wardly as well
as a cruel crime, which has never taken strong root in English habits;
and, as we have observed, the poisoners on this occasion,
notwithstanding the skill and knowledge enlisted by them in the
service, were arrant bunglers. Thus, the confession of James Franklin,
an accomplice, would seem to shew that Sir Thomas Overbury was
subjected to poisons enough to have deprived three cats of their
twenty-seven lives.

'Mrs Turner came to me from the countess, and wished me, from her, to
get the strongest poison I could for Sir T. Overbury. Accordingly, I
bought seven--viz., aquafortis, white arsenic, mercury, powder of
diamonds, _lapis costitus_, great spiders, and cantharides. All these
were given to Sir T. Overbury at several times. And further
confesseth, that the lieutenant knew of these poisons; for that
appeared, said he, by many letters which he writ to the Countess of
Essex, which I saw, and thereby knew that he knew of this matter. One
of these letters I read for the countess, because she could not read
it herself; in which the lieutenant used this speech: "Madam, the scab
is like the fox--the more he is cursed, the better he fareth." And
many other speeches. Sir T. never eat white salt, but there was white
arsenic put into it. Once he desired pig, and Mrs Turner put into it
_lapis costitus_. The white powder that was sent to Sir T. in a
letter, he knew to be white arsenic. At another time, he had two
partridges sent him by the court, and water and onions being the
sauce, Mrs Turner put in cantharides instead of pepper; so that there
was scarce anything that he did eat but there was some poison
mixed.'[5]

It is impossible to believe that the human frame could stand out for
weeks against so hot a siege. It would appear as if Franklin must
really have confessed too much. It has already been said, that the
confused state of the whole evidence renders it difficult to find how
far a case was made out against the Earl and Countess of Somerset.
Such a confession as Franklin's only makes matters still more
confused. That Sir Thomas Overbury really was poisoned, one can
scarcely doubt, if even a portion of what Franklin and the others say
is true; but the reckless manner in which the crime was gone about,
and the confusion of the whole evidence, is extremely perplexing. Not
the least remarkable feature in this tragedy is the number of people
concerned in it. We find, brought to trial, the Earl and Countess of