Kansas Physician Confirms Howard Report

[Mayerling]

William A. Hammond was an American doctor of "diseases of the mind." Here's a biographical sketch:

Appletons' Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events 1900 (New York: D. Appleton, 1901), Pages 477-478

Hammond, William Alexander, surgeon, born in Annapolis, Md., Aug. 28, 1828; died in Washington, D. C, Jan. 5, 1900. He was graduated at the medical department of the University of New York in 1848, after which he attended a course of clinics in the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. July 3, 1849. he entered the army of the United States as assistant surgeon general with the rank of lieutenant, which rank was raised to captain, June 29, 1854. He did duty at various forts and military posts, and acted as medical director of the Sioux expedition and as surgeon to the troops engaged in laying out a road through the Rocky mountains. Oct. 31, 1860, he resigned from the army to become Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the University of Maryland. At the beginning of the civil war he resigned his chair and re-entered the army. He was appointed assistant surgeon May 28, 1861, and promoted April 25, 1862, to surgeon general with the rank of brigadier general. He instituted many reforms, but became involved in a controversy, was tried by court-martial, and was dismissed from the service Aug. 18, 1864. In 1868 he was appointed Professor of Diseases of the Mind and the Nervous System in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City; subsequently he filled similar chairs in Bellevue Hospital Medical College and in the University of the City of New York. In 1882 he was one of the founders of the New York Post-Graduate Medical School, in which he held the professorship of Diseases of the Mind for years. In the meantime the President and the Secretary of War had been authorized to review the proceedings of the court-martial that had removed him from the army, and on Aug. 27. 1879, he was, after fifteen years of suspension, restored to his former place on the rolls of the army as surgeon general and brigadier general on the retired list. In February, 1888, he abandoned his practice in New York and removed to Washington. He wrote many books on nervous complaints and other medical topics, as well as some novels. His published works are Physiological Memoirs (Philadelphia, 1863); Treatise on Hygiene (1863); lectures on Venereal Diseases (1864); A Chapter on Sleep (1865); Insanitv in its Medico-Legal Relations (New York, 1866); Robert Severne: His Friends and his Enemies (Philadelphia. I860); Medico-Legal Study of the Case of Daniel McFarland (New York,' 1867); Sleep and its Derangements (Philadelphia, 1869); Physics and Physiology of Spiritualism (New York, 1S70); Clinical Lectures on Diseases of the Nervous System (1871); Treatise on Diseases of the Nervous System (1871); Insanity in its Relation to Crime (1873); Spiritualism and Allied Causes and Conditions of Nervous Derangement (1870); Cerebral Hyperemia (1878) ; Fasting Girls (1879); Neurological Contributions of Studies and Case Records (1870); On Certain Conditions of Nervous Derangement: Somnambulism, Hypnotism, Hysteria, Hysteroid Affections (1881); Dr. Grattan (1884); Lai (1884); A Strong-minded Woman (1885); Mr. Oldmixon (1885); On the Susquehanna (1887); Sexual Impotence in the Male (18S(i); Sexual Impotence in Male and Female (Detroit, 1887); Spinal Irritation (1888); The Son of Perdition (Chicago, 1898); and with Clara Lanza, Tales of Eccentric Life (New York, 1886).

--end

Hammond was Surgeon General of the U.S. Army during the Civil War at the time Dr. Benjamin Howard was an Army surgeon. Later they served together on a committee in New York City.

Medical Record, Volume 8, July 15, 1873, Page 352

Life-saving Society Of New York.—A society of this character has recently been inaugurated in New York city, to promote the rescue of persons in peril from drowning, from fire, and from other accidents. The medical officers are as follows: Vice-President. Dr. E. R. Peaslee; Corresponding Secretary. Dr. Benjamin Howard; Executive Committee, Drs. Frank H. Hamilton and Alfred C. Post; Board of Directors, Drs. B. Howard, A. C. Post, T. G. Thomas, E. R. Peaslee, Marion Sims, C. R. Agnew, Wm. A. Hammond, A. Flint, Jr., F. H. Hamilton, and Fordyce Barker. Prof. Theo. W. Dwight, President.

--end

The North American Review, Volume 147, December, 1888, Page 626-637

Madness and Murder
by William A. Hammond

Pages 633-637

[...]

A few months ago a murder of a peculiarly atrocious character was committed in the district known as Whitechapel, London. The victim was a woman of the lowest class of that particularly low section of the metropolis. Not content with simply killing the woman, the murderer had mutilated the corpse and had inflicted wounds altogether unnecessary for the accomplishment of his object. Three or four months afterwards another woman of the same class was found dead with over thirty stab wounds in her body, and in quick succession other similar crimes were committed, until now the number amounts to nine. The efforts of the police to discover the perpetrator or perpetrators have up to this time been utterly fruitless, and every supposed clew that has been followed up has proved to be without foundation. All kinds of theories have been indulged in by the police, professional and amateur, and by legal and medical experts, who appear to have exhausted their ingenuity in devising the most strained hypotheses in their attempts to account for these murderous crimes. In the foregoing remarks relative to madness and murder I have brought forward examples in illustration of several forms of mental derangement, any one of which may have been the predominating motive which has been the starting point of the crimes in question.

Thus they may have been committed by a person who kills merely for the love of killing, and who has selected a particular class from which to choose his victims, for the reason that being of very little importance in the social world, they could be killed with a minimum amount of risk of detection. The fact that unnecessary wounds and mutilation were inflicted gives additional support to this theory. The more hacking and cutting the more delight would be experienced.

They may be the result of a morbid impulse which the perpetrator feels himself unable to resist, and which, after he had yielded to its power, is followed by the most acute anguish of mind. It may be said against this view that if such were the fact the murderer would, in his moments of mental agony and. repentance, surrender himself to the authorities; but in answer I think it may be properly alleged that fear for his own safety would prevent him doing an act which he might feel to be right, but which he would know would lead to his speedy execution. To test the correctness of this hypothesis it would be necessary to offer him free and unconditional pardon. If he is the subject of a morbid impulse which he cannot resist, he will give himself up if immunity be promised him.

The murders may have been committed by one who is acting under the principle of suggestion. He may have recently heard or read of similar crimes (for such murders have been committed before) and has been impelled thereby to go and do likewise, until after the first two or three murders he has acquired a love for the act of killing, and for the excitement attendant on the risk which he runs. This last incentive is a very powerful one, with certain morbidly constituted minds, and has apparently been the chief motive in some notable series of crimes.

Again, they may have been committed by several persons acting under the influence of the power of imitation. This force, owing to the extensive publication of reports of crimes through the newspapers, is much more influential at present than at any other period in the history of the world. The more ferocious the murder the more likelihood that it will be imitated. It is not at all unreasonable to suppose that there may have been as many murderers of these women as there are murders.

I am inclined, however, to think that the perpetrator is a reasoning maniac, one who has received or imagines he has received some injury from the class of women upon which his crimes are committed, or who has assumed the role of the reformer, and who thinks he can annihilate them one by one or strike such terror into those that remain that they will hasten to abandon their vicious mode of life. He is probably a person whose insanity is not suspected even by those who are in constant association with him. He may be a clergyman, a lawyer, a physician, or even a member of the titled aristocracy; a cashier in a bank, a shopkeeper, an officer of the army or navy. All apparently motiveless crimes are exceedingly difficult of detection. It is quite conceivable that this man may leave the dinner-table or the ball-room and pass a dozen policemen on his way towards the accomplishment of his purpose. The higher he appeared to be in the social scale the less he would be liable to suspicion. He may be for a man some such person as Hélène Jégado was for a woman. This wretch, between the years of 1853 and 1857, killed twenty-eight persons by poison, besides making several unsuccessful attempts. In none of her murders was any cause alleged or discovered, though undoubtedly the pleasure derived from the perpetration of crime was the chief factor. Her victims were her masters and mistresses, her fellow servants, her friends, and several nuns, for whom in their lest moments she displayed the utmost tenderness and care. The plea of monomania was set up in her defense, but no evidence of insanity was brought forward by her counsel save the apparent want of motive for her crimes. It was shown, however, that she had begun her career when only seventeen years old by attempting to poison her confessor; that she had, while perpetrating her wholesale murders, affected the greatest piety and was for a time an inmate of a convent; that she had committed over thirty thefts; that she had maliciously cut and burned various articles of clothing placed in her charge; that when asked why she had stolen things that were of no use to her she had replied: "I always steal when I am angry;" that she was subject to alternate periods of great mental depression, and excessive and unreasonable gaiety; that she was affected with pains in the head and vertigo; that when she was angry she vomited blood; and that while in prison awaiting trial she was constantly laughing and joking about indifferent subjects. She was found guilty, and on being asked if she had anything to say why sentence of death should not be pronounced, made answer, "No, your Honor, I am innocent. I am resigned to all that may happen. I would rather die innocent than live guilty. You have judged me, but God will judge you." Her last words on the scaffold were directed to accusing a woman as her instigator and accomplice, whose name was not even mentioned during the trial, and who, upon inquiry, was found to be an old paralytic whose whole life had been of the most exemplary character.

If this woman had stopped after killing twenty-seven persons she would probably never have been detected. If the perpetrator of the so-called Whitechapel murders were to cease now his career of crime, there is no reason to suppose that he would ever be discovered. But it is not at all likely that he will fail to go on in the course which has now become second nature to him. His love for murder has become overpowering, and immunity has rendered him bold. Little by little he will become less cautious, and eventually he will be caught.

When arrested the question of how to dispose of him will arise. In what I have said I have assumed him to be a lunatic of some kind. If a certain degree of maudlin sentimentality should prevail he will be placed in a lunatic asylum and in the course of a few years may be discharged as cured. But such insanity as his is never cured. Doubtless while an inmate of the asylum his conduct will be of the most exemplary character. He will dissemble for years and will deceive the very elect among experts in insanity. Superintendents and clergymen and various other high personages will unite in testifying to his thorough change of heart and Christian bearing, and when he is discharged with the blessings of all with whom he has been associated he will begin to commit another series of murders fully as atrocious as those for which he has been sequestrated.

There is but one way to deal with a person like this Whitechapel murderer, and that is, to hang him as soon as he is caught. He is an enemy of society and is entitled to no more consideration than a wild beast which follows his instinct to kill. Laws are not made for the purpose of enforcing the principles of abstract justice; they are enacted solely for the protection of society. Some fifteen years ago, in a little book entitled "Insanity in its Relations to Crime," I urged that certain of the insane are properly as much amenable to punishment as though in full possession of all their mental faculties unimpaired. In a paper published in the North American Review for November, 1882, entitled "A Problem for Sociologists," I said:

"A man with murderous tendencies which he is unable to restrain is as much an enemy to society as a ferocious tiger or a mad dog, and ought to be dealt with in quite as summary a manner as we deal with these animals. It is all very well to talk of the inhumanity of such a proceeding, and to urge sequestration in a lunatic asylum as amply meeting the requirements of the case. But experience teaches us that, though it may be very difficult for a sane person improperly committed to get out of an asylum, it is the easiest thing in the world for a lunatic who has committed a crime to walk out of its doors with the full consent of the superintendent. Till these things are changed, the law, as recently laid down by Judge Noah Davis, of the Supreme Court of this State, and by Judge Cox, of the District of Columbia, and as almost universally held by the English judges, that every one is responsible who knows the nature and consequence of his act, is no more than sufficient for protection, the prime object of every law.

WILLIAM A. HAMMOND

Hi TradeName,

1) When Dr. Hammond refers to his November 1882 article ["A Problem for Sociologist" in the North American Review] he is referring in that article to the biggest case on the insanity defence then occupying the United States. That was the trial of Charles Julius Guiteau for the assassination of President James Garfield in the fall and winter of 1881, resulting in the verdict of guilty in the first degree, and Guiteau's hanging in late June 1882. The trial judge was Judge Cox in the District of Columbia. The fact that Guiteau was insane is now taken for granted, but he had shot Garfield for refusing to give him a political appointment (either Minister to Austria or Counsel at the Paris Embassy). His antics (and personal rejection of the insanity plea) basically told against him. At the time most of the U.S. would have supported Hammond's viewpoint that given the danger of possibly releasing a murderous lunatic to kill again meant that hanging the lunatic was a better course.

A good study on the insanity defence in 1882 is Charles Rosenberg's "The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau".

2) Personal note: My grandmother Anna Silverstein used Dr. Hammond's son as a physician in the 1930s, and on at least one occasion took my mother Jean with her. Dr. Hammond's son (after examining my grandmother) picked up my mother (she was about 8 at the time) and sitting her on his knee told her that when he was a boy he sat on the knee of President Abraham Lincoln in a carriage where he, the President, and his father (the Surgeon General, remember) watched the Army of the Potomac on parade. Dr. Hammond's son died in 1941.

Jeff

[TradeName]

Thanks for posting the info about Guiteau and the anecdote about your mother and Hammond's son, Jeff.

Here's a bit from one of Hammond's British counterparts, George H. Savage:

Fortnightly Review, October 1, 1888, Pages 448-463

HOMICIDAL MANIA
by George H. Savage

Page 463

After all this I suppose I shall be expected to sum up in some sort of way on the Whitechapel murders; but I feel much more inclined to say, the facts are before you, judge for yourselves. Yet I may suggest a few points of special interest. First, the murders may not have all been committed by one man. There is a fashion in murder, or rather, there are epidemics of similar crimes; or, again, the imitative action may have come into play. I do not think that any epileptic or drunken maniac would have so cunningly selected his victims and avoided detection, and the failure to identify any one is in favour of there being only one agent. A mere lust for blood would not have been satisfied by the selection of victims. The skill with which the murders were perpetrated, and the skill of the mutilation point to someone with some anatomical knowledge. This might be possessed by a butcher or someone who had had medical knowledge; but there are so many now-a-days with mechanical knowledge of the body, in the form of post-mortem room and anatomy room porters, that to suppose the murders to be the work of a medical man, is to my thinking, going too far. The cunning of the evasion, the ferocity of the crimes, the special selection of the victims, seem to me to depend either on a fiendishly criminal revenge, or else upon some fully organised delusion of persecution or world regeneration.

[TradeName]

A Conan Doyle story, published in 1898, which contains a description of madness similar to that found in the Dr. Howard story. SPOILERS, I suppose.

The Strand Magazine, Volume 15, June 1898, Pages 602-612

The Story of the Beetle Hunter
by A. Conan Doyle

Page 612

My poor brother-in-law is one of the best fellows upon earth, a loving husband and an estimable father, but he comes from a stock which is deeply tainted with insanity. He has more than once had homicidal outbreaks, which are the more painful because his inclination is always to attack the very person to whom he is most attached. His son was sent away to school to avoid this danger, and then came an attempt upon my sister, his wife, from which she escaped with injuries that you may have observed when you met her in London. You understand that he knows nothing of the matter when he is in his sound senses, and would ridicule the suggestion that he could under any circumstances injure those whom he loves so dearly. It is often, as you know, a characteristic of such maladies that it is absolutely impossible to convince the man who suffers from them of their existence.

--end

Another link to the story.

[TradeName]

Dr. Benjamin Howard attended an 1882 meeting about his ambulance proposal which Sir William Gull and Timothy Holmes, chief surgeon of the Metropolitan Police, also attended:

Medical Times and Gazette, February 11, 1882, Pages 146-147

THE PROPOSED HORSE AMBULANCE SERVICE FOR THE METROPOLIS. The Duke of Cambridge last week presided at a meeting held at the Royal United Service Institution, to consider a proposal to organise a hospital and accident ambulance service for tho metropolis. Amongst the large and influential gathering assembled were the treasurers, chairmen of committees, and other representatives of many of the metropolitan hospitals, Lord Templetown, Sir William Gull, the Chief Commissioner of Police, and Mr. T. Holmes, their chief surgeon, and several other members of the medical profession, including Dr. B. Howard, of New York.. The proceedings were, of course, of a purely formal nature, that is, they were confined to the passing of a general resolution declaring that such an institution was, in the opinion of the meeting, desirable ; and of the election of a committee, the names of which were, we believe, published, but which we were not fortunate enough to see, and which is intended to include representatives from each of the large hospitals, as well as some who will be able to represent the police force, and others. The Duke of Cambridge introduced the proceedings in a few words full of common sense, and was particularly anxious that the subject of the conveyance from place to place of persons suffering from contagious diseases should not be left out of consideration. This gave the cue, in some sort, to the remarks of Sir William Gull, who proposed the first resolution, as follows:—"That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is desirable to form a Hospital and Accident Ambulance Service for London." He suggested the omission of the words "hospital and accident," because this service would not be limited to the conveyance of persons to hospital. Mr. Buxton, the chairman of the London Hospital, gave expression to some remarks, in the course of his speech as seconder of this resolution, to which we can give our cordial assent, and which, indeed, in substance, we took the opportunity of pointing out in commenting upon the meeting held at the office of the St. John Association a week or two ago. We mean, that it will be useless to aim at having these ambulance arrangements at every hospital, but that in a great overgrown city like London, where the hospitals are not evenly distributed by any means, far more good will be attained if they are placed at police-stations, railway-stations, perhaps even large factories, and so on. Independently of the advantages of the latter plan, however, it will not do to lose sight of the fact that the funds of hospitals cannot be expected to run to the large expense which the other plan would entail. Of course, it might happen, as Sir Sydney Waterlow said, that if one hospital started such an ambulance the others would be obliged to follow suit—as, indeed, actually was the case in New York, where it was found that the Bellevue Hospital was receiving all the accidents of the city, and, accordingly, the others were obliged, in self-defence, to start similar arrangements. We hope that no such action with this object in view will be taken in London; but that if at any time tie plan should commend itself to the citizens as essential, they will look the question fairly in the face, and make up their minds to have the support of it borne by the local rates.

We have not space to refer to all the speeches that were made, and must therefore be content with saying that Dr. Howard briefly described the main points in the construction of the ambulances, the full details of which we published last week; and Mr. T. Holmes, from his long experience as Surgeon-General of the Police Force, drew attention to some of the practical difficulties which, owing to the magnitude of the metropolis and the great number of accidents continually occurring, would have to be met. He further assured the meeting of the desire of the Chief Commissioner of Police, and of those working with him, to render whatever help they could. The motion was duly carried, as was also a proposition of Mr. J. H. Crossman for the nomination of a representative committee.

Sir Edward Hay Currie mentioned that a complete ambulance has been at work for some time in the East-end for the conveyance of infectious cases.

We think it was unfortunate that none of the authorities of the Association of St. John were seen upon the platform, seeing that this society had been, in a way, the first to move in the matter. Sir Edward Lechmere and his colleagues occupied some benches in the body of the meeting; in the course of his remarks he said that he and the St. John Association would be willing, and indeed pleased, to co-operate in any way they could with the movement; it is therefore to be regretted that neither he nor Major Duncan thought they could spare sufficient time to allow them to serve on the committee. We hope that one or other of these gentlemen or one of their colleagues will allow their names to be added to the list. We fancied, we hope wrongly, that some gentlemen were feeling, perhaps ever so slightly, something of the unpleasant sensation of having been left out in the cold, and there was perhaps a little too much of the London Hospital about all the proceedings. It is much to be hoped that all who are interested in the subject will work heartily together; there is, we believe, a good work to be done, but unless all pull in the same direction it is to be feared that the present movement will end in failure.

--end

Holmes' appointment in 1865:

British Medical Journal, August 12, 1865, Page 151

Mr. Timothy Holmes has been appointed Surgeon-in-Chief of the Metropolitan Police in the place of Sir John Fisher, who lately resigned the office. The salary is £800 a year. Private practice is not permitted to the holder of this appointment; but he may retain hospital appointments.

--end

Holmes' replacement in 1885:

The Medical Press , August 19, 1885, Page 174

The lucrative appointment of Chief Surgeon to the Metropolitan Police having become vacant by the resignation of Mr. Timothy Holmes, F.R.C.S., Mr. MacKellar, of St. Thomas's Hospital, has been elected thereto.

--end

Holmes' obit:

The Medical Press and Circular, Volume 135, September 11, 1907, Page 287

HE death of Mr. Timothy Holmes, F.R.C.S., will form a matter of regret to all old Cambridge and St. George's men, as well as to a large circle of other members of the profession. Mr. Holmes, who was over eighty years of age, graduated as Bachelor of Arts, at Cambridge, as far back as 1847, and afterwards entered as a student at St. George's. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1853, and was soon afterwards appointed assistant surgeon to the hospital, He was for a long period full surgeon. and on retirement he was appointed consulting surgeon and joint-treasurer. For many years he was chief surgeon to the Metropolitan Police, and he had been president of the Royal Medical and Chirurgicai and of the Pathological Society, as also vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons, and Hunterian Professor of Surgery and Pathology to the College. His surgical writings have been numerous and valuable, including, besides many detached papers and articles. Important contributions to a “System of Surgery,” of which he was editor.

--end

Holmes toasts Sir Charles Warren in 1888. Warren complains about "anonymous writers."

The Lancet, November 10, 1888, Page 925

THE METROPOLITAN POLICE SURGEONS'
ASSOCIATION.

This Association, which was founded last year to promote he interests of the divisional surgeons of the Metropolitan police, held its second annual dinner at the Criterion on Wednesday last. The chairman of the dinner was Mr. A. O. Mackellar, the popular chief surgeon. About seventy members of the Association were present, and amongst the guests were Sir Charles Warren, Sir Thomas Crawford, Mr. J. Gordon Brown, surgeon to the City Police, and others. After the usual loyal toast, Mr. Mackellar proposed "The United Services," to which Sir Thomas Crawford replied, making special reference to the services of members of the profession in the medical branch of the army during recent years. Mr. T. Bond, in proposing "The Association," coupled with the name of the president, acknowledged the debt which the divisional surgeons owe to him for his uniform kindness, courtesy, and consideration. Mr. Mackellar, in reply, traced the origin of the Association, mentioned the difficulties with which it had had to contend, and congratulated the members on the progress made, a large majority of the divisional surgeons having joined it. Mr. Timothy Holmes proposed "The Guests," and referred in apt terms to the qualities which had rendered Sir Charles Warren so conspicuously fitted for the post which he occupied—qualities which, while they were justly admired by the good, made him intensely disliked by the bad in the large area over which he exercised authority. Sir Charles Warren, who was enthusiastically received, after thanking the members for their reception, referred to several changes which had been made, and which it was proposed to make in the facilities given for carrying on the duties of the divisional surgeons. He also referred to the statements which were made in certain papers a few weeks ago as to alleged differences between himself and the medical service of the police as represented by the President of the Association, assuring the members that such differences had never existed excepting in the mind of the anonymous writers. Mr. Nelson Hardy proposed "The Medical Press, as represented by THE LANCET and British Medical Journal." Mr. Battle, who drew attention to the immense material at the command of members of such on association for the advancement of medico-legal knowledge, replied for the former, and Mr. Hart for the latter. Mr. Buckell proposed "The Chairman," who ably responded. During the evening songs were given by Dr. Yarrow and Mr. Spurgin, Dr. Forsyth giving a humorous recitation.

[TradeName]

Colin Wilson Intv in Vancouver Sun 1968

Colin Wilson told the Vancouver Sun about Stowell's story (w/o naming
Stowell) in 1968. There's also a claim (incorrect, I assume) that Lees "once
identified the Ripper as a member of the Royal Family."

Vancouver Sun, January 30, 1968, Page 21

Writer Raises Question
Was Duke of Clarence Really the Ripper?

[TradeName]

A couple of accounts by Inspector John Sweeney about a swindler known variously as de Villiers , Weissenfeld, etc. Since this character claimed at times to be a medical doctor and had connections to the San Francisco area, I'll take a look at him but probably conclude he's not relevant after all.

The Strand, August, 1907, Pages 161-164

The Romance of Crime
The Experiences of Two Famous Scotland Yard Detectives

I. Mr. John Sweeney--A Chapter of Reminiscences

Pages 163-164

The connection of Roland de Villiers with the anarchists has never been absolutely cleared up yet; but I have many reasons for believing that he supplied them with funds, and that his wealth was freely drawn on for anarchist propaganda after being "earned" through extraordinary frauds—and worse. The romance of this man's life would fill volumes, and I can only here raise a corner of the curtain. He has been described as a man with a hundred aliases, and more than a hundred banking accounts. He swindled his shareholders out of millions before the Whitaker Wright case had taught the public the secret of fraudulent "limited companies." His ingenuity in baffling the police knew no bounds. His palatial residence at Wembley Park was honeycombed with secret exits. He maintained a staff of private detectives for the sole purpose of watching the police detectives and guarding his own safety. His disguises were so effectual that at a time when he was turned fifty years of age he passed for thirty-two, and made love to susceptible rich women, whom he married, robbed, and abandoned. He by no means broke the record in this direction, as bigamy was merely a small detail in his life of crime. He was undoubtedly guilty of arson in connection with the fire insurance scandals which created a sensation in 1886. Leaving less guilty agents behind to face the police, he disappeared only to break out in a new place where no one ever dreamt that the pious, well-dressed "Winter" was identical with "Mathieson," the Scotsman, whose arson was even then ringing in the ears of all. Winter obtained twenty thousand pounds a year for several years, ringing the changes on the owners of various high-sounding names who, he alleged, were directors of his companies. Simultaneously with these frauds he was actually perpetrating swindles in other parts of England by long-firm methods. He kept an album of signatures (now at Scotland Yard) to assist his own memory, for otherwise he could never have kept pace with his own aliases. His wife, who had no alternative but to carry out his mysterious orders, believed that he was an honest millionaire carrying on a secret political propaganda. In all innocence she posed as his sister, little knowing that he was trading on her innocence, and that the women who, from time to time, were introduced to her were being defrauded heartlessly and cruelly in the most ignoble manner a man can rob a woman. Her cup of bitterness, indeed, overflowed at last when circumstances betrayed some of his evil habits within her own circle of friends. I prefer to say little on this side of his character.

I first sought his acquaintance in connection with a number of anarchists who gathered at the Holborn Restaurant meetings of the Legitimation League in 1897. He dodged me out of the building, anxious not to let me see his face; for at that time we only knew him as De Villiers, the anarchist millionaire.

Later he entertained Lilian Harman, the famous and beautiful American free-lover anarchist, whose father, aged eighty, has just been released from prison. His audacity knew no bounds. Surrounded by his faithful detectives he avoided police, so that recognising him. The first person to connect De Villiers origin of his vast wealth was a solicitor named Wyatt Digby, whom this man was instrumental in ruining. Mr. Digby, in an unfortunate moment, had been instructed to defend a client towards whose defence De Villiers had contributed some money. De Villiers was deeply concerned in the case, but the solicitor recognised his duty only to the client he was defending, with the result that at the Old Bailey trial the prisoner was released and the judge made some scathing remarks against the real culprit, De Villiers. De Villiers, in revenge, succeeded by a plentiful supply of perjury in getting Digby struck off the rolls. Digby, in seeking for evidence against his enemy, found a clue which in our hands led us to identify De Villiers with a whole host of frauds and other crimes. He died within an hour of his sensational arrest in a secret passage of his baronial mansion in Cambridge, where he lived as Dr. Sinclair. Had he stood his trial, the evidence would have made the most famous criminal romance of our times. He was a Don Juan, Whitaker Wright, and Charles Peace in one. What romance lost by his death the world gained by being rid of a dangerous, although brilliant, scoundrel.

--end

New York Sun, July 16, 1905, Section 3, Page 8, Column 1

A MAN OF MANY ALIASES

CAREER OF ONE OF THE SHREWDEST OF ENGLISH SWINDLERS

Dr De Villiers's Peculations Cleared Him
$100,000 a Year--Fictitious Corporations
and Companies--Lived in Splendid
Debauchery--How He Was Caught

In tracing a clever villain there is always
a doubly pleasing interest. One feels at
once the keen ardor of the sportsman and
the knowledge that success means the removal
of one of societies terrors, writes
Detective Inspector Sweeney of Scotland
Yard, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. I cannot
say who has been the most wicked criminal
I ever met--probably the worst is not
always the most interesting. A sordid
murder is never the entertaining spectacle
that morbid journalists try to depict. The
really fascinating criminal Is the man who
thinks, whose plans are clearly laid before
hand, whose crime is no mere episode, but
the result of a deliberate purpose. Such
men, although seldom violent In their misdeeds,
are an immense danger and society
owes much of it own safety to the fact that
its criminals are usually its least intelligent
members.

"Dr De Vllllers," to give him his best
known name was indeed a villain of parts.
A mere recital of his misdeeds would fill
a three volume novel. A list of his aliases
would look like a directory and supply a
dozen novelists with ready made sets of
characters for all the novels they
write. Whitaker Wright helped more people
to lose money, but Dr. De Vllllers was
more ubiquitous.

From the year 1880 to the time of his
arrest and death under tragic circumstances
in 1902. De Vllliers lived a life of the utmost
affluence. His mansions, parks and estates
in various parts of Great Britain were
baronial in their splendor. He had a retinue
of servants, horses, carriages and motors,
but he dressed simply and never
gave to any charity. He obtained
wealth by methods of swindling which
could only be practised in England and
America. He was a German and he had
not been in England long before he realIzed
how easily a swindler could live and
flourish there. After various more or less
successful bankruptcies which left his
creditors penniless while he lived luxuriously,
he found himself in a tight corner.

He was sent to prison for perjury and a
prosecution was commenced against him
for fraud. Having served his first sentence
of twelve months hard labor, he managed
to obtain ball in the second prosecution.
He escaped from England and his bail
was forfeited. He returned to England
almost Immediately and then commenced
the successful frauds from which It is estimated
he cleared no less than $100,000 a
year for several years. His method was
the same in the several companies which
be established. First he took an office,
invented seven names and addresses
which he registered as the first shareholders
in the company. The latter always had a
high sounding name such as the Brandy
Distillers Company, Limited; the University
Press, Limited; the Concentrated
Produce Company, Limited. &c.

The directors were always men whose
names sounded familiar and whose
addresses seemed to Indicate stability and
wealth, One company's directors were
Sir Stuart Wortley, Bart., of Kings Park,
Waltham Abbey; Lord Roland Owen, K.
C. I. of the Lodge, Whitbury, Suffolk;
Col. Laking-Webb of Aldershot, and A. A.
Gould Jr., 73 Fifth avenue, New York,
U. S. A. Needless to say not one of these
worthy men had any existence. The
Brandy Distillers Company, Limited, went
even further. The directors were boldly
announced under such names as Messrs.
Moët, Perrier and Mumm, and the prospectus
contained actual photographs of
veritable vineyards--some of the best in
France--labeled variously, "Our distillery
at Bordeaux," "View of the Company's
Limoges Vineyards," "Nimes and Montpelier
Branches," and all described as the
properties of the Brandy Distillers Company.

Not one of these companies ever had
any property or assets of any sort or kind.
Some of them existed for two years before
any attempt was ever made to obtain
money from the public. Meanwhile the
authorities were furnished with increasing
lists of alleged shareholders, consisting of
names and addresses taken from any
directory.

Reports were sent (and paid for) to be
inserted in numbers of newspapers of annual
meetings supposed to have been held
"at the offices of the company." Of course
no reputable newspaper would insert such
notices, but there are many newspapers
in England which are not above work of
this sordid character. The reports of
meetings invariably ended with announcements
of 8 or 10 per cent. dividends. After
one or two such reports had appeared the
public would be drawn into the net.

From various addresses circulars pretending
to come from a firm of stock and
share dealers would be sent to all the shareholders
in various well known concerns.
These circulars were skilfully drawn. No
mere advertisement of their real object,
but a clever letter was despatched giving
details of some excellent high class stocks
which were stated to be for sale or to be
purchased. As all the shares so mentioned
were to be sold or bought at the
market value there seemed no reason to
doubt the bona fides of the circular. But
the circular also included "about 250 Brandy
distillery shares, $25 each," with a footnote
to the effect that the prospectus copies of
the last two reports could be had on application
and that the company had already
paid dividends of 8 to 10 per cent.

Then the public began to bite the daintily
displayed bait. Year after year this dodge
was repeated, and actual dividends of 10
per cent. were paid--of course out of the
new victims' capital as there were no assets
of any kind. Then one fine day the
office was closed and no more was heard of
that particular fraud. The enormous success
of these company swindles is almost
incredible, and Dr. De Villiers found no
difficulty in continuing them. He lived
in regal style at Harrow, and besides houses
in London and other places in England
he had a beautiful residence in the Avenue
de l'Opera, Paris, and a chateau on the
Rhine

His morals were about as elevated as
his sense of honesty. He was vice-president
of the free love movement, a bigamist
or polygamist, and his household was the
most extraordinary it has over been
lot to see or dream of. His wife, who
lived with him, was variously represented
to be a countess, a famous authoress, the
wife of an eminent statesman, a Russian
princess--anything except his own wife.
He more frequently posed as his own wife's
brother, at times alleging her husband
to be a certain George Astor Singer, a
millionaire of New York. I have a long
descriptive article written by Dr. De Villiers
in the University Magazine, in which is
described a most wonderful orphanage,
built at a cost of many millions by the
munificent "Singer." Neither the millionaire
nor the orphanage had any existence,
but this fact did not prevent various
serious journals from commenting on the
article representing a valuable philanthropic
work. With so little knowledge is
the literary world governed.

From the commencement of the year
1898 some of the Scotland Yard staff, as
well as various local police forces, endeavored
to arrest this strange criminal.
I have only given hints of the crimes
with which the doctor has been publicly
charged. Justice demands my silence
as to the many crimes (some Involving
female accomplices still living) of which
Dr. De Villiers is believed to have been
guilty.

But if his crimes wore many and great,
never did criminal show greater ingenuity
in frustrating justice and evading pursuit.
For many years he employed a staff of
private detectives. Attempts were even
made to undermine the police officers, but
for the credit of the force I am glad to saY
that every such attempt was immediately
reported, and had he been a less skilful
villain he would have fallen Into one of
the many traps set for him.

Before "Dr. De Villiers" had been identified
as the notorious "Weissenfeld" he had
in the former name appeared In semi-public
connection with a band of freelovers who held
meetings at St. James's Hall, London. He
was expected to take the vice chair at a
dinner on one occasion, and I was present.
He learned that 1 was In the room and did
not appear. His spies were everywhere,
and I nave reason to believe that none of
the movements of his enemies ever passed
unobserved. Wealth cannot buy justice
in this country, but It is useful to a criminal
anxious to cover his trucks.

De Villiers not only bought detectives,
he also imitated historical conspirators.
His house at Harrow was a masterpiece of
secret passages. A tower commanded a
full view of every approach to the house.
Secret panels flew open and the estate was
undermined with tunnels leading to half a
dozen exits, some of them more than a mile
apart, owing to the road passing around two
houses and estates. It was an ideal spot
for a refugee and every "surprise visit"
to the house Was in vain.

Needless to say all companies came to
grief, and many were the complaints from
suffering shareholders. As, however, there
was never any sign that one of his companies
had any connection with any other of them,
no one complained so long as he received
his dividend, and as the office was closed
months before another dividend was
expected we could do nothing but search
and wait.

In January, 1902, the work which had
engaged the attention of some of the best
men at yard received its fruition. We
discovered that the "doctor" was lying in
Oriental splendor at a Cambridge mansion.
Two detective Inspectors were instructed
to make the final coup. Knowing the
slippery character of the man, they acted
with the tactics of a wisdom born of past
experience. Every possible exit was guarded
was the house was surrounded. Armed
and prepared for every possibility detectives
approached the house, arresting all
the inmates (various accomplices and others
were simultaneously arrested in London).
Dr. De Villiers, who was living here as
Roland Sinclair, with a loaded revolver,
escaped into one of the carefully prepared
secret passages. Our men, knowing all the
past history of the criminal, determined not
to leave without him. As they knew he could
not have got safely away, every wall and
floor was searched and sounded. The
secret entrance was found leading to the
passage which had been ingeniously built
in the wall. The game was up, and the
villain we had sought so long surrendered
without a struggle. Within an hour of
arrest he was dead. Was it poison or apoplexy?

In De Villlers's possession was found a
volume of signatures to remind him how to
sign his various aliases. Numbers of
bankbooks were found showing that he had
taken the most elaborate means to dispose
of his victims' checks. When the trial of
his accomplices took place it took some
days to hear the evidence of his various
bankers. If ever there was an undesirable
alien, I think this was the man.

--end

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11902, 1 March 1902, Page 2

TRAGEDY AT CAMBRIDGE.
ARREST AND DEATH OF A WEALTHY "DOCTOR."

[TradeName]

An article which gives a fuller version of the Weissenfeld name:

West Gippsland Gazette (Warragul, Vic.) May 6, 1902, Page 5

MEN OF MANY ALIASES GIGANTIC FRAUD TRACED.

On 14th January, it will be remembered, a man known as Professor de Villiers died shortly after his arrest in a mansion at Cambridge. He was wanted on a charge of being concerned in the publication of some improper prints, and only after an exciting hunt was he secured. He was found hiding in a secret cupboard under the roof. The name De Villiers is now alleged to be an alias of George Ferdinand Springmuhl von Weissenfeld, the promoter of the Brandy Distillers Co. Ltd., of which the Oflic:al Receiver has some startling things to say in its report on its liquidation.

The winding-up order was made on the petition of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue for unpaid income tax. The company was registered in 1891, with a registered office at 2 Broad street Buildings. This was a single room, and was always kept locked. The company succeeded the Concentrated Produce Company. Von Weissenfeld, the promoter, was a bankrupt. There were five directors and a manager. One of these gentlemen lived in Belgium, and knew nothing about the company, while the others were non-existent, and Von Weissenfeld himself was manager, auditor and secret:ary. The company paid 10 per cent dividend throughout, but had no business. The warehouses, vineyards, etc., shown on the prospectus belonged to a well-known firm of brandy exporters, and the premises said to be in Hamburg were not to be found.

The balance-sheet for 1900 showed a very flourishing state of affairs, but in point of fact it was all a fabrication.

Mr Barnes's conclusions are that the company was an alias or Von Weissen feld, who had conducted no business. but fraudulently collected money from shareholders (part of which had been returned as dividend), and that the accounts of the company were fictitious, and its assets non-existent.

Among other names used by Von Weissenfeld were those of Weller, Win ter, Wild, Willing, Perrier, Grant, Wilson and Davies. Steps are now being taken to recover some of the property standing in other names, but believed to belong to Von Weissenfeld.-"Daily MaiL"

--end

The winding-report:

The Accountant, Volume 29, January 24, 1903, Pages 140-141

Companies (Winding-Up)

Eleventh General Annual Report by the Board of Trade Under Section 29 of the Companies (Winding-up) Act, 1890

[...]

The Brandy Distillers Company, Lim., furnishes an illustration almost unique in the annals of joint-stock enterprise of the manner in which the public become shareholders in companies on the faith of printed prospectuses and reports, without any knowledge of the persons responsible for their direction and management. The company was formed in 1891 "to carry on the busisness of vine growers, distillers, and manufacturers of concentrated grape juice, and other business connected with the wine and spirit trade." The purchase-price to be paid for a property in France was £15,000 in fully-paid shares. The names of five directors, with their addresses in Paris and London, together with those of a manager, secretary, and solicitor, were set out in the prospectus. The capital, originally £5,000, was increased in 1892 to £30,000, and subsequently in 1898 to £40,000. Balance Sheets, Profit and Loss, and Trading Accounts, duly audited, were published every year, showing a highly prosperous and progressive business. Dividends of 10 per cent, were declared annually, and according to "Burdett" for 1901, the reserve fund amounted to £8,750, "which is to be increased annually by at least "£300 per annum," and "no borrowing powers can be exercised without the sanction of a general meeting." The annual report of the company for 1892 states that "the larger part" (of the company's produce) "has been "distilled in the Charente at the company's works"; that for 1896 contains the following:—"We have com"menced storing part of our production in the warehouses at Chateauneuf with the view of increasing its value by maturing," and "the directors have bought "at an exceptionally cheap price some vineyards at Chateauneuf, where the Folic Blanche grape is cultivated." The company was ordered to be wound up during the past year on the petition of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, who claimed income tax on the profits appearing in the Balance Sheets, which had not been paid; and it was then ascertained by the investigations of the Official Receiver that the company's business was a myth, which had been conceived and carried on in the fertile brain of Mr. deorge Ferdinand Springmuhl von Weissenfeld, an undischarged bankrupt under a receiving order made in 1891; that the directors, manager, secretary, and auditor were simply various aliases of this person; that it had no vineyards, stock, or other property; and that during the ten years of its existence its business had, according to the Official Receiver, consisted of "fraudulently collecting capital from shareholders, which has been partially returned in the form of dividends, and that the accounts of the company, are fictitious and the assets non-existent." The company professed to hold its annual meetings in Paris, or elsewhere abroad, where English shareholders were not likely to attend. It made regular returns at Somerset House, and was supposed to have a large body of foreign shareholders, but as the capital was issued from time to time in the form of share warrants to bearer, it was impossible for anyone to verify the facts or to obtain any information as to details. For the same reason it has been impossible in the liquidation to ascertain with accuracy how much capital has been issued; but the Official Receiver reports that at November last he had discovered 51 Knglish and two foreign shareholders, of whom many had been led by the continuous payment of dividends to increase their holding, the following being given as a typical case:—"A "shareholder in 1895 purchased 450 shares; in 1897 he subscribed for 330 shares, and afterwards purchased 500; in 1898 he subscribed for 720 shares; in 1899 he purchased 750 shares; and in 1900 he subscribed for 1,250 shares, making a total of 4,000 shares, for which he paid £4,000." The facts of the case were only sradually ascertained by exhaustive inquiries in various directions, in the course of which Von Weissenfeld's connection with the company was at last established to the Official Receiver's satisfaction. Meanwhile the latter was arrested by the police in January last, on a charge of issuing indecent literature, but his death, which happened immediately after that event, put an end to any possibility of further proceedings.

[...]

--end

[TradeName]

Here's an alternate link to the volume of the Strand with the Sweeney article.

The following is an account attributed to the non-existent American millionaire which expands on the references to the solicitor Wyatt Digby in Sweeney's Strand article. In short, Digby was engaged to defend George Bedborough against a charge of corrupting public morals by selling a copy of a book by Havelock Ellis, published by de Villiers' University Press. Digby accepted funding from the Free Press Defense Committee, which been established more with the intention of defending the Ellis book than with defending Bedborough as an individual. Rather than contest the charges in court, Digby worked out a deal where Bedborough pled guilty to avoid a prison sentence. Our old friend Horace Avory was the barrister in the Bedborough case.

Darwin on trial at the Old Bailey, by Democritus (19.. [i.e., 1898]), link

Author: Coulson, F. Raymond (Frederick Raymond), 1864-1922; Singer, George Astor
Subject: Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882; Ellis, Havelock, 1859-1939
Publisher: London, University press
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-100702881
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Collection: cdl; americana
Scanfactors: 31

Includes:

Judicial Scandals and Errors by "G. Astor Singer"

Pages 46-59

On May 31st, 1898, Mr. G. B. Higgs, who, under the name of
George Bedborough, carried on the business of a publisher and
bookseller in London, was arrested by the police for "publishing
an obscene libel with the intention of corrupting the morals of
Her Majesty's subjects."

The book on which this charge was based was Dr. Havelock
Ellis's first volume of his great work "Studies in the Psychology
of Sex." The accused had nothing to do with the production of
this book, neither as author nor as printer or publisher. He had
simply sold copies of the same to disguised detectives. The police
authorities were fully aware that the author was a well-known man
of science, that the printer was Mr. A. Bonner of Tooks Court,
and that the publishers were the University Press, as these names
appeared on the book in bold type.

Dr. Havelock Ellis appeared in person at the first and second
hearing of the charge before the magistrate, declaring through bis
counsel that be was prepared to undertake the whole responsibility
for the incriminated publication.

The publishers were also represented at the police-court pro-
ceedings by Messrs. C. 0. Humphreys and Son, the well-known
solicitors.

For some reason or other Dr. Havelock Ellis's offer did not suit
the prosecution nor Sir John Bridge the magistrate, who stated
that not the writing or publishing of the book in cpuestion but
the sale to the detectives, i.e. the indiscriminate sale alleged
to have been practised by Mr. Bedborough, constituted the offence.
Articles contained in the Adult, a magazine owned and edited
by the accused, were included in the charge, and Mr. Bedborough
was committed for trial.

It was soon apparent that Dr. Havelock Ellis's work was not
the real, or at least not the principal, object of this prosecution,
but that it was aimed at the University Press Limited, which had
published a number of philosophical, social, and theological works.
The University Press also owned the University Magazine and
Free Review, a periodical devoted to the free discussion of political,
social, and religious subjects.

Bedborough, besides his own publications, sold the books and
magazines published by the University Press in the same way as
other London booksellers and on the same terms. But his connec-
tion with the Legitimation League, a society founded for the pur-
pose of securing equal rights for legitimate and illegitimate
children, gave the prosecution a welcome opportunity to cast a slur
upon a firm of respectable publishers, who were never in any way
connected with this society, or with any of Mr. Bedborough' s
undertakings.

It cannot be ascertained who hides behind the Commissioners of
Police, who appeared as nominal prosecutors in these proceedings,
but from the facts hereafter explained the reader will infer that
the police have acted throughout on higher orders.

The first suspicion that Dr. Havelock Ellis's work formed only
the pretext for an unheard of persecution arose in the minds of
the defence through the fact that the police in raiding Mr. Bed-
borough's premises seized all the books lately published by the
University Press, particularly

The Free Review, edited by Of. Astor Singer.

The University Magazine, edited by Dr. R. de Villiers.

Pseudo-Philosophy at the End of the Nineteenth Century, by
Hugh Mortimer Cecil.

The Dynamics of Religion, an essay in English Culture History,
by M. W. Wiseman.

The Saxon and the Celt, by John M. Robertson.

Montaigne and Shakspere, by John M. Robertson.

The Blight of Respectability, by Geoffrey Mortimer.

None of these publications did ever form or could ever have been
the object of a direct prosecution, yet the police seized these works
indiscriminately, and it became evident from this and subsequent
proceedings that English prejudice and prudery were to be worked
for what they were worth for the purpose of suppressing publications
which were in no way connected with the alleged offence "of pub-
lishing an obscene libel with the intention of corrupting the morals
of Her Majesty's subjects."

This secret intention is proved beyond doubt by the speech of the
counsel for the prosecution at the trial, which I will fully examine
in its true light hereafter.

It must be of interest to the lawyer as well as to the student of
politics to learn how successfully this plan to suppress a well-
known magazine and to send its editor into exile has been carried
out by those entrusted with the task.

Studies in the Psychology of Sex.

The first volume of Dr. Havelock Ellis's work Studies in the
Psychology of Sex was published by the University Press Limited
in February, 1898. It was the first and only work on the vital
question of sex published by this firm, whose managing director
and principal shareholder I am. As such I share the responsi-
bility for its publication with the author.

Dr. R. de Villiers, the Editor of the University Magazine, in
1897 called my attention to the German edition of this volume,
and to the general praise which the same had found in scientific
circles on the Continent and in the United States of America. The
name of the illustrious author of many scientific works .however
would alone have been a guarantee; for me that the book was of the
highest and noblest aim, and that it was written in the true scien-
tific spirit Avhich characterises Dr. llaveloek Ellis's well-known
writings.

Indeed my decision to publish this book needs no justification
before the scientific world. I submitted the M.S. to medical men
and to psychologists, who unanimously declared it to be of the
greatest importance, not only for the medical profession, but also
for teachers, lawyers, clergymen, and students of psychological
problems.

So I decided upon its publication, and the book was printed by
Mr. A. Bonner.

As however it was not desirable that this book should come into
the hands of inexperienced youth I gave instructions that all copies
supplied to booksellers, including, of course, those supplied by the
University Press to Mr. Bedborough, should bear a label with the
inscription :

"This book is a scientific work intended for Medical Men, Lawyers, and Teachers.
It should not be placed into the hands of the general public."

To Mr. Bedborough-Higgs the book was supplied in the usual
way, and the only explanation why the authorities selected this
man out of many other booksellers in London who sold the book is
that he was connected with, or rather that he was the moving spirit
in, a society which advocated "Freedom in Sexual Relationship," a
Free-Love Society, of which he was the head and soul. Another
reason may have been that Bedborough-Higgs was without means,
and thus, as the police was led to believe, would be unable to defend
himself against a powerful official prosecution. Anyhow, as sub-
sequent events proved, the police authorities were right in their
calculation that poor Bedborough-Higgs was not made of a
material to withstand the attack. He collapsed ignominiously,
and to the joy of the prosecution cut a very sorry figure in the
subsequent proceedings.

A Solicitor's Chance.

The most interesting part of the comedy is the association of the
accused with a London solicitor for the purpose of extracting
money from the public for his defence which this gentleman never
intended to carry through, as proved subsequently by counsel for
the prosecution in his speech before the Recorder of London.

A few days after Bedborough's arrest I received in New York a
cable from Dr. de Villiers, the Editor of the University Magazine,
requesting me to guarantee at least part of the expenses for the
defence of the accused, and particularly the payment of counsel's
fees. I consented, and part of the money was paid to Mr. Wyatt
Digby, the solicitor selected by Mr. Bedborough for his defence.

"A storm of indignation," Dr. de Villiers wrote, "has broken
over the country, and especially over the scientific world, when
the new practice of prosecuting a bookseller for selling a scientific
work became known through the newspapers. A protest was
raised by medical and anthropological societies against this wanton
attack on an author's repute. We must have funds for the defence,
as Bedborough is a poor devil, and you should guarantee the pay-
ment of counsel's fees and solicitor's costs to a limited amount,
Avhile a Free Press Defence Committee is formed to provide
further funds."

Unacquainted with the bye-ways of the laws in England and
the tricks of London solicitors, I was unaware that by providing
these funds I practically caused the insult offered to the author
by the prosecution at the trial, and, in fact, the collapse of the
defence, which it was intended to place on a sound basis by
engaging a leading counsel to defend the accused as well as author
and publisher.

How the Police Proceeded.

A Scotland Yard detective, Mr. Sweeney, one of those innocent
souls, whose morals are so easily corrupted, was sent into the lion's
den to prove that the secretary of the Legitimation League sold
books with intent to corrupt the morals of Her Majesty s subjects.

He represented himself as a friend of L. Harman, the president
of the Legitimation League, and showed himself enthusiastic for
the cause of securing equal rights for legitimate and illegitimate
children. Mr. Sweeney accepted an invitation to the meeting and
annual dinner of the League, at which he was present listening to
the speeches of other enthusiasts. It seems that these proceedings
wore rather harmless, anyhow the detective's morals had not been
corrupted then and there, so that to attain the object in view he
cultivated the secretary's friendship with the view of obtaining
better evidence of his pernicious designs on English morality.

Amongst the many books sold by Mr. Bedborough he found one
with an attractive and yet mysterious title : "Studies in the
Psychology of Sex," by Dr. Havelock Ellis. Forthwith he
acquired a copy, and to prove the sale and the mercenary
corruption of his morals, he paid for it. As the detective is a
grown-up man, and as his innocence was concealed, Mr. Bedborough
knowing him only as an enthusiastic follower of the
Legitimation League, of course he obtained a copy of this scientific
work without any difficulty. After corrupting his morals with it
he took it straight to the Commissioner of Police, whose morals no
doubt were likewise corrupted, so that the inevitable consequence
was that Mr. Sweeney received instructions to swear an information
at the Bow Street Police Court, which in due course led to
the arrest of Mr. Bedborough, and to the seizure of all the dangerous
books in his possession. The magistrate, shocked by the
accused's depravity as described in Mr. Sweeney's information,
refused to admit the prisoner to bail, but at a later application
fixed it at £1,000.

Thus for the English public the gravity of the offence was
established forthwith and beforehand.

At the conclusion of the proceedings before the magistrate, Mr.
Avory, representing Mr. Bedborough, and seeing that Sir John
Bridge had made up his mind to send the case for trial, said that
he could not hope to convert the learned magistrate from the view
to which he had given expression, and would only say that the
accused was prepared to contend that the works referred to in the
case were not obscene.

"I shall be prepared to maintain that this is not an obscene publication,
but a scientific work if it be approached — as it is intended it should be —
by persons of scientific mind and a desire to learn. (Mr. Avory went on to
quote the case of 'Reg. v. Hickling,' with the object of showing that the
question of obscenity of a work depended upon the method of its publication.
Many scientific works would be obscene if they were published broadcast at
the corner of the street; but they were not obscene if they were only circulated
among scientific men.) The price and method of the publication of the
'Sexual Inversion' showed that that was the intention in this case. The
practices mentioned in the book were not advocated by tbe author, as the
prosecution had stated, and at the proper time he would challenge his
learned friend to prove what he had stated on this point. In conclusion
Mr. Avory read the last paragraph in the book as follows:— 'Here we may
leave the question of Sexual Inversion. In dealing with it I have sought
to avoid that attitude of moral superiority which is so common in the literature
of this subject, and have refrained from pointing out how loathsome
this phenomenon is, and how hideous. Such an attitude is as much out of
place in scientific investigation as it is in judicial investigation, and may well
be left to the amateur. The physician who feels anything of disgust at the
sight of disease is unlikely to bring either succour to his patients or instruction
to his pupils.'"

Sir John Bridge, when committing the accused for trial, had
all the information concerning the author's, printer's, and
publisher's part in this publication before him, yet no action was
taken against either, and the indictment, which included certain
articles in the Adult, was practically confined to the way of selling
the incriminated book and magazine.

[...]

The committal of Mr. Bedborough took place on June 21st, and
the time which elapsed since then to the day of the mock trial on
October 31st was used by the Free Press Defence Committee to
collect funds for the defence of the accused, and in this endeavour
its able secretary, who devoted much of his time and energy to
this task, was fairly successful.

But, alas! in the meantime Mr. Bedborough and his shrewd
solicitor had discovered that the cheapest and most profitable way
out of the difficulty would be to come to terms with the Commissioners
of Police, and to appropriate the funds.

Although it is not likely that Mr. Wyatt Digby divided the
spoil with Mr. Bedborough, there is not the least doubt that the
latter played into his hands by concealing his arrangement with
the prosecution from the Committee and from myself, and thereby
caused the amount of about £400 to be passed into the possession
of the solicitors.

[...]

Mr. Bedborough, according to counsel's statement, after his com-
mittal, went to Scotland Yard, and by the authorities there was
allowed to make a statement to the effect that he was only a very
subordinate sub-agent of the Editor of the University Magazine,
Dr. R. de Villiers, and that this gentleman was the real culprit.
He offered to plead guilty to three counts in the indictment as a
matter of form if the prosecution would give him a guarantee that
he would not be sent to prison.

The Commissioners of Police, if they were the real prosecutors
in this prosecution, must have had grave doubts as to the success
of the impending trial, or there must have been some other reasons
that they decided to accept the bargain proposed by Mr. Bedborough.

It may be that they were incensed by Dr. de Yilliers's letter to
the Home Secretary, and felt a kind of satisfaction in substituting
that gentleman for the wretched prisoner who made this proposal.

As matters stood the proposed settlement would amount to a
victory for the police, a clever speech by counsel would make it
appear a real triumph over these wicked publishers, and smaller
obstacles could easily be overcome.

Indeed such an arrangement, if not quite honest and above
board, seemed satisfactory to all parties immediately concerned, to
the prosecution, to the accused, and last, not least, to the solicitor
for the defence, Mr. Wyatt Digby, who, without paying counsel's
fees, could easily manage to retain the large amount received for
the defence.

Not less interesting than the carrying out of the arrangement
arrived at between the parties is the story of Mr. Wyatt Digby's
successful endeavour to get hold of as much money for the defence
of his client as could possibly be obtained under the circumstances.
Part of his scheme was to keep the arrangement secret until a few
days before the trial, and in the meantime to secure the largest
possible amount from the two sources which were open to him.

[...]

--end

A mention of the action the Committee took against Digby:

The Bedborough Case-Balance Sheet (1899), link

Author: Free Press Defence Committee
Volume: no. 255
Subject: Bedborough, George
Publisher: [S.l.] : The Executive of the Free Press Defence Committee
Language: English
Digitizing sponsor: Brigham Young University
Book contributor: Harold B. Lee Library
Collection: victorianbrighamyounguniv; brigham_young_university; americana

[...]

Strong and persistent efforts have been made by the Executive
Committee to obtain from the Solicitor, Mr. Wyatt Digby, his
bill of costs, and other information as to how the large sums paid
to him had been used or expended. As these efforts were un-
availing, and as it was found that no counsel's fees had been paid,
the Executive joined with the University Press in bringing Mr.
Digby's conduct before the Incorporated Law Society. On
January 12th Mr. Seymour, the Hon. Secretary, gave evidence
before that Society on behalf of the Executive. The case against
Mr. Digby is not yet finished, but if it should happen that any
part of the sum which the Executive paid him is recovered from
him, it will be added to the Permanent Fund.

[...]

--end

[Mayerling]

Re: Weissenfeld / De Villiers, etc.

Hi TradeName,

I have in my library a book of "potted" true crime story - biographies by one C. L. McCluer Stevens. It is called "Famous Crimes and Criminals" (New York: Duffield & Co., 1924), and has a chapter on the career of "George Ferdinand Springmuhl von Weissenfeld, alias Dr. Ronald de Villiers, alias Astor, alias Singer, alias Weller, alias Wild...." This is Chapter IV: "The Strange Story of the Anarchist Millionaire" (p. 22 - 29). I have problems with McCluer Stevens, as he does not get facts straight all the time. He claimed von Weissenfeld came from a good family (his father was a German jurist), but turned bad. He also claims that von Weissenfeld poisoned himself when he was captured. But it is the only other time I have found a reference to this character (outside of this thread).

There is another dubious doctor from San Francisco whose career in finance shook up a European country around the time of the Ripper. Dr. Cornelius Hertz was one of the swindlers involved in the "Panama" Scandal of 1889 that ripped into the French government showing many public servants were covering up the monumental disaster of the De Lesseps attempt to build a Panama Canal (1881 - 1889). The result was a series of trials and prison terms for Fernand De Lesseps, his son, Gustav Eiffel (of the "Tower" fame), George Clemenceau (the scandal almost ended his career) and others. Hertz never was tried - he conveniently died before the trials were set.

Jeff

[TradeName]

Jeff,

Thanks for pointing out the C. L. McCluer Stevens book, and the info about Cornelius Hertz.

I haven't come across anything about Springmuhl's antecedents, but here's an 1882 letter signed "F. Springmuhl" which claims practical experience with a poison:

Pharmaceutical Journal: A Weekly Record of Pharmacy and Allied Sciences, March 25, 1882, Pages 790-792

POISONING BY ACONITINE.

The following letter appeared in the Standard on Wednesday last:—

"In a notorious case [George Henry Lamson?] recently before the courts in reference to aconitine poisoning, a very important and practical scientific point was not mentioned by counsel nor by the scientific experts; and I beg. therefore, to call your attention to the following facts, which I had the opportunity of observing and proving during a scries of prolonged scientific researches (in the chemical laboratory of the University of Breslau, Germany) into the properties of the different kinds of alkaloids of the 'Aconitum' plants.

"Like the opium, or the Papaver somniferum, and other poisonous plants, the monkshood or aconitum contains doubtless more than one poisonous alkaloid, each of which is different from the other. This fact, apparently, is not sufficiently recognized in England. Morson's aconitine is not the real pure aconitine as obtained in the laboratories and chemical works of the continent of Europe and America by a well-known process from Aconitum Napellus, Aconitum ferox, or other kind of monkshood. It differs toxicologically and constitutionally from pure aconitine, and is manufactured according to a method which is unknown except to the manufacturer. This fact generally is acknowledged by scientific men on the continent, who call Morson's aconitine in their works 'Pseudo-Aconitine,' or 'Acraconitine,' and often 'English Aconitine.'

"Supposing Morson's aconitine to be employed in recipes made up on the basis of real aconitine, it is inevitable that fatal consequences will follow. Morson's preparation in its toxicological effects answers rather those of a concentrated extract of monkshood which contains the whole of the virulent properties of this plant. According to the actual chemical nomenclature, this preparation has no right to the name of 'aconitine,' just as an extract of opium cannot be called 'morphia,' or an extract of Atropa belladonna ' atropine.'

"The difference of real aconitine and Morson's preparation appears from the following facts:—

"1. All samples of aconitine received from different laboratories and chemical works all over the world show a conspicuous similarity in their constitution; while the elementary analysis of Morson's preparation gives always other figures than those of real, pure aconitine.

"2. Morson's aconitino differs in appearance and bete from the real aconitine.

"3. Real, pure aconitine is different from Morson's preparation in its toxicological effects. I myself have made many experiments on animals, and I found that Morson's preparation is deadly in the very smallest dose, and in its effects resembles an extract of monkshood; while real aconitine, given in the same quantity, does not produce any serious symptoms.

"A poor lamented friend of mine some years ago committed suicide, and used for this purpose pure aconitine. He took 0•5 gram, and died from its effects only after twelve hours' suffering; while if he had taken Morson's preparation O•005.would probably have caused death in three or four hours.

"To satisfy myself about fthe effects and symptoms produced by this alkaloid, I have myself taken progressively up to 0•05 gram of aconitine, and after twentyfour hours had quite recovered from its poisonous effects.

"On the continent 0•1 gram is regarded as dosis letalis of aconitine; while 0•001 gram of Morson's preparation, perhaps, would prove fatal.

"It seems almost certain that the plant 'Aconitum' contains at least two separate poisonous alkaloids, different from each other, and which until now have not been satisfactorily inquired into.

"Two possibilities, therefore, present themselves to the mind—viz., Morson's preparation may be one of these two alkaloids, while the'continental aconitine is the other one; or Morson's' preparation fis a mixture of the twin either case, it is wrong to designate Morson's preparation 'aconitine.'

"As long as both—-viz., Morson's preparation and the continental aconitine—-are, as now in England, indiscriminately called 'aconitine,' accidents will be inevitable, if Morson's preparation is used for recipes where in scientific works aconitine' is prescribed.

"F. Springmuhl
15, Gower Street, W., March 21, 1882."

--end

The Journal goes on to dispute Springmuhl's letter.

[TradeName]

A longer account of the aconitine experiments. Notice that Ferdinand Springmuhl claims an "M.D."

Medical Press and Circular (London), May 24, 1882, Pages 439-441

ON ACONITINE POISONING.
By FERDINAND SPRINGMUHL, M.A., M.D.

Lecture delivered May 5th, 18S2.

There exist very different preparations called aconitine, and in spite of many valuable scientific researches on this subject, there seems to be a deficiency in the general knowledge of this poison. Among all other poisonous alkaloids used by medical men, we have no similar discrepancy; quinine, atropine, morphia, and strychnine are well-known alkaloids, and supposing them to be commercially recognised as pure, equal quantities of these alkaloids will always hare the same action on the human system, whether prepared and prescribed in France, England, Germany, or America. Not so with aconitine. A preparation known in England by the name of "aconitine pure" acts 10 to 50 times as powerfully on the system as the product known by the same name on the Continent.

A doctor who in England would give a patient aconitine according to German or American prescriptions must necessarily cause his death, and on the Continent a number of such medical poisoning cases have been actually proved, in which by accident or ignorance, English aconitine had been administered to the patient, instead of that prepared according to the German Pharmacopoeia. If this fact were sufficiently known to all medical men it would not be of such import to discuss it, as every medical man would know that in England generally the aconitine is a very strong preparation, and that he must not prescribe aconitine according to any foreign direction or recipes.

Aconitine, as it appears in commerce, is not a crystallised product, neither the Continental nor the English, and when certain authors speak of crystallised aconitine, these are special preparations, or picked samples, in no way identical with the aconitine of commerce. Morson's aconitine, which doubtless contains in a very concentrated form tho most virulent properties of the monkshood (probably of Aconilam Napellus), is remarkable for its particularly poisonous action on the human system; it acts not only many times stronger than the Continental aconitine, but it differs by its effects on the system, and by the symptoms that are produced by the same, so that we must suppose it to contain another poisonous principle not found in either the German or French preparation.

A friend of mine, an analytical chemist by profession, committed suicide at Breslan, in his laboratory, with this poisonous alkaloid; he used German aconitine, prepared by E. Merck, at Darmstadt, a white powder, which according to all appearance and chemical test was quite free from impurity, and had been carefully extracted from the plant Aconitum Napellus.

S----- , who suffered during the last months of his life from melancholy, took about 8 grains of German aconitine, and I had occasion to observe the whole course of the poisoning, which led to death after twelve hours' suffering, in spite of the application of every possible remedy. Had deceased better known the terrible agonies produced by aconitine poisoning which he would have to endure, he would certainly not have chosen this poison. Half an hour after he had taken it, the first violent symptoms appeared, whereupon ho exclaimed, triumphantly, "Old boy, in an hour I shall be no more. I look aconitine enough to kill an elephant." On the table stood a small bottle of aconitine, out of which not more than 8 grains could have been taken, for the bottle contained no more than 16 grains, and still retained 8 grains of the alkaloid. Unfortunately, S----- had dined before swallowing the poison, which fact caused its action to be considerably retarded and his sufferings prolonged. A burning sensation in the throat and mouth first made itself felt, and this became more intense with every minute: intense pains in the stomach ensued after 30 minutes, and these became so violent in a few seconds that the patient writhed, shrieking, in the most dreadful convulsions, and trying to strike the wall with his head. With difficulty he was held, and emulsive drinks, as milk and oil, given him. Very soon he became nearly incapable of swallowing, and seized with spasmodic coughing and wanting to vomit. In spite of emetics, he could not vomit until an hour after the taking of the poison, and then with violent exertion a dark greenish fluid was vomited, and the patient felt no relief to tho pains in the stomach, and the burning in the throat which rendered the swallowing and the application of antidotes very difficult. Neither did the stomach pump (used immediately) give any relief; and although exhaustion ensued after violent convulsions, the symptoms reappeared with renewed force in spite of all applied remedies. In the commencement of the third hour the pains and convulsions attained such violence that death was expected every instant, but this did not ensue till many hours afterwards.

In the fourth hour, after repeated injections of morphia, the patient seemed somewhat better. Previous to this he made us understand that his skin was frightfully irritated. This irritation of the skin, as of ants crawling, continued apparently the whole time, and whenever the intensity of the pains somewhat relaxed, he scratched the skin of his head and naked breast in a convulsivo manner until perfectly sore. His eyes glared wildly about, sometimes resting with a fixed stare on one point. The convulsions were repeated at almost regular intervals, and the inclination to vomit continued, although vomiting did not follow after the second hour. At intervals of about forty minutes the patient seemed to lose consciousness, but only for several minutes, whereupon the convulsions and the other symptoms appeared with undiminished violence. Three hours after the appearance of the first symptoms he became incapable of uttering intelligible words, but made us understand that he felt a giddiness, and a little later he appeared to have lost his sight. He throw himself wildly about on the couch and screamed and groaned so frightfully that I have never heard anythiog to equal it. Thereupon exhaustion and apparent coma, aud then renewed attacks of the most violent description. All attempts to give relief were in vain. Then a difficulty of breathing set in, and he appeared to suffocate. At intervals he was conscious, and when asked where he felt pain ho made rapid motions to his head and stomach alternately, and wanted to drink, although ho could not swallow. His pulse and temperature fell considerably, and before death, thorough exhaustion and unconsciousness set in, cold perspiration covered his wholo body, and death-like pallor before the end, which was syncoptic, while all the time asphyxetic death had been expected.

The post-mortem examination of the body gave no results which were not known before. The pupils of the eyes were much dilated, the interior of the mouth was very pale, the brain congested, as well as the lungs. The valves of the hoart were very flaccid. Congestion was observed in the liver and kidneys, an inflammation of the stomach was apparent, and the mucous membrane congested. The alkaloid was found by chemical analysis in the contents of the stomach; it was not found in the urine of the deceased.

On comparing these symptoms with those described in several Continental and English works, I was induced to investigate more fully its properties by experiments on myself, as there oould be no doubt of the existence of different kinds of aconitine—-different in purity as well as in chemical constitution, and in their action on the human system.

For my experiments I used the preparations of different chemical works and laboratories of the Continent and England, as also the aconitine extracted from Aconitum Napellus, Ferox and Japanicam, which I prepared according to the well known methods. By preparing aconitine from Aconitum Napellus, Ferox and Japanicum, the observations made by former researches wero generally confirmed, and I found that aconitine extracted by tho same process from different plants proved to be of the same chemical constitution, and the elomentary analysis always gave the same figures, even when the preparation was gained from different parts of the plant. I therefore consider myself justified in calling this preparation "pare aconitine," although differing entirely from Morson's, the English aconitine.

A cumulative action of aconitine, or a lasting disturbance of the system by using Continental aconitine in small doses, I never observed, and Morson's preparation was yet more acute in every respect than the Continental aconitine. With the English preparation I could not continue the experiments for fear of succumbing to the action of a comparatively small dose. Inveterate smokers, or persons who indulge in or use injections of morphia are much less sensitive to the action of aconitine, and this partly was the reason why my poor friend, who was a great smoker, suffered such a long time before he died. It is my belief that a person who did not use morphia nor smoke would have expired in less than three hours from the dose which caused the suffering of twelve hours to my lamented friend S-----. I, who do not smoke, felt the action of the aconitine very strongly, and generally several minutes after swallowing it, and I observed that a friend of mine, who was a great smoker, could take doses of aconitine which decidedly acted on me, without experiencing any of its effects on his system. I cannot assert to what point this immunity would reach, as I could not find a smoker willing to have experiments by progressive doses made on him. Smoking, however, cannot be looked upon as an antidote. I have repeatedly tried it as an antidote after taking small doses of aconitine, and although smokers are less affected by the poison, at my experiments smoking caused the poisonous effects of aconitine rather to increase.

At first I tried the aconitine received from German chemical works on animals—-especially rabbits—-and I repeated the experiments with aconitine prepared by myself from Aconitum Napellus. I found the latter to be in every respect equal to the aconitine of commerce, and I further proved that the preparation received from Continental manufacturers did not essentially differ from each other.

As the numerous experiments on animals can have only an interest to professional men, I will pass over these, describing only those made on myself.

I always took the aconitine when fasting, internally, not by subcutaneous injections. I began with one-tenth of a grain of aconitine prepared by myself on Duquesnel's prescription, from the root of Aconitum Napellus, and the day after I tried the same quantity of aconitine from a German chemical works. Both preparations were white, but not crystallised. The above dose of one-tenth of a grain was designated by Tylor as the "dosis letalis for English aconitine;" and in some English works I found even the dose of one-fiftieth mentioned as fatal or dangerous in its effects--meaning, of course, Morson's aconitine. I took the above one-tenth of a grain in solution, not in a capsule, and immediately observed the bitter, sharp taste, which, however, lasted not more than two hours. The bitter taste gradually gave way to the sharp one, until it vanished, leaving a burning sensation on the tongue; this dose had no influence on the stomach or the digestion, neither did it lower the temperature of the body or the pulse, or expand the pupils.

Having found no difference in the effects of the aconitine prepared by myself from Aconitum Napellus and that received from German manufacturers, we may look on these as identical. As one-tenth of a grain seemed to take no marked effect on the system, I doubled the dose on the following day, and took one-fifth of a grain of aconitine in a slightly acidulated solution. The action on the tongue was the same as before, but rather more violent, and lasting more than five hours. The irritation of the tongue was prickling burning, followed by numbness. These sensations did not confine themselves to the tongue, but passed on to the lips and throat in a very marked manner. The bitter taste predominated in spite of the burning, prickling sensation, and did not vanish as quickly as it had before; but on the whole I did not find its action on the mouth as strong as I had expected and found described by several authors. Forty minutes after taking the dose of one-fifth of a grain I felt a peculiar rumbling in the stomach, and the sensation of burning had extended to the throat; then ensued a contraction of the stomach and pains as of acute inflammation of the stomach. In the third hour these sensations ceased, leaving only the burning in the throat and the taste so characteristic of aconitine. In the course of these symptoms a peculiar sensation of warmth, like that produced by morphia, made itself felt all over the body, but no difference in the pulse was observed. Very characteristic was the dilating of the pupil, which lasted eight hours.

My next experiment, after three days, Was made with two-fifths of a grain of the same aconitine, and the effect was stronger than I expected from the foregoing experiment. Immediately on taking the solution the characteristic burning and prickling on the tongue ensued, extending to the whole interior of the mouth, and continued in spite of rinsing several times with water. Then, in about ten minutes, the action on the stomach began, and a feeling of discomfort and uneasiness, painful contractions of the stomach and burning in the throat, with inclination to vomit followed; the pulse rose for about ten minutes and then fell considerably. The pupil was greatly dilated, the nausea increased, and perspiration, excitement, and exhaustion followed alternatively. A marked dulness in the head lasted four hours; the other symptoms, except the dilating of the pupils, ceased after six hours. Slowly the bitter taste passed off, leaving only the sharp, burning action on the tongue, lips, and the whole interior of the mouth.

The dose of 2•5ths of a grain causing no serious symptoms nor deranging the functions of the stomach, bat allowing me to eat with good appetite a few hours after the action on the system ceased, and not experiencing any ill effects on the following day, I proceeded, after a lapse of three days, to swallow 3•5ths of a grain of the poison, and only this dose acted in a marked way on the brain. Vertigo and dulness in the head ensued, the sight diminished, and all the symptoms pointed to the beginning of a more violent action on the brain, which was not noticed at the former experiments with smaller doses. After ten minutes the pains of the stomach set in wiih greater violence than before, and nausea immediately followed. The inclination to vomit was accompanied by strong perspiration on ths whole body, and an irritation in the finger ends, which gradually extended to the feet and the skin of the head, and later on to the whole body, becoming very unpleasant. The eyes, with very dilated pupils, wandered wild and uncertain, and after thirty minutes vertigo was so violent that I was obliged to lie down. It was, however, impossible to remain in this position on account of the increasing excitation and the sensitiveness of the skin. The pulse and temperature rose during the first hour, and then fell considerably. Vomiting of a dark greenish liquid ensued four or five times and then ceased, as the stomach was apparently empty ; the irritation of the skin increased considerably, accompanied by intense thirst; perspiration and alternate sensation of warmth and fever shivering lasted several hours, and meanwhile the pains in the stomach ceased. In the fourth hour a general languor of the whole system and an unexpected inclination to sleep; a kind of narcotic sleep lasted twenty minutes, and on awaking I felt very weak. The irritation of the skin continued as well as the dulness in the head, but the pains and the bitter taste had comEletely vanished. Cessation of all symptoms after the sixth hour and perfect recovery on the following day, and with the exception of a faint headache, which lasted three days, no consequences followed.

The result of the analysis of the vomiting showed a small quantity of the alkaloid, but not enough to cause serious symptoms in a rabbit. Eight days later, in the presence of two medical men, friends of mine, I proceeded to take a dose of 4•5ths of a grain, from which after the former results no fatal consequences could be expected. The action on the tongue was naturally stronger than in the former experiments, and I observed that the sharp principle was more marked, and the bitter taste vanished more quickly, while the prickly burning sensation was more intense and lasted longer. Immediately on swallowing the solution of 4•5ths of a grain of aconitine the action on the tongue began, and a feeling as if very cold metal touched it was the first effect of the poison, the lips, gums, and throat then being quickly affected to a high degree. In nine minutes I felt the contracting pains in the stomach, with the alternate sensation of warmth, as I had observed in previous experiments. The dilating of the pupil lasted fourteen hours, and the pains in the stomach nearly three hours. Vertigo was noticed thirty minutes after taking the poison, and increased to such a degree that objects could no more be clearly distinguished, and sight seemed to fail—- a symptom mentioned by most authors as peculiar to aconitine poisoning, and in fact always appearing when considerable doses are taken. Diminished sight and increased vertigo did, however, not lead to unconsciousness, but was accompanied by buzziug in the ears, and violent beating of the arteries and increased stroke of the pulse.

The characteristic pricking of the skin, beginning in ths finger ends and extending to the whole of the body, was very painful, and caused on the head the sensation as of the skin being drawn off. The dull feeling in the head and the diminished sight continuing, these symptoms lead from time to time to almost swooning. During the first two hoars vomiting took place three times, without in any way relieving the pain in the stomach. After the third hour the discomfort was principally caused by violent headache, giddiness, and the intolerable burning in the mouth and throat. Heavy and difficult breathing, from the beginning of the first symptoms until seven hours afterwards, made a deep fetching of breath at regular intervals a necessity. A pressure on the cheek bones and towards the eyes indicated strong congestion of the brain. In the fourth hour general exhaustion and inclination to sleep followed, and a restless and disturbed sleep lasted two hours. After sleep the dizziness ceased as well as the pain in the stomach, but the irritation of the skin and the burning in the month continued for some hours. After partaking of some beef-tea no vomiting ensued, and I had quite recovered after a lapse of eighteen hours. I had a good appetite the next day, aud considered that aconitine caused a more acute than lasting action on the stomach, and in small doses probably only a very slight inflammation. Similar experiments with morphia caused a less acute but much more lasting disturbance of the digestive orgaas. Evidently, in my case, the aconitine was quickly and perfectly absorbed in the system.

The alkaloid could not be found by analysis in either perspiration or urine, but decided traces of it in the phlegm which was secreted during the experiment. Finding myself with the dose of 4•5th of a grain still far from a fatal dose of Continental aconitine, I proceeded to make a last trial with one grain, i.e., about half of the dose, which is considered as "dosis letalis" on the Continent.

I was in perfect health when making this experiment, and 14 days had passed away since I took the 4•5ths of a grain.

I have to say but very little on this experiment, as the symptoms were nearly the same as at the preceding trial.

The immediate action on the stomach was more quick and violent, aa also were the other symptoms, especially the sensation of drawing off the skin, which was so intolerable as to make me forget the pains in the head and stomach. Again a narcotic sleep ensued in the third hour, and lasting nearly three hours, then on awaking cessation of the pains, and continued irritation of the skin. The actual poisoning symptoms diminished afterwards in a marked manner, but lasted nearly twenty-four hours. In the saliva aa well as the vomit, the alkaloid was found by analysis—-it was not to be found in the perspiration and urine.

My friends and I myself did not think it advisable to experimentalise with a larger dose than one grain of Continental aconitine, so for the sake of comparison I determined to make two trials with the so-called "English aconitine."

Some authors asserted that 1•S0th of a grain of Morson's aconitine could act fatally, but as a result of my experiments I believe the "dosis letalis" of this preparation must be considerably higher—-probably not less than l•10th of a grain, if we have in view the English aconitine of commerce, and not the picked samples of crystallised aconitine. I took 1•120th part of a grain in solution, and in its taste and action on tongue and throat I could immediately distinguish between the Continental and the English preparation. The latter had not the slightest bitter, but a purely sharp and burning taste. As soon as the solution touched the tongue the latter seemed to become perfectly numb, and in an instant the prickling and burning was felt in the lips, passing in a few seconds to the whole interior of the mouth; the tongue soon had become insensible to touch, and rinsing with water did not lessen the intolerable sensation. In fifteen minutes violent nausea and vomiting followed; the burning sensation in the mouth predominated and increased after vomiting, and pains in the stomach accompanied a discomfort in the whole body. These pains were not contracting but burning, and somewhat stronger than those produced by a dose of German aconitine twenty times larger.

The pulse action increased for thirty minutes, sensation as of ants crawling all over the body, violent heart-beating, only faint headache and pains in the back, restlessness in the whole body, and not the slightest inclination to sleep, were the first symptoms noticed. A diminished sensibility of all parts of the body, not observable in this manner with German aconitine, was very characteristic, and increased gradually. An inclination and want to move the hands and feet constantly were felt. Evidently the small dose of English aconitine did not act so much on the brain, for actual congestion and vertigo did not ensue.

Although we most take into consideration that the dose taken was too small to make a valid comparison with German aconitine, it is, however (to judge from the former experiments), certain that the dose of 1•120th of a grain of German aconitine, would not affect the human system in a manner at all comparable with the English.

The sharp taste continued twenty-four hours, gradually diminishing, and the tongue again became active as before, the prickling of the skin and convulsive movements of the body ceased after four hours, but the pains in the back remained for nearly forty-eight hours. For several days a healthy appetite was wanting, and sleep until five days after was restless and short.

After a lapse of fourteen days I prooeeded to make a second trial with English aconitine, and this time with a dose of one-eightieth part of a grain. More violent symptoms than with the former dose ensued, and the convulsions and the pains in the book were so intense that I found it would be impossible to make further trials with Morson's preparation. The burning in the mouth and throat was quite intolerable; the tongue petrified and insensible; burning pains in the stomach, and vomiting; no signs of narcotic action as observed with Continental aconitine. A feeling, as if the skin were being drawn off the body, and violent dragging in every limb was remarkable; and daring the whole course of these acute poisoning symptoms not the slightest relief was felt, so that I bad to ask my friends present for an injection of morphia. This, however, rather increased than diminished the symptoms, so nothing remained but to let the latter take their course. They decreased already in the fourth hour, but the sharp burning taste, the pains in the back, and sleeplessness continued for several days.

From the results of the experiments here described, the difference of the effects of German and English aconitine seemed beyond doubt, and, thereforo, I thought myself justified in expressing my belief that fatal accidents, caused by mistaking these two preparations bearing the same name will be inevitable until the fact of their difference becomes perfectly known in medical works, or until German and English manufacturers choose a different term for their respective preparations. In no other case is such a difference of virulence to be remarked, and at present it will be necessary that medical men may prove that they are aware of this difference by designating as "English" or "German" aconitine the preparations they prescribe.

It is evident that the difference of German and English aconitine consists in this: Either each of the preparations contains a different alkaloid extracted from the monkshood, or one of them is a mixture of these different alkaloids. Neither the former nor the latter until now has been proved, as the two alkaloids undoubtedly contained in the monkshood have up to the present, not been separated and fully investigated.

--end

[TradeName]

Springmuhl's lecture (previous post) on aconitine was addressed to the Balloon Society of Great Britain. The Pharmaceutical Journal quotes him as claiming there were thousands of accidental aconitine poisoning cases in Europe.

Pharmaceutical Journal: A Weekly Record of Pharmacy and Allied Sciences, May 27, 1882, Page 972

Aconitine and aconitine poisoning have been pretty widely discussed during the past few months, but one of the last places from which an ex cathedral utterance on the subject might have been expected is the "Balloon Society of Great Britain." Yet to the edification of this body Dr. Ferdinand Springmuhl has recently devoted an elaborate lecture on aconitine poisoning, in which he describes some of his own chemical and physiological experiences, and mentions some "things not generally known," as to the doings of others. Among the latter may be quoted the following: "On the continent a number of such medical poisoning cases have been actually proved, in which by accident or ignorance English aconitine had been administered to the patient instead of that prepared according to the German Pharmacopoeia.... We do not know how many cases of death may have been caused by such mistakes, for it but seldom comes to light when a doctor poisons his client. Thousands, without doubt, found their death in this manner." Now for one of Dr. Springmuhl's own feats. "By preparing^ aconitine from Aconitum Napellus, ferox, and Japonicum, the observations made by former researches were generally confirmed, and I found that aconitine extracted by the same process from different plants proved to be of the same chemical constitution, and the elementary analysis always gave the same figures, even when the preparation was gained from different parts of the plant. I, therefore, considered myself justified in calling this preparation 'pure aconitine.'"

--end

Some brief notices of the legal problems of a Dr. Ferd. Sprimgmuhl who edited a trade journal for the German dye industry.

The Chemical News and Journal of Physical Science, Volume 33, June 2, 1876, Page 231

Reimann's Farber Zeitung,
No. 16, 1876.

[...]

It is announced that Dr. F. Springmuhl, editor of the rival tinctorial journal, the Muster-Zeitung, is at present in prison in Vienna. In connection with this affair Dr. Reimann speaks of the "horrible condition" of the technological press of Germany.

The Chemical News and Journal of Physical Science, Volumes 33-34, August 18, 1876, Page 73

M. Reimann's Farber Zeitung,

No. 28, 1876.

This issue contains a paper on the depressed state of the tinctorial trades, and an announcement that Dr. Ferd. Springmuhl is undergoing a prosecution for having insulted Prince Bismark and the Emperor ("Ego et rex meus").

[TradeName]

Notice of a publication by Ferd. Springmuhl on contamination of dyes, including some with arsenic.

The Chemical News and Journal of Industrial Science, Volumes 31-32, January 15, 1875, Page 29

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

The Testing or Artificial Colours.

Die Chemisette Prufung der kunslichen organischen Farbstloffe. Von Dr. Ferd. Springmuhl. Leipzig: Weigel.

Dr. Springmuhl, the editor of the Musterzeitung lays before the scientific and technological public, in this pamphlet, an account of the incidental impurities and intentional sophistications occurring in artificial colouring matters, and directions for their detection. Natural organic dyes are to be considered in a future treatise. We may mention as a somewhat disappointing circumstance, that while the introduction leads us to expect some mention of the colouring matters of uric acid and of the alkaloids, they are omitted in the body of the work. As regards picric acid the author finds that oxalic acid is not merely present in many samples as an incidental byproduct, but is sometimes intentionally added to the extent of 20 per cent. Samples of phenyl-brown are sometimes largely adulterated with sawdust and fragments of lignite (brown-coal). Oxalic acid and dinitrophenol are also present.

The poisonous properties ascribed to corallin, and to goods dyed with this colour naturally called for the author's attention. He pronounces pure corallin not more poisonous than the remaining phenyl-colours, but finds that it may contain aniline, iodine, mercuric chloride and especially carbolic acid, to which latter he ascribes a great part of the toxic phenomena observed in the case of this dye. For the detection of carbolic acid in corallin he recommends Landolt's test. The sample is dissolved in water, held up to the light and mixed with bromine water. If carbolic acid is present a precipitate or turbidity of tribromphenol appears. Aniline, however, if present, is thrown down at the same time.

In his general remarks on the aniline colours the author informs us that:—-French qualities are the most frequently adulterated, whether by the manufacturers themselves or by middlemen. English samples, as far as I have had the opportunity of observing, are distinguished by great purity and excellence."

Out of 25 specimens of magenta one only was found free from arsenic. In 14 the amount was sufficient for quantitative determination. In four samples the proportions were respectively 6•5, 5•9, 5•g, and 5•1 per cent. Such qualities, of course, must prove dangerous if used for colouring liqueurs, confectionery, and toys. In dyeing, however, the amount of the poisonous matter which attaches itself to the wool is relatively trifling. This the author ascertained by an interesting experiment. In a beaker he dissolved 0•1 gramme of the most poisonous sample in hot water. The solution, of course, contained 0•0065 gramme of arsenic. In it a square foot of pure wool (woollen tissue) was dyed. It was then well rinsed in a second beaker of pure water, and again in a third. The dyed wool, the residual dye, and the two wash-waters therefore contained 0•0065 of arsenic, and it remained to ascertain its distribution. In the dye-bath were found 0•0051 gramme, in the first washing-water 0•0010. In the second washing-water the amount was too small to be determined. It, however, and the dyed wool must together contain the residue 0•0005. According to Marsh's test the wool appeared to contain less than the second washing water. Hence a square inch of the woollen could contain scarcely two millionths of a gramme of arsenic. If the proportion of arsenic is low, as in well-purified magentas, the wool, when dyed gives no indications by Marsh's process. It is of some importance to know of what salt of rosanilin a commercial magenta consists, as the proportion of base varies, the muriate being richer than the acetate.

The mercurial process for the manufacture of magenta is still used in some establishments. The author found the crystals of such samples smaller than those of arsenical magentas. Two of the specimens examined contained arsenic, which renders their origin doubtful. In none was mercury detected.

The two most frequent adulterants are oxalic acid and sugar. The author has found 21 per cent of the former, and 24 per cent of the latter. Joly has detected sugar to the extent of 50 per cent.

Aniline violets are more liable to sophistication than magentas from the fact that they are sold, not in well-defined crystals, but in powder or in cakes. The author has detected gum in a Hofmann's violet to the amount of 12 per cent, and 8 per cent of finely ground charcoal in a common phenyl violet.

Aniline blues are treated very briefly. The author does not specify any adulterations as having actually occurred in his investigations, but he recommends consumers to have an eye to the possible presence of sugar.

Of 32 samples of iodine-green examined, 5 were unquestionably sophisticated. One contained 18 per cent of sugar. An English sample was cleverly sophisticated with a salt of lead, probably the picrate, and deflagrated when a portion was heated upon platinum foil. Metallic lead was found to the extent of 10 per cent, corresponding to 21 per cent of the picrate. Two other samples contained respectively 14 per cent, of common salt and 26 per cent of magnesia. Oxide of chrome is also a possible adulteration.

The finest sample of iodine-green examined was from the manufactory of H. Siegle, in Stuttgart. The author considers that in the production of this beautiful and costly colour the Germans are superior to the English and the French.

We shall probably again return to this book on some future occasion. Meantime we feel bound to call to it the especial attention of such of our readers as are connected with dyeing, calico printing.or the manufacture of colours.

[TradeName]

Brief descriptions of a couple of British patents granted to Springmuhl.

Engineering, Volume 34, September 15, 1882, Page 271

554. Apparatus for Concentrating Milk: F. Springmuhl, London. (4d).—-The water is evaporated from the milk in a vacuum pan, during agitation, by hollow steam-heated vessels, and cooling is effected by a stream of cold water passing through the double bottom of the vacuum pan and the said vessels. (February 4, 1882).

555. Manufacture of Condensed Grape Juice or Must: F. Springmuhl, London. (4d)—The expressed juice is treated in a centrifugal machine, then slightly heated, and afterwards 80 or more percent of its water evaporated in a vacuum pan at a low temperature during agitation bv hollow Bteam-heated vessels. The concentrated juice is cooled by a stream of cold water passing through the double bottom of the vacuum pan and the said vessels. (February 4, 1882).

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An account of Springmuhl's experiments with condensing Italian and Spanish grapes. The account is attributed to a Dr. John Suchy

English Mechanics and the World of Science, Volume 34, Jan 6, 1882, Pages 429-430

THE CONDENSING OF GRAPE-JUICE IN THE VACUUM PAN.

[19604.]—A New application of the well-known condensing process in the vacuum-pan to grape-juice before the setting in of fermentation is of considerable importance, both to the consumers of wine, and especially to wine-growing countries such as Italy and Spain. The condensation of fresh grape-juice, by an operation similar to that employed for the condensed Swiss milk, promises a wide field of usefulness. It brings (without any injury to the wine-making qualities of the juice) its bulk down to the fifth of its original quantity, and leaves it fit for transportation under any circumstances, and preservation for any time.

Experiments on a large scale have effectually proved that the condensing process under a sufficient exhaustion of air in the vacuum-pan in no way alters the grape-juice, and that after its regeneration through the addition of water after fermentation, exactly the same wine is obtained as from the uncondensed grape-juice.

The attempt to condense wine, even with very complicated and costly apparatus, never led to any satisfactory results, and a previous study of its components might have spared many fruitless experiments. But it is entirely different with grape-juice, for as long as fermentation has not set in, it contains no elements which cau volatilise with water by evaporation in the vacuum-pan.

The experiments which were made by Dr. Springmuhl, with the most perfect vacuum and machinery of an Italian milk-condensing manufactory, extended over 60 different sorts of Italian and Spanish grapes, the quantity condensed each time being 600 to 800 litres.

The Italian and Spanish Governments granted patents for the new application of the condensing process to Dr. Springmuhl, who conducted the very interesting experiments with Italian and Spanish grapes. It was my good fortune to be present at all these experiments, and to analyse the grape-juice before, as well as after, condensation, and later, of the wine prepared from it. Only fresh grapes were used, and not less than 600 litres of unfermented juice were condensed each time, as it was found that in a small apparatus, and with a smaller quantity of grape-juice, a less uniform and less perfect result was obtained. The grapes were first plucked from the stalk, and the juice extracted from the skin by crushing in a cylinder machine between porcelain rollers; even the last drops of juice were extracted from the grape by a centrifugal machine, and all the juice so obtained was then put in tinned copper pails, which were warmed slightly in a steam-heated vessel filled with water.

The juice then passed through silvered wire sieves into a large vessel, from which it ascended the suction-pipe of the vacuum-pan.

The apparatus, which is made of strong tinned copper-plate, is capable of holding 1,200 litres, and is heated by steam through a double bottom. The cylinder-shaped vacuum-pan has a hemispherical dome and bottom, and is provided with all the necessary requisites and instruments.

Before the commencement of the condensation, the highest possible vacuum was produced, and the vacuum-gauge never indicated less than 65 centimetres before the sucking up of the juice.

The liquid was then subjected to a gradually progressive evaporation under the lowest possible temperature, and kept in a state of gentle ebullition during three hours, constant care being token that the vacuum should be kept perfect.

The temperature of the juice never reached the point at which the slightest change could take place in the quality of the must, when powerful pneumatic machines were used for the exhaustion of air.

In three hours the condensing was over, the condensed juice was a thickened fluid like syrup; after dilution with the corresponding quantity of water, the so regenerated grape juice could not be distinguished from the original not condensed.

The constituents of the condensed grape-juice showed no difference from those of the fresh grape-juice; after being cooled in a cooling apparatus like that used for condensed milk, it proved itself to be unchangeable not only when closed up in air-tight vessels, but also when exposed to the air.

In order to make wine from it, exactly the same quantity of water was added as was evaporated by tue condensing process, and the regenerated grape-juice was subjected to fermentation the same as fresh must.

The wine thus produced was fully identical with that obtained by the usual process, and this was proved by all kinds of experiments in the most satisfactory manner.

During the condensing of the juice, the grape-skins were dried in a separate vacuum-drying-machine at the lowest possible temperature. They are used later on in the making of wine, in giving it its peculiar colour and flavour. The process of condensing grape-juice, as described above, is for the present of importance, especially to Italy and Spain; but ere long the Northern countries of Europe will derive great benefits from it, because they themselves will be able to procure a good must, from which they can make excellent and genuine wines at cheap prices.

Italy produces an immense quantity of grapes, but the art of making good wines is still in its infancy, in consequence of which France buys every year large quantities of grapes as well as wines from Italy, with very good results, for the French know how to turn the grapes into good wines or to improve the Italian wines, thus enabling them to export those wines as French produce to all parts of the world. During the first nine months of 1881, although 1880 was not a good vintage, Italy exported to France more than 160 millions of litres of wine.

It is, I think, to be desired that this method of condensing Italian and Spanish grape-juice may soon be widely adopted, as it would put a check on those flourishing artificial wine manufacturers in Northern Europe.

John Suchy, M.D., Ph.D., M.A.

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Couldn't find much about Suchy, but I did notice an ad in a German publication where Suchy uses to same address, "15, Gower St.", that Springmuhl used in his letter about aconitine poisoning.

Chemiker-Zeitung/Chemische Apparatur, Volume 5, November 10, 1881, Page 866

[Scott Nelson]

I don't know about anybody else, but I've found this thread exhausing.