sasswood

This man, being informed of his sentence, pleaded innocence, and said he himself would drink Sasswood water to prove it. His friends urged him to confess, as his brother, the king, said he had no ill will against him, and did not wish him to drink the Sasswood, unless it was his own pleasure to do so. He still, however, persisted in his wish to make the trial. Four pieces of the Sasswood tree, each about the size of a finger nail, were then prepared for him; […]