Saturday 31 May 1845 (p. 3, col. 2-3) Part 2 THE LATE INQUEST AT GRINSDALE. [continued] ----- Mary ANDREWS-I am a single woman, and am 75 years old. I live in Grinsdale. I heard of the two old people being ill on Friday evening, and came down to see them. Deceased was throwing up a little but not much, and had a pot standing on the floor. I stayed till a quarter past eleven o'clock, and was here about four hours. He lay down on the swab (settle) and slept. He was very much weakened. His wife was vomiting once. He was not purged that I saw. He told me he became ill at eleven o'clock on Thursday evening, soon after he had taken his supper. Mr. and Mrs. CANNELL came that night about nine o'clock. Mrs. CANNELL set out the supper. I had supper with them. I ate a piece of yeasted cake and cheese, and some bottled ale. We had supper a little before eleven. I went home at a quarter past, and felt myself unwell as I was going. I was sick, and vomitted: I did not then throw up; it was like something they call the waterbrash. I braided much, had pain in my back, and felt languid. I had no pain in my bowels or stomach, but was purged. I was not subject to waterbrash. I suffered in this way till between four and five o'clock next morning, when it ceased. I ate very little-any man would have taken it in two or three bites. I did not see John GRAHAM; I was unable to leave my house on Saturday or Sunday, and I am still poorly. I did not observe any peculiar taste in the bread. I have had no talk with the family about it since. Edward NIXON-I am a yeoman living at Grinsdale. My wife and daughter received some cakes to bake on Thursday. I did not see them. I saw deceased on Saturday in his own house. He laid his hand upon his breast, and complained of his being sick about his heart. Jane THOMPSON-I have been servant with Sibson GRAHAM for three weeks. I saw the old people on Friday forenoon. I came down by my master's orders. Mrs. GRAHAM was in bed, and deceased was sitting by the fire, with his hand on his head, and his feet on the fender. He was not sick, but had vomitted on the floor just before I came in. I might perhaps be in ten minutes: he did not vomit while I was in, but he said he was very sick, and had been very ill all night. He said nothing about the cakes. Mrs. GRAHAM vomitted while I was in. Both of them had been purged. Mrs. GRAHAM complained of her stomach and her head. I got a cake out of the back kitchen on Monday evening; my master sent me for it. It was in a pot, on a stone in the back kitchen, and was about the size of a penny cake but rather thicker,-like a tea cake. I gave it to my master. I ate a piece of it on my own accord-about half a quarter of it. Perhaps not more than about ten minutes after, I became ill; I felt sickness and burning at my stomach; it tasted a little foisty I thought. I had heard it said that it had poison in it, but I did not believe it. The CORONER.-You showed more courage than discretion perhaps. Witness-The master ate nearly half of the cake. I vomitted but was not purged. I was poorly all day on Tuesday, but yesterday (Wednesday) I was better. I am twenty-one years old. I asked the woman, Esther HOWNAM, who had been waiting where the cake was that they had been eating; she told me, and I got it myself. By the FOREMAN-The master and I did not eat all the cake; the mistress put the rest of it away. Another servant took some, but she was not very sick. We took salt and water to make us throw it off our stomachs, but we had vomitted it before. By the CORONER-I saw my master cut the cake. He did not take any salt and water. Elizabeth NIXON-I am the wife of Edward NIXON. I remember baking some bread for Mrs. GRAHAM on Thursday last-six cakes. She brought them herself. I put them into the oven, and was at home during the whole time they were baking. Nobody but my own daughter and old Mrs. GRAHAM was there. I took them from the oven and sent them to Mrs. GRAHAM by my daughter. I am certain nothing was put into them while they were in my charge. I am sure the same cakes were returned that were received. They were baked in a brick oven on a tin of her own. We had our own bread in the oven, and have eaten it since. My bread was made up in loaves, her's in cakes. I have had no conversation with any of deceased's friends since. I know nothing more than I have told you. Mary NIXON-I live at Burgh. I resided at Grinsdale up to a month ago, and lived in a house that is divided from Mrs. GRAHAM's by a house. I laid arsenic to poison rats before Mrs. GRAHAM's former illness. I laid it on the back kitchen stone, and mixed it with porridge. We put the cat out during the night, and in the morning threw the porridge behind the fire. At another time we found it was all gone in the morning. No one had any access to it after we went to bed. I used all the poison we had. We were terribly troubled with rats, and they disappeared after the poisoned porridge was taken away. I came here on the first occasion when Mr. and Mrs. GRAHAM were ill. They both got a "puke" (vomit) soon after. I have seen John GRAHAM here, but not often. I don't remember seeing him here more than once or twice for many months, but he might sometimes be here when I knew nothing about it. Esther STEWART-I am a servant with Mr. Sibson GRAHAM, and tasted on Monday part of the cake brought by Jane THOMPSON. I was ill a quarter of an hour afterwards; I felt a burning at my stomach, and became sick and vomited. I felt a pain in my head and breast next day, but none in my back. I did not feel weakened. I was not at deceased's house on the Thursday. I took some salt and water, and got a good deal off my stomach. I might take half a dozen bites of cake, and there was perhaps a quarter of it left. Esther HOWNAM-I am the wife of Adam HOWNAM. I came here on Saturday night about nine o'clock, and Mr. GRAHAM was so sick that I consented to stay all night to wait upon him. Mrs. GRAHAM was not so bad as he was. He did not vomit after I came. He was not purged except from taking castor-oil on Sunday. I knew Mr. GRAHAM before. We farm under Mr. GRAHAM at Cobble Hall, in the parish of Kirkandrews, and he often came to see us. He has been failing lately. I can't say his illness seemed to have pulled him down since last I saw him, but he was very sick at times. I have not seen any tea cakes since I came. Jane THOMPSON said her master sent her for yeasted cakes. There were no cakes of any kind that I saw in the house when I came on Saturday night. Nanny LITTLE brought two-I think it would be on Monday morning, and gave them to me. I laid them in the pantry, on a shelf. They remained there till Jane THOMPSON came on Monday evening. She asked for one of the cakes. I told her where they were lying, and she went and got one. I saw her come out with it. I don't know what became of the other one. I have talked with Mrs. GRAHAM about the matter, but not with any other member of the family. Mrs. GRAHAM often said she wondered how the poison could come but she never said she suspected any one. The old man never said anything about it; he told me he was very bad, but he never mentioned anything he had eaten. Mrs. GRAHAM, recalled-I can't say how much cake deceased ate-scarcely half one, as near as I can tell. He did not eat any of the cakes after he was ill. There was some panada made on Friday night-very possibly off the same bread. I don't know who made it. Miss NIXON brought the cakes back, and I did not notice any change in them. They had not been broken or opened. There were three or four cakes-hardly half a dozen,-but I did not take particular notice. Sarah NIXON-I am daughter of Edward NIXON, and was present when Mrs. GRAHAM brought the cakes to our house; there were half a dozen. I brought them back to Mrs. GRAHAM's; I am sure they were the same cakes. I delivered them to Mrs. GRAHAM herself, and nothing was put into them that I know of when they were in my mother's charge. We do not keep a bakehouse, but merely baked the cakes to oblige Mrs. GRAHAM. We had no arsenic in the oven, nor no other bread but our own. I have not seen any of the cakes since. [Mr. CANNELL here produced half of one of the cakes.] The cakes were like that. Mrs. GRAHAM recalled-The cake produced is similar to those baked for me. I put no soda in it. I got the yeast from NIXON's people. On Thursday John said he thought it would suit us to go to Newcastle this week-we had talked about it some time previous, and he said he thought of going that day. I said I could not think of it that day, I was not prepared, and would put it off till some other day. He had talked of it previously about a month ago. Jane LITTLE-I am eleven years old. My mother is a widow and we live in Grinsdale. My mother was here cleaning on Saturday, and Mrs. GRAHAM gave her two cakes. They were like penny cakes. She put them into the clock bottom, not to let any of us get them. She had some little pieces as big as my finger end, and my sisters Ellen and Elizabeth ate them. I did not eat any. One of my sisters is older, the other younger than I am. They both were poorly, but not long. They were sick through the night. My brother brought the cakes back to Mrs. GRAHAM. Adjourned at six o'clock. The Inquest was then adjourned till Friday the 30th of May. The inquiry will be resumed before the Coroner, at the Coffee House, in this city, at ten o'clock this day.