquire after your health ?
mills. That, and to see whether I liked the place.
Serjeant shee. He called six or seven times on you to see whether
you liked the place: do you mean to tell that to the jury on your
oath?
mills. I am not going to take my oath: but when he called on me he
always asked how I liked London.
Serjeant shee. Then what did he call about?
mills. Sometimes one thing, sometimes another.
Serjeant shee. What else besides Mr Cook's death?
mills. Nothing besides that.
Serjeant shee. Had you conversed with him much at The Talbot
Arms while he was lodging there just before the funeral?
mills. Some little.
Serjeant shee. Had you never been in a room with him alone at The
Talbot Arms?
mills. No.
Serjeant shee. At Dolly's Hotel he spoke to you about Mr Cook's death and your health, and your liking for London, but nothing else; is that so ? On your oath, did he speak to you about anything else?
mills. Yes, many more things.
Serjeant shee. What else?
mills. I cannot remember.
Serjeant shee. Tell me a single thing of importance that he spoke to
you about except Mr Cook's death?
mills. I do not keep such things in my head for weeks or months
together.
Serjeant shee. Did you not say to him after he had been calling two or three times: 'Why, Mr Stevens, you have been here often enough; I have told you all I know'?
mills. No, I did not.
Serjeant shee. Did he give you money during the time you were there? mills. Never a farthing.
Serjeant shee. Has he promised to get you a place?
mills. Not at all.
Serjeant shee. When did you talk to him last?
mills. On Tuesday at Dolly's Hotel.
Serjeant shee. Was Mr Cook's death still the subject of his talk?
mills. He merely said 'How do you do?', and asked me how I was;
plenty more were present.
Serjeant shee. Does he live at Dolly's ?
mills. He may do, for aught I know.
Serjeant shee. Where was it at Dolly's you saw him last Tuesday ?
mills. In a sitting-room.
Serjeant shee. Were you alone with him?
mills. No.
Serjeant shee. Who else was there?
mills. Lavinia Barnes, of The Talbot Arms.
Serjeant shee. Did she have a place at Dolly's too ?
mills. She is working there now.
Serjeant shee. So Mr Stevens had an interview with you and Lavitna Barnes ?
the attorney-general. I beg your pardon, the witness has not said so; do not put an ambiguous phrase into her mouth.
lord Campbell. If you repeat what she says, you must repeat it correctly.
Serjeant shee. What am I to call it, my Lord, but an interview? Was there a meeting between him and you and Lavinia Barnes in the same room?
mills. There were two other gentlemen in the room besides us three.
serjeant shee. Who?
mills. Captain Hatton and Mr Gardiner.
Serjeant shee. On this occasion, was all the talk about Mr Cook's death?
mills. I cannot remember; it might be mentioned. I don't pretend
to keep in my head what the conversation was.
Serjeant shee. Will you undertake to say there was no single subject
of conversation mooted between you and Lavinia Barnes and those
gentlemen except the subject of Cook's death?
mills. There were many more things talked about.
serjeant shee. What?
mills. That I do not wish to mention.
serjeant shee. You must mention what was the subject of conversation.
mills. I cannot remember. They were not talking with me alone, but among themselves; I paid no attention to what they were talking about. Perhaps my thoughts were occupied about something else.
Serjeant shee. They did talk about Mr Cook's death ?
mills. They might, but I cannot remember.
Serjeant shee. Did they talk about the evidence that you were to
give at this trial?
mills. No; not that I heard.
Serjeant shee. Did they read your depositions over to you, those
taken before the Coroner?
mills. No, they did not.
Serjeant shee. Was anything read to you from a newspaper?
mills. No.
Serjeant shee. Did Mr Stevens then, or at any previous time, talk to you about the symptoms which Mr Cook exhibited shordy before his death?
mills. He did not.
Serjeant shee. Was that the first time since Mr Cook's death that
you had seen Captain Hatton?
br /> mills. No, I had seen him once before. He was dining at Dolly's.
Serjeant shee. Did he speak at all about Mr Cook's death to you ?
mills. He might, but I cannot remember.
Serjeant shee. Do not tell me you cannot remember: what did he speak to you about? Did he, upon your oath, speak to you about Mr Cook's death?
mills. I cannot remember. He might do.
Serjeant shee. Do you recollect anything else he said?
mills. He asked me how I was, I remember.
Serjeant shee. Had you seen Mr Gardiner before, since Mr Cook's death?
mills. Yes. Three or four times.
Serjeant shee. Where?
mills. I have met him in the street.
Serjeant shee. Spoken to him?
mills. Merely said 'How do you do?', or 'Good morning'.
Serjeant shee. You have not been to any attorney's office with him?
mills. No.
Serjeant shee. You left Dolly's in February. Where are you living now?
mills. At Rugeley, with my mother.
Serjeant shee. Where were you living before that?
mills. Among my friends.
Serjeant shee. Was that at Hitchingley?
mills. Yes. I have some friends there.
Serjeant shee. Who are they?
mills. Friends are friends, I suppose.
Serjeant shee. I do not mean to ask you any rude questions, but that is hardly a proper answer. Do you know a man of the name of Dutton?
mills. I do. He is a friend of mine.
Serjeant shee. Was it with him you were living ?
mills. I stayed at his cottage a short time.
Serjeant shee. What is Mr Dutton?
mills. A friend of mine: a labouring man of some thirty perhaps. I
have known him about two years.
Serjeant shee. Is there a Mrs Dutton?
mills. Yes, his mother. She lives in the cottage.
Serjeant shee. How many rooms ?
mills. Two down and two up.
Serjeant shee. His mother slept in one of the upstairs rooms?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. Where did you sleep?
mills. In the bed with her.
Serjeant shee. Will you swear that you always slept in that bed ?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. Why did you leave Dolly's?
mills. I did not like the place; it was of my own accord.
Serjeant shee. You can read newspapers, I suppose?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. Have you read the case of a Mrs Dove?
mills. I do not remember; I may have done so.
Serjeant shee. It is a case that lately occurred at Leeds, of a lady who
was said to have been poisoned by her husband.
mills. No, I did not read it; I heard it spoken of.
Serjeant shee. By whom?
mills. By many. I cannot mention one more than another.
Serjeant shee. By Mr Stevens, or Mr Gardiner, or Captain Hatton?
mills. No, by no one belonging to this trial.
Serjeant shee. Were you told what the symptoms of Mrs Dove were?
mills. I think not; I merely heard it was another strychnine case.
Serjeant shee. Were the symptoms of strychnia ever mentioned to
you by anyone?
mills. No, never.
Serjeant shee. When and to whom did you first use the expression ' twitching', which, with 'jerking', occurred so repeatedly in your evidence yesterday?
mills. To the Coroner, I did. Or, if I did not mention 'twitching', I mentioned something to the same effect.
Serjeant shee. It is fair to tell you, as I have the deposition before me, that you did not.
the attorney-general. If you do so, I shall show how these depositions were taken.
Serjeant shee. I intend to put them in. When did you first use the word 'twitching', which you used so frequently yesterday?
mills. I cannot remember when first I used the word, but I believe it was in Mother's house before I came to London.
Serjeant shee. Will you swear to that?
mills. Yes; and I described the symptoms the young man died under.
Serjeant shee. Will you swear you used the word 'twitching'?
mills. Yes; at Mother's.
Serjeant shee. Is your mother here?
mills. No, she is not.
Serjeant shee. Have you ever been asked by anybody if there were
not 'twitchings'?
mills. I cannot remember.
Serjeant shee. You stated yesterday on oath that on the Saturday between twelve and one o'clock some broth was brought to The Talbot Arms Hotel in a breakfast-cup; that you took it up into Cook's bedroom; that you tasted it, and drank about two tablespoons; that you were sick; that you were sick the whole afternoon, and vomited at least twenty times ?
mills. I do not remember that I used the words 'twenty times'.
Serjeant shee. Had you said one word about this sickness in your depositions before the Coroner?
mills. It never occurred to me then; it occurred to me three days afterwards.
Serjeant shee. Did you state this before the Coroner: 'I tasted the broth on the Sunday before Cook's death; it was not made in this house; I thought the broth very good after I had tasted it; I believe some broth had been sent over on the Saturday; nothing peculiar was in the taste of the broth'?
mills. No, I could not taste anything peculiar.
Serjeant shee. If you tasted it, and if it made you sick, and if you vomited frequently in the course of the afternoon, why did you not mention that to the Coroner?
mills. It never occurred to me; I did not think it was the broth at the time.
Serjeant shee. You stated yesterday you saw a pill-box in the Hotel on the Monday night, which was sent over there about eight o'clock, wrapped up in paper?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. And that you placed it on the dressing-table of Cook's
bedroom?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. And that on that same evening you saw Palmer in Cook's room between nine and ten o'clock?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. Did you say a word about that before the Coroner? mills. I might do.
Serjeant shee. Don't you remember that you made no such statement before the Coroner?
mills. Perhaps I was not asked the question; I did not say anything, only when I was asked.
Serjeant shee. Will you now swear he was there between nine and ten o'clock ?
mills. Yes; he brought ajar of jelly and opened it.
Serjeant shee. About how long after nine will you swear to his presence there?
mills. I cannot remember; I should fancy it was nearer to ten than nine.
Serjeant shee. You say it was half-past ten when you left Cook, but
you cannot recollect whether Palmer was still there?
mills. I cannot.
Serjeant shee. Then you have no certain recollection of seeing him
after that time?
mills. Not until he was fetched over about midnight.
Serjeant shee. Do you know when Cook took the pills?
mills. I do not.
Serjeant shee. You stated yesterday that you asked him on the Tuesday morning what he thought the cause of his illness was. Did he reply: 'The pills which Palmer gave me at half-past ten'?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. Did you tell the Coroner that?
mills. No.
Serjeant shee. Since Mr Cook's death, have you been questioned by anyone respecting what you said about these pills before the Coroner?
mills. Yes, by a Dr Collier. He came to see me at Hitchingley.
Serjeant shee. Did you tell Dr Collier that the gentlemen in London had altered your evidence on that point, and that it was now to be: ' Cook said the pills which Palmer gave him at half-past ten made him ill'?
mills. I did n
ot tell him that the gentlemen had altered my evidence. Serjeant shee. Did you say that the evidence had since been altered by anybody?
mills. It had been altered by myself since; because Mr Cook's words
had occurred to me.
Serjeant shee. Did you say to what gendeman you had given this
information?
mills. No, because I did not remember, except that I met him at Dolly's.
Serjeant shee. So an unknown gentleman came to you at Dolly's!
Did he tell you from whom he came?
mills. No, he asked: "Will you answer a few questions?' I said:
' Certainly.' He did not tell me his name, neither did I ask it.
Serjeant shee. Did he ask you many questions ?
mills. Not very many.
Serjeant shee. Did he write down your answers ?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. But he did not tell you who he was, or whom he
came from, or for what your answers were wanted?
mills. No.
Serjeant shee. Did he mention Mr Stevens's name?
mills. Yes.
Serjeant shee. What did he say about Mr Stevens?
mills. Mr Stevens was with him in the sitting-room; he called Mr
Stevens by name.
Serjeant shee. Why did you not tell us that before?
mills. I was not asked. [Laughter in Court.]
We have heard of Judges warning juries to place no reliance on witnesses whose conduct and demeanour were in every way superior to those of Elizabeth Mills; yet the Lord Chief Justice supported her with romantic fervour and characterized Serjeant Shee's suggestion that Mr Stevens paid her money as 'a most foul charge'. The Dr Collier mentioned by Elizabeth Mills had gone, at John Smith's request, to Hitchingley, where he took down her statements. When informed that he was now in Court, Baron Alderson exclaimed angrily: 'Dr Collier should be absent, if he is to be examined for facts. He is here under the false pretence of being a doctor!' Baron Alderson forgot that three doctors called by the Prosecution to be examined for facts were also in Court.
Further evidence that day came from Lavinia Barnes, who docilely supported Mills's new story of having been poisoned after tasting the broth, but otherwise added nothing to the stock of common knowledge; from Dr Jones, Cook's oldest friend, and the only medical eye-witness of his death, who kept to his view that Cook had died of natural causes; from Dr Savage, the London physician, who gave evidence that Cook was in reasonably good health, save for a weakness of the lung, up to a fortnight before his death; and finally from Charles Newton, Dr Salt's assistant.