The Damnation of John Donellan Read Online Free Page B
Author: Elizabeth Cooke
Donellan on the Saturday before Theodosiusâs death â arrived at Sir Williamâs house with a letter (which was not available at the trial) from the Earl of Denbigh. Lord Denbigh, alias Basil Feilding, lived in the mansion of Newnham Paddox at Monks Kirby, equidistant between Lawford Hall and Whelerâs own residence.
The arrival of such a letter from a superior being, one who was used to being both heard and obeyed, would have acted as a sharp warning. The Denbighs were aristocracy of a different calibre to the Boughtons: Basil Feilding was an earl whose title dated back three centuries. Earls could literally lord it over baronets. The Denbighs were also superior to the Boughtons in property, and their home â Newnham Paddox â was huge. (It was demolished in 1950, the then countess condemning it as a â365-room monstrosityâ). Days of destruction were far away, however: in 1780 Newnham, then a superlative Palladian mansion, dominated the countryside.
And when the Denbighs spoke, the countryside listened.
To Sir Williamâs consternation, the earl had picked up on the rumour of poison, a rumour that he himself had not yet acted upon. (There is no actual written or recorded evidence of the rumour or âreportâ â other than what Wheler says in his letters and what he and others refer to at the trial.) In a flurry of sudden activity, Wheler sent for the apothecary, Powell. And then he wrote to Donellan.
Whelerâs letter bears all the hallmarks of a man who has been, metaphorically at least, shaken by the scruff of his neck; he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be looking after Theodosius. But again, it is quite remarkable that Sir William did not write on the day that the Reverend Newsam visited him. With Theodosiusâs body deteriorating quickly in the heat, and every hour precious if an autopsy was to be carried out with any accuracy, Sir William took another day to put pen to paper. His next letter to Donellan is dated 4 September:
Dear Sir,
Since I wrote to you last, I have been applied to, as the guardian of Sir Theodosius Boughton, to inquire into the cause of his sudden death; and the report says that he was better the morning of his death than he had been for many weeks, and that he was taken ill in less than half an hour, and died in two hours after he had swallowed the physic. There is great reason to believe that the physic was improper ⦠I find I am very much blamed for not making some enquiry into the affair â¦
Next he went on to explain why he had called Powell:
⦠his character is at stake; I dare say it will be a great satisfaction to him to have the body opened ⦠it will appear from the stomach whether there is anything corrosive in it.
From here, the letter takes on a note of near panic:
As a friend to you, I must say ⦠it is reported all over the country that he was killed either by medicine or by poison. The country will never be convinced to the contrary unless the body is opened, and we shall all be very much blamed â¦
The body was still at Lawford Hall, about to be sealed in a lead coffin.
Wheler then told Donellan that he had asked that âDr Wilmer of Coventry or Mr Snow of Southam, in the presence of Dr Rattray or any other Physician that you and the family think properâ should perform an autopsy.
He added:
Mr Powell is now with me, and from his account it does not appear that his medicine could be the cause of death; he has not given him any mercury since June ⦠Mr Powell says it will be a great satisfaction to him to have the body opened, and forthe above reasons, I sincerely wish it. I will only add that this affair makes me very unhappy ⦠I beg of you to lay this affair before Lady Boughton ⦠to point out to her the real necessity of complying with my request, and to say that it is expected by the country.
I am ⦠your sincere friend and obliged humble servant, Wm
The arrival of such a letter from a superior being, one who was used to being both heard and obeyed, would have acted as a sharp warning. The Denbighs were aristocracy of a different calibre to the Boughtons: Basil Feilding was an earl whose title dated back three centuries. Earls could literally lord it over baronets. The Denbighs were also superior to the Boughtons in property, and their home â Newnham Paddox â was huge. (It was demolished in 1950, the then countess condemning it as a â365-room monstrosityâ). Days of destruction were far away, however: in 1780 Newnham, then a superlative Palladian mansion, dominated the countryside.
And when the Denbighs spoke, the countryside listened.
To Sir Williamâs consternation, the earl had picked up on the rumour of poison, a rumour that he himself had not yet acted upon. (There is no actual written or recorded evidence of the rumour or âreportâ â other than what Wheler says in his letters and what he and others refer to at the trial.) In a flurry of sudden activity, Wheler sent for the apothecary, Powell. And then he wrote to Donellan.
Whelerâs letter bears all the hallmarks of a man who has been, metaphorically at least, shaken by the scruff of his neck; he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be looking after Theodosius. But again, it is quite remarkable that Sir William did not write on the day that the Reverend Newsam visited him. With Theodosiusâs body deteriorating quickly in the heat, and every hour precious if an autopsy was to be carried out with any accuracy, Sir William took another day to put pen to paper. His next letter to Donellan is dated 4 September:
Dear Sir,
Since I wrote to you last, I have been applied to, as the guardian of Sir Theodosius Boughton, to inquire into the cause of his sudden death; and the report says that he was better the morning of his death than he had been for many weeks, and that he was taken ill in less than half an hour, and died in two hours after he had swallowed the physic. There is great reason to believe that the physic was improper ⦠I find I am very much blamed for not making some enquiry into the affair â¦
Next he went on to explain why he had called Powell:
⦠his character is at stake; I dare say it will be a great satisfaction to him to have the body opened ⦠it will appear from the stomach whether there is anything corrosive in it.
From here, the letter takes on a note of near panic:
As a friend to you, I must say ⦠it is reported all over the country that he was killed either by medicine or by poison. The country will never be convinced to the contrary unless the body is opened, and we shall all be very much blamed â¦
The body was still at Lawford Hall, about to be sealed in a lead coffin.
Wheler then told Donellan that he had asked that âDr Wilmer of Coventry or Mr Snow of Southam, in the presence of Dr Rattray or any other Physician that you and the family think properâ should perform an autopsy.
He added:
Mr Powell is now with me, and from his account it does not appear that his medicine could be the cause of death; he has not given him any mercury since June ⦠Mr Powell says it will be a great satisfaction to him to have the body opened, and forthe above reasons, I sincerely wish it. I will only add that this affair makes me very unhappy ⦠I beg of you to lay this affair before Lady Boughton ⦠to point out to her the real necessity of complying with my request, and to say that it is expected by the country.
I am ⦠your sincere friend and obliged humble servant, Wm
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