Lizzie goes to the drug store

[Harry]

How curious that nobody reported seeing Lizzie walk to and return from the drug store where she allegedly tried to buy prussic acid.

Kilroy, one of the men who was in the drug store with Bence at the time Lizzie supposedly came in, testified at the Inquest that she had the sealskin fur cape over her arm.

So on a hot August day, sometime between 10 and 11:30 in the morning, nobody saw her walking to and fro carrying a sealskin cape.

Granted, it's a short walk from 92 Second St. (Kat and I tried it the last trip) but it is still curious, at least to me.

[Shelley]

Did anyone say she had the cape with her? I can't recall that. If she had walked up Second Street and say, crossed in front of her old school at Morgan, then took a right onto Main, it is possible she might not have bumped into anyone she knew. I would also expect if she were off to buy poison, she would take some pains to go a way where it was less likely to bump into someone she knew. I often wondered if the police had ever gone up to the third floor and had a good look at those sealskin capes. Timing is also key.. Most ladies at 11:30 would have been at home getting the dinner on for returning spouses I bet, or would have returned from running morning errands. I think I would have avoided Main Street until the last possible minute, and not have taken Spring to South Main nor Borden to South Main.

[Harry]

Kilroy so testified at the Inquest (p163):

"Q. How was she dressed?
A. I dont remember. I think she had a cape, or carried a cape or sack of some kind on her arm."

He's a little less sure at the Preliminary (p320):

"A. I think she had a cape or sack of some kind thrown over her arm, so far as I remember. I do not state that positively.
Q. Taking these impressions that come upon you from seeing a woman coming in and going right out; was this a dark sack, or you cannot tell that I suppose?
A. No sir.
Q. Except you know it was not a white one possibly?
A. I do not think it was white."

Hart, the other fellow in the store, also testified at the Preliminary that he thought she had the cape with her (p325):

"Q. Did she have any sack on her arm?
A. I think she did.
Q. She had a sack or wrap on her arm?
A. I think so.
Q. Did she have any purse?
A. I think she did.
Q. That is, a purse she carried in her hand?
A. I think so."

[augusta]

I remember someone in one of the drugstores saying she had a purse. She lugged that sealskin cape around with her in that weather? You'd think somebody that didn't even know her would have said something to someone about it.

They must have found Lizzie's sealskin cape. She wouldn't have used that to bludgeon the Bordens. They didn't have a reason to look for the cape. But still, it would have been interesting to read of them finding it - and describing it. I have always pictured it a stole, but it must have been a big thing - a whole cape coming down to the hips? Or possibly stole length. Those short kind of capes I think were more in fashion that a longer one then. It'd be cheaper, too, for Andrew. I wonder how much a sealskin cape cost back then. It'd be interesting to know when he bought it for her. If it was five years before the murders, we could probably guess what that meant. Hmm ... It surely was an extravagence then, as it would be now.

[Shelley]

I was wondering if they checked for MOTHS- just to see if that cape did have moths in it. More to the point is where did she keep it out of season. In that dress closet or in linen bags on the third floor? I seem to recall that it was stored on the third floor in one of the trunk rooms. If we believe Bence- and I happen to- I wonder if Bridget saw her go to the third floor some time that week (it was a locked room) , and see her go through her winter clothing. She may have taken the capelet to add substance to her story about needing the poison to kill the moths. I have trouble figuring out 1. why anyone would store a fur on the hottest floor of the house in summer 2. taking a "buggy" garment on one's arm for a walk to the pharmacy. 3. If it did have moths, it would have been immediately removed from other garments to avoid the spread of infestation.
Thanks for the testimony Harry- of course that one person may have been entirely wrong and it may not have been a cape on Lizzie's arm at all. It could have been a shawl or something else entirely.
I checked some 1890 vintage household compendiums for tips to remove moths. The #1 recomendation was to hang the garment in the fresh air in the sun (moths hate the light), and brush it thoroughly with a fine-toothed comb to remove the eggs and nits. No mention of Prussic acid or other corrosive-types of poisons to kill the little buggers.

[augusta]

That's interesting, Shelley. I would think that something strong would ruin the garment. Lizzie was probably told when she got the fur, how to take care of it, and I'd think she knew the very same thing as you about moth control.

When Lizzie was older, she stored her fur coat - or was it Emma? - I think it was Emma. She stored it somewhere and travelled by car twice a year to put her fur in storage and take it out in the fall.

I can just see Andrew: "Money for storage? Plenty of room in the attic. A perfectly sound attic." I think you're right, Shelley, that her sealskin cape was kept on the third floor.

Lizzie denied being in that drugstore, so I wouldn't think it would be dragged into court by the defense. Are we sure the cape was not in court, brought in by the Commonwealth?

[Yooper]

You're right Harry, it is a bit odd that no one saw Lizzie on her way to the drugstore. How badly did people want to distance themselves from the Borden case? I have a feeling that no one wanted to be any more involved than they had to. Come to think of it, do we have any witnesses to Lizzie's visit to Alice Russell that evening? In that instance Alice corroborates Lizzie's story, so there is really no need for supportive witnesses. They would be helpful when Lizzie denies going to the drugstore, however. There were three witnesses who saw her there, so maybe they weren't strictly necessary, but you would think the prosecution would have sought out anyone else who may have seen her on the street.

[Harry]

That's a good point, Yooper, about the reluctance of some people to get involved.

It was said by some, at least in her later years, that Lizzie made a rather striking appearance. However, that may be by people's imagination because of her past.

Lizzie also claimed never to have been in Smith's drug store. That's possible but it was in an area she did visit. The McWhirr's store was at 71 South Main and Smith's was at 135 South Main

[Kat]

Those witnesses at the drugstore did not hear anything about moths. That came later- I'm not sure who started that story.

Then- the time Lizzie supposedly came into the store is very inexact- note Harry shows it was between 10 and 11:30. No one pinned it down more than that 90 minutes, so we don't know what time. 11:30 was at the outer limit. And Lizzie's "sacks" were kept in the attic.

(In later life the story goes around Newmarket that Emma brought her furs to storage at Jordan Marsh in Boston every year and then got them out again next season.)

Bence
Prelim
305
Q. Did you see her in your store at any time before the tragedy?
A. I did, yes sir.
Q. When?
A. I saw her the day before.
Q. What time of day was it?
A. In the morning.
Q. What time in the morning was it?
A. Between ten and half past eleven in the forenoon.
Q. Was she alone?
A. She was.
Q. What took place?
A. She asked me for ten cents worth of Prussic Acid.
Q. Tell all that took place.
A. I informed her we did not sell prussic acid without a doctor’s prescription. She said she wanted it, I believe to put on, either a seal skin sack or a seal skin cape, I would not be certain which. I again told her we did not sell it without a doctor’s prescription; that it was something that was very dangerous, and we did not sell it. I believe she said she had purchased the article before. I believe that is all that took place.
Q. Then she went out?
A. Yes Sir.
..........
Harte
Prelim
326
Q. This lady, whoever she was, when she asked for prussic acid, said she wanted it for a seal skin cape, or sack, you cannot remember which; you do remember she wanted it to put around the edges?
A. Put on the edges; I suppose it means the same thing literally.
Q. Which did she say?
A. I would not say whether it was “put around”, or “on”; it was some thing about edges.
Q. You understood it was moth eaten, did you not?
A. No Sir.
Q. There was not anything said about that?
A. No Sir.
..........

Lizzie
Inquest
Q. Have you sealskin sacks?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where are they?
A. Hanging in a large white bag in the attic, each one separate.
Q. Put away for the summer?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you ever use prussic acid on your sacks?
[92]
A. Acid? No, sir; I don’t use anything on them.
........

[Angel]

Well, that is very telling, isn't it? Why would people at the drug store bring up a sealskin cape if it didn't really happen? That is a very specific possession- people wouldn't just pull that out of the air to mention it if Lizzie hadn't told them about it at the drug store. And Lizzie admits to owning one.

[augusta]

That's very interesting, Angel. It's true.

Was it really true that someone who looked like Lizzie - an inspector's wife or something like that - was in that same time frame going around doing a sting operation on prussic acid? That seems way too coincidental.
I don't think I believe it. I know it's in the papers, but it's so far-fetched that this "look-alike" would be doing that at the same time Lizzie was. I wonder if the defense planted that one. Or some crazed reporter.

[Yooper]

There is a good deal of testimony like that in this case. All Lizzie had to do was deny it. Where did it come from in the first place? Did all those people want to incriminate Lizzie?

[Shelley]

I thought the lady who had some resemblance to Lizzie was in fact the wife of a police official and it was ascertained it was not she at Smith's that morning?

And I agree, Bence takes great pains not to add anything which was not there. Prussic acid is not a cleaning agent, and to mention putting it on the edges of a cape or sacque in itself might imply an insecticide,although Bence does not put words unspoken in her mouth. What else could a poison be used for other than to kill something- or someone!

[Kat]

It might be for cleaning? I don't know.
BUT: Bence was always consistent with his story. I don't think he ever changed it all thru to the trial. He didn't embelish or add or subtract anything, which is pretty amazing.
Or could be considered too pat? I don't know.
Abbie supposedly gave Lizzie an alibi for Wednesday which should be considered at least, I think.

[Yooper]

Didn't Bence also identify Lizzie by the sound of her voice? The audial component in addition to the visual identification makes it all the more positive. If something about Lizzie's voice was unique, it would eliminate misidentification.

[Shelley]

Yes, I believe Bence was taken to the side door of #92 and was asked to listen to the woman speaking at the table in front of the kitchen stove. He listened and said it was the same woman, and then peered down that long corridor and visually identified her. Kilroy I think identified her, and another pharmacy patron identified her from a photo.

One thing which grabbed me about Alice Russell's trial testimony, in regards to that kitchen stove. She says she had Lizzie go into the diningroom to sit on the daybed after the body of Andrew was discovered as it was so warm in the kitchen rocking chair. Yet Lizzie would have us believe she sat there eating and reading in front of the stove even earlier in the morning of August 4th when the fire was hotter still from breakfast.
That has NEVER added up in my mind. Lizzie would have been smarter to say she was out under the pergola reading- except of course BRIDGET would have had full view of Lizzie then as that was on the south end of the house!

[Bob Gutowski]

But if it was our Lizzie who went to Smith's, how typical of her to CARRY the fur! Anyone else might just give the reason - she'd SHOW them she really had a fur!

[Smudgeman]

Perhaps Lizzie didn't receive anything she may have ordered through a catalog, and felt it necessary to go down to the pharmacy in person. Didn't she ask her Father if any mail had come for her? Or I might have my timeline mixed up, all I am saying is that Lizzie could have ordered acid (poison) from a catalog, it did not come, and she made sure the Bordens were killed no matter what, plan B.

[Susan]

It might be for cleaning? I don't know.
BUT: Bence was always consistent with his story. I don't think he ever changed it all thru to the trial. He didn't embelish or add or subtract anything, which is pretty amazing.
Or could be considered too pat? I don't know.
Abbie supposedly gave Lizzie an alibi for Wednesday which should be considered at least, I think.

I did a search to see if there ever was any kind of acid used in the cleaning of furs and clothing over the years. Heres what I came up with:

Acid Materials

Oxalic acid
Hydrochloric acid
Potassium permanganate
Hydrosulphite of soda
Hydrogen peroxide
Chloride of lime
Javelle water
Vinegar
Lemon juice
Salts of lemon
Sour milk
Buttermilk


No Prussic acid. I checked because I was wondering if there was some sort of acid that could be used in cleaning that sounded like Prussic acid. The only acid I could find for cleaning fur at home was Acetic acid:

To give your fur some luster after cleaning, you may stroke it with a tampon wet with 5% solution of the acetic acid. If the light-colored fur has acquired yellow spots, you can remove them by lubricating the tops of the hair with a 3-5% solution of hydrogen peroxide. After this procedure, clean the fur surface with a tampon wetted in warm water. Avoid applying water directly to the leather base of the fur.

They also have this advice:

You can also use the sawdust of deciduous woods for fur cleaning. Wet them in gasoline or detergent and apply against the fur surface. Don’t rub the fur too hard so not to tear it. Change the sawdust several times because it soon becomes dirty. When this procedure is over, shake the fur garment, manually clear it from the sawdust, and comb the fur (astrakhan curly fur does not need to be combed). Such procedure can also be applied before and after color alteration, because it also helps remove the remnants of the paint.

Oh, and this little tidbit:

Giving your fur for cleaning right in time is critical for preserving its appearance. The best time to do it is the end of the cold season. Afterwards, dirt becomes inveterate and harder to remove. Also, keep in mind that dirty clothes attract moth stronger.


From this site:

http://www.thefurstorage.com/fur-cleaning.html

[Shelley]

Yes, and those are more modern solutions- 1890's household compendiums say hang buggy furs outside in bright light and comb with a fine -tooth comb. {Prussic Blue was a laundry product.) Actually plenty of household preparations were deadly both now and then. Drano (Lye) springs to mind and those old vintage books have loads of remedies and antidotes for lye poisoning and other common accidental poisonings of people and animals. Agatha Christie, who dispensed meds during WWII used her knowledge in her murders- everything from atropine in eyedrops to yew berries to hat paint could kill a man cold!

[Kat]

Two witnesses contradicted Lizzie's voice. Kilroy had a different description of Lizzie's voice. Just FYI:

Here is Bence, in the Prelim:
Q. What was the peculiarity about this voice?
A. The peculiarity was in the way that she spoke; it was kind of --- a little tremulous.
Q. It was tremulous when?
A. When she spoke to me for the acid.
Q. It trembled when she said she had not seen anybody, did not it?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. The same tremor in it?
A. I should say it was.
Q. Was there anythingelse except this tremulousness that you noticed?
A. She talked a little might low; I do not know as I can put it in words, just what I want to say.
Page 316
Q. I agree I am asking you a difficult question. I would like your opinion about it. When you say it is low, do you mean it was in a low register, what we call a low voice, distinguished between a strong voice and a loud voice, or low in sound?
A. She spoke a little might low that morning.
Q. Low in sound?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Did she that night?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Is there anythingelse that occurs to you to say that this woman in a wrapper in the kitchen of that house in the evening, saying she had not seen anybody, was the same voice that you heard in the morning, besides its being low and tremulous?
A. I could not explain that part to you at all. I know there are voices that a man remembers, that he cannot always explain about. It is difficult for a person to get up and explain any person's voice. When you are in actual conversation with another party, it is very difficult for a man to get up and explain the voice in which they spoke.
Q. This is the first time you ever did anything of this kind, I suppose?
A. I never identified anybody before in Court. I never had any occasion to.
............

Kilroy
Prelim
319
Q. You were sitting there, and she came right up to the counter there?
A. Yes sir.
Q. She did not speak low, or anything of that sort?
A. Quite a loud tone it seemed to me.
Q. Tremulous, was it not?
A. I could not say that it was.
Q. Was it not?
A. I do not think so; it did not seem so to me, to be very tremulous.
Q. You did not observe those tremulous tones?
A. No sir.

[Kat]

Bridget, at the Prelim, says Lizzie sat in a different chair than the rocker, in the kitchen, before she herself went outside to wash windows. I would think the kitchen table might have been at a decent distance from the stove to be comfortable- especially by the kitchen window?

Q. You think it was between half past eight and nine o'clock she [Lizzie] came down?
A. Yes Sir.

Q. She came into the kitchen?
A. I could not tell what time it was. She came right into the kitchen.

Q. She said she was going to have a cookie and some coffee for breakfast?
A. Yes Sir.

Q. Where did she sit down?
A. By the kitchen table, and this chair was facing.

Q. What chair did she sit down in?
A. In a big old chair that is right by the window, by the side of the table.

Q. Was there any rocking chair there?
A. Yes Sir.

Q. Did she sit in that?
A. No Sir.

Q. This chair is an arm chair?
A. Yes Sir.

Q. Did you see her reading there?
A. I did not.

Q. Did you see her reading there any time that forenoon?
A. No Sir.

Q. Did you have any books there?
A. Yes Sir.

Q. Was not there some old Harpers there, a magazine with pictures in it?
A. Yes Sir.

Q. Where were they kept?
A. In a closet in the kitchen.

Q. You had seen her there looking at them, or reading them?
A. Sometimes I would.

Q. You have seen her sitting down in the kitchen doing that?
A. Yes Sir.

Q. How many times?
A. I could not tell you.

Q. Often?
A. Not very often.

Q. She came into the kitchen and sat down there?
A. Not very often.

Q. She has done that before, and you have seen her sit down and read there, and look at these magazines?
A. Once in a while.

Page 65

Q. Do you remember whether that morning she sat down in the chair there and read?
A. I did not see her.

Q. You do not remember about it?
A. No Sir.

Q. She partook of her breakfast, what were you doing then?
A. I went out in the back yard when she was eating her breakfast.

[Kat]

Thank you Susan for the info on the cleaning substances.

[Shelley]

Well, I still find it hard to believe that with so many other comfortable padded and upholstered places to sit in the house, from the sitting room to the diningroom to the parlor or her own room, she would have chosen to sit in the kitchen. Most women can't wait to get out of the kitchen. If it was hot enough for Alice to testify that she had said it was warm there to Lizzie and to relocate her to the diningroom at 11:30- I would imagine it was even warmer in the kitchen at 9:30.

Q. Where was she when you saw her during any time that morning when you were there? A. I asked her to go into the dining room and said, "It is warm here; don't you want to go into the dining room and lie down?" And she went there.

[Constantine]

Agatha Christie, who dispensed meds during WWII used her knowledge in her murders- everything from atropine in eyedrops to yew berries to hat paint could kill a man cold!

Contrary to popular belief, yew berries are not poisonous. (I know. I ate one once (after reading that this was the case). They taste awful, though. The book I read said that neither the berries nor the seeds were poisonous, and that the leaves were only poisonous in large quantities. I proceeded to eat a berry, a seed and a few leaves and lived to tell the tale. (Wikipedia, that highly reliable source, agrees that the berry (or "aril") is not poisonous, but that the seeds and leaves are extremely so. Perhaps it depends on the species or even the growing conditions (as is the case with some mushrooms), so don't go out and do as I did just in case.)

[Shelley]

Aha -that explains why I am still alive then! I too ate a yew berry once. Yucky things. I believe diffenbachia can paralyze the throat muscles, white oleander and even holly can be poisonous. Pets sometimes suffer at the holidays from chewing poisonous plants.

[Shelley]

The Army has the most comprehensive list I have ever seen of poisonous houseplants:
http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/ento/PLNTHOUS.HTM
Garden plants (holy cow!)
http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/ento/PLNTGRDN.HTM
as well as ornamentals and wild plants.

[Constantine]

I understand that the poinsettia (included in the first list) is another falsely-accused plant. (I don't intend to test that.)

[Kat]

I think you are right, Constantine- but with lots of cats I had always heard that was poisonous. Bad rep I guess.
.........
When Alice relocated Lizzie to the dining room Lizzie had been sitting in a rocker right near the juncture of that little hall formed when one passes the stove to enter the door to the sitting room, and where the kitchen hall come together. Lizzie would have had a good view of people coming and going.

Maybe Alice did not want Lizzie to see into the sitting room each time that door was opened?

The old armchair in the kitchen near the table and window sounds comfortable enough, especially if Lizzie wanted to be out of the way of any family members who might be busy or resting or reading in another room.
It's possible that spot, in the morning, gave her a view through the screen door. Of course she'd be too high up to see out the screen and down to driveway level. Maybe that spot commanded a view she wanted of the side yard?
She did sit there- but maybe for a reason we have not determined?

[Yooper]

But if it was our Lizzie who went to Smith's, how typical of her to CARRY the fur! Anyone else might just give the reason - she'd SHOW them she really had a fur!

Good point, Bob! Nothing like a good prop to prove the need for prussic acid!

[snokkums]

I have to agree with you, Harry. It does seem odd that noone would have seen Lizzie walking with a warm cape on that day. Seems someone would have noticed that. It would have been alittle odd to be walking on a hot day with a seal skin cape.