Still pretending the extreme of sympathy for him, he
followed up the letters by presents of pastry and other delicacies,
which could not be procured in the Tower. These articles were all
poisoned. Occasionally, presents of a similar description were sent to
Sir Jervis Elwes, with the understanding that these articles were not
poisoned, when they were unaccompanied by letters: of these the
unfortunate prisoner never tasted. A woman, named Turner, who had
formerly kept a house of ill fame, and who had more than once lent it
to further the guilty intercourse of Rochester and Lady Essex, was the
agent employed to procure the poisons. They were prepared by Dr.
Forman, a pretended fortune-teller of Lambeth, assisted by an
apothecary named Franklin. Both these persons knew for what purposes
the poisons were needed, and employed their skill in mixing them in the
pastry and other edibles, in such small quantities as gradually to wear
out the constitution of their victim. Mrs. Turner regularly furnished
the poisoned articles to the under-keeper, who placed them before
Overbury. Not only his food, but his drink was poisoned. Arsenic was
mixed with the salt he ate, and cantharides with the pepper. All this
time, his health declined sensibly. Every day he grew weaker and
weaker; and with a sickly appetite, craved for sweets and jellies.
Rochester continued to condole with him, and anticipated all his wants
in this respect, sending him abundance of pastry, and occasionally
partridges and other game, and young pigs. With the sauce for the game,
Mrs. Turner mixed a quantity of cantharides, and poisoned the pork with
lunar-caustic. As stated on the trial, Overbury took in this manner
poison enough to have poisoned twenty men; but his constitution was
strong, and he still lingered. Franklin, the apothecary, confessed that
he prepared with Dr. Forman seven different sorts of poisons; viz.
aquafortis, arsenic, mercury, powder of diamonds, lunar-caustic, great
spiders, and cantharides. Overbury held out so long that Rochester
became impatient, and in a letter to Lady Essex, expressed his wonder
that things were not sooner despatched. Orders were immediately sent
by Lady Essex to the keeper to finish with the victim at once. Overbury
had not been all this time without suspicion of treachery, although he
appears to have had no idea of poison. He merely suspected that it was
intended to confine him for life, and to set the King still more
bit